From the category archives:

Italy

Italy in a recession, Confindustria says

13 September 2008 Economia & Mercato

Italy’s industrial employers’ association Confindustria said on Friday that the country was already in a recession and that GDP will continue to shrink for the rest of the year.
Confindustria made its observation after national statistics bureau Istat reported that Italy’s industrial output fell 0,6 per cent in July, compared to [...]

Fingerpointing

26 July 2008 Italy

Italian Reform Minister Umberto Bossi’s giving the finger to Italy’s national anthem led to an outcry earlier this week, but on Friday it was his supporters who were outraged by Ryanair’s running of an advertisement showing the minister making the gesture. A photograph of Bossi, middle-finger raised in the insulting gesture, posted under the phrase [...]

The Power To Be Afraid

21 June 2008 Italy

The Italian carmaker Fiat on Friday apologised to China for a television commercial (see below) starring United States actor Richard Gere that it acknowledged ”could disturb the sensibility of the Chinese people”.
The ad shows Gere, a long-time supporter of the Tibetan Independence Movement, drive the group’s new Lancia Delta [...]

The Italian Sicko

19 April 2008 Italy

For those of you who think that a socialized health care is the way, and that Italy is a model, it could be useful to know that record numbers of Italians are travelling abroad for medical treatment, according to patient figures released on Thursday.
Around 5,000 Italian ‘health tourists’ filed requests in 2005 [...]

The Italian Bankruptcy

22 March 2008 Italy

Alitalia appears more than ever en route to bankruptcy, after its proposed sale to Air France-KLM ran into political turbulence and unions insisted on having the right to re-negotiate [...]

A Stylish Incinerator

15 March 2008 Italy

Campania region’s rubbish crisis may soon get a makeover with a new ’signature’ rubbish incinerator designed by Canadian architect Frank O. Gehry, the mayor of Salerno said Thursday.
Vincenzo De Luca flew to Los Angeles to meet the 79-year-old architect, who is behind the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, the Walt Disney [...]

Tradition

29 December 2007 Italy

Firework fans in Naples have named the latest addition to their New Year arsenal ‘The Budget‘ because of its hard-hitting effect, like the budget law.
”It costs 250 euros and can blow up a whole building,” said a doctor leading a prevention scheme in Italy’s most firework-mad city.
The latest rockets and firecrackers – now [...]

Who’s Afraid of the Dalai Lama?

7 December 2007 Italy

The Dalai Lama on Thursday said his current visit to Italy was not meant to cause embarrassment, as China cautioned Rome against meeting with Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader. The 72-year-old, who arrived in Milan on Wednesday for a ten-day stay, said he had no desire to create diplomatic difficulties for [...]

Italy Starts Crackdown on Immigrants Deemed a Threat to Society

2 November 2007 Italy

Italy on Friday started expelling European Union citizens considered a threat to society. The move came amid a crime wave involving many immigrants from new EU member Romania – and after a deadly assault on a navy officer’s wife that shocked the nation.
Giovanna Reggiani, 47, died Thursday night after two days [...]

Italy, a burqa-friendly country? [Weekend Open Trackback]

12 October 2007 Italy

The decision by a northern Italian city official to allow Muslim women to wear the burqa has sparked consternation in the country, even though at least one minister supported the move.
“We have already said several times, and we reiterate it now, that the use of the burqa is unacceptable,” said a spokesman for Interior Minister [...]

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