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☆ Jailed Italian Mafia boss Messina Denaro dies: ANSA
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] A screengrab taken from a video shows Matteo Messina Denaro the country's most wanted mafia boss being escorted out of a Carabinieri police station after he was arrested in Palermo, Italy, January 16, 2023. Carabinieri/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsROME, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Italian Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, who was arrested in January after spending 30 years on the run, has died, ANSA news agency reported on Monday. Messina Denaro, 61, was suffering from cancer at the time of his arrest. The son of a mafioso, Messina Denaro was born in the southwestern Sicilian town of Castelvetrano in 1962. Despite his notoriety, prosecutors have always doubted that Messina Denaro became the Mafia "boss of bosses", saying it was more likely that he was simply the head of Cosa Nostra in western Sicily.

Persons: Matteo Messina Denaro, Messina Denaro, Denaro, ANSA, Giovanni Falcone, Paolo Borsellino, Giuseppe Di Matteo, Salvatore, Riina, turncoats, Crispian Balmer, Kanjyik Ghosh, Kim Coghill, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Carabinieri, REUTERS, Rights, Mafia, La Repubblica, Messina, Police, Cosa Nostra, Thomson Locations: Palermo, Italy, Rome, Florence, Milan, Messina, Sicilian, Castelvetrano, Sicily, Campobello

☆ Lost Truman Capote story published after discovery in notebook
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Amy Woodyatt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —An unknown story by Truman Capote has been published for the first time, after it was discovered hiding in plain sight in a red notebook belonging to the acclaimed author. Capote, a famous American writer and novelist, was born in New Orleans in 1924 and died in 1984. “Then in a red notebook, there was a handwritten short story from Truman Capote. “The whole work of finding these unpublished works is something which I have to say is satisfying when it comes to fruition. But generally it’s something very, very frustrating, because you’ll find that you’re always coming up with nothing,” he told CNN.

Persons: Truman Capote, Capote, ”, Andrew F, Gulli, James M, Cain, Iris Greentree, jilts, “ It’s, Ernest Hemmingway, John Steinbeck, H.G, you’re, aren’t Organizations: CNN, of Congress, Truman Locations: American, New Orleans, Washington’s, Sicily, Wells

NEW YORK (AP) — Along with such classics as “In Cold Blood” and “Breakfast at Tiffany's,” Truman Capote had a history of work left uncompleted and unpublished. “I am so happy to be writing stories again — they are my great love," he wrote to a friend. She’d trusted him to the extent of her capital: let him sell her the land, allowed him to build the villa, supply, at pirate prices, the native paraphernalia that furnished it,” Capote wrote. Thomas Fahy, author of “Understanding Truman Capote,” says that the author likely related to Iris Greentree's sense of displacement and alienation. “You could see how his life became very lonely and isolated.”The Strand has published rare works by Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck and many others.

Persons: ” Truman Capote, Capote, “, Fontana Vecchia, Lawrence, Miriam, ”, —, Iris Greentree, Signor Carlo Petruzzi, Carlo, She’d, ” Capote, who’d, Thomas Fahy, Truman Capote, Iris Greentree's, ” Fahy, Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, Andrew Gulli, Fahy, Gerard Clarke, Jack Dunphy, Clarke, Fontana, “ Blond Organizations: Magazine, of Congress Locations: New York City, Taormina, Sicily, D.H, Europe, American, “, Belle Vista, New York, New Orleans, Alabama, Connecticut, Monroeville , Alabama, Italy, America

☆ They bought a one euro home in Italy. Then they bought another
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Silvia Marchetti | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Sign up to CNN Travel’s Unlocking Italy newsletter for insider intel on Italy’s best loved destinations and lesser-known regions to plan your ultimate trip. In 2021, Jeffrey Pfefferle bought two abandoned houses in the Sicilian town of Mussomeli. Jeffrey PfefferleThe couple bought it fully furnished: antique furniture, glass chandeliers, plates and blankets were left behind by the former owners. Once it’s fully renovated, it will be liveable.”The couple was last in Mussomeli in February to check on the works. ‘I can’t believe there’s community’The pair bought a turnkey property, and then a one-euro home.

