ROME -- A surprise decision by the FAO Director General, Qu Dongyu, to reallocate radically six assistant directors' job descriptions and move the once powerful 'colonels' into six small offices close to the DG's office so that their work can be watched, has caused havoc among the old guard at the UN agency, FAO sources say.
INSIDER NEWSDESK
ROME – In a ceremony to commemorate Florence Nightingale, the 'mother of modern nursing' who emphasised data and hygiene in field hospitals, projections illuminated the facade of the Spallanzani hospital in Rome, as part of a joint project between the British Embassy in Rome, Florence Nightingale Museum, and Italian Nurses Federation (FNOPI), on the International Day of Nurses on Tuesday. “Florence’s legacy is relevant more than ever," said British Ambassador HE Jill Morris.
13 May 2020
JAN FILIPOWICZ
ROME -- The ILO has ruled that the FAO illegally failed to consult with the general staff union UGSS over a draconian circular limiting the duration of employment of short term secretarial and clerical staff, ILO officials said.
13 May 2020
INSIDER NEWSDESK
ROME – An investigation by military prosecutors headed by Marco De Paolis, into the death of Emanuele Sciere in 1999, an Italian paratrooper in training, has concluded that he was killed by senior officers who punched and kicked him to death, according to judicial sources. The paratrooper, originally from Syracuse, who died on an Aug. 13 night in a military barracks in Pisa, was allegedly killed by three Italian corporals.
13 May 2020
INSIDER NEWSDESK
NAPLES – An investigation into the Italian navy ship the ‘Caprera’, which was used to smuggle cigarettes and Cialis, a drug that treats erectile dysfunction, has led to the arrest of five soldiers from the Italian navy on charges of embezzlement of use and corruption, according to judicial sources. The Caprera arrived from Tripoli in the port of Brindisi in southern Italy on July 15 2018, as part of the ‘Safe Sea Operation’, where the discovery was made that it was being used to traffic goods.
12 May 2020
INSIDER NEWSDESK
VATICAN CITY – According to new estimates, the The Holy See’s deficit is expected to rocket up to 145 per cent in 2020, in the context of the coronavirus epidemic causing economic slowdown and with a significant reduction in contributions to be expected from the Italian government and the Vatican bank (IOR), reports Il Messaggero. The Vatican on average already brings in approximately 270 million euros while its expenditure amounts to 320 million euros.
12 May 2020
INSIDER NEWSDESK
ROME – An earth tremor sent Romans into the streets at dawn on Monday, as the shock with a magnitude of 3.3 struck the Italian capital having started at a depth of 10 km, with its epicenter located in the north-east of Rome, near Fonte Nuova, according to data from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV).
11 May 2020
INSIDER NEWSDESK
MOGADISHU — Kidnapped Italian aid worker Silvia Romano, 25, has been released, officials said Saturday. She was abducted in Kenya in a shopping center and taken away on a motorbike by presumed Islamist terrorists in November 2018. The Italian External Information and Security Agency (Aise) conducted an operation which led to the release of the young volunteer, in collaboration of the Turkish and Somali services, which led to her being released 30km from Mogadishu, reports La Stampa. It is not known if a ransom was paid.
9 May 2020
INSIDER NEWSDESK
ROME - The Italian Insider's Short Story Podcast uses a variety of Italian authors and their short works of fiction to explore contemporary issues in Italian society and the Mediterranean. Voiced by Jack Morgan Jones and Cesira Colleluori, and produced by Jack Morgan Jones.
Sciascia and Migration (Ep.1).
8 May 2020