Italy eases virus curbs as cases drop, reopens dog-friendly beach.

COVID-19: Italy eases virus curbs as cases drop

Former Italy Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi left Milan's San Raffaele hospital after a five-day stay. The 84-year-old politician took a side exit and was not noticed by photographers and camera crews waiting outside main doors.

There is speculation that Berlusconi's health is deteriorating. His doctors have not released detailed update about his condition for weeks however, his party denied on Friday that he was in a critical condition.

"This is not the moment for obituaries," one party source said.

The billionaire businessman has checked into hospital on a number of occasions after coming down with coronavirus last September. He told reporters at the time he had survived “the most dangerous challenge” of his life, but sources later said he continued to suffer ill effects from the deadly virus.

He was hospitalised in March and twice in April. He also went to hospital in January due to a heart problem. 
Political ally Matteo Salvini told reporters on Friday that Berlusconi was "not very well", but predicted he would swiftly bounce back.

(With inputs from agencies)

Former Italy Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi left Milan's San Raffaele hospital after a five-day stay. The 84-year-old politician took a side exit and was not noticed by photographers and camera crews waiting outside main doors.

Former Italy Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi left Milan's San Raffaele hospital after a five-day stay. The 84-year-old politician took a side exit and was not noticed by photographers and camera crews waiting outside main doors. There is speculation that Berlusconi's health is deteriorating. His doctors have not released detailed update about his condition for weeks however, his party denied on Friday that he was in a critical condition. "This is not the moment for obituaries," one party source said. The billionaire businessman has checked into hospital on a number of occasions after coming down with coronavirus last September. He told reporters at the time he had survived “the most dangerous challenge” of his life, but sources later said he continued to suffer ill effects from the deadly virus. He was hospitalised in March and twice in April. He also went to hospital in January due to a heart problem. Political ally Matteo Salvini told reporters on Friday that Berlusconi was "not very well", but predicted he would swiftly bounce back. (With inputs from agencies)

Former Italian PM Berlusconi slips out of hospital unnoticed

Italy has for the first time appointed a woman, career diplomat Elisabetta Belloni, to head the country's secret service, Prime Minister Mario Draghi announced Wednesday.

Belloni, who has already been the first woman to hold key foreign ministry posts, will now lead Italy's Security Intelligence Department (DIS), reporting directly to the cabinet, said the statement.

The DIS's brief includes handling intelligence and security matters at home and abroad as well as counter-espionage and cybersecurity.

Belloni came to public prominence when she led the foreign ministry's crisis unit between 2004 and 2008, taking responsibility for operations involving Italians injured or killed abroad, whether in attacks or natural disasters.

She was the first woman to hold that position.

The unit also handled kidnappings, and one high-profile case she oversaw was the freeing of La Repubblica correspondent Daniele Mastrogiacomo who was abducted in Afghanistan.

She also coordinated the search for Italian survivors of the December 2004 tsunami in Thailand.

Born in Rome in 1958, Belloni first entered the foreign ministry in 1985 and took postings in Vienna and the Slovakian capital Bratislava.

The 62-year-old's most recent position was as secretary general of the foreign ministry, the highest position a career diplomat can hold there. There too, she was the first woman to occupy the post.

Italy has for the first time appointed a woman, career diplomat Elisabetta Belloni, to head the country's secret service, Prime Minister Mario Draghi announced Wednesday.

Italy has for the first time appointed a woman, career diplomat Elisabetta Belloni, to head the country's secret service, Prime Minister Mario Draghi announced Wednesday. Belloni, who has already been the first woman to hold key foreign ministry posts, will now lead Italy's Security Intelligence Department (DIS), reporting directly to the cabinet, said the statement. The DIS's brief includes handling intelligence and security matters at home and abroad as well as counter-espionage and cybersecurity. Belloni came to public prominence when she led the foreign ministry's crisis unit between 2004 and 2008, taking responsibility for operations involving Italians injured or killed abroad, whether in attacks or natural disasters. She was the first woman to hold that position. The unit also handled kidnappings, and one high-profile case she oversaw was the freeing of La Repubblica correspondent Daniele Mastrogiacomo who was abducted in Afghanistan. She also coordinated the search for Italian survivors of the December 2004 tsunami in Thailand. Born in Rome in 1958, Belloni first entered the foreign ministry in 1985 and took postings in Vienna and the Slovakian capital Bratislava. The 62-year-old's most recent position was as secretary general of the foreign ministry, the highest position a career diplomat can hold there. There too, she was the first woman to occupy the post.

Elisabetta Belloni named as first woman to head Italy's secret service

Italy's anti-trust authority said Thursday it had fined <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/google">Google</a> more than 100 million euros ($120mn) for shutting out a rival's smartphone app offering recharging of electric vehicles.

The authority said Google, whose Android operating system and Google Play app store dominate the Italian market, had abused its market position by blocking an Enel X app for users of electric vehicles.

The regulator added it would require Google to make Enel X's app available on Android Auto, which mirrors features of an Android device, such as a smartphone, on a car dashboard screen.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/after-news-law-feud-australias-seven-west-media-signs-google-facebook-deals-382534" hreflang="en">After news law feud, Australia's Seven West Media signs Google, Facebook deals</a>

The fine of 102,084,433.91 euros is for a violation of article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union which regulates monopolies and issues involving restriction of competition.

Italy found Google did not allow Enel X Italia to develop an Android Auto-compatible version of its JuicePass app. JuicePass offers services relating to recharging electric vehicles, such as finding the nearest charging station and reserving a space there.&nbsp;

"By refusing Enel X Italia interoperability with Android Auto, Google has unfairly limited the possibilities for end users to avail themselves of the Enel X Italia app when driving and recharging an electric vehicle," the authority stated.

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"Google has consequently favored its own Google Maps app," added the authority.

"The exclusion of the Enel X Italia app from Android Auto has been going on for more than two years, and if it were to continue, could permanently jeopardise Enel X Italia's chances of building a solid user base at a time of significant growth in sales of electric vehicles."

This, the body concluded, amounted to "an impoverishment of consumer choice and an obstacle to technological progress" which could influence the development of electric mobility.

The authority as a result said it had ordered Google to make available to Enel X Italia and other app developers app programming tools which are interoperable with Android Auto while adding it would monitor compliance of its ruling via an independent expert with whom Google would be obliged to cooperate.

Italy's anti-trust authority said Thursday it had fined Google more than 100 million euros ($120mn) for shutting out a rival's smartphone app offering recharging of electric vehicles.

Italy's anti-trust authority said Thursday it had fined Google more than 100 million euros ($120mn) for shutting out a rival's smartphone app offering recharging of electric vehicles. The authority said Google, whose Android operating system and Google Play app store dominate the Italian market, had abused its market position by blocking an Enel X app for users of electric vehicles. The regulator added it would require Google to make Enel X's app available on Android Auto, which mirrors features of an Android device, such as a smartphone, on a car dashboard screen. Also read | After news law feud, Australia's Seven West Media signs Google, Facebook deals The fine of 102,084,433.91 euros is for a violation of article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union which regulates monopolies and issues involving restriction of competition. Italy found Google did not allow Enel X Italia to develop an Android Auto-compatible version of its JuicePass app. JuicePass offers services relating to recharging electric vehicles, such as finding the nearest charging station and reserving a space there. "By refusing Enel X Italia interoperability with Android Auto, Google has unfairly limited the possibilities for end users to avail themselves of the Enel X Italia app when driving and recharging an electric vehicle," the authority stated. Also read | Google parent Alphabet sets profit record, plans $50 billion buyback "Google has consequently favored its own Google Maps app," added the authority. "The exclusion of the Enel X Italia app from Android Auto has been going on for more than two years, and if it were to continue, could permanently jeopardise Enel X Italia's chances of building a solid user base at a time of significant growth in sales of electric vehicles." This, the body concluded, amounted to "an impoverishment of consumer choice and an obstacle to technological progress" which could influence the development of electric mobility. The authority as a result said it had ordered Google to make available to Enel X Italia and other app developers app programming tools which are interoperable with Android Auto while adding it would monitor compliance of its ruling via an independent expert with whom Google would be obliged to cooperate.

Italy fines Google $120 mn for abuse of market position

Post-pandemic Europe: Countries you can visit this summer

An Italian&nbsp;judge&nbsp;murdered by the&nbsp;mafia&nbsp;in Sicily&nbsp;takes&nbsp;a&nbsp;step&nbsp;towards&nbsp;sainthood&nbsp;Sunday, almost three decades after being declared a martyr by pope John Paul II.

The beatification of Rosario Livatino will take place in the cathedral in Agrigento, the&nbsp;Sicilian&nbsp;town near where he was gunned down aged 38 on September 21, 1990.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="Pope facilitates Vatican prosecutions for cardinals, bishops">Pope facilitates Vatican prosecutions for cardinals, bishops</a>

In a preface to a new book about the&nbsp;judge, Pope Francis hailed him as a "righteous man who knew he did not deserve that unjust death".

Livatino, who prayed in church every day before going to court, had been involved in a mass trial against mafioso and was about to launch a new case when he died.

He was found in a ditch by the roadside a few miles from his home. He had refused armed protection.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="2 American students handed life sentences in Italy for cop's murder">2 American students handed life sentences in Italy for cop's murder</a>

Many of his notes were later found to be marked STD, for "sub tutela Dei", a Latin invocation meaning "under the protection of God" which judges of the Middle Ages used before taking official decisions.

The notes also showed he asked God's forgiveness for the risks his work exposed his parents to, once he learned that the bosses of the Cosa Nostra had him in their sights.

When John Paul II visited Livatino's parents in 1993, he said the&nbsp;judge&nbsp;was "a martyr for justice and indirectly for the faith".

Under Church law, if martyrdom is established, then beatification -- the penultimate accolade before canonisation -- moves ahead quickly without the proof of miracles required of other candidates for&nbsp;sainthood.

The two&nbsp;mafia&nbsp;members who&nbsp;killed&nbsp;Livatino, identified by a man who drove past at the moment of the crime, were given life sentences.

Livatino was one of the first investigating magistrates in Italy who moved to seize assets belonging to the&nbsp;mafia, according to Luigi Ciotti, a priest known for his own fight against organised crime.

"He understood that would lead to a weakening of the clans, their loss of control and also of social control," Ciotti wrote in another biography of the murdered&nbsp;judge.

