The Dispatch

UPDATED: Von der Leyen presents 10-point plan to address the migrant emergency Lampedusa

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday presented a 10-point action plan to address the migrant emergency during her visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa with Premier…

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Italian Frecce Tricolore jet crashes during exercise, killing 5-year-old girl

TURIN, (Reuters) - An Italian military jet crashed during an exercise in Turin, hitting a car in which an entire family was travelling and killing a five-year-old girl, Defence Minister…

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Pope’s visit to France stirs debate over immigration, secularism

PARIS, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Pope Francis' scheduled visit to France next week has stirred debate in the French political class, with left-wing politicians criticising the president for attending Mass…

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Italy’s Lampedusa overwhelmed after thousands of migrant arrivals

By Yara Nardi Island sees 7,000 migrants arrive in 48 hours Lampedusa has population of just over 6,000 Arrivals to Spain's Canary Islands more than treble LAMPEDUSA, Italy (Reuters) -…

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Italy’s PM says migration won’t solve Europe’s demographic crisis

Some legal migration can benefit European economies, but migration is not the solution to the continent's demographic crisis, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday as she met right-wing…

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Italy poised to shake up Treasury with new unit for state-run firms

Influential Treasury department to be split up Italian audit court approves plan Former banker Sala approached to lead new unit By Giuseppe Fonte ROME, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Italy is…

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Red fire ant colonies found in Italy, fear they could spread across Europe

An invasive non-native ant species has become established in Italy and could rapidly spread through Europe to the UK with global heating, a study warns. The red fire ant, Solenopsis…

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Greek prosecutor orders investigation into deadly floods

ATHENS, (Reuters) - A prosecutor for Greece's top criminal court has ordered a probe into the causes and handling of floods triggered by a storm that killed at least 15…

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Migrants protest at Lampedusa port, Meloni says priority to stop arrivals to Italy

There were moments of tension at Lampedusa port on Wednesday afternoon as hundreds of migrants and refugees who had recently disembarked on the island demanded to be allowed to leave…

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French Interior Minister Darmanin says irregular migration on the rise

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced police reinforcements along the France-Italy border in order to stem irregular migration, which he said is on the rise. "We have a 100% increase…

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Italy’s Lampedusa island hit with record migrant arrivals

LAMPEDUSA (Reuters) - The Italian island of Lampedusa is struggling with a record number of landings from boat migrants, local officials said, describing the situation as "dramatic." Lampedusa, Italy's southernmost…

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Ryanair’s O’Leary says Italian price decree “illegal and unenforceable”

Ryanair group CEO Michael O'Leary said an Italian government decree to cap the price of flights to Sicily and Sardinia was "illegal and unenforceable" and confirmed the budget airline had…

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EU cuts Italy GDP outlook, crimping room for Meloni’s budget promises

The European Commission on Monday cut its forecasts for the Italian economy this year and next, following a slew of weak data which limits Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's scope to…

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Three more bodies found after Greece storm, raising toll to 14

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek rescue teams recovered the bodies of three more people in central Greece on Sunday, raising the death toll to 14 from the country's most intense rain…

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Four killed in Spain train accident

MADRID (Reuters) -At least four people were killed on Sunday when they were hit by a locomotive near Barcelona while trying to cross railway tracks, emergency services said. The accident…

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Meloni pushes EU to give thumbs up to Lufthansa-ITA airline deal

ROME, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is putting pressure on the European Commission to back an agreement where German airline Lufthansa would take over a minority stake in the Italian…

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Greek rescue teams move into worst-hit flood villages

ATHENS, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Rescue teams took people out of floodwaters in inflatable boats and in bulldozers on Saturday as they moved into villages hit hardest by a sweeping…

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Fresh upsurge in Italy of COVID cases, up 44% in a week

There has been a fresh and largely unexpected upsurge in COVID-19 cases in Italy which have risen by 44% in the last week, the weekly bulletin from the health ministry…

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Pope playfully spars with ‘Rocky’ actor Stallone at Vatican

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis playfully pretended to box with Sylvester Stallone during a meeting with the "Rocky" star at the Vatican on Friday. Introduced to Stallone and his…

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Boats, helicopters rescue hundreds after storm in Greece

