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 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday, the second day spent calming tensions in Rome following criticism by President Donald Trump. https://www.thelocal.it/20260508/rubio-meets-italian-pm-meloni-after-trump-courage-criticism Fri, 08 May 2026 11:14:56 +0200 rubio-meets-italian-pm-meloni-after-trump-courage-criticism The US has given the European Union an ultimatum - grant access to sensitive police data or else lose access to visa-free travel for EU citizens. https://www.thelocal.it/20260506/us-threatens-to-scrap-eu-visa-waivers-over-data-sharing-demands Wed, 06 May 2026 12:42:51 +0200 us-threatens-to-scrap-eu-visa-waivers-over-data-sharing-demands Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has slammed fake images of herself generated by artificial intelligence, saying deepfakes "can deceive, manipulate and target anyone." https://www.thelocal.it/20260506/a-dangerous-tool-italys-meloni-slams-sexualised-ai-deepfakes-of-herself Wed, 06 May 2026 11:29:13 +0200 a-dangerous-tool-italys-meloni-slams-sexualised-ai-deepfakes-of-herself The Venice Biennale opened to the press on Wednesday amid resignations, boycotts and threats to cut funding over the return of Russia for the first time since the Ukraine war began. https://www.thelocal.it/20260506/venice-biennale-opens-in-turmoil-over-russian-presence Wed, 06 May 2026 09:49:51 +0200 venice-biennale-opens-in-turmoil-over-russian-presence Italy and Azerbaijan, which has become a key energy supplier to Europe, will boost energy and defence ties, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said during a visit to Baku. https://www.thelocal.it/20260505/italy-to-deepen-energy-and-defence-ties-with-azerbaijan-amid-iran-war Tue, 05 May 2026 12:01:35 +0200 italy-to-deepen-energy-and-defence-ties-with-azerbaijan-amid-iran-war The career diplomat succeeds Ed Llewellyn, who left Rome in December to take up a new role at the Foreign Office. https://www.thelocal.it/20260430/uk-names-stephen-hickey-as-new-ambassador-to-italy Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:51:23 +0200 uk-names-stephen-hickey-as-new-ambassador-to-italy Italy on Thursday called for the immediate release of Italian nationals on board a Gaza-bound aid flotilla raided by Israeli forces in international waters off Greece. https://www.thelocal.it/20260430/italy-demands-release-of-citizens-on-gaza-flotilla-stopped-by-israel Thu, 30 Apr 2026 13:42:18 +0200 italy-demands-release-of-citizens-on-gaza-flotilla-stopped-by-israel Germany and Italy on Tuesday rebuffed calls to suspend an EU cooperation deal with Israel, despite rising anger over the war in Lebanon and the situation in the West Bank. https://www.thelocal.it/20260421/germany-and-italy-reject-suspending-eu-israel-cooperation-deal Tue, 21 Apr 2026 15:56:42 +0200 germany-and-italy-reject-suspending-eu-israel-cooperation-deal Far-right leaders from Europe gathered in Milan on Saturday for a rally against irregular immigration and Brussels bureaucracy, the first since the electoral defeat of nationalist Viktor Orban in Hungary. https://www.thelocal.it/20260419/europes-far-right-rails-at-migration-tsunami-in-milan-after-orban-defeat Sun, 19 Apr 2026 08:29:17 +0200 europes-far-right-rails-at-migration-tsunami-in-milan-after-orban-defeat An Italian court has cleared mafia bestseller "Gomorrah" author and journalist Roberto Saviano of defamation charges brought by far-right deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, his lawyer said on Friday. https://www.thelocal.it/20260417/gomorrah-author-cleared-of-defaming-italian-deputy-pm Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:58:54 +0200 gomorrah-author-cleared-of-defaming-italian-deputy-pm Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suspended a defence agreement with Israel on Tuesday after clashing with Donald Trump over his comments on the pope, signalling a shift in Italy's foreign relations. https://www.thelocal.it/20260415/italy-shifts-away-from-us-over-middle-east-war Wed, 15 Apr 2026 09:19:12 +0200 italy-shifts-away-from-us-over-middle-east-war Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Monday condemned US President Donald Trump's criticism of Pope Leo XIV as "unacceptable", after the US pontiff spoke out against the Middle East war. https://www.thelocal.it/20260414/unacceptable-meloni-condemns-trumps-criticism-of-pope Tue, 14 Apr 2026 09:30:43 +0200 unacceptable-meloni-condemns-trumps-criticism-of-pope France's far-right leader Jordan Bardella appears strolling hand-in-hand with an Italian princess on the cover of a glossy magazine - in what commentators called a drive to hone his image ahead of next year's presidential elections. https://www.thelocal.it/20260410/french-far-right-leader-and-italian-princess-in-fairytale-romance-photoshoot Fri, 10 Apr 2026 09:02:28 +0200 french-far-right-leader-and-italian-princess-in-fairytale-romance-photoshoot Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday the European Union should ease spending rules as it did during Covid if the Iran war and the resulting energy shock worsens. https://www.thelocal.it/20260409/italys-meloni-suggests-suspending-eu-spending-rules-over-iran-war Thu, 09 Apr 2026 12:04:57 +0200 italys-meloni-suggests-suspending-eu-spending-rules-over-iran-war Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni began a surprise visit to Saudi Arabia on Friday as part of a Gulf tour to boost "national energy security", a government source said, as the Middle East war rages. https://www.thelocal.it/20260404/italian-pm-begins-visit-to-saudi-arabia-on-gulf-tour Sat, 04 Apr 2026 09:05:12 +0200 italian-pm-begins-visit-to-saudi-arabia-on-gulf-tour Italy's president on Friday formally appointed a new tourism minister on the request of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, following the resignation of the former minister embroiled in legal troubles. https://www.thelocal.it/20260403/new-italian-tourism-minister-appointed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:48:31 +0200 new-italian-tourism-minister-appointed Italy's parliament voted on Tuesday to delay the closure of the country's coal-fired power stations by over a decade, a move experts slammed as "worrying" political propaganda. https://www.thelocal.it/20260401/italy-delays-coal-phase-out-by-over-a-decade Wed, 01 Apr 2026 10:04:41 +0200 italy-delays-coal-phase-out-by-over-a-decade Italy recently refused authorisation for some US aircraft headed to the Middle East on a combat mission to land at its Sigonella base, a defence ministry source and Italian media said on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.it/20260401/italy-denied-use-of-base-to-some-us-aircraft-headed-to-middle-east Wed, 01 Apr 2026 09:33:34 +0200 italy-denied-use-of-base-to-some-us-aircraft-headed-to-middle-east Italy's prime minister is seeking to revive her government's fortunes after a damaging referendum defeat with a new electoral reform introduced in parliament on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.it/20260331/italys-pm-seeks-to-revive-fortunes-with-electoral-reform Tue, 31 Mar 2026 09:20:16 +0200 italys-pm-seeks-to-revive-fortunes-with-electoral-reform Italy has once again been named as one of five EU member states that are "actively eroding rule of law institutions" in a new report on human rights and civil liberties. https://www.thelocal.it/20260330/five-ways-italys-government-is-eroding-the-rule-of-law Mon, 30 Mar 2026 14:11:57 +0200 five-ways-italys-government-is-eroding-the-rule-of-law