The Dispatch

Pope in ‘good, stable’ condition, on antibiotic IV for lung inflammation – Vatican

VATICAN CITY, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Pope Francis, who is suffering from lung inflammation, is in "good and stable" condition, receiving antibiotic therapy intravenously, and will limit his activities for…

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Six teenagers in court over beheading of French teacher

PARIS, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Six teenagers go on trial behind closed doors on Monday, accused of involvement in the beheading of French history teacher Samuel Paty by a suspected…

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Greece PM laments lack of progress with UK on Parthenon Sculptures

LONDON, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Talks over a possible return of the British Museum's Parthenon Sculptures to Athens are not advancing quickly enough, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on…

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Italy urges Libya, Tunisia to establish control room for immigrants’ voluntary return

The Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi stressed the need to take measures to implement and strengthen voluntary returns of illegal immigrants to their countries of origin with the help of…

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Thousands worldwide protest violence against women

Thousands of people in cities across the world rallied on Saturday to condemn violence against women on the occassion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.…

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UPDATED: Pope says he has lung inflammation, aide reads message for him

By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Pope Francis, suffering from a "lung inflammation", appeared seated in the chapel of his residence instead of in St. Peter's Square…

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Portugal’s attorney general says she’s not responsible for PM Costa’s downfall

By Sergio Goncalves LISBON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Portugal's Attorney General Lucilia Gago rejected criticism from the ruling Socialist Party (PS) that she was responsible for Prime Minister Antonio Costa's…

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France’s Sarkozy denies wrongdoing in illegal campaign financing case

PARIS, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Former President Nicolas Sarkozy told a Paris appeals court on Friday he was innocent of any wrongdoing, as he tried to overturn a 2021 conviction…

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Venice to experiment with entry fee, visitor cap from April 2024

By Federico Maccioni MILAN, (Reuters) - Venice will start testing a daily admission fee and cap on visitor access to its famous canals from next April, in what the Italian…

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Italy’s parties unanimously back clampdown on violence against women

By Angelo Amante Italian lawmakers on Wednesday unanimously backed a raft of measures to clamp down on violence against women after the killing of a university student, and the arrest…

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Dispute erupts over whether Pope called Gaza situation a ‘genocide’

By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A messy dispute broke out over whether Pope Francis used the word "genocide" to describe events in Gaza, with Palestinians who met with…

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Italy’s privacy regulator looks into online data gathering to train AI

Italy's data protection authority has kicked-off a fact-finding investigation into the practice of gathering large amounts of personal data online for use in training artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, the regulator…

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Student’s murder highlights violence against women in Italy

By Alvise Armellini ROME, (Reuters) - The killing of a university student and the arrest of her ex-boyfriend have highlighted the issue of violence against women in Italy, with Prime…

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Spain PM Sanchez keeps Calvino, other senior ministers in cabinet

By Belén Carreño MADRID, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez retained Nadia Calvino as his economy minister on Monday, revealing a largely unchanged new cabinet he…

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Bolzano tops quality of life survey in Italy, Crotone, Messina, and Caltanissetta last

The northern province of Bolzano near the Austrian border topped the latest and 25th quality of life survey from newspaper ItaliaOggi and Ital Communications, in collaboration with Rome's La Sapienza…

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UPDATED: Shakira reaches deal with authorities to avoid 14.5m euro tax fraud trial

BARCELONA, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Colombian pop star Shakira on Monday reached a settlement with prosecutors to avoid a trial in Barcelona over charges she failed to pay 14.5 million…

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The Spanish amnesty law for Catalonia separatists, explained

Spain has undergone a period of great political uncertainty and upheaval since since general elections delivered an inconclusive result in July. In order to hold on to power and gain…

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Over 5.674 million people in absolute poverty in Italy – Caritas

Poverty has become deeply embedded in Italy, Catholic Charity said in its annual report on poverty and social exclusion here. "Almost thirty years since the report was first published, the…

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Retired Spanish generals call for coup to eject Socialist PM Sanchez

A group of retired military officers in Spain have called for an army coup against the prime minister after Pedro Sánchez secured a new term through a controversial amnesty for…

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Italy PM says deal with Albania on migrants could serve as blueprint

