The Dispatch

Greek wildfires die down after burning for nearly two weeks

ATHENS, July 28 (Reuters) - Wildfires in Greece abated on Friday after burning for nearly two weeks but emergency services worked to prevent new flare-ups in the central part of…

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Italy eyes 19 billion euros in energy investments as it reviews post-COVID plan

By Giuseppe Fonte Italy in talks with EU to overhaul post-COVID plan Some 2.3 bln euros would go to power and gas grids Italy reiterates commitment not to lose any…

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‘Record heat’, wildfires in Italy’s southern regions

Italy's southern regions have seen record heat in terms of both intensity and duration, Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci said in an urgent briefing to the Lower House on Thursday.Temperatures…

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Greece PM says climate change ‘not an excuse’ as wildfires burn

By Alexandros Avramidis and Stamos Prousalis Death toll from wildfires rises to five Greek PM says more steps needed to fight climate change Rekindles in central Greece force more evacuations…

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China tops agenda as Biden welcomes Italy’s Meloni to Washington

U.S. President Joe Biden hosts Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House on Thursday, with the Ukraine war and Italy's relations with China expected to be among the…

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Most unaccompanied children failed to win asylum in Greece, NGO says

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Fewer than a third of unaccompanied children succeeded in winning asylum in Greece last year, with the rest of the applications rejected or in limbo, aid agency…

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Three dead as Sicily counts losses from ‘devastating’ fires

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's southern island of Sicily has been devastated by wildfires that have killed three elderly people, its regional president said, as a heatwave and severe storms further…

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Italian e-scooter road accidents up 40% last year – stats office

ROME, (Reuters) - Road accidents in Italy involving e-scooters increased by almost 40% last year, statistics bureau ISTAT said, weeks after the government announced a crackdown on their use on…

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Vatican prosecutor seeks seven-year sentence for cardinal

By Alvise Armellini and Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY, July 26 (Reuters) - The prosecutor at a Vatican corruption trial linked to a botched London real estate deal asked a court…

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Greece sees some wildfire respite, though stubborn blazes rage on

ATHENS, July 26 (Reuters) - Wildfires raging across Greece for more than a week abated on Wednesday, though firefighters still battled on several fronts to contain blazes that have killed…

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Catania airport to resume normal service next week

Catania airport will resume normal service next week -after a recent closure due to a fire, Sicily Governor Renato Schifani announced. He said that from Wednesday the operation of Catania…

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UPDATED: Five dead as Sicily counts losses from ‘devastating’ fires

By Alvise Armellini ROME, July 26 (Reuters) - Italy's southern island of Sicily has been devastated by wildfires that have killed at least five persons. The charred bodies of a…

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Mediterranean Sea reaches highest temperature ever

The Mediterranean Sea reached its highest temperature on record Monday during an exceptional heatwave, Spanish researchers said. "We attained a new record... in the daily median sea surface temperature of…

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Pope tells transgender person: ‘God loves us as we are’

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis has told a young transgender person that "God loves us as we are", his latest outreach gesture towards the LGBT community. His comments, released…

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Don’t go out warns Palermo amid heat and fires; Two charred bodies found in Sicilian capital

The Palermo provincial health authority (ASP) advised locals not to go out amid sweltering heat and wildfires in and around the Sicilian capital. The ASP said it recommends avoiding prolonged…

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Italy readies special furlough scheme to save workers from heatwave

ROME, (Reuters) - Italy is preparing special measures to help construction and agricultural firms keep staff at home during an intense summer heatwave, government officials and trade unionists said. Giorgia…

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Wildfires bring death and destruction to sun-scorched Mediterranean

Wildfires hit Portugal, Spain, Greece, Algeria, Croatia, Italy Firefighting plane crashes in Greece Tunisia suffers heatwave, power cuts hit Malta Mediterranean region 'climate change hot-spot' By Fedja Grulovic and Lamine…

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WATCH: Plane fighting wildfires in Greece crashes with two aboard

A plane fighting wildfires in Greece crashed on Tuesday and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned of tough days ahead with blazes destroying homes and forcing the evacuation of thousands…

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Storms kill two in northern Italy, Palermo airport reopens after fire

Palermo's airport reopened on Tuesday after wildfires in Sicily forced its closure for a few hours as extreme weather continued to batter Italy, with severe storms causing damage and at…

