The Dispatch

Greece Hosts Growing US Military Presence as Regional Focus Intensifies

The United States has increased its use of key military facilities in Greece, including the strategically located Souda Bay and the northern port of Alexandroupoli, amid heightened tensions in the…

Read More Here

One dies in violent storm pounding Milan

One person was killed by a falling tree near Milan, local firefighters said on Sunday, as a powerful storm battered the northern Italian city after days of high temperatures. The…

Read More Here

Over 20 injured in gas explosion at Rome petrol station

A powerful gas explosion at a petrol station in northeastern Rome on Friday injured at least 21 people, including police officers and rescue workers who had responded to a reported…

Read More Here

Sicily to Host First F-35 Pilot Training Centre Outside US: Italy’s Defence Minister

Sicily will become the first location outside the United States to train F-35 fighter jet pilots, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto announced on Wednesday. Speaking during a visit to the…

Read More Here

Air traffic control nightmare looms this summer

French air traffic controllers are planning to walk off the job on Thursday and Friday, signaling a summer travel season that threatens to be plagued with delays. The core reason…

Read More Here

Italy to issue half million non-EU work visas over next three years

Italy will issue nearly 500,000 new work visas for non-EU nationals from 2026 to 2028, a cabinet statement said, as part of a strategy to expand legal immigration channels in…

Read More Here

Italian authorities halt outdoor work as Europe swelters under record-breaking heat

As Europe swelters under record-breaking heat, with temperatures exceeding 40°C from France to Greece, Italian authorities are taking steps to protect outdoor workers from heat-related illnesses. In Lombardy, regional president…

Read More Here

Portugal’s Porto Cracks Down on Public Drinking in Tourist Hotspots

Porto is implementing new restrictions on daytime alcohol sales in its downtown core, part of an effort to reduce public disturbances and promote a safer, more family-friendly atmosphere in the…

Read More Here

45 Years On, Italy’s Mattarella Urges Ongoing Search for Truth on Ustica Disaster

Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Friday called for renewed efforts to uncover the full truth behind the 1980 Ustica air disaster, urging the cooperation of friendly nations as Italy marks…

Read More Here

Pope Leo laments ‘diabolical intensity’ of Middle East conflicts

Pope Leo said on Thursday that conflicts in the Middle East were raging with an unprecedented "diabolical intensity" and appealed for greater respect for international law, in comments to Catholic…

Read More Here

Europe scorched by early heatwave as Italy swelters

Europe is sweltering under an intense early summer heatwave that has sent temperatures soaring to record levels, disrupted daily life, and raised fresh warnings about the continent’s vulnerability to climate…

Read More Here

Pope calls for path of dialogue, diplomacy Middle East

Pope Leo XIV made another call for an end to violence in the Middle East during his weekly general audience at St Peter's Square on Wednesday."May the wounds caused by…

Read More Here

Spain eases visa rules to draw foreign students barred from US by Trump

Spain on Tuesday said it had approved expedited access to its universities for foreign students barred from entering the U.S. to study by President Donald Trump's administration. Students who can't…

Read More Here

Portugal tightens naturalisation rules, doubles residency requirement

Portugal's centre-right minority government, under pressure from the far right to reduce immigration, said it would double to 10 years the amount of time most foreigners need to be legally…

Read More Here

Gift shops and fast food banned in Bergamo Alta in Italy

Fast-food outlets and sex shops are among the commercial activities banned from Bergamo Alta in an ordinance from the local government in the Lombardy town concerning its historic and picturesque…

Read More Here

Greece sending Navy ships to monitor migrant vessels off Libya

Greece is planning to sent Navy ships outside Libya’s territorial waters “as a precaution” to monitor migrant flows, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday, during a regular meeting with the President…

Read More Here

UPDATED:Man arrested on suspicion of spying in Crete and another in Cyprus

A man has been arrested on suspicion of spying in Crete, which is home to a NATO military base. Greek police said the 26-year-old Azerbaijani man was detained on Sunday,…

Read More Here

Italy’s immigration and emigration both soaring, stats agency says

The numbers of Italians leaving their country and of foreigners moving in have soared to the highest in a decade, official data showed on Friday, fuelling national concerns about brain…

Read More Here

Pope Urges Leaders to Reject War, Citing Predecessors in Peace Appeal

Pope Leo XIV issued a back-to-back plea for peace this week, urging the international community to reject armed conflict and embrace diplomacy amid mounting global tensions. Speaking Wednesday during his…