By Stamos Prousalis and Lefteris Papadimas 10 dead, hundreds feared still stranded in Greece Affected central region is Greece's breadbasket Resident laments lifetime of work lost in two hours LARISSA,…

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As deadly Greek rainstorm ebbs, trail of devastation emerges

Seven dead, hundreds still stranded in Greece Affected central region is Greece's key breadbasket 'Unprecedented...A plain became a sea,' says resident By Angeliki Koutantou and Stamos Prousalis LARISSA, Greece, Sept…

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Italy, France agree to postpone closure of Mont Blanc tunnel by a year

MILAN, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Key maintenance works on the Mont Blanc tunnel between Italy and France have been postponed until September next year, Italy's transport ministry said, after the…

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Nationwide airport ground staff strike in Italy causes flight disruptions

Sixty flights have been cancelled at Milan Malpensa airport and 20 at Linate in the same city as a result of the nationwide strike of ground staff workers, according to…

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Italy delays regional plan to limit diesel cars after protests

ROME, (Reuters) - Italy's government postponed a plan by one of the country's most polluted regions to ban old diesel vehicles from towns and cities during working hours, an initiative…

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Italy government targets violent teens and parents in “Baby gang” crackdown

By Giuseppe Fonte and Alvise Armellini ROME (Reuters) - Parents of Italian children who drop out of school could face jail sentences under new steps to counter juvenile delinquency in…

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Greece continues to bear the brunt of Storm Daniel

By Angeliki Koutantou and Louisa Gouliamaki ATHENS, (Reuters) - At least six people have died and more than six were still missing after storm Daniel swept across central Greece, triggering…

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Portugal to extend zero VAT rate on basic food until end 2023

LISBON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The Portuguese government on Thursday will extend the zero rate of value-added tax (VAT) on basic food staples by two months to the end of…

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Photo Story: Italian interforce anti-Mafia operation in Rome and Naples

Special police units, financial police and carabinieri, take part in the joint operation with 'High Impact' mode, in the Spanish quarters of Naples, Italy, 07 September 2023. In total, 800…

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Ukrainian Catholic bishops rebuke Pope over his Russia comments

By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Ukraine's Eastern Rite Catholic bishops bluntly told Pope Francis at a meeting on Wednesday that some of his comments about Russia had caused…

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Italian government to meet supermarkets, small retailers to address high prices

By Giuseppe Fonte ROME, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Italy's government will meet with supermarkets and small retailers' associations on Wednesday to address stubborn inflation in the prices of consumer staples,…

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Two dead, three missing as rainstorm pounds Greece for second day

ATHENS, Sept 6 (Reuters) - At least two people died and three were missing on Wednesday after torrential rain flooded homes and businesses and destroyed infrastructure in central Greece, the…

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Italian ex-PM appeals to France must come clean on 1980 Ustica mystery plane crash

ROME, (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron must say whether his country was to blame for an Italian air disaster that killed 81 people more than 40 years ago, former…

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Severe storms cause flooding in Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, killing 7

Fierce rainstorms have battered neighbouring Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, triggering flooding that caused at least seven deaths, including those of two holidaymakers swept away by a torrent at a campsite…

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Venice to start charging visitors €5 entry fee next year

VENICE, Italy, (Reuters) - Venice plans to experiment with an admission fee of 5 euros($5.35) for day trippers next year to try to manage the flow of tourists drawn to…

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Rain in Spain leaves two dead, two missing, people stuck on roofs

MADRID, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Two people died and two were missing as torrential rains caused heavy flooding in central Spain on Sunday and early on Monday, shutting roads, subway…

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Racism-fuelled violence spreads in Cyprus

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Police in Cyprus have made 20 arrests after a spate of racism-fuelled violence against migrants which erupted in the west of the island last week and spread…

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UPDATED: Torrential rain sweeps across Spain

MADRID, Sept 4 (Reuters) - A few subway lines in Madrid and high-speed train connections with southern cities were closed on Monday morning and two men were missing after torrential…

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France to ban disposable e-cigarettes

PARIS, Sept 3 (Reuters) - France plans to ban disposable electronic cigarettes, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on radio station RTL on Sunday. “It’s an important public health issue,”…

