ROME – Tuscan-born director and screenwriter, Vittorio Taviani, died aged 88 on Sunday, his family said. Along with his brother, Paolo, (86), he was renowned for being one of the most beloved and admired champions of Italian cinema and culture.
JAN FILIPOWICZ
ROME – Wily IFAD president Gilbert Houngbo has given give hungercrat Marco Marzano de Marinis a lucrative “consolation prize” as a “Senior advisor” after bouncing the well-connected Italian out of a higher, director-level appointment as Secretary of the UN agency amid wild allegations that he had made a false medical claim at another agency, UN sources say.
16 Apr 2018
Archie Farquharson
ROME – Following on from Tuesday night’s drama, Roma will square up against Liverpool in the Champions League semi-final. Friday’s draw confirmed the return of in-form striker Mohamed Salah to the Italian capital whilst Real Madrid will collide with Bayern Munich.
Roma may be glad to have avoided the Spanish and German footballing giants, but their route to the final in Kiev will certainly be no pushover.
13 Apr 2018
Archie Farquharson
ROME – Juventus fell just short against Real Madrid on Wednesday night, conceding a highly debatable penalty after an astonishing comeback. Gianluigi Buffon was sent off on his final Champions League appearance in a cruel goodbye as Cristiano Ronaldo’s 97th minute penalty clinched a dramatic 4-3 aggregate victory.
Lightning threatened to strike twice as Juventus came within millimetres of recreating Tuesday’s scenes at the Stadio Olimpico.
12 Apr 2018
Flavia Cresswell-Turner
VATICAN CITY – During today’s General Audience at St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis decided to focus on the topic of baptism.
His appeal was directed at Catholic parents, to whom he said, “Do not forget to baptise your children.”
This comes after internal statistics reveal that more and more newly born babies are not being baptised, as well as being conceived out of wedlock.
11 Apr 2018
Archie Farquharson
ROME – A phenomenal comeback saw Roma crush Barcelona 3-0 at the Stadio Olimpico to reach the last four of Europe’s premier competition for the first time since 1984. Practically written off after a heavy defeat in the first leg, the final whistle sent the Italian capital into euphoria on a historic night for the club.
Prior to kick-off, the tie had been heavily weighted in Barcelona’s favour. Overturning a 4-1 deficit appeared unthinkable for many, let alone near impossible, against the Lionel Messi-led Spanish giants, still unbeaten in La Liga.
11 Apr 2018
Archie Farquharson
ROME – Caught up in the emotion of Roma’s stunning victory on Tuesday night, the club’s Chairman, James Pallotta, was seen celebrating by plunging into the Piazza del Popolo fountain, sources said. Pallotta personally apologised to city Mayor, Virginia Raggi, and has decided to make an enormous 230,000 euro donation to restore the Fountain of the Pantheon.
11 Apr 2018
INSIDER NEWSDESK
CATANIA – A Sicilian mafia clan plotted the assassination of journalist, Paolo Borrometi, in order to halt his interfering investigations into their activities, a judge said on Tuesday. Following a series of death threats addressed to Borrometi, Italian police managed to intercept a conversation in which clan members vented an urgent need to take out the journalist.
11 Apr 2018
INSIDER NEWSDESK
PERUGIA - The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is organising an event as part of the Perugia Journalism Festival to amplify the voices of women living in remote and rural areas of developing countries.
11 Apr 2018