The Dispatch

Suspect arrested in Greece for large-scale document forgery

With the support of Europol, a 50-year old individual was arrested in Greece for large-scale forgery of documents and facilitating illegal immigration. During the action day on 11 July, the…

Read More Here

Greek police find corpse of female British scientist

Police searching for Natalie Christopher, a 35-year-old British woman who disappeared on the Greek island of Ikaria say they have found her dead in a ravine. Christopher, an astrophysicist from…

Read More Here

Rome bans hanging out of washing if visible from street, fines also for balcony water that drips onto street

A new urban police regulation in Rome that went into effect in July imposes bans with a 100-euro fine for certain offences, including one for hanging clothes visible from public…

Read More Here

Photo Story: Drones to fine traffic offenders in the Canary Islands

A Spanish Civil Guard shows a drone that is going to start being used in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, during the presentation of the new system to…

Read More Here

Turkey says another drill ship en route to eastern Mediterranean

Two Turkish drill ships are continuing operations in the eastern Mediterranean and another ship will join them this month, Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said, as a dispute over natural resources…

Read More Here

Photo Story: Eid al-Adha 2019 preparations in Yemen

A Yemeni boy displays toys for sale at a bazaar ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival, in Sana'a, Yemen. Millions of Muslims around the world prepare to celebrate Eid Al-Adha,…

Read More Here

Italy’s M5S’s No-TAV motion rejected

The Senate on Wednesday voted against a motion presented by the 5-Star Movement seeking to stop the TAV Turin-Lyon high-speed rail-link project with 181 votes against and 110 in favour.…

Read More Here

Bad weather wreaks havoc in Lecco in Italy

Reports state that 80 people have been evacuated for safety reasons in Casargo, the mountain centre of Lecco province hit by a violent wave of bad weather. There were no…

Read More Here

Fatal light-aircraft crash in Italy

Two people are dead after a light aircraft crashed in the province of Savona. The aircraft, which took off from Vercelli and was heading to Villanova d'Albenga, went off the…

Read More Here

Italian chocolate maker’s Pernigotti’s Novi plant saved

Deputy Premier and Labour and Industry Minister Luigi Di Maio announced that an agreement has been reached to protect the jobs of the workers at the Pernigotti chocolate plant in…

Read More Here

Sitting on Rome’s Spanish Steps banned, fines can go up to €400 if the steps are dirtied or damaged

Sitting on Rome's famous Spanish Steps is no longer allowed as the local police have decided to apply the rules in a more stringent way. The famous steps are also…

Read More Here

Salvini says that Minister Toninelli is not up to the job

Italian Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini told Radio24 on Tuesday that Transport and Infrastructure Minister Danilo Toninelli "does not seem to me to be up to the job…

Read More Here

Italian government wins confidence vote

The Italian government on Monday won a confidence vote in the Senate on a decree targeting charities operating migrant rescue ships, in a victory for Interior Minister Matteo Salvini and…

Read More Here

Pope Francis expresses encouragement and closeness to priests from around the world

Pope Francis has written to priests recalling the 160th anniversary of the death of the Curé of Ars, Patron Saint of parish priests around the world. It is a letter…

Read More Here

Italian’s budget for 2020 will focus on growth

Premier Giuseppe Conte told a meeting of trade unions and business representatives on Monday that his government will enter 'phase two' focused on boosting Italy's sluggish growth in the 2020…

Read More Here

€72-million project in Paris to make it greener and cooler

Paris will make itself greener and its streets cooler by creating "urban forests," Mayor Anne Hidalgo says. Her strategy, unveiled recently, is to create new urban parks and gardens, adding 30 hectares…

Read More Here

Photo Story: Forest fires in Madrid

A flying boat takes water from La Pinilla dam in Pinilla del Valle, Madrid, Spain, 04 August 2019, issued 05 August 2019, to extinguish the forest fires. The fires broke…

Read More Here

Venice asks other ports to help find solution to cruise ship problems

Venice has appealed to the main European cruise ship destinations, from Amsterdam to Barcelona, Dubrovnik and Marseille, to unite in tackling the dangers and environmental impact of big cruise liners.…

Read More Here

Photo story: Vikings invade Spain

People take part in the re-enactment of a Viking invasion in the village of Catoira, Galicia, north-western Spain, on the 04 August 2019. Each first Sunday in August, residents of…

