The two prime ministers have forced immigration onto the agenda at European Political Community summit in Granada
Giorgia Meloni has turned to the UK’s prime minister Rishi Sunak to take her battle against migration beyond the EU, it has emerged.
In what some are dubbing the Spanish framework, the prime ministers have forced migration on to the agenda at a historic meeting of about 50 European leaders in Granada on Thursday.
Continue reading...Chief prosecutor Bruno Cherchi says he is proceeding with road multiple homicide investigation after tourist bus crashed off overpass in northern Italy
Massimo Fiorese, the chief executive of the transport company that owned the bus that crashed, said this morning the vehicle appeared to have been leaning on a railing, TGcom24 reported.
His comments add to speculation about the quality of infrastructure on the stretch of road where the accident took place.
Continue reading...Police investigating whether driver suffered illness in moments before tourist bus veered off overpass
Three children, including a newborn baby, are among 21 people confirmed to have died after a tourist coach veered off an overpass near Venice before plummeting 15 metres and bursting into flames.
The cause of the crash is not yet clear, although one theory is that the driver, who also died, had suffered a sudden illness. “From the initial findings there are no signs of braking,” Marco Agostini, a Venice police chief, told the Ansa news agency. “The driver’s illness is a hypothesis.”
Continue reading...In event of war, natural disaster or climate emergency, rules will allow frontline states to move people swiftly to other EU countries
The EU has reached a historic agreement on how member states will deal with a sudden increase in the number of people seeking asylum in the event of war, natural disaster or climate emergency.
The new rules will allow frontline states to fast-track asylum applications and move people swiftly to other countries in Europe, avoiding a repeat of 2015 when 1 million refugees came to the EU from Syria and beyond, and some countries accepted far more than others.
The pact was sealed early on Wednesday morning, ending three years of arguments between member states on the eve of 27 EU leaders gathering in the Spanish city of Granada on Friday.
The Spanish government, which now holds the rotating EU presidency, had confidently predicted it had majority backing for the deal at an interior ministers’ meeting in Brussels last Thursday.
But at the last minute, Italy said it would not support the deal after two clauses were drafted to satisfy German concerns about human rights.
While it is thought the EU had the numbers to push through the deal on a majority basis, ministers decided it would not be worth the paper it was written on unless Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s rightwing prime minister, was on board.
Italy has received about half the 250,000 people who have arrived in the EU this year. EU leaders, including the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, and the European Commissioner, Ursula von der Leyen, have gone out of their way to ensure the rest of the bloc shows solidarity.
“EU ambassadors have reached an agreement on the regulation addressing situations of crisis and force majeure in the field of migration and asylum,” the Spanish presidency announced on X, the company formerly known as Twitter.
The clash between Italy and Germany encapsulated the differing approaches of European governments. Italy wanted a clause allowing for minimum standards in detention centres to be breached in the event of a crisis spike in arrivals, which Germany had objected to. Italy also attacked Germany over its support for NGOs in search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean.
The EU has already agreed new rules on dealing with irregular arrivals at current levels with “solidarity” relocation of migrants away from frontline countries. Under the new agreement, that will be replicated in the event of a rise in numbers.
Continue reading...Tourist coach catches fire after coming off the road and falling near railway lines in Mestre, northern Italy
At least 21 people have died and 18 were injured after a tourist coach crashed off an overpass near Venice in northern Italy.
The coach was carrying a group of tourists who were returning to a campsite in Marghera after spending the day in Venice, according to reports in the Italian media.
Continue reading...Hopes fade of deal being struck, with one sticking point being right to occasionally breach detention centre standards
European Union member states have failed to reach an agreement on changes to the bloc’s migration laws after Germany and Italy clashed over key proposals relating to human rights guarantees in detention centres and the role of NGOs in facilitating migrant arrivals.
But, as hopes faded on Thursday of a deal being struck, ministers said they expected “fine tuning” in coming days to lead to a pact that would apply in the event of a sudden refugee crisis such as that of 2015 when more than 1 million people arrived from Syria and beyond.
Continue reading...Evacuation plans being drafted after activity on Campi Flegrei field, which experts warned earlier in 2023 was in a dangerous state
Concern is mounting over the risk of an eruption on a sprawling volcanic area close to Naples after the area was struck by the strongest earthquake in 40 years.
Seismic activity on Campi Flegrei, a constellation of ancient volcanic craters, has intensified over the past year and especially in recent months, with more than 80 events occurring in the early hours of Wednesday morning, the biggest being a 4.2 magnitude quake.
Continue reading...LGBTQ groups laud fashion designer for speech in which she said ‘minority voices’ were under attack
Gay rights groups in Italy have praised Donatella Versace for speaking out against the government’s anti-gay policies in a heartfelt and personal speech while receiving a fashion award.
“Our government is trying to take away people’s rights to live as they wish,” Versace said on Sunday night, citing in particular a government policy that allows only the biological parent in same-sex couples to be officially recognised as the parent. “They are restricting our freedoms,” she said.
