Wild weather has hit the Adriatic coast, forcing locals and tourists on Tortoreto Lido beach, in the province of Teramo in Abruzzo, to run for cover dodging flying umbrellas and other objects. In Ancona 30mm of water fell in a short time with the temperature dropping to 19 degrees. While bad weather in the Marches has caused road accidents and the roadside to be littered with fallen trees.

ROME – The “Friendship and Solidarity Tour,” a series of concerts played across Italy, has begun in celebration of the struggle for and attainment of freedom in South Africa. The tour is put on by “The Liberation Project,” a collection of international musicians who want to mark July, the Nelson Mandela Month, and the connections between South African liberation and Cuba, India and Italy respectively.

ROME –  A defense witness who worked in the communications department of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) gave testimony Tuesday in the trial at the Rome Tribunal brought by the UN agency against Italian Insider chief editor for alleged criminal libel. Judge Chiara Riva adjourned the trial until Friday so that a defense lawyer can be present to represent the interests of the whistleblower as she continues her testimony, judicial sources said.

NAPLES – Footballer Mario Balotelli is again at the centre of controversy for off-the-field antics. This time, he offered a friend 1800 euros to drive a scooter into the sea. The police, less than impressed by the viral video, want to talk to the young man, reports Il Fatto Quotidiano.

 Balotelli, 28, challenged the owner of a local bar in Mergellina, near Naples, to strip to his underwear and plunge into the sea on his scooter. Catello Buonocore duly obliged, keeping his trainers on of course, and zoomed off the quay into the water.