The Dispatch

EU Summit – Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte Comments

Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is reported to be satisfied by the deal. "It was a long negotiation but from today Italy is no longer alone." He listed the elements…

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EU Summit : French President Macron’s comments

French President Emmanuel Macron told EuroNews that the deal showed "European cooperation" had prevailed over national interests: "Europe will have to live with migratory pressures for a long time. We must…

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Defend the dignity of the poor – Pope Francis to new cardinals

AP: Pope Francis gave the Catholic Church 14 new cardinals Thursday, exhorting them to resist any temptation toward haughtiness and instead embrace “the greatest promotion” they could hope to obtain: tending…

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Proactiva Open Arms tweets that Italy and Malta are refusing to allow a migrant rescue ship in their territorial waters

Italy and Malta are refusing to allow a migrant rescue ship operated by the award-winning Spanish charity Proactiva Open Arms to enter their territorial waters, the NGO tweeted on Thursday.…

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Italian Prime Minister to Meet Trump on July 30

Politico: Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte will meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on July 30, the White House said in a statement. “Italy is an important NATO ally and…

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French government plan to bring back national service

BBC: The French government has introduced a plan to bring back national service for all 16-year-olds. It was an idea put forward by Emmanuel Macron in his presidential campaign, to…

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MV LifeLine : Media angles

This is how some media outlets reported the arrival of the MV LifeLine Maltese Media Times of Malta: The charity boat Lifeline docked at Malta on Wednesday evening, bringing to…

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MV Lifeline to enter Maltese harbours on Wednesday; 234 persons on board to be taken by 8 countries; MV Lifeline to be impounded and NGO investigated

The charity boat Lifeline docked at Malta on Wednesday evening, bringing to an end a saga which had more than 200 migrants stranded at sea for six days. Permission for…

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INSIGHT: Italy vs France – How oil interests and territorial control are fuelling the migration disputes and stand offs

Il Fatto Quotidiano reports that it is not all as it seems in the very tough clash between Italy and France, between Matteo Salvini and Emmanuel Macron on immigration; a real diplomatic…

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Israel asks Cyprus to consider port for Gaza

DW: Israel's defense minister has said the proposal aims to "change the reality in the Gaza Strip." For years, the coastal enclave has been under a naval blockade, preventing it from…

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Macron and Conte meet to defuse tension between the two over immigration

A report on Financial Times says that Giuseppe Conte and Emmanuel Macron held an unscheduled dinner this week to defuse tension over immigration — the issue convulsing European politics and which threatens…

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French butchers issue plea for police protection against vegans

The Telegraph / EuroNews French butchers have issued a plea for police protection against vegans, whom they blame for a series of attacks designed to “spread terror” among meat-lovers. The butchers…

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Salvini’s Lega continues to to increase its support amongst Italian voters

Financial Times: Matteo Salvini’s position at the heart of Italy’s new coalition government was bolstered after his candidates made big gains in municipal elections, including the capture of a trio of…

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After 4 days, the Italian Government authorises ‘Alexander Maersk’ to dock at Ragusa harbour

ANSA: The Italian Ministry of the Interior authorised the cargo ship Alexander Maersk to dock at the port of Ragusa. This was announced by the mayor Roberto Ammatuna, underlining that "this…

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Italy is ready to provide Libya with support to guarantee security in the Mediterranean – Salvini

Italy is ready to provide Libya with "technical and economic support to guarantee security in the Mediterranean together and to strengthen investigative cooperation and security cooperation". This was stated by Matteo Salvini,…

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Salvini visiting Libya

The Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini is on his way to Libya. Salvini announced this on his twitter account by posting a series of photos. The visit takes place against…

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Magnitude 5.4 Earthquake Hits Greece’s Peloponnese

Greek Reporter: An earthquake meassuring 5.4 on the Richter scale hit south-western Peloponnese at 08:15 local time. According to the Geodynamic Institute of Athens, it had a focal depth of…

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EU Migration Mini-Summit underway

Politico reports that Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said he would put forward a “completely new proposal” for managing Europe’s most divisive political issue. Conte said the proposal, the “European Multilevel Strategy…

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Insight: Salvini’s domination of Italian politics

Matteo Salvini’s responsibilities are technically limited to oversight of immigration, elections and domestic security. But the head of the League – or Lega Nord as it was known in Italy – has…

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Cargo ship Alexander Maersk with 110 rescued migrants on board waiting for instructions in front of Pozzallo

The cargo ship Alexander Maersk, which the Danish flag, and which is carrying more than 110 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean, has been waiting for instructions infront of the port…

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Mass rally held in Spain after a gang of men accused of gang rape were granted bail

A mass rally was held in Madrid on Friday after a gang of men labeled the "Wolf Pack" by media were granted bail after being accused of gang rape. Women's…

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Tsipras, Greek bailout and a promise! The Tie!