Today, a cooperative of young people bears Livatino's name and cultivates land confiscated from the&nbsp;Sicilian&nbsp;mafia.

Less than two years after Livatino's death, anti-mafia&nbsp;prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino were also murdered by the&nbsp;mob.

Since he was elected pope in 2013, Francis has spoken out repeatedly against organised crime groups.

In an open-air mass in Sicily in September 2018, during a trip to honour a priest&nbsp;killed&nbsp;by the&nbsp;mafia&nbsp;25 years earlier, the Argentine pontiff condemned those who belong to the&nbsp;mafia&nbsp;as "blasphemous".

"You can't believe in God and belong to the&nbsp;mafia," he said.

His impassioned plea echoed the words of Jean Paul II who, during his May 1993 trip to the island, had also called on mobsters to abandon crime, and urged Sicilians to revolt against the&nbsp;mafia.

An Italian judge murdered by the mafia in Sicily takes a step towards sainthood Sunday, almost three decades after being declared a martyr by pope John Paul II. The beatification of Rosario Livatino will take place in the cathedral in Agrigento, the Sicilian town near where he was gunned down aged 38 on September 21, 1990.

An Italian judge murdered by the mafia in Sicily takes a step towards sainthood Sunday, almost three decades after being declared a martyr by pope John Paul II. The beatification of Rosario Livatino will take place in the cathedral in Agrigento, the Sicilian town near where he was gunned down aged 38 on September 21, 1990. Also read | Pope facilitates Vatican prosecutions for cardinals, bishops In a preface to a new book about the judge, Pope Francis hailed him as a "righteous man who knew he did not deserve that unjust death". Livatino, who prayed in church every day before going to court, had been involved in a mass trial against mafioso and was about to launch a new case when he died. He was found in a ditch by the roadside a few miles from his home. He had refused armed protection. Also read | 2 American students handed life sentences in Italy for cop's murder Many of his notes were later found to be marked STD, for "sub tutela Dei", a Latin invocation meaning "under the protection of God" which judges of the Middle Ages used before taking official decisions. The notes also showed he asked God's forgiveness for the risks his work exposed his parents to, once he learned that the bosses of the Cosa Nostra had him in their sights. When John Paul II visited Livatino's parents in 1993, he said the judge was "a martyr for justice and indirectly for the faith". Under Church law, if martyrdom is established, then beatification -- the penultimate accolade before canonisation -- moves ahead quickly without the proof of miracles required of other candidates for sainthood. The two mafia members who killed Livatino, identified by a man who drove past at the moment of the crime, were given life sentences. Livatino was one of the first investigating magistrates in Italy who moved to seize assets belonging to the mafia, according to Luigi Ciotti, a priest known for his own fight against organised crime. "He understood that would lead to a weakening of the clans, their loss of control and also of social control," Ciotti wrote in another biography of the murdered judge. Today, a cooperative of young people bears Livatino's name and cultivates land confiscated from the Sicilian mafia. Less than two years after Livatino's death, anti-mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino were also murdered by the mob. Since he was elected pope in 2013, Francis has spoken out repeatedly against organised crime groups. In an open-air mass in Sicily in September 2018, during a trip to honour a priest killed by the mafia 25 years earlier, the Argentine pontiff condemned those who belong to the mafia as "blasphemous". "You can't believe in God and belong to the mafia," he said. His impassioned plea echoed the words of Jean Paul II who, during his May 1993 trip to the island, had also called on mobsters to abandon crime, and urged Sicilians to revolt against the mafia.

Sicilian judge killed by mafia takes step to sainthood

More than 400 migrants arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa on Sunday, Italian media reported, as authorities in Sicily again blocked a rescue boat from leaving port.

A 20-metre boat carrying 325 people was intercepted about eight miles (13 kilometres) off the coast of Lampedusa, and another was found slightly closer with 90 people aboard, news agencies reported.

Meanwhile judicial authorities in Sicily reinstated a detention order against the Sea-Watch 4 vessel, run by Germany's Sea-Watch organisation, which had kept it in Palermo for six months until March, media reports said.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="Migrant boat with 130 aboard capsizes off Libya: NGO">Migrant boat with 130 aboard capsizes off Libya: NGO</a>

The order followed a safety inspection that found too many life jackets on board, saying the ship's sewage system is insufficient for the potential number of people rescued.

Activists claim the inspection was a smokescreen to block the ship.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="Italy's Salvini to face trial over blocking migrant ship">Italy's Salvini to face trial over blocking migrant ship</a>

"We hope the authorities will not stop us from leaving for the central Mediterranean with the absurd accusations to which we have become accustomed," Sea-Watch Italy had tweeted on Friday after returning from its latest mission.

Another vessel, Sea-Watch 3, was impounded by the Italian coastguard in March in the Sicilian port of Augusta, again over safety issues.

The aid groups have also faced accusations of colluding with Libyan migrant traffickers to bring people to safety on European shores -- charges they strongly deny.

Italy is a prime entry point for Europe-bound migrants, but the stretch of water between Sicily and North Africa is one of the world's deadliest migration routes.&nbsp;

Almost 530,000 migrants have landed on Italian shores since the start of 2015, including some 6,000 in the year to date, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

More than 400 migrants arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa on Sunday, Italian media reported, as authorities in Sicily again blocked a rescue boat from leaving port.

More than 400 migrants arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa on Sunday, Italian media reported, as authorities in Sicily again blocked a rescue boat from leaving port. A 20-metre boat carrying 325 people was intercepted about eight miles (13 kilometres) off the coast of Lampedusa, and another was found slightly closer with 90 people aboard, news agencies reported. Meanwhile judicial authorities in Sicily reinstated a detention order against the Sea-Watch 4 vessel, run by Germany's Sea-Watch organisation, which had kept it in Palermo for six months until March, media reports said. Also read | Migrant boat with 130 aboard capsizes off Libya: NGO The order followed a safety inspection that found too many life jackets on board, saying the ship's sewage system is insufficient for the potential number of people rescued. Activists claim the inspection was a smokescreen to block the ship. Also read | Italy's Salvini to face trial over blocking migrant ship "We hope the authorities will not stop us from leaving for the central Mediterranean with the absurd accusations to which we have become accustomed," Sea-Watch Italy had tweeted on Friday after returning from its latest mission. Another vessel, Sea-Watch 3, was impounded by the Italian coastguard in March in the Sicilian port of Augusta, again over safety issues. The aid groups have also faced accusations of colluding with Libyan migrant traffickers to bring people to safety on European shores -- charges they strongly deny. Italy is a prime entry point for Europe-bound migrants, but the stretch of water between Sicily and North Africa is one of the world's deadliest migration routes. Almost 530,000 migrants have landed on Italian shores since the start of 2015, including some 6,000 in the year to date, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

400 migrants land on Lampedusa as rescue ship blocked

Argentina's&nbsp;President&nbsp;Alberto Fernandez will&nbsp;head&nbsp;to&nbsp;Europe&nbsp;and meet Pope Francis in the Vatican as the country looks to secure a repayment deal with the International Monetary Fund.

The crisis-hit South American country is due to start repaying the $44 billion loan this year but in March Fernandez said the&nbsp;debt&nbsp;in its current form was "unpayable."

In recession since 2018,&nbsp;Argentina&nbsp;must also repay a $2.8 billion loan with the Paris Club of creditor countries that provide sustainable solutions to debtor countries.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="EU releases Indo-Pacific strategy; envoy Ugo reaffirms ties with India">EU releases Indo-Pacific strategy; envoy Ugo reaffirms ties with India</a>

Those included three of the countries Fernandez will visit: France, Italy and Spain.

Fernandez is due to arrive in Portugal on Sunday to meet his counterpart, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, while Economy Minister Martin Guzman, Foreign Affairs Minister Felipe Sola, and first lady Fabiola Yanez will also make the trip to&nbsp;Europe.

On Monday afternoon he will&nbsp;head&nbsp;to Spain to meet King Felipe VI and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

French&nbsp;President&nbsp;Emmanuel Macron will host Fernandez at the Elysee Palace on Wednesday and the next day fellow&nbsp;Argentine&nbsp;Pope Francis will welcome him to the Vatican before a final meeting with Italian&nbsp;President&nbsp;Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez will head to Europe and meet Pope Francis in the Vatican as the country looks to secure a repayment deal with the International Monetary Fund.

Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez will head to Europe and meet Pope Francis in the Vatican as the country looks to secure a repayment deal with the International Monetary Fund. The crisis-hit South American country is due to start repaying the $44 billion loan this year but in March Fernandez said the debt in its current form was "unpayable." In recession since 2018, Argentina must also repay a $2.8 billion loan with the Paris Club of creditor countries that provide sustainable solutions to debtor countries. Also read | EU releases Indo-Pacific strategy; envoy Ugo reaffirms ties with India Those included three of the countries Fernandez will visit: France, Italy and Spain. Fernandez is due to arrive in Portugal on Sunday to meet his counterpart, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, while Economy Minister Martin Guzman, Foreign Affairs Minister Felipe Sola, and first lady Fabiola Yanez will also make the trip to Europe. On Monday afternoon he will head to Spain to meet King Felipe VI and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. French President Emmanuel Macron will host Fernandez at the Elysee Palace on Wednesday and the next day fellow Argentine Pope Francis will welcome him to the Vatican before a final meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

Argentine president to head to Europe as IMF debt weighs heavy

An Italian court convicted two Americans on Wednesday for murder of a policeman near their Rome hotel in 2019 while they were on a summer holiday, sentencing them to the maximum life in prison.

Two American tourists given life sentences for killing police officer in Italy

Two American students have been charged with a life sentence for the murder of a police officer while they were on a summer holiday in Rome.

Mario Cerciello Rega, a police officer, was stabbed during a late-night encounter in July 2019 while he was out with his friend Gabriel Natale-Hjorth.

Finnegan Lee Elder, a 21-year-old, had admitted to stabbing Cerciello 11 times with a seven-inch camping knife. The police officer was stabbed to death on a dark street near the hotel the Americans were staying in.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/two-american-tourists-given-life-sentences-for-killing-police-officer-in-italy-383168">Watch |</a>

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However, Elder claims they acted out of self-defence as they thought they were being jumped from behind. The two Americans had assumed thugs were following them after what they called a 'drug deal gone wrong'.

