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☆ Rescue divers search for missing after landslide on Italy's Ischia island
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Rescue team members remove a car from the water following a landslide on the Italian holiday island of Ischia, Italy November 27, 2022. REUTERS/Ciro De LucaCASAMICCIOLA TERME, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Emergency workers stepped up efforts on Sunday to find 11 people missing on the southern Italian holiday island of Ischia a day after a landslide caused by torrential rain devastated a small town. Densely populated, Ischia is a volcanic island which lies some 30 km (19 miles) from Naples. Two families, including some children, were believed to be among the missing, according to local officials. "People must understand that they can't live in some areas and buildings in risky areas must be torn down", Campania governor Vincenzo De Luca told state broadcaster RAI on Sunday.

Cabinet undersecretary Alessio Butti will now be in charge of the strategy, according to a decree on Friday seen by Reuters. Butti has been critical of the previous government's plan to cut TIM's 25 billion euro ($26 billion) debt pile by selling its landline grid. The sale is a key plank of CEO Pietro Labriola's strategy to break up and revamp the battered company. The multi-billion euro offer would be part of a broader project to merge TIM's network with smaller rival Open Fiber, which is controlled by CDP. Earlier this month Giorgetti warned that Butti's plans for TIM needs to be extensively discussed within the government.

☆ Thirteen people missing on Italian island Ischia after landslide - ANSA
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Thirteen people were missing on the Italian holiday island of Ischia after a landslide caused by heavy rain engulfed some buildings, the Ansa news agency reported on Saturday, citing the local police. The Italian fire brigade tweeted that a rainstorm that started at 0400 GMT caused flooding and landslides on the island. "Searches are underway for any missing people" in Casamicciola Terme, one of the six small towns of Ischia, a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea about 30 km (18.64 miles)from Naples. Gianni Capuano, an official of Italy's Civil Protection, told Sky TG24 that a young child was among the missing, adding that families in danger were being evacuated. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was in close contact with the Civil Protection minister Nello Musumeci, the Civil Protection Department and the Campania Region "to follow the evolution of the wave of bad weather that has hit Ischia".

☆ Italy PM empowers top aide Butti to oversee fast-broadband strategy - draft
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has given cabinet undersecretary Alessio Butti powers to oversee Rome's strategic policies to develop ultra-fast broadband networks, a government decree seen by Reuters showed on Friday. The multi-billion euro offer would be part of a broader plan to merge TIM's network with smaller rival Open Fiber, which is controlled by CDP. Butti criticised such a plan and called on CDP to take control of TIM as a way to pursue the goal of combining the former phone monopoly network assets with those of Open Fiber. TIM's top investor is French media company Vivendi (VIV.PA) with a 24% stake and the second largest is CDP with a 10% stake. Reporting by Elvira Pollina and Giuseppe Fonte; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

One of the so-called policy "milestones" in Italy's pandemic Recovery Plan agreed with Brussels in return for around 200 billion euros ($208 billion) of EU funds was the introduction of sanctions for retailers who refuse to accept card payments. "The scheme is formally compliant with the EU-funded plan," Santoro said. The budget also raises a limit on cash payments to 5,000 euros from a previous limit of 1,000 euros from next year. Italy has so far obtained almost 67 billion euros of the roughly 200 billion euros of EU funds it is due through 2026. It is eligible for a further 19 billion euros at the end of this year provided it can complete the 55 targets and milestones set for the second half of 2022.

[1/5] Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks during a news conference to present her government's first budget in Rome, Italy, November 22, 2022. Meloni, a fiery conviction politician, has often spoken out against Italy's reliance on technocrats to solve its economic problems and lambasted alleged interference from "high international finance" and "Brussels bureaucrats". During the election campaign Meloni called in vain for her predecessor Mario Draghi to freeze the sale of a majority stake in ITA. PUSHBACKDeputy Economy and Finance Minister Maurizio Leo, an adviser to Meloni, had proposed splitting his ministry by hiving off the finance department responsible for tax matters. The head of the finance department, Fabrizia Lapecorella, has asked to move to another ministry, two sources said.

