The Dispatch

Italy wants more money for Africa to curb arrivals in Europe

Italy pressing EU bloc for more action over migrants National leaders to meet on Thursday and Friday Irregular migration picking up since COVID pandemic BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister…

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Italian Foreign Minister Tajani protection upped after death threats

Protection measures around Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani have been boosted after the foreign ministry on Tuesday received a letter containing death threats against him, the ministry said. A threatening…

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Third wave of strikes over pension reform keeps pressure on Macron

Trade unions launched a third wave of nationwide strikes on Tuesday against President Emmanuel Macron's plans to make the French work longer before retirement, as the legislation started its bumpy…

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Three drown, dozens feared missing in migrant shipwreck off Greece

Three people drowned and two dozen are believed to be missing in the second migrant shipwreck off Greece this week, authorities said on Tuesday. The coast guard said 16 people…

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No evidence global ransomware hack was by state entity, Italy says

Global ransomware activity that targeted thousands of computer servers in Italy and other countries was probably the handiwork of criminal hackers and not a state or state-like entity, the Italian…

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Spain, Portugal urge EU Commission to present proposal for new fiscal framework

Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calvino on Monday said Spain and Portugal were urging the European Commission to present its proposal on a new fiscal rule for the bloc. EU finance…

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Italy to use EU funds to become energy hub for Europe, Meloni says

ROME, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Italy intends to use funds coming from the European Union under the so-called REPowerEUplan to completely wean itself off Russian gas and turn the country into energy hub…

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Pope says Church conservatives exploited death of ex-pope Benedict

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Pope Francis has said some in the conservative wing of the Roman Catholic Church had exploited the death of the former pope,…

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Snowstorm shuts schools and shops, disrupts traffic in Athens

ATHENS, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Heavy snowfall and plummeting temperatures shut schools and shops in the Greek capital on Monday, with many public services and businesses switching to remote working.…

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UPDATED: Italy’s govt: global cyber attack did not come from state entity

ROME, Feb 6 (Reuters) - The global ransomware hacking attack that targeted thousands of computer servers in Italy and other countries likely came from cybercriminals and not from a state…

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Cyprus presidential election goes to runoff

Cyprus votes in presidential elections Former foreign minister in lead, leftist candidate comes second Runoff to be held on Feb 12 NICOSIA (Reuters) - Former foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides took…

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UPDATED: Italy withdraws tsunami warning after Turkey, Syria earthquake

ROME, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Italian authorities said on Monday they had withdrawn a tsunami warning for the country's southern coast that was raised after a major earthquake struck central…

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Italy sounds alarm on large-scale computer hacking attack

ROME, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Thousands of computer servers around the world have been targeted by a ransomware hacking attack, Italy's National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN) said on Sunday, warning organisations to take…

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Pope Francis says laws criminalising LGBT people are a ‘sin’ and an injustice

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Sunday that laws criminalising LGBT people are a sin and an injustice because God loves and accompanies people with same-sex…

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UPDATE – Cyprus presidential vote set for runoff, with Christodoulides in lead

NICOSIA (Reuters) -Former foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides edged into the lead inCyprus's presidential election on Sunday, exit polls showed, but was unlikely to clinch an outright majority, leading to a…

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Number of ships loading LNG in Spain doubled in 2022 – Enagas

BARCELONA (Reuters) - The number of ships loading liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Spain and taking it across Europe doubled in 2022 compared with the previous year, helping ease the…

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Wedding tourism booms in Italy

dding tourism is booming in Italy with over 11,000 overseas couples tying the knot in Italy last year, according to the Destination Weddings in Italy Observatory, complied by the Centro…

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Internet network disrupted in most of Italy

Large parts of Italy on Sunday experienced disruption or total blackout of the Internet. Most reports seem to come from large cities, including Turin, Milan, Bologna, Florence, Perugia, Rome, Naples,…

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French PM offers to ease pension overhaul for conservatives’ backing

PARIS, Feb 5 (Reuters) - French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne offered on Sunday to soften a planned pension overhaul to let some people who started work early also retire early…

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Photo story: Grand opening of 2023 Venice Carnival

