Italian Government | SilverScorpio.Com

Italy minister asks Fiat to preserve plants: report

July 26, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Fiat (FIA.MI) should keep its pledge to boost Italian car production, a newspaper cited the labor minister as saying, after the company said last week it would move production of some of its models to Serbia.

The Italian government has summoned Fiat and trade unions for talks on July 28 after Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne made the surprise announcement on Wednesday he planned to shift production of the successors to the company’s Multipla and Lancia Musa models to Serbia from its Mirafiori plant in Turin.

“We will ask Fiat, in a context of industrial cooperation, to guarantee full production at its plants, including Mirafiori,” Labour Minister Maurizio Sacconi was quoted as saying in an interview with Il Messaggero daily on Sunday.

He said the issue at stake was more than just the fate of Mirafiori but also impacted “the future of our country with regard to its capacity to remain a manufacturing base.”

“What matters to us is that Fiat’s international dimension does not damage Italian plants,” he said.

Fiat declined to comment on the report.

Mirafiori, Fiat’s biggest plant in Italy, employs some 5,800 workers and also produces the Punto van and the Alfa Romeo MiTo.

As part of an 8 billion euros ($10.30 billion) investment plan through 2011, Fiat has just committed to bring production of its Panda small car from Poland to its Naples plant, which is currently running at one third of its capacity, and to invest 700 million euros in the area.

The Naples deal came at the end of lengthy talks with trade unions about new flexible working conditions aimed at boosting efficiency and ability to compete in the auto market.

Marchionne has said there could be changes in labor accords at its other sites in Italy after the Naples deal, which was rejected by one of five trade unions.

There was also speculation on Saturday over a possible Fiat proposal to set up a new company to employ those workers agreeing to the new deal. Fiat did not comment on these reports.

Several trade unions, including members of those who signed the Naples deal, said the proposal would be unacceptable.

($1=.7766 Euro) (Editing by Karen Foster)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Alfa Romeo, Auto Market, car production, euros 10, Fiat Fia, Il Messaggero, industrial cooperation, international dimension, investment plan, Italian Car, Italian Government, Labor Minister, Labour Minister, Lancia Musa, Lengthy Talks, Maurizio Sacconi, Multipla, small car, Surprise Announcement, trade unions

Italian CDS marks record high of 250 bps – Markit

June 2, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

June 1 (Reuters) – The cost of protecting Italian government debt against default hit a record high on Tuesday, according to CDS monitor Markit, as investors fretted over sovereign rating risks.

The cost of potecting France debt against default also rose.

Five-year credit default swaps (CDS) on Italian government debt climbed to 250 basis points from 200.6 bps in Europe on Monday, figures from Markit showed.

It means the cost rises to 250,000 euros to protect 10 million euros worth of Italian government bonds.

French CDS rose by 7 bps to 76 bps, closing in on the UK’s 84 bps.

Peripheral issuers Greece, Portugal, Spain and Ireland also saw CDS prices rise.

“Credit and equity markets capitulating as risk aversion regains the ascendancy,” said Markit. (Reporting by George Matlock)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: 10 million, ascendancy, basis points, BPS, credit default swaps, Europe, France, Government Bonds, government debt, Greece, investors, Ireland, Issuers, Italian Cds, Italian Government, matlock, Portugal Spain, reuters, Risk Aversion, rose

Thousands protest flotilla deaths

June 2, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Europe and the Middle East on Monday, clashing with police as they protested against the Israeli storming of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla during which 10 activists were killed.

World

In Athens, some 3,500 protesters rallied outside the Israeli embassy, chanting “Hands off Gaza” and “Free Palestine.” Several hundreds clashed with police, throwing chunks of marble, stones and bottles. Police fired teargas to disperse them.

“Demonstrators set barricades on fire, police chased them, there were a lot of stones and teargas and a few people had blood on their heads,” a Reuters witness said, adding he saw four people injured. Police said they detained five protesters.

The Israeli marines’ action in the eastern Mediterranean sparked street protests and government ire in Turkey, long Israel’s lone Muslim ally in the region, and thousands of followers of an anti-U.S. cleric took to the streets in Baghdad.

Police used teargas in Paris when about 2,000 people demonstrated near the Israeli embassy, hurling stones, waving Palestinian and Turkish flags and brandishing banners saying “Long live free Palestine” and “Criminal Israel.”

Small, peaceful anti-Israel demonstrations were held in Rome and other Italian cities. “The Italian government needs to immediately call back its ambassador from Israel as other countries in Europe have done,” said Paolo Cento, a leftwing politician among the demonstrators.

“This is extremely serious and has no precedent whatsoever in the history of international diplomacy.”

Swedish police said more than 5,000 protesters marched from a central Stockholm square toward the Israeli embassy, carrying banners and shouting slogans.