Persons: we’ll, Stanley Tucci, Jeffrey Pfefferle, Leon McNaught, ”, “, Sicily Mussomeli, expats, –, Pfefferle, it’s, “ We’ve, ‘, Sicily’s, Sicily, Stephan Knodler, Agenzia Immobiliare Organizations: CNN, intel, ”, Mussomeli, Palermo, “ Locations: Sicilian, Mussomeli, South California, Sicily, Campania, Zungoli, Rome, Southern California

☆ Facing fares row, Ryanair hit by new antitrust probe in Italy
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ryanair said on Wednesday that internal Italian flights to Sicily would be cut by 10% in its latest winter schedule, blaming the government's planned price cap. Eddie Wilson, the chief executive of Ryanair DAC, the biggest airline in the Ryanair group, said the airline opposed the measure despite the modification. During a visit to Sicily, Wilson contrasted Ryanair's expansion of foreign flights to and from the island with the reduction on domestic routes. "Italian domestic growth has sadly been negatively impacted by the Italian government's unlawful price cap decree to restrict airlines’ freedom to set low air fares," Wilson said in a statement. Ryanair has already reduced its domestic schedule for flights to Sardinia over the winter.

Persons: International Eleftherios Venizelos, Alkis, Eddie Wilson, Wilson, Alvise Armellini, Keith Weir, Cristina Carlevaro, Jason Neely, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Ryanair, Company, Europe's, International Eleftherios, REUTERS, Ryanair DAC, Thomson Locations: Italy, Sicily, ROME, Athens, Greece, Sardinia

☆ Analysis: EU, Italy talk tough on migration but action won't be easy
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Alvise Armellini | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/5] An Italian Coast Guard vessel carrying migrants rescued at sea passes between tourist boats, on Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy. Well over 10,000 migrants reached the Italian island - whose permanent population is about 6,000 - last week. Lampedusa sits in the Mediterranean between Tunisia, Malta and the larger Italian island of Sicily and is a first port of call for many migrants seeking to reach the EU. In 2020, it was discontinued as other EU nations balked at Italian requests to have them redistributed around the bloc. Other EU states have not commented publicly on the idea of a naval blockade, which Italy says would also need the consent of North African states.

Persons: Yara, Sophia, Giorgia Meloni, Lampedusa, Meloni, Ursula von der Leyen, Ferruccio Pastore, Pastore, von der Leyen, Maurizio Ambrosini, Jan Strupczewski, Gavin Jones, Janet Lawrence Organizations: Italian Coast Guard, EU, European Union, European, International, European Forum, Research, Immigration, Human, Reuters, Dublin, University of Milan, Thomson Locations: Lampedusa, Italy, North Africa, ROME, Tunisia, Malta, Sicily, Europe, Albania, Italian, Rome, Tirana, France, Austria, Dublin, EU, Germany, Brussels, repatriations

☆ 'We want to leave - wherever that might be,' says Cameroon migrant on Lampedusa
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Yara Nardi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

She arrived in Lampedusa on Tuesday, travelling with her children, one just 18 months. "I hope the situation improves and they let us leave from here because the living conditions here are not easy. [1/4]Claudine Nsoe, 29, from Cameroon, stands outside with her son Prince on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy, September 15, 2023. Under EU rules, migrants are supposed to file for asylum in the first EU country they reach. Germany, in turn, said this week it would no longer accept migrants from Italy under a voluntary EU redistribution scheme.

Persons: Claudine Nsoe, Nsoe, Prince, Yara, Giorgia, Yara Nardi, Alvise Armellini, Gavin Jones, Nick Macfie Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, EU, Thomson Locations: Cameroon, Lampedusa, North Africa, Libya, Italian, Italy, Sicily, Europe, Italy's, France, Germany

☆ UN Refugee Agency: Wave of Migrants Must Be Moved off Island of Lampedusa
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations refugee agency on Friday said it was imperative that the thousands of migrants who have arrived in recent days on the Italian island of Lampedusa be relocated because of its limited resources. Around 7,000 migrants arrived on the shore of the small island in a two-day period, prompting pleas for help from Italy. Authorities have organised some transfers to the larger island of Sicily to ease the situation, something the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) expects will continue in the coming days. "It's imperative to move people off the island because the resources there, the capacity is so limited," said UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh. It is hard to identify a single factor behind this recent spike in migrant arrivals on Lampedusa, Saltmarsh said.

