Minors were at house party in a villa in Marconia di Pisticci in southern Basilicata region
Italian police have arrested four people in connection with the alleged gang-rape of two British girls in the south of the country.
The rape reportedly took place on Monday night at a house party in Marconia di Pisticci, a town of about 8,000 people in the Basilicata province of Matera.
Continue reading...Health authorities across continent try to reach under 30s as cases among younger people rise
As the number of Covid-19 cases rises sharply in parts of Europe, health authorities from the UK to Spain are calling on young people to do more to halt the spread of the virus. This is how the situation looks in a number of major European countries and how it is being tackled.
Continue reading...Venice film festival jury chief backs Berlin event’s move towards gender-neutral prizes
The Hollywood star Cate Blanchett has said she would rather be called an actor than an actress.
The Australian, who is heading the jury at the Venice film festival, gave her backing to Berlin festival’s controversial decision last week to do away with gendered prizes and only give a best actor award.
Continue reading...The reassessment of China highlighted by Wang Yi’s trip has political, economic and security implications
The Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi did not exactly end his week-long European tour with his tail between his legs but he may have been chastened if he ever believed Beijing could simply win over Europe by pointing to the extremist cold war rhetoric of Europe’s natural ally America.
The five-nation tour surely marked the end of an era where China can any longer get away with simple homilies on win-win solutions, multilateralism and non-interference in another’s internal affairs. Pointing to Donald Trump is also no longer enough to win European friends.
Continue reading...Parents and teachers fear face masks and other measures not enough to prevent second wave
Tens of millions of pupils, most wearing face masks, have headed back to class in France, Belgium, Poland and Russia, as schools across Europe cautiously reopened amid spiralling numbers of new coronavirus cases in several countries.
Parents and teachers around the continent have expressed fears that strict physical distancing and hygiene measures such as hand cleansing stations will not be able to prevent a second Covid-19 wave, maybe coinciding with the autumn flu season.
Continue reading...The woman tested positive for Covid-19 and health officials decided to transfer her to Palermo
A migrant woman, who tested positive for coronavirus, has given birth to a baby on board a helicopter as she was flying to Sicily from the small southern Italian island of Lampedusa.
The woman was staying at a migrant centre designed to hold about 100 people, which in recent days has been home to nearly 10 times as many due to a pickup in arrivals.
Continue reading...German charity Sea-Watch and the Italian coastguard sent vessels to a rescue boat funded by the British street artist after it issued urgent calls for assistance, saying it was stranded in the Mediterranean and overloaded with people.
Hundreds of people on board the MV Louise Michel were transferred to safety on to the Sea-Watch 4, while an Italian coastguard patrol boat took 49 of those considered most vulnerable on board, transferring them to the southern Italian island of Lampedusa
Vessel suddenly caught fire as Italian naval ship was in the process of taking people onboard
A boat carrying dozens of refugees has burst into flames off the coast of southern Italy as its passengers were being transferred to Italian naval vessels to take them to port.
Between five and seven people are believed to be missing. Six people are in hospital with serious burns injuries, including two Italian officials who were taking the people off the boat.
Continue reading...Spanish children over six to wear masks at school; Tour de France in doubt; US Midwest states report record tallies. Follow latest updates
The UK on Thursday recorded the highest number of new coronavirus cases since 12 June, with government figures reporting 1,522 positive cases.
The number of new cases, which cover the 24 hours to 9am on 27 August, were up 474 on the previous day.
Related: UK sees highest number of new Covid-19 cases since mid-June
The risk of severe illness and death to children from Covid-19 is “vanishingly rare”, according to the biggest study yet of those admitted to hospital, which the researchers say should reassure parents as they return to school.
The study included two-thirds of all patients admitted to hospitals across England, Scotland and Wales with Covid-19. Of these, 651 – less than 1% – were children and young people under 19. Six of these patients – less than 1% – died. All had severe underlying health conditions.
Continue reading...France records second highest daily tally since March; Italy considers evacuating tourists from Sardinia; Spain’s daily count falls; face masks mandatory in Paris
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said a White House proposal to spend $1.3tn (£1tn) in coronavirus economic relief would not be enough to meet the needs of American workers and families.
Pelosi said in a statement she hoped the Republicans would come to the negotiating table and accept the Democratic offer of $2.2tn in spending.
Nationwide restrictions cannot be ruled out should England see a spike in coronavirus cases this winter, the health secretary has warned.
Matt Hancock said countries in others parts of the world were already experiencing a second wave, adding it was “a very serious threat”.