The two will first have to serve solitary confinement for two months and then serve their life behind bars — a sentence that brought Elder close to fainting. They will also have to pay for their trial.

"This sentence is a disgrace for&nbsp;Italy&nbsp;with these judges who don't want to see what emerged during the trial and the investigation,"&nbsp;Elder's attorney, Renato Borzone, said.

(With inputs from agencies)

Two American students have been charged with a life sentence for the murder of a police officer while they were on a summer holiday in Rome. Mario Cerciello Rega, a police officer, was stabbed during a late-night encounter in July 2019 while he was out with his friend Gabriel Natale-Hjorth.

Two American students have been charged with a life sentence for the murder of a police officer while they were on a summer holiday in Rome. Mario Cerciello Rega, a police officer, was stabbed during a late-night encounter in July 2019 while he was out with his friend Gabriel Natale-Hjorth. Finnegan Lee Elder, a 21-year-old, had admitted to stabbing Cerciello 11 times with a seven-inch camping knife. The police officer was stabbed to death on a dark street near the hotel the Americans were staying in. Watch | However, Elder claims they acted out of self-defence as they thought they were being jumped from behind. The two Americans had assumed thugs were following them after what they called a 'drug deal gone wrong'. The two will first have to serve solitary confinement for two months and then serve their life behind bars — a sentence that brought Elder close to fainting. They will also have to pay for their trial. "This sentence is a disgrace for Italy with these judges who don't want to see what emerged during the trial and the investigation," Elder's attorney, Renato Borzone, said. (With inputs from agencies)

2 American students handed life sentences in Italy for cop's murder

The ancient Roman Colosseum is once again going to have a floor thanks to a new, hi-tech project announced by the culture ministry on Sunday.

Italy plans new floor for 2,000-year-old Colosseum

The Italian minister of culture announced the winning bid to restore the&nbsp;Colosseum's arena on Sunday, a project that will allow visitors to view the archeological wonder from ground level as soon as 2023.&nbsp;

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Il <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Colosseo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Colosseo</a> tornerà ad avere la sua arena. Dopo anni di studi è stato proclamato il progetto vincitore. Sarà reversibile, consentirà di visitare i sotterranei e di vedere la maestosità del Colosseo dal centro, come è stato per secoli sino a fine ‘800 <a href="https://t.co/DG6UOKRcB4">https://t.co/DG6UOKRcB4</a> <a href="https://t.co/dI9XtY9dxV">pic.twitter.com/dI9XtY9dxV</a>
— Dario Franceschini (@dariofrance) <a href="https://twitter.com/dariofrance/status/1388788769751502848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2021</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

The 2,000-year-old structure is currently floorless, the ruins of the underground levels' walls and tunnels exposed to the open air save for a small platform.

A Milan engineering firm beat 10 competitors who answered a 2020 call for submissions with its vision involving rotating wooden slats that would allow natural ventilation and lighting of the lower levels.&nbsp;

"It's another step forward towards rebuilding the arena, an ambitious project that will aid the conservation of the archeological structures while getting back to the original image of the&nbsp;Colosseum&nbsp;and its quality as a complex scenographic machine," said culture minister Dario Franceschini.

With the new floor, visitors to the&nbsp;Colosseum&nbsp;will be able to admire the treasured monument from the centre of the arena -- a view once reserved for gladiators and slaves as they prepared to meet their doom. &nbsp;

Franceschini plans to host the Rome G20 culture summit at the&nbsp;Colosseum&nbsp;in July and it may serve as a venue for other major cultural events.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="Return of traffic cops to landmark piazza brings unlikely joy in Rome">Return of traffic cops to landmark piazza brings unlikely joy in Rome</a>

The&nbsp;Colosseum's executive archaeologist Alfonsina Russo said construction of the arena -- which will be the subject of a Europe-wide call for bids of about 15 million euros -- should begin by the end of the year or early 2022.

She said the new 3,000 square metre (32,300 square foot) floor should be ready for visitors in 2023.

Before the pandemic, around 25,000 people toured the world-famous monument daily, and some 18.5 million euros have been set aside for the project.

The plan presented on Sunday consists of an entirely removable structure made of accoya, a modified, durable wood.

The slats will be rigged with a rotation system meant to permit light and air to circulate to underground passages below the area.

The rain water that currently pools there will be collected and used to supply the toilets of Rome's most visited monument.

(With inputs&nbsp;from agencies)

The Italian minister of culture announced the winning bid to restore the Colosseum's arena on Sunday, a project that will allow visitors to view the archeological wonder from ground level as soon as 2023.

The Italian minister of culture announced the winning bid to restore the Colosseum's arena on Sunday, a project that will allow visitors to view the archeological wonder from ground level as soon as 2023. Il #Colosseo tornerà ad avere la sua arena. Dopo anni di studi è stato proclamato il progetto vincitore. Sarà reversibile, consentirà di visitare i sotterranei e di vedere la maestosità del Colosseo dal centro, come è stato per secoli sino a fine ‘800 https://t.co/DG6UOKRcB4 pic.twitter.com/dI9XtY9dxV — Dario Franceschini (@dariofrance) May 2, 2021 × The 2,000-year-old structure is currently floorless, the ruins of the underground levels' walls and tunnels exposed to the open air save for a small platform. A Milan engineering firm beat 10 competitors who answered a 2020 call for submissions with its vision involving rotating wooden slats that would allow natural ventilation and lighting of the lower levels. "It's another step forward towards rebuilding the arena, an ambitious project that will aid the conservation of the archeological structures while getting back to the original image of the Colosseum and its quality as a complex scenographic machine," said culture minister Dario Franceschini. With the new floor, visitors to the Colosseum will be able to admire the treasured monument from the centre of the arena -- a view once reserved for gladiators and slaves as they prepared to meet their doom. Franceschini plans to host the Rome G20 culture summit at the Colosseum in July and it may serve as a venue for other major cultural events. Also read: Return of traffic cops to landmark piazza brings unlikely joy in Rome The Colosseum's executive archaeologist Alfonsina Russo said construction of the arena -- which will be the subject of a Europe-wide call for bids of about 15 million euros -- should begin by the end of the year or early 2022. She said the new 3,000 square metre (32,300 square foot) floor should be ready for visitors in 2023. Before the pandemic, around 25,000 people toured the world-famous monument daily, and some 18.5 million euros have been set aside for the project. The plan presented on Sunday consists of an entirely removable structure made of accoya, a modified, durable wood. The slats will be rigged with a rotation system meant to permit light and air to circulate to underground passages below the area. The rain water that currently pools there will be collected and used to supply the toilets of Rome's most visited monument. (With inputs from agencies)

Italy unveils winning project to restore 2,000-year-old Colosseum's floor

A flight from New Delhi arrived Wednesday evening in Rome carrying 210 passengers, who will be placed in mandatory quarantine.

Officials said that a new ordinance signed earlier in the day by Health Minister Roberto Speranza requires that passengers arriving from India are quarantined for 10 days at a site indicated by Italian health officials, due to concerns about the deadly spike in that country.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/indian-expats-hire-private-jets-to-escape-covid-19-crisis-381339">Also watch |&nbsp;Indian expats hire private jets to escape COVID-19 crisis</a>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/indian-expats-hire-private-jets-to-escape-covid-19-crisis-381339/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The passengers were being tested upon arrival and anyone testing positive will be taken instead to a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus">COVID</a> hotel near Rome's main Leonardo da Vinci International Airport. The 210 passengers include children.

Officials indicated that they were primarily Indian nationals who are residents in Italy.

A flight from New Delhi arrived Wednesday evening in Rome carrying 210 passengers, who will be placed in mandatory quarantine. Officials said that a new ordinance signed earlier in the day by Health Minister Roberto Speranza requires that passengers arriving from India are quarantined for 10 days at a site indicated by Italian health officials, due to concerns about the deadly spike in that country.

A flight from New Delhi arrived Wednesday evening in Rome carrying 210 passengers, who will be placed in mandatory quarantine. Officials said that a new ordinance signed earlier in the day by Health Minister Roberto Speranza requires that passengers arriving from India are quarantined for 10 days at a site indicated by Italian health officials, due to concerns about the deadly spike in that country. Also watch | Indian expats hire private jets to escape COVID-19 crisis The passengers were being tested upon arrival and anyone testing positive will be taken instead to a COVID hotel near Rome's main Leonardo da Vinci International Airport. The 210 passengers include children. Officials indicated that they were primarily Indian nationals who are residents in Italy.

Coronavirus: Italy to quarantine travellers from India

A grand silence hang over the archaeological site of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii on Tuesday (April 27) as it reopened to the public once again after much of the country became a 'yellow zone', easing COVID restrictions.

Italy's ancient Pompeii archaeological site reopens - again

Authorities in northern Italy announced on Monday, they had identified two cases of the Indian variant of coronavirus, in a father and daughter recently returned from India.

The news follows reports of another case in the central region of Tuscany last month, and comes after the Italian government banned arrivals from the virus-hit country.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="'Finally!' Italy reopens as parliament debates recovery plan">'Finally!' Italy reopens as parliament debates recovery plan</a>

"Today in (the city of) Bassano we have the first two patients, two Indians," announced Luca Zaia, head of the Veneto region.

Bassano, in the province of Vicenza, lies some 65 kilometres (40 miles) north-east of Venice.&nbsp;

The two patients were identified as a father and adult daughter of Indian origin who recently returned from a trip to India. They are currently isolating at home.

Health Minister Roberto Speranza on Sunday announced a new ban on anyone entering Italy who has been in India in the past 14 days.&nbsp;

India is battling a catastrophic, record-breaking outbreak that has overwhelmed hospitals and set crematoriums&nbsp;working at full capacity.

Authorities in northern Italy announced on Monday, they had identified two cases of the Indian variant of coronavirus, in a father and daughter recently returned from India.

Authorities in northern Italy announced on Monday, they had identified two cases of the Indian variant of coronavirus, in a father and daughter recently returned from India. The news follows reports of another case in the central region of Tuscany last month, and comes after the Italian government banned arrivals from the virus-hit country. Also read: 'Finally!' Italy reopens as parliament debates recovery plan "Today in (the city of) Bassano we have the first two patients, two Indians," announced Luca Zaia, head of the Veneto region. Bassano, in the province of Vicenza, lies some 65 kilometres (40 miles) north-east of Venice. The two patients were identified as a father and adult daughter of Indian origin who recently returned from a trip to India. They are currently isolating at home. Health Minister Roberto Speranza on Sunday announced a new ban on anyone entering Italy who has been in India in the past 14 days. India is battling a catastrophic, record-breaking outbreak that has overwhelmed hospitals and set crematoriums working at full capacity.

