The Dispatch

Mediterranean Migrant Arrivals Reach 27,834 in 2019

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that 27,834 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea through 1 May, roughly a 35 per cent decrease from the 42,274 arriving…

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Tension between the Vatican and China

The Vatican has told bishops and priests in China that they must follow their own consciences in deciding whether to register with the government, and it urged Catholics in the…

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Italy fines Facebook €1 million over Cambridge Analytica case

Italy's privacy regulator said Friday that it was fining Facebook one million euros for offenses related to the Cambridge Analytica case. The disgraced and now-defunct British company harvested the personal…

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Photo Story: The Pope and the Grand Master

Current Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Fra' Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto (L) kisses the hand of Pope Francis at the start…

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Catania University dean, professors investigated

Nine Catania University professors and the institute's dean, Francesco Basile, were suspended by a preliminary investigations judge on Friday. The move relates to probe into the alleged rigging of…

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France’s debt increases even more

The French national statistics bureau warned that the countries debt has slipped further into the red. The rise in the public sector debt was mostly due to central government spending,…

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Photo Story: The Morandi Bridge demolition in Genova

A general view shows the demolition of the large towers '10' and '11' of the Morandi bridge using micro-explosive charges, in Genoa, northern Italy, 28 June 2019. Thousands of…

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Experts prepare to demolish Morandi Bridge in Genova

Demolition experts are set to blow up what remains of the Morandi bridge on Friday in the Italian city of Genoa nearly a year after the structure collapsed. Around…

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EU working on solution for Sea-Watch saga

European Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said Thursday that the European Union was working to find a solution for the 42 migrants on the Sea-Watch 3 ship but added that…

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Salvini considers border wall in northeast Italy

Italian Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said he is considering the idea of erecting a border barrier in northeastern Italy. "The Balkan route (for migrant flows) has reopened,"…

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Sea Watch ignores orders to stop, anchors in front of Lampedusa

The Sea-Watch 3 migrant-rescue ship on Wednesday defied an order from a tax police motor launch to stop and pressed on until it came close to the port of…

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Italian Health Ministry issues heat alert for 6 cities, for 16 on Friday

The Italian health ministry has issued a heat alert for six Italian cities for Thursday and for 16 on Friday. The red alert indicates the maximum risk level for all…

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Pope saddened by image of dead migrant father and baby at US-Mexico border

Reader's discretion is recommended due to the graphic nature of the photo attached to the story Pope Francis is profoundly saddened by the death of two migrants – a…

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French consumer group launches class action against Google

A French consumer rights group has launched a class action lawsuit against US tech giant Google for violating the EU's strict data privacy laws. The compensation claim is a first…

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One in five churches in the Netherlands are no longer used for religious purposes

One in five churches in the Netherlands are no longer used as a place of worship and most have been turned into homes or cultural centres, according to research…

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ECHR rejects Sea Watch appeal

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has rejected a request presented by migrant search-and-rescue vessel Sea Watch 3 for the ECHR to implement interim measures asking Italy to allow…

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Photo Story: The Summit of of the Two Shores

French President Emmanuel Macron poses with foreign ministers of Spain, Italy, Portugal, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, Malta, France and the members of civil society after the 'Summit of the…

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Sea Watch case taken to the European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) said Monday it has received a request from the migrant search-and-rescue vessel Sea Watch 3 for the ECHR to implement interim measures asking…

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Italian doctors say leaving overflowing garbage in the streets in the heat is dangerous

Doctors in the Italian capital Rome highlighted the health dangers from overflowing street rubbish brewing toxic fumes in the summer heat. "With the arrival of the heat in a…

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Photo Story: Saint John’s Eve in Spain

Candles sit on steps during a vigil held on occasion of Saint John's Eve in Cordoba, Spain, 23 June 2019 (issued 24 June 2019). The San Juan Fiesta (Saint John's…

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Spanish doctor suspended for claiming vaccines cause autism