Chanting “Boycott Israel,” they held banners saying “Free Gaza,” “Put Israel on Trial, “Israel to The Hague” and “Gaza Bleeds.”

(Reporting by Yannis Behrakis, Yiorgos Karahalis and Renee Maltezou in Athens, Cristiano Corvino in Rome, Sudip Kar-Gupta in Paris; writing by Ingrid Melander; editing by Tim Pearce)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: barricades, Boycott Israel, Central Stockholm, Corvino, countries in europe, demonstrators, eastern Mediterranean, Fire Police, flotilla, Free Palestine, gupta, International Diplomacy, israeli embassy, Italian Cities, Italian Government, Marble Stones, Street Protests, Sudip, Swedish Police, Writin

Thousands protest flotilla deaths

June 1, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

World

“This is extremely serious and has no precedent whatsoever in the history of international diplomacy.”

Swedish police said more than 5,000 protesters marched from a central Stockholm square toward the Israeli embassy, carrying banners and shouting slogans.

Chanting “Boycott Israel,” they held banners saying “Free Gaza,” “Put Israel on Trial, “Israel to The Hague” and “Gaza Bleeds.”

(Reporting by Yannis Behrakis, Yiorgos Karahalis and Renee Maltezou in Athens, Cristiano Corvino in Rome, Sudip Kar-Gupta in Paris; writing by Ingrid Melander; editing by Tim Pearce)

Govt. to help grant 150,000 illegal Indian citizens Italian citizenship: Krishna

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Istanbul (Turkey), Sep.18 (ANI): In a unique landmark exercise, the Indian Government has undertaken a massive action plan to help over 150,000 illegal Indian immigrants acquire Italian citizenship within the next fortnight.

Revealing this information exclusively to ANI TV, Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said the Italian Government has given New Delhi fifteen days to formalise the required documentation.

Krishna further revealed that about 50 percent of the over 150,000 illegal Indians hailed from Punjab and a majority of them were doing odd jobs in agricultural farms in Italy.e said the Indian Government has taken the matter up with Italy and the latter has agreed to grant citizenship to illegal immigrants.

Krishna told ANI TV that he has ordered officials from Punjab to reach Italy to facilitate the process, adding that P.M. Meena, a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, would oversee the whole exercise.

The External Affairs Ministry would be issuing over 75,000 thousand passports in the next ten days to formalise a process which is unique anywhere in the world, he disclosed.

There are three types of illegal immigrants (a) those who have left India on their own passport with short term visa and have overstayed after expiry of visa; (b) those who have left India on their own passport to a transit country like Ukraine, or Russia etc. but stayed in Italy without passport or visa and (c) those who have left on some else’s passport or under a fake identity and entered Italy illegally. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: action, affairs, Agricultural Farms, ANI, citizenship, country, documentation, exercise, expiry, external, External Affairs Minister, external affairs ministry, fake identity, fifteen, fifteen days, formalise, fortnight, Government, govt, identity, illegal immigrants, India, Indian, indian citizens, Indian Government, indian immigrants, information, Istanbul, istanbul turkey, italian, Italian Citizenship, Italian Government, Italy, joint, krishna, landmark, latter, majority, massive action, matter, Minister S M Krishna, ministry, ministry of external affairs, New Delhi, odd jobs, P.M. Meena, passport, percent, plan, process, Punjab, revealing, Russia, secretary, Sep, term, Term Visa, transit, Transit Country, Turkey, Ukraine, visa, world

Pro-immigration activists stage protest at Rome’s Spanish Steps

May 28, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Rome – Several pro-immigration activists on Thursday climbed into a fountain in front of Rome’s landmark Spanish Steps to protest a Group of Eight (G8) meeting scheduled to begin in the Italian capital on Friday.

“We’re all in the same boat,” a banner unfurled by the group said in a reference to would-be migrants attempting to reach Europe by sea.

The slogan was also intended as a pun on “Barcaccia” (ugly boat), the name by which the Baroque 17th fountain is known, because it is shape like a half-sunken ship with water overflowing its bows.

The demonstrators, who were also protesting recent moves by the Italian government to make illegal immigration a crime, dispersed before police could intervene.

But security officials have voiced concern that demonstrations planned on Friday and Saturday during the G8 Justice and Interior Ministers meeting, may not be so peaceful.

Last week, more than a dozen police and demonstrators were injured in clashes in the north-western city of Turin during a meeting of academics from the G8 nations, consisting of the US, Japan, German, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Russia.

The main leader’s summit of the G8, of which Italy currently holds the presidency, is scheduled to take place in July in L’Aquila not far from Rome.

