The Dispatch

Pope allows women to vote at bishops meeting for first time

By Philip Pullella (Reuters) - Pope Francis, in a historic move that could lead to more inclusiveness in decision-making in the Roman Catholic Church, will allow women to vote for…

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Photo Story: Artwork representing Spain’s Emeritus King Juan Carlos in central Madrid

View of an art installation by Chilean artist Nicolas Miranda representing Spain's Emeritus King Juan Carlos taking aim at the iconic 'Oso y el Madrono' statue in central Madrid, Spain.…

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Spain braced for record-breaking April temperatures

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain is bracing for temperatures as high as 40C that are forecast to shatter records for April, as officials laid out plans to open public swimming pools…

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Italy’s Berlusconi health improving after three weeks in hospital

MILAN, April 26 (Reuters) - Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's health has improved, his doctors said on Wednesday, three weeks after he was admitted to hospital for a lung…

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Italy aims to play leading role in Ukrainian reconstruction

By Angelo Amante and Giuseppe Fonte ROME, April 26 (Reuters) - Italy on Wednesday said it aimed to play a major role in the reconstruction of Ukraine and urged European…

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Big police operation in Catania against migrant smuggling

Police in Catania on Wednesday executed arrest orders against 25 people suspected of being part of a foreign network that smuggled migrants arriving in Italy from sub-Saharan Africa to other…

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UPDATED: Italy rescues more migrants in Mediterranean

Two fishing boats respectively carrying 115 and 125 migrants and refugees arrived in Lampedusa on Wednesday, taking to 821 the number of people arriving on the tiny island in 15…

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Italy’s Meloni distances herself from fascism on Liberation Day celebrations

Italy's ruling coalition has no "nostalgia for fascism", Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday, looking to push back against critics who have accused her Brothers of Italy party of…

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Ukraine, migration, to top agenda as Pope Francis visits Hungary

Pope Francis leaves on Friday on a three-day trip to Hungary, where the war in Ukraine, migration and Europe's Christian roots are expected to top the agenda in his public addresses…

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Italy touts money for reforms as EU discusses upheaval in Tunisia

Italy offered Tunisia a prospect of money in exchange for economic and political reforms as European Union foreign ministers discussed on Monday how to respond to growing instability in a…

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Italy touts money for reforms as EU discusses upheaval in Tunisia

By Gabriela Baczynska and John Irish BRUSSELS/PARIS, April 24 (Reuters) - Italy offered Tunisia a prospect of money in exchange for economic and political reforms as European Union foreign ministers…

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Lake Garda at lowest level in 70 years

Lake Garda in northern Italy has reached its lowest level since 1953, satellite data released on Monday has shown. The lake, the largest in Italy and which borders with the…

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Italy plans looser rules on short-term jobs, tax cuts on wages

Around 3.4 bln euros will go to lift wages of employees Italy PM to unveil package on May 1, International Workers' Day Opposition parties say government undermining job security By…

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20 persons said to be missing after migrant boat sinks in the Mediterranean

Around 20 people were said to be missing on Monday after a migrant boat shipwreck that left one person confirmed dead, according to survivors. Fishermen rescued the group of 34…

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Pope Francis plans to visit his native Argentina in 2024

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Pope Francis, who has not visited his home country Argentina since he left for the Vatican a decade ago, said he planned to visit in 2024,…

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‘Esterno Notte’: Marco Bellochio’s series grapples with ghost of assassinated Italian prime minister Aldo Moro

Central Rome, 9 May 1978. A crowd of curious passersby spills out by an open car boot. There lies the bullet-riddled body of Aldo Moro, Italy’s Prime Minister, parked mid-way…

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Sale of Italy’s MPS should help create several big banks, says Meloni

MILAN, April 22 (Reuters) - The privatisation of Italian lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena should foster the creation of several large banking groups in the country, Prime Minister Giorgia…

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Greek president approves PM request for May 21 election

ATHENS, April 22 (Reuters) - Greece's president approved a request by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Saturday to dissolve parliament and hold elections on May 21, as the country gears…

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Angry at Brazil’s Lula, Ukrainians protest in Lisbon as official visit starts

By Catarina Demony and Miguel Pereira LISBON (Reuters) - Waving flags and holding photographs depicting conflict atrocities, Ukrainians gathered outside the Brazilian embassy in Lisbon on Friday to protest recent…