Read More Here

Patriot missile systems being moved to Souda base in Crete

An undisclosed number of Greek Patriot missile systems are being relocated to the Hellenic Navy and NATO base at Souda Bay in Crete to provide anti-ballistic protection to American assets…

Read More Here

Spanish operation against migrant smuggling and drug trafficking across the Mediterranean

Europol has supported Spanish authorities (Policía Nacional) in a transnational operation against a highly-organised network involved in both migrant smuggling and drug trafficking between Spain and Morocco. Authorities believe the…

Read More Here

EU slaps Greece with record fine over agricultural subsidy fraud

The European Commission has fined Greece €392.2 million for mismanaging EU agricultural subsidies between 2016 and 2023. The penalty relates to serious oversight failures by OPEKEPE, the now-dissolved agency overseeing…

Read More Here

Pope to Rest at Castel Gandolfo from July 6 to July 20

The Prefecture of the Papal Household has announced that His Holiness Pope Leo XIV will spend a period of rest at the Pontifical Villas of Castel Gandolfo. The pontiff is…

Read More Here

Greece arrests US man with Malta link over mother and child deaths in Rome park

Italian police arrested a U.S. citizen on Friday in connection with the death of a woman and her baby daughter whose naked bodies were found in a park in central…

Read More Here

Cruise passenger fees in Greece set to rise

Reports in the Greek media indicate that cruise ship passenger fees will increase from July 1. The fee will be imposed per passenger and per port and its amount will…

Read More Here

Israel’s state plane, Wing of Zion, departs for Athens amid fears of Iranian retaliation

The Wing of Zion, Israel’s own version of Air Force One, took off from Ben-Gurion Airport on Friday morning as Israel initiated an assault on Iranian nuclear facilities as part…

Read More Here

Pope Leo to make Carlo Acutis first millennial saint on September 7

The canonisation of the first Catholic saint of the millennial generation, Carlo Acutis, will take place on September 7, Pope Leo announced on Friday. Acutis, a British-born Italian who died…

Read More Here

Drug route from Costa Rica to Europe dismantled

n international operation coordinated on the European side by Europol has dismantled a transnational criminal organisation trafficking large quantities of cocaine from Costa Rica to Europe via Spain and Portugal.…

Read More Here

UK and Spain strike ‘historic’ deal over Gibraltar’s future and borders

Britain and the EU have agreed a fresh Brexit deal that will see Gibraltar open its borders with Spain, abolish passport controls with the EU, and join the EU customs…

Read More Here

Decline in the number of applications for Greek “Golden Visa”

The number of new applications for residence permits through the “Golden Visa” program declined significantly in April, showing the first signs of de-escalation. Based on data from the Ministry of…

Read More Here

Low turnout sinks Italian citizenship, labor referendums, strengthens Meloni’s government

Low voter turnout on Monday sank Italian opposition referendum proposals to ease citizenship laws and tighten job protection rules, with senior figures in the coalition of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni…

Read More Here

Italians vote on easing citizenship requirements, reversing labour reform

Italians will start voting on Sunday in a two-day referendum on whether to ease citizenship laws and reverse a decade-old liberalisation of the labour market, but the vote may fail…

Read More Here

Pope Leo, in first month, makes a break in style from Francis

In his first month, Pope Leo has taken a very different approach to his predecessor Francis. Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, has led some two dozen public events since…

Read More Here

Police conclude searches in Portugal in Madeleine McCann investigation

Searches for Madeleine McCann in Portugal on land a mile from where the British toddler was last seen in 2007 have concluded. German and Portuguese investigators embraced each other on…

Read More Here

Earthquake damages part of Pompeii site in southern Italy

A minor earthquake in southern Italy has caused the partial collapse of a wall and a portion of a vault at the Pompeii archaeological site, authorities said. The quake with…

Read More Here

Mafia boss Giovanni Brusca completely free

Mafia boss Giovanni Brusca, one of Italy's most notorious mobsters, is completely free after serving the four years of probation imposed on him following his release from jail in 2021.Among…

Read More Here

Abandoned buildings examined as search for Madeleine McCann resumes

Searches for Madeleine McCann are due to resume on Thursday morning near to where she disappeared from Praia da Luz, Portugal. German and Portuguese investigators have until Friday to look…

Read More Here

Italy cracks down on protests, squatters and cannabis

Italy's upper house of parliament on Wednesday gave final approval to a wide-ranging security decree that targets public protests, pickpockets and squatters, and outlaws so-called "legal" cannabis. The measures, spearheaded…