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Italy PM Meloni says right made strong gains in Spain

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday the poor showing by her Spanish far-right ally Vox was expected in Sunday's general elections, but noted that conservatives overall made strong…

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Catalan separatist party sees election results as an opportunity to achieve independence

Catalan separatist party Junts will seek to use the "window of opportunity" created by Spain's national election to achieve Catalan independence, its General Secretary Jordi Turull said on Monday. A…

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Spanish banks, utilities clobbered as election rattles investors

Spanish blue-chip shares dropped Monday after a snap general election at the weekend yielded no clear winner, with investors punishing banks and utilities in particular. Spain faced political gridlock on…

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Tourists flee wildfires on Greek island of Rhodes

Thousands of tourists and residents fleeing wildfires on the Greek island of Rhodes took refuge in schools and shelters on Sunday, with many evacuated on private boats as flames threatened…

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Spain’s election yields no clear winner, coalition negotiations loom

No clear winner emerged in a nailbiting finish to Spain's election on Sunday as the right failed to fulfill predictions of a victory big enough to push Prime Minister Pedro…

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Italy PM Meloni builds alliance to tackle illegal migration

Nations from the Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa agreed steps on Sunday to try to slow unauthorised migration and to tackle some of the pressures driving people to leave their…

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Spain heads to close-run polls marked by spectre of far-right

MADRID, July 23 (Reuters) - Spain heads to the polls on Sunday in a potentially close-run general election marked by ideological differences, the spectre of the far-right and irritation at…

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The Mediterranean Sea is getting hotter and saltier

The Mediterranean Sea is warming faster and becoming more salty, according to a study by a team of Spanish scientists. A study by the Spanish research institute ICM-CSIC, published in…

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Italian region of Calabria hit by wild fires, heat to intensify

ROME, July 23 (Reuters) - Firefighters battled blazes in the southern Italian region of Calabria on Sunday and forecasters warned that temperatures were set to soar again in parts of…

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Pope calls on world leaders to do more to tackle climate change

ROME, July 23 (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Sunday that recent heat waves across many parts of the world and flooding in countries such as South Korea showed that…

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Seville plans electromagnetic bus stops to help waiting passengers suffering in heatwaves

Seville in Spain is to introduce new bus stops that can lower the temperature around them by up to 20 degrees to help waiting passengers suffering in heatwaves. Temperatures in…

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Italy’s holds migration conference to stem flows by helping Africa

ROME, July 21 (Reuters) - Mediterranean and Middle East countries will meet in Rome on Sunday to boost efforts to stem illegal migration flows, with Italy saying the aim is…

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UPDATED: Jet2, TUI cancel flights to Rhodes because of wildfire

Jet2 cancelled all flights and holidays to Rhodes on Sunday and holiday group TUI has cancelled all outbound flights to the Greek island up to and including on Tuesday because…

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Wildfire on Greek island of Rhodes forces hundreds to evacuate

ATHENS, July 22 (Reuters) - A wildfire raged uncontrolled on the Greek island of Rhodes on Saturday, forcing hundreds of people to flee affected villages and beaches, authorities said. Coastguard vessels…

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Former Spanish king seeks to throw out ex-lover’s UK harassment case

By Sam Tobin LONDON (Reuters) - Former Spanish king Juan Carlos this week asked a London court to throw out a 126 million pound ($165 million) lawsuit brought by his…

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Spain general election 2023: what you need to know

MADRID (Reuters) - Spaniards will interrupt their summer holidays to vote for a new parliament on July 23, after an election campaign in which no one party has established a…

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Lampedusa remains under strain as over 2,500 migrant arrivals are registered on Saturday

(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 22 - Reception capacity on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa remained under strain on Saturday morning following the arrival of 266 migrants and refugees since midnight. …

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Cyprus excludes new asylum seekers from resettlement scheme

NICOSIA (Reuters) - New asylum seekers to Cyprus will be excluded from a re-settlement scheme to another EU member state to stop any abuse of the system, authorities said. Strategically…

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Wildfires in Greece burn for fifth day as another heatwave hits

By Fedja Grulovic ATHENS, July 21 (Reuters) - Greece struggled to contain a wildfire west of Athens that burnt forestland for a fifth day on Friday as another heatwave hit…

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Italian police net record 5-tonne cocaine haul off Sicilian coast