Persons: Matthew Saltmarsh, Saltmarsh, Cécile Mantovani, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Kevin Liffey Organizations: United Nations, Authorities, Refugees, UNHCR, European Union Locations: GENEVA, Lampedusa, Italy, Sicily, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Malta

☆ UN refugee agency: wave of migrants must be moved off island of Lampedusa
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Migrants wait at the port to be transferred to the mainland, on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Yara Nardi Acquire Licensing RightsGENEVA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The United Nations refugee agency on Friday said it was imperative that the thousands of migrants who have arrived in recent days on the Italian island of Lampedusa be relocated because of its limited resources. Around 7,000 migrants arrived on the shore of the small island in a two-day period, prompting pleas for help from Italy. "It's imperative to move people off the island because the resources there, the capacity is so limited," said UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh. It is hard to identify a single factor behind this recent spike in migrant arrivals on Lampedusa, Saltmarsh said.

Persons: Yara, Matthew Saltmarsh, Saltmarsh, Cécile Mantovani, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Kevin Liffey Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, United Nations, Authorities, Refugees, UNHCR, European Union, Thomson Locations: Lampedusa, Italy, Sicily, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Malta

☆ An Italian Island Reflects Giorgia Meloni’s Challenges on Migration
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Gaia Pianigiani | More About Gaia Pianigiani | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Italy’s southernmost island, Lampedusa, thousands of migrants crowded a reception center built for 600, as small boats hailing from Tunisia kept arriving. Outside Rome, a bus carrying migrants en route from Sicily to a center in the north crashed into a truck on Friday, killing the drivers of both vehicles and injuring 19 migrants. The huge challenges posed by immigration were in the spotlight again in Italy this week, undermining the efforts of the far-right ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to show that she had made progress in dissuading migrants from coming. In the years leading up to her election last year, Ms. Meloni positioned herself as a hard-line opponent to migration, calling for a “naval blockade” and suggesting that the boats used to rescue migrants be sunk once the migrants were taken off them. Since taking power, she has changed tactics, signing a European Union deal with Tunisia aimed at stemming the flow of migrants from that country, and working with the bloc to facilitate the redistribution of those who do arrive across member states.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Meloni Organizations: European Union Locations: Lampedusa, Tunisia, Rome, Sicily, Italy

☆ Italy's Meloni seeks EU mission to block migrant arrivals
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Yara Nardi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LAMPEDUSA, Italy, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called on Friday for the European Union to act jointly "with a naval mission if necessary" to prevent migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa. Meloni posted a video message on social media promising tough action in response to a surge in migrant arrivals this week which have overwhelmed the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa. "I intend to reiterate a request for an immediate EU mission to block the departure of migrant boats," said Meloni, for whom the swelling number of arrivals has become a major political headache. [1/6]Migrants wait at the port to be transferred to the mainland, on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy, September 15, 2023. Earlier on Friday, France agreed to work with Italy towards some sort of EU response to the crisis.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, Charles Michel, Lampedusa, Yara, Claudine Nsoe, Prince, Emmanuel Macron, General Antonio Guterres, Matthew Saltmarsh, Alvise Armellini, Gavin Jones, Augustin Turpin, Dominique Vidalon, Keith Weir, Mark Heinrich, Kevin Liffey, Alistair Bell Organizations: Italian, European Union, European, EU, European Commission, REUTERS, Refugee Agency, UNHCR, U.N, Thomson Locations: LAMPEDUSA, Italy, North Africa, Lampedusa, Tunisia, Tunis, Lampedusa's, Sicily, Cameroon, Libya, France, Rome, Paris

☆ Italy's Lampedusa 'in crisis' with thousands of migrant arrivals - mayor
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Yara Nardi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Migrants wait at the port to be transferred to the mainland, on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy, September 14, 2023. "In the past 48 hours, around 7,000 people have arrived in Lampedusa, which has always welcomed them with open arms," mayor Filippo Mannino told Italy's RTL 102.5 radio. "We stand ready to support Italy and this is what we are doing," a Commission spokesperson said. Preliminary data from Spain, another country on the EU's southern flank, showed the number of migrant arrivals to the Canary Islands more than trebled to 2,891 people in the first two weeks of September. Matteo Villa, a migration data analysis expert from the ISPI think tank in Milan, told Reuters migrant arrivals to Italy this year are close to the record registered in 2016, when more than 180,000 people came.