A female Spanish doctor has been barred from practicing her profession after claiming vaccines cause autism. El Pais reports that the Madrid Medical Association (Icomem) has banned Spanish…

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Italy holds Netherlands, EU ‘responsible’ for Sea Watch 3 issue

Italy's interior minister Matteo Salvini said he is holding the Netherlands and the European Union "responsible" for the fate of 42 migrants on board the Sea Watch 3. The Italian…

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Three dead in Paris building fire

Police in Paris have not yet established the cause of a fire that left three people dead and another gravely injured on Saturday morning. The building they were in went…

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Tourists fined for cycling bare-chested in Venice

Two British tourists were fined a total of 350 euros for cycling bare-chested around Venice Friday. The incident happened in the busy square outside the church of San Simeon Piccolo.…

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Sea Watch kidnapping case against Salvini shelved

A Catania probe into Interior Minister Matteo Salvini for allegedly kidnapping migrants aboard the Sea-Watch3 NGO rescue ship in January has been shelved. About the case, Salvini said that…

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Photo Story: Elton John gets top French award

Sir Elton John, a newly awarded Legion of Honor, France's highest award, pinned to his suit, joined a call Friday by French President Emmanuel Macron to fund AIDS research and…

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Spanish Police disrupt criminal organisation which financed Al Qaeda

The Spanish National Police (Policia Nacional) disrupted a criminal organisation which was financing Al Qaeda terrorist militias. The complex operation was carried out in the Spanish cities of Madrid,…

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EU threatens Turkey with sanctions over drilling off Cyprus

The EU has threatened to impose sanctions on Turkey if it continues "illegal drilling" in waters near Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean. The warning came at an EU summit…

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Photo Story: 63 persons saved off Almeria in Spain

Sixty-three persons arrive on a Spanish sea rescue boat after being rescued while sailing on two small canoes on the Alboran Sea, in Almeria, southeastern Spain on the night of…

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Italian top court decrees that a foetus is a ‘person’ during labour

Italy’s top court has declared that the foetus must be considered a person during its mother's labour. The decision concerns an obstetrician who was accused with negligence in the death…

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The changing climate threatening Spain’s tourism industry

Though one might assume that hotter weather favours the tourism industry in certain countries, experts warned that such a situation is causing more harm than good to the Spanish tourism…

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Salvini says will quit if government can’t cut 10 billion euros in taxes

Deputy Italian Prime Minister Matteo Salvini on Friday vowed to quit the government unless he was able to push through tax cuts for at least 10 billion euros. Salvini has…

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13 arrested for sexual exploitation of young women in French-Romanian operation

A large-scale joint investigation, led by the French Gendarmerie Nationale in cooperation with the Romanian DIICOT (Directorate for the Investigation of Organised Crime and Terrorism), and supported by Europol and…

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Italian writer Camilleri still in critical condition

According to the latest hospital bulletin, Italian writer Andrea Camilleri remains critical after suffering cardiac arrest. "The patient is having mechanical and pharmacological respiratory support and is under pharmacological sedation,"…

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About 5 million Italians live in absolute poverty

The number of Italians living in absolute poverty held steady in 2018 after three straight years of growth, though the problem remains at a record high. About 5 million…

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France calls for the protection of underwater cultural heritage

Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, opened, together with Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, the International Conference on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, hosted jointly by…

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Turkey to launch second drilling vessel for natural gas operations near Cyprus

Reuters reports that Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez announced that Turkey will launch a second drilling vessel, the Yavuz, on Thursday that will begin natural gas operations near Cyprus at…

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Photo Story: Paris Airshow kicks off

The Paris Air Show, one of the world’s most important air shows, kicked off Monday in the French capital. There is much attention on Boeing, which was plunged into crisis…

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French art expert insists lost painting is a Caravaggio

French art expert Eric Turquin is not only convinced that a canvas found in the attic of an old house in southwest France is a Caravaggio but also that it…

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Franco Zeffirelli’s funeral to be held on the 18th June

