The Local

Dating app Tinder has vowed to tell EU users why they are being charged different fees for the same service, after Brussels opened a probe into its pricing system. , ...ادامه مطلب

We asked The Local’s readers in Italy whether they’ve tried making themselves more Italian to fit in, what they’ve done and why they did it. , ...ادامه مطلب

After suffering multiple delays, the European Entry/Exit System – the new EU border system due to become operational in autumn 2024 – is causing headaches for airlines. , ...ادامه مطلب

How can you create an authentic Thanksgiving dinner in Italy, plus where in the country are one-euro homes still being sold? Find out in our latest Americans in Italy newsletter. , ...ادامه مطلب

City versus countryside, north versus south, coastal versus inland - in country as diverse as Italy, how do you choose the right area for you? The Local's readers share their advice. , ...ادامه مطلب

A British mum said booking a Ryanair flight from Manchester to Pisa for herself and her two children was better value than a day out in the UK. , ...ادامه مطلب

Pope Francis celebrates a mass on Christmas eve on December 24, 2018 at St Peter's basilica in the Vatican. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP. Pope Francis on Monday assailed the "insatiable greed" of today's c, ...ادامه مطلب

Nearly 23 percent of Italy's population is over 65. Photo: Olivier Morin/AFP Italy's population is older than ever after another drop in the number of babies bo here last year. Some 464,000 babies were bo in Italy in 2017, according to the latest figures from national statistics bureau Istat. That was 9,000 below the 2016 total, which was already 12,000 fewer than the year before that. The trend stretches back further: over the past ten years, births have fallen by 100,000. The declining birthrate, combined with longer life expectancy, has left Italy with a significantly older population. By the start of of 2018, for the first time ever the mean age of Italy's residents was over 45 years old. Nearly 60 percent of them were 40 or older; nearly 23 percent were over 65. In contrast, only 27 percent were aged 15-39, and around 13 percent were 14 or younger. Deaths also increased in 2017, leaving Italy with fewer people: just under 60.5 million by the end of last year, around 100,000 fewer than at the start. Even an increase in the number of foreign nationals arriving in Italy (up 12 percent) and a decrease in the number of Italians leaving (down around 3 perce, ...ادامه مطلب

Venice's tourist hotspots have been accused of ripping off visitors. Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP An expensive lunch in the heart of Venice ended up costing the restaurant dearer than the guests: the eatery that charged four tourists €1,100 for their meal has been fined more than €10,000. The incident, which made headlines across Italy and abroad, eaed the Osteria da Luca a visit from police, health officers and building inspectors, as well as an investigation by the Guardia di Finanza, Italy’s financial crime police. The inspections have resulted in fines totalling round €14,000 so far, according to Il Gazzettino. Authorities found a number of structural and food safety irregularities, local media reports said. The Guardia di Finanza are continuing to investigate whether the restaurant may have failed to issue other customers a receipt, as it did in the case of the four tourists. The customers, Japanese students living in Bologna, were only able to prove the price of their lunch thanks to a credit card receipt, which showed they had paid the restaurant an eye-watering €1,143. They had ordered four steaks, a platter of fried seafood and a few drinks. They later m, ...ادامه مطلب

Italy gets top scores for heritage, but loses marks for its economy and liveability. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFPIf you want good job prospects, affordable living and political stability, you're better off in China than Italy, according to a new global survey. The 2018 Best Countries report places Italy 22nd out of 80 countries for quality of life – behind Canada, the Nordic countries, the UK, the US and China, among others. Overall Italy places 15th on the list, which is based on global perceptions. More than 21,000 people worldwide scored countries on factors including liveability, global influence, culture and economic appeal. While Italy got top marks for cultural influence, heritage and adventure, it floundered in the 'open for business' and entrepreneurship categories.  Italy's overall 2018 ranking. While Italy's economic woes are well known, what's more surprising – to the Italian press, at least – is how poorly people rank Italy for quality of life, which has long been the country's trump card. The fact that Italy doesn't even make the top 20 is a "sign that perhaps the bureaucracy, the lack of services, precarious employment and general fragility of rules typical of the Bel , ...ادامه مطلب

A survivor arrives in Catania, Sicily. Photo: Giovanni Isolino/AFPTen migrants perished over the weekend and dozens are missing, including children, after their boat sank off the Libyan coast, aid organizations said on Monday. An inflatable boat loaded with men, women and children left Garabulli, 50 kilometres east of Tripoli, on Friday night, but after eight or nine hours it began to deflate and take on water. Several people fell overboard, while others clung on to what was left of the boat as the bodies of drowned victims floated in the sea. The Libyan navy and Italian coastguard rescued 86 people and recovered the bodies of six women and two men. When the survivors arrived in Catania in Sicily on Monday, they said the boat had left with 140 to 150 people on board, meaning dozens were missing, including 15 women and six children aged two to six, according to aid groups – the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Inteational Organization for Migration (IOM) and Doctors without Borders (MSF). Sono 64 le vittime del naufragio avvenuto sabato tra Libia e Italia. Tra i sopravvissuti c'è anche questa bambina che ha perso la mamma e di cui ora l'OIM si sta prende, ...ادامه مطلب

"We don't carry out euthanasia as often as it is asked for," says Dutch GP Carin Littooji, advocating for assisted dying on a bench usually reserved for bishops in the Vatican. The World Medical Association (WMA) has gathered , ...ادامه مطلب

The CEO of Germany’s Lufthansa has said the company would be interested in buying Italy's troubled flagship carrier if an opportunity arose to “to create a new Alitalia”. His comments come just days before an October 16th deadline for the submission of bids. Ryanair pulled out of the running earlier this month as it deals with a shortage of pilots that forced it to cancel thousands of flights. Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr told German media on Thursday: “Alitalia as it exists today is not up for debate. But if there was a chance of creating a new Alitalia, then as Europe's No1 [carrier] Lufthansa would certainly be interested in the talks. Italy is an important market for us.” Alitalia, which has struggled to compete with low-cost rivals including Ryanair, went into administration at the start of May, moving the airline a step closer to liquidation amid efforts to find a buyer. At the time, the govement said it would provide a bridging loan to keep Alitalia planes flying for around six months. Lufthansa, which on Thursday signed a deal to buy more than half of Air Berlin, is reported to have been among around 18 companies that were given access to Alitalia’s figures.   , ...ادامه مطلب

Italy has long been one of the countries with the highest life expectancies in the world - but what's it actually like to grow old in Italy? A new report has examined how Italy's elderly population measure up to their counterparts across the EU. At the age of 65, Italians have an average life expectancy of one year higher than the EU-wide average, according to a report published on Tuesd, ...ادامه مطلب

A study by a research ship from the Italian environmental organisation Legambiente has found that more than 40 per cent of coastal seawater samples it tested from all over Italy's coastline contained pollutants above legal limits. Legambiente's Goletta Verde (Green Boat) research boat just retued , ...ادامه مطلب