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☆ OpenAI denies Elon Musk lawsuit claim that there ever was founding agreement
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

OpenAI has challenged a foundational claim Tesla CEO Elon Musk made in the lawsuit he filed against the startup earlier this month. "There is no Founding Agreement, or any agreement at all with Musk, as the complaint itself makes clear," OpenAI said in a document on file with California's superior court for San Francisco County. "The Founding Agreement is instead a fiction Musk has conjured to lay unearned claim to the fruits of an enterprise he initially supported, then abandoned, then watched succeed without him." Musk quoted OpenAI's 2015 certificate of incorporation with the Delaware secretary of state, asserting that it "memorialized" the founding agreement. "Seeing the remarkable technological advances OpenAI has achieved, Musk now wants that success for himself," OpenAI said in its filing.

Persons: Elon Musk, Giorgia Meloni's, OpenAI, Musk, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Brockman, Altman, Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI's ChatGPT Organizations: Tesla Inc, New York Times, San, Microsoft Locations: Rome, Italy, San Francisco County, Delaware

☆ 'Giorgia, Listen to Us!':Italy's Farmers Call on Meloni for Help
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

ROME (Reuters) - Italian farmers descended on central Rome on Thursday to call on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to offer more help to them and block European Union policies they see as detrimental to their industry. A group gathered in the Michelangelo-designed Piazza del Campidoglio, home to Rome's city hall, for a noisy protest featuring cowbells and banners, including one reading "Giorgia, listen to us!" Farmers are a key constituency for Meloni's right-wing coalition, which has a close relationship with the main sector lobby Coldiretti. "We have no relationship with the government so far because it is not giving us help. According to a draft amendment seen by Reuters, due to be approved in parliament, land income up to 10,000 euros ($10,770) will be tax exempt, and there will be a 50% discount for land income in the 10,000-15,000 euro bracket.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Michelangelo, Mattia Buzzone, Maximus, Daniele, Angelo Amante, Alvise Armellini, Keith Weir Organizations: Farmers, Reuters Locations: ROME, Rome, Europe, Poland, France, Germany, Rome's, Sicily

☆ Italy's capital markets bill 'creates paradoxical incentives' to leave Italy, says CEO
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailItaly's capital markets bill 'creates paradoxical incentives' to leave Italy, says CEOFrancesco Galietti, CEO of Policy Sonar, breaks down the implications of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's proposed capital markets bill. The legislature aims to retain and spur new investment in Italy, but some argue it may backfire.

Persons: Francesco Galietti, Giorgia Meloni's Locations: Italy

☆ Italy's Meloni Opens Africa Summit, Promises New Partnership
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

The summit, being held in Italy's ornate Senate, will last all day, with Italian ministers due to outline an array of initiatives, from energy and infrastructure to health and education, that Meloni says will be mutually beneficial. "We believe it is possible to envision and write a new chapter in the history of our relationship, a cooperation among equals, far from any predatory imposition or charitable stance towards Africa," Meloni said in an opening speech. Eni, Italy's largest importer of natural gas, has already countered lower Russian supplies by shipping increased volumes from Africa, where it has had a presence for decades. The company has said Algeria, Egypt and Libya will be Italy's main gas suppliers for the next few years. Most had departed from North African countries such as Tunisia and Libya, many fleeing poverty and conflict in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.

Persons: Crispian Balmer, Angelo Amante ROME, Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, Enrico Mattei, Ursula von der Leyen, Charles Michel, Mattei, Alex Richardson Organizations: Italian, Eni, European Union, European, Energy, EU Locations: Rome, Africa, Italy, China, Russia, Gulf, Tunisia, Senegal, Kenya, Republic of Congo, Somalia, Ukraine, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Europe, North, Saharan Africa

☆ Meloni Looks to Reset Italy's Relations With Africa
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

"What needs to be done in Africa is to build cooperation and serious strategic relationships as equals, not predators," Meloni told a news conference this month. Founder Mattei expanded Italy's presence in Africa, presenting his company as a friendly alternative to U.S. and French oil majors. But climate change experts question the wisdom of sinking significant new investments into gas infrastructure when existing projects already guarantee Italy's energy security. Meloni is not the first Italian leader to seek better ties with Africa and draw a veil over Italy's fraught colonial legacy, which Rome has never wanted to confront. "My goal is to work in Africa and block the departures in Africa," she said this month.

