Italy

Salvini accuses Malta of hostile act as ‘evidence’ indicates Malta gave a compass and life vests to 13 migrants so they can proceed with journey to Lampedusa

Italian Deputy Prime Minister accused Malta of doing a 'hostile act' when instead of aiding a boat with 13 migrants to Malta, the Maltese coast guard provided them with a…

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Di Maio says that if Rome’s Mayor Raggi (M5s) is found guilty of lying, she will have to resign

A prosecutor told a trial, in which Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi is accused of making false statements about a senior appointment, that the first citizen of the Italian Capital city…

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Bitter ending for sweet company Pernigotti

Pernigotti is closing down five years after the acquisition by Toksoz Group. Trade unions made the announcement after meeting company representatives on Tuesday. The chocolate company passed from Italian family…

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Italian Senate approved Government’s security-and-migration decree

The Italian Senate on Wednesday approved the government's security-and-migration decree with 163 votes in favour, 59 against and 19 abstentions. The legislation, which was approved with a confidence vote, now…

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3.4 earthquake recorded in Rieti, Italy

An earthquake of magnitude 3.4 was recorded at 19.50 near Rieti. The epicenter, as announced by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology on Twitter, is one kilometer southeast of…

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Eurozone finance ministers urge Italy to redraft budget plan

Economy Minister Giovanni Tria has "understood" the need to act within the EU rules on Italy's 2019 budget bill, Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said Monday. ANSA reports Moscovici said "he is…

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Salvini’s former partner announces break-up on Instagram, he replies on Facebook

Elisa Isoardi, a former model who hosts the Italian version of Ready Steady Cook, announced the end of the three-year relationship with Matteo Salvini, with a photograph of the couple…

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Hostage situation in Reggio Emilia ends with arrest of ‘Ndrangheta Calabrian mafia convict

Police on Monday ended a post office siege in Reggio Emilia by talking down the hostage taker, an 'Ndrangheta Calabrian mafia convict. They took him out after he let them in…

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Italy government will call vote of confidence on security bill

Italy’s government will call a confidence vote in the upper house Senate on its security bill, which has generated tensions within the coalition between the League and 5-Star Movement, a…

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Eurozone ministers meet in Brussels to discuss Italy’s budget standoff

Eurozone finance ministers gathering in Brussels on Monday will discuss Italy's escalating budget standoff with the EU as the bloc waits for the government in Rome to respond to the…

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Monday Morning Briefing

Good morning Your morning briefing for Monday with a round up of the latest headlines and a review of the front pages from Malta's newspapers, to help you start the…

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Death toll from bad weather in Italy continues to rise

Corriere Della Sera reports an increase in the death toll from the bad weather that hit Italy. During the night, the rain that fell in Sicily led to an increase…

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Genoa Bridge collapse possibly caused by a 3.5 tons roll of steel falling from a truck

'At first I thought that the cause of the collapse of the Morandi bridge was the corrosion of the stays.Then seeing some videos I started to speculate that collapsing the…

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Prosecutors drop charges against Salvini in Diciotti case

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said on Thursday that prosecutors have decided to drop charges laid against him after he refused to let 150 migrants disembark from a rescue ship…

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Are we seeing Di Maio’s beginning of the end?

Di Maio's experience at the helm of M5s, was a stellar rise to the top, leading Italy 'de-facto' populists into power for the first time and becoming essentially the nation's…

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Three takeover offers made for Alitalia

Troubled Italian carrier Alitalia has received three takeover offers as part of its latest rescue efforts, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. The offers will be examined by…

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Mattarella approves submission of revised budget for parliamentary discussion and scrutiny

The Italian President has approved the submission of a revised budget document for discussion to the two chambers. Agreement was reached late in the night. The Budget Law is expected…

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Italian antitrust authority orders suspension of Ryanair and Wizz Air baggage policy

The Italian Antitrust Authority, after the initiation of a preliminary investigation procedure, has provisionally ordered the suspension of the new baggage policy by the low-cost airlines Ryanair and Wizz Air,…

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3.2 earthquake registered in the sea off the Sicilian coast

A magnitude 3.2 earthquake occurred in the stretch of sea between the north-eastern Sicilian coast (province of Messina) and Lipari. The Ingv, National Center for Earthquakes, reports this. The shock tremor…

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7 reported dead as Italy is on high alert as storms, torrential rain and gale force winds hit all the peninsula

Six regions are on red alert due to the wave of storms, torrential rain and gales that is battering Italy. Seven people were killed and one missing as storms battered…

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No damage reported after 3.1 strong earthquake was recorded in Umbria

