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 After a year of the coronavirus crisis, even the wealthiest parts of Italy are seeing a sharp rise in poverty rates. https://www.thelocal.it/20210310/how-milans-new-poor-are-struggling-to-afford-food-amid-the-pandemic Wed, 10 Mar 2021 14:07:26 +0100 how-milans-new-poor-are-struggling-to-afford-food-amid-the-pandemic Poverty rates in Italy, whose economy has been battered by the coronavirus pandemic, rose last year to the highest level since records began in 2005, official data showed on Thursday. https://www.thelocal.it/20210304/poverty-rises-to-15-year-high-in-italy-amid-coronavirus-crisis Thu, 04 Mar 2021 17:30:45 +0100 poverty-rises-to-15-year-high-in-italy-amid-coronavirus-crisis Italy has stepped up measures to stop mafia infiltration into companies now struggling financially due to coronavirus, and to stop crime groups siphoning funds meant for crisis relief. https://www.thelocal.it/20201012/how-italy-plans-to-stop-mafia-preying-on-covid-hit-businesses Mon, 12 Oct 2020 16:00:38 +0200 how-italy-plans-to-stop-mafia-preying-on-covid-hit-businesses The Covid-19 crisis in Italy will lead to the loss of 500,000 jobs in 2020, government employment policy agency Anpal said on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.it/20200526/half-a-million-jobs-to-be-lost-in-italy-this-year-due-to-coronavirus-crisis Tue, 26 May 2020 20:07:00 +0200 half-a-million-jobs-to-be-lost-in-italy-this-year-due-to-coronavirus-crisis Within 10 minutes, all the food was gone. https://www.thelocal.it/20200514/italys-new-poor-the-people-left-in-poverty-by-the-coronavirus-crisis Thu, 14 May 2020 15:42:42 +0200 italys-new-poor-the-people-left-in-poverty-by-the-coronavirus-crisis The coronavirus crisis in Italy is depriving around 700,000 children of sufficient food, the country's main farmers' organisation said on Sunday. https://www.thelocal.it/20200511/coronavirus-crisis-leaves-700000-children-in-italy-without-enough-to-eat Mon, 11 May 2020 12:39:12 +0200 coronavirus-crisis-leaves-700000-children-in-italy-without-enough-to-eat Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Wednesday he will ask the European Commission to give Italy's poorer south a special status to help boost employment and tackle organized crime. https://www.thelocal.it/20190911/italy-to-seek-special-eu-status-for-disadvantaged-south Wed, 11 Sep 2019 16:46:35 +0200 italy-to-seek-special-eu-status-for-disadvantaged-south About 8.4 percent of the Italian population, or five million people, were still living in “absolute poverty” in 2018 according to the latest data from Italian national statistics office Istat. https://www.thelocal.it/20190619/five-million-people-are-still-living-in-poverty-in-italy Wed, 19 Jun 2019 10:56:39 +0200 five-million-people-are-still-living-in-poverty-in-italy The Sails of Scampia — a crime-ridden housing project on the outskirts of Naples — are being torn down as the area aims to leave its past behind. https://www.thelocal.it/20190517/naples-starts-demolition-of-notorious-crime-ridden-scampia-buildings Fri, 17 May 2019 15:31:35 +0200 naples-starts-demolition-of-notorious-crime-ridden-scampia-buildings Italy's 'citizens' wage' basic income scheme has had fewer applications than expected, and there are smaller payouts than advertised for most. https://www.thelocal.it/20190424/million-people-apply-for-italys-basic-income-scheme Wed, 24 Apr 2019 13:40:46 +0200 million-people-apply-for-italys-basic-income-scheme Italians queued at tax offices yesterday to sign up for the "citizen's income", a new social security payment that was a key promise of the populist government aimed at ending poverty for millions. https://www.thelocal.it/20190307/italians-sign-up-for-populists-citizens-income Thu, 07 Mar 2019 10:03:49 +0100 italians-sign-up-for-populists-citizens-income The Italian government has approved "citizens' income" and a new pension scheme, marking a major overhaul of the country’s welfare system. https://www.thelocal.it/20190118/italian-government-approves-overhaul-of-welfare-and-pensions Fri, 18 Jan 2019 10:45:08 +0100 italian-government-approves-overhaul-of-welfare-and-pensions Pope Francis marked his name day on Monday by ordering thousands of ice creams for Rome's poorest, in the pontiff's latest gesture towards the most vulnerable. https://www.thelocal.it/20180423/pope-celebrates-name-day-by-giving-3000-ice-creams-to-the-poor Mon, 23 Apr 2018 16:08:36 +0200 pope-celebrates-name-day-by-giving-3000-ice-creams-to-the-poor Italy's outgoing government said on Wednesday that a new minimum income scheme launched at the start of the year is working, but needs to be beefed up further with additional resources. https://www.thelocal.it/20180329/italy-minimum-income-scheme-rei Thu, 29 Mar 2018 13:10:13 +0200 italy-minimum-income-scheme-rei Italy's status as the ninth largest global economic power has masked an increasingly alarming rich-poor divide that is spreading resentment and could have a decisive effect on Sunday's general election. https://www.thelocal.it/20180302/how-italys-growing-rich-poor-divide-could-impact-the-election-result Fri, 02 Mar 2018 12:22:38 +0100 how-italys-growing-rich-poor-divide-could-impact-the-election-result In 2016, 30 percent of people in Italy – more than 18 million – risked poverty or social exclusion, national statistics agency Istat said on Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.it/20171206/italy-poverty-exclusion-inequality Wed, 06 Dec 2017 14:40:14 +0100 italy-poverty-exclusion-inequality Young people in Italy are worse off than their parents or even grandparents, an anti-poverty charity said on Friday. https://www.thelocal.it/20171117/young-italians-poverty Fri, 17 Nov 2017 18:52:14 +0100 young-italians-poverty Almost one in five young Italians are neither employed, job-seeking, nor in full-time study, according to an EU-wide report released on Monday. https://www.thelocal.it/20170718/italy-european-union-most-highest-percentage-neet-unemployed-young-people-millennials Tue, 18 Jul 2017 13:17:40 +0200 italy-european-union-most-highest-percentage-neet-unemployed-young-people-millennials Italy on Thursday passed a law aimed at tackling poverty, with a particular focus on assisting families with young children in particular. https://www.thelocal.it/20170309/italy-passes-law-to-tackle-poverty-five-key-points Thu, 09 Mar 2017 16:32:22 +0100 italy-passes-law-to-tackle-poverty-five-key-points When priest Gianni Vettorello heard of a couple who had been forced to sell their wedding rings to afford basic essentials, he decided he had to do something to help. https://www.thelocal.it/20170220/this-couple-were-forced-to-sell-their-wedding-rings-to-pay-for-food-but-theres-a-happy-ending Mon, 20 Feb 2017 14:30:41 +0100 this-couple-were-forced-to-sell-their-wedding-rings-to-pay-for-food-but-theres-a-happy-ending