A deal reached this month by Italy with Albania to build centres for migrants coming ashore by sea could serve as a blueprint for other EU countries, Italian Prime Minister…

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Pope to meet relatives of hostages, Palestinians with family in Gaza

By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis will meet separately next week with relatives of hostages held by Hamas militants and with a group of Palestinians with family…

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France makes case for Paris to host new EU dirty money watchdog

PARIS, Nov 17 (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire made the case on Friday for Paris to host the European Union's Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the…

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Pope to meet relatives of Israeli hostages next week

VATICAN CITY, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Pope Francis will meet next week with relatives of Israeli hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza, a source said on Friday. The source…

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Italians face disruption as workers strike over government budget

ROME, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Italians faced disruption on Friday as transport workers and other public sector employees from two of the country's largest unions went on strike in protest…

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Italy’s cabinet backs crack down on women pickpockets

By Angelo Amante Italy's rightist government on Thursday backed a raft of measures to improve public security including potentially tougher penalties for women offenders who are pregnant or have very…

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Sanchez wins Spanish parliament’s backing for new term as PM

MADRID, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Spain's lower house of parliament on Thursday voted to make Pedro Sanchez prime minister for another term by a wafer-thin margin, ending a protracted deadlock…

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Italy arrests six in crackdown on fentanyl smuggling from China to U.S.

By Emilio Parodi Italian police have arrested six people in a crackdown on a network that allegedly played go-between for fentanyl trafficking from China to the United States, Guardia di…

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Italy working to cut cost of mega Sicily bridge project

Italy's government is seeking ways to cut the expected cost for taxpayers of a giant bridge designed to connect Sicily with the mainland, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said. The government…

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Italy’s Friday’s transport strike reduced to 4 hours

CGIL trade union general secretary Maurizio Landini said he and UIL general secretary Pierpaolo Bombardieri had decided to reduce a transport strike which is part of a 24-hour general strike…

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Vatican confirms ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican has confirmed a ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons, a centuries-old secretive society that the Catholic Church has long viewed with hostility and has an…

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Migrant children treated like adults as record influx overwhelms Canary Islands

Orphaned during a coup in his homeland Guinea, teenager Moussa Camara took to sea in a wooden boat with 240 other migrants, enduring an 11-day voyage, half of it without…

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Spain’s Sanchez to seek new term as PM in lower house on Nov. 16

Spain's acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will seek to clinch a new term in a parliamentary vote on Thursday, the lower house speaker Francina Armengol said on Monday. The vote will follow…

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Greece starts process to sell 20% stake in National Bank

Greece on Monday announced plans to sell a 20% stake in National Bank of Greece (NBG) after concluding the sale of a 9% stake in Alpha Bank to UniCredit as it looks…

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In very rare move, Pope dismisses conservative US bishop Strickland

By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY, (Reuters) - Pope Francis has dismissed Bishop Joseph E. Strickland of Tyler, Texas, one of his fiercest critics among U.S. Roman Catholic conservatives, a Vatican…

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Catalan separatist Puigdemont rocks Spanish politics, again

By Joan Faus BARCELONA (Reuters) - Six years after leading Catalonia's failed bid to secede from Spain, Carles Puigdemont rocked the Spanish political scene again on Thursday, but this time…

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Portuguese fear March snap election won’t solve political crisis

By Catarina Demony and Miguel Pereira LISBON, (Reuters) - Portugal goes to the polls in March following the abrupt resignation of the prime minister amid a corruption probe, but voters…

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Former Catalan politician shot in face in Madrid

MADRID, (Reuters) - The former head of Spain's centre-right People's Party in the Catalonia region was shot in the face in the Spanish capital Madrid on Thursday, police said. Alejo…

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Portugal president calls March snap election

By Sergio Goncalves, Catarina Demony and Andrei Khalip LISBON(Reuters) - Portugal will hold a snap parliamentary election on March 10, its second in as many years, President Marcelo Rebelo de…

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Pope Francis: Too many women are victim of violence and abuse

Violence against women is a "poisonous weed" that must be eradicated from society, Pope Francis said on Thursday. "Violence against women is a poisonous weed that afflicts our society and…