Persons: Crispian Balmer ROME, Giorgia Meloni, Enrico Mattei, Meloni, Arturo Varvelli, Mattei, Crispian Balmer, Alison Williams Organizations: Eni, United Arab, European Council, Foreign Relations, Union, European Commission Locations: Rome, Italian, Italy, Africa, Europe, China, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Meloni, Ukraine

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni addresses her speech during the question time at the upper house of parliament in Rome, Italy November 23, 2023. REUTERS/Remo Casilli Acquire Licensing RightsROME, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Italy will provide 100 million euros ($108.91 million) to a new fund to help poor countries cope with "loss and damage" due to climate change, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Friday, adding she would invest 70% of her 4.2-billion euro Climate Fund in Africa. "We are contributing to the loss and damage fund with 100 million euros to help achieve the goals of this COP28," she told an event at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai. Italy's Climate Fund is part of a commitment by rich countries to funnel at least $100 billion a year in developing economies through green transition projects under the form of state guarantees, loans and equity investments. In late 2021, under Meloni's predecessor Mario Draghi, Italy set aside 840 million euros per year between 2022 and 2026 for the programme plus an additional annual endowment of 40 million euros starting from 2027.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Remo Casilli, Rome, Mario Draghi, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, William Maclean Organizations: Italy's, REUTERS, Rights, Fund, Energy, Reuters, Treasury, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy, Africa, Dubai

☆ Italy's Parliament Approves Crackdown on Teenage Migrants
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

ROME (Reuters) - Italian lawmakers on Thursday approved a government decree that allows migrants aged 16 or 17 to be held in adult reception centres and gives police stronger powers to check that migrants are not falsely claiming to be under age. Under Italian and European legislation, unaccompanied young migrants are entitled to more favourable treatment. For example, they cannot be expelled and should have access to more extensive welfare and support services. It allows minors aged 16 or 17 to be held in adult migrant reception camps when places for underage migrants are not available, and says they can be held there for up to 150 days. Earlier this month, Meloni announced Italy would build migrant identification and reception centres in Albania, saying she hoped they could host as many as 36,000 sea migrants per year.

Persons: Giorgia, Meloni, Angelo Amante, Gareth Jones Organizations: Senate, Unicef Locations: ROME, Italy, Albania, Africa

☆ Italy is no country for young chefs
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Antonella Cinelli | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Italy's food is famous the world over but many talented young chefs, hoping to make a career in their country, find themselves frustrated by low pay, lack of labour protection and scant prospects. The current outflow of Italian chefs due to difficult conditions at home is not a new phenomenon. A peep into the kitchens of even the most traditional Italian restaurants shows the local dishes are often prepared by low-paid immigrants. Partly for this reason, young chefs in Italy take home half the salary of their peers in Britain while working longer hours, Mazzei said. British people have become knowledgeable about Italian food, even learning about regional differences, he said, so he preferred to hire Italian chefs to satisfy an increasingly demanding clientele.

Persons: Davide Sanna, Brendan McDermid, Sanna, he'd, It's, Massimo Bottura, Roberto Gentile, Paese, Gentile, Di Marzo, Julio, Francesco Mazzei, Mazzei, Giorgia Meloni's, Francesco Lollobrigida, Antonio Bassu, Bassu, Gavin Jones, Daniel Flynn Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Star, Michelin, European, European Labour Authority, Reuters, MELONI'S, PRIDE Italian, Thomson Locations: SoHo, New York City, U.S, Sardinia, New York, Italy, Italian, glitzy SoHo, Modena, Spain, Japan, France, Europe, United States, Sicily, ITALY, Le, Toulouse, Britain, Milan, Gaeta, Rome, Naples, Roman, Emilia, Peruvian, Calabria, Italy's, London, Malta, England, Sardinian, Barcelona

☆ Insight: Italy is no country for young chefs
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Antonella Cinelli | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

For the past year, the 25-year-old has cooked at Piccola Cucina, an Italian restaurant in Manhattan's glitzy SoHo district, home to designer boutiques and high-end art galleries. The current outflow of Italian chefs due to difficult conditions at home is not a new phenomenon. A peep into the kitchens of even the most traditional Italian restaurants shows the local dishes are often prepared by low-paid immigrants. Partly for this reason, young chefs in Italy take home half the salary of their peers in Britain while working longer hours, Mazzei said. British people have become knowledgeable about Italian food, even learning about regional differences, he said, so he preferred to hire Italian chefs to satisfy an increasingly demanding clientele.