Indian Covid variant found in northern Italy

India is now the global epicentre of this pandemic and it doesn't look like things will improve anytime soon. Today, the Indian government issued a warning. An official said, time has now come for you to start wearing a mask at home, while you share common spaces with your family members.&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-indians-asked-to-mask-up-at-home-380631/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The virus is still mutating and spreading and countries are still trying to keep up with it. More than 147 million infections worldwide but the coronavirus isn't done yet. The virus is mutating into dangerous variants. The latest one has been found in Sri Lanka. It spreads very fast and can remain airborne for nearly an hour. It began spreading rapidly after last week's new year celebrations. Younger people are getting infected in larger numbers. Experts fear a third wave and the next two to three weeks will be critical. &nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo">As the surge continues, a new study has found that pregnant women and newborn children face higher risks. The study was conducted by the University of Oxford and it found that women, who test positive during pregnancy face high risk of complications. They are over 50 per cent more likely to experience premature birth, pre-eclampsia, admission to intensive care and even the risk of death. Newborns too are nearly three times more at risk. &nbsp;</div>

The world's best bet are vaccines, but we don't have enough of them. The World Health Organization might deliver a booster shot soon. It is reviewing Moderna's coronavirus shot. Technical experts will meet on April 30 to decide. So far, the WHO has approved vaccines made by Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson. An emergency use listing from the WHO may accelerate the adoption of the Moderna vaccine around the world.&nbsp;

Here's another potential cure, an HCQ spray. In Singapore, researchers have found promise in an old, but highly controversial drug. They say&nbsp;that using a throat spray with anti-malarial drug hydrooxychloroquine can reduce the spread of the virus. Researchers tested their hypotheses on more than 3,000 migrant workers. They found that using the two drugs cuts the spread of the virus in high transmission settings, like dormitories, cruise ships and prisons. Hydrooxychloroquine or HCQ has been a controversial choice of treatment since last year. &nbsp;

And finally, a story that gives hope. Italy, after six months of rotating lockdowns, is unlocking again. Restaurants are serving customers again after a major outbreak last year. The country has been in and out of lockdowns. Right wing parties say Italy has been too cautious. Virologists disagree as they feel the lockdowns were needed and unlocking even now might invite a new surge. Italy's vaccination programme is going slow. It is missing its daily targets of 500,000 shots a day and remains limited to the elderly. As Italians say cheers, they'll have to keep their guard up.&nbsp;

India is now the global epicentre of this pandemic and it doesn't look like things will improve anytime soon. Today, the Indian government issued a warning. An official said, time has now come for you to start wearing a mask at home, while you share common spaces with your family members.

India is now the global epicentre of this pandemic and it doesn't look like things will improve anytime soon. Today, the Indian government issued a warning. An official said, time has now come for you to start wearing a mask at home, while you share common spaces with your family members. The virus is still mutating and spreading and countries are still trying to keep up with it. More than 147 million infections worldwide but the coronavirus isn't done yet. The virus is mutating into dangerous variants. The latest one has been found in Sri Lanka. It spreads very fast and can remain airborne for nearly an hour. It began spreading rapidly after last week's new year celebrations. Younger people are getting infected in larger numbers. Experts fear a third wave and the next two to three weeks will be critical. As the surge continues, a new study has found that pregnant women and newborn children face higher risks. The study was conducted by the University of Oxford and it found that women, who test positive during pregnancy face high risk of complications. They are over 50 per cent more likely to experience premature birth, pre-eclampsia, admission to intensive care and even the risk of death. Newborns too are nearly three times more at risk. The world's best bet are vaccines, but we don't have enough of them. The World Health Organization might deliver a booster shot soon. It is reviewing Moderna's coronavirus shot. Technical experts will meet on April 30 to decide. So far, the WHO has approved vaccines made by Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson. An emergency use listing from the WHO may accelerate the adoption of the Moderna vaccine around the world. Here's another potential cure, an HCQ spray. In Singapore, researchers have found promise in an old, but highly controversial drug. They say that using a throat spray with anti-malarial drug hydrooxychloroquine can reduce the spread of the virus. Researchers tested their hypotheses on more than 3,000 migrant workers. They found that using the two drugs cuts the spread of the virus in high transmission settings, like dormitories, cruise ships and prisons. Hydrooxychloroquine or HCQ has been a controversial choice of treatment since last year. And finally, a story that gives hope. Italy, after six months of rotating lockdowns, is unlocking again. Restaurants are serving customers again after a major outbreak last year. The country has been in and out of lockdowns. Right wing parties say Italy has been too cautious. Virologists disagree as they feel the lockdowns were needed and unlocking even now might invite a new surge. Italy's vaccination programme is going slow. It is missing its daily targets of 500,000 shots a day and remains limited to the elderly. As Italians say cheers, they'll have to keep their guard up.

Coronavirus continues to create ripples around the world 

The man dubbed as Italy's Robinson Crusoe is leaving his island after 32 years. The tale of Robinson Crusoe is well familiar. A man who survives on an island all by himself after a shipwreck.

The tale of Mauro Morandi (81) is no less interesting. In 1989, his small boat developed problems at the sea and he had to take refuge on Budelli island, off the coast of Sardinia in Italy. The island has beaches of pink sand! Morandi met the caretaker of the island and got to know that he was about to retire.

He gladly took the job and his life became one with the island. He stayed in a former World War 1 shelter.

For three decades, Mauro Morandi took care of the island, kept its beaches clean and interacted with day-trippers on the island.

But now he has to leave.

The authorities of La Maddalena national park are evicting him. The island is to be converted into a hub of environmental education.

Morandi is expectedly sad but has decided to obey the word of the authorities. He will move into a small apartment in Maddalena, on the outskirts of the town. He is happy that way. He will be able to live life by himself. But there is something more that's important to him.

"I'll still see the sea," he told The Guardian.

The man dubbed as Italy's Robinson Crusoe is leaving his island after 32 years. The tale of Robinson Crusoe is well familiar. A man who survives on an island all by himself after a shipwreck.

The man dubbed as Italy's Robinson Crusoe is leaving his island after 32 years. The tale of Robinson Crusoe is well familiar. A man who survives on an island all by himself after a shipwreck. The tale of Mauro Morandi (81) is no less interesting. In 1989, his small boat developed problems at the sea and he had to take refuge on Budelli island, off the coast of Sardinia in Italy. The island has beaches of pink sand! Morandi met the caretaker of the island and got to know that he was about to retire. He gladly took the job and his life became one with the island. He stayed in a former World War 1 shelter. For three decades, Mauro Morandi took care of the island, kept its beaches clean and interacted with day-trippers on the island. But now he has to leave. The authorities of La Maddalena national park are evicting him. The island is to be converted into a hub of environmental education. Morandi is expectedly sad but has decided to obey the word of the authorities. He will move into a small apartment in Maddalena, on the outskirts of the town. He is happy that way. He will be able to live life by himself. But there is something more that's important to him. "I'll still see the sea," he told The Guardian.

Italy's 'Robinson Crusoe' to leave his island after 32 years

Bars, restaurants, cinemas and concert halls were reopening across Italy on Monday in a boost for coronavirus-hit businesses, while parliament was to debate the government's 220-billion-euro ($266-billion) EU-funded recovery plan.

After months of stop-start restrictions imposed to manage second and third waves of Covid, Italy hopes this latest easing will mark the start of something like a normal summer.

Prime Minister Mario Draghi has admitted to taking a "calculated risk" with the reopenings, as infection rates and intensive care admissions have fallen but Covid deaths still mount by hundreds every day and now total more than 119,000.

Three-quarters of regions dropped on Monday into the lower-risk "yellow" category, with bars and restaurants permitted to restart table service outside -- including, for the first time in six months, in the evening, although a 10 pm curfew remains in place.

"Finally!" said Daniele Vespa, the 26-year-old head waiter at Baccano, a restaurant near Rome's Trevi Fountain, as he made preparations for the return of customers.

"Hopefully... we can soon reopen inside as well," he told AFP, adding: "It's the start of a return to normality."

Cinemas, theatres and concert halls can also open at 50-per cent capacity, followed by the staggered opening of swimming pools, gyms, sporting events and theme parks by July 1.

In Milan, the Beltrade cinema claimed the title of being the first to reopen after six months of inaction with a special 06:00 am screening of "Caro Diario," a classic Italian film from the 1990s.

The show was sold out, despite people having to wake up before dawn to catch it.&nbsp;

"I went with my husband, and it was great to be back together in a cinema and do this crazy thing," Francesca Pierangeli, one of the 82 people who got a seat, told AFP.&nbsp;

Draghi had been under intense pressure to ease restrictions, including from far-right leader Matteo Salvini and increasingly vocal anti-lockdown street protests, as Italy battles its deepest recession since World War II.

The vaccination programme is gaining pace with 17.75 million jabs administered so far and 5.2 million people fully vaccinated in a population of around 60 million, but experts doubt this could be enough to stave off a new health crisis.&nbsp;

"Clearly if the gradual reopening is interpreted as a 'free-for-all', a new surge in infections risks compromising the summer season," warned Nino Cartabellotta, head of the GIMBE Foundation health think tank.

Already at the weekend, throngs of people took advantage of the warm weather and packed the streets of central Rome and other cities, many not wearing masks. In the capital, police closed off a shopping avenue and a few squares that had become too crowded.

Italy was the first European country to be hit by the pandemic in early 2020 and remains one of the worst affected, with the EU's highest reported death toll and one of the deepest recessions.

The economy contracted by a staggering 8.9 percent last year and a million jobs have been lost.

Italy is pinning its hopes on a 222.1-billion-euro investment and reform plan funded largely by the European Union. Rome is the biggest recipient of the bloc's 750-billion-euro post-pandemic recovery fund.

In parliament on Monday, Draghi will formally present the programme he hopes will boost growth by 3.6 percentage points by 2026, ahead of a Friday deadline to submit the package to Brussels.

