Category Archives: Italy

Italy sends 49 refugees to Albania in bid to resume disputed scheme

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Latest push to process migrants in Balkan country despite court challenge comes amid increase in boat arrivals

Italy has transported 49 people to Albania, in the latest push by Giorgia Meloni’s government to enforce a legally disputed plan to have asylum claims processed in the Balkan country as part of a hardline policy critics have called “disgraceful”.

The Italian navy ship Cassiopeia arrived at Shëngjin port on Tuesday morning carrying passengers intercepted on Saturday in the Mediterranean south of the island of Lampedusa. They will be identified and have a health check before being transferred to a detention centre in Gjadër, about 12 miles away.

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Refugee’s justice hopes ‘crushed’ after Italy releases Libya war crimes suspect

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David Yambio says Rome ‘has blood on its hands’ after freeing police chief he alleges beat him in Tripoli prison

A man who says he experienced abuses at a notorious prison in Tripoli at the hands of the head of Libya’s judicial police, Osama Najim, has said Italy has “crushed” his hopes for justice by releasing the war crimes suspect despite an international criminal court arrest warrant.

David Yambio was held at Mitiga prison in Tripoli after several attempts to cross the Mediterranean in search of refuge in Europe were thwarted by Libya’s coastguard as part of a controversial pact with Italy.

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Italy says Libya war crimes suspect was sent home due to ‘social dangerousness’

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General Osama Najim was released on a technicality and repatriated by Italy without any prior consultation, says international criminal court

Italy’s interior minister said on Thursday a Libyan man detained under an international war crimes arrest warrant and then unexpectedly released had been swiftly repatriated because of his “social dangerousness“.

Osama Najim, also known as Almasri, was detained on Sunday in Turin under an arrest warrant issued by The Hague-based international criminal court (ICC).

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‘Shameful’: Rome mayor dismayed after Lazio thugs attack Real Sociedad fans

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  • Nine supporters injured before Europa League tie
  • Victims set upon with clubs, chains, knives and hammers

Nine Real Sociedad football fans were injured, one seriously, in central Rome late on Wednesday, allegedly after being violently attacked by hardcore “ultra” Lazio supporters.

According to reports in Italian media, the Spanish fans were among a group of about 70 allegedly set upon by what appeared to be about 80 Lazio ultras, who were armed with clubs, chains and knives and hammers, outside a pub on Via Leonina in the Monti district of the Italian capital. Security in the city has been upped before the Europa League match at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico on Thursday night.

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Meloni faces questions after Italy frees Libyan general accused of war crimes

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Case of Osama Najim puts spotlight on controversial migration pact between Italy and Libya

Giorgia Meloni’s government is under pressure to clarify why a Rome court refused to approve the arrest of a Libyan general accused of war crimes, allowing him to return home to a hero’s welcome on an Italian secret services flight in what critics believe was a tactic to shield alleged abuses committed in the north African country as a result of a migrant pact with Italy.

Osama Najim, also known as Almasri, was detained in Turin on Sunday on a warrant issued by the international criminal court (ICC) before being freed on Tuesday owing to a procedural technicality.

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Libyan general released after arrest in Turin on ICC warrant for alleged war crimes

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Osama Najim was arrested amid claims he used detained migrants in ‘a form of slavery’, but then freed after after a mistake by prosecutors

A Libyan general wanted for alleged war crimes and violence against inmates at a prison near Tripoli has been arrested in the northern Italian city of Turin – and then released after an apparent mistake by prosecutors.

Osama Najim, also known as Almasri, was detained on Sunday on an international arrest warrant after a tipoff from Interpol, a source at the prosecutors office for the Piedmont region confirmed.

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Giorgia Meloni among far-right figures to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration

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Italian PM’s office confirms she will join far-right politicians including France’s Éric Zemmour in Washington

Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, will attend Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president, joining other European far-right figures including Éric Zemmour, a one-time French presidential candidate known for his xenophobia.

Meloni’s attendance at the event in Washington DC on Monday was confirmed by her office and will be seen as further cementing relations with the US president-elect.

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British man admits stabbing partner to death in Italy

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Michael Whitbread, 75, is on trial in Lanciano for murder of fellow Briton Michele Faiers, 66, in October 2023

A British man living in Italy has admitted stabbing his partner to death, claiming he did it after she accused him of cheating on her.

Michael Whitbread, 75, told a court he could not remember how many times he stabbed fellow Briton Michele Faiers, 66, in October 2023.

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Pompeii excavation unearths private spa for wooing wealthy guests

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Thermal bath complex is latest discovery among ruins of Italian city destroyed by Vesuvius eruption in AD79

A large and sophisticated thermal bath complex that was believed to have been used by its owner to woo well-heeled guests has been discovered among the ruins of ancient Pompeii.

The baths were found during excavations of a home on Via di Nola in Regio IX, a wealthy district of the city before it was destroyed by the AD79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

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Plans for Bible reading and Latin in Italian schools criticised as ‘retrograde’

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Education minister reveals revamp of national curriculum guidelines and says children must ‘learn to write better’

Bible reading, Latin and learning poetry by heart could return to Italian primary and middle schools as part of a revamp of national curriculum guidelines criticised as “retrograde” and “nostalgic”.

