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☆ Italy approves clampdown on migrant rescue ships
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Angelo Amante | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The new set of rules is part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's efforts to crack down on the rescue vessels, which her government says encourage people to make the perilous trip across the Mediterranean from northern Africa. Charities deny this, saying migrants set to sea regardless of whether rescue boats are in the vicinity. Under the new law, ships have to request access to a port and sail to it "without delay" after a rescue, rather than remain at sea looking for other migrant boats in distress, and disclose detailed information about their rescue activities. The Roman Catholic Church in Italy last month said the new measures violated international law and should be scrapped. Government data shows 12,667 people have reached Italy so far this year, more than double the same period of 2022.

[1/2] Builders work at the construction site of an energy-saving building, making apartments more energy-efficient under the government's "superbonus" incentives, in Rome Italy, February 1, 2023. Banks have said there are more tax credits in circulation than they can deduct from their own tax bills. "We want to persuade the banks and other players to take all the stranded credits," Meloni said at the weekend, defending her decision to suddenly end further payments via tax credits. The move was triggered by an EU decision to include the tax credits in deficit calculations, potentially blowing budget plans dramatically off course. "If we had left the superbonus as it is, we would have had no money left in the budget for anything else," Meloni said.

The quake killed at least 36,187 in southern Turkey, while authorities in neighbouring Syria have reported 5,800 deaths - a figure that has changed little in days. While several people were found alive in Turkey on Wednesday, the number of rescues has dwindled significantly. Neither Turkey nor Syria have said how many people are still missing. More than 4,000 fatalities have been reported in the rebel-held northwest, but rescuers say nobody has been found alive there since Feb. 9. Deliveries from Turkey were severed completely in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, when a route used by the United Nations was temporarily blocked.

[1/6] Members of the military walk on the street in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Antakya, Turkey February 16, 2023. The number of people killed by the deadliest earthquake in Turkey's modern history has risen to 36,187, authorities said. While several people were also found alive in Turkey on Wednesday, reports of such rescues have become increasingly infrequent. Authorities in Turkey and Syria have not announced how many people are still missing. Millions of people are in need of humanitarian aid after being left homeless in near-freezing winter temperatures.

☆ Italy's Berlusconi faces verdict in Bunga Bunga bribe case
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Emilio Parodi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The scandal over the so-called Bunga Bunga parties contributed to Berlusconi's downfall as prime minister in 2011, marking the end of his fourth government. The case was split between three cities because of where the various witnesses lived. The Milan case is the biggest and most high-profile. Prosecutors in Italy's financial capital last May requested prison time for the former prime minister as well as the confiscation of four houses and millions of euros. Berlusconi, 86, has acknowledged giving money to various of his guests, but said it was offered spontaneously as compensation for the reputational damage they had suffered by being associated with his infamous Bunga Bunga parties.

"This result consolidates the centre-right and strengthens the work of the government," Meloni wrote on Twitter. However, fears inside the coalition that support might crumble for Meloni's two main partners proved unfounded. The result offered no comfort to the centre-left camp, comprising the Democratic Party (PD), the 5-Star Movement and so-called Third Pole, which is riven by mutual loathing. Italy's electoral laws at both a national and regional level favour parties that combine forces meaning Meloni's opponents face years in the wilderness unless they learn to work together. Reporting by Crispian Balmer and Angelo Amante; Editing by Gavin Jones and Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Italy's Meloni says France risks undermining EU unity on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday accused France of jeopardising EU unity on Ukraine by organising a Franco-German dinner in Paris with the Ukrainian president that excluded other European allies. "What was right was the photo of Zelenskiy with the 27 (EU leaders). "It is not easy for any of us to handle the Ukraine issue with public opinion. "Obviously I would have preferred him to be there," Meloni told reporters after the two-day EU summit. Reporting by Crispian Balmer and Alvise Armellini, Editing by Federico Maccioni and William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Meloni: Italy does not seek 'pat on the back' from Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Italy's government is looking to defend its national interests within the European Union rather than getting "pats on the back" from other EU leaders, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Friday. Meloni, who heads a right-wing nationalist administration, reiterated that she thought France had made a political mistake by inviting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Paris on the eve of the summit for a dinner with the German chancellor. "What was right and important was the picture with all the 27 EU members with Zelenskiy. That is strongest message you can give," she said, adding that the French initiative did not take into account the importance of European unity. Reporting by Angelo Amante and Alvise Armellini; Editing by Crispian BalmerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Italy bristles over Zelenskiy dinner snub in Paris
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks to the media as she attends the European leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium February 9, 2023. REUTERS/Yves HermanBRUSSELS, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticised France and Germany on Thursday after she was not invited to a dinner in Paris with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, adding to friction between the European Union allies. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met Zelenskiy on Wednesday evening ahead of an EU summit on Thursday. But unlike last year, when the then-Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi worked hand-in-hand with Macron and Scholz on Ukraine, Meloni was left out in the cold. However, things were different when Draghi, a former president of the European Central Bank, was prime minister.