Now that Greece’s creditors have reached a landmark Eurozone Deal, the only remaining question was answered late Friday, Alexis Tsipras put on a tie. That’s what the famously tie-less…

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MV Lifeline Media reports update

History repeats itself as a second vessel is rejected from docking - just days after the Aquarius was stranded for a week. We try to present you a status update…

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Fresh controversy for Matteo Salvini as he claims that 10 mandatory vaccines are useless, in many cases dangerous, if not harmful

Corriere Della Sera Italian Minister of the Interior, Matteo Salvini, opens a new front. This time, interviewed by Radio Studio 54, he said that " 10 mandatory vaccines are useless, in many cases dangerous…

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Paris launches electric scooter hiring services to combat congestion in the city

Euronews: Parisians will from Friday be able to hire electric scooters to zip around the congested streets of the French capital. The dockless service, provided by the American company Lime, will…

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Malta should open its ports for Lifeline – Matteo Salvini

Times of Malta : Malta should open its ports to a sea rescue ship carrying 239 migrants, Italy's far-right deputy prime minister threatened on Friday morning. The Lifeline is now in…

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Italy’s government in fresh rows with France and Spain

A new day, a new controversy. Italy said it will seize two migrant rescue ships in the Mediterranean, amid a deepening row over migrants. Two German NGO ships carrying migrants…

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Eurozone Deal on Greece

Financial Times: Eurozone governments have brokered a long-awaited debt relief deal for Greece, pushing back repayment deadlines on almost €100bn of bailout loans as the country prepares to exit its…

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Breaking News – Draft for Sunday’s Migration Summit conclusion shelved after Conte informs Merkel that it was unacceptable for him to attend for Migration summit with a ‘pre-packaged’ text

The Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, through a Facebook post announced that he had a call from Chancellor Angela Merkel, where she expressed her concern about the possibility that he…

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New migrant issue in the Mediterranean Sea

ANSA: A new situation is developing in the Mediterranean Sea in relation to the roles of NGOs operating rescue missions in the region. A ship belonging to the German NGO Lifeline…

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Pope Francis meeting the world’s largest ecumenical community of Protestant and Orthodox churches

Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis will seek deeper relations between the Catholic Church and other Christian faiths on Thursday while meeting the world's largest ecumenical community of Protestant…

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Eurozone Ministers discussing Greece’s debt adjustment

AFP: Eurozone ministers will on Thursday try to resolve their differences over the terms of Greece's departure from its massive bailout programme with splits over the degree of debt relief needed…

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Italy’s Guardia di Finanza crack down on tax evasion

Ansa/TgCom/Rai Italy's financial crimes force has identified around a thousand tax evaders accused of dodging more than €2 million a piece in 18 months. Collectively the fraudsters deprived the state of…

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Italian coastguard ship Diciotti carrying 522 people arrive in Pozzallo on Tuesday night

Ansa/The Local An Italian coastguard ship carrying more than 500 migrants, including dozens rescued by the US Navy off Libya last week, arrived on Tuesday night at the Pozzallo Port…

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Pope Francis criticised Trump’s administration policy of separating migrant families – “Populism is not the solution”.

Pope Francis has criticised the Trump administration’s policy of separating migrant families at the Mexican border, saying populism is not the answer to the world’s immigration problems. In an exclusive…

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Prime Minister Conte calls out Salvini on Roma register

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Tuesday criticized Interior Minister Matteo Salvini's plans to create a Roma "register." "No one is planning to create files or conduct a census on…

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French President gives youth a lesson on how to behave with respect

France24 A floppy-haired French teenager asked, “Ca va, Manu?” (How’s it going, Manu?) to Macron as he greeted the crowds at an event to honour World War II Resistance fighters near Paris on Monday. Even before calling…

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In Italy, two Malian refugees shot with compressed-air pistols by three Italians who shouted “Salvini, Salvini”

Two non-EU citizens have been injured, albeit not seriously, in Caserta when three young Italian men shot them with a compressed-air pistol while shouting "Salvini, Salvini". According to the story reported…

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Salvini plans to register ‘ROMA’ people in Italy as he declares to close all ethnic group’s camps