ROME, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Italy is considering candidates to take the helm of state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), three sources close to the matter told Reuters, as part of a wider shake-up of state-controlled companies. State-backed investor CDP, founded 173 years ago, plays a key role in keeping strategic assets in national hands. Asked to comment on a change of CEO at CDP, Meloni's office said any rumours of a replacement for Scannapieco were unfounded. Rome is expected to decide on the top management of CDP in March at the latest, immediately after the approval of this year's CDP financial accounts, the sources said. The state lender invests savings made by Italians through the national post office network Poste Italiane.

Persons: Dario Scannapieco, Fincantieri, Giorgia, Scannapieco, Antonino Turicchi, Stefano Donnarumma, Mario Draghi, Elvira Pollina, Susan Fenton Organizations: Eni, ITA Airways, European Investment Bank, Telecom Italia's, Thomson Locations: Italy, State, Rome, EU, Milan

☆ Moody's lifts Italy's debt outlook to stable in boost for Meloni govt
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 17 (Reuters) - Moody's on Friday left Italy's sovereign debt rating at Baa3, one notch above junk, but upgraded the outlook to stable from negative, in an unexpected boost for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government. Most analysts had expected the agency to leave both Italy's rating and outlook unchanged. Moody's had put the euro zone's third-largest economy on a negative outlook in August last year following a government collapse and in the midst of an energy crisis. "The decision to change the outlook to stable from negative reflects a stabilisation of prospects for the country's economic strength, the health of its banking sector and the government's debt dynamics," Moody's said. The European Commission forecast on Wednesday that Italy's debt, proportionally the second-highest in the euro zone, would rise marginally from a projected 140% of national output this year to 141% in 2025.

Persons: Giorgia, Moody's, DBRS, Fitch, Giancarlo Giorgetti, Gavin Jones, Keith Weir, Shounak Dasgupta, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: P, Economy, Analysts, Saikeerthi, Thomson Locations: Italy, Germany, Bengaluru

☆ Italians face disruption as workers strike over government budget
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Remo Casilli Acquire Licensing RightsROME, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Italians faced disruption on Friday as transport workers and other public sector employees from two of the country's largest unions went on strike in protest over the government's budget plans for 2024. The CGIL and UIL unions have called a general strike in the central regions of Italy, as well as a walkout by public sector employees across the country. Salvini, who is also transport minister, said he was making sure Italians could still go about their business on Friday. "Yes there is the right to strike, but it's satisfying to protect the right to work for the overwhelming majority of Italians," he told broadcaster Rai's TG2 news programme on Thursday. Striking workers are expected to hold a rally in Rome's central Piazza del Popolo to protest against Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing government.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Remo Casilli, Matteo Salvini, Maurizio Landini, Salvini, Giorgia Meloni's, Italy's, Keith Weir, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Italian, CGIL, UIL, REUTERS, Rights, la Repubblica, TG2, Union, Thomson Locations: Piazza del, Rome, Italy, Rome's, Piazza

☆ Europe's far right joins rallying cry against antisemitism, unsettling some Jews
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Michel Rose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Sandrine Rousseau, a Green lawmaker, said Le Pen's presence had made her uncomfortable. "Marine Le Pen was given rounds of applause several times in the march," a source close to her told Reuters. "For me, the DNA of the far right is antisemitism. But analysts say Le Pen and her party are succeeding in shifting public discourse and perceptions. "Voters are led to believe that the danger no longer comes from the far right, but from political Islam."

