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Carmelo Imbesi/TT

More than 4,000 migrants on their way to Italy after being rescued

The Italian coastguard has confirmed that a rescue operation involving Italian and French navy vessels have rescued more than 4,000 migrants off the coast of Libya READ

A demonstrator throws a smoke bomb to police in downtown Milan, during a demonstration against the Universal Exposition Expo Milano 2015. Photo: AFP

Italy PM says riots will not ruin Milan Expo 2015

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi warned on Saturday that stone-throwing protesters who clashed with police in Milan during the Expo 2015 opening would not ruin the world fair. READ

AC Milan's supporters wave flags before the start of the Italian Serie A football match Inter Milan vs AC Milan at the San Siro Stadium in Milan in April. Photo: AFP

Thai businessman buys 51 percent of AC Milan

Bee Taechaubol will on Saturday purchase a controlling 51% stake in ailing Serie A giants AC Milan from club owner Silvio Berlusconi, Italian media report. READ

Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP

Berlusconi's son appointed Mediaset CEO

Silvio Berlusconi's son was on Thursday appointed chief executive of Italy's largest commercial broadcaster Mediaset, in which the former premier and media tycoon holds a controlling stake. READ

Gennaro De Tommaso was sentenced to two years and two months in prison. Screenshot: Gazzetta TV

Football hooligan jailed over Rome violence

A football hooligan and leader of Napoli’s “ultra” supporters has been jailed over his part in violence ahead of the Italian Cup final last May. READ

Expo organizers have predicted a €10 billion boost to the Italian economy. Expo photo: Shutterstock

Milan Expo to open against the odds

The site is far from finished, the project has been plagued by corruption scandals and there are fears of disruption by protesters opposed to it taking place at all. READ

Italy's premier Matteo Renzi has rebuffed charges of a power grab. Photo: Thierry Charlier/AFP

Renzi wins first electoral law confidence vote

Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has won the first of three confidence votes on controversial proposals for a radical overhaul of the electoral system. READ

Raids were taking place in Milan, Rome, Venice and elsewhere. Police photo: Shutterstock

Anti-paedophile raids in 16 Italian cities

Anti-paedophile raids were underway on Thursday morning across Italy, with police carrying out search operations in 16 cities. READ

AC Milan coach Filippo Inzaghi has had a 16-year relationship with the club. Photo: Marco Bertorello/AFP

Inzaghi close to Milan sack after Genoa match

AC Milan coach Filippo Inzaghi looks set to be sacked after his demoralized side were humiliated 3-1 by Genoa at the San Siro on Wednesday just as owner Silvio Berlusconi moved closer to selling the club to Thai magnate Bee Taechaubol. READ

Photo: AFP

Bieber laughs off Italy police quiz 'rumours'

Pop star Justin Bieber on Wednesday laughed off media reports that he was quizzed by police in Rome over Argentina's request for him to be arrested over the alleged assault of a photographer. READ

Features

According to figures from Istat, the national statistics agency, 8.2 million Italians aged 11 and over drink excessive amounts of alcohol. Drinking photo: Shutter

Are Italians becoming boozier than the Brits?

Italians are usually admired for their ability to drink alcohol in moderation, but statistics published late last week revealed that more people are binge-drinking, with some blaming the change on the British and American influence. Anna Pujol Mazzini investigates. READ

Second World War: 70 years

Photo: Angela Giuffrida

Revealed: the Italians who worship Mussolini

He muzzled the press, sent Jews to death camps and led Italy to defeat. So why do some Italians openly idolize Mussolini 70 years after his death, asks Angela Giuffrida. READ

Italian with scarf in summer photo: Shutterstock

My Italian habits that foreigners just don’t get

Do Italians have certain habits you just can't work out? Here, Anna Pujol-Mazzini lists a number of typical traits or customs that leave her Anglo friends bemused. READ

Simona Moreno (C), a BonAppetour host, cooks for her husband and four guests. Photo: BonAppetour

Come dine with the Italians

The concept of people throwing dinner parties for strangers has been popular in other countries for a few years now, but the trend is starting to take off in Italy. The Local explores. READ

Illness photo: Shutterstock

Illnesses that only seem to strike Italians

It’s World Health Day, and those of you living in Italy will no doubt be familiar with maladies that only Italians seem to suffer from. To mark the day, Anna Pujol-Mazzini, whose mum is Italian, shares some insight into growing up being taught how to avoid Italian-only ailments. READ

More News

Photo: Giovanni Isolino/AFP

Child boat survivor to migrants: 'Don't come'

A Gambian girl has penned a letter begging migrants not to attempt the dangerous Mediterranean Sea crossing that she survived, but which killed her family and hundreds of others in a recent string of tragedies. READ

Italy first told the EU of an outbreak of the bacterium, which is harmful to olive trees, in October 2013. Olive tree photo: Shutterstock

