ROME - On Thursday the Campidoglio was filled with colourful exercise mats, iced chai tea and yoga fanatics and gurus to celebrate World Yoga Day in Rome.
Archie Farquharson
ROME – Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte confirmed Thursday that he would attend EU immigration talks on Sunday having threatened to skip the summit in Brussels, citing what he considered to be a prearranged EU draft, government sources said.
“I have just received a call from [German] Chancellor Angela Merkel, worried about the possibility that I could not attend the pre-summit,” Conte said.
21 Jun 2018
Philip Willan
ROME – A small square tile bearing a portrait of the Archangel Gabriel and said to be the first signed painting by Leonardo da Vinci was presented to the international press today in a move that could revolutionise understanding of the artistic career of the Renaissance genius.
The maiolica tile, measuring 20 cm by 20 cm, shows the profile of a youth with plump cheeks, curly golden locks, and purple wings.
21 Jun 2018
Flavia Cresswell-Turner
ROME – After eight long years, respected Foreign Press journalist and IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) correspondent Hamid Masoumi Nejad finally has been acquitted in a trial against seven people, officials confirmed on Thursday.
In 2010, Mr. Nejad was first accused of being a spy in the service of the MOIS, Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, allegedly sent to Italy to influence public opinion and trade in arms. This is what the Italian secret service and Milan Public prosecutor claimed for years.
21 Jun 2018
Flavia Cresswell-Turner
ROME – The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has recently revealed that the trade in fake Italian goods, including luxury handbags, watches, foodstuffs and car parts, costs the economy billions of euros each year.
These items are taking a significant bite out of Italy’s economy, equivalent to 1-2 per cent of GDP in terms of lost sales, the report reveals.
21 Jun 2018
Flavia Cresswell-Turner
ROME – LGBTQ issues, gender, migration, corruption, disabilities and drug trafficking will be some of the topics discussed at the Synod of Bishops scheduled for October, officials confirmed.
This was decided after a document entitled “Instrumentum laboris” was released on Tuesday and revealed that: “Young people feel a lack of harmony with the Church. […] It seems that we don’t understand the vocabulary, and therefore also the needs of the young.”
20 Jun 2018
Flavia Cresswell-Turner
ROME – According to recent opinion polls, the League’s popularity has outstripped that of the Five Star Movement (M5S).
It all reportedly comes down to the “S factor” Salvini, who’s milked the migration situation in his first few weeks in office and subsequently been able to appeal to all kinds of electors.
20 Jun 2018
Flavia Cresswell-Turner
ROME – Equestrian champion Consuelo Palmerini has died after throwing herself off the Cassia bis viaduct, located between the Prima Porta junction and Castel de Ceveri, officials confirm.
The 46-year-old reportedly hurled herself from the flyover while a van was passing by on Tuesday morning. She died on the spot due to the violent impact.
The vehicle, however, lost control and flipped over a few metres on. The driver, Carlo Peciaroli, 68, from Corchiano (Viterbo), was seriously injured.
20 Jun 2018
Flavia Cresswell-Turner
ROME – As many as 523 migrants, saved in seven separate rescue missions, arrived at the port of Pozzallo, Ragusa, aboard the Italian Coast Guard ship Diciotti on Wednesday, officials said. There were also 42 migrants on the Diciotti who had initially been rescued on the US military vessel Trenton.
Six children, three women and a severely dehydrated man were the first to disembark the Coast Guard ship, where they were immediately met by Italian Red Cross doctors.
20 Jun 2018