Persons: –, Le Pen's, Jean, Marie, Le, Pen, Le Pen, Daniel Levy, Sandrine Rousseau, Giorgia, Marie Le Pen's, Serge Klarsfeld, Yonathan Arfi, Richard Sulzer, Olivier Veran, pollster Levy, Michel Rose, Elizabeth Pineau, Juliette Jabkhiro, Angelo Amante, Sarah Marsh, Rachel Armstrong, Nick Macfie Organizations: Hamas, Rassemblement, National Front, pollster Harris Interactive, Reuters, Rassemblement National, Conservative Party, Le Figaro, Voters, Thomson Locations: France, Israel, Palestinian, Paris, PARIS, Europe, Italy, Germany, Britain, EUROPE, Nazi, constituencies, Rome, Berlin, London

☆ It's Not Guantanamo, Italy's Tajani Says, Defending Albania Migrant Camps
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS (Reuters) - A deal that allows Italy to build migrant reception and detention camps in Albania respects European Union rules, Italy's foreign minister said on Thursday, dismissing suggestions they were an Italian Guantanamo Bay. Italian opposition parties have denounced Meloni's plans as a deportation, with Riccardo Magi, a lawmaker with the centrist +Europa group, evoking the notorious Guantanamo Bay extrajudicial camps used by the U.S. in Cuba to detain Islamist terrorism suspects. It's a normal humanitarian accord," Tajani said. The German government agreed to look into whether asylum procedures could be carried out outside the European Union, though Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed scepticism on whether that was constitutionally possible and if countries would agree to it. (Reporting by John Irish; additional reporting by Alvise Armellini; editing by Nick Macfie)

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Meloni's, Riccardo Magi, Antonio Tajani, It's, Tajani, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, John Irish, Alvise, Nick Macfie Organizations: PARIS, European, of Human Rights, Court, Justice, European Union Locations: Italy, Albania, Italian Guantanamo, U.S, Cuba, Guantanamo, Germany

☆ Telecom Italia core profit up 9% as grid share deal helps domestic sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That is ahead of a 1.37 billion euro company-provided analyst consensus. Total domestic sales rose 2.2% in the quarter to 2.98 billion euros, also above forecasts. The company confirmed its 2023 financial targets, including a stabilisation of core earnings and service revenue in Italy. In the nine months, service revenue at TIM's domestic operations fell 1.3% to 7.9 billion euros. TIM's net financial debt stood at 26.3 billion euros as of Sept. 30, marginally up from the end of the previous quarter.

Persons: Stefano Rellandini, Giorgia, Pietro Labriola, Elvira Pollina, Valentina Za Organizations: Telecom Italia, REUTERS, Vivendi, Italy's, KKR, TIM, Thomson Locations: Rozzano, Milan, Italy, TIM's

☆ Albania to host no more than 3,000 migrants under deal with Italy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An Italian Coast Guard vessel carrying migrants rescued at sea passes near a tourist boat, on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy, September 18, 2023. The figure compares with the more than 145,000 sea migrants who have arrived in Italy so far this year, a sharp increase from 2022 which Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing government is keen to contain. Announcing the deal with Albania on Monday, Meloni said as many as 36,000 migrants per year could pass through the Albanian camps, but hitting this target depends on how quickly Italy can process asylum applications. The protocol states that Italy will shield Albania from any costs from legal action against the initiative. The facilities are more than 1,000 kilometres from Lampedusa, the island where most Italy-bound sea migrants currently land.

Persons: Yara, Giorgia Meloni's, Meloni, repatriating, Alvise, Christina Fincher Organizations: Italian Coast Guard, REUTERS, Rights, Amnesty International, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Lampedusa, Italy, Albania, EU, Shëngjin

☆ Italy PM hails migrants deal with Albania as possible model for EU
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The agreement announced on Monday is the first example of a non-EU country accepting migrants on behalf of an EU nation. "I believe it (the deal) could become a model of cooperation between EU and non-EU countries in managing migration flows... I think this agreement features a bold European spirit," Meloni told Il Messaggero daily. Asked about the scheme by two Italian newspapers, Rama said Italy had not been the only EU country to propose such a deal, but he said he accepted Rome's offer as a sign of "gratitude". In the 1990s, Italy took in large numbers of Albanians and Rome is now one of the most solid backers of Albania's EU accession hopes.

