Italy News

Nearly 500 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean seek safe ports

By AFP

Nearly 500 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean by two boats run by aid agencies were looking for safe ports in Malta and Italy, the groups said Monday.

Italy govt survives Salvini challenge but M5S risks remain

By AFP

Bologna - The far-right's defeat in a key regional election in Italy staves off for now a political crisis for the government, but risks remain with a weakening Five Star party, analysts said Monday.

Salvini's League fails to topple Italy govt in regional vote: exit polls

By AFP

Bologna - Italy's populist leader Matteo Salvini appeared to have failed in his bid to win a key regional election and topple the country's fragile coalition government, according to exit polls late Sunday.

Key vote in Italy as Salvini seeks to topple government

By AFP

Bologna - Italians vote Sunday in a key regional election which the far-right hopes will shake the country's fragile coalition government to its core and return strongman Matteo Salvini to power.

Anti-Semitic attack sparks Italy protest

By AFP

Mondov - Hundreds of people carrying candles protested in an Italian town Friday after unknown vandals wrote "Jews Here" on the front door of the house of a Nazi concentration camp survivor.

Salvini eyes return to power at crunch Italy vote

By AFP

Rome - Italy's fragile governing coalition is bracing for a key regional election this weekend which the far-right League hopes will trigger a political earthquake and return strongman Matteo Salvini to power.

Di Maio: political maverick who struggled to unify Italy's Five Star party

By AFP

Rome - Luigi Di Maio began his leadership of the Five Star Movement (M5S) over two years ago, promising to bring a measured, reassuring style to the anti-establishment party riding a wave of popularity.

Italy's Di Maio steps down as M5S head

By AFP

Rome - The head of Italy's anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S), which co-governs the country, stepped down as party leader Wednesday in a move that could trigger political shockwaves.

Italy committee gives go-ahead for Salvini migrant trial

By AFP

Rome - An Italian senate committee voted Monday to strip former interior minister Matteo Salvini of his parliamentary immunity, opening the way for him to stand trial for allegedly illegally detaining migrants at sea last year.

Italy committee to vote on Salvini migrant trial

By AFP

Rome - An Italian senate committee was set to vote Monday on whether former interior minister Matteo Salvini should stand trial for allegedly illegally detaining migrants at sea last year.

Italy's anti-far right 'Sardines' rally ahead of regional polls

By AFP

Bologna - Thousands of people rallied Sunday in the northern city of Bologna, a leftist bastion targeted by the far right in elections this month whose fall could bring down the government in Rome.

Painting found in Italian museum wall is stolen Klimt

By AFP

Piacenza - A painting found stashed inside a wall at an Italian museum has been confirmed as the stolen "Portrait of a Lady" by Austria's Gustav Klimt, prosecutors said on Friday, two decades after the artwork went missing.

Painting found in Italian museum wall is stolen Klimt

By AFP

Italy court rules migrant ship captain's arrest not warranted

By AFP

Rome - Italy's highest court on Friday agreed that Carola Rackete, the German captain of a migrant rescue ship, should not have been arrested for forcibly docking in Sicily."This is an important verdict for all sea rescue activists!" Rackete said on Twitter.

Italy arrests dozens over Mafia scam of EU farm funds

By AFP

Rome - Italian police said on Wednesday they had dismantled a massive Mafia operation in Sicily which had been defrauding the European Union of millions of euros in funds destined to farmers.

Libya's Sarraj says ceasefire conditional on Haftar 'withdrawal'

By AFP

Rome - The head of the UN-recognised government in Libya said Saturday a ceasefire in the conflict-torn country would be conditional on a climbdown by Libyan strongman General Khalifa Haftar.

Driver in deadly Alpine crash 'suicidal': media

By AFP

Rome - A drunk driver who smashed into a group of German ski tourists, leaving seven people dead and 11 injured in an Italian Alpine village has been admitted for psychiatric care, Italian media reported Monday.

Six Germans die as drunk driver hits pedestrians in Italian Alps

By AFP

Rome - A drunk driver ploughed into pedestrians in an Italian Alpine village on Sunday, killing six German tourists and injuring 11 other people, emergency services said.

Six Germans killed as car ploughs into pedestrians in Italy

By AFP

Rome - Six Germans were killed when a car ploughed into them after they left a nightclub in the Italian Alps on Sunday, emergency services said, adding that 11 others were injured.Media reports said the driver may have been drunk.

Italian coalition hit as minister quits

By AFP

Rome - Italian Education Minister Lorenzo Fioramonti said Thursday that he had resigned, dealing a sharp blow to the country's embattled four-month-old coalition government.

Hundreds held in huge police raid on Italy's 'Ndrangheta mafia

By AFP

Rome - Italian police said Thursday they have arrested 334 people, including a police colonel and a former MP, in a major operation against the southern 'Ndrangheta organised crime syndicate, considered Italy's most powerful mafia group.

Italy faces complaint at UN over 'abusive' Libya asylum returns

By AFP

Geneva - Campaigners filed a complaint with the UN on Wednesday against Italy over a teenage migrant who was sent back to Libya in 2018 along with other migrants, where he was shot, beaten and subjected to forced labour.

Italy's 'Sardines' pack Rome for anti far-right rally

By AFP

Rome - Tens of thousands of members of Italy's youth-driven Sardine Movement on Saturday rallied in Rome, as part of their campaign to battle xenophobia and shake up the country's politics.

Italy's 'Sardines' pack Rome for anti far-right rally

By AFP

Rome - Tens of thousands of members of Italy's youth-driven Sardine Movement on Saturday rallied in Rome, as part of their campaign to battle xenophobia and shake up the country's politics.

Italy's 'Sardines' to pack Rome for anti far-right rally

By AFP

Rome - Tens of thousands of members of Italy's youth-driven Sardine Movement are due to rally in Rome on Saturday, in their bid to further shake up the country's politics and battle xenophobia.

Italy authorises arrival of two ships carrying rescued migrants

By AFP

Rome - Italy authorised the arrival of two charity ships carrying more than 100 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean, under the terms of an agreement with other EU countries, the interior ministry said late Tuesday.

German rescue ship asks Italy to take in migrants

By AFP

Berlin - A German charity on Monday said its rescue ship was heading to Italian shores with 69 migrants on board, hoping they will be allowed to disembark.

Benetton in row with Italian govt over bridge collapse

By AFP

Rome - Luciano Benetton on Sunday denounced what he called a government "campaign" against his family since the 2018 collapse of the Genoa motorway bridge operated by a company in the Benetton business empire.

Tens of thousands march against far-right in Italy

By AFP

Florence - Tens of thousands rallied in Florence in Italy on Saturday against the far-right League party, the latest in a series of demonstrations called by the new, youth-driven "Sardine Movement".

113 Syrian refugees welcomed in Italy

By AFP

Rome - More than a hundred Syrian refugees arrived in Rome on Wednesday, the latest wave of refugees from the war-torn country to be escorted to safety in Europe.