ROME -- A senior Italian Food and Agriculture Organization executive's bid to become No 2. man at the troubled UN agency has been thrown into question amid concern over a potential conflict of interest posed by his drumming up business for a company owned by his son and his connections to a development cooperation trade fair held at the Fiera di Roma, FAO sources say.
INSIDER NEWSDESK
ROME-- FAO Assistant Director General Roberto Ridolfi has strongly denied any conflict of interest between his institutional role and his support of the EXCO cooperation fair held in the Eternal City this year while reiterating an earlier denial by Fiera di Roma that his son Francesco's company Sustainaway had any "link whatsoever with the economic results of EXCO events." Ridolfi senior insisted that he "did not prmote any business for his relatives."
22 Nov 2019
INSIDER NEWSDESK
ROME – The organisers of the “sardines” movement have launched a manifesto calling for protests against populism, political sources report.
“Dear populists… the party’s over,” it begins.
They have announced a further ten protests around Italy and filed a trademark for the “6000 Sardines” symbol to protect against fakes, La Repubblica Bologna reported.
22 Nov 2019
INSIDER NEWSDESK
ROME – Italy’s foreign minister seems remarkably reluctant to travel abroad, political sources note. Luigi Di Maio, foreign minister and leader of the Five Star Movement, is trying to stay in Italy, where he can keep involved with issues such as internal party arguing and the ongoing negotiations over the ex-Ilva steelworks, Linkiesta reports.
22 Nov 2019
INSIDER NEWSDESK
ROME – An investigation has uncovered a link between League leader Matteo Salvini and building entrepreneur under investigation for alleged corruption, Luca Parnasi, judicial sources said.
It was revealed Wednesday that investigators discovered Salvini, Parnasi, and League treasurer Giulio Centemero, along with prominent League leader Giancarlo Giorgetti, had dinner together on Dec. 19, 2017. According to L’Espresso, this meal took place at Parnasi’s home.
22 Nov 2019
INSIDER NEWSDESK
LA VALLETTA – Yorgen Fenech, the businessman confirmed as a “person of interest” in the investigations into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, has been rearrested after his release on bail, The Times of Malta reports.
After accompanying investigators on a search of the luxury yacht on which he was dramatically arrested early on Wednesday morning, Fenech was released on bail on Thursday, police sources said. He was re-arrested on Friday, and is now back in police custody, The Times of Malta said.
22 Nov 2019
INSIDER NEWSDESK
MILAN – Organised crime steals 15 to 20 per cent of Italy’s GDP per capita, a Milan university professor has found.
The findings of Paolo Pinotti, professor at the Bocconi University, were reported Thursday in the Corriere della Sera.
21 Nov 2019
INSIDER NEWSDESK
LA VALLETTA – A crowd chanting “Mafia, Mafia” blocked a car carrying the Maltese Justice Minister Owen Bonnici and Parliamentary Secretary Aaron Farrugia, leading to the injury of a police officer, Maltese media reported Thursday.
The politicians leaving Parliament on Wednesday in the car were surrounded by the protestors, who also banged on the roof of the car. A police officer appears to have been injured when the car, attempting to move off, ran over her foot, The Times of Malta said.
21 Nov 2019
Philip Willan
ROME--The dusty path that snakes through the landscape in the world's most famous painting is actually a river, according to an Italian art historian who recently restored a copy of the Mona Lisa attributed to Leonardo da Vinci's workshop.
20 Nov 2019