The government said Sunday the plan was a "historic intervention" that would repair the damage caused by the pandemic and address "the structural weaknesses" of the economy, while putting it on a greener footing.

Priorities include infrastructure, notably high-speed railways; green energy, including hydrogen power projects; investment in internet services and digitalisation of public administration.

There will be money to help women and young people, who have disproportionately lost out during the pandemic, while around 40 percent will be targeted at historically under-performing southern Italy.

Draghi, a former European Central Bank chief, has also highlighted the importance of tax reform and speeding up the snail-paced justice system.

Disputes over the spending plan brought down the previous prime minister and his coalition, after which Draghi was parachuted in to lead a national unity government in February.

His broad support in parliament "gives him significant room for manoeuvre to deliver the necessary reforms", noted Natixis economist Jesus Castillo.

Bars, restaurants, cinemas and concert halls were reopening across Italy on Monday in a boost for coronavirus-hit businesses, while parliament was to debate the government's 220-billion-euro ($266-billion) EU-funded recovery plan.

Bars, restaurants, cinemas and concert halls were reopening across Italy on Monday in a boost for coronavirus-hit businesses, while parliament was to debate the government's 220-billion-euro ($266-billion) EU-funded recovery plan. After months of stop-start restrictions imposed to manage second and third waves of Covid, Italy hopes this latest easing will mark the start of something like a normal summer. Prime Minister Mario Draghi has admitted to taking a "calculated risk" with the reopenings, as infection rates and intensive care admissions have fallen but Covid deaths still mount by hundreds every day and now total more than 119,000. Three-quarters of regions dropped on Monday into the lower-risk "yellow" category, with bars and restaurants permitted to restart table service outside -- including, for the first time in six months, in the evening, although a 10 pm curfew remains in place. "Finally!" said Daniele Vespa, the 26-year-old head waiter at Baccano, a restaurant near Rome's Trevi Fountain, as he made preparations for the return of customers. "Hopefully... we can soon reopen inside as well," he told AFP, adding: "It's the start of a return to normality." Cinemas, theatres and concert halls can also open at 50-per cent capacity, followed by the staggered opening of swimming pools, gyms, sporting events and theme parks by July 1. In Milan, the Beltrade cinema claimed the title of being the first to reopen after six months of inaction with a special 06:00 am screening of "Caro Diario," a classic Italian film from the 1990s. The show was sold out, despite people having to wake up before dawn to catch it. "I went with my husband, and it was great to be back together in a cinema and do this crazy thing," Francesca Pierangeli, one of the 82 people who got a seat, told AFP. Draghi had been under intense pressure to ease restrictions, including from far-right leader Matteo Salvini and increasingly vocal anti-lockdown street protests, as Italy battles its deepest recession since World War II. The vaccination programme is gaining pace with 17.75 million jabs administered so far and 5.2 million people fully vaccinated in a population of around 60 million, but experts doubt this could be enough to stave off a new health crisis. "Clearly if the gradual reopening is interpreted as a 'free-for-all', a new surge in infections risks compromising the summer season," warned Nino Cartabellotta, head of the GIMBE Foundation health think tank. Already at the weekend, throngs of people took advantage of the warm weather and packed the streets of central Rome and other cities, many not wearing masks. In the capital, police closed off a shopping avenue and a few squares that had become too crowded. Italy was the first European country to be hit by the pandemic in early 2020 and remains one of the worst affected, with the EU's highest reported death toll and one of the deepest recessions. The economy contracted by a staggering 8.9 percent last year and a million jobs have been lost. Italy is pinning its hopes on a 222.1-billion-euro investment and reform plan funded largely by the European Union. Rome is the biggest recipient of the bloc's 750-billion-euro post-pandemic recovery fund. In parliament on Monday, Draghi will formally present the programme he hopes will boost growth by 3.6 percentage points by 2026, ahead of a Friday deadline to submit the package to Brussels. The government said Sunday the plan was a "historic intervention" that would repair the damage caused by the pandemic and address "the structural weaknesses" of the economy, while putting it on a greener footing. Priorities include infrastructure, notably high-speed railways; green energy, including hydrogen power projects; investment in internet services and digitalisation of public administration. There will be money to help women and young people, who have disproportionately lost out during the pandemic, while around 40 percent will be targeted at historically under-performing southern Italy. Draghi, a former European Central Bank chief, has also highlighted the importance of tax reform and speeding up the snail-paced justice system. Disputes over the spending plan brought down the previous prime minister and his coalition, after which Draghi was parachuted in to lead a national unity government in February. His broad support in parliament "gives him significant room for manoeuvre to deliver the necessary reforms", noted Natixis economist Jesus Castillo.

'Finally!' Italy reopens as parliament debates recovery plan

Russia said on Monday that it was expelling an Italian diplomat as a reponse to "unfriendly" removal of two Russian officials from Rome over espionage scandal. Russian foreign ministry said it had summoned Italian ambassador and had informed him that Russia was declaring Rome's naval attache in Moscow a "persona non grata". The naval attache would have 24 hours to leave the country.

Last month, Rome had announced that it was expelling two Russian officials after an Italian navy captain was caught by police selling confidential military documents to a Russian embassy official.

The navy officer, Walter Biot, worked in the office of the Chief of the Defence Staff, and reportedly passed on dossiers to the Russians in return for 5,000 euros (around $6,000).

Italy immediately condemned expulsion of its naval attache in Moscow. It described it as "unfounded and unjust because it is in retaliation for a legitimate measure taking by the Italian authorities in defence of their own security".

Recent weeks have seen a wave of expulsions of Russian officials from European countries and the United States over claims of hacking and espionage. Tensions have spiralled in particular with Czech Republic.

Prague had accused Russian military intelligence of being behind a deadly explosion at an ammunition depot in 2014

Recent weeks have seen a wave of expulsions of Russian officials from European countries and the United States over claims of hacking and espionage.

Prague expelled 18 Russian diplomats over the allegations and Moscow retaliated by kicking out 20 Czech embassy staff.

Romania said Monday it would expel a Russian diplomat in solidarity with the Czech Republic, following similar decisions taken by Slovakia and the Baltic states.

Russia said on Monday that it was expelling an Italian diplomat as a reponse to "unfriendly" removal of two Russian officials from Rome over espionage scandal. Russian foreign ministry said it had summoned Italian ambassador and had informed him that Russia was declaring Rome's naval attache in Moscow a "persona non grata".

Russia said on Monday that it was expelling an Italian diplomat as a reponse to "unfriendly" removal of two Russian officials from Rome over espionage scandal. Russian foreign ministry said it had summoned Italian ambassador and had informed him that Russia was declaring Rome's naval attache in Moscow a "persona non grata". The naval attache would have 24 hours to leave the country. Last month, Rome had announced that it was expelling two Russian officials after an Italian navy captain was caught by police selling confidential military documents to a Russian embassy official. The navy officer, Walter Biot, worked in the office of the Chief of the Defence Staff, and reportedly passed on dossiers to the Russians in return for 5,000 euros (around $6,000). Italy immediately condemned expulsion of its naval attache in Moscow. It described it as "unfounded and unjust because it is in retaliation for a legitimate measure taking by the Italian authorities in defence of their own security". Recent weeks have seen a wave of expulsions of Russian officials from European countries and the United States over claims of hacking and espionage. Tensions have spiralled in particular with Czech Republic. Prague had accused Russian military intelligence of being behind a deadly explosion at an ammunition depot in 2014 Recent weeks have seen a wave of expulsions of Russian officials from European countries and the United States over claims of hacking and espionage. Prague expelled 18 Russian diplomats over the allegations and Moscow retaliated by kicking out 20 Czech embassy staff. Romania said Monday it would expel a Russian diplomat in solidarity with the Czech Republic, following similar decisions taken by Slovakia and the Baltic states.

Russia expels Italian diplomat in Moscow

Italian cafes ready to reopen ahead of easing of COVID-19 restrictions

Italy has joined other countries by imposing restrictions on travel from India to avert the spread of a COVID-19 variant as the Asian nation struggles with a surge in infections.&nbsp;

Italy's Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Twitter,&nbsp;he had signed an order barring foreign&nbsp;travellers, who have been in India in the past 14 days from entering the country.&nbsp;

India, which is facing a health crisis, is battling a 'double mutant' strain of COVID-19. On Sunday, the country posted the world's highest single-day increase in cases for a fourth day.&nbsp;

Italian residents will be allowed to return from India with a negative test result at their departure and one at their arrival and then have to go into quarantine, the minister said.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Those already in Italy and who travelled from India in the past 14 days were requested to undergo a swab.&nbsp;"Our scientists are at work to study the new Indian variant," Speranza said.&nbsp;

Earlier,&nbsp;Germany’s Health Minister Jens Spahn said, the country will shut out all&nbsp;travellers&nbsp;arriving from India apart from its own citizens as a new variant has made the South Asian country the latest coronavirus hotspot.&nbsp;

"We're very worried about the new mutation of the virus discovered in India. So as not to endanger our vaccination&nbsp;programme, India travel has to be significantly limited," Spahn told the Funke newspaper group.&nbsp;

Only German citizens will be allowed to enter the country when arriving from India, he added.&nbsp;

As Spahn plans to designate India a ‘virus variant zone’,&nbsp;travellers&nbsp;will have to be tested before departure for Germany and immediately enter a 14-day quarantine on arrival.&nbsp;

Berlin had already dubbed India a 'zone with particularly high risk of infection'.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

Italy has joined other countries by imposing restrictions on travel from India to avert the spread of a COVID-19 variant as the Asian nation struggles with a surge in infections.

Italy has joined other countries by imposing restrictions on travel from India to avert the spread of a COVID-19 variant as the Asian nation struggles with a surge in infections. Italy's Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Twitter, he had signed an order barring foreign travellers, who have been in India in the past 14 days from entering the country. India, which is facing a health crisis, is battling a 'double mutant' strain of COVID-19. On Sunday, the country posted the world's highest single-day increase in cases for a fourth day. Italian residents will be allowed to return from India with a negative test result at their departure and one at their arrival and then have to go into quarantine, the minister said. Those already in Italy and who travelled from India in the past 14 days were requested to undergo a swab. "Our scientists are at work to study the new Indian variant," Speranza said. Earlier, Germany’s Health Minister Jens Spahn said, the country will shut out all travellers arriving from India apart from its own citizens as a new variant has made the South Asian country the latest coronavirus hotspot. "We're very worried about the new mutation of the virus discovered in India. So as not to endanger our vaccination programme, India travel has to be significantly limited," Spahn told the Funke newspaper group. Only German citizens will be allowed to enter the country when arriving from India, he added. As Spahn plans to designate India a ‘virus variant zone’, travellers will have to be tested before departure for Germany and immediately enter a 14-day quarantine on arrival. Berlin had already dubbed India a 'zone with particularly high risk of infection'. (With inputs from agencies)

Italy imposes travel ban from India over COVID-19 variant 

What do you think would be Italy's national record of an individual skipping work?