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Transgender people can be baptized Catholic, serve as godparents, Vatican says

By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY, (Reuters) - Transgender people can be godparents at Roman Catholic baptisms, witnesses at religious weddings and receive baptism themselves, the Vatican's doctrinal office said, responding…

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UPDATED: Spanish Socialists, Catalan Junts reach deal for govt support, amnesty

Spain's socialists, Catalan separatists Junts agree on deal for Socialists to form government Deal includes amnesty for Catalan independence activists and four-year support for Socialist-led government Centre-right PP Party calls…

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UPDATED: Macron: there must be a humanitarian pause very quickly in Gaza

PARIS, Nov 9 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that there must be a humanitarian pause very quickly in Gaza and that countries must also work for…

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France’s Sarkozy appeals conviction in illegal campaign financing case

PARIS, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Former president Nicolas Sarkozy appeared in court on Tuesday to appeal a 2021 conviction for illegal campaign financing over his failed 2012 re-election bid. Sarkozy,…

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Italy’s migrant deal with Albania faces rights hurdles and red tape

By Angelo Amante and Alvise Armellini Italy's government is hailing as "historic" a plan to send seaborne migrants to Albania, but experts and opposition politicians warn that it could face…

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Deals targeted in corruption probe that led Portugal PM to step down

By Sergio Goncalves Portugal's Prime Minister Antonio Costa stepped down on Tuesday after the prosecutor's office announced it was investigating alleged corruption in multi-billion dollar lithium, "green" hydrogen and data…

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Italy PM hails migrants deal with Albania as possible model for EU

Italy's plan to build reception centres in Albania for migrants arriving by sea could be a blueprint for deals between the European Union and non-member countries, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia…

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Updated: Portugal’s PM Costa resigns over corruption investigation

Updated 1533 LISBON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Portugal's Prime Minister Antonio Costa resigned on Tuesday amid an investigation into alleged irregularities committed by his majority Socialist administration in handling lithium…

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Pope talks and jokes with children at rally after brief health scare

Pope Francis talked and joked with crowds of children and appeared to be in good health on Monday afternoon, after a brief scare earlier in the day when he said…

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Migrants reaching Spain’s Canary Islands near 32,000 this year

MADRID (Reuters) - Nearly 32,000 migrants have reached Spain's Canary Islands on fragile boats from west Africa this year, passing a previous record posted in 2006, regional authorities said. So…

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UPDATED: Pope skips reading speech because of a cold but continues schedule

By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Monday skipped reading a prepared speech for a meeting with European rabbis, telling them he was not feeling…

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Pope says two-state solution needed for Israel-Palestine

By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Wednesday a two-state solution was needed for Israel and Palestine in order to put an end to…

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Weather damage in Tuscany in Italy estimated to rises to half a billion euro

Tuscany Governor Eugenio Giani revised upward to half a billion euro the estimate of damage caused by extreme bad weather and flooding in the region last Thursday. "The initial quantification…

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Solar flares bathe swathes of Europe in scarlet aurora borealis

Large parts of Europe witnessed a rare spectacular phenomena of the Northern Lights or as they are also known the aurora borealis, which is more synonymous with northern Europe. The…

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Italy’s government wants to cut restaurant bills for large families

By Giuseppe Fonte and Angelo Amante ROME, (Reuters) - The Italian government plans talks with restaurant owners to control prices and help large families to eat out, a government document…

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Italy’s Meloni vows ban on technocrat government in proposed reform

By Angelo Amante and Giuseppe Fonte ROME, (Reuters) - Italy's cabinet proposed a ban on technocrat-led governments as part of a constitutional reform to directly elect the head of government,…

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Six killed as ‘unprecedented’ downpours swamp Italy’s Tuscany

By Yara Nardi CAMPI BISENZIO, Italy, (Reuters) - Six people died and two were missing after rivers burst their banks following torrential overnight rain in the central Italian region of…

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Italy weighs ban on technocrat-led government in proposed constitution reform

Italy's cabinet was set to propose on Friday a ban on technocrat-led governments, a draft law bill seen by Reuters showed, as part of a constitutional reform to introduce the direct…

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