☆ Italy's right poised to win regional vote after national triumph
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Crispian Balmer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Lazio, which is centred on the national capital Rome, and Lombardy, home to the financial capital Milan, account for just over a quarter of the national population and generate a third of the Italy's total gross domestic product (GDP). Although victory seems assured, the vote might yet destabilise the ruling coalition if Meloni's Brothers of Italy party continues to cannibalise its partners. "We can't be held hostage by Brothers of Italy," said Angelo Ciocca, a European parliamentarian with the League. "We need a strong League that does not let the autonomy bill end up in the Roman swamps," he told Reuters. Polls are open on both Sunday and Monday, with voting due to end at 1400 GMT on Monday.

☆ Analysis: Italy's Meloni belies radical image in cautious first 100 days
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Crispian Balmer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But almost 100 days since Meloni took office at the head of the most right-wing government Italy has seen since World War Two, these concerns have largely melted away. "We have seen something of a metamorphosis," said Sofia Ventura, a political science professor at Bologna University. Friend and foe alike say a significant reason for the softly-softly approach is money -- or rather a lack of it. "What happened in the UK shows ... how cautious we have to be with our fiscal and monetary policy mix," EU Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, a former Italian prime minister, said at the time. VITAL FUNDSAdding to the pressure on Meloni is Italy's dependence on the European Union's recovery and resilience fund.

Catalano's brother, Agostino, was a policeman who died in a 1992 bomb that killed anti-mob magistrate Paolo Borsellino - a attack that prosecutors say Messina Denaro helped mastermind. The last confirmed sighting of Messina Denaro was in 1993, making it difficult for police to identify the most wanted man in Italy. Only one of them decided to collaborate with justice," said Roberto Piscitello, a prosecutor who tried to capture Messina Denaro from 1996 to 2008. FALSE IDENTITYPolice say they managed to catch Messina Denaro after learning from wiretaps of his relatives that he had cancer. BUSINESS CONTACTSMagistrates said they found evidence that Messina Denaro had visited Spain, Greece and Austria over the years.

☆ Italy set to appoint veteran economist Barbieri as new Treasury head
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Giuseppe Fonte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Barbieri to replace Rivera, who failed to win over MeloniPrevious Treasury chiefs include former PM DraghiBureaucrats in Italy get substantial say in policy-makingROME, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Italy's government is set to appoint veteran economist Riccardo Barbieri as director general of the Treasury, replacing Alessandro Rivera in the influential position, the economy ministry said on Thursday. The move marks a victory for newly installed Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who was looking to remove Rivera and put her stamp on key positions. "A cosmopolitan former banker and chief economist, Barbieri is one of the Treasury senior officials who liaises more frequently with Brussels," said Francesco Galietti, head of political risk consultancy Policy Sonar. MPS is 64%-owned by the Treasury following a 2017 bailout that cost taxpayers 5.4 billion euros ($5.8 billion). Rivera spent much of his career within the economy ministry, specialised in the handling of banking and financial crises.