Persons: Ursula von der Leyen, Giorgia Meloni's, Yara, Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, Il, Rama, Federico Maccioni, Alvise Armellini, Nick Macfie Organizations: Italian, REUTERS, Rights, European Union, EU, European Commission, La Stampa, Thomson Locations: Lampedusa, Italy, Albania, EU, British, Rwanda, Rome

☆ Italy Grants Citizenship to Baby Girl in Britain to Prevent Weaning off Life Support
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

ROME (Reuters) - The Italian government on Monday granted citizenship to a critically ill baby girl from Britain, in a move aimed at preventing doctors from weaning her off life support and allowing her to be moved to Italy. Eight-month-old Indi Gregory suffers from a rare mitochondrial disease, which means that her cells do not produce enough energy. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government stepped into the controversy by holding an emergency meeting on Monday which made Gregory an Italian citizen. Had the government not acted, life support machines would have been turned off on Monday, Bignami said. The toddler, Alfie Evans, died a few days after his life support was removed.

Persons: Indi Gregory, Giorgia Meloni's, Gregory, Galeazzo Bignami, Bignami, Dean Gregory, Alfie Evans, Alvise Armellini, Gavin Jones, Nick Macfie Organizations: Facebook, Christian Locations: ROME, Britain, Italy, Nottingham, England, Rome, Italian, Vatican, St Peter's

☆ Italy to build sea migrant reception centres in Albania
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Angelo Amante | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Meloni said the Albanian centres would initially host some 3,000 people when they are due to open in spring 2024. More than 145,000 people have come ashore in Italy so far in 2023, compared with around 88,000 in the same period in 2022. The same source denied Italy would pay any money to Albania to host the centres. Meloni said Italy would build a migrant identification facility at the Albanian port of Shëngjin, and a repatriation centre inland. The main countries migrants have arrived from in Italy in 2023 were Guinea, Ivory Coast and Tunisia, official data shows.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, Rama, Rome, Maurizio Veglio, Angelo Amante, Alvise Armellini, Alison Williams Organizations: European Union, Italian coastguard, Albanian, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Italy, Rome, ROME, Albania, Albanian, Africa, Shëngjin, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Rwanda

☆ Italy grants citizenship to baby in Britain to prevent weaning off life support
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, Nov 6 (Reuters) - The Italian government on Monday granted citizenship to a critically ill baby girl from Britain, in a move aimed at preventing doctors from weaning her off life support and allowing her to be moved to Italy. Eight-month-old Indi Gregory suffers from a rare mitochondrial disease, which means that her cells do not produce enough energy. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government stepped into the controversy by holding an emergency meeting on Monday which made Gregory an Italian citizen. Galeazzo Bignami, a junior minister, said the government's move would allow the baby's transfer to the Bambino Gesu paediatric hospital, and that without it her life support would have been turned off on Monday. The toddler, Alfie Evans, died a few days after his life support was removed.

Persons: Indi Gregory, Giorgia Meloni's, Gregory, Meloni, Galeazzo Bignami, Gregory's, Dean Gregory, Alfie Evans, Alvise Armellini, Gavin Jones, Nick Macfie Organizations: Thomson Locations: Britain, Italy, Nottingham, England, Rome, Italian, Vatican, St Peter's

☆ Italy judge seizes 780 mln euros from Airbnb in tax probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A woman talks on the phone at the Airbnb office headquarters in the SOMA district of San Francisco, California, U.S., August 2, 2016. REUTERS/Gabrielle Lurie/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsROME, Nov 6 (Reuters) - An Italian judge has ordered the seizure of 779.5 million euros ($836.40 million) from short-term rentals platform Airbnb's Ireland unit for alleged tax evasion, Milan prosecutors' office said on Monday. The probe concerns Airbnb's (ABNB.O) alleged failure to withold 21% of landlords' rental income and pay it to Italian tax authorities, as required by a 2017 law, prosecutors in the northern Italian city said in a statement. Airbnb's Italian press office did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's administration is meanwhile planning a crackdown on tax cheating on short-term rentals, and wants to raise taxes from 21% to 26% for owners of multiple short-term rental properties.