Continue reading...Designer revisits his lifelong interest in science, with iridescent silks and undulating 3D layers
Giorgio Armani may be the world’s most recognisable designer, but as the 89-year-old wrote in his autobiography, his childhood ambition was to be a physician.
While that particular goal eluded him, at his fashion show in Milan on Sunday afternoon he revisited his lifelong interest in science, citing his inspiration for his new collection as “vibrations”.
Continue reading...Party reformer was first former communist to become president and first person re-elected to post
Giorgio Napolitano, the first former communist to rise to Italy’s presidency and the first person to be elected twice to the post, has died aged 98.
A statement issued on Friday night by the presidential palace confirmed Italian news reports of the death of Napolitano, who had been in a Rome hospital for weeks.
Continue reading...Commission says it is ‘cracking down’ on smuggling networks as NGOs say more assistance is needed from Europe’s leaders. This live blog is closed
The Paris public prosecutor’s office said today that far-right leader Marine Le Pen and 24 others should stand trial over alleged misuse of EU funds, Reuters reports.
The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, have used the situation in Lampedusa “for political campaigning,” according to Dutch European parliament member Sophie in ‘t Veld.
Continue reading...Foreign affairs chief in clash with Ursula von der Leyen as he issues broadside against ‘unilateral action’
EU member states expressed “incomprehension” when the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, rushed into a migration pact with Tunisia, it has been revealed.
The concerns were raised in July both verbally and in writing, the EU’s chief diplomat responsible for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, wrote in a letter dated 7 September that has been seen by the Guardian.
Continue reading...Far-right Giorgia Meloni says crisis cannot be ‘just resolved within Italian borders’ on visit to island where 8,500 arrived in days
Italy’s prime minister has said that European countries must work together “to stop departures [from Africa]” and swiftly deport those turned down for asylum, who she said “threaten the future of Europe”, after thousands of people seeking refuge arrived on Lampedusa in the last week.
Giorgia Meloni toured the tiny Sicilian island, which for years has been the first port of call for people making the treacherous journey by sea from north Africa, on Sunday morning alongside Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.
Continue reading...Small vessel rescued en route to island of Lampedusa, which has received 8,500 people this week
A newborn baby has been found dead on a boat carrying people to the Italian island of Lampedusa during a rescue operation, the Ansa news agency has reported.
The baby was born during the journey and died soon after birth, Ansa reported, adding that about 40 people were onboard.
Continue reading...Boat travelling from north Africa capsized near tiny Italian island, with all other passengers rescued
A five-month-old boy has drowned during a rescue operation off the Italian island of Lampedusa after a boat carrying people from north Africa capsized.
The tragedy occurred as migrant landings on Lampedusa surged, leaving the small island struggling to cope. About 1,850 people landed on Wednesday, bringing the total number of migrants in Lampedusa to more than 6,700, the Ansa news agency said.
Continue reading...‘We feel like foreigners in our own home,’ says activist as city’s population dwarfed by visitors
The number of beds available to tourists on Venice’s main island has surpassed the number of year-round residents for the first time, as a Unesco decision on the city’s future on the world heritage site list looms.
There are now 49,693 tourist beds across hotels and rented holiday homes, compared with 49,304 inhabitants.
Continue reading...Researchers identify 88 nests of destructive invasive non-native species near Syracuse in Sicily
An invasive non-native ant species has become established in Italy and could rapidly spread through Europe to the UK with global heating, a study warns.
The red fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, has a powerful sting, damages crops and can infest electrical equipment including cars and computers.
Continue reading...Authorities want to cut number of tourists as Unesco considers putting Italian city on heritage danger list
Venice will trial a ticketing system from spring next year, with day visitors charged €5 to enter the Italian city’s historic centre in an attempt to reduce tourist numbers.
The city’s council executive backed the move on Tuesday, just weeks after Unesco recommended Venice be added to its list of world heritage sites in danger, in part due to the impact of mass tourism.
Continue reading...Search under way for two cubs after man shoots rare bear dead, reportedly telling police he fired out of fear
Italian politicians and wildlife experts have condemned the fatal shooting of an endangered brown bear, as a search was under way for her two cubs.
Amarena was one of the most popular of the Marsican brown bears in the Abruzzo national park in central Italy, often pictured in and around the area with her offspring.
Continue reading...Category 3 storm causes extensive flooding in south-east US, while heavy rain and winds also hit France and Italy
Hurricane Idalia struck northern Florida on Wednesday, bringing damaging winds and torrential rain. It made landfall near Keaton Beach on Florida’s Big Bend during the morning as a high-end category 3 hurricane, bringing sustained winds speeds near 125mph (200km/h) and a storm surge of 16ft along Florida’s north-west coastline.
Due to very warm sea surface temperatures, the storm strengthened rapidly over the Gulf of Mexico to category 4 status, before weakening to category 3 as it made landfall. It brought extensive flooding as it passed through and damaged power lines, leaving thousands without electricity.
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