ROME – As diplomats decried the FAO’s World Food Forum held in the Eternal City this month as another expensive and useless jamboree, observers are gripped by speculation over who may replace the Chinese director general of the UN agency, Qu Dongyu, who increasingly is seen as a lame duck, diplomatic sources say.
VATICAN CITY – Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla made a historic visit to the Holy See on Thursday to meet with Pope Leo XIV, where, following a private audience with the pontiff, the three prayed together in the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican said. This marks the first time an English monarch has prayed in the Vatican since before the Reformation.
ROME – Italian skier, Marta Bassino, fractured her tibia during training and will most likely miss out on the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, the Italian Federation of Winter Sports (FISI) announced in a statement on Wednesday.
Bassino, 29, has seven World Cup victories and previously won gold at two different world championships. She was due to compete in the skiing World Cup 2025 circuit, ahead of the Olympic season next year.
ROME – Napoli were left humiliated after a 6-2 defeat at the hands of PSV in Eindhoven in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday evening.
Going into the matchday three, the Italian team, who won Serie A last season, were sitting on three points whereas PSV were on one point, having not yet found a win.
The first half started off slowly, with the two teams evenly matched and unable to find a goal. In the 31st minute, however, Scottish superstar Scott McTominay opened the scoring for Napoli with a glancing header finding the back of the net.
LONDON — Italian wines once again proved their dominance on the international stage as Villa Sandi’s Friulano captured top honours at this year’s London Wine Competition, earning an impressive 95 points and the 2025 Gold Medal Award. The announcement was made during the Best UK Sommelier Villa Sandi Award and Walkaround Tasting, held at the historic Middle Temple in London on Oct. 13.
L'AQUILA -- “Stop talking about the earthquake” is the collective motto of Abruzzo’s tourism operators, especially those in the city of L’Aquila – where 16 years ago, in 2009, an earthquake of Richter magnitude 5.9 devasted the city.
As of now, 60 percent of L’Aquila’s public buildings have been rebuilt and over 95 percent of private buildings have been restored to their former charm.
ROME – The final event of the Italian Media Arts Festival 2025, the Special Screening, will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 22, as part of Rome Art Week and is open to the public. A jury of experts have selected nine works from over 80 proposals which represent “a global overview” of the relationship between humanity, the environment and technology.
PADUA -- OliviCultura di Pace is a grassroots joint-initiative between the Associazione di Cooperazione e Solidarietà (ACS), a secular and not-for-profit organisation based in Padua, and the Arab Agronomists Association (AAA). A multi-organisational and cross-border alliance of agronomists, producers and local authorities, the campaign unites several Palestinian and Italian NGOs, cooperatives and civil society groups under a shared banner of institutional advocacy and international solidarity.
ROME – Dutch police have arrested 180 Napoli fans in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, due to disorrderly behaviour ahead of Napoli’s clash with PSV on Tuesday in the UEFA Champions League, Dutch police said. This comes a day after three men were arrested for killing a bus driver after attacking a rival basketball team’s bus with stones and bricks, raising the question of sports hooliganism culture in Italy.









