Category Archives: Italy

Austrian elections offer latest sign far right’s rise is faltering in Europe

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Freedom party’s vote collapses to 16%, as others stall in Italy, Spain, France and elsewhere

The slump in support for the nationalist Freedom party (FPÖ) in Austria’s elections on Sunday is the latest indication that if the tide has not turned against Europe’s far-right populists, it does seem – for the time being, at least – to have stopped rising.

Sebastian Kurz’s conservative People’s party (ÖVP) won 37.1% of the vote, its best score since 2002, while the share held by FPÖ, until May his junior coalition partner in government, collapsed to 16.1%, down a full 10 percentage points.

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Somali militants attack US drone base and European convoy

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Al-Shabaab claims its fighters launched raid on military base west of Mogadishu

A US military base used to launch drones and a European military convoy have been hit in separate attacks in Somalia.

A Reuters journalist saw a seriously damaged armoured vehicle bearing a small Italian flag sticker in the capital, Mogadishu, on Monday. It was unclear if there were any casualties.

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Italians laughed at Leonardo da Vinci, the ginger genius

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New book reveals how the artist was lampooned in a 15th-century ‘comic strip’

Far from being admired as an extraordinary genius, Leonardo da Vinci was repeatedly lampooned and teased about his unusual red hair and his unconventional sexuality by other leading artists of his day. Although the work of the great Italian was popular in his time, an extensive new study of the artist to be published this week has outlined evidence that he was the butt of gossipy jokes in Renaissance Milan.

Author Simon Hewitt has unearthed a little-studied image held in Germany, a “comic strip” design made in 1495 to illustrate a poem, that showed how Leonardo was once ridiculed. In one of its colourful images, An Allegory of Justice, a ginger-haired clerk, or court lawyer, is shown seated at a desk, mesmerised by other young men, and represents Leonardo da Vinci. “The identity of Leonardo as the red-headed scribe is totally new,” Hewitt told the Observer ahead of the publication of Leonardo da Vinci and the Book of Doom.

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Pot and pans? Italian TV chef on cannabis charge was ‘researching new flavours’

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Police find cannabis-flavoured wine, olives, coffee and tuna at home of Sicilian celebrity chef Carmelo Chiaramonte

A well-known Sicilian chef arrested with drugs at his home justified their presence by saying he was looking for “new flavours” for contemporary cuisine, Italian media have reported.

Officers say they found a pair of two-metre tall marijuana plants and 500 grams of Indian hemp at chef Carmelo Chiaramonte’s home in Trecastagni, a village at the foot of Mount Etna.

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Racism in Italian football a scourge of youth game too, say campaigners

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Youth players targeted with racist insults similar to high-profile Serie A stars, study finds

Racism blights youth football in Italy as much as it does the top leagues, with about 80 cases recorded over the last two seasons, campaigners have said.

The issue has resurfaced after a string of incidents in Serie A in recent weeks, but scant attention has been given to what occurs in the lower rungs. Children as young as 12 are suffering racist abuse from adversaries and spectators, according to an independent organisation that collates data on racism incidents.

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Assisting a suicide is not always a crime, rules Italian court

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Trial of a euthanasia activist who helped a tetraplegic, blind DJ to die may lead to new law

Italy’s constitutional court has ruled it was not always a crime to help someone in “intolerable suffering” commit suicide, opening the way for a change of law in the Catholic country.

Parliament is now expected to debate the matter, which was highlighted by the Milan trial of an activist who helped a tetraplegic man die in Switzerland.

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Mont Blanc glacier in danger of collapse, experts warn

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Italian mayor orders roads closed and homes evacuated over fears ice will break away

Italian authorities have closed off roads and evacuated homes after experts warned that a portion of a Mont Blanc glacier is at risk of collapse.

Stefano Miserocchi, the mayor of the town of Courmayeur, said “public safety is a priority” after experts from the Fondazione Montagna Sicura (Safe Mountains Foundation) in the Aosta Valley said up to 250,000 cubic metres of ice was in danger of sliding off the Planpincieux glacier on the Grandes Jorasses peak.

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The ‘kidnapped’ Caravaggio: how the mafia took a razor blade to a masterpiece

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Masterpiece was kept in the home of notorious Sicilian, who sliced off a piece in order to make a deal with Catholic church

A Caravaggio masterpiece stolen from a Palermo church 50 years ago and listed among FBI’s “most wanted” stolen artworks, was kept in the home of a powerful mafia boss, who sliced off a piece of the canvas in order to convince the Catholic church to make a deal for its return, according to previously unseen testimony from the priest who tried to recover it.

In an video interview filmed in 2001, but locked in a drawer and now revealed exclusively to the Guardian, the parish priest of the Oratory of San Lorenzo revealed astonishing details of the October 1969 theft of Merisi da Caravaggio’s Nativity With St Lawrence and St Francis.

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Horrible bosses: masked activists publicly shame businesses in Bologna

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The anonymous members of Il Padrone di Merda (“crappy boss”) stage protests outside employers in the Italian city who are accused of exploiting their workers

On a warm summer afternoon in the Italian city of Bologna, a group of around 15 young people march through the crowded city centre to a high-end pastry shop in Strada Maggiore.