The funeral of world-renowned Italian movie director Franco Zeffirelli will be held next Tuesday at the Duomo in Florence, his hometown. Before the funeral, Zeffirelli will be lying-in-state at…

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Italy lets 10 stranded migrants disembark, moves to ban rescue ships from its waters

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini allowed 10 of the 53 migrants stranded on the Sea-Watch 3 rescue ship to disembark but pressed ahead with plans to ban such boats…

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Ash emissions from central summit crater on Etna

The Etna volcano in Sicily once more is showing signs of activity after the recent, short-lived eruption ended last week Italian experts report that the volcano remains restless with dense…

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Tourist bookings in Italy drop for 1st time in 5 years

Tourist bookings to Italy this summer have dropped for the first time in five years, the Cst-Assoturismo Confesercenti business group said Thursday. Some 205 million tourists are expected to come…

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EU-wide operation against counterfeit products, Law enforcement agencies in Malta involved in the operation

More than 4.7 million counterfeit products seized, over 16 400 social media accounts suspended and 3 300 websites closed in the EU-wide operation Aphrodite II against trafficking of counterfeit goods.…

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Conte in favour of Merkel as the next president of the European Commission

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that German Chancellor Angela Merkel would be a good candidate to be the next president of the European Commission, while adding that he does…

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Police in Cyprus find remains of six-year-old, the seventh victim of a serial killer

Police in Cyprus have discovered the seventh victim of what is believed to be the island's first serial killer. The body of six-year-old Sierra Granze was found at the bottom…

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Former senior Italian League party official arrested on corruption charges

Italian police on Wednesday arrested Paolo Arata, former League party energy consultant and former Forza Italia (FI) MP, and his son Francesco, on suspicion of corruption. The pair are accused…

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Italy shuts Mineo migrant camp in Sicily

Interior minister Matteo Salvini announced the closure of a reception centre for asylum seekers in Sicily. The decision to close the Mineo asylum camp in Sicily came after the number…

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Italian Police smash international alcohol smuggling group

Italian police on Wednesday smashed a huge contraband alcohol ring based in the UK and operating in 17 European countries. Police from Udine arrested 20 people in seven Italian…

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Macron ready to back Merkel for new European Commission President post

French President Emmanuel Macron told Swiss TV station RTS that he would back German Chancellor Angela Merkel for European Commission president. Politico reports that Macron, when asked about his…

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Boys who averted a tragedy on hijacked bus to get Italian citizenship

Italian news agency ANSA reports that the two Egyptian boys who helped avert a massacre on a hijacked bus near Milan in March will receive Italian citizenship. The citizenship proposal…

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Italy to start fining NGOs that rescue migrants at sea

A decree adopted by the Italian government would force non-governmental organizations to pay between €10,000 and €50,000 for transporting rescued migrants to Italian ports. Apart from that, the decree…

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Italian centre right win Ferrara in post-war first

The Italian centre right won the northern city of Ferrara, traditionally a stronghold for the left, for the first time in the post-War period after Sunday's runoffs for local elections…

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Photo Story: The San Isidro Bullfighting Fair

The torero or diestro Roman Collado is gored by a bull during the San Isidro Bullfighting Fair, Madrid, Spain. This is considered the most popular and important bullfighting fair in the world.…

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Photo Story: Spain’s El Rocio pilgrimage

Faithful carry the Virgin of El Rocio after the traditional 'jumping the fence' for its procession at El Rocio Virgin Shrine, in the village of El Rocio Andalusia, Spain, early…

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Public transport in Rome to strike on 20 June

The USB trade union announced tht workers at Rome's public transport company ATAC are scheduled to engage in a 24-hour strike, effective from 08.30 to 17.00 and from 20.00 until…

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Woman falls off a cruise ship in the Mediterranean

A search has been called off in Mediterranean Sea for woman who fell off Norwegian Epic cruise ship in the weekend. The passenger fell into the sea while on…

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