EU wants Italy to cut down olive trees

An EU body has asked Italy to cut down olive trees in areas across the south, in an effort to combat a deadly bacterium which poses a "very serious threat" to European agriculture. READ

Rafa Benitez joined Napoli in 2013. Rafael Benitez photo: Shutterstock

Napoli boss opens door to new Benitez deal

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has declared that coach Rafa Benitez, who is out of contract at the end of the season, "could stay for another five years" at the Serie A club. READ

Photo of a mother with her baby:Shutterstock

Life's better in Italy, say expat mums

Almost half of expat mothers don’t ever plan to return to live in their home country, believing that the quality of life in their adopted nation is far better. READ

Expo organizers are predicting 20 million visitors over the next six months. Photo: Giuseppe Cacace/AFP

Police raids ahead of Milan Expo opening

Italian police are bracing for potential trouble at the opening of Expo 2015 after carrying out pre-emptive raids on Wednesday on radical groups suspected of planning to disrupt the showcase event's launch. READ

Francesco Palmeri is said to be the number three of New York's Gambino clan. New York photo: Shutterstock

New York mafia boss extradited to Italy

A New York mafia boss has been extradited to Italy after allegedly demanding €1 million from an Italian businessman, police said on Wednesday. READ

Rescuers from Japan are seen in the historical centre of Kathmandu, Nepal, on April 29th 2015. Photo: Philippe Lopez/AFP

Four Italians dead in Nepal earthquake

Four Italians have been identified as victims of Nepal’s devastating earthquake on Saturday, while around ten Italians are still unaccounted for, Italy’s foreign ministry has said. READ

Capri made Serie B for the first time in their history just two years ago. Football photo: Shutterstock

Shock promotion for minnows Carpi

Carpi FC 1909's 0-0 draw against Bari on Tuesday sent the modest Serie B outfit into Italy's top division for the first time in their history. READ

The back-me-or-sack-me approach from Matteo Renzi is becoming a familiar one. Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP

Renzi to face confidence vote over reform

Amid chaotic scenes in parliament, Italy's centre-left government on Tuesday announced a confidence vote over proposals for a radical overhaul of the electoral system aimed at producing stable governments. READ

The Local List

Calcata was deserted on Benito Mussolini’s orders in the 1930s when it was mistakenly declared unsafe. Photo: Alessandro Bonvini

Ten must-see places within reach of Rome

Rome has a lot to offer, but if you're looking for variety or simply want a break away from the city, there's a treasure trove of towns within easy reach. READ

Read older articles »

From our other editions:

A detail from the sugar sculpture. Photo: Thomas Kienbauer

Sugary twin towers attacks Austrian politics

The owner of a Vienna patisserie has managed to offend some of his customers by creating a sugar sculpture depicting the terror attack on New York’s World Trade Center - in an attempt to critique Austrian politics. READ

Photo: Caroline Bishop

Street food (finally!) surfaces in Swiss cities

Street food offers an alternative, lower cost style of dining that has been almost impossible to find in Swiss cities. The Local's Caroline Bishop finds out that this state of affairs is rapidly changing — to the delight of many expats. READ

Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière has some explaining to do. Photo: DPA

Govt 'lied' to parliament about NSA spying

The government has been accused of lying to the Bundestag (German parliament) after it emerged last week that Chancellor Angela Merkel's office knew German spies were conducting economic espionage on behalf of the Americans. READ

Membership in the banking union would give ECB regulators authority over Danish banks. Photo: DANIEL ROLAND/Scanpix

Denmark wants in on EU banking union

The Danish government supports joining the EU’s banking union and wants parliament to vote on it without first asking the Danes, a Justice Ministry report said on Thursday. READ

Basques can now safely visit Iceland without the threat of being killed on sight. Photo: Arnar Valdimarsson/Flickr

Iceland revokes order to 'kill Basques on sight'

In a small town on the western coast of Iceland last week, authorities finally revoked a 400-year-old order that allowed Basques to be killed on sight. READ

The girl was found dead on the ground outside her apartment. Photo: AFP

French teen suicide after sex video web bullying

A 15-year-old French girl has taken her own life after an intimate film featuring her and her boyfriend was shared online, leading to her being the victim of some vicious online bullying and blackmail. READ

Video

Erna Solberg, phone snugly in place, hands over the 2014 Womans' Football Cup. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB scanpix

Norway PM celebrated for phone-in-bra trick

After Norway's PM Erna Solberg was caught on camera slipping her phone into her bra, Norway’s top tabloid VG has made a video investigating the phenomenon. READ

The Baltic Sea, as seen from Lithuania. Photo: TT

Russian warships disrupt Swedish cable laying

Russian naval ships have repeatedly disrupted cable-laying work between Sweden and Lithuania in the past few months, prompting diplomatic protests from both countries affected. READ

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