ROME, July 21 (Reuters) - Italian authorities have seized a record 5.3 tonne cocaine haul being transferred between ships off the southern coast of Sicily, police said on Friday. …

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Macron reshuffles ministers after French riots “stunned” country

PARIS, July 20 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday reshuffled his ministers for key domestic portfolios such as education, housing and urban affairs, as his government begins its response to…

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Spain activates all its gas plants to cope with heatwave

MADRID, July 20 (Reuters) - Spain had to resort to all available gas plants to cope with growing electricity demand triggered by the scorching temperatures in recent days, industry association…

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Wildfires slowly abate in Greece but temperatures rise

ATHENS, July 20 (Reuters) - Wildfires across Greece slowly abated on Thursday after razing swathes of forest and dozens of homes in the past days, but temperatures rose, threatening new…

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Nearly all major Italian cities on red heat alert

The number of major Italian cities on red alert due to the country's third heatwave of the summer climbed from 20 to 23 on Wednesday. They are Ancona, Bari, Bologna,…

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Italy pays tribute to anti-mafia judge Paolo Borsellino

President Sergio Mattarella and Premier Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday led the tributes on the 31st anniversary of the Via d'Amelio Cosa Nostra bombing in which anti-mafia magistrate Paolo Borsellino and…

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Staff at Athens tourist sites protest against heatwave working conditions

Staff at the Acropolis, Greece’s top tourist attraction, and other ancient sites in the country will stop work for four hours a day from Thursday in protest at working conditions…

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Italy’s antitrust investigates inflated prices for Colosseum tickets

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's antitrust authorities are going into combat over Rome's Colosseum, opening an investigation into ticketing operations that have seen tourists paying inflated prices to visit the ancient…

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Italian fishing boat returns to port after Libyan coast guard attack

ROME, (Reuters) - An Italian fishing boat was attacked in international waters by machine gun fire from the Libyan coastguard, the head of an Italian ship-owners group said on Tuesday,…

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Wildfires northwest of Athens rage into the night, burn homes

Wildfires rage uncontrolled for second day north of Athens Strong winds rekindle flames in Corinth area PM cuts short trip to Brussels, returns home Greece requests help from EU countries…

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Hotter temperatures driving tourists away from Mediterranean – report

Soaring summer temperatures across southern Europe could prompt a lasting shift in tourist habits, with more travellers choosing cooler destinations or taking their holidays in spring or autumn to dodge…

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Wildfire rages southeast of Greek capital, villagers told to evacuate

Villagers were ordered to leave their homes southeast of Athens as a wildfire fanned by strong winds burned vegetation nearby, authorities said. The blaze was raging close to buildings in…

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Spain election: Bike lanes, low-emission zones in crosshairs in rightist-run cities

By Belén Carreño and Pietro Lombardi Sustainable policies at risk with possible government change EU recovery funds in question with change of projects MADRID/VALLADOLID, July 17 (Reuters) - Aiming to…

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Papal envoy to visit Washington to talk Ukraine peace

By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY, July 17 (Reuters) - Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, tasked by Pope Francis to help bring peace to Ukraine, was heading to Washington on Monday to…

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UPDATED: ‘Heat storm’ stretches into southern Europe, health alerts issued

ROME (Reuters) - Italy issued hot weather red alerts for 16 cities on Sunday, with meteorologists warning that temperatures will hit record highs across southern Europe in the coming days.…

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UPDATED: Flights suspended after fire at Catania airport

A fire broke out on Sunday evening at the Vincenzo Bellini international airport in Catania, in Sicily, Italy, leading to a suspension of flights. This has resulted in the cancellation…

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Air traffic strikes in Italy leave nearly 1,000 flights grounded

Rome, Jul. 16, (dpa/ANSA) - Italy’s nationwide air traffic strike on Saturday resulted in nearly 1,000 flight cancellations, the news agency ANSA reported on Sunday. According to the unions, which had called for the…

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Heatwave hits Europe

Sweltering temperatures are sizzling across Europe with some regions facing temperatures expected to climb well above 40 degrees Celsius, the European Space Agency said. The European Space Agency (ESA), whose…

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Italy’s Meloni faces reality check as migrant flows rise relentlessly

Migrant numbers double since Meloni becomes prime minister Restrictive measures to halt flows largely fail Deals with Tunisia, Libya cannot prevent boat departures Italian businesses clamour for migrant workers By…

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