The Italian press calls this person the "king of absentees" as it is being alleged that he has set a new record for skipping work for 15 years.&nbsp;

Also read | <a href="http://wionews.com/world/workplace-harassment-a-global-plague-amid-pandemic-377849">Workplace harassment: A global plague amid pandemic</a>

Police said the 67-year-old employee for getting a monthly salary €538,000 (about USD 645,000) despite not working since 2005, The Guardian reported.&nbsp;

The employee, who used to work at Pugliese Ciaccio hospital in the Calabrian city of Catanzaro, is now facing charged of forgery and abuse of office, among others.&nbsp;

Six managers are also under the scanner for playing a part in the worker's non-appearance at work.

Also read | <a href="http://wionews.com/world/the-most-unsafe-workplace-parliament-australian-women-say-375759">‘The most unsafe workplace’? Parliament, Australian women say</a>

Police, while conducting the investigation codenamed "Part Time," gathered evidence from salary and attendance records and collected statements from co-workers.&nbsp;

Allegedly, the employee in 2005 threatened the hospital director in a bid to stop her from filing a disciplinary report over his absenteeism.&nbsp;

The director retired later and his successor or the human resources team failed to track his attendance.

Skipping work is a widespread problem in Italy and in 2016, a law was passed to tackle this menace after several police investigations revealed absenteeism all across the public sector.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

What do you think would be Italy's national record of an individual skipping work? The Italian press calls this person the "king of absentees" as it is being alleged that he has set a new record for skipping work for 15 years.

What do you think would be Italy's national record of an individual skipping work? The Italian press calls this person the "king of absentees" as it is being alleged that he has set a new record for skipping work for 15 years. Also read | Workplace harassment: A global plague amid pandemic Police said the 67-year-old employee for getting a monthly salary €538,000 (about USD 645,000) despite not working since 2005, The Guardian reported. The employee, who used to work at Pugliese Ciaccio hospital in the Calabrian city of Catanzaro, is now facing charged of forgery and abuse of office, among others. Six managers are also under the scanner for playing a part in the worker's non-appearance at work. Also read | ‘The most unsafe workplace’? Parliament, Australian women say Police, while conducting the investigation codenamed "Part Time," gathered evidence from salary and attendance records and collected statements from co-workers. Allegedly, the employee in 2005 threatened the hospital director in a bid to stop her from filing a disciplinary report over his absenteeism. The director retired later and his successor or the human resources team failed to track his attendance. Skipping work is a widespread problem in Italy and in 2016, a law was passed to tackle this menace after several police investigations revealed absenteeism all across the public sector.

Meet Italy's 'king of absentees', an employee who did not work for 15 years

Italy on Tuesday declared the Johnson &amp; Johnson coronavirus vaccine to be "safe" and said it would prioritise its use for people over 60.

The announcement came hours after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said blood clots should be listed as a "very rare" side effect of the vaccine.

Watch |&nbsp;

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In the light of that ruling, the US-made jab should be considered "definitely safe," Italian health authorities said in a statement. &nbsp;

It "should be preferentially administered to people over 60 years old" and those particularly at risk from the virus, they added.

The same guidelines were previously issued in Italy for the Anglo-Swedish AstraZeneca jab, which has also been linked to very rare instances of blood clotting.

Separately, Italy's coronavirus crisis commissioner said a first consignment of 184,000 J&amp;J doses would be distributed across the country starting Wednesday.&nbsp;

The J&amp;J vaccine is seen as easier to administer and transport than some of its rivals, because it requires just one dose and can be stored at warmer temperatures.

But its introduction in Europe was suspended last week after US health regulators said the shot should be paused over blood clot fears.&nbsp;

Italy and other EU countries are keen to make use of it to accelerate their sluggish vaccination campaigns and bring closer a return to some level of normality in people's lives.

Italy on Tuesday declared the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine to be "safe" and said it would prioritise its use for people over 60. The announcement came hours after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said blood clots should be listed as a "very rare" side effect of the vaccine.

Italy on Tuesday declared the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine to be "safe" and said it would prioritise its use for people over 60. The announcement came hours after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said blood clots should be listed as a "very rare" side effect of the vaccine. Watch | In the light of that ruling, the US-made jab should be considered "definitely safe," Italian health authorities said in a statement. It "should be preferentially administered to people over 60 years old" and those particularly at risk from the virus, they added. The same guidelines were previously issued in Italy for the Anglo-Swedish AstraZeneca jab, which has also been linked to very rare instances of blood clotting. Separately, Italy's coronavirus crisis commissioner said a first consignment of 184,000 J&J doses would be distributed across the country starting Wednesday. The J&J vaccine is seen as easier to administer and transport than some of its rivals, because it requires just one dose and can be stored at warmer temperatures. But its introduction in Europe was suspended last week after US health regulators said the shot should be paused over blood clot fears. Italy and other EU countries are keen to make use of it to accelerate their sluggish vaccination campaigns and bring closer a return to some level of normality in people's lives.

Italy approves J&J vaccine, recommends it for over 60s

To most eyes, the scruffy, sun-faded ship that left Venice for Sicily last week might have looked like a junkyard-ready wreck.

Instead, as the ship embarked upon what might have been its final voyage, via barge and tugboat, and arrived in Sicily on Tuesday, others were hoping it would become a monument to the devastating toll exacted by the trafficking of people across the Mediterranean from Africa to Europe by unscrupulous operators.

The ship, the relic of the deadliest wreck in the Mediterranean in living memory, is a symbol of contemporary migration in Europe that has become part of its cultural heritage, said Maria Chiara Di Trapani, an independent curator working on future projects for the vessel.

On April 18, 2015, the unnamed ship, originally built as a fishing vessel for a crew of around 15, capsized off the coast of Libya, becoming the watery grave for the more than 1,000 people — many from Mali, Mauritius and the Horn of Africa — crammed onboard. Only 28 passengers survived.

The ship’s fate “has to be a reminder that this situation cannot happen in a civilized country,” said Cristina Cattaneo, a forensic pathologist and anthropologist who has been working to identify the hundreds of victims who were trapped in the hull when it sank.

The ship became a tangible symbol of Europe’s failings on migration and of the continent’s inability to conceive of, let alone implement, coordinated policies to handle the mass arrival of migrants, which has intensified in recent decades. Since that disaster, the Missing Migrants Project, run by the International Organization for Migration, has recorded a minimum of 12,521 deaths or disappearances during migration across the Central Mediterranean route.

The ship sank after colliding with a Portuguese freighter that had come to its assistance. An analysis of the shipwreck has been treated by migration activists as a case study on the perils of inexpert assistance at sea. The ship was later used as evidence in a case against the Tunisian captain who piloted the ship and in 2018 was convicted of human trafficking.

“The story of the boat is very complex, involving many people,” said Enzo Parisi, spokesman for the Comitato 18 Aprile, a citizens group in Augusta, Sicily, that wants the boat to become a monument, “a testimony to tragedies at sea.”

In June 2016, the Italian government decided to raise the wreck 1,200 feet from the bottom of the sea to identify the victims. The ship was taken to a naval base in Augusta, and the victims were extracted.

Genetic data was sampled, and corpses and remains were photographed, as were passports, vaccination records and scraps of paper with hand-scribbled telephone numbers. Everything was sent to a forensic laboratory at the University of Milan for the laborious task of cataloging and possible identification.

The ship’s destiny, at that point, was to head to the scrapyard, like hundreds of ships that have been seized by Italian authorities.

But the wreck’s symbolic power had become apparent. In 2019, supported by the Comitato 18 Aprile, Augusta’s municipal council was granted custody of the ship. The region lobbied to have it declared a monument of cultural interest and the committee came up with proposals for a memorial that would have the ship as the centerpiece.

“As a seaport, Augusta has always been welcoming,” said Mayor Giuseppe Di Mare.

The Sicilian city is a first landing spot for many migrants rescued in the Mediterranean, before they are processed and shuttled off to other Italian cities. Because of the coronavirus, the sea rescues now include an interim stop on quarantine ships, and currently there are two such ships in Augusta’s harbor.

In 2019, the ship took an unexpected detour, when — with the approval of city hall and the committee — Swiss Icelandic artist Christoph Büchel took the wreck to the Venice Biennale, mooring it at the Arsenale, the former shipyard of the once-formidable Venetian Republic.

Now christened “Barca Nostra” (Italian for “Our Ship”), the vessel was presented at the art exhibit as a “monument to contemporary migration” and restrictions on personal freedoms.

Last Wednesday, the ship was loaded onto a barge. It arrived in Augusta on Tuesday.

With its return to Sicily, the wreck can become a “starting point to reflect on Italy’s responsibility for these deaths at sea,” said Giorgia Mirto, a doctoral student at Columbia University who has mapped where migrants who die at sea are buried in Italian cemeteries. In a 2019 documentary about the disaster and the attempts to identify the victims, Mirto counted headstones in a cemetery that read: “Unknown Immigrant Deceased in the Strait of Sicily on 18.4.2015.”

The project to identify victims continues. Cattaneo, who is responsible for the university laboratory in Milan, said that funding shortages had hampered the work and that, so far, only six victims had been identified using their methodology, which involves comparing the DNA extracted from the victims to that of family members, as well as anthropological and dental traits.

She is hopeful that progress will be made this year, as the university is now working with other academic institutions, as well as Italian law enforcement authorities, but she cautioned that the condition in which researchers had found the bodies after a year underwater made everything “extremely complex.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross and other national affiliates have also been involved in identifying the victims of the tragedy. They have adopted a different, complementary approach, attempting to draft a list of the passengers onboard by cross-referencing the accounts of survivors, witnesses, relatives and friends, as well as from the objects recovered from the ship. Currently, they are calling some of the nearly 1,500 phone numbers — which have been tracked to 56 countries — that were found in the wreckage in hopes of gleaning new clues.