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Paris fumigated to stop spread of disease-ridden tiger mosquitoes

Health authorities have fumigated Paris for the first time amid concerns that disease-ridden tiger mosquitoes could spread dengue in the French capital. Stay-at-home alerts were issued and roads closed during…

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Ex Italian PM Amato says Ustica tragedy was French attempt to assassinate Gaddafi

Ex-premier Giuliano Amato has said that a French missile was behind the mysterious 1980 Ustica plane crash that left 81 people dead. Amato said the Dc9 Bologna-Palermo flight operated by…

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Closure of Mont Blanc tunnel between Italy and France postponed

ROME, (Reuters) - A planned closure for maintenance of the Mont Blanc tunnel between Italy and France will be postponed after an alternative Alpine route was disrupted by a landslide…

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Paris becomes the first European capital to ban self-service electric scooters

Paris has become the first European capital to ban self-service electric scooters This follows a referendum in April in which Parisians voted to ban the battery-powered-scooters, confirming that many regarded…

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France says some food retailers, producers agree to cut prices

PARIS, Aug 31 (Reuters) - France's finance minister said on Thursday he had reached a deal with food retailers and producers to step up the fight against inflation, but he…

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Italy fears military solution to Niger crisis could foment migration

TOLEDO, Spain, Aug 31 (Reuters) - A military solution to the coup in Niger would be a "disaster" that could trigger a new migration crisis, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani…

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Photo Story: Full Blue Moon in Spain

A full Blue Moon rises over El Pilar Basilica in Zaragoza, Spain, on Wednesday night. The super full moon is named this way because it is at its closest to…

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Death threats to Italian PM Meloni

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has received death threats ahead of her visit Thursday to a crime-ridden town near Naples that has hit the headlines again for an alleged gang rape,…

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Photo Story: Train hits seven workers, kills five, on tracks in Brandizzo, Italy

Firefighters and carabinieri arrive at the site where a regional train hit seven workers who were working on the tracks near the Brandizzo station, in Brandizzo, Turin, Italy, 31 August…

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Spain’s acting PM rejects conservative leader’s request to back 2-year government

MADRID, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Spain's acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has rejected a proposal made by conservatives' leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo to support his People's Party for a two-year…

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Pope decries ‘terrible world war’ on environment, announces new writing

By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Pope Francis, announcing that he will issue a new document on the protection of nature, said on Wednesday he was doing…

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Greece wildfire destroys area bigger than New York City

By Stamos Prousalis and Karolina Tagaris EVROS, Greece/ATHENS (Reuters) - A wildfire burning in northeastern Greece for 11 days has destroyed an area larger than New York City, the European…

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Italy’s northern routes disrupted by Alpine tunnel closures

ReutersROME, (Reuters) - Italy is facing serious disruption to transport links with its northern neighbours due to the planned shutdown of the Mont Blanc tunnel for maintenance and the closure…

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Italy in the grip of bad weather

Extreme bad weather is lashing Italy again and is not confined to the north as it was on Monday, but wreaking havoc across the whole of the country in a…

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Italy set to take over Telecom Italia’s submarine cable unit -draft

Italy's Treasury can take full ownership of Telecom Italia's (TIM) submarine cable unit Sparkle as part of an agreement with U.S. fund KKR to jointly bid for the group's landline…

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French ban of abaya robes in schools draws applause, criticism

The French government's decision to ban children from wearing the abaya, the loose-fitting, full-length robes worn by some Muslim women, in state-run schools drew applause on Monday from the right,…

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Spanish labour minister denounces ‘systemic chauvinism’ after football chief kiss

Spain's Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz said on Monday male chauvinism was "systemic" in the country and had been shown in its worst form when national soccer chief Luis Rubiales grabbed…

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Italy struggles with spike in migrant arrivals

Italy was struggling to accommodate arrivals from North Africa and the Balkans as the country's Red Cross called for more international efforts against migration "chaos". On Lampedusa island, Italy's southernmost…

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Greece battles Europe’s deadliest fire of the summer for 10th day

Hundreds of Greek firefighters were battling a huge blaze on Monday which has killed at least 20 people over the past ten days, Europe's deadliest wildfire so far this summer…

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