In 2001 in Genoa, when Italy last hosted a G8 summit, thousands of demonstrators and police battled in the city’s streets with scores injured and one person, a 23-year-old protestor, shot dead. (dpa)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: aquila, Bows, City Of Turin, clashes, demonstrators, g8 nations, G8 Summit, Genoa, illegal immigration, Interior Ministers, Italian Capital, Italian Government, migrants, ministers meeting, pun, security officials, Spanish Steps, Spanish Steps Rome, stage protest, Sunken Ship

Pro-immigration activists stage protest at Rome’s Spanish Steps

May 28, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

“We’re all in the same boat,” a banner unfurled by the group said in a reference to would-be migrants attempting to reach Europe by sea.

The demonstrators, who were also protesting recent moves by the Italian government to make illegal immigration a crime, dispersed before police could intervene.

But security officials have voiced concern that demonstrations planned on Friday and Saturday during the G8 Justice and Interior Ministers meeting, may not be so peaceful.

The main leader’s summit of the G8, of which Italy currently holds the presidency, is scheduled to take place in July in L’Aquila not far from Rome.

Wooden figure of Christ not Michelangelo’s work: Art historians

May 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Rome, May 26 (ANI): A wooden statue bought by the Italian government for 2.5 million pounds and attributed to Michelangelo is a fake, art historians have claimed. he 41cm long figure, named Cristo Ritrovato (Christ Refound) was bought late last year from a private collection and since then has been on a marathon tour of the country.

More than 60,000 people have seen the sculpture but there is a growing concern within the Italian art world that it was not created from the hand of the Renaissance master Michelangelo Buonarroti.

When it was presented last December among those to vouch for its authenticity were Italy’s ambassador to the Holy See Antonio Zanardi Landi and Professor Antonio Paolucci, art historian and Vatican museum director.

At a press conference they described the “svelte form and the sweetness of the finishing touches as similar to those of Michelangelo’s Pieta in the Basilica of St Peter’s”.

The experts, who also included Cristina Acidini, director of the Museums of Florence where many of Michelangelo’s works are displayed, said the “animation of the torso with its vibrant profile was also an anticipation of the artist’s later famous work, David”.

However Tomaso Montanari, an art history professor from Naples University, believes the work is a fake and that there is a “political strategy behind the operation”.

“There are at least another dozen or so crosses out there made in a similar fashion and this was a style common to the studios of Florence at the end of the 1400s. What is amazing is that the Italian government did not ask for a third party opinion on the work before buying it and proclaiming it as Michelangelo which it is clearly not,” The Telegraph quoted Montanari, as saying. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: 1400s, ambassador, ANI, animation, anticipation, Antonio Paolucci, Antonio Zanardi, art, Art Historian, Art Historians, Art History Professor, art world, artist, authenticity, basilica, Basilica Of St Peter, Buonarroti, christ, collection, concern, conference, country, Cristina Acidini, Cristo, david, December, director, dozen, end, fake, fashion, figure, florence, form, Government, growing concern, hand, historian, history, holy, Italian Art, Italian Government, Italy, Landi, marathon, Marathon Tour, master, May, Michelangelo, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Montanari, museum, museum director, Naples, operation, opinion, party, Pieta, political strategy, press, professor, Professor Antonio Paolucci, profile, Refound, renaissance, renaissance master, Ritrovato, Rome, sculpture, See, st peter, statue, strategy, style, sweetness, Telegraph, Tomaso, torso, tour, University, Vatican, Vatican Museum, vouch, Wooden, work, world, year, Zanardi

Navin Chawla takes over as CEC

April 21, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Apr 21 (ANI): Election Commissioner Navin Chawla took over as the Chief Election Commissioner today, succeeding N. Gopalaswami who retired on Monday after serving in the Commission for five years.

Power Secretary V S Sampath also took charge as the Election Commissioner following the elevation of Chawla. Dr. S Y Qureshi already holds the post of Election Commissioner.

Chawla, who was appointed Election Commissioner on May the 16, 2005, will hold charge till July 29, 2010.

The outgoing CEC was given a warm farewell by Chawla and Dr. Qureshi along with the entire staff. Gopalaswami expressed hope that the Election Commission would uphold its sanctity and achieve new heights under the able leadership of Chawla.

The 63-year-old Chawla has taken over the position in the midst of the five-phased Lok Sabha elections and will have to oversee the remaining four phases of the polls.

Chawla, an IAS officer of the 1969 batch, had recently been in the news as Gopalaswami had unilaterally recommended his removal from the Election Commission on grounds of partisanship.

The recommendation was, however, rejected by the President on March 1, 2009.

The Chief Election Commissioner, a Constitutional post, enjoys a term of six years or till the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

Chawla has served the government of India in various capacities. He had last been the Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

He has also worked as the Secretary of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

At the time of emergency, Chawla served as the secretary to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.