Persons: Yara, Lampedusa, Filippo Mannino, Giorgia, Matteo Salvini, Meloni, Matteo Villa, Gavin Jones, Alvise Armellini, Federico Maccioni, Corina Pons, Keith Weir, Janet Lawrence Organizations: REUTERS, European Commission, European Union, RTL, Thomson Locations: Lampedusa, Italy, North Africa, Tunisia, Malta, Sicily, Europe, Italian, Budapest, Brussels, Spain, Senegal, Milan, Tunis, Rome, Madrid

Spanish farmer Miguel Moreno was an early adopter of so-called cover crops. Spain's drought-hit olive oil production slumped to 663,000 tonnes last year, less than half the average of 1.45 million tons recorded in the previous four harvests, according to the government. In January, it began subsidising farmers who use cover crops as part of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). She said the company was pushed both by customers such as Walmart in the U.S. and by regulation to buy olive oil from producers using sustainable practices. Ecology professor Manzaneda is also coordinator of EU-funded project SOIL O-LIVE and is testing methods for coaxing Albacete's degraded earth back to health.

Persons: Chiclana de Segura, Jon Nazca, Andrea Ronca, Miguel Moreno, Angel, Dcoop, Gonzalo Delacamara, Emilio Gonzalez, Antonio Manzaneda, Manzaneda, Olive, Syngenta, Luis Miranda, Domingo, Marco Trevisan, Dean, Simone Rech, Catalonia's Cava, Sebastiano Conti, Charlie Devereux, Antonella, Corina Pons, Keith Weir, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: REUTERS, Companies Southern, VILLANUEVA DEL ARZOBISPO, Farmers, European Union, of Nutrition, Plant Science, IE, Water, University of Cordoba, University of Jaen, European, Walmart, Swiss, Syngenta, EU, TECH, Smart, Milan Polytechnic, University of Brescia, of Agricultural Sciences, Catholic University of Piacenza, Thomson Locations: Olive, Chiclana, Jaen, Spain, ROME, Italy, Madrid, European, France, Germany, Mantua, Andalusia, European Union, U.S, ITALY, Treviso, Venice, Sicily

☆ What lies behind Italy's immigration crisis?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Newly arrived migrants wait to embark on a ferry to the mainland, in the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy, August 27, 2023. Since Jan. 1, around 118,500 sea migrants have landed on Italian shores, a near-record figure that jars with Meloni's election campaign pledges. On current trends, arrivals are near the peak recorded in 2016, when about 181,500 sea migrants arrived in Italy. Members of the ruling coalition have accused the EU of not offering enough support for Italy - but other EU members are also under pressure from immigration. Italy faces more sea arrivals but other countries are dealing with higher overall migration figures, including via land.

Persons: Tony Colapinto, Giorgia Meloni's, Meloni, Alvise Armellini, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Migrants, Charities, Thomson Locations: Sicilian, Lampedusa, Italy, North Africa, Tunisia, Sicily, Europe, Germany, France, Spain, Austria

☆ Solenopsis invicta: Red fire ants, an invasive species with a painful sting, have spread to Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The red fire ant, one of the world’s most invasive species, has been found in Europe for the first time, according to a new study. Institut de Biologia EvolutivaResearchers said they had identified 88 red fire ant nests spread over 5 hectaresnear the city of Syracuse in Sicily, Italy. While red fire ants had been discovered in imported products in Spain, Finland andthe Netherlands, a colony had never been confirmed before this study, theauthors said. The study suggested that wind could have transported flying queen ants fromthe northwest of Syracuse, where the commercial port is located. Genetic analysis of the ants revealed that they had most likely spread from the United States or China, where Solenopsis invicta is also an invasive species.

Persons: Evolutiva, “, alarmingly, ”, Mattia Menchetti, ” Menchetti, Paris — Organizations: CNN, invicta, Institut, of Evolutionary, Solenopsis invicta, Paris, United Locations: Europe, South America, United States, Mexico, Caribbean, China, Australia, Syracuse, Sicily, Italy, Spain, Finland, Netherlands, Barcelona, Rome, London, United Nations

☆ ‘The Equalizer 3’ Review: Brood, Kill, Sip a Cup of Tea, Repeat
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Manohla Dargis | More About Manohla Dargis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

As one does in Italy, Robert McCall likes to sit in a little cafe, watching the world pass by. McCall — an enigmatic avenger played by Denzel Washington — likes tea, but he’s fine with the coffee that a beautiful server brings him with a smile. This is the third and apparently last “Equalizer” movie that Washington will make. Maybe he’s grown tired of the franchise’s same-old ultraviolence or perhaps he’s bored with the predictable predictability of it all, even if this installment is as reliably watchable if ethically challenged as the previous ones. Whatever the case, little has changed since the first “Equalizer” (2014).