If employers are afraid of image damage, things can change

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First migrants land in Italy under post-Salvini coalition deal with EU

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EU ministers pledge support as 82 disembark from NGO boat, ending Salvini’s entry ban

Eighty-two migrants have disembarked in Italy, marking a break from the era of hardline immigration measures pushed by the former interior minister, Matteo Salvini.

On Saturday night, the migrants were transferred from the Norwegian-flagged rescue boat Ocean Viking, operated by the French charities SOS Méditerranée and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), to a coastguard vessel before being taken ashore on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa.

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Italy PM Conte and left-leaning coalition wins vote of confidence

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M5S and Democratic party could potentially reverse Salvini’s hardline policies

Italy’s prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, and his new left-leaning coalition have won a vote of confidence in the Senate – the final step needed for the new government to exercise its full powers.

The move paves the way for the coalition between the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the centre-left Democratic party (PD) to potentially reverse the hardline immigration policies of the former interior minister, Matteo Salvini.

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M5S members vote overwhelmingly in favour of Italy coalition

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Online poll gives final backing for government pact with centre-left Democratic party

Members of Italy’s anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) have overwhelmingly backed a coalition with the centre-left Democratic party (PD) in an online vote, giving the final backing to a deal between traditional foes intended to pull Italy out of a political crisis.

The prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, had been tasked with securing a pact between the two parties after Matteo Salvini, the leader of the far-right League, collapsed its coalition with M5S in an attempt to force snap elections in which he hoped to capitalise on his recent popularity.

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M5S holds online vote on whether to form Italy coalition

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Country could face fresh elections if party members reject pact with centre-left PD

Members of Itay’s anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) party are voting online on whether they want their party to attempt to form a coalition government with the Democratic party (PD).

Last week, the prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, was tasked with securing a pact between the two parties and staving off early elections after Matteo Salvini, the leader of the far-right League, collapsed its coalition with M5S.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger pays emotional tribute as ‘best friend’ Franco Columbu dies

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Actor says life was ‘more complete’ because of his ‘partner in crime’ and fellow bodybuilder who has died aged 78

The Italian bodybuilder and actor Franco Columbu, whom Arnold Schwarzenegger called his “best friend” in a moving tribute on social media, has died aged 78.

A two-time Mr Olympia, Columbu appeared alongside Schwarzenegger in The Terminator, the Running Man and Conan the Barbarian. He died in hospital in his native Sardinia on Friday afternoon after taking ill while swimming in the ocean, the Associated Press reported.

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Salvini urges far-right supporters to march on Rome after bid to force election backfires

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Interior minister calls for ‘day of mobilisation’ in protest at moves to sideline League

Matteo Salvini has called on his supporters to descend on Rome as Italy moves towards ousting his far-right League from power after his attempt to collapse the Italian government and force snap elections.

Salvini earmarked 19 October for a “peaceful day of Italian pride” against a potential government made up of his former ally, the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S), and the centre-left Democratic party (PD).

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Matteo Salvini: the master campaigner counts cost of strategic errors

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Far-right League leader licks his wounds after gambit to collapse Italian government fails

Less than a month ago, Matteo Salvini was in his element, drinking mojitos, DJing and posing for countless selfies at Papeete, his favourite beach club in the seaside resort town of Milano Marittima. He had good reason for his ebullient mood: his far-right League party in Italy was nearing 39% in the polls.

Related: Salvini sidelined as M5S and Democrats agree Italy coalition

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Salvini sidelined as M5S and Democrats agree Italy coalition

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Parties to try to form government in move that would avert snap elections

Italy’s anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the centre-left Democratic party (PD) have agreed to try to form a new government in a move that could avert snap elections and push the far-right League into opposition.

Italy plunged into chaos this month after Matteo Salvini withdrew his League party from its fractious alliance with M5S as he sought to exploit the party’s popularity to bring about snap elections and become prime minister.

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Stromboli eruption sends plumes of ash and smoke into air – video

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Italy's Stromboli volcano has erupted, spewing plumes of ash and smoke into the air and sending a river of lava into the sea. It comes almost two months after an eruption killed a hiker. The summit of Stromboli, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, had already been closed because of increased activity, including lesser eruptions earlier in the week

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Italy grounds two planes used to search for migrant boats

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NGOs Pilotes Volontaires and Sea-Watch blocked from using aircraft for Mediterranean rescues

Italy has grounded two planes used by NGOs to search for migrant boats in distress in the Mediterranean.

The planes – Moonbird and Colibri – are operated by the German NGO Sea-Watch and the French NGO Pilotes Volontaires respectively and have been flying reconnaissance missions over the Mediterranean since 2017.

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Italy’s parties scramble to form government by Tuesday deadline

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Choice of PM proves main obstacle as PD and M5S try to head off far-right coalition

The name of the next Italian prime minister is the main hurdle in talks between the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the centre-left Democratic party (PD) as they scramble to form a new government by Tuesday and avoid early elections that could put Matteo Salvini at the head of a far-right coalition.

The PD leader, Nicola Zingaretti, has objected to demands from his M5S counterpart, Luigi Di Maio, to reinstate Giuseppe Conte as prime minister. Conte resigned on Tuesday, ending the ill-fated 14-month alliance between M5S and the far-right League.

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