Tag: Italy

Italy in limbo after PM Conte attacks Salvini and resigns

By Charles Onians Agence France-Presse ROME, ITALY (AFP) — Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Tuesday he would resign, lashing out at far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini for pursuing his own interests by pulling the plug on the government coalition. The move leaves the eurozone’s third largest economy in a political vacuum until President Sergio Mattarella decides whether to form a new coalition or call an election after talks with parties in the coming days. […]

Storms claim three lives in Italy

ROME, Italy (AFP) — Freak storms and flash flooding following last week’s heatwave in Italy claimed three lives this weekend, including a young woman caught up in a mini-tornado near Rome’s Fiumicino airport. The 26-year-old woman was driving home at around 2:00 am Sunday when the mini-tornado lifted her car and sent it crashing against a railing. The highly localised winds tore up trees and scattered debris across the zone it hit. Further north, a […]

Huawei says it plans to invest $3.1 billion in Italy

MILAN, Italy (AFP) — Chinese tech giant Huawei said Monday it plans to invest $3.1 billion (2.75 billion euros) in Italy over three years, as the firm looks to strengthen its foothold in Europe after the US labelled it a major security risk. Huawei — a leader in next-generation 5G wireless technology — is subject to US sanctions over concerns about its ties to the government in Beijing and Washington has urged allies to shun […]

Stromboli clears up ash after deadly volcano eruption

by Giovanni Isolino STROMBOLI, Italy (AFP) — The village of Ginostra on Stromboli began sweeping away layers of ash on Thursday, the day after a dramatic volcanic eruption on the tiny Italian island killed a hiker. Emergency workers brushed and scooped volcanic cinders from streets and the tiny harbour in the village at the foot of the still smoking volcano. A veil of ash lay atop restaurant terrace tables, boats and parts of the coastline. […]

One tourist killed in Stromboli volcano eruption

by Charles ONIANS ROME, Italy (AFP) — A volcano on the Italian island of Stromboli erupted dramatically on Wednesday, killing a hiker and sending tourists fleeing into the sea. The volcano is known to be active but on Wednesday there were two particularly powerful explosions. “Unfortunately one man is dead, there are a few injured, but none seriously,” emergency worker Calogero Foti told RAI television. The dead man was a 35-year-old from Messina in Sicily […]

Remains of Genoa bridge to be demolished on Friday

GENOA, Italy (AFP) — The two remaining towers of the motorway bridge in the Italian city Genoa that collapsed nearly a year go killing 43 people are to be demolished on Friday to make way for a new structure, authorities said. The remains of the Morandi bridge are to be detonated at 9:00 am (0700 GMT), with nearly 4,000 local residents evacuated, the city authorities said. Explosives have been attached to the legs of the […]

Mild earthquake hits near Rome: institute

ROME, Italy (AFP) — A 3.7-magnitude earthquake struck near Rome on Sunday evening, the Italian geophysics institute said, with local media reporting it caused no damage. The epicenter of the quake was near Colonna, a small city around 30 kilometers (20 miles) east of Rome. There was no noticeable damage or injuries from the tremor, local media said citing the civil protection service and witnesses. Many residents of Colonna and surrounding areas did leave their […]

Italy driver hijacks, torches school bus

by Catherine MARCIANO ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italian police on Wednesday rescued 51 children taken hostage by their school bus driver, who doused the vehicle in petrol and set it alight apparently in protest at migrant deaths in the Mediterranean. Some of the children were tied up during the 30 minute ordeal, which saw the bus slam into a car but was brought to an end by police after one of the children was able […]

World’s largest Nutella factory reopens after ‘quality defect’

CAEN, France (AFP) — The world’s largest Nutella factory restarted production on Monday after it stopped work for five days as a precautionary measure over a “quality defect”, owner Ferrero’s French branch said. The factory in Normandy, France stopped making the chocolate-and-hazelnut spread due to a “suspected quality defect strictly limited to the production stage,” Ferrero France’s communications service told AFP. It added that the problem was “very early in the process, at the stage […]

DFA: No Filipinos reported affected by Mount Etna eruption

(Eagle News) – The Department of Foreign Affairs said that no Filipino was reported affected by the eruption of Mount Etna and the more than 100 seismic quakes recorded in Sicily, Italy. DFA Assistant Secretary Elmer Cato said that as of 11:45 p.m.of December 25, the DFA has not received any report of Filipinos who were affected by the quakes following Etna’s eruption. The department continues to monitor the situation in Italy, where there are […]

Mount Etna eruption causes airspace closure

  ROME, Italy (AFP) — The Mount Etna volcano erupted on Monday, spewing ash as several minor earthquakes hit the region, and prompting a partial closure of the Sicilian airspace around the mountain. Italy’s national institute for geophysics and vulcanology (INGV) counted more than 130 seismic shocks in the zone, with the strongest reaching a magnitude of 4.0. “The eruption occurred on the side of Etna,” Boris Behncke, a vulcanologist at INGV, told AFP. “It’s […]

Protesters march against Italy’s tough new anti-migrant law

  ROME, Italy (AFP) — Several thousand people marched in Rome Saturday in protest at Italy’s tough new anti-migrant law which makes it easier to expel new arrivals. The protesters waved flags and donned yellow vests emblazoned with the slogan “Get up! Stand Up! for your right” in a reference to the famous Bob Marley song. The new law would “only increase the number of people without papers in Italy and force people underground”, protester […]