Persons: Robert McCall, McCall, Denzel Washington, Nero d’Avola Organizations: Denzel Locations: Italy, Washington, Amalfi, Sicily

☆ Help! I Fell in Sicily and my Travel Insurance Ditched Me
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Seth Kugel | More About Seth Kugel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

I had purchased the RoundTrip Choice plan from Seven Corners Travel Insurance, so I called, expecting they would help coordinate my medical care with Italian-speaking doctors. But they told me to seek help on my own, save the receipts and file a claim when I got home. Seven Corners finally paid $5,772 for my bills and missed trip, but refused to reimburse me for most of my business-class fare. I have registered complaints with the Better Business Bureau and the state insurance agencies of Florida and Indiana (where Seven Corners is based), but I’ve gotten nowhere. Seven Corners says it will, according to its website, boasting of “a 24/7 multilingual team available to help with travel emergencies,” including help finding medical care and second opinions as well as “interpreter referrals” and medical evacuations.

Persons: I’ve, Makenzie, Greg Jung, Ilaria Organizations: Seven Corners Travel Insurance, Google, Better Business Bureau, Seven Locations: Sicily, Palermo, Munich, New York, Jacksonville, Florida, Indiana, St, Augustine, Fla, French, Belgian, California

☆ Italy struggles with spike in migrant arrivals
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Newly arrived migrants wait to embark on a ferry to the mainland, in the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy, August 27, 2023. On Lampedusa island, Italy's southernmost outpost, more than 4,200 people landed over the weekend, local police chief Emanuele Ricifari told Reuters. Italy has recorded more than 107,500 sea arrivals in the year to date, compared with around 53,000 in the same period last year. The spike has partly been driven by an increase in the ranks of unaccompanied minors making the perilous sea journey to Italy. The Italian Red Cross (CRI) took over the running of the facility on June 1, replacing a cooperative that had been criticised for failing to provide adequate care.

Persons: Tony Colapinto, Emanuele Ricifari, Roberto Dipiazza, Rosario Valastro, Alvise Armellini, Gavin Jones, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, della Sera, CRI, Facebook, Thomson Locations: Sicilian, Lampedusa, Italy, North Africa, Balkans, Trieste, Slovenia, Sicily

☆ 20 Secrets of Sicily: The Restaurants, Beaches and Museums Most Tourists Miss
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Roy Vlcek | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

UNDER SIEGE The Castello Maniace, a 13th-century citadel in Syracuse’s old town, is just one vestige of Sicily’s long history of occupation and conquest. Photo: Alamy Stock PhotoEven before HBO’s “The White Lotus,” Sicily was a hotspot for travelers looking beyond the Italian mainland—and for good reason. The island has its own cuisine, drawn in equal measure from the sea and the fertile slopes of Mount Etna; its own varieties of wine; even its own language. Its history, as a crossroads of trade and conquest in the Mediterranean, stretches back thousands of years.

Persons: HBO’s “ Locations: Castello, Syracuse’s, Sicily, Mount Etna

☆ Rich History, Dizzying Beauty: The Sicilian City Where Aimless Wandering Is the Point
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Tara Isabella Burton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

THE SUN was setting as I made my way past tombs and ruins toward the ancient amphitheater for the night’s performance. By this point, my third day in Sicily, I was prepared to be taken back in time. The show, Euripides’ “Iphigenia in Tauris” was written in the 5th century B.C., roughly when the theater might have been completed. The scalding summertime heat of the Italian island had at last receded and the smell of jasmine and bougainvillea filled the air as I took my seat.

Persons: Euripides ’ “, Tauris ” Locations: Sicily, Tauris

☆ Italian mayors are still hoping that an Elon v. Zuck fight could boost their towns' profiles, despite the Meta CEO getting tired of Musk's shenanigans
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The mayor of Pompeii is keen to host a bout, and Florence's mayor suggested "a clash of ideas" instead. Plans for a fight between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg appear to be scuppered after the Meta CEO grew tired of the other billionaire's shenanigans. But the mayors of Italian towns and cities are still vying to host a potential bout between the pair, Euronews reported. Despite this, there have been at least seven proposals from other Italian cities, including Pompeii and Verona, to host a potential fight, according to Euronews. xenotar/Getty Images"Pompeii is the best site to host the worldwide challenge between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg," the city's mayor, Carime Lo Sapio, told Euronews.