An overview of the opening parade of the Venetian carnival, led by the large head of the Unicorn, along the Grand Canal, Venice, Italy, on Saturday night 04 February 2023.…

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EPA’s Eye In The Sky: Ochagavia, Spain

A photo taken with a drone shows a snow covered street and side road in a forested area following snowfalls in the village of Ochagavia, Navarra, northern Spain. Phot: EPA-EFE/Jesus…

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Italy gets cold feet over EU greener buildings plan

EU initiative aims to make buildings more climate friendly New Italy coalition approved plan, then backed off Rome looks to water down proposals, slow down change Climate experts fear Italy…

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8 migrants found dead on boat including pregnant woman by Italian coastguard vessel in Maltese SAR

ANSA reports that the Italian coastguard vessel found eight bodies including that of a pregnant woman aboard a migrant boat in Maltese search and rescue (SAR) waters Friday. The coastguard…

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Cost of living crisis tests striking French workers

Workers are trying to block overhaul of pension system More strikes planned after Tuesday's stoppages Higher living costs increase pain for striking workers Unions seeking ways to limit strike impact…

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Spanish services activity speeds up in January at fastest pace since July – PMI

MADRID, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Activity in the Spanish services sector sped up in January, on higher demand and renewed optimism, a survey showed on Friday, even though elevated inflation…

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Fashion designer Paco Rabanne dead at 88

PARIS, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Paco Rabanne, the Spanish-born designer best known for his metallic ensembles and space age designs of the 1960s, has died at the age of 88…

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Italy bans U.S.-based AI chatbot Replika from using personal data

MILAN, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Italy's Data Protection Agency said on Friday it was prohibiting artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot company Replika from using the personal data of Italian users, citing…

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Man detained on French high-speed TGV after attack threat

By Marine Strauss and Alain Acco BRUSSELS, Feb 3 (Reuters) - A man was arrested after threatening to commit an attack while travelling on a high-speed TGV train in eastern…

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Draghi doesn’t want EU envoy job, source says, after Italy backed him

ROME (Reuters) - Former European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi is not interested in a new job as a European Union envoy, a source close to him said on…

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Photo Story: Migrants’ boat with eight bodies docks in Lampedusa

Police officers on the quay of the port wait for the boat containing the bodies of 8 migrants in Lampedusa, Sicily, Italy, 03 February 2023. Eight migrants were found dead…

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Cyprus poll draws record 14 candidates, unlikely to produce clear winner

Cyprus presidential vote likely to move to Feb 12 runoff Record number of candidates running Ex-member of present government ahead in polls By Michele Kambas NICOSIA, Feb 2 (Reuters) -…

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Council of Europe urges Italy to scrap or change migration decree

MILAN, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Italy should scrap or rewrite its new anti-immigration decree aimed at curtailing NGO rescue ships to ensure it "fully complies" with human rights and international…

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Spain, Morocco forge economic ties as Western Sahara policy reversal eases tensions

Spain, Morocco hold first summit in eight years Relations long strained by illegal migration issue Expected to sign up to 20 accords on trade, investment By Belén Carreño and Ahmed…

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Italy moots EU-funded migrant corridors

Italy has mooted EU-funded migrant corridors in a 'non-paper' ahead of next week's extraordinary EU summit on migration, according to a draft ANSA has seen. "We call for the development…

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Greek unemployment unchanged at 11.6% in December

ATHENS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Greece's jobless rate stood at 11.6% in December, unchanged from an upwardly revised 11.6% in November, data from statistics service ELSTAT showed on Wednesday. Seasonally…

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French labour minister says raising pensions age is ‘non-negotiable’ despite mass protests

PARIS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - French Labour Minister Oliver Dussopt said on Wednesday that raising the retirement age to 64 was "non-negotiable", a day after more than a million people…

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Photo Story: Cold weather in northern Spain

Large icicles hang at a house in Belagoa town, Navarra region, northern Spain,. Temperatures below zero are registering higher in the north of Navarra these days. Photo: EPA-EFE/Jesus Diges

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Warning Italian embassies all over the world are at risk of anarchist attacks

ROME (Reuters) - Italian embassies all over the world are at risk of anarchist attacks linked to the case of the hunger-striking Alfredo Cospito, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said. Cospito,…