Continue reading...WHO says European countries registering an average of 26,000 new cases a day; Germany records 1,707 new infections; South Korea has week of triple figure daily cases; India records highest daily infections yet
The coronavirus pandemic has reignited debate in Germany about cutting the working week to four days to help preserve jobs during and after the economic shock.
But the idea remains highly controversial.
Hi everyone, this is Jessica Murray, I’ll be running the global coronavirus blog for the next few hours.
Please do get in touch with any story suggestions or personal experiences you’d like to share.
Continue reading...Michael Cawley tenders his resignation after details of Italian holiday are revealed
The chairman of Ireland’s tourism authority has resigned after defying government guidance to avoid all non-essential travel by going on holiday to Italy.
Michael Cawley, Ryanair’s former chief operating officer, handed in his resignation on Saturday after details of his Italian excursion were revealed by the Irish Independent.
Continue reading...Lagoon ‘liberated’ as firms announce switch to Trieste and Genoa, at least until end of year
Cruise ship opponents are planning a party in Venice after two Italian cruise operators announced they were dropping the city from their 2020 itineraries.
Activists with No Grandi Navi (No Big Ships) said the lagoon had been “liberated” after MSC Crociere and Costa Crociere decided their vessels would instead set sail from Trieste or Genoa when services resume on 16 August and 6 September respectively.
Continue reading...Italy is facing an influx of people trafficked on fishing boats, desperate to escape Tunisia’s deepening economic crisis
Unsurprisingly for a coastal town perched upon Tunisia’s border with Libya, it’s hot when Ahmed climbs into the back of the car outside the petrol station in Zarzis.
It’s clear from the outset he feels uncomfortable talking to a journalist. Nevertheless, he’s here.
Continue reading...WHO says virus has shown no seasonal pattern and tells western Europe to react fast
Face masks have become compulsory in more than 100 Paris streets and tourist areas, Greece is “formally” in a second wave and new outbreaks are causing alarm in Italy and Spain as coronavirus infections continue to pick up again across Europe.
The Stockholm-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control called on member states that are seeing an increase in cases to reinstate control measures, warning of a “true resurgence” in several countries and a “risk of further escalation” across the continent.
Continue reading...Dublin-based airline, previously criticised by German health authorities, denies accusations of non-compliance
Italy’s aviation regulator has threatened to ban Ryanair from its skies, alleging that the airline has not complied with rules brought in to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
The Italian civil aviation authority Enac accused the Dublin-based airline of “repeated violation of anti-Covid-19 health measures drafted by the Italian government and in force to protect passengers’ health”.
Continue reading...Roads near Courmayeur closed to tourists because of threat from falling Planpincieux ice
Homes have been evacuated in Courmayeur in Italy’s Aosta valley, after a renewed warning that a huge portion of a Mont Blanc glacier is at risk of collapse.
The measures were introduced on Wednesday morning after experts from the Fondazione Montagne Sicura (Safe Mountains Foundation) said 500,000 cubic metres of ice was in danger of sliding off the Planpincieux glacier on the Grandes Jorasses park.
Continue reading...Two years after part of Genoa's Morandi motorway bridge collapsed, killing 43 people, a new structure was opened in its place on Monday. The new Genoa San Giorgio bridge, designed by Renzo Piano, was inaugurated in a ceremony that included a flyover and was attended by the president, Sergio Mattarella, and the prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, who called the new structure the result of 'Italian genius'. The celebrations have been criticised by victims' families who declined to attend but had a private meeting with Mattarella beforehand
Continue reading...New bridge, named Genoa San Giorgio, replaces Morandi bridge that collapsed in 2018
A band played Italy’s national anthem before the names of the 43 people killed in the collapse of the Morandi bridge in Genoa in 2018 were read aloud as the replacement bridge was inaugurated on Monday evening.
The reading was followed by a minute of silence during a ceremony attended by president Sergio Mattarella, prime minister Giuseppe Conte, and Renzo Piano, the Genoa-born architect who donated his design for the new bridge, named Genoa San Giorgio.
Continue reading...Debate on long-awaited bill that would punish discrimination and hate crimes towards LGBT people opens on Monday
For 15 years, Marco and his boyfriend had lived together fairly peacefully in a town outside Rome. Then, in early June, a neighbour started harassing them.
“It began quite lightly, with him being provocative whenever we met in the street,” the 38-year-old said. “Then he came to our home and forced his way in, calling us ‘dirty faggots’. My boyfriend managed to get rid of him but he returned with a baton and threw himself against the door, repeating the same insults and threatening to set us alight when we were asleep.”
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