https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Italy in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed The €170 billion recovery fund granted to Italy by the EU is a chance for the country to invest in reform and catch up with its European neighbours, the prime minister says. https://www.thelocal.it/20200617/coronavirus-bailout-is-an-opportunity-to-design-a-better-italy-pm-giuseppe-conte Wed, 17 Jun 2020 11:20:19 +0200 coronavirus-bailout-is-an-opportunity-to-design-a-better-italy-pm-giuseppe-conte Right-wing populist League party leader Matteo Salvini has seen his popularity fall as the coronavirus pandemic drowned out his anti-immigrant message - but will he make a comeback as Italy leaves lockdown behind? https://www.thelocal.it/20200609/analysis-how-italys-far-right-was-stalled-by-the-coronavirus-crisis Tue, 09 Jun 2020 12:24:06 +0200 analysis-how-italys-far-right-was-stalled-by-the-coronavirus-crisis Florence's Duomo has introduced gadgets worn around the neck that will allow people to visit the celebrated cathedral while respecting safe distances. https://www.thelocal.it/20200518/florence-duomo-introduces-social-distancing-necklaces-for-visitors Mon, 18 May 2020 19:30:48 +0200 florence-duomo-introduces-social-distancing-necklaces-for-visitors High-profile cases of corruption, ticket touting and match fixing have led Italians to lose faith in the beautiful game, writes criminologist Anna Sergi. https://www.thelocal.it/20190626/how-mafia-and-corruption-scandals-rocked-italian-football Wed, 26 Jun 2019 14:21:05 +0200 how-mafia-and-corruption-scandals-rocked-italian-football Italy's antitrust authority on Thursday slapped fines on low-cost airlines Ryanair and Wizz Air over their cabin baggage policy. https://www.thelocal.it/20190222/italy-fines-ryanair-wizz-air-over-cabin-bag-fees Fri, 22 Feb 2019 09:55:01 +0100 italy-fines-ryanair-wizz-air-over-cabin-bag-fees An ex-member of the carabinieri, Italy’s military police, has been sentenced to four years and eight months in prison for the rape of one of two American students assaulted in late 2017. https://www.thelocal.it/20181012/prison-time-for-italian-policeman-convicted-of-raping-us-students Fri, 12 Oct 2018 12:30:00 +0200 prison-time-for-italian-policeman-convicted-of-raping-us-students A Sicilian who masturbated in front of female students has had his conviction overturned by Italy's highest court, on the basis that unless minors are present, 'public auto-eroticism' is not a criminal act. https://www.thelocal.it/20160909/public-masturbation-crime-italy-top-court Fri, 09 Sep 2016 12:43:17 +0200 public-masturbation-crime-italy-top-court Italy coach Antonio Conte has been cleared of accusations of sporting fraud following a hearing in Cremona on Monday at which which prosecutors had requested a six-month prison sentence, Italian media reports said. https://www.thelocal.it/20160516/italy-coach-conte-cleared-of-sporting-fraud-charges Mon, 16 May 2016 15:39:57 +0200 italy-coach-conte-cleared-of-sporting-fraud-charges Italy told Austria on Thursday it would prove Vienna was "wasting money" on anti-migrant measures and closing the border between the two countries would be "an enormous mistake". https://www.thelocal.it/20160429/italy-brands-austrias-migrant-fence-a-waste-of-money Fri, 29 Apr 2016 10:50:22 +0200 italy-brands-austrias-migrant-fence-a-waste-of-money They travelled up to Rome from Puglia to see the remains of Italy’s beloved saint, Padre Pio...but instead they broke one of the 10 commandments. https://www.thelocal.it/20160209/pilgrims-ransack-rome-flats-to-fund-padre-pio-trip Tue, 09 Feb 2016 12:38:18 +0100 pilgrims-ransack-rome-flats-to-fund-padre-pio-trip After a choppy few weeks for Pope Francis, a strongly denied report that he has a brain tumour has sent Vatican and Italian conspiracy theorists into overdrive. https://www.thelocal.it/20151022/conspiracy-theories-flourish-in-vatican-after-pope-health-scare Thu, 22 Oct 2015 18:19:01 +0200 conspiracy-theories-flourish-in-vatican-after-pope-health-scare UPDATED: An Italian court on Wednesday sentenced Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino to 16 years and one month in prison for causing the 2012 cruise ship disaster which claimed 32 lives. https://www.thelocal.it/20150211/costa-concordia-capital-schettino-verdict Wed, 11 Feb 2015 20:00:00 +0100 costa-concordia-capital-schettino-verdict Italian philosopher and author Umberto Eco compared Isis (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) to Nazism on Thursday, saying they shared an "apocalyptic desire to take over the world." https://www.thelocal.it/20150108/isis-is-like-nazism-italian-philosopher Thu, 08 Jan 2015 17:27:00 +0100 isis-is-like-nazism-italian-philosopher Italy on Wednesday took the first concrete step towards privatizing its railway system and listing it on the stock exchange as part of efforts to cut the country's gargantuan public debt. https://www.thelocal.it/20141120/italy-takes-first-step-to-shore-up-cash Thu, 20 Nov 2014 09:17:00 +0100 italy-takes-first-step-to-shore-up-cash Italy's Constitutional Court will make a landmark ruling on gay adoption, prompted by the case of an American-Italian lesbian couple and their two children. https://www.thelocal.it/20141112/italian-supreme-court-to-rule-on-gay-adoption-case Wed, 12 Nov 2014 11:30:00 +0100 italian-supreme-court-to-rule-on-gay-adoption-case An Italian lab has cooled a cubic metre of copper to within a tiny fraction of "absolute zero", setting a world record, the National Nuclear Physics Institute said on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.it/20141022/cool-italian-scientists-break-world-record Wed, 22 Oct 2014 10:56:00 +0200 cool-italian-scientists-break-world-record UPDATED: A woman whose partner gave birth has been allowed to adopt the child in the first case of stepchild adoption involving a same-sex couple. It's been described by a rights group as an historic step for Italy. https://www.thelocal.it/20140829/first-gay-couple-in-italy-allowed-to-adopt-child Fri, 29 Aug 2014 16:29:00 +0200 first-gay-couple-in-italy-allowed-to-adopt-child An Italian woman whose Facebook account was blocked after she posted a photo of two women kissing, in what the social network said “violated the community's standards on nudity and pornography”, told The Local she republished the photo in defence of her pursuit of gay rights. https://www.thelocal.it/20140519/facebook-scraps-italians-account-over-lesbian-kiss Mon, 19 May 2014 14:47:00 +0200 facebook-scraps-italians-account-over-lesbian-kiss A group of parents from Sicily refused to let their children go on a school trip because the bus they would have travelled on had previously transported migrants “suffering from diseases”. https://www.thelocal.it/20140505/we-dont-want-our-children-to-travel-on-migrant-bus Mon, 05 May 2014 19:24:00 +0200 we-dont-want-our-children-to-travel-on-migrant-bus An appeal court in Milan has ordered a hospital in Como to pay €50,000 for the “psychological damage” inflicted on a 14-year-old boy after his ‘father’ abandoned him over a botched paternity test. https://www.thelocal.it/20140423/como-hospital-botched-paternity-test Wed, 23 Apr 2014 12:38:00 +0200 como-hospital-botched-paternity-test