Read More Here

Photo Story: ‘Cante de las Minas’ International Festival in Spain

Flamenco dancer Alba Heredia performs on stage during the 'Cante de las Minas' International Festival played at La Union's Public Market in Murcia, southeastern Spain, on the evening of…

Read More Here

Pope Francis urges scouts to give themselves to give, build, serve and care for others

Pope Francis on Saturday urged scouts to give of themselves to others by building, serving and caring for others, saying it will free them from within and enrich the world.…

Read More Here

Photo Story: The Pope greets the Euromoot

Pope Francis during the audience to the Euromoot with about 5000 between Scouts, Rangers and Rovers of the European Scouts FSE at the Vatican, 03 August 2019. The Euromoot…

Read More Here

Open Arms ship rescues more migrants

The Open Arms NGO said Friday that one its ships saved 69 people in the Mediterranean overnight and it called for the vessel to be assigned a port of safety.…

Read More Here

Amadeus will be the conductor and artistic director of the 70th edition of Sanremo in 2020

After so many rumors, the official announcement has been made. TV presenter: Amadeus will be the conductor and artistic director of Sanremo 2020. This year's edition will celebrate the 70th…

Read More Here

Ursula von der Leyen to propose new migration and asylum pact

Ursula von der Leyen said Friday that she wants to "propose a new pact for migration and asylum" as she meet Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte for a bilateral meeting in…

Read More Here

Salvini once more warns about the possibility of early elections

Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has said Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's government could collapse and early elections called if the 2020 budget law does not feature big tax…

Read More Here

First day of Hajj confirmed as Aug. 9

The Saudi Supreme Court confirmed Thursday that the crescent moon of Dhu Al-Hijjah had been sighted. Hajj will therefore begin on Friday August 9, pilgrims will spend the day on…

Read More Here

Salvini accuses Germany of ‘blackmail’ over migration

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini accused Germany on Thursday of "blackmail" in the latest spat between the two countries over migrants rescued at sea. According to German media, Salvini wrote in…

Read More Here

No-deal Brexit would cause 139,000 job losses in Italy

A no-deal Brexit would cause the loss of 1.2 jobs Europe-wide, including 139,140 in Italy, according to a study by Leuven University in Belgium. The study said a disorderly exit…

Read More Here

Amanda Knox blasts recent Italian media coverage about her

Amanda Knox and her fiancé Christopher Robinson have complained about "falsehoods" in the media about her recent trip to Italy and the couple's upcoming wedding in a letter to…

Read More Here

Salvini bans the Alan Kurdi from entering Italian waters

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has banned the Alan Kurdi rescue ship carrying forty migrants from entering Italian waters. The Alan Kurdi is run by German charity Sea-Eye and…

Read More Here

North Korean diplomat who defected has left Italy

National Intelligence Service (NIS) officials, South Korea’s spy agency, told lawmakers in Seoul on Thursday that a North Korean diplomat who went into hiding in Italy last year is now…

Read More Here

Arabic, Muslim symbols ordered to be taken down in Beijing

Authorities in the Chinese capital have ordered halal restaurants and food stalls to remove Arabic script and symbols associated with Islam from their signs, part of an expanding national effort…

Read More Here

Alan Kurdi heads to Lampedusa with 40 migrants on-board

Migrant rescue ship the ‘Alan Kurdi’, is heading to Lampedusa with 40 migrants on-board that it rescued off the coast of Libya. The ship is heading to Lampedusa as it…

Read More Here

Photo Story: Facial coverings banned in the Netherlands

A niqab veiled woman pulls her shopping bag along a street in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Facial coverings will be banned in the Netherlands, from public transport, schools, hospitals and government buildings…

Read More Here

Socialists favorites in Portugese election but would not win majority

Portugal’s ruling Socialists remain favorites to win a parliamentary election in October but will fail to grab an absolute majority, according to a new poll. According to the survey by…

Read More Here

Photo Story: India criminalizes Muslim instant divorce

Indian Muslim women show victory sign as they pose for a photograph during a gathering organized by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to celebrate passing a law outlawing instant divorce practice…

Read More Here

Italy reaches deal with five EU nations over stranded migrants on the ‘Bruno Gregoretti’