☆ Mafia boss Messina Denaro held in top security Italian prison
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] A general view shows the prison where Italy's most wanted mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro is detained, in L'Aquila, Italy, January 18, 2023. REUTERS/Gabriele PileriL'AQUILA, Italy, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro was being held on Wednesday in a high-security jail in central Italy, subject to special restrictions applied to the country's most dangerous prisoners. "I've no criminal record," Messina Denaro, who was caught on Monday after 30 years on the run, told prison guards when he was admitted to the Costarelle prison close to the city of L'Aquila, Italian media reported. Police on Tuesday found the apartment where they believe Messina Denaro had been living for the past few months under the assumed name of Andrea Bonafede. Prosecutors say Messina Denaro was one of the leading figures in Cosa Nostra but preferred to remain in his own region and was not the "boss of bosses" like the late Salvatore "Toto" Riina.

☆ Years of cat-and-mouse end as top mafioso cornered in Italian clinic
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Crispian Balmer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

He liked wearing designer clothes, expensive sun glasses and Rolex watches, he loved video games and had a taste for luxury foods. Messina Denaro was born in the southwestern Sicilian town of Castelvetrano in 1962, the son of a mafioso. A mass of these notes was found in 2006 when police caught Bernardo Provenzano, who had led Cosa Nostra after Riina's arrest. In a letter to a contact, Messina Denaro said he couldn't believe how careless Provenzano had been. Nonetheless, the fact he managed to escape arrest for so many years showed he had a fierce, loyal following.

☆ Gina Lollobrigida, post WWII Italian film diva, dies at 95
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ROME, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, a sultry Mediterranean diva who came to represent Italy's vibrant rebirth after World War Two, has died aged 95, her former lawyer said on Monday. "Farewell to a diva of the big screen, protagonist of more than half a century of the Italian film history. Ciao Lollo," Italian culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano wrote on Twitter. One of her last appearances was a cameo in an Italian film in 2011. In an interview with Reuters in the Rome villa in 2006, she complained about intrusive photographers, saying they were still trying to invade her privacy.

☆ Illness is what ultimately snared Italy's top Mafia fugitive
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Alvise Armellini | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Messina Denaro, 60, was caught just outside a private clinic in Palermo together with an accomplice. Illness "is one of the events in the life of a (fugitive) individual that forces them to come out into the open," Palermo Prosecutor Paolo Guido told a press conference. Officers found a man who looked well-groomed, in apparent good health, with a luxury watch worth 35,000 euros ($37,840). In police pictures, Messina Denaro was seen wearing a brown fur-lined jacket, glasses and a brown and white woolly hat. Meanwhile, Messina Denaro seems set for a life behind bars.

☆ Italian, Japanese leaders agree to form "strategic partnership"
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni hold a news conference at Chigi Palace, in Rome, Italy, January 10, 2023. REUTERS/Remo CasilliROME, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida agreed at a meeting on Tuesday to strengthen ties in a range of spheres including the economy, trade and defence, the leaders said. "We have agreed to elevate our relations to the level of a strategic partnership," Meloni told reporters in a brief statement after the meeting in Rome. Among the fields of heightened cooperation, Kishida, speaking through an interpreter, cited diplomacy, investment, railways and cinema. (This story has been refiled to remove a typo in the lead)Reporting by Gavin Jones, editing by Crispian BalmerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/12] Pope Francis attends the funeral of former Pope Benedict in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, January 5, 2023. REUTERS/Kai PfaffenbachSummary Pope Francis presides at funeral of his predecessorBenedict wanted simple funeral, Vatican saysEx-pope was standard-bearer for traditionalist CatholicsPope Benedict to be buried under St. Peter's BasilicaVATICAN CITY, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Pope Francis presided at the funeral of former Pope Benedict on Thursday, delivering a homily comparing his predecessor to Jesus before tens of thousands of mourners in St. Peter's square. 'LEFT HIS MARK'People from all over the world, many from Benedict's native Germany, began arriving the dark of the night to say farewell to Benedict. An account of Benedict's papacy, along with other items, including Vatican coins minted during his reign, was also tucked into the coffin. Even though Benedict largely avoided public appearances in subsequent years, he remained a standard-bearer for Catholic conservatives, who felt alienated by reforms ushered in by Francis, including cracking down on the old Latin Mass.

