Human trafficking under Finnish flag
 
By Gianfranco Nitti
 
ROME — And once again onboard a yacht. The one that was intercepted Tuesday by the Guardia di Finanza (Finance Police) was making the 28th such trip by luxury vessels carrying illegal immigrants from Asia Minor to the province of Lecce, Apulia region, Southern Italy in 2010.
A total [...]

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Scientists around the world are working together to improve the conservation and use of crop genetic resources, including those of neglected species such as breadfruit.
Rome, - The breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is a typical example of a highly nutritive species whose versatile applications are still largely untapped by the market.
Breadfruit is a multipurpose agro-forestry tree [...]

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Letter from Tashkent
 
Predatory policemen plague travellers, Christians and health workers in Uzbekistan as Islam Karimov retains his grip on the Central Asian nation, Shelly Kittleson reports.
 
TASHKENT– On arrival at this central Asian capital’s infernal airport a distinct lack of order prevails. A battle to get one’s passport checked soon slips into little more than a [...]

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By Josiane El Khoury
 
NAPLES- This summer the Neapolitan temperature soaring above 40 degrees Celsius seems “hotter” than everywhere else on the peninsula. Violent brawls among young people fuelled by alcohol and drugs as well as the torrid weather are taking place frequently in the main piazzas of the city centre, authorities said, and the police [...]

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By Desmond 0′Grady

 
TRIESTE — Palladio had a strong and beneficial influence on architects worldwide but more immediately in his native region, the Veneto.
Some of his country manors, such as for Villa Barbaro at Maser, were decorated by leading contemporary artists, including Veronese. Only a baker’s dozen were competed under Palladio, who pushed his costs too [...]

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ITALIAN CARRIER FORGES INDUSTRY’S LEADING TRANS-ATLANTIC JOINT VENTURE WITH DELTA
 
By Gianfranco Nitti
 ROME — Alitalia, Italy’s largest airline, joined the Air France-KLM Group (OTC:AFLYY) and Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) as a member of the airline industry’s leading trans-Atlantic joint venture. Launched in April 2009, the multi-party agreement created a single, coordinated network for customers flying [...]

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By JULIA-SANDRA VIRSTA
 
 
ROME — If Mohammed doesn’t go to the mountain, then the mountain will come to Mohammad, says the proverb … And this is exactly what happened to us (a few journalists) who had the fortune to experience the delicacies of Chef Jorge Breton from the Michelin-starred Valencian restaurant LA SUCURSAL, in Rome at [...]

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Tour guides in St Peter

 
By JOSIANE EL KHOURY
ROME - Thousands of foreign visitors to Italy have been exploited by English, American and Australian self-appointed “tour guides” controlling illegally an estimated 50 percent of the lucrative tourist visit business in the Eternal City, the police say.
Italian police say they broke up a major illegal tour [...]

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ROME — Entrepreneur Wendy Holloway, owner of Flavor of Italy, a culinary tourism company catering to foreigners and residents alike, has been selected as the only foreigner to participate in the Chefs Move to Schools initiative hosted by Michelle Obama at the White House this month. The initiative is another tool in the Obama arsenal [...]

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Shelly Kittleson

  KABUL — My introduction to Afghanistan came late in the day, at about 8 pm, after being ridden over roughshod by Uzbek customs officers in search of an easy euro or two hundred at the Termez-Hairatan border, following a journey through a country in which the ‘’security’’ of the populace reigns supreme, with hordes [...]

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