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Italy may ratify EU bailout fund reform “if turned into growth instrument” – Meloni

ROME (Reuters) - Italy is ready to consider ratifying the reform of the euro zone's bailout fund (ESM) for countries and banks cut off from markets "if it is transformed…

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Spanish PM’s party dips in new poll, new leftist bloc gains traction

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's ruling Socialists lost some of their advantage over the conservative People's Party in terms of voting intentions in a national election due later this year, while…

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France to uphold electricity price caps until early 2025, finance minister says

PARIS, April 21 (Reuters) - France's cap on electricity price hikes will stay in place beyond 2023 and likely be phased out over a two-year period, Finance Minister Bruno Le…

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Italy narrows asylum rights in new clampdown on immigration

By Crispian Balmer ROME (Reuters) - Italy's nationalist government approved a bill in the upper house of parliament on Thursday that aims to reduce the number of migrants who can…

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EU’s top court rules Italy can’t allow beach concessions to keep control of the sandy shore

Italy can't allow beach clubs to keep control of the sandy shore until 2033, the European Union's top court ruled on Thursday. While Italy's seafront is public property, large parts…

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Huge rail disruption in Italy after goods-train coach derails

Italy's rail network faced huge disruption on Thursday after the coach of a goods train derailed near a Florence station. This led to the suspension of rail traffic between Florence…

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Vatican probe on Orlandi case to continue – Vatican Secretary of State Parolin

Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin told ANSA that the Vatican probe into the case of Emanuela Orlandi, a 15-year-old Vatican City resident who disappeared in 1983, will go ahead…

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Spain to finance 43,000 more social houses

MADRID, April 19 (Reuters) - The Spanish government will finance the building and revamping of 43,000 more homes for affordable rent, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday. The planned…

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EU ready to cover half of Messina Bridge study cost

The EU is ready to cover half of the cost of studies into the Messina Bridge project, Italy's transport ministry (MIT) said Wednesday. Brussels is ready to cover 50 per…

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France’s Macron promises government action plan in next 100 days

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday gave himself 100 days to heal the country after weeks of protests and anger at his unpopular plans to raise the retirement age, asking his government…

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Bear that killed Italian runner captured, death order on hold

ROME, April 18 (Reuters) - The female bear that killed a 26-year-old runner in the Italian Alps two weeks ago has been captured overnight, the Trento province said in a…

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Wildfire on French-Spanish border destroys 1,000 hectares

A wildfire destroyed nearly 1,000 hectares on the French-Spanish border on Sunday and early Monday, authorities said, as parts of southern Europe remain gripped by a drought that is raising…

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Italy’s govt nominees for top jobs at Enel, Eni, Terna

MILAN, April 17 (Reuters) - The Italian government, which controls the country's biggest energy groups via the Treasury and state lender CDP, last week proposed new appointments for the top…

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Portugal’s government ups growth forecast for 2023 to 1.8%

By Sergio Goncalves LISBON, April 17 (Reuters) - Portugal's government on Monday raised its 2023 economic growth forecast to 1.8% from 1.3% predicted in November, still a sharp slowdown compared…

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Italian inflation slows in March as core prices stabilise

April 17 (Reuters) - Italy's inflation rate fell again in March thanks to a decline in energy prices, while core inflation stabilised after rising constantly since last year, official data…

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Sicily Governor says island ‘swamped’ by migrant landings; Tension at Lampedusa hotspot

Sicily Governor Renato Schifani on Monday denounced the emergency situation on the island region, saying in the last month it has been "swamped" by the arrival of migrants and refugees…

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Italian police seize 2 tonnes of cocaine off the coast of Sicily

Finance police on Monday seized two tonnes of cocaine found floating off the east coast of Sicily.The drug, with an estimated market value of over 400 million euros, was wrapped…

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Berlusconi leaves intensive care unit

Silvio Berlusconi on Sunday left the intensive care unit of the Milan hospital where he has been receiving treatment for the last 12 days for a lung infection and the…

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Pope Francis calls ‘insinuations’ against John Paul II unfounded

VATICAN CITY, April 16 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday rejected as offensive and unfounded what he called insinuations by the brother of a Vatican schoolgirl who went missing 40…