The education minister, Giuseppe Valditara, unveiled the guidelines, which predominantly affect children aged three to 14 and are expected to take effect from the 2026/2027 school year, in an interview with the rightwing newspaper, Il Giornale, saying that children must discover “a taste for reading” and “learn to write better”.

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Italy seeks to protect restaurants and hotels from fake and paid-for reviews

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Under draft law, online reviewers would have to provide ID and proof that they visited the place in question

The Italian government is seeking to clamp down on fake and paid-for online reviews in an effort to protect the country’s hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions from misleading and damaging content.

Under a draft law announced this week, which still needs to be approved in parliament, anyone wanting to write an online review would be required to provide verifiable ID and proof that they visited the place in question.

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Afghans evacuated by US in chaos of withdrawal are languishing in foreign camps, documents reveal

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Exclusive: records show evacuees with pending applications to enter US ‘forced to remain in limbo’ in at least 36 countries, some in ‘untenable conditions’

Afghan citizens who fled the country with American assistance after the US’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan remain stranded in third countries, new documents shared exclusively with the Guardian suggest, some at prison-like facilities and many with no clarity about their prospects for resettlement.

US officials won’t say exactly how many Afghans remain at such sites, where they were taken after the withdrawal that involved hundreds of thousands fleeing for their lives during the Taliban’s lightning takeover in 2021. Some advocates estimate that “hundreds” remain stranded in temporary facilities in up to three dozen countries.

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Oliviero Toscani, photographer behind provocative Benetton ads, dies aged 82

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Tributes paid to Italian known for images that drew attention to social themes including HIV/Aids and racism

Tributes have been paid to Oliviero Toscani, the Italian fashion photographer renowned for the provocative images used in Benetton’s advertising campaigns, who has died aged 82.

Toscani, who for two decades was the art director of the global clothing chain, died on Monday after being hospitalised close to his home in the Tuscan town of Cecina.

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Missing Briton’s belongings found in Dolomites as rescuers continue search

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Italy’s Alpine cliff and cave rescue corps find items belonging to Aziz Ziriat as search continues

Items belonging to a British hiker who has been missing in the Dolomites since New Year’s Day have been found as the search for him continues.

Sam Harris, 35, and Aziz Ziriat, 36, from London, last sent messages home on 1 January and the pair did not check in for their flight home on 6 January. Friends and relatives have travelled to Italy.

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Italy releases Iranian man wanted by US over drone attack in Jordan

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Mohammad Abedini detained on US warrant three days before Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was arrested in Iran

Italy has released an Iranian citizen wanted by the US over a drone attack in Jordan that killed three Americans a year ago, after the Italian justice minister asked a court to revoke his arrest.

Mohammad Abedini has already returned to Iran, Iranian state TV said on Sunday afternoon.

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Friend of British hiker missing in Italy voices ‘acceptance’ as search continues

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Joe Stone says authorities ‘trying everything’ to find Aziz Ziriat after body of Sam Harris discovered on Wednesday

A close friend of a British hiker who has been missing in the Dolomites since New Year’s Day has said “there is an acceptance that it won’t be good news” as search efforts continued.

Sam Harris, 35, and Aziz Ziriat, 36, from London, last sent messages home on 1 January and the pair did not check in to their flight home on 6 January. Friends and relatives have travelled to Italy.

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Gay men can train as priests but must be celibate, say Italian bishops

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Move marks shift in views but sexually active gay men will not be admitted to Roman Catholic seminaries

Gay men will be allowed to train as priests in Roman Catholic seminaries, so long as they observe celibacy, according to new guidelines announced by the Italian Bishops Conference (CIE).

The decision marks a shift from the view previously held by Pope Francis that gay men should not be admitted to seminaries owing to the risk of them leading a double life.

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Italian mayor vows to stop sale of Neapolitan islet to wealthy speculator

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Bacoli mayor says his administration wants to buy Punta Pennata and turn it into an ‘open-air museum’

An Italian mayor has vowed to do everything in his power to stop Punta Pennata – a slice of island paradise close to the heart of Naples, from where a fleet departed to rescue survivors of the AD79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius – being sold to a wealthy speculator.

Located within the pristine waters of Bacoli, a fishing town located in the vast volcanic area of the Campi Flegrei, and described as a “historical and natural gem”, the strip of land was put up for sale to the highest bidder this week.

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Italian journalist Cecilia Sala returns home after release from prison in Iran

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Sala, who had been held since 19 December, greeted by family members and Italian PM at Rome airport

Cecilia Sala, an Italian journalist who was held in solitary confinement for almost three weeks in Iran, has returned home after being freed from prison.

A plane carrying the 29-year-old landed at Rome’s Ciampino airport on Wednesday afternoon, where she was greeted by family members and politicians including the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.

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Search begins for British hikers missing in northern Italy since New Year’s Day

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Aziz Ziriat, 36, and Samuel Harris, 35, were ‘planning on going off-grid’ during holiday in the Dolomites

A search is under way for a pair of British hikers in the Dolomites in northern Italy who have been missing since New Year’s Day.

Aziz Ziriat, 36, and Samuel Harris, 35, last sent messages home on 1 January from the Trentino region. They have not been heard from since. The pair, who are both from London, did not check in to their flight home on 6 January.

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