An earthquake of magnitude 3.1 was recorded at 5:10 am in Umbria, in the southeast of the province of Perugia. According to the surveys of the National Institute of Geophysics…

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Italy is setting itself up for a monumental fiscal failure (FT)

The short history of the eurozone has taught us that resistance is futile. You cannot extricate yourself from its rules, to which all member states have agreed. Unless the Italian…

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Two Senegalese nationals and one Nigerian arrested in relation to homicide of 16-year-old girl in Rome’s San Lorenzo district

Three people have been detained by police in relation to the homicide of Desiree Mariottini, a 16-year-old girl found dead in an abandoned building in Rome's San Lorenzo district last…

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Putin and Conte say EU sanctions against Russia must come to an end

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Wednesday that EU sanctions against Russia had to come to an end, but declined to say if his government was ready to veto…

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Rome’s Metro incident raises concern about lack of maintenance of infrastructure in the city

Italian transport unions, consumer associations and Rome residents have called for a full investigation into the maintenance and safety of the city’s metro system after 24 CSKA Moscow football fans…

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Europe Explained – European Commission’s position on Italian budget

The Commission has issued an opinion on the Italian draft budgetary plan for 2019. It requests that Italy presents a revised draft budgetary plan as soon as possible, and in…

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Italy’s reply to EU concerns on budget sent – EU concerns on France, Spain, Belgium, Portugal and Slovenia’s budgets expressed

Italy's reply to the concerns raised over its planned budget by the European Commission arrived in Brussels on Monday, a spokesman said. The EU executive is expected to discuss the…

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Italy expected to answer to EU on draft budget today

Italy is to answer the European Commission's doubts about its draft 2019 budget before noon on Monday. As a first step in the so-called 'semester' procedure, the commission last week…

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Italy’s coalition reaches agreement on Budget – Government reaffirms willingness to stay in Europe and with the Euro

Italy's coalition has reached an agreement about its budget, after tension had risen between the Cinque Stelle's Di Maio and Lega's Salvini. It took a Saturday cabinet meeting so that…

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After Toto’ and Peppino, Franco e Ciccio, now Italy has Salvini and Di Maio – Paolo Bonolis

"In the Italian comedy we had big comedy duos like Totò and Peppino or Franco and Ciccio, now we have Salvini and Di Maio. " Italian TV presenter Paolo Bonolis,…

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Serbia crowned Volleyball World Champions

The Gold medal match of the 2018 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship lived up to the name as it took Serbia five sets of intense Volleyball to edge Italy and…

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Saturday Morning Briefing

Good morning, The morning's headlines are dominated by Saudi's admission that Khashoggi's death took place at the country's consulate in Turkey. We also read about Moody's downgrade of Italy's credit…

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Moody’s downgrades Italy’s rating

Rating agency Moody’s on Friday downgraded Italy’s credit rating in a widely expected move that left it one notch above junk territory. Moody’s cut Italy’s local and foreign-currency issuer ratings…

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Budget row indicative of cracks in Italy’s governing coalition

A row rumbled on Friday between the two parties supporting the government, the League and the 5-Star Movement (M5S), over the executive's fiscal decree linked to the 2019 budget. League…

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Friday Morning Briefing

Good morning, In the last hours, there were significant changes from the US administration, in their view on the Khashoggi's murder with President Trump affirming that he believes that Khashoggi…

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EU sends Italian budget back to sender

Brussels has reprimanded Italy’s populist government for breaking EU deficit rules in its first budget, putting the European Commission on course for an unprecedented rejection of a eurozone member’s spending…

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Italy’s budget standoff (Updated)

Update: Brussels has reprimanded Italy’s populist government for breaking EU deficit rules in its first budget, putting the European Commission on course for an unprecedented rejection of a eurozone member’s…

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Italian Government submits budgetary plan by midnight deadline after agreement between coalition is reached on Monday

Italy’s coalition government has approved budget plans for next year that will lower the retirement age and allow for a partial amnesty on unpaid taxes. Speaking after a cabinet meeting…

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Italy should ‘calm down with the tone and re-establish trust in Euro – Mario Draghi

Italy should “calm down with the tone” and re-establish trust in the euro to quiet down the markets, European Central Bank’s President Mario Draghi said today. Draghi, speaking at a…

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Damaged boat with 70 migrants escorted to Lampedusa late at night, after initial refusal of intervention from Malta and Italy

A boat with 70 migrants, which had left Libya on Friday morning, was escorted by Italian Coast Guard patrol boats to the port of Lampedusa where she docked at about…

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