Chawla has also been the proud recipient of the Mazzini Award, which was presented to him by the Italian Government for his contribution in promoting ties between India and Italy. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: age, ANI, Apr, award, batch, broadcasting, CEC, charge, Chawla, Chief Election, chief election commissioner, commission, commissioner, constitutional, contribution, Delhi, Dr. Qureshi, Dr. S Y Qureshi, election commission, elevation, emergency, farewell, Government, government of india, ias, India, information, italian, Italian Government, Italy, July, leadership, lieutenant governor, lok, lok sabha elections, March, march 1, May, Mazzini, midst, ministry, ministry of information, Monday, N Gopalaswami, Navin, navin chawla, New Delhi, NEWS, officer, partisanship, position, post, power, Power Secretary, president, Public, Public Service Commission, qureshi, recipient, recommendation, removal, s sampath, sabha, sanctity, secretary, Secretary V S Sampath, service, staff, term, time, today, union, Union Public Service Commission, UPSC

Up to 300 boat migrants land on Sicily

April 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Rome – Up to 300 illegal immigrants have landed on the Italian island of Sicily on Saturday, local media reported.

Italian coast guard authorities guided the migrants’ vessel into the harbour of Pozzallo, in the south of the island. Among the immigrants are thought to be more than 30 women and children.

The new arrival adds to the 340 migrants that landed on the Italian islet of Lampedusa, south of Sicily, on Thursday.

In Naples on Saturday, a demonstration of several thousand African immigrants took place, in protest at alleged racism and discrimination directed against them in Italy.

According to Italian government figures, a total of 36,900 would- be immigrants arrived in Italy by sea in 2008, a 75-per-cent increase over the previous year. Of these some 31,000 landed on Lampedusa.

Italian officials say they hope to see a decrease in such hazardous sea-journeys in May when an agreement between Rome and Tripoli involving stepped up patrols of Libya’s coastline, comes into effect.

Earlier in April, over 230 would-be immigrants are feared to have drowned in a shipwreck off the coast of Libya. (dpa)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: African immigrants, agreement, April, arrival, boat, coast, coastline, decrease, demonstration, discrimination, DPA, effect, Government, Government Figures, guard, harbour, Hazardous Sea, illegal immigrants, increase, island, Island Of Sicily, islet, Italian Coast, Italian Government, Italian Island, italian officials, Italy, lampedusa, land, libya, Local Media, May, migrants, Naples, New Arrival, place, pozzallo, protest, racism, Rome, Saturday, sea, Sea Journeys, several thousand, shipwreck, Sicily, south, South Of Sicily, Thursday, total, Tripoli, tripoli libya, vessel, would, year

Over 300 would-be migrants arrive on Italian islet

April 18, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lampedusa, Italy – More than 300 would-be migrants landed Thursday on the Italian islet of Lampedusa when three vessels carrying them were escorted to shore by authorities.

The first and largest group – 239 people including 45 women and two children – arrived at dawn after their vessel was intercepted by a Italian coastguard patrol, officials said.

Authorities are planning to transfer the migrants to a reception centre in Porto Empedocle in Sicily.

Earlier in April, over 230 would-be immigrants are feared to have drowned in a shipwreck off the coast of Libya.(dpa)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: agreement, April, centre, coast, coastguard, coastline, dawn, decrease, DPA, effect, Empedocle, Government, Government Figures, group, Hazardous Sea, immigrants, increase, islet, Italian Government, italian officials, Italy, lampedusa, Lampedusa Italy, Largest Group, libya, May, migrants, Patrol, Porto, Porto Empedocle, previous year, reception, Reception Centre, Rome, sea, Sea Journeys, shipwreck, Sicily, South Of Sicily, Thursday, total, Tripoli, vessel, would, year

EU official: 500 million euros in EU aid for Italy earthquake

April 16, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Rome – Some half-a-billion euros (665 million dollars) in European Union funds could be made available to help reconstruction efforts in Italy following last week’s devastating earthquake, a top EU official said Wednesday.

European Commission Vice President Antonio Tajani said the Italian government had 10 weeks by which it would have to apply for the money.

Almost 300 people were killed and around 35,000 left homeless in the earthquake which struck the central Abruzzo region on April 6.

Italy would be able to tap into a “solidarity fund” made available to the EU’s 27 member nations in the event of natural disasters, Tajani said in an interview with private television station Canale 5.

“Moreover some structural funds destined for Abruzzo and Italy can be re-allocated, and thus I think without exaggerating that a sum of 500 million euros can be reached,” Tajani said.

The Italian government estimates that some 12 billion euros are needed to reconstruct housing and other buildings in areas badly damaged by the earthquake, including L’Aquila a city of around 72,000 inhabitants.

