ROME - Italy is under severe pressure from the European Union for its 2019 fiscal policies.
In late September, the coalition revealed plans to set Italy’s budget deficit at 2.4 percent of GDP. This figure exceeds the 1.6 percent level for which the technocratic finance minister, Giovanni Tria had lobbied. It also generated tension within the EU since Italy’s debt stands at as much as 132 percent of GDP.
ROME - A regulation forcing migrant children to bring packed lunches into school and eat separately from their classmates has been lifted. The controversial rule was introduced by Lodi mayor Sara Casanova, a representative of the League. It required migrant parents to submit documentation about their income from their native countries, as a form of means-testing to ascertain who was eligible to discounts on canteen and school-bus services.
ROME – The life and works of the poet Vjaceslav Ivanov are to be celebrated on Tuesday in an event coordinated by the ‘Pontificio Istituto Orientale’.
The institute, based in Rome, has a special connection with Ivanov, as the Russian began teaching there in 1936. Ivanov had emigrated to Italy, via Azerbaijan, following the 1917 October Revolution, where he became a lecturer in Pavia, Milan.
VATICAN CITY – In a ceremony on Sunday at the Vatican, Salvadoran archbishop Oscar Romero was elevated to sainthood, along with Pope Paul VI and five others by Pope Francis
"We declare and define Paul VI and Óscar Arnulfo Romero Galdámez... to be saints and we enrol them among the saints, decreeing that they are to be venerated as such by the whole church," the pontiff said at the ceremony.
Francis wore the blood-stained belt taken from Romero’s body following his murder and used Pope Paul VI’s chalice and pastoral staff during the service.
MONACO - When the news broke earlier this week that Leonardo Jardim’s tenure as manager of AS Monaco would come to an end after a highly successful four-year stint, there was sadness, anger and an air of inevitability in the Principality. Monaco’s start to the season has been miserable to say the least, with the side languishing in the relegation zone of Ligue 1. The Portuguese coach has taken the fall, but many believe the responsibility lies elsewhere.
ROME – Italy put in a dominant display in their Nations League fixture against Poland on Sunday night, yet required a stoppage-time goal to break the deadlock.
Left-back Cristiano Biraghi was first to a flick-on at the back post, tapping in to score his first international goal with practically the last kick of the game.
ROME – In a statement made on Thursday, German magazine ‘Der Spiegel’ said it has “no reason” to doubt the authenticity of documents published in its report of Cristiano Ronaldo’s alleged rape.
The statement comes in response to comments from Ronaldo’s lawyer, Peter Christiansen, who claimed on Wednesday night that the documents in question had been “completely fabricated.” Christiansen went on to say that the documents are “pure invention,” and a result of a cyber attack that took place in 2015.
ROME - New research published by the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) has revealed that almost half of Brits are confused about how Brexit will affect their holidays. 54% of the population are concerned about the impact it will have on the cost, while 48% are worried about whether it will make travelling more difficult.
The sharp increase in these figures from 2017 has been attributed to the five-month window until the UK leaves the EU.
