Tag Archives: Italy

The New York Times reports: Italy set a new bar on Friday for major Western democracies seeking to move beyond the pandemic by putting in place a sweeping law that requires the nation’s entire work force — public and private — to have government-issued health passes. The measure requires workers to show proof of vaccination, a negative rapid swab test …

Politico Europe reports: The Italian government is under pressure to ban neo-fascist movements that took part in violent anti-vaccination protests at the weekend. On Saturday, demonstrators trashed a union building and attacked a hospital emergency room as part of a day of violence that has been likened to the Capitol Hill riot in Washington in January. The protest left 38 …

Reuters reports: Italian police said on Sunday they had arrested 12 people including the leaders of the extreme right-wing party Forza Nuova, after clashes in Rome a day earlier over a government drive to make the COVID-19 “Green Pass” mandatory for all workers. Thousands of people took to the streets of the Italian capital on Saturday to oppose the move. …

Euronews reports: Italy has become the first European country to make COVID-19 health passes mandatory for all workers. The Italian government approved a new measure on Thursday that makes digital vaccine certificates compulsory for both public and private sectors. The obligation is set to begin from October 15 and remain in force until the end of the year. All employees …

The Art Newspaper reports: After a protracted legal battle, the Italian culture ministry has evicted Benjamin Harnwell, a British Catholic conservative, from the 13th-century Italian monastery where he planned to launch a right-wing political academy with Donald Trump’s former chief strategist, Steve Bannon. The ministry is now enlisting a coalition of community groups to open the Certosa di Trisulti to …

The Local Italy reports: The website of Lazio, the Italian region that includes Rome, was down on Sunday after being hit by a cyber attack, meaning that people could no longer use it to book a Covid vaccine. The President of the Lazio region, Nicola Zingaretti, wrote on his Facebook page: “A massive hacker attack against LazioCrea computer systems that …

The Associated Press reports: The Vatican said Monday that Pope Francis is “in good condition, alert” and breathing on his own, a day after he underwent a three-hour operation that involved removing half his colon. Francis, 84, is expected to stay in Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic, a Catholic hospital, for about seven days “barring complications,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. “His …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis went Sunday to a Rome hospital for scheduled surgery for a stenosis, or restriction, of the large intestine, the Vatican said. The brief announcement from the Holy See’s press office didn’t say exactly when the surgery would be performed but said there would be an announcement when the surgery is complete. Last week, Francis, …

The Associated Press reports: The Vatican’s Secretary of State attempted to tamp down controversy Thursday over a Vatican diplomatic communication to Italy, saying the Holy See was not trying to block passage of a law that would extend additional protections from discrimination to the LGBT community. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s No. 2, told Vatican News that he personally approved …

The Washington Post reports: The Vatican has taken a highly unusual step against its neighbor, sending a diplomatic note to the Italian government that protests a draft law aimed at preventing hate and violence against LGBT people. The complaint marks a formal effort by the Vatican to influence Italian lawmaking and could provide a test for how forcefully the church …

Politico Europe reports: Anti-terror police in Italy say they have dismantled a far-right extremist group that was allegedly plotting to bomb a NATO base. Carabinieri seized photographs of Hitler, swastikas and a book listing Jewish surnames during coordinated raids on Monday on the homes of 12 alleged members of the Roman Aryan Order, a Nazi-inspired white supremacist group. One of …

Reuters reports: Steve Bannon, the former adviser to ex-U.S. President Donald Trump, has lost a legal battle to set up a right-wing Catholic political academy in an abbey in Italy. The Council of State on Monday ruled against the Dignitatis Humanae Institute (DHI), backed by Bannon, which wanted to start the school in an 800-year-old monastery south of Rome. Over …

CBS News reports: A year after COVID-19 struck Italy, more than half of the country’s residents were set to be placed back under hard lockdown restrictions from Monday, March 15 at least through Easter. Restrictions are being tightened in response to yet another rise in case numbers — Italy is entering a third wave of coronavirus infections. Speaking at a …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is set to resign on Tuesday, his office said, as Europe’s underlying problems of economic stagnation and political fragmentation start to reassert themselves amid the gruelling pandemic. The fall of Italy’s government, in office for just 17 months, is a symptom of the continuing fissures in Italian and European politics. …

ABC News reports: Pope Francis will celebrate Midnight Mass earlier than usual to comply with Italy’s anti-coronavirus curfew and will deliver his Christmas and New Year’s blessings in ways that aim to prevent crowds from forming. The Vatican on Thursday released the pope’s COVID-19 Christmas liturgical schedule. It said the pope’s Dec. 24 Mass — which for years hasn’t been …

Reuters reports: Rome’s Fiumicino airport will run COVID-tested flights to and from the United States operated by Delta Air Lines and Alitalia, it said on Thursday, adding it will be the first airport in Europe to offer the service on transatlantic flights. From December, passengers flying between Rome and some U.S. destinations can be tested for the coronavirus 48 hours …

The Washington Post reports: Italy became the latest European country to announce new restrictions to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus on Sunday as countries across the continent continue to report surging infections. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced the new restrictions as the country reported a record 21,273 cases on Sunday. Beginning Monday, restaurants and bars will be …

Reuters reports: Italy on Wednesday made it mandatory to wear face masks outdoors nationwide in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, as new infections jumped to the highest daily tally since April. The decree was approved at a cabinet meeting after a steady increase in cases over the last two months. It will probably be effective from …

Bloomberg reports: Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has tested positive for the coronavirus and is continuing to work in isolation at his home near Milan, his spokeswoman said. The leader of the Forza Italia party will continue to support candidates of his group and of the center-right bloc with daily media interviews, the spokeswoman said. At 83, Berlusconi falls …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: Ennio Morricone, the Oscar winner whose haunting, inventive scores expertly accentuated the simmering, dialogue-free tension of the spaghetti Westerns directed by Sergio Leone, has died. He was 91. The Italian composer, who scored more than 500 films — seven for his countryman Leone after they had met as kids in elementary school — died in Rome …