Recent low temperatures and rain have made life even more uncomfortable for thousands of people who have been staying in tent shelters since abandoning their damaged homes. (dpa)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Abruzzo, Abruzzo Italy, abruzzo region, aid, April, aquila, Canale, central Abruzzo, city, commission, devastating earthquake, DPA, earthquake, European, European Commission, European Union, European Union Funds, event, fund, Government, Government Estimates, housing, inhabitants, Interview, Italian Government, Italy, italy rome, life, member, Member Nations, million dollars, MONEY, natural disasters, official, Private Television Station, rain, reconstruction, reconstruction efforts, region, Rome, solidarity, Solidarity Fund, station, sum, television, temperatures, tent, tent shelters, union, vice president, Vice President Antonio Tajani, Wednesday, week

Germany to help pay for Italy quake church restoration

April 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Berlin – Germany is to help pay for the restoration of a church badly damaged in this week’s earthquake in central Italy, the foreign ministry said on Friday. The building involved is the 18th century church in the village of Onna. The village was almost completely flattened in the quake, which claimed more than 200 lives.

Germany’s contribution to the relief effort was discussed earlier Friday in a telephone conversation between Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his Italian counterpartFranco Frattini.

Steinmeier repeated Berlin’s offer of emergency assistance for all of the affected region as well as help in the reconstruction effort.

The Italian government has put the cost of reconstruction at 1.2 billion euros (1.6 billion dollars). Tens of thousands of homes were damaged in the quake and whole villages need to be rebuilt.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s government on Thursday approved financial relief for the victims and earmarked an extra 100 million euros for civil defence measures.(dpa)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: $100 million, 18th century, berlin germany, billion dollars, central italy, century church, church restoration, civil defence, emergency assistance, Foreign Minister, foreign ministry, Frank Walter Steinmeier, Italian Government, prime minister silvio, prime minister silvio berlusconi, quake, reconstruction effort, Relief Effort, silvio berlusconi, telephone conversation

EXTRA: Death toll rises to 272 in Italian earthquake

April 9, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Rome – The death toll after the Italian earthquake rose with the recovery of another 22 bodies, to 272, by late Wednesday, according to Italian rescue officials.

The new figure was released after the Italian government announced it would extend rescue efforts through Sunday, three days beyond a previous limit set by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Monday’s temblor destroyed scores of buildings in the city of L’Aquila and other nearby towns in the country’s central Abruzzo region and left an estimated 20,000 people homeless.

It’s not clear how many people were still missing in the disaster, which left 1,000 people wounded, many of them with serious injuries. (dpa)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: abruzzo region, aquila, buildings, death toll, disaster, extra, italian earthquake, Italian Government, Nearby Towns, prime minister silvio, prime minister silvio berlusconi, rescue efforts, rescue officials, Rome, s central, silvio berlusconi, Temblor

Italian government fails in bid to extend migrant detention period

April 9, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Rome – Italian lawmakers rejected a bid Wednesday to triple the amount of time illegal immigrants can be detained in holding centres, in a rare defeat for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s ruling coalition.

In a narrow vote, opposition deputies – joined by some members of Berlusconi’s own conservative coalition – voted against extending the period from two months to six months.

The opposition amendment to a government security decree containing the provision won approval with 232 votes for and 225 against, in parliament’s lower-house Chamber of Deputies. There were 12 abstentions.

“I am incensed,” Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, one of the strongest proponents of the measure, said after the vote.

It amounted “to an amnesty for illegal immigrants and represents an irresistable call for more landings,” on Italy’s shores by those making clandestine crossings of the Mediterranean from North Africa, Maroni said.

The current limit of two months in which migrants can be detained at reception camps is insufficient to allow proper identification, which according to Maroni, is necessary to pave the way for their repatriation.

Maroni is a member of the anti-immigration Northern League, a party which says current procedures allow illegal immigrants to pass off as refugees eligible for asylum, thus avoiding expulsion from Italy.

Observers noted that in Wednesday’s secret ballot at least 17 members of Berlusconi’s conservative coalition must have voted in favour of the amendment which was tabled by the centre-left Democratic Party and centrist Catholics of the Union of Christian Democrats (UDC).

Government measures aimed at curbing illegal immigration including the prolonged detention of people in holding camps, has drawn criticism from the Catholic Church and human rights groups.

Earlier this year on the southern islet of Lampedusa, local residents joined would-be immigrants who had broken out from an overcrowded camp, to protest the government decision not to transfer migrants to other facilities elsewhere in Italy.