Matteo Salvini plans to order "a survey of Roma in Italy to find out who, how, how many", he told a northern Italian TV station on Monday, saying the information…

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Protests in Macedonia

Euronews: Protestors threw flares, rocks and bottles at police outside the national parliament and chanted "Macedonia, Macedonia." Officers responded with tear gas and flash grenades. The demonstrations are a result…

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Matteo Salvini meets Cardinal Raymond Burke, the Pope’s fiercest critic in the Vatican

The Guardian: Matteo Salvini, the far-right Italian interior minister who once questioned Pope Francis’s legitimacy, has met Raymond Burke, the Argentinian pontiff’s fiercest critic in the Vatican, signalling an unprecedented…

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Insight – Macedonia and Greece (explainer)

EuroNews: It's a controversial and long-running dispute that has derailed attempts by FYR Macedonia to join the EU and NATO. But what's it all about and why does it incite…

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Greek and Macedonian deal sees FYR Macedonia renamed as North Macedonia

Greece and Macedonia have signed an agreement that aims to settle a decades-long dispute over Macedonia's name. Under the deal, Greece's neighbour will be known as North Macedonia. The name…

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Catania’s prosecutor accuses Malta ‘of systematically refusing the use of its ports for the migrant landings”

La Sicilia: The prosecutor of Catania Zuccaro "gave his blessing" to the setup of international hotspots and warned that if the "traffic dimensions" of desperate people are conditioned by the answers…

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Monica Bellucci back on the catwalk for Dolce & Gabbana, 26 years later

Monica Bellucci, at the age of 54, acted as an exceptional model for Dolce & Gabbana fashion show. Her entrance on stage left everyone speechless as the Bellucci, emerged on…

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Valencia to welcome Aquarius’ migrants on Sunday

BBC: Spain will welcome hundreds of migrants to Valencia on Sunday after they were rescued from the Mediterranean Sea and turned away by Italy and Malta. Three vessels will arrive carrying…

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Spain rescues 471 people from more than 50 boats

Euronews: While much of the world's attention is focused on the Aquarius, dozens of similar stories continue to play out across the Mediterranean. Often with tragic consequences. Spain's maritime rescue service…

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Italian Interior Minister Salvini rejects 2 more migrant boats

TgCom Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini on Saturday warned another migrant rescue mission off the Libyan coast that it would not be allowed to land its "human cargo" at an Italian…

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New Anti-Terrorist barricades around the iconic Eiffel Tower

Euronews: Paris is erecting bulletproof walls and metal fences around the Eiffel Tower in a move aimed at protecting the famous monument from terrorist attacks. Glass walls measuring 6.5 centimetres thick…

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Spain doesn’t rule out sending back Aquarius Rescue Vessel

The Local (Espana) Spain will treat the hundreds of migrants who are to arrive Sunday on board the Aquarius rescue vessel "totally normally", the government said Friday, meaning some could…

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Italian and Maltese Foreign Affairs Ministers meet following migration clash

The Malta Independent: The Italian and Maltese foreign ministers met following a clash over a migrant rescue boat that escalated into a European-wide showdown. The Italian foreign ministry said that Italy's…

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Valid Schengen-area passport required for bathers in Levsos, in an effort to bar migrants

Greek Reporter: A popular beach on the Greek island of Lesvos is refusing entry to bathers without a valid Schengen-area passport, in an apparent effort to bar migrants. Local site lesvosnews.net published photos…

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Greece’s neo-Nazi Golden Dawn Party banned after one of its MPs called for military coup

Euronews: Greece’s neo-Nazi Golden Dawn Party has been temporarily banned from parliamentary proceedings after one of its MPs called for the military to overthrow the government. The controversial comments came during…

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Ronaldo accepts two-year prison sentence

Euronews: Cristiano Ronaldo has accepted a two-year prison sentence and €18.8 million fine for tax evasion, reported El Mundo on Friday. The report came out just hours before rivals Spain and…

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Suspected people trafficker arrested in Cyprus

Ekathimerini.com : Cypriot police say they have arrested the 49-year-old driver of a boat that brought 61 Syrian migrants to the east Mediterranean island nation. Police spokesman Andreas Angelides said the…

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Italy and France declare it is possible to agree several issues

ANSA: French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that he agreed with Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte over issues including migrants and the euro after the leaders met for talks in Paris.…

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Greek Parliament debates motion of no confidence against government on Macedonia deal

Greek Reporter: The Greek parliament is debating a motion of no confidence against the government tabled by the main opposition New Democracy party as hundreds protested outside against the provisional deal…

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