RIYADH -- UNIDO director general Gerd Müller begins his second term with a costly jamboree in the Saudi capital Sunday but internal critics describe the UN agency as troubled monarchy where qualified women are discriminated against on the basis of their weight and waist size and croneyism has led to scores of managers being hired from his native Germany.
INSIDER NEWSDESK
22 Nov 2025
Julia-Sandra Virsta
FLORENCE -- The Italian Sommelier Association (AIS) unveiled the first-ever English edition of the Vitae Wine Guide — a groundbreaking initiative designed to reach trade professionals, media, and wine enthusiasts across global markets.
In its 60th anniversary year, the Associazione Italiana Sommelier marks a historic milestone: VitaeWine Guide goes international with the launch of its very first English-language edition, presented on Nov 15 at Stazione Leopolda in Florence.
21 Nov 2025
Ophelia Gregory
ROME – An Anglo-Australian family that had been living off-grid in an Abruzzo forest has been ordered to send their three children, aged 8 and twins 6, to an “educational community”, accompanied by their mother for a period of observation, as has been reported in the RAI.
21 Nov 2025
KATARINA HARRISON-GAZE
ROME –- Experts gathered at the Euro-Gulf Information Centre in Rome to discuss the global crisis of learning poverty and the need for education in emergencies, with the goal of raising awareness so everyone receives education – enshrined as a basic human right in Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Amongst the crowd were people of all ages, all of whom were encouraged to help break down barriers to education to help lift children and adults out of poverty and level inequalities.
Learning poverty
21 Nov 2025
Darcie Peters
PADUA -- In her Padua studio, self-taught artist Yarden Tsfoini had dedicated herself to the exploration of women’s bodies in motion. In a series of self-portraits, the recent Padua University graduate and archaeologist gives agency to the classical female form as she confronts the complexities of her own American, Israeli and Iranian identities.
20 Nov 2025
Insider reporters
VIENNA – The head of the UNIDO Somalia investment team, Ygor Scarcia, has been suspended and placed under investigation on suspicion of allegedly pumping the UN agency’s money into fraudulent schemes in Somalia, UNIDO sources say.
Scarcia previously got rid of several staff he did not like by accusing them of “harassment,” and the investigation office in UNIDO used to simply rubber-stamp these allegations so the staff member was fired, but the tables have been turned on him.
20 Nov 2025
Michael LaPointe
SANTO STEFANO DI SESSANIO, Abruzzo-Watching Ugo work was incredible. The six-year-old Bracco (Italian pointer) was possessed, circling the oak trees, switching directions with the wind, digging profusely and then returning to his owner Andrea, with a black truffle in his mouth and waiting to be paid in sausage.
19 Nov 2025
Ophelia Gregory
ROME – Elvira Amata, a Sicilian regional alderwoman for tourism and sport, representing Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia party, was set to appear at preliminary hearing at Palermo’s high-court Jan. 13, after being placed under investigation on suspicion of collusion with a local business woman, judicial sources said Wednesday.
19 Nov 2025
Ophelia Gregory
ROME – After 11 reported cases, eoght hospitalisations and one death, the Metropolitan City of Milan Health Authority (ATS) has released a statement saying that they are “managing a suspected Legionella outbreak" in the San Siro neighbourhood of Milan.
What is Legionella?
18 Nov 2025