Persons: Gabrielle Lurie, Milan, Giorgia, Emilio Parodi, Alvise, Chris Reese, Franklin Paul, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, EU, Justice, Thomson Locations: SOMA, San Francisco , California, U.S, Italian

☆ Telecom Italia gives green light to KKR's grid bid, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Elvira Pollina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Telecom Italia (TIM) logo is seen displayed in this illustration taken, May 3, 2022. The price tag can reach 22 billion euros when including some future payments were a long-awaited combination of TIM's grid with that of state-backed fibre optic rival Open Fiber materialise, the first two sources said. Italian infrastructure fund F2i is also preparing to take a stake in the grid to bring the holding in Italian hands to 30%-35%. With its 24% TIM stake, Vivendi has warned TIM's board it is ready to bring a legal challenge to the sale after criticising its approval process, documents seen by Reuters showed. ($1 = 0.9321 euros)Reporting by Elvira Pollina; Editing by Valentina ZaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Giorgia, Pietro Labriola's, Merlyn Advisors, Stefano Siragusa, Elvira Pollina, Valentina Za Organizations: Telecom Italia, REUTERS, Vivendi, Sunday, KKR, Reuters, TIM, Treasury, Thomson Locations: MILAN, London

☆ Telecom Italia approves KKR's $20 billion grid bid in blow for Vivendi
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Elvira Pollina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Telecom Italia (TIM) logo is seen displayed in this illustration taken, May 3, 2022. The board started a review of KKR's offer on Friday, approving it on Sunday, TIM said. The sale's 18.8 billion euro price tag, including debt, could reach 22 billion euros if certain conditions are met, TIM said. TIM said it would not put the board's decision to a shareholder vote, in a setback for leading shareholder VivendI (VIV.PA). Vivendi, which owns 24% of TIM, has been seeking a higher price and questioned the sustainability of the business left behind.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Giorgia, Pietro Labriola's, Labriola, Merlyn Advisors, Merlyn, Elvira Pollina, Valentina Za, Will Dunham Organizations: Telecom Italia, REUTERS, TIM, Vivendi, Sunday, KKR, European Union, Treasury, VivendI, Thomson Locations: Italy, MILAN, London

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reacts during a meeting of European heads of state or government in Granada, Spain October 6, 2023. REUTERS/Juan Medina/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsROME, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Friday that her chief diplomatic adviser had resigned, carrying the can for a prank call fiasco that led to the release of unfiltered remarks on Ukraine and migration. "This matter was not handled well, we are all sorry, Ambassador (Francesco) Talo took responsibility for it," Meloni said, announcing that her aide had quit. Meloni's office confirmed on Wednesday that she had a phone conversation with a Russian comedian who successfully posed as a high-ranking African Union official. Reporting by Angelo Amante and Alvise Armellini, editing by Keith WeirOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Juan Medina, Francesco, Talo, Meloni, Angela Merkel, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Britain's Prince Harry, Angelo Amante, Alvise, Keith Weir Organizations: Italian, REUTERS, Rights, NATO, African Union, Kyiv, Democratic Party, Lexus, Thomson Locations: Granada, Spain, Ukraine, Israel, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russian, Italy, Russia, Kremlin

☆ Italy Weighs Ban on Technocrat-Led Government in Proposed Constitution Reform
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Angelo Amante and Giuseppe FonteROME (Reuters) - Italy's cabinet was set to propose on Friday a ban on technocrat-led governments, a draft law bill seen by Reuters showed, as part of a constitutional reform to introduce the direct election of the prime minister. Italy has had almost 70 governments since World War Two, more than twice the number in Britain and Germany. The right-wing administration of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who took office last year, made ending the country's chronic political instability strengthening the bond between governments and voters a key policy plank. The main opposition groups, the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and the 5-Star Movement, have already spoken out against the plan. Only the small centrist Italia Viva party of former premier Matteo Renzi said it might back the government.

Persons: Angelo Amante, Giuseppe Fonte, Giorgia Meloni, Mario Draghi, Sergio Mattarella, COVID, Matteo Renzi, Alison Williams Organizations: Reuters, European Central Bank, Democratic Party, Star Movement, Italia Viva Locations: Italy, Britain, Germany, technocrats

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