Persons: Musk, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Elon, Carime Lo Sapio, Euronews, I've, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Meta Organizations: Elon, Telegraph Locations: Pompeii, Verona, Taormina, Sicily, xenotar, Italian, Calabria, Rome, Florence

☆ Mount Etna: Volcanic cloud closes Sicily’s Catania airport after volcano erupts
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Duerte Mendonca | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —A cloud of volcanic ash spewing from Europe’s most active volcano has prompted the closure of one of Sicily’s largest airports, leading to flights being delayed, canceled and diverted. Sicily’s Catania international airport, known as Catania–Fontanarossa Airport, is to remain closed until 8 p.m. local time on Monday following the eruption of nearby Mount Etna, the airport press office said in a statement. Travelers grounded due to the eruption of the Etna volcano and closure of Catania airport. Orietta Scardino/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockThis is “producing a fallout of ash in the southern sector of the volcano and beyond,” it said. As well as being the most active, Mount Etna is Europe’s highest volcano, at about 3,350 meters (almost 11,000 feet) tall.

Persons: Orietta Scardino Organizations: CNN, Sicily’s Catania, Catania – Fontanarossa, Italian National Institute of Geophysics Locations: Catania, Mount Etna, Orietta, Malta, France, Austria, Etna

☆ Mount Etna eruption disrupts Sicily's troubled Catania airport
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano, lights up the night sky with eruptions as seen from Rocca Della Valle, Italy, August 13, 2023. Etna Walk/Marco Restivo/ Handout via REUTERSCATANIA, Sicily, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Flights serving the eastern Sicilian city of Catania were halted on Monday after an eruption from nearby Mount Etna, local authorities said, bringing fresh travel woe to the crisis-plagued Italian airport. The 3,330 metre (10,925 ft) high volcano burst into action overnight, firing lava and ash high over the Mediterranean island. Flights to and from Catania, a popular tourist destination, would be suspended until 8:00 p.m. (1800 GMT), the airport said on Twitter. The latest cancellations at Catania airport, which attracts more arrivals than the island's capital, Palermo, came a month after a fire at a terminal building led to weeks of disruptions for passengers.

Persons: Rocca Della Valle, Marco Restivo, Enrico Trantino, Crispian Balmer, Conor Humphries Organizations: REUTERS, Twitter, Catania, Thomson Locations: Etna, Italy, Handout, REUTERS CATANIA, Sicily, Sicilian, Catania, Mount Etna, Palermo

☆ Changing climate pushes migrating birds from parched Tunisian wetlands
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Jihed Abidellaoui | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"It's the first time I've seen Sijoumi lagoon dry out in this way." Hicham Azafzaf, the scientific coordinator of Tunisia's Bird Lovers Association, said he had never seen such dry wetlands in his 20 years of monitoring them. However, while this summer has been particularly bad, it follows a longer trend that had already had a clear impact on birds. Climate change is not the only danger to Tunisia's wetlands, he said. Yet the lagoons and other wetlands are important for human residents too, regulating local temperature during heatwaves and helping avert dangerous floods by absorbing rainfall from sudden storms.

Persons: Radhia Haddad, Sijoumi, Haddad, Hicham Azafzaf, Tunisia's, Azafzaf, Jihed Abidellaoui, Angus McDowall, Conor Humphries Organizations: REUTERS, Association, Thomson Locations: Tunisia, Tunis, TUNIS, Africa, Europe, Ariana, Sicily

☆ Pope Francis denounces 'pain and shame' of Mediterranean migrant deaths
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer from his window at the Vatican, August 13, 2023. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERSMILAN, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday urged politicians to address the "open wound" of migrant deaths in the Mediterranean, saying he had been praying for the 41 people who died in a shipwreck earlier this month. More than 22,000 people have died or gone missing in its waters since 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration. Port officials on the Italian island of Sicily recovered one body on Sunday after a boat carrying 13 migrants capsized on Saturday night off the nearby island of Marettimo, ANSA news agency reported. The pope also called for prayers for Ukraine and for the victims of the wildfires in Maui in Hawaii.

Persons: Pope Francis, Francis, Valentina Za, Frances Kerry Organizations: Vatican, Handout, REUTERS, Sunday, International Organization for Migration, Thomson Locations: REUTERS MILAN, Europe, Sicily, Marettimo, France, Britain, Ukraine, Maui, Hawaii

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