Rome, Italy | AFP | Dozens of Italians have been queueing at tax offices to claim money promised by the anti-establishment Five Star Movement in the weekend election — even though the party is not yet in power. A key election pledge of the Five Star Movement (M5S) was to provide …
Read More »In the Alps, traffickers prey on migrants and rescuers alike
Montgenèvre, France | AFP | Five African migrants stumble through the snow, exhausted and numb, abandoned hours earlier by a smuggler who left them to make their own way down the mountain from Italy into France. They are among dozens who have been tricked in recent weeks into paying hundreds …
Read More »Eni and Shell trial over Nigeria kickbacks postponed
Milan, Italy | AFP | A trial for oil giants Eni and Shell over bribery and corruption allegations in the purchase of an offshore oilfield in Nigeria was delayed for two months on Monday. The trial had been set to start in a Milan court, but the judge said that, …
Read More »Eni and Shell go on trial over Nigeria kickback scandal
Milan, Italy | AFP | Oil giants Eni and Shell go on trial in Milan on Monday, charged with bribery and corruption in the purchase of an offshore oilfield in Nigeria. Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi, his predecessor Paolo Scaroni and several officials from Eni and Shell are among those facing …
Read More »Slovak police free all suspects held after journalist murder
Bratislava, Slovakia | AFP | Slovak police on Saturday said they had released seven Italian businessmen detained after they were named by murdered journalist Jan Kuciak in an explosive report on alleged high-level political corruption linked to the mafia. “The investigator has, within the legal timeframe (48 hours) at his …
Read More »Thousands attend protest vigils for slain Slovak journalist
Bratislava, Slovakia | AFP | Thousands flocked to candlelit anti-corruption protests and memorials held across Slovakia on Friday for murdered journalist Jan Kuciak, killed as he was about to publish an explosive report on alleged high-level political corruption linked to the Italian mafia. Organisers estimated that around 25,000 people gathered …
Read More »Britain and Italy to bolster troop presence in Africa’s Sahel
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Britain is set to send helicopters to bolster a key French counter-terrorism operation in Mali in a package of measures to be agreed at a summit near London on Thursday. The commitment will come as Prime Minister Theresa May meets French President Emmanuel Macron …
Read More »Migration to dominate southern EU meet in Rome
Rome, Italy | AFP | The heads of seven southern European states gather in Rome on Wednesday to tackle one of the stubbornest thorns in the EU’s side: flows of migrants from war-torn and impoverished countries. The leaders of Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain will meet in the …
Read More »Italy to send troops to Niger to stem migrant flow: PM
Rome, Italy | AFP | Italy will be sending 470 soldiers to Niger to help the west African nation stem the flow of Europe-bound migrants, Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Thursday. Agadez, the main city in central Niger, has become a revolving door for economic migrants seeking to reach Europe via …
Read More »‘10,000 refugees’ to be relocated from Libya to EU in 2018
Rome, Italy | AFP | Up to 10,000 people stranded in refugee camps and detention centres in Libya could be relocated to Europe in 2018, the Italian government said on Sunday. The initiative would be part of an attempt by EU countries to address the deteriorating conditions in Libya, where …
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