ROME - Images posted online of an Italian woman wearing a t-shirt featuring the word ‘Auschwitzland’ and the Disney logo in Predappio, Mussolini’s hometown, have sparked outrage across the country. Selene Ticchi D’Urso was attending a rally that she had helped organise, held to mark the anniversary of the ‘March on Rome’ which led to Mussolini’s National Fascist Party taking power in 1922.
Francesca Halliwell
ROME - Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini arrived at Pratica di Mare Airport on Wednesday to greet 51 migrants. Their transferal was made possible by the formation of a humanitarian corridor between Niger and Italy, set up with the assistance of the Pope John XXIII community.
The minister mounted the plane’s steps to greet the new arrivals, 31 of whom are Sudanese, nine Ethiopian, six Eritrean, four Somalian and one Cameroonian. Among the migrants, 15 are reported to be refugees, and 36 asylum seekers. They will be looked after by the Pope John XXIII community.
15 Nov 2018
Patrick Middleton
ROME – The record-breaking Ryder Cup partnership of Tommy Fleetwood and Italian Francesco Molinari left their allegiances to one side on Thursday as they began a four-day season-ender at the DP World Tour Championships to decide the winner of the Race to Dubai title, which determines the number-one ranked player on the European Tour.
15 Nov 2018
INSIDER NEWSDESK
VATICAN CITY – Excessive zeal was shown by a member of the Swiss Guard at the Vatican on Wednesday, as he pepper sprayed a female pedestrian, Il Messaggero reports.
The man, guarding the entrance to the city at Porta Sant’Anna was approached by a woman walking her dog, who allegedly asked to be allowed through the gate. The guard then refused her entry as she did not have prior permission, which led to a heated debate, culminating in her being sprayed in the eye with pepper spray, Il Messaggero reports.
15 Nov 2018
INSIDER NEWSDESK
ROME – A female senator who endorsed a post calling for migrants to be put in ovens has been appointed head of the parliamentary human rights commission by the Lega-M5S position, sources say.
In 2017, while a regional councillor in Liguria, Stefania Pucciarelli liked a Facebook comment which said, “homes to Italians first, I’d given ovens to the rest.” She was forced to apologise profusely, saying, “I distance myself from such statements. The ovens are a sad memory of the past that no-one, let alone me, intends to restore.”
15 Nov 2018
Francesca Halliwell
ROME - The house where British student Meredith Kercher was knifed to death in Perugia has been put up for sale. Described by estate agents Mediaimmobiliare as “a countryside villa in the heart of the historic centre”, it is on the market at a price of 295 thousand euros. Due to recent renovations, it is apparently unrecognisable as the site of the brutal murder mystery that gripped the world eleven years ago.
Only in 2015 was the owner able to put the property up for sale. Both the interior and exterior of the house underwent extreme renovation.
14 Nov 2018
Francesca Halliwell
ROME - A conference to commemorate the centenary of Polish independence took place at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University on Wednesday morning. Though the primary focus of the conference was Poland’s plight for independence, talks were held on a variety of matters, ranging from the foundation of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, to the independence struggles of Ireland and the Ukraine.
14 Nov 2018
Insider View
ROME - The nomination by President Macron of a French woman candidate to be the next director general at the Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO) holds out hope for a new era at the UN agency as the end of the troubled stewardship of the bearded Brazilian agronomist, José Graziano da Silva, approaches.
14 Nov 2018
Patrick Middleton
ROME – Cristiano Ronaldo is the biggest name in world football, period. It is no surprise, then, that his transfer to Juventus has brought the club an unprecedented level of growth. The acquisition has doubled the club’s share value in just three months, but the Old Lady could fall foul of her fans if such an investment fails to deliver Champions League glory.
14 Nov 2018