MILAN, Italy (AFP) – Milan will ban cars from driving within the city on Sunday, a measure aimed at tackling high pollution levels, even as authorities consider new measures, such as prohibiting smoking at bus stops. The measure – which is not the first time that Italy’s economic capital has banned driving within city limits – has been met with skepticism by some, with the regional counsellor for the environment, Raffaele Cattaneo, calling it “demagogy […]
Tag: Italy
Six Germans killed as car ploughs into pedestrians in Italy
ROME, Italy (AFP) — Six Germans were killed when a car ploughed into them after they left a nightclub in the Italian Alps on Sunday, emergency services said, adding that 11 others were injured. Media reports said the driver may have been drunk. The accident happened at around 1:15 am (0015 GMT) in the village of Lutago near the Austrian border in the South Tyrol region, which is popular with skiers. The group of […]
Deadly rainstorms sweep northern Italy, southern France
VENICE, Italy (AFP) — Torrential rains across northern Italy and southern France killed three people at the weekend, sweeping away part of a motorway viaduct in northern Italy and causing fresh flooding in Venice on Sunday. The rains, which left at least three people dead and two missing across the two countries, were the latest in a two-week wave of extreme weather in the region. Part of a viaduct serving Italy’s A6 motorway near Savona […]
Five dead in Sicily firework depot explosion
ROME, Italy (AFP) — Five people died Wednesday as a result of two explosions at a fireworks factory in Sicily, firefighters and police said after the incident at the family-run firm. The late afternoon blasts immediately killed two workmen and the 71-year-old wife of the owner of the Costa company in Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, in Sicily’s Messina region. The owner’s son had attempted to save her and was one of four people taken to hospital […]
Venice faces more floods as state of emergency declared
by Alexandria Sage with Ella Ide in Rome VENICE, Italy (AFP) — Flood-hit Venice was bracing for another exceptional high tide Friday, as Italy declared a state of emergency for the UNESCO city where perilous deluges have caused millions of euros worth of damage. Churches, shops and homes in the city of canals have been inundated by unusually intense “acqua alta”, or high waters, which on Tuesday hit their highest level in half a century. […]
Climate change, corruption blamed for Venice flood devastation
by Ella IDE Agence France Presse VENICE, Italy (AFP) — Much of Venice was left under water after the highest tide in 50 years ripped through the historic Italian city, beaching gondolas, trashing hotels and sending tourists fleeing through rapidly rising waters. The government in Rome was expected to declare a state of emergency at a cabinet meeting on Thursday after Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte described the flooding as “a blow to the heart […]
Flooding in Venice drowns Catholic cathedral’s priceless mosaics in sewage
by Ella IDE Agence France Presse VENICE, Italy (AFP) — Dirty water swirls around marble tombs inside the 12th century crypt of St Mark’s Basilica in Venice, which suffered untold damage when an unprecedented high tide swept through the city. Pumps work overtime to clear the seawater from around the altar and under the pink and white stone arches, as the historic monument’s custodians look on in sadness and anger. “We’re talking about millions of […]
Venice underwater as exceptional tide sweeps through canal city
by Ella IDE VENICE, Italy (AFP) — Venice was hit by the highest tide in more than 50 years late Tuesday, with tourists wading through flooded streets to seek shelter as a fierce wind whipped up waves in St. Mark’s Square. The exceptionally intense “acqua alta,” or high waters, peaked at 1.87 meters (six feet) as the flood alarm sounded across the Italian city of canals, the tide monitoring center said. “We’re currently facing an […]
Italy hit by heavy rains, flooding in Venice
by Franck IOVENE ROME, Italy (AFP) — Powerful rainstorms hit Italy on Tuesday, with the worst affected areas in the south and Venice, where there was widespread flooding. The heavy rainfall closed schools in several southern cities including Taranto, Brindisi, and Matera, as well as the Sicilian cities of Pozzallo and Noto, according to the national weather service. In Matera, this year’s European Capital of Culture, a tornado caused trees and lamp posts to fall, […]
Palace hails Gilas Pilipinas for playing “with grit, passion” vs Italy
(Eagle News)–The Palace on Saturday, Aug. 31, hailed Gilas Pilipinas players after their match against Italy. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the players deserve Filipinos’ admiration because they “played with grit and passion.” He said Duterte “patiently watched the game as the Filipino players valiantly fought their taller, bigger, shiftier and sharp-shooting Italians.” “In the end we were outplayed and out-scored but not without displaying some flashes of brilliance, although few and far between,” he […]
Italy’s Stromboli volcano erupts, sparking huge ash cloud
ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy’s Stromboli volcano off the coast of Sicily erupted Wednesday, according to fire fighters who rushed to put out wildfires sparked by lava flows. Emergency services scrambled to launch motorboats and helicopters after the “strong explosion” in the south-central slope of the crater shook the island, but no-one was hurt, the fire service said on Twitter. Falling ash from a vast mushrooming cloud covered the rooves of houses in the tiny […]
Make or break in Italy talks for new government
by Ella IDE Agence France Presse ROME, Italy (AFP) — Wednesday is D-Day for fraught negotiations to form a new Italian government, failing which the eurozone’s third largest economy will be forced to hold fresh elections. President Sergio Mattarella is to meet the country’s main political parties at the climax of what Italian newspapers have dubbed “the craziest crisis ever” after the government collapsed earlier this month while parliament was on holiday. The anti-establishment […]