“For us, the passenger manifest is the most important thing, because by naming victims you are acknowledging them as persons,” said Jose Pablo Baraybar Do Carmo, transregional forensic coordinator for the Red Cross, who has been “working like crazy” on the wreck since 2017. “It’s important to remove these people from invisibility” and let their families know that “there is someone who is trying to find out what happened” to someone who is missing, he said.

So far, his team has managed to identify 474 people who were on the boat.

The coronavirus has drastically reduced Mediterranean crossings over the past 14 months, as well as deaths. Even so, as of Tuesday, 449 migrants are known to have died in the first months of 2021.

The ship will now undergo urgent maintenance, after two years exposed to a north Italian climate.

Augusta has envisioned placing the ship in what the authorities describe as a “Garden of Memory,” which “will have to be in the open, because that boat gives a sense of the sea, the air, the skies. To enclose it in a building would clash with its’ story,” said Di Mare. “Certainly, the ship has attained an international dimension and we want this garden to become a place of reflection for the world, so that all people can ponder.”

To most eyes, the scruffy, sun-faded ship that left Venice for Sicily last week might have looked like a junkyard-ready wreck. Instead, as the ship embarked upon what might have been its final voyage, via barge and tugboat, and arrived in Sicily on Tuesday, others were hoping it would become a monument to the devastating toll exacted by the trafficking of people across the Mediterranean from Africa to Europe by unscrupulous operators.

To most eyes, the scruffy, sun-faded ship that left Venice for Sicily last week might have looked like a junkyard-ready wreck. Instead, as the ship embarked upon what might have been its final voyage, via barge and tugboat, and arrived in Sicily on Tuesday, others were hoping it would become a monument to the devastating toll exacted by the trafficking of people across the Mediterranean from Africa to Europe by unscrupulous operators. The ship, the relic of the deadliest wreck in the Mediterranean in living memory, is a symbol of contemporary migration in Europe that has become part of its cultural heritage, said Maria Chiara Di Trapani, an independent curator working on future projects for the vessel. On April 18, 2015, the unnamed ship, originally built as a fishing vessel for a crew of around 15, capsized off the coast of Libya, becoming the watery grave for the more than 1,000 people — many from Mali, Mauritius and the Horn of Africa — crammed onboard. Only 28 passengers survived. The ship’s fate “has to be a reminder that this situation cannot happen in a civilized country,” said Cristina Cattaneo, a forensic pathologist and anthropologist who has been working to identify the hundreds of victims who were trapped in the hull when it sank. The ship became a tangible symbol of Europe’s failings on migration and of the continent’s inability to conceive of, let alone implement, coordinated policies to handle the mass arrival of migrants, which has intensified in recent decades. Since that disaster, the Missing Migrants Project, run by the International Organization for Migration, has recorded a minimum of 12,521 deaths or disappearances during migration across the Central Mediterranean route. The ship sank after colliding with a Portuguese freighter that had come to its assistance. An analysis of the shipwreck has been treated by migration activists as a case study on the perils of inexpert assistance at sea. The ship was later used as evidence in a case against the Tunisian captain who piloted the ship and in 2018 was convicted of human trafficking. “The story of the boat is very complex, involving many people,” said Enzo Parisi, spokesman for the Comitato 18 Aprile, a citizens group in Augusta, Sicily, that wants the boat to become a monument, “a testimony to tragedies at sea.” In June 2016, the Italian government decided to raise the wreck 1,200 feet from the bottom of the sea to identify the victims. The ship was taken to a naval base in Augusta, and the victims were extracted. Genetic data was sampled, and corpses and remains were photographed, as were passports, vaccination records and scraps of paper with hand-scribbled telephone numbers. Everything was sent to a forensic laboratory at the University of Milan for the laborious task of cataloging and possible identification. The ship’s destiny, at that point, was to head to the scrapyard, like hundreds of ships that have been seized by Italian authorities. But the wreck’s symbolic power had become apparent. In 2019, supported by the Comitato 18 Aprile, Augusta’s municipal council was granted custody of the ship. The region lobbied to have it declared a monument of cultural interest and the committee came up with proposals for a memorial that would have the ship as the centerpiece. “As a seaport, Augusta has always been welcoming,” said Mayor Giuseppe Di Mare. The Sicilian city is a first landing spot for many migrants rescued in the Mediterranean, before they are processed and shuttled off to other Italian cities. Because of the coronavirus, the sea rescues now include an interim stop on quarantine ships, and currently there are two such ships in Augusta’s harbor. In 2019, the ship took an unexpected detour, when — with the approval of city hall and the committee — Swiss Icelandic artist Christoph Büchel took the wreck to the Venice Biennale, mooring it at the Arsenale, the former shipyard of the once-formidable Venetian Republic. Now christened “Barca Nostra” (Italian for “Our Ship”), the vessel was presented at the art exhibit as a “monument to contemporary migration” and restrictions on personal freedoms. Last Wednesday, the ship was loaded onto a barge. It arrived in Augusta on Tuesday. With its return to Sicily, the wreck can become a “starting point to reflect on Italy’s responsibility for these deaths at sea,” said Giorgia Mirto, a doctoral student at Columbia University who has mapped where migrants who die at sea are buried in Italian cemeteries. In a 2019 documentary about the disaster and the attempts to identify the victims, Mirto counted headstones in a cemetery that read: “Unknown Immigrant Deceased in the Strait of Sicily on 18.4.2015.” The project to identify victims continues. Cattaneo, who is responsible for the university laboratory in Milan, said that funding shortages had hampered the work and that, so far, only six victims had been identified using their methodology, which involves comparing the DNA extracted from the victims to that of family members, as well as anthropological and dental traits. She is hopeful that progress will be made this year, as the university is now working with other academic institutions, as well as Italian law enforcement authorities, but she cautioned that the condition in which researchers had found the bodies after a year underwater made everything “extremely complex.” The International Committee of the Red Cross and other national affiliates have also been involved in identifying the victims of the tragedy. They have adopted a different, complementary approach, attempting to draft a list of the passengers onboard by cross-referencing the accounts of survivors, witnesses, relatives and friends, as well as from the objects recovered from the ship. Currently, they are calling some of the nearly 1,500 phone numbers — which have been tracked to 56 countries — that were found in the wreckage in hopes of gleaning new clues. “For us, the passenger manifest is the most important thing, because by naming victims you are acknowledging them as persons,” said Jose Pablo Baraybar Do Carmo, transregional forensic coordinator for the Red Cross, who has been “working like crazy” on the wreck since 2017. “It’s important to remove these people from invisibility” and let their families know that “there is someone who is trying to find out what happened” to someone who is missing, he said. So far, his team has managed to identify 474 people who were on the boat. The coronavirus has drastically reduced Mediterranean crossings over the past 14 months, as well as deaths. Even so, as of Tuesday, 449 migrants are known to have died in the first months of 2021. The ship will now undergo urgent maintenance, after two years exposed to a north Italian climate. Augusta has envisioned placing the ship in what the authorities describe as a “Garden of Memory,” which “will have to be in the open, because that boat gives a sense of the sea, the air, the skies. To enclose it in a building would clash with its’ story,” said Di Mare. “Certainly, the ship has attained an international dimension and we want this garden to become a place of reflection for the world, so that all people can ponder.”

After a tragedy at sea, a wrecked ship becomes a powerful symbol in Italy

The head of Italy's national health institute distanced himself on Friday from a scandal over a spiked World Health Organisation report into Italy's coronavirus response, saying he had no means to interfere with the UN Agency and had never censored even inconvenient information from the public.&nbsp;

Dr Silvio Brusaferro was drawn into the scandal after a leaked document from Bergamo prosecutors last week revealed transcripts of WhatsApp chats between Brusaferro and a WHO official, Dr Ranieri Guerra, who is under investigation for having allegedly made false claims to prosecutors about the report.&nbsp;

The report, published in May last year as a guide to help countries prepare for Covid-19, sparked a nerve because it revealed that the Italian government hadn't updated its pandemic preparedness plan since 2006. &nbsp;

The report was pulled down from the WHO website a day after it was published and was never reposted, sparking speculation WHO spiked it to spare the Italian government embarrassment and possible liability.&nbsp;

The WHO says it contained inaccuracies and inconsistencies and was published prematurely, before it had been fact-checked. &nbsp;

Its lead researcher, Dr Francesco Zambon, says the report received all necessary clearances and believes it was removed because of political pressure and the personal interests of Guerra.&nbsp;

Guerra had been in charge of prevention at the Italian health ministry during the years in which the pandemic plan should have been updated to conform to WHO and EU guidelines. &nbsp;

Guerra has said the plan didn't need to be updated during those years and has denied he tried to censor the WHO report, saying he merely wanted it corrected.&nbsp;

According to the text messages, Guerra used colorful language to inform Brusaferro that he had gotten the report removed from the WHO website and was working to make sure it had disappeared from other websites too.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

The head of Italy's national health institute distanced himself on Friday from a scandal over a spiked World Health Organisation report into Italy's coronavirus response, saying he had no means to interfere with the UN Agency and had never censored even inconvenient information from the public.

The head of Italy's national health institute distanced himself on Friday from a scandal over a spiked World Health Organisation report into Italy's coronavirus response, saying he had no means to interfere with the UN Agency and had never censored even inconvenient information from the public. Dr Silvio Brusaferro was drawn into the scandal after a leaked document from Bergamo prosecutors last week revealed transcripts of WhatsApp chats between Brusaferro and a WHO official, Dr Ranieri Guerra, who is under investigation for having allegedly made false claims to prosecutors about the report. The report, published in May last year as a guide to help countries prepare for Covid-19, sparked a nerve because it revealed that the Italian government hadn't updated its pandemic preparedness plan since 2006. The report was pulled down from the WHO website a day after it was published and was never reposted, sparking speculation WHO spiked it to spare the Italian government embarrassment and possible liability. The WHO says it contained inaccuracies and inconsistencies and was published prematurely, before it had been fact-checked. Its lead researcher, Dr Francesco Zambon, says the report received all necessary clearances and believes it was removed because of political pressure and the personal interests of Guerra. Guerra had been in charge of prevention at the Italian health ministry during the years in which the pandemic plan should have been updated to conform to WHO and EU guidelines. Guerra has said the plan didn't need to be updated during those years and has denied he tried to censor the WHO report, saying he merely wanted it corrected. According to the text messages, Guerra used colorful language to inform Brusaferro that he had gotten the report removed from the WHO website and was working to make sure it had disappeared from other websites too. (With inputs from agencies)

Italy health chief distances himself from scandal over spiked WHO report 

An Italian court ruled Saturday that far-right leader Matteo Salvini will face charges of kidnapping and abuse of office for blocking a migrant ship from disembarking in August 2019.