Italy announced that it would allow an Italian coastguard ship to finally disembark 116 migrants who were stranded for days in a Sicilian port, ending its latest standoff with the…

Read More Here

Italian unemployment lowest since 2012

Italy's unemployment rate dropped for the fourth consecutive month in June, falling by 0.1 of a percentage point with respect to May to 9.7%, ISTAT said on Wednesday. The national…

Read More Here

Lawsuit over lead poisoning danger from Notre-Dame blaze

Read More Here

Photo Story: Theresa May on holiday in Italy

British former Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip May walk in Sirmione (Brescia), Italy on the 30th July 2019. Theresa May, on Wednesday, July 24, submitted her resignation…

Read More Here

EU seeks volunteer countries to take in migrants stranded at Italian port

Italy is engaged in another standoff with the European Union over migrants in the Mediterranean, refusing to allow 115 Africans to disembark in Sicily. They are on board the Bruno…

Read More Here

Greece accuses Turkey of undermining security in the eastern Mediterranean

Greece accused Turkey of undermining security in the eastern Mediterranean by drilling for oil and gas around Cyprus. These were some of the strongest comments on the issue from Athens’…

Read More Here

The bones found in the Vatican’s cemetery are “too old” to belong to the missing teenager Emanuela Orlandi

The Vatican has said human remains discovered during an excavation earlier in July do not belong to missing teenager Emanuela Orlandi, again dashing hopes that the decades-long mystery of her…

Read More Here

One driver dead, one injured after three heavy trucks crashed in Bologna, Italy (Video)

Two trucks went on fire after a traffic accident on the A14 motorway, at Borgo Panigale, in Bologna. One of the drivers died, while the other was injured. The accident,…

Read More Here

Rome’s council offering public transport credit to those who return plastic for recycling

Commuters in Rome can now earn five cents towards public transportation tickets for every plastic bottle they recycle at special machines around metro stations. The city of Rome has unveiled…

Read More Here

Spain’s BBVA is put under formal investigation on spying case

Spain's second biggest bank BBVA has been charged with corruption for alleged corporate spying involving a disgraced former police chief, a court said Monday. Spain's National Court, which handles major…

Read More Here

Pope Francis confirms Archbishop Scicluna Vatican College’s presidency role

Pope Francis has confirmed Archbishop Charles Scicluna as President of the College for the examination of appeal. Archbishop Scicluna will be serving in this role for his second term which…

Read More Here

Funeral for the Carabiniere killed in Rome

On Monday in the Santa Croce di Santa Maria del Corso church in Somma Vesuviana the funeral took place for Carabiniere Vice Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega who was killed in…

Read More Here

Greek Prime Minister in Cyprus for official visit

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday begins a two-day official visit to Cyprus, his first after assuming office following the elections on July 7. He will be accompanied by…

Read More Here

Tourists shot dead at French petrol station

A shooting at a petrol station in the southern French town of Ollioules on Sunday night killed three people - two men and one woman - and wounded one other.…

Read More Here

Last salute for murdered Carabiniere starts in Rome

The last salute for Carabiniere Mario Cerciello Rega started on Sunday, in a burial chamber set up in a chapel in Rome, as Italian police have opened an investigation after…

Read More Here

“Father, Why?” – Pope Francis appeals for decisive and speedy action to address migration

Pope Francis has once again called on the international community “to act with speed and decisiveness” to address the issue of migration. His appeal came during the Sunday Angelus, when…

Read More Here

Spain left wondering how a bid to form a government failed so badly

Carlos E. Cué from the Spanish newspaper El Pais analyses the current political crisis in Spain after negotiations to form a new Government crumbled. Negotiations in which in those…

Read More Here

Freak storm in Rome causes death of a woman

A woman lost her life during the night between Saturday and Sunday in Focene, in Fiumicino district of Rome, after her car was caught in a whirlwind so strong that…

Read More Here

Watch: Etna erupts again

Mount Etna has erupted again on Saturday. The phenomenon was preceded and accompanied by a gradual increase in the average amplitude of the volcanic tremor. An intense explosive phase has…

Read More Here

Carabiniere’s murder: “You are my superheroes. You will not be forgotten Mario” – Young girl’s tribute to slain policeman

"Dear Carabinieri, I would like to thank you for everything you do, you are my superheroes". A little girl sent this message in a letter, together with a bouquet of…

Read More Here