RIACE – In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Mayor of Riace Domenico Lucano left the town in compliance with a court order, judicial sources said.
Lucano was placed under house arrest earlier in October on charges of, among other things, facilitating illegal immigration. He had previously been lauded for reviving the rural Calabrian town through allowing migrants and refugees to settle in Riace.
ROME – On Wednesday a statement released by the NGO Amnesty International accused French authorities of “systematic violations” of the rights of refugees and migrants.
The accusation comes following the incident in the French-Italian border town of Claviere last week, where French gendarmes were seen unloading two migrants from a van in the woods that line the border, before driving back into France. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini refused to accept the apology given by the French authorities over an incident that has heightened tensions between Rome and Paris.
ROME – The FAO Director General, José Graziano da Silva, has conceded that the UN agency is in a ‘cash crisis’ due to late contributions payment by member countries though he stopped short of disclosing that his own country, Brazil, is one of the main culprits, along with the United States.
VALLETTA– A year on from her murder, the life of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galicia has been remembered in a series of events on the island of Malta.
Galicia built up a national and international reputation for her continued work to shed light on corruption and misconduct carried out by Maltese politicians and public figures. In particular, she drew attention to links between the online gambling industry and organised crime in Malta.
LONDON - The Charity Commission has found that charities still under-report sexual abuse, including child sexual abuse overseas, yet no one is going to jail.
POMPEII – Italian archaeologists have uncovered an inscription in Pompeii that suggests the recorded date of Mount Vesuvius’ eruption is months too early.
VATICAN CITY – As world leaders gather in Rome at the FAO headquarters for World Food Day, the Vatican has released a letter from Pope Francis to Director General of the UN organisation, José Graziano da Silva, which advocates for solidarity in the fight against World Hunger.
ROME – Italian tennis player Marco Cecchinato has reached a career-high ranking of 19, the ATP confirmed on Monday.
Since last week’s ranking update, Cecchinato has risen two places to join fellow Italian Fabio Fognini in the World Top 20 for the first time.
ROME – Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has launched an attack against French authorities an incident at the French-Italian border in Claviere.
According to two agents from the DIGOS division of the Italian police, French gendarmes unloaded two migrants of African descent from a van in a stretch of woods that runs along the border between the two countries on Friday morning.