In Italy government decrees become effective immediately, but to remain in force for more than a few months they need to be approved by parliament. (dpa)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Amendment, Amnesty, Amnesty For Illegal Immigrants, amount, approval, asylum, ballot, bid, call, camp, catholic, chamber, Chamber Of Deputies, christian, Christian Democrats, church, coalition, Conservative Coalition, criticism, decision, decree, defeat, Democratic, detention, DPA, expulsion, favour, force, Government, government security, human rights groups, identification, illegal immigration, immigration, interior, interior minister, islet, Italian Government, Italy, lampedusa, landings, limit, measure, mediterranean, member, Migrant, Narrow Vote, north africa, Northern League, opposition, Opposition Deputies, parliament, party, period, prime minister silvio, prime minister silvio berlusconi, provision, Rare Defeat, reception, repatriation, Roberto Maroni, Rome, ruling, Secret Ballot, security, silvio berlusconi, time, UDC, union, vote, way, Wednesday, year

Quake-hit Italy to adopt tough law against looting

April 9, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

L’Aquila (Italy), April 9 (Xinhua) The Italian government will adopt a new anti-looting law which will stiffen penalties for anyone caught stealing in the quake-hit areas, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Wednesday.

The premier said that people here were extremely worried about looting in homes which had to be evacuated.

‘We still don’t know what name to give to the crime but I can tell you right now that penalties will be very stiff,’ Berlusconi told reporters after visiting quake-hit L’Aquila city, some 95 km northwest of the capital Rome.

Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said Tuesday that over 10,000 beds had been arranged for the homeless in hotels along the Abruzzo coast.

‘However, many of the homeless have preferred to stay in the area and sleep in their cars because they are, understandably, concerned about looting,’ he said.

In order to protect people from looting, Maroni said an additional 200 police personnel and Carabinieri had been sent in and their number would be increased after several cases of looting were reported Monday.

Meanwhile, the death toll in Monday’s devastating earthquake, which centred near L’Aquila, has crossed 250-mark. Rescue and relief measures were underway in the area.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Abruzzo, anyone, April, aquila, Aquila Italy, area, beds, Carabinieri, cars, city, coast, Crime, death, death toll, devastating earthquake, earthquake, Government, Homeless, interior, interior minister, Italian Government, Italy, law, looting, mark, Monday, name, northwest, number, order, people, police, Premier, prime minister silvio, prime minister silvio berlusconi, quake, Quake-hit, relief, Relief Measures, rescue, Roberto Maroni, Rome, silvio berlusconi, sleep, stiffen, toll, Tuesday, underway, Wednesday, xinhua

Italy quake toll rises to 235 amid deadly aftershock

April 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

L’Aquila (Italy), April 8 (DPA) The toll in the earthquake that struck central Italy climbed overnight to 235, according to a government emergency centre, while at least one person has been killed by a strong aftershock that hit the region.

Italian state television said a woman died in Santa Rufina di Roio, a suburb of the Abruzzo regional capital, L’Aquila, following an aftershock Tuesday. Additional details were not immediately available.

Fear gripped rescuers as well as thousands of survivors in makeshift shelters around the city shortly before 1800 GMT as the ground shook and masonry came crashing down.

Registering 5.3 magnitude on the Richter scale, the tremor was the most powerful of the more than 200 aftershocks that follow the main earthquake, which registered 5.8 to 6.2 before dawn Monday.

Like the main earthquake, the tremor was felt as far away as Rome, some 100 km from L’Aquila.

Meanwhile, Italian government officials met in Rome in the latest of a series of meetings to review the situation.

‘We have 25,000 people who will not be able to return to their homes,’ Abruzzo regional president Gianni Chiodi said following the meeting.

A 20-year-old survivor was freed from a hollow space inside a collapsed building Tuesday evening in L’Aquila. She was shifted to a hospital in a helicopter and is in good condition, the ANSA news agency reported.

Earlier, rescuers recovered the bodies of four students after more than 30 hours of work to remove debris at a damaged five-storey building that served as a university dormitory in the city.

Officials confirmed late Tuesday in Prague that two Czech teenagers were found dead in the rubble of the building where they were staying in L’Aquila. The 17-year-old students, a boy and a girl, both from the eastern Bohemian town of Pardubice, were in Italy on a short-term study programme, the Czech foreign ministry said.

L’Aquila was badly damaged, together with other towns near the earthquake’s epicentre.

In a visit Tuesday to the city, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said rescue work would continue for another 48 hours in hopes that some of the missing could be found alive.

He said Italy intended to turn down offers of help from abroad, but later said the government would consider sponsorship from the US and other countries to restore churches and other historical buildings.

US President Barack Obama, travelling Tuesday in Turkey and Iraq, telephoned Berlusconi to offer help and condolences. The Italian people and quake victims ‘are in the thoughts and prayers of the American people at this time’, Obama told Berlusconi, according to a statement from the White House.

Rescue efforts have been hampered by the region’s hilly landscape, which has made it difficult for firefighters and soldiers backed by more than 2,000 volunteers to position cranes and other equipment needed to clear debris.

Berlusconi said that of the around 1,000 people injured in the earthquake, 500 are hospitalised in the Abruzzo region.