Enrico Letta said his centre-left Democratic Party would organise street protests on Dec. 17, while former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, leader of the left-leaning 5-Star Movement, called the cuts to the citizens' wage "inhuman." The budget allocates over 21 billion euros next year in tax breaks and bonuses to help firms and households pay electricity and gas bills. This comes on top of some 75 billion euros of similar measures approved this year. The curbs on the citizens' wage, which the rightist coalition says discourages people from seeking work, is particularly contentious. Meloni, who has always opposed the citizens' wage, insisted it was wrong "to put people who can work on the same level as those that can't."

☆ First nationwide map of Italy's fascist monuments goes online
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Alvise Armellini | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A man walks past a bas-relief depicting fascist leader Benito Mussolini in the EUR neighbourhood of Rome, Italy, known for its fascist architecture, October 19, 2022. The "places of fascism" website (www.luoghifascismo.it) was unveiled on Tuesday by the Istituto Nazionale Parri, a Milan-based historical research institute, following four years of research. It lists famous landmarks, such as the obelisk in Rome marked in giant lettering with "Mussolini Dux" (Mussolini leader), as well as more obscure memorials up and down the country. Italy has a complicated relationship with its fascist past, now under greater scrutiny as Giorgia Meloni, a hard-right politician with a teenage past as a Mussolini fan, was sworn in as prime minister last month. Reporting by Alvise Armellini; editing by Crispian Balmer and Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Italy govt officials to discuss plans for Telecom Italia on Tuesday
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Government officials will discuss plans for Telecom Italia (TIM) (TLIT.MI) later on Tuesday, Italy's economy minister said, responding to a question about the former phone monopoly's landline grid. Giorgetti was asked whether the new right-wing government backed Italian state lender CDP's plans to submit an offer for TIM's landline grid by the end of the month. CDP's multi-billion euro preliminary offer for TIM's landline grid is part of a plan to combine it with its broadband unit Open Fiber. The long awaited offer is expected to value TIM's landline grid and submarine cable unit Sparkle at between 15 and 18 billion euros including some 12 billion euros in debt, sources have previously said. Negotiations have been complicated by divergences on valuation, with TIM's top investor, French media conglomerate Vivendi (VIV.PA) demanding 31 billion euros to back a sale.

☆ China’s Xi attempts to claim diplomatic victory in battle for global influence after summit whirlwind
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Chinese leader Xi Jinping attends the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia on Wednesday. Since taking office, Biden has shored up relations with allies and partners to counter China’s growing influence. In a rare, candid moment caught on camera, Xi chided Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, accusing him of leaking details of a brief conversation between them. He also attended the Group of 20 dinner, where he shook hands and chatted with leaders including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Apart from the Dutch Prime Minister, Xi also invited US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s newly elected Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to visit Beijing early next year.

☆ Italy’s Meloni will dodge EU collision on budget
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, Nov 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Rightist Italian premier Giorgia Meloni will avoid a fiscal row with Brussels. Her first ever draft budget, to be discussed on Monday, targets a deficit of 4.5% of GDP in 2023. The bulk of Italy’s extra borrowing will go to fight the energy crisis, which has cost Rome 75 billion euros this year. Both measures are nowhere near the outlandish promises Meloni and her allies made before the elections. Rome will also limit the budget impact by cutting a popular welfare scheme by perhaps 1 billion euros and by extending a windfall tax for energy companies.

☆ Italy's Meloni to unveil budget with 30 bln euros to lift economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Giuseppe Fonte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Expansionary measures total more than 30 billion euros ($30.8 billion), with Rome planning to fund around 70% of the package by driving up next year's budget deficit to 4.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) from 3.4% forecast in September. Some 3 billion euros will come from a windfall tax on profits of energy companies that have benefited from the surge in oil and gas prices, the officials said. Further potential sources of funding are a tax on home deliveries to help shopkeepers hit by Amazon (AMZN.O), and a cut to the nine billion euros previously earmarked in 2023 for Italy's "citizens' wage" poverty relief scheme. SLOWING ECONOMYMeloni will spend more than 21 billion euros next year to help firms and households pay electricity and gas bills, the officials said. One of the most contentious measures in the budget is an amnesty on tax arrears of up to 1,000 euros stemming from before 2016.