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Italian first! Meloni’s nationalists defend cultural identity at risk of irking EU

Italy pushes bills to protect national identity, heritage Meloni focusing on Italian food, language, 'traditional' family Govt struggling to make progress in other areas, analysts say Critics accuse PM of…

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Criminal network transporting drugs via trucks between Spain and Sweden broken up

Joint actions of the Spanish National Police (Policia National) and the Swedish National Police (Polisen), supported by Europol, have led to the dismantling of a criminal network transporting drugs via…

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Spanish PM apologises over sexual consent law reform loophole

April 16 (Reuters) - Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez apologised in an interview published on Sunday to victims of sexual abuse over a sexual violence law that included a loophole…

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Photo Story: SS Lazio captain Ciro Immobile unscathed after car crash

Police and Fire Department officers inspect the site of an accident between the car of SS Lazio captain Ciro Immobile (not pictured) and a tram on the Giacomo Matteotti Bridge…

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Italy’s planned bridge to Sicily sees costs ballooning

ROME, (Reuters) - A project to build a bridge connecting the Italian mainland to the island of Sicily will cost as much as 14.6 billion euros ($16.14 billion), a Treasury…

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French far-right veteran Jean-Marie Le Pen hospitalised

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the veteran leader of the far-right in France, suffered a "mild heart attack" and was taken to hospital, a close source said. "Jean-Marie Le Pen has been…

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Meloni chooses coalition unity to end spat over company chiefs

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni chose unity over getting her way when she realised that imposing her own candidates to lead state-controlled companies on her coalition partners would threaten government…

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France’s unpopular pension law faces key constitution test

France's Constitutional Council will on Friday give its hotly-anticipated verdict on whether the government's plans to increase the retirement age, which have triggered massive protests, are in line with constitutional…

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What’s next for France’s pension reform?

PARIS, April 13 (Reuters) - France's Constitutional Council is due to deliver its verdict on Friday on a deeply unpopular bill which will delay retirement by two years to 64,…

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Italian residents’ deposits down again in February

MILAN, April 12 (Reuters) - Italian residents' deposits with domestic banks were down again in February, touching an over two-year low, at 2.64 trillion euros ($2.88 trillion) compared with 2.66…

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Photo Story: Spain, Portugal joint operation dismantles one of Europe’s largest cocaine labs

The material seized during an operation carried out by Spain' National Police and Portugal's Judicial Police sits on a table during a press conference in Madrid, Spain, 13 April 2023.…

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Italy’s Berlusconi’s health improves, still in intensive care

MILAN, April 13 (Reuters) - Former Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi is continuing to show an improvement in his health but he remains in intensive care, the Milan hospital treating him…

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Macron stands by China interview – French diplomat

PARIS, (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron is not backtracking on comments in China urging the European Union to reduce dependency on the United States, a senior diplomat said .…

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ChatGPT can resume in Italy if meets data watchdog’s demands

Data protection agency sets April 30 deadline OpenAI ChatGPT offline in Italy since March 31 OpenAI says looks forward to resuming service in Italy Italy was first Western country to…

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France to witness 12th nationwide strike against Macron’s pension law

By Ingrid Melander PARIS, April 13 (Reuters) - French unions have called on workers to walk off the job and join protest rallies on Thursday for a twelfth nationwide day…

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Over 400 migrants died crossing Mediterranean early in 2023 -UN agency

It was the deadliest quarter for such crossings in 6 years The number of migrant deaths likely an 'undercount' -IOM Fear these deaths have been 'normalized,' response needed-IOM GENEVA, April…

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Italy to crackdown on perpetrators of attacks on cultural heritage sites

The Italian government approved a crackdown on art eco-vandals after a string of attacks on cultural heritage sites across Italy by climate-crisis protesters, setting out swingeing fines for those who…

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Greek parliament votes to ban extreme-right party from elections

Greek MPs voted to ban the extreme-right Greeks-National Party from running in elections, aiming to block its members linked to the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn criminal organization from entering parliament. The…

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Italy buys time over key appointments at state-run companies

By Giuseppe Fonte and Angelo Amante ROME (Reuters) - Italy's ruling coalition ] failed to clinch a deal on key appointments at state-controlled companies, two people familiar with the matter…

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