‘Unfortunately the condition of 100 of these people is serious,’ he said.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Ansa News Agency, Aquila Italy, boy and a girl, central italy, collapsed building, czech teenagers, eastern bohemian, emergency centre, epicentre, government emergency, hollow space, Italian Government, italian state, makeshift shelters, quake toll, Regional Capital, regional president, richter scale, santa rufina, state television, University Dormitory

Italy quake death toll rises to 228

April 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

L’Aquila (Italy), April 8 (DPA) The death toll of the powerful earthquake that struck central Italy early Monday had climbed to 228 by Tuesday evening, while at least one person was killed when a strong aftershock hit the area, reports said.

Italian state television said one woman died in Santa Rufina di Roio, a suburb of the Abruzzo regional capital, L’Aquila. Additional details were not immediately available.

Fear gripped rescuers as well as people staying at makeshift shelters in and around the city shortly before 7 p.m. (6 p.m. GMT) as the ground shook and masonry came crashing down.

Registered at between 5.5 and 5.7 on the Richter scale, the tremor was the most powerful of the over 200 that have struck since the main earthquake, which registered between 5.8 and 6.2.

As in the case of the main earthquake, the tremor was felt as far away as Rome which lies some 100 km from L’Aquila.

Meanwhile Italian government officials met in Rome in the latest of a series of meetings to review the situation.

‘We have 25,000 people who will not be able to return to their homes,’ Abruzzo regional president Gianni Chiodi said following the meeting.

Thousands of survivors were preparing to spend the night in several tent shelters set up near and around L’Aquila.

Earlier rescuers located the bodies of four dead students after more than 30 hours of work trying to shift debris at a damaged five-storey building which served as a university dormitory in the city.

L’Aquila has been badly damaged together with other towns located not far from the earthquake’s epicentre.

In a visit Tuesday to the city, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said rescue work would continue for another 48 hours in the hope that some of the missing would be found alive.

He also said Italy intended to turn down offers of help from abroad, but later said the government would consider sponsorship from the US and other to restore churches and other historical buildings.

Rescue efforts have been hampered by the region’s hilly landscape which has made it difficult for firefighters and soldiers, backed by more than 2,000 volunteers, to position cranes and other tools and equipment needed to clear debris.

Berlusconi said that of the around 1,000 people injured in connection with the earthquake, 500 were have been hospitalised in facilities located in the Abruzzo region.

‘Unfortunately the condition of 100 of these people is serious,’ he said.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Aquila Italy, central italy, dead students, epicentre, hilly land, historical buildings, Italian Government, italian state, makeshift shelters, prime minister silvio, prime minister silvio berlusconi, quake death toll, Regional Capital, regional president, rescue efforts, richter scale, santa rufina, silvio berlusconi, state television, tent shelters, University Dormitory

Berlusconi says Italy’s quake victims should see calamity as ‘camping trip’

April 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

L’Aquila (Italy), Apr.8 (ANI): Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has advised traumatised earthquake survivors to view living in emergency tent accommodation as like being on a “camping weekend”.
His statement is unlikely to go down well with an estimated 17,000 people who have been made homeless by the powerful earthquake which struck the Abruzzo region of central Italy on Monday, with many of them enduring freezing temperatures in tent cities put up by the army, reports The Telegraph.

There are still not enough tents to accommodate all the homeless and some people have spent the last two nights sleeping in their cars, struggling to stay warm in an upland area which is surrounded by snow-capped mountains.

Berlusconi appeared to dismiss the discomfort, telling German television station N-TV: “They have everything they need, they have medical care, hot food… Of course, their current lodgings are a bit temporary. But they should see it like a weekend of camping.”

Berlusconi made the remarks while touring some of the tented encampments that have sprung up around the city of L’Aquila, which was severely damaged by the quake.

His breezy assurance that the homeless had all they need was in stark contrast to the experience of many survivors.

As the death toll from Italy’s devastating earthquake passed 250, more than 200 people were last night unable to find shelter at camps because tents were already packed with people.

“Shame on you!” screamed a woman at one of the tent cities.

The Italian government estimates that at least 1.3 billion euros will be needed to repair or rebuild the 10,000 buildings damaged in the quake. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Abruzzo, abruzzo region, accommodation, ANI, Apr, aquila, Aquila Italy, area, army, assurance, bit, calamity, Camping Weekend, care, central italy, city, contrast, course, death, devastating earthquake, discomfort, earthquake, Earthquake Survivors, emergency, Encampments, everything, experience, food, freezing, German Television, Government, Government Estimates, Homeless, Hot Food, italian, Italian Government, italian prime minister, Italy, l, Monday, N-TV, night, prime minister silvio, prime minister silvio berlusconi, quake, Quake Victims, region, shame, shelter, silvio berlusconi, Snow Capped Mountains, statement, station, Telegraph, television, tent, Tent Accommodation, Tent Cities, toll, trip, upland, Upland Area, weekend, woman

4TH ROUNDUP: Central Italy reels as quake claims more than 150 lives

April 7, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

L’Aquila, Italy – The death toll from the heavy earthquake that struck central Italy early Monday had gone beyond 150, far higher than the last previous accounts, the Ansa news agency reported.