☆ New Italian government's budget to boost spending to fight energy crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Crispian Balmer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Past attempts to do that have ended in disaster," Industry Minister Adolfo Urso told La Stampa newspaper on Sunday. Meloni has already said that roughly two thirds of the additional spending power would be used to help companies and households survive record-high gas and electricity bills. This comes on top of some 75 billion euros splashed out in 2022 to tackle surging energy prices. But ministers say they will be fiscally prudent, and avoid the budget errors that unseated Britain's former prime minister Liz Truss. Once the cabinet approves the budget, parliament will have until Dec. 31 to pass it into law.

☆ G20's criticism of Russia reflects the rise of new Asian power: India
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“Today’s era must not be of war,” it said, echoing what Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian leader Vladimir Putin during a face-to-face meeting in September. “How India united G20 on PM Modi’s idea of peace,” ran a headline in the Times of India, the country’s largest English-language paper. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesia's President Joko Widodo hold hands during the handover ceremony at the G20 leaders' summit, in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, November 16, 2022. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi hold a bilateral meeting on November 16, 2022 in Nusa Dua, Indonesia. And while this year’s G20 was looked at through the lens of the war, India could bring its own agenda to the table next year.

☆ Former Italian PM Berlusconi acquitted in bribery case
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Marco Carta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, Nov 17 (Reuters) - An Italian court on Thursday acquitted former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi of bribing a witness in a 2013 underage prostitution case, giving a boost to the veteran politician weeks after his return to parliament. party that is backing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's newly installed government, was eventually acquitted in that case. Berlusconi was eventually excluded from parliament in 2013 after his conviction in a tax fraud case. In a separate case pending at a Milan court, Berlusconi is accused of bribing 24 witnesses, mostly young guests at his evening parties. Last year a court in Siena acquitted Berlusconi of allegedly bribing another witness to his parties.

In September, it also recommended suspending a further 7.5 billion euros, or 65% of development funds envisaged for Hungary in the coming years, over corruption. But the promised reforms mark a change from years when, according to rights watchdog groups, Orban had channelled EU funds to his close associates, enriching them and ensuring their loyalty. Hungary had irregularities in nearly 4% of EU funds spending in 2015-19, according to the bloc's anti-fraud agency OLAF, by far the worst result among the 27 EU member states. Raising the stakes further, Hungary has blocked some unrelated EU decisions, from a minimum global corporate tax to 18 billion euros of planned support for war-torn Ukraine. "They are going to give the money," Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield, a Green French lawmaker, said of decisions she expected from the Commission and EU member states.

Leaders from the Group of Seven nations as well as Spain and the Netherlands, who are all on the Indonesian island of Bali for the G20 summit, held an emergency meeting in response to the missile strike in Poland. The G20 leaders' meeting on Wednesday will be important to raise their awareness of the war in Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron's office said on Tuesday after reports of the blasts in Poland. G20 leaders were due to visit a site in Bali to plant mangroves on Wednesday morning, although the schedule of the meeting hosted by Indonesia has not always run to plan. As at other recent international forums, the United States and its allies were seeking a statement from the G20 summit against Moscow's military actions. A 16-page draft declaration seen by Reuters, which diplomats said was yet to be adopted by leaders, acknowledged the rift over the Ukraine war.