Read More Here

Etna eruption over, monitoring continues says INGV

Monday's spectacular Mount Etna eruption that featured prominently on news bulletins around the world is over, but monitoring of Europe's biggest active volcano is continuing the National Institute of Geophysics…

Read More Here

Police launch new search for Madeleine McCann in the Algarve

German police are to carry out new searches in Lagos, in the Algarve, as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in 2007, according to information provided…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Mount Etna Erupts; No Immediate Threat to Population

Italian authorities have issued a statement after Mount Etna erupted. Etna is located in Sicily and is the highest active volcano in Europe. Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology…

Read More Here

Europe and Canada Gripped by Unseasonal Heatwave

Southern and central Europe are facing record-breaking heat this week, with temperatures in parts of Portugal and Spain nearing 40 degrees Celsius, raising concerns about crop damage and water shortages…

Read More Here

Macron says Europe must ‘harden’ stance on Israel unless Gaza crisis eases

French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that Europe’s “collective position” on Israel must “harden” unless the humanitarian crisis in Gaza improves. “It’s very clear today that we can not let…

Read More Here

Italy Passes Landmark Animal Welfare Law: Harsh Penalties for Abuse, Puppy Trafficking, and Animal Violence

In a sweeping reform of animal protection legislation, Italy has enacted a new law introducing stringent penalties for violence against animals, including significant prison terms and fines for crimes such…

Read More Here

France to ban smoking in all outdoor places frequented by children

France will ban smoking in all outdoor places that can be frequented by children, health and family minister Catherine Vautrin has said. The ban will come into force on 1…

Read More Here

Italian activists face trial for migrant sea rescue in legal first

A Sicilian judge has ordered six members of an Italian charity ship to stand trial on accusations of aiding illegal immigration, the first time crew members of a rescue vessel…

Read More Here

Greece drafts tougher law for rejected asylum seekers

Greece has prepared legislation that will introduce tougher penalties for rejected asylum seekers and speed up returns to their home countries, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said. The Mediterranean nation was…

Read More Here

U.S. Elevates Travel Advisory for Italy Amid Terrorism Concerns

The U.S. Department of State has elevated its travel advisory for Italy to Level 2, urging American travelers to "exercise increased caution" due to potential terrorist threats. This adjustment, issued…

Read More Here

Pope Leo appeals for Gaza ceasefire, laments deaths of children

Pope Leo appealed on Wednesday for a ceasefire in Gaza and called on Israel and Hamas militants to completely respect international humanitarian law. "In the Gaza Strip, the intense cries…

Read More Here

’Ndrangheta eyes major public contracts, anti-Mafia body warns

The ’Ndrangheta mafia has shown growing interest in controlling major public works and managing local government funds, particularly in sectors such as hospital administrations and waste collection services, according to…

Read More Here

Russia does not see Vatican as a serious arena for peace talks, sources say

Russia does not view the Vatican as a credible venue for peace negotiations with Ukraine, according to three senior Russian sources who spoke to Reuters. They cited the Holy See’s…

Read More Here

Italy Sees Sharp Rise in Graduate Emigration Amid Demographic Decline

Italy has experienced a significant exodus of young, educated professionals over the past decade, with approximately 97,000 graduates leaving the country, according to the national statistics agency ISTAT. In 2024…

Read More Here

The prospect of a US pope was once viewed with suspicion – but Leo XIV could prove an important counter to Trump

By Massimo D'Angelo, Research Associate in the Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs, Loughborough University Pope Leo XIV has been elected as the 267th pontiff, leader of the Catholic church…

Read More Here

France grapples with surging tropical diseases

French regions are waging war against tiger mosquitoes as the country records rising cases of tropical diseases such as dengue, zika and chikungunya. Since Jan. 1, France has already seen…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Earthquake of magnitude 6 strikes Crete

A very strong earthquake, measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale, occurred at 06:19 (Greek time) 56 kilometers north-northeast of Heraklion, Crete, according to data from the Geodynamic Institute of the…

Read More Here

Pope Leo appeals for Israel to allow humanitarian aid in Gaza

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday appealed for Israel to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, calling the situation in the Palestinian enclave "yet more worrying and saddening". "I renew my…

Read More Here

Italy Plans to Begin Work on Messina Bridge by End of Summer, Pending Government Approval

Construction of the long-debated bridge over the Strait of Messina, designed to connect Sicily to mainland Italy, could begin by the end of summer, Transport Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo…

Read More Here