Josephine de La Bruyère

 ROME — A 54-year-old bricklayer killed his wife and two sons, 16 and five, “to free them from demons,” Carabinieri said he told them on Sunday.

 The man, Giovanni Barreca, said he murdered the victims in their home outside Palermo at the urging of a Sabrina Fina, 42, and Massimo Carandente, 50, whom he met through evangelical prayer services. In a text to a friend two weeks before his murder, Barreca's elder son referred to Fina and Carandente as "the Brothers of God," raising fears of a formalized, violent sect in the Palermo countryside. 

13 Feb 2024
INSIDER NEWSDESK

 ROME – The two sons of mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro’s driver have been arrested, Palermo Carabinieri said.

 The sons, Antonino Luppino and Vincenzo Luppino, were arrested for aiding and abetting and procured failure to comply with a sentence. They are accused of giving “invaluable aid” to the wanted mafia boss between 2018 and 2022.  Messina Denaro was caught Jan. 16, 2023.

13 Feb 2024
INSIDER NEWSDESK

 ROME – Two men in Monza have been arrested on charges of aggravated fraud after faking being disabled, Monza financial police have said.

 The two Pakistani citizens were arrested after being caught on CCTV walking and driving a car. The man walking, 48, was officially disabled and declared he could only move around in a wheelchair. He was seen getting out of his wheelchair and crossing the road by himself to get into a car. The man driving, 28, was officially blind.

13 Feb 2024
INSIDER NEWSDESK

 The Slow Wine Fair, to be held in Bologna (Italy) at the end of February, is first and foremost the most important gathering of the international Slow Wine Coalition, which brings together everyone involved in the international wine chain, from farmers and viticulturalists to distributors and sommeliers.

12 Feb 2024
INSIDER NEWSDESK

 ROME - Debates have started after Italian singer Ghali said “stop the genocide” on stage at the Sanremo Music Festival during the live television broadcast on RAI1.

 Ghali, after his performance on Saturday, called for an end to the fighting in Gaza on national television. Another performer, Dargen D’Amico, also called for a “ceasefire” twice. However, it was Ghali’s sentence “stop the genocide” which led to the Israeli ambassador, Alon Bar, criticising Ghali, Sanremo Music Festival and the broadcaster Rai.

12 Feb 2024
INSIDER NEWSDESK

 VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis accused critics of his blessing gay Catholics of “hypocrisy” on Wednesday. “No one is scandalized if I give a blessing to an entrepreneur who exploits people: and that is a very serious sin,” he said. “Whereas they are scandalized if I give it to a homosexual.”

 Francis made that comment in an interview with Fr. Vincenzo Vitale, co-editor in chief of the Catholic weekly Credere

9 Feb 2024
INSIDER NEWSDESK

 ROME – Farmers were blocking Rome’s ring road on Friday, between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., a spokesperson for Riscatto Agricolo said. At least 500 tractors showed up to protest.

 The spokesperson, Salvatore Fais, said that they confirmed all procedures with the police headquarters.

 He said that it will be this evening because the protests would cause “too much confusion during the day.” Four tractors representing the group are also expected to enter Rome “without causing inconvenience” and will try to ask for a meeting with the Minster of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida.

9 Feb 2024
Josephine de La Bruyère

 ROME — Two years ago a Patti court sentenced 91 associates of the Tortorici Mafia to 600 total years of prison time for conspiring to receive more than 5 million euros of subsidies meant for European farmers. In a dawn raid Tuesday, Carabinieri arrested 23 alleged affiliates of the same group for continuing to run precisely the same scheme. 

8 Feb 2024
INSIDER NEWSDESK

 ROME - A delegation from the UK Parliamentary Defence Committee is in Rome this week to strengthen ties with Italy in the defence sector, the UK Ministry of Defence have said. The main focus of the visit is to discuss the Global Combat Air Programme, a plan between Italy, Japan, and the UK to develop a new fighter jet by 2035. 

8 Feb 2024

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