☆ Italy PM: It 'changes very little' if Poland blast was not due to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ROME, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Italy believes it does not make much difference if the missile that caused a deadly explosion in Poland was not Russian, because Moscow is still to blame for attacking infrastructure in Ukraine, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Wednesday. Talking to reporters at the G20 summit in Bali, Meloni said she spoke to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. "The possibility that the missile falling on Poland was not a Russian missile but a Ukrainian one changes very little," she said. (This story has been refiled to fix repetition of "prime minister" in second paragraph)Reporting by Alvise Armellini and Angelo AmanteOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Italy and China agree at G20 summit on need for diplomatic solutions for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni walks after an emergency meeting at Nusa Dua in Bali, Indonesia November 16, 2022. Firdia Lisnawati/Pool via REUTERSROME, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with China's President Xi Jinping at the G20 and agreed that "every diplomatic initiative" should be put on the table to end the war in Ukraine, her office said on Wednesday. The two leaders spoke at the summit in Bali and "agreed that every diplomatic initiative should be promoted to put an end to the conflict and avoid an escalation", an Italian government statement said. Meloni also told Xi that Italy wants to increase exports to China, stressed the importance of reviving the EU-China dialogue, including on human rights, and accepted an invitation to visit China, according to the statement. Reporting by Alvise Armellini, editing by Gianluca SemeraroOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ NATO says Russia remains responsible for the fatal missile strike in Poland likely caused by Ukrainian air defense
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A missile killed two people when it hit NATO member Poland on Tuesday. NATO said it was likely a Ukrainian air-defense missile, but still faulted Russia. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that the missile, which killed two people in Poland near its border with Ukraine on Tuesday, was probably a Ukrainian air-defense missile which missed its mark. "Our preliminary analysis suggests that the incident was likely caused by a Ukrainian air defence missile fired to defend Ukrainian territory against Russian cruise missile attacks," Stoltenberg said. "The possibility that the missile falling on Poland was not a Russian missile but a Ukrainian one changes very little," Reuters reported her as saying.

☆ Biden says it's 'unlikely' the missile that hit Poland was fired from Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. President Joe Biden said it is unlikely that the missile that hit Poland and killed two people was fired from Russia, but the United States and allies unanimously agreed to support the country's investigation. "There is preliminary information that contests that," Biden said when asked if the missile was fired from Russia. Biden didn't address whether the missile could have been fired by Russia from Ukraine or elsewhere. Participants included G-7 members and allies: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Spainish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and European Council President Charles Michel. "The moment when the world came together at the G-20 to urge de-escalation, Russia continues to escalate in Ukraine," Biden said.

☆ Factbox: G20 summit: Which leaders will attend Bali summit?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

It will also mark the first face-to-face meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping since Biden became president. CHINA'S PRESIDENT XI JINPINGXi's visit to Southeast Asia will be only his second foreign trip since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. UKRAINE'S PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY (VIRTUAL)Indonesia invited Zelenskiy to attend the summit as an obsever, although the Indonesian foreign ministry has said he will appear at the summit virtually. INDIAN PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODIModi is due to symbolically take over the G20 presidency from current chair Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Bali. He also committed to work closely with the Indonesian president to help deliver a successful summit.

☆ Meloni hits back at France in migrants row
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ROME, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hit back at France on Friday in a row over who should be responsible for taking in migrants rescued at sea. "I was struck by the aggressive reaction from the French government which from my point of view is incomprehensible and unjustified," Meloni told a news conference, adding that Italy could not be the only destination for migrants from Africa. The Ocean Viking NGO ship carrying over rescued 200 migrants docked at the southern French port of Toulon on Friday after being rejected by Italy, BFM TV reported. Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, Angelo Amante and Alvise Armellini Writing by Keith Weir, editing Federico MaccioniOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Italian travel blogger detained in Iran freed - Italian PM office
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, Nov 10 (Reuters) - An Italian woman travel blogger arrested in Iran in late September has been released and is on the way home, the office of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday. "After intense diplomatic work today Alessia Piperno was released by Iranian authorities and is preparing to return to Italy," a statement said, adding that Meloni had called her parents to inform them. Speaking in Rome, Meloni thanked Italy's intelligence and diplomatic services "for the extraordinary silent work they did to bring this girl home". On social media, 30-year-old Piperno calls herself a "lone traveller" and says she has been on the road "since 2016, working remotely." Reporting by Angelo Amante, writing by Federico maccioni, editing by Alvise Armellini and Keith WeirOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia coming under heavy pressure in Ukraine, says NATO chief
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, Nov 10 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday Russia was coming under heavy pressure in Ukraine after Moscow ordered the withdrawal of its troops from the southern city of Kherson. Speaking after meeting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Stoltenberg said NATO would be watching in the coming days to see if the Russians did indeed pull back from the west bank of the Dnipro River. "What is clear is that Russia is coming under heavy pressure and if they leave Kherson it would be another victory for Ukraine," Stoltenberg told reporters after talks with new prime minister Meloni. He added that NATO would support Ukraine "for as long as it takes". Meloni, who took office last month, said her government remained committed to defending "the territorial integrity, sovereignty and freedom of Ukraine".

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