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 Six members of a charity which rescues migrants in the Mediterranean appeared in court in Sicily on Tuesday as an unprecedented trial began. https://www.thelocal.it/20251021/trial-begins-for-italian-migrant-rescuers-accused-of-aiding-illegal-immigration Tue, 21 Oct 2025 18:38:44 +0200 trial-begins-for-italian-migrant-rescuers-accused-of-aiding-illegal-immigration Italian authorities on Friday resumed efforts to identify the bodies of 27 people who died after two migrant boats sank off the island of Lampedusa. https://www.thelocal.it/20250815/italian-authorities-try-to-identify-lampedusa-capsize-victims Fri, 15 Aug 2025 16:26:13 +0200 italian-authorities-try-to-identify-lampedusa-capsize-victims A migrant boat capsized off the Italian island of Lampedusa on Wednesday, killing at least 20 people and leaving many others missing, the United Nations’ refugee agency, UNHCR, said. https://www.thelocal.it/20250813/at-least-20-dead-in-migrant-shipwreck-off-italys-lampedusa Wed, 13 Aug 2025 18:57:01 +0200 at-least-20-dead-in-migrant-shipwreck-off-italys-lampedusa Italian authorities have grounded an NGO plane that spots migrant boats in distress in the Mediterranean, the charity which operates the aircraft said on Friday. https://www.thelocal.it/20250809/italy-grounds-ngo-migrant-monitoring-plane Sat, 09 Aug 2025 11:26:08 +0200 italy-grounds-ngo-migrant-monitoring-plane The European Court of Justice dealt a major blow to Italy’s flagship migration policy on Friday, backing Italian judges who had challenged a list of "safe countries" used by Rome to deport migrants to Albanian detention centres. https://www.thelocal.it/20250801/eus-top-court-rules-against-italys-controversial-albania-migrant-deal Fri, 01 Aug 2025 18:32:09 +0200 eus-top-court-rules-against-italys-controversial-albania-migrant-deal Italy's government said on Friday it would repurpose two migrant processing centres in Albania as hubs for people awaiting deportation in a last-ditch attempt to salvage the costly scheme after a spate of legal challenges. https://www.thelocal.it/20250328/italy-to-turn-empty-albanian-migrant-centres-into-repatriation-hubs Fri, 28 Mar 2025 18:41:00 +0100 italy-to-turn-empty-albanian-migrant-centres-into-repatriation-hubs Italian government leaders voiced outrage on Friday after Italy's highest appeals court ordered Rome to compensate migrants who were held on a coast guard vessel for 10 days in 2018. https://www.thelocal.it/20250308/italys-government-furious-as-top-court-orders-compensation-for-migrants Sat, 08 Mar 2025 09:03:18 +0100 italys-government-furious-as-top-court-orders-compensation-for-migrants Italy's hard-right government vowed on Monday to press ahead with its controversial migrant centres in Albania, even as they stand empty due to legal challenges. https://www.thelocal.it/20241224/italy-stands-by-albania-migrant-deal-despite-empty-centres Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:45:41 +0100 italy-stands-by-albania-migrant-deal-despite-empty-centres An Italian court on Friday acquitted Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini of illegally blocking migrants on a rescue ship at sea in 2019, for which he had risked six years in prison. https://www.thelocal.it/20241221/italys-far-right-salvini-acquitted-in-migrant-blockade-trial Sat, 21 Dec 2024 10:29:58 +0100 italys-far-right-salvini-acquitted-in-migrant-blockade-trial The Council of Europe on Friday denounced Italy's treatment of migrants in detention centres, citing police violence and the use of psychotropic drugs on detainees. https://www.thelocal.it/20241213/europes-human-rights-watchdog-condemns-italys-migrant-treatment Fri, 13 Dec 2024 18:19:50 +0100 europes-human-rights-watchdog-condemns-italys-migrant-treatment Billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday waded into an intense debate over Italy's controversial migrant deal with Albania, saying that the judges who ruled against the processing of a second group of migrants in the non-EU state "need to go". https://www.thelocal.it/20241112/they-need-to-go-elon-musk-attacks-judges-in-italy-migrant-row Tue, 12 Nov 2024 16:52:42 +0100 they-need-to-go-elon-musk-attacks-judges-in-italy-migrant-row Italian judges on Monday rejected the detention of a second group of migrants sent to Italian-run centres in Albania, dealing a new blow to Rome's flagship migration policy. https://www.thelocal.it/20241112/italian-judges-deal-new-blow-to-contested-albania-migrant-scheme Tue, 12 Nov 2024 09:46:55 +0100 italian-judges-deal-new-blow-to-contested-albania-migrant-scheme An Italian naval ship with eight migrants arrived in Albania on Friday as Rome tried to salvage a controversial deal to outsource processing to the non-EU country following a string of legal hurdles. https://www.thelocal.it/20241108/italy-sends-8-more-migrants-to-albania-despite-recent-legal-opposition Fri, 08 Nov 2024 13:19:19 +0100 italy-sends-8-more-migrants-to-albania-despite-recent-legal-opposition A court in Catania on Monday dealt a fresh blow to Italian PM Giorgia Meloni's flagship migrant policy, saying asylum requests from Egypt could not be fast-tracked. https://www.thelocal.it/20241105/italy-court-deals-fresh-blow-to-pm-melonis-migrant-policy Tue, 05 Nov 2024 10:42:02 +0100 italy-court-deals-fresh-blow-to-pm-melonis-migrant-policy Italy's government said on Monday it would pass a new law to overcome legal opposition to a contested migrant deal with Albania as PM Giorgia Meloni accused judges of political bias. https://www.thelocal.it/20241021/italian-pm-meloni-seeks-to-save-albanian-migrant-deal-amid-spat-with-judges Mon, 21 Oct 2024 14:29:33 +0200 italian-pm-meloni-seeks-to-save-albanian-migrant-deal-amid-spat-with-judges Italy's Interior Minister has lashed out at Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for criticising the immigration policy of Giorgia Meloni's government and rejecting processing centres for migrants outside of the European Union. https://www.thelocal.it/20241018/italy-slams-spains-pm-for-rejecting-melonis-deportation-centres Fri, 18 Oct 2024 14:48:11 +0200 italy-slams-spains-pm-for-rejecting-melonis-deportation-centres Italian PM Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday hailed a controversial deal to send migrants for processing in Albania as "courageous", saying Rome was setting a "good example" for other countries. https://www.thelocal.it/20241015/italian-pm-meloni-hails-courageous-albania-migrant-deal Tue, 15 Oct 2024 13:13:18 +0200 italian-pm-meloni-hails-courageous-albania-migrant-deal Italy's coastguard said on Sunday two migrants had died after being rescued off Sicily's eastern coast along with over 30 others. https://www.thelocal.it/20240804/two-migrants-dead-after-rescue-at-sea-off-sicily-coast-italian-coastguard Sun, 04 Aug 2024 19:26:39 +0200 two-migrants-dead-after-rescue-at-sea-off-sicily-coast-italian-coastguard Italy's coastguard said Friday it had found another 14 bodies after a migrant shipwreck off the southern coast earlier this week, taking the confirmed death toll to 34. https://www.thelocal.it/20240622/italy-migrant-shipwreck-toll-at-34-as-more-bodies-found Sat, 22 Jun 2024 13:12:41 +0200 italy-migrant-shipwreck-toll-at-34-as-more-bodies-found The Italian coastguard searched off southern Italy on Monday for survivors or the bodies of dozens of migrants feared missing, after two shipwrecks left 11 people dead. https://www.thelocal.it/20240617/search-for-dozens-feared-missing-after-deadly-migrant-shipwrecks-off-italy Mon, 17 Jun 2024 19:18:48 +0200 search-for-dozens-feared-missing-after-deadly-migrant-shipwrecks-off-italy