The Local

US President Donald Trump appeared to have tued the page on a diplomatic row with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Tuesday as he landed in Ankara for a key NATO summit. ...

After the European Union significantly tightened its immigration policy earlier this month, 19 EU countries on Wednesday urged the European Commission to finance "retu hubs" outside the bloc for failed asylum-seekers. ...

Italy is one of 15 EU member states who have sent a joint letter to the European Commission demanding a further tightening of the bloc's asylum policy, which will make it easier to transfer undocumented migrants to third countries, such as Rwanda, including when they are rescued at sea. ...

Where can you use your Italian mobile phone without being charged and where should you be wary of roaming fees? ...

Answering phone calls in Italy can be an intimidating task for leaers, but you’ll soon become familiar with the most common greetings and phrases. ...

Italians rate themselves 9 out 10 as drivers on average, according to new statistics which also showed which road rules are broken most often. ...

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni made frank comments about the Ukraine war as she was duped by Russian comedians pretending to be from the African Union Commission. ...

In the latest update to the road rules, Italy has approved higher penalties and license suspensions for anyone caught using a mobile phone while driving. ...

"The expansion of transport links between Europe and Asia is in itself a good thing -- as long as the autonomy and sovereignty of Europe is not endangered," the EU's budget commissioner, Gü...

Pope Francis pictured during his weekly general audience. Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP Pope Francis waed on Wednesday against the temptation of fake news, drawing a parallel between ethically compromised joualism and the biblical tale of Adam, Eve, the snake and the forbidden fruit. In his aual World Communication Day message held on the feast day of Francis de Sales, the patron saint of joualists, the Pope referred to Eve being fooled by the snake as "the first fake news"."We need to unmask what could be called the 'snake-tactics' used by those who disguise themselves in order to strike," he said. Fake news" was popularised as a phrase by Donald Trump during his victorious 2016 US ...

Luca Guadagnino, the Italian director of Call Me by Your Name. Photo: Robin Beck/AFPCall Me by Your Name, a film telling the story of a gay romance in the northe Italian countryside, has been nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture. The English-language film, based on a novel by Egyptian-American author André Aciman, was written by James Ivory – of Merchant Ivory fame – and directed by an Italian, LucaGuadagnino. It is nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, as well as Best Actor for its young lead, Timothée Chalamet, and Best Original Song for Mystery of Love by Sufjan Stevens, who wrote three songs for the film. Shot on location in Crema, Lombardy, the film tells ...

Pope Francis waves from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica during the traditional "Urbi et Orbi" Christmas message. Photo: AFP. Pope Francis called for "peace for Jerusalem" and "mutual trust" on the Korean peninsula as he highlighted the suffering of children in conflicts across the world in his Christmas address on Monday. In the traditional "Urbi et Orbi" address in Saint Peter's Square, the pontiff spoke of "growing tensions between Israelis and Palestinians", hoping that the "will to resume dialogue may prevail between the parties and that anegotiated solution can finally be reached, one that would allow the peaceful coexistence of two states". "Let us pray that con...

Callista Gingrich meets Pope Francis on December 22nd 2017. Photo: AFP/Osservator Romano Callista Gingrich, wife of the former House speaker Newt Gingrich, on Friday began her duties as the new US ambassador to the Vatican. Wearing a traditional black mantilla, she presented her credentials to Pope Francis at the Vatican before officially taking on her role. The appointment carries some controversy: she is the former speaker's third wife, and had an affair with him when she was a young congressional aide named Callista Bisek and he was still married to his second wife. In 1999 Gingrich divorced his second wife and the pair married the following year. She is credit...

Ryanair desks at Rome's Ciampino airport. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP AFP [email protected] @thelocalitaly 15 December 2017 13:42 CET+01:00 Ryanair pilots in Italy are to suspend their plaed strike action scheduled for Friday afteoon after management of the Irish low-cost airline offered to recognize unions for the first time, unions said. Management's move was "a very important first step," the Associazione Nazionale Professionale Aviazione Civile (Anpac) said in a statement, calling on its members to "suspend the strike scheduled today at 1-5 pm" local time. Ear...

Pope Francis is pictured through the branches of a Christmas Tree, addresses crowds at St Peter's Square. Photo: AFP AFP [email protected] @thelocalitaly 10 December 2017 14:26 CET+01:00 Pope Francis on Sunday renewed a call for "wisdom and prudence" over US President Donald Trump's controversial decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, which has sparked protests and clashes. "The Holy Father renews his appeal for the wisdom and prudence of everyone, and raises fervent prayers so that the leaders of nations, in this time of special gravity, commit themselves...

Italy’s Health Ministry has ordered the recall of a batch of frozen spinach after several people who ate it suffered signs of mandrake poisoning. A family of four in Milan sought emergency treatment for “mental confusion and amnesia” on September 30th, reported Italian news agency Ansa, after each of them had eaten frozen spinach produced by French company Bonduelle. Their symptoms w...

Rome mayor Virginia Raggi looks on during a press conference. Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP Rome's mayor Virginia Raggi on Tuesday called for tougher laws against rape, after a spate of reported sexual assaults in the capital and across Italy. "What is happening to women is monstrous; it's a black September for Italy," said Raggi, commenting on the recent reports of violent rapes. "We...

Fifteen volunteer firemen in Sicily became arsonists so that they could extinguish more fires and collect more money from the state. Police in Ragusa have charged a group of 15 volunteer firemen with defrauding the state. Members of the group allegedly started fires so that they could then put them ...

One of the firefighting helicopters. Photo: Vigili del FuocoThe president of the central Italian region of Lazio said on Sunday he would ask the govement to call a state of emergency over a spate of fires which have devastated hundreds of hectares of land. "In this moment alone, there are 18 fires...

Rome authorities called in animal control experts on Tuesday after a swarm of bees chose an unusual spot for their colony: a busy square in the city centre. Hundreds of the insects swarmed in Piazza Fiume, a square located close to the Corso d'Italia. Transport workers and local police cordoned off ...