ROME – Deputy Prime Minister Di Maio firmly believes basic income has to be a key component in the 2019 budget set to be announced by Finance Minister Giovanni Tria tomorrow, parliamentary sources said on Wednesday.
In a meeting restricted to Five Star cabinet members, Di Maio manifested his intentions to take the government into stalemate by voting against the budget in parliament and not to sign off the DEF (economic and financial planning document) if key policy issues are not included.
ROME – Italian luxury fashion company Versace has been sold to American designer giant Michael Kors, official sources said on Wednesday.
The handbag maker will be acquiring Versace for $2.1 billion, including debt, providing Kors with a gateway to the European high-end fashion market.
Following the deal, Kors will change its name to Capri Holdings Limited but it will retain all the original brand names. Kors also controls British high fashion house Jimmy Choo.
ROME – Operators of the Mediterranean rescue ship Aquarius have called on European governments to help the vessel find a new flag to sail under following Panama ship registration withdrawal, official sources said on Tuesday.
The ship is now sailing with 58 migrants on board and is asking French authorities to let its passengers disembark in Marseille.
CATANIA – Over 30 companies and corporations owned by Sicilian entrepreneur Mario Ciancio Sanfilippo have been seized following alleged ties with mafia associations, official sources said on Tuesday.
A total empire estimated to be worth 150 million euros has been confiscated by police on order by the Catania Tribunal. Ciancio is being investigated for alleged collusion with mafia-style associations. The businessman has strongly denied any involvement with criminal associations.
ROME – The U.S. Air Force has selected MH-139 helicopters, based on Leonardo’s AW139 model, for Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Protection, said Italian aerospace and defence company Leonardo Spa in a press statement.
Italian aerospace and defence giant Leonardo, formally known as Finmeccanica, in partnership with American aerospace company Boeing will supply the U.S. Air Force with 84 MH-139 helicopters worth $2.4 billion replacing the old UH-1N “Huey” helicopter fleet.
PISA – Hundreds of people have been evacuated as a huge, powerful blaze engulfs Monte Serra, in Pisano, raging dangerously close to homes, firefighters said on Monday.
Fanned by strong winds, the fire has destroyed dozens of hectares of forest and is threatening the village of Montemagno and the areas of Torre and San Lorenzo.
Mayor of Calci Massimiliano Ghimenti has ordered residents to evacuate their homes as a preventative measure.
ROME - Italy’s finance minister Giovanni Tria is facing increased pressure from populist members of his cabinet over government spending, official sources said on Monday.
On Thursday Tria will formally present targets for the countries borrowing and growth, an announcement that will be carefully examined by Brussels officials and investors.
Italy’s interior minister Matteo Salvini and minister for economic development Luigi Di Maio are putting Tria under increased pressure to make room for costly policies such as basic income and the introduction of a flat tax system.
VATICAN CITY – The decision to deny women and young adult lay representatives voting authority in the upcoming Synod on Youth has come under intense criticism from We Are Church International.
Despite being the focus of the Synod, which takes place from Oct. 3 to 28, both groups have been banned from voting, instead being categorised as “collaborators” and “observers”.
