Tag Archives: Italy

The BBC reports: Anti-terrorism police in northern Italy have seized air-to-air missiles and other sophisticated weapons during raids on far-right extremist groups. Three people were arrested, two of them near Forli airport. Neo-Nazi propaganda was also seized, in the raids. The raids were part of an investigation into Italian far-right help for Russian-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine, local media …

The BBC reports: Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo have been announced as the hosts of the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. The International Olympic Committee voted for Italy’s joint bid ahead of Stockholm, Sweden, to stage the event. Skating sports and ice hockey will be held in Milan, while most alpine skiing events will take place in the resort of Cortina. …

The Guardian reports: An estimated 20,000 people have protested in Verona against a conference which has brought a global network of anti-gay, anti-abortion and anti-feminist activists to the northern Italian city. The hosting of the World Congress of Families (WCF), a US coalition that promotes the values of the Christian right, has been especially contentious in Italy as it is …

Time Magazine reports: An Italian politician who opposed mandatory childhood vaccinations has been hospitalized with chickenpox. Massimiliano Fedriga, who is part of the far-right League party, was under observation for four days earlier this month after getting chickenpox, according to local news reports. It’s an ironic twist in fate for Fedriga, who opposed the introduction of the so-called Lorenzin law …

The BBC reports: A diplomatic row between France and Italy has deepened, with France complaining of “unfounded attacks and outlandish claims” by Italian leaders. France recalled its ambassador to Italy for talks on Thursday, saying the situation was “unprecedented” since the end of World War Two. It comes after Italian Deputy PM Luigi Di Maio met French “yellow-vest” protesters near …

Variety reports: Bernardo Bertolucci, whose epic “The Last Emperor” won nine Oscars and who influenced generations of filmmakers with other groundbreaking works such as “The Conformist” and “Last Tango in Paris,” in which he explored politics and sexuality through personal storytelling and audacious camera work, has died. He was 77. His publicist, Flavia Schiavi, said Bertolucci died at his home …

Euronews reports: Pope Francis appealed to Sicily’s Mafia on Saturday to abandon a life of crime and violence, saying the island needed “men and women of love, not men and women ‘of honor,’” using the term mobsters apply to themselves. Francis, in the Sicilian capital, said organized crime members – many of whom go to church and worship openly – …

Reuters reports: A motorway bridge collapsed on Tuesday over the northern Italian port city of Genoa, killing dozens of people according to the local ambulance service, in what the transport minister said was likely to be “an immense tragedy”. A section of the bridge crashed down from a height of about 50 meters over a river and some railroad tracks …

Italy’s The Local reports: US President Donald Trump receives Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Monday, welcoming to the White House a European populist with like-minded views on immigration and trade. The visit will begin with a one-on-one meeting followed by more extensive bilateral discussions, the White House said. Trump praised Conte as “great” after meeting him at the recent …

Earlier this month I reported that an Italian escort had delivered a 1200-page dossier to the Vatican which outs 40 gay priests as his clients. Unsurprisingly, the story continues to earn headlines in the Italian press. This week the escort speaks to our own Father Tony Adams, himself a retired Catholic priest, in an interview with South Florida Gay News. …

The Associated Press reports: The archdiocese of Naples says it has sent the Vatican a 1,200-page dossier compiled by a male escort identifying 40 actively gay priests and seminarians in Italy. In a statement on the diocesan website, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe said none of the identified priests worked in Naples. But he said he decided to forward the file to …

The New York Times reports: Italians registered their dismay with the European political establishment on Sunday, handing a majority of votes in a national election to hard-right and populist forces that ran a campaign fueled by anti-immigrant anger. The election, the first in five years, was widely seen as a bellwether of the strength of populists on the continent and …

Time Magazine reports: While Oliver isn’t an Italian citizen, he is alarmed by the slate of candidates and the possible repercussions for the world. In fact, Oliver is so concerned that he has jumped into action and consulted lawyers. Turns out that under Italian law the government coalition can pick a non-politician to run. In fact, they can pick “a …

Fortune reports: Columbus Day has become a fraught holiday in the United States, but you wouldn’t know it from President Trump’s official proclamation. Published on the official White House website, the statement heralds Christopher Columbus for “setting the stage for the development of our great Nation” and “inspiring countless others to pursue their dreams and convictions—even in the face of …

The Australian reports: Vatican police broke up a homosexual orgy last month in an apartment belonging to the Con­gregation for the Doctrine of the Faith — the department charged with, among other things, tackling clerical sexual abuse. The occupant of the apartment is alleged to be the secretary of cardinal Francesco Coccopa­l­merio, head of the Pontifical Council for Legislative texts …

Starting now. CBS News reports: The prime minister’s visit comes a month prior to Mr. Trump’s scheduled visit to Italy for his first G7 summit, where the leaders of the U.S., Italy, Germany, Canada, France, Japan and Britain will discuss the economy and, likely, national and global security issues. The G-7 nations have attempted to pressure Russia to put an …

A massive and suitably horrifying Trump float dominated this year’s carnival parade in Viareggio, Italy. Watch below as scores of cowgirls, cowboys, and a bearded male Statue Of Liberty cavort on a gigantic mechanized Trump head to a techno version of Thank God I’m A Country Boy and Green Day’s American Idiot. Pleasant dreams.

Buzzfeed reports: Breitbart News is set to expand its presence in Italy, BuzzFeed News has learned. The alt-right platform, which has one full-time journalist in Rome, is planning to add reporters to its bureau in the Italian capital. The decision to boost operations in Rome comes following plans to open bureaus in Germany and France, a sign that Breitbart is …

The Guardian reports: France’s far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen called on voters across Europe to “wake up” and follow the example of US and British voters. Speaking at an unprecedented meeting in Germany of Europe’s right wing populist parties, she said Brexit would unleash an unstoppable wave of “all the dominos of Europe”. And after Brexit, she added, before …

The BBC reports: Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has resigned after suffering a heavy defeat in a referendum over his plan to reform the constitution. In a late-night statement, he said he took responsibility for the outcome. He said the No camp must now make clear proposals. An exit poll for state broadcaster RAI suggests 42-46% voted to back reform, …