His trial was scheduled for September 15, a tribunal in the Sicilian city of Palermo said.

Salvini, head of the League party and interior minister at the time, is charged with barring migrants from landing on the island of Lampedusa after they were rescued at sea by the Spanish NGO Open Arms.

For six days, he refused to allow a ship carrying 147 mainly African migrants to land, as conditions worsened on board.

All minors and some suffering health problems were allowed to disembark.

Typically combative, Salvini tweeted Saturday that "defending the country is every citizen's sacred duty".

"That is what I will be judged for, for having defended my country? I will appear with my head held high," he said.

Salvini, who was in the court Saturday and who risks up to 15 years in prison, called it "more of a political than a judicial decision".

Open Arms welcomed the ruling, saying on Twitter it was "happy for all the people we have saved."

It is the second such case relating to Salvini's time as interior minister, when he banned all NGO rescue ships from entering Italian ports.

He faces a similar case over his decision to block around 100 migrants from disembarking from the Italian Gregoretti coastguard boat in July 2019.

His League party takes a hard line on migrants entering Italy, arguing his country bears an unfair burden as the first point of entry into Europe for those crossing on unstable boats from north Africa.&nbsp;

When he blocked the ships, Salvini was part of a coalition government and held the position of interior minister and deputy prime minister.

He has argued that the policy was not his alone, but was agreed by the government as a whole.

An Italian court ruled Saturday that far-right leader Matteo Salvini will face charges of kidnapping and abuse of office for blocking a migrant ship from disembarking in August 2019.

An Italian court ruled Saturday that far-right leader Matteo Salvini will face charges of kidnapping and abuse of office for blocking a migrant ship from disembarking in August 2019. His trial was scheduled for September 15, a tribunal in the Sicilian city of Palermo said. Salvini, head of the League party and interior minister at the time, is charged with barring migrants from landing on the island of Lampedusa after they were rescued at sea by the Spanish NGO Open Arms. For six days, he refused to allow a ship carrying 147 mainly African migrants to land, as conditions worsened on board. All minors and some suffering health problems were allowed to disembark. Typically combative, Salvini tweeted Saturday that "defending the country is every citizen's sacred duty". "That is what I will be judged for, for having defended my country? I will appear with my head held high," he said. Salvini, who was in the court Saturday and who risks up to 15 years in prison, called it "more of a political than a judicial decision". Open Arms welcomed the ruling, saying on Twitter it was "happy for all the people we have saved." It is the second such case relating to Salvini's time as interior minister, when he banned all NGO rescue ships from entering Italian ports. He faces a similar case over his decision to block around 100 migrants from disembarking from the Italian Gregoretti coastguard boat in July 2019. His League party takes a hard line on migrants entering Italy, arguing his country bears an unfair burden as the first point of entry into Europe for those crossing on unstable boats from north Africa. When he blocked the ships, Salvini was part of a coalition government and held the position of interior minister and deputy prime minister. He has argued that the policy was not his alone, but was agreed by the government as a whole.

Italy's Salvini to face trial over blocking migrant ship

“At the end of 2022 the economy will have barely bridged the gap opened in 2020 by the pandemic,” Confindustria said as it announced its latest economic forecasts.

Italy's economy seen growing 4.1% this year

Italy reported 344 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday against 718 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 17,567 from 18,938 the day before.

Italy has registered 113,923 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the seventh-highest in the world. The country has 3.75 million cases to date.

Patients in hospital with COVID-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 27,654 on Saturday, down from 28,146 a day earlier.

There were 186 new admissions to intensive care units, edging down from 192 on Friday. The total number of intensive care patients decreased to 3,588 from a previous 3,603.

Some 320,892 tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 362,973, the health ministry said.

Italy reported 344 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday against 718 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 17,567 from 18,938 the day before.

Italy reported 344 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday against 718 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 17,567 from 18,938 the day before. Italy has registered 113,923 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the seventh-highest in the world. The country has 3.75 million cases to date. Patients in hospital with COVID-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 27,654 on Saturday, down from 28,146 a day earlier. There were 186 new admissions to intensive care units, edging down from 192 on Friday. The total number of intensive care patients decreased to 3,588 from a previous 3,603. Some 320,892 tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 362,973, the health ministry said.

Italy reports 344 coronavirus deaths on Saturday, 17,567 new cases

Spain and Italy have limited the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to people aged over 60, potentially further slowing the European Union’s sluggish immunization program, which lags behind countries including the U.S., the U.K. and Israel.

These countries will only give AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine to people over 60 years old after European and British regulators found a potential link between the shot and rare brain blood clots.

While the EMA, the EU’s pharmaceuticals regulator, did not change its guidance for who should take the vaccine, it noted that “so far, most of the cases reported [of blood clots] have occurred in women under 60 years of age within two weeks of vaccination”.

Belgium separately restricted the AstraZeneca vaccine to those aged 56 or older for a minimum of four weeks on Wednesday. Australia moved on Thursday to limit further use of the shot in those younger than 50, with Canberra saying the BioNTech/Pfizer inoculation should be used instead.

Europe's and Britain's medicine regulators have both previously said that there is no increased risk of blood clots in general from the shot developed by Oxford and AstraZeneca.

However, both have been investigating small numbers of reports of brain blood clots, known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), that have occurred in combination with unusually low blood platelet levels after people have been given the shot.

(With inputs from agencies)

Spain and Italy have limited the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to people aged over 60, potentially further slowing the European Union’s sluggish immunization program, which lags behind countries including the U.

Spain and Italy have limited the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to people aged over 60, potentially further slowing the European Union’s sluggish immunization program, which lags behind countries including the U.S., the U.K. and Israel. These countries will only give AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine to people over 60 years old after European and British regulators found a potential link between the shot and rare brain blood clots. While the EMA, the EU’s pharmaceuticals regulator, did not change its guidance for who should take the vaccine, it noted that “so far, most of the cases reported [of blood clots] have occurred in women under 60 years of age within two weeks of vaccination”. Belgium separately restricted the AstraZeneca vaccine to those aged 56 or older for a minimum of four weeks on Wednesday. Australia moved on Thursday to limit further use of the shot in those younger than 50, with Canberra saying the BioNTech/Pfizer inoculation should be used instead. Europe's and Britain's medicine regulators have both previously said that there is no increased risk of blood clots in general from the shot developed by Oxford and AstraZeneca. However, both have been investigating small numbers of reports of brain blood clots, known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), that have occurred in combination with unusually low blood platelet levels after people have been given the shot. (With inputs from agencies)

Spain and Italy halt the use of AstraZeneca shot for under-60s

Italy's business owners hold protests against Covid-19 restrictions

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to visit France in May -- when he will be in Europe for the India-EU summit.

Modi will visit Portugal for the India-EU summit on May 8.

Modi had last visited France in 2019 -- as French President Emmanuel Macron's invitee for the G7 summit in Biarritz.

Ahead of the visit by the Indian prime minister, French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will be in India from April 13 to 15. He is scheduled to participate in the Raisina Dialogue and India-France-Australia foreign ministers trilateral meet.

Paris and New Delhi have recently increased engagement at multiple levels -- from dealing with Covid crisis to defence ties.

Indian ships will be a part of France-led La Perouse exercises in Bay Of Bengal from April 5 to 7. The exercise will involve France plus Quad naval ships coming together for the first time.&nbsp;

France has also delivered 21 out of 36 contracted Rafale jets to India. More deliveries are expected in April and May.

India's Europe focus will continue in the coming month as Modi is also expected to visit Denmark for the second India-Nordic summit.&nbsp;

The first such summit took place in 2018 in Stockholm.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, Italy is scheduled to host a health summit in May, but chances are that the summit will take place virtually.&nbsp;

Italy is also host of the G20 summit -- on October 30-31.

Last year's G20 summit under Saudi Arabia's leadership was a virtual one -- due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

India will host the summit in 2023.

In addition to these, India is also on track to enhance ties with the UK.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will visit India on April 26. And Modi will be in the UK for the G7 summit from June 11 to 13. He has already been invited for the United Nations Climate Change Conference summit that will take place in Glasgow in November.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to visit France in May -- when he will be in Europe for the India-EU summit. Modi will visit Portugal for the India-EU summit on May 8.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to visit France in May -- when he will be in Europe for the India-EU summit. Modi will visit Portugal for the India-EU summit on May 8. Modi had last visited France in 2019 -- as French President Emmanuel Macron's invitee for the G7 summit in Biarritz. Ahead of the visit by the Indian prime minister, French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will be in India from April 13 to 15. He is scheduled to participate in the Raisina Dialogue and India-France-Australia foreign ministers trilateral meet. Paris and New Delhi have recently increased engagement at multiple levels -- from dealing with Covid crisis to defence ties. Indian ships will be a part of France-led La Perouse exercises in Bay Of Bengal from April 5 to 7. The exercise will involve France plus Quad naval ships coming together for the first time. France has also delivered 21 out of 36 contracted Rafale jets to India. More deliveries are expected in April and May. India's Europe focus will continue in the coming month as Modi is also expected to visit Denmark for the second India-Nordic summit. The first such summit took place in 2018 in Stockholm. Meanwhile, Italy is scheduled to host a health summit in May, but chances are that the summit will take place virtually. Italy is also host of the G20 summit -- on October 30-31. Last year's G20 summit under Saudi Arabia's leadership was a virtual one -- due to the Covid-19 pandemic. India will host the summit in 2023. In addition to these, India is also on track to enhance ties with the UK. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will visit India on April 26. And Modi will be in the UK for the G7 summit from June 11 to 13. He has already been invited for the United Nations Climate Change Conference summit that will take place in Glasgow in November.

Indian PM Modi to visit France in May; to engage with Denmark and Italy later this year

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