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Huge crowds march across France, raising pressure against Macron’s pension reform

PARIS (Reuters) - Huge crowds marched across France on Tuesday to say "Non" to President Emmanuel Macron's plan to make people work longer before retirement, with pressure in the streets…

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France’s nationwide strike hits power production, fuel deliveries

A nationwide strike in France against pension reform led to a drop in electricity output and stopped deliveries from TotalEnergies sites on Tuesday. French power supply has been reduced by…

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Pilot dies in Greek F-4 jet crash in Ionian Sea, second pilot missing

One pilot died in an F-4 fighter jet crash in the Ionian Sea off western Greece on Monday and rescuers were searching for the jet's second pilot, the Greek defence minister said.…

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Mafia boss asks judge to order seizure of Roberto Saviano book

Giuseppe Graviano, a Sicilian Mafia boss who is serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison has asked a court to seize a book by Roberto Saviano, claiming inaccuracies…

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WATCH: 95 migrants disembark in Carrara after Med journey

95 migrants have been disembarked in the Marina di Carrara port after being rescued close to Libyan waters, TGCOM has reported. 15 women and 38 minors are reportedly on board…

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Strikes over pensions to disrupt public transport in France on Tuesday

PARIS, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Labour union strikes in France over the government's planned pensions overhaul will cause heavy disruption to public transport on Tuesday, the transport minister and several public transport…

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Greek opposition presents no-confidence motion against government

Former prime minister of Greece and current leader of the leftwing opposition Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday presented a no-confidence motion against the conservative government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The motion came…

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Pope calls for Israel, Palestinians to halt “spiral of death”

(Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday called on Israel and the Palestinians to engage in dialogue in pursuit of peace, deploring the recent violence in the region. Speaking after the…

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Pope says marriage is between man and woman, basis of the family

ANSA - Christian marriage is that of a man to a woman and the family is based on this, Pope Francis said as he received in audience officials of the…

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Spanish police seize cocaine worth $114 million from cattle ship

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish police seized 4.5 tonnes of cocaine with an estimated street value of 105 million euros ($114 million) after raiding a cattle ship off the Canary Islands…

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France extends mandatory COVID tests for Chinese travellers until Feb 15

PARIS, Jan 28 (Reuters) - France has extended mandatory COVID tests for travellers from China until Feb. 15, a government decree published on Saturday showed. While Chinese officials have said infections have…

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Italy’s Meloni in Libya concludes $8 billion gas deal

TRIPOLI, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited Tripoli on Saturday to conclude an $8 billion gas deal aimed at boosting energy supplies to Europe despite the insecurity and…

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Lufthansa edges closer to getting stake in Alitalia successor airline

Italy's Treasury on Friday said it had signed a letter of intent with Lufthansa over the sale of a minority stake in state-owned airline ITA Airways, paving the way for negotiations with…

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JPMorgan looking to finance Italy’s Serie A for up to 1 billion euros

JPMorgan Chase & Co has written to Italy's top soccer league to express a preliminary interest in supporting the development of Serie A's media business, three people close to the…

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Italy business morale improves in January but consumers more downbeat

ROME, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Morale amongst Italian businesses rose in January but consumer confidence worsened, national statistics bureau ISTAT reported on Thursday, pointing to uncertain economic prospects at the…

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Italy’s pandemic recovery plan must halt demographic “tsunami” in south – ISTAT

(Reuters) - Italy's south is on track for a "demographic tsunami" if it fails to capitalise on European Union pandemic recovery funds to bridge the gap with the productive north,…

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Spain’s unemployment rate rises to 12.87%

Jan 26 (Reuters) - Spain's unemployment rate rose to 12.87% in the fourth quarter of 2022 from 12.67% three months earlier, data from the National Statistics Institute showed on Thursday.…

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Italy plans to renew relief measures to soften energy prices

ROME, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Italy's government plans to review and extend existing relief measures aimed at helping families and firms cope with sky-high energy prices, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti…

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Cypriots to walk off job in rare strike over index-linked pay demands

Thousands of workers were expected to walk off the job in Cyprus on Thursday in a standoff with employers over their demand for inflation-linked salary increases. Twelve public and private…

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