☆ Faithful pay respects to former Pope Benedict in St. Peter's
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/8] Faithful pay homage to former Pope Benedict in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, January 2, 2023. REUTERS/Guglielmo MangiapaneVATICAN CITY, Jan 2 (Reuters) - A steady stream of people filed into St. Peter's Basilica on Monday to pay their respects to former Pope Benedict XVI, whose body will lie in state in front of the main altar until his funeral later this week. Benedict died on Saturday at the age of 95 in the secluded Vatican monastery where he had lived since his shock resignation in 2013. His funeral will be held on Thursday in St Peter's Square and be presided over by Pope Francis. There were no signs of the huge crowds who came to pay their respects to Benedict's predecessor, Pope John Paul II, following his death in 2005.

☆ Death of former Pope Benedict overshadows New Year at Vatican
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/4] Candles stand next to St. Peter's Square after former Pope Benedict died in the Vatican, in Rome, Italy, December 31, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo MangiapaneVATICAN CITY, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Pope Francis marked the Roman Catholic Church's traditional World Day of Peace on Sunday but the start of the new year at the Vatican was overshadowed by the death of his predecessor, Benedict. It will be the first time in many centuries that a sitting pope will preside at the funeral of his predecessor. PRAISE, BUT ALSO CRITICISM FOR BENEDICTOn Saturday night the Vatican released Benedict's two-page "spiritual testimony" written in 2006, a year after his election as pope. Francis on Saturday called Benedict a noble, kind man who was a gift to the Church and the world.

☆ Factbox: Former Pope Benedict to have simple funeral after lying in state
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VATICAN CITY, Dec 31 (Reuters) - The body of former Pope Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday, will lie in state in St. Peter's Basilica on Monday and remain there for three days before his funeral, which is set for Jan. 5. LYING IN STATEUntil early Monday morning, Benedict's body will remain in the small monastery within the Vatican where he lived. FUNERALBenedict's funeral will be held on Thursday, Jan. 5 in St. Peter's Square, in front of the basilica. The ceremony will start at 9:30 a.m. (0830 GMT) and will be presided over by Pope Francis. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said that following the wishes of Benedict, the funeral would be simple, solemn and sober.

☆ Pope Francis calls Benedict noble, kind man who was gift to the world
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

VATICAN CITY, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Pope Francis, in his first public comments since the death of his predecessor earlier on Saturday, called former Pope Benedict a noble, kind man who was a gift to the Church and the world. Francis spoke in the homily of a previously planned New Year's Eve vespers of thanksgiving in St. Peter's Basilica. Pope Francis leads the Vespers and Te Deum prayer on New Year's Eve in St. Peter's Basilica after the death of former Pope Benedict at the Vatican, December 31, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane"It is with emotion that we remember his person, so noble, so kind. And we feel in our heart such gratitude, gratitude to God for having gifted him to the Church and the world," Francis said.

☆ Crumbling tech stocks and recession fears have cratered the fortunes of the wealthiest Americans including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Britta Pedersen-Pool/Getty Images; Arif Hudaverdi Yaman/Getty Images; KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/Getty Images; Mike Cohen/Getty Images; Yuqing Liu/Business Insider1. Besides the fallen crypto king, many of these shrinking fortunes can be chalked up to this year's bloodbath in the tech stocks. How has Elon Musk's involvement with Twitter impacted your outlook for Tesla stock? Tesla stock price on December, 29, 2022 Markets Insider10. Tesla stock climbed Wednesday as dip-buyers poured into the EV maker.

[1/4] Italy's Defence Minister Guido Crosetto poses for a picture during an interview with Reuters, in Rome, Italy, December 16, 2022. Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, a co-founder of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, said Rome would make a final decision on how much to invest in the multi-billion-dollar project after more details had been defined. Crosetto said there should be no bar on joining forces with the rival European programme, adding that the GCAP should also aim to find new partners, especially within Europe. Italy has never disclosed details of its shipments, but Crosetto confirmed that Kyiv had requested air-defence systems, including the Franco-Italian SAMP/T. He added that Italy was also open to suggestions for joint procurement by the EU Defence Agency.

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