The temblor struck the ancient town of L’Aquila and the surrounding mountainous areas about 100 kilometres north-east of Rome in the early hours of Monday.

The agency cited hospitals in the quake-struck region north-east of the capital Rome in reporting the figure, which was well up on the previous toll of at least 90 people killed.

The latest account also said that some 1,500 people had been injured and 70,000 people rendered homeless, also higher figures than reported earlier.

An estimated 50,000 people were homeless, torn from their sleep and wandering the street, according to civil defence officials.

Many more dead were feared under rubble after thousands of homes were wrecked or left dangerously cracked.

The Italian government declared a state of emergency and set up a major operation sending in troops and emergency services to an area largely cut off after access roads were left blocked.

Interior Minister Roberto Maroni told reporters that emergency services “could not have been quicker” in getting to the region. “They were on their way just a quarter of an hour after the quake struck,” he said.

Local media said many more bodies were expected to be unearthed after the quake – revised reports put its Richter scale strength at 6.2 – in central Italy’s Abruzzo region.

The regional capital L’Aquila and the ancient town of Castelnuovo were especially badly hit, as were the nearby towns of Paganmica and Poggio Picenze.

Four children were reported among the dead in one L’Aquila hospital. Buildings there that collapsed included a student dormitory in the historic centre, plus a four-storey building where up to 20 people were feared trapped.

The quake, preceded by two strong tremors and followed by an aftershock of 4.7 strength, occurred at 3.32 am from a depth of some five kilometres, according to civil defence authorities.

Tremors were clearly felt in Rome and as far afield as Naples. It was among the worst quakes to hit Italy in several decades.

“The house just collapsed on top of me,” said one survivor, Vittorio Perfetto, who was able to put his experiences onto the internet.

Another survivor, 23-year-old Guido Mariani, described how he spent a terrifying three hours buried under rubble until rescuers were able to reach him.

There were reports of hospitals in the region overflowing with injured and cars and other vehicles kept pouring in from immediate and outlying areas ferrying people with major and minor injuries.

Shocked survivors wandered streets huddled in blankets to ward off the early morning chill, with L’Aquila reduced to a ghostly quiet. The dome of a central church caved in while the city’s cathedral was also damaged.

The US Geological Survey, which tracks earthquakes worldwide, reported the strength of the quake at 6.3, saying it was centred 95 kilometres north-east of Rome at a depth of 10 kilometres.

A magnitude-4.7 aftershock was reported shortly after the quake, which was preceded by two tremors with magnitudes of 3.5 and 3.9, Italian authorities said.

It was the strongest Italian quake since 1980, when a quake in the south killed 2,570 people.

A section of the highway from L’Aquila to Rome was closed, and electrical and telephone service was cut off in many areas.

By Monday afternoon, local officials had begun trading blame as to whether enough credence had been given to a series of tremors in recent days. Others pointed out that many of the buildings in the region did not meet earthquake safety guidelines.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi cancelled a planned visit to Moscow as he declared the state of emergency. “Let’s leave the politics to one side,” he said. “We must help those who need help.”

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: abruzzo region, access roads, aftershock, Ansa News Agency, Aquila Italy, central italy, civil defence, defence officials, Early Monday, hospital buildings, interior minister, Italian Government, Mountainous Areas, Nearby Towns, poggio picenze, Regional Capital, richter scale, Roberto Maroni, student dormitory, Temblor

Italy minister asks Fiat to preserve plants: report

Italian CDS marks record high of 250 bps – Markit

Thousands protest flotilla deaths

Thousands protest flotilla deaths

Govt. to help grant 150,000 illegal Indian citizens Italian citizenship: Krishna

Pro-immigration activists stage protest at Rome’s Spanish Steps

Pro-immigration activists stage protest at Rome’s Spanish Steps

Wooden figure of Christ not Michelangelo’s work: Art historians

Navin Chawla takes over as CEC

Up to 300 boat migrants land on Sicily

EU official: 500 million euros in EU aid for Italy earthquake

Germany to help pay for Italy quake church restoration

EXTRA: Death toll rises to 272 in Italian earthquake

Italian government fails in bid to extend migrant detention period

Quake-hit Italy to adopt tough law against looting

Italy quake toll rises to 235 amid deadly aftershock

Italy quake death toll rises to 228

Berlusconi says Italy’s quake victims should see calamity as ‘camping trip’

4TH ROUNDUP: Central Italy reels as quake claims more than 150 lives

Search More News

Technology News

Ads