Oct
Hundreds of migrants living in an Italian town famed for welcoming newcomers in a bid to boost its economy are to be removed on orders from the far-right government. They will be transferred to centers in other parts of the country next week. Riace, in the southern Calabria region, has made headlines across the world for a […]
Oct
Deputies from the far-right League party in northern Italy have announced plans to ban mothers from wearing Islamic veils, such as the burqa and niqab, when picking up their children from school. Simona Pergreffi and Daniele Belotti, League deputies in Bergamo province, called for the ban, citing the security need for people in schools to […]
Oct
The mayor of a small town in southern Italy who has become a symbol for welcoming migrants to Italy has been placed under house arrest for allegedly aiding illegal immigration. Italian financial police arrested the mayor of the Calabrian town of Riace, Domenico Lucano, early Tuesday as part of an investigation that news agency ANSA reports was spurred […]
Sep
The African Union Commission has expressed dismay at the comments made by Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini at a recent conference in Vienna at which he compared African immigrants to slaves. “It is the view of the African Union that name-calling will not resolve the migration challenges facing Africa and Europe,” the African Union […]
Sep
Police in Italy fired a Taser on a member of the public for the first time ever this week, as a trial of the electric stun guns began in 12 different cities. The first “real-life” use was in Florence on Tuesday night, when officers fired a Taser to subdue a young man behaving aggressively in […]
Jul
Italy’s far-right interior minister, Matteo Salvini, is suing the country’s celebrated anti-mafia author Roberto Saviano for defamation over a tweet that described him as “minister of the underworld”. “I filed a lawsuit against Saviano, as promised,” Salvini, who is also deputy prime minister and leader of the League party, wrote on Twitter. “I accept any criticisms, […]
Jul
A burkini-clad woman was asked to leave a municipal swimming baths in Florence on Saturday, sources said Monday night. Leftwing Power to the People Councillor Miriam Amato called on sports pointman Andrea Vanucci to send a circular to all municipal baths telling them to let women in burkinis use their facilities. “What happened on Saturday […]
Jun
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini on Friday called on Malta to take in a rescue vessel carrying more than 200 migrants, and insisted the NGO-operated ship be impounded and its crew detained. “For the safety of the crew and passengers we have asked Malta to open its ports,” the leader of the far-right League tweeted, claiming the […]
Jun
A rescue vessel carrying 629 migrants is stranded in the Mediterranean after Italy’s new interior minister refused permission for it to dock. Matteo Salvini, leader of the right-wing League, said Malta should accept the Aquarius but he was rejected. Malta says the German charity SOS Méditerranée picked up the migrants in Libyan waters, which means […]
Feb
Italian police scuffled with about a hundred far-left protesters marching against a neo-fascist party event in the northern city of Turin on Thursday, a sign of increasing tensions ahead of the March 4 national election. Dozens of “anti-fascist” protesters tried to break through a police cordon to reach a hotel where the far-right Casapound party […]
