News

Italian police bust drug trafficking network

By 1030 0

Italian police have busted a huge drug trafficking network run for a terrorist group, Islamic State.

Around 14 tonnes of amphetamines have been seized by the police.

As per a latest report, about 84 million counterfeit Captagon pills worth an estimated €1bn were found in containers at the port of Salerno.

According to the report, they were hidden inside large drums of paper and gear wheels.

An investigation is on. It remains unclear whether an local criminal gang has involvement in the criminal act or whether any gang has links with the terrorist organisation.

Captagon is a brand name for the synthetic stimulant fenethylline. It was originally used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy, but many countries banned it during the 1980s because of its addictive properties.

It is a well known fact that the IS uses the drug trafficking racket to fund their criminal activities across the world.

It is high time to launch a global operation against the drug trafficking business run by the terrorist organisation.

Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright 

News

Recovery fund policy hits hard wall

By 1103 0

The huge recovery fund plan, announced by the European Union to save those countries who have suffered a huge set back because of the measures imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19, has hit a hard wall, as several European countries have opposed the move.

Meanwhile, Germany has expressed its hope in the positive future of the recovery fund policy.

The main demand of those countries who have opposed the policy aggressively is that the fund should be treated as a loan and is to be repaid as soon as possible.

Spain and Italy – the two countries who have suffered the worst – were supposed to benefit greatly from the policy.

The main opposers of the policy are Sweden and Austria.

Germany is expected to convene a serious of meetings in the near future to resolve the crisis.

Earlier, a European leader warned that if this issue was not addressed rightly the European Union might collapse.

The proposed package costs €750bn.

The affected countries urgently need fund. The longer it takes for the fund to reach, the deeper the impact of the crisis becomes.

It is high time to find a solution to this issue. It may require the intervention of the United States of America.

Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright 

News Trending

Statue of Italian pro-colonialist journalist daubed with red paint

By 1105 0

The statue of a famous Italian journalist, Indro Montanelli, who was a supporter of colonialism, has been daubed with red paint.

Anti-racism protesters have claimed the responsibility of the act. They have demanded the removal of the statue from the square.

They have posted a video in a social media platform in connection with the incident – which has triggered several serious discussions and deliberations across the world.

Though he was a pro-colonialist and pro-fascist, his contribution to the fight for the freedom of speech and expression is huge.

The Italian government has criticised the action and said that his contribution to the field of journalism cannot be ignored. They have even turned down the demand that the statue should be removed from the square.

The Black Lives Matter movement – which originated in the United States in protest against the custodial death of a unarmed black man – has rapidly spread across the world.

What has been reported from Italy is the first serious case of demolition in connection with the movement – which resulted to the demolition of several statues (especially those represent those who supported colonialism) in the US and across the world.

 Anyway, many journalists have condemned the action. It remains unclear whether the action may affect the global movement against racial injustice.

 V

Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright 

News

ECB brings in new measures to boost Eurozone Economy

By 928 0

The European Central Bank has introduced certain dramatic measures to boost the economies of the countries in Eurozone.

The recession the world now faces is the biggest since the World War Two period.

This is not the first time the European Central Bank has introduced a program to boost the economies of the countries in the Eurozone region.

Earlier, it launched a similar policy, in response to the request of some badly affected countries in the southern region of the Europe such as Italy and Spain.

That means the latest policy is the second policy taken by the ECB to help the countries in the Eurozone to surmount the economic difficulties caused due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

According to the central bank, it will increase the size of its bond buying programme by €600bn to €1.35tn.

The programme will run until June 2021, which is actually six months longer than planned.

The move will keep borrowing costs low for countries and firms as they face huge budget deficits and recessions.


Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright

News

Right-wing senator shoots sexist remark against Italian Education Minister

By 1189 0

A right-wing senator, Giuseppe Moles, who is the member of right-wing party Forza Italia, has shot a sexist remark against Italian Education Minister Lucia Azzolina, who is the member of anti-establishment Five Star Party – which recently entered the corridor of power as a collation partner of the ruling government.

The senators of the anti-establishment party have asserted that the right-wing leader should apologize to the Italian minister.

The Italian government has offered special protection to the minister. The government has also extended protection to some rightist senators.

The Italian coalition government is at the brink of collapse. The present government is the mixture of some contradictory parties.

The present crisis has further reduced the strength of the Italian coalition government. It may even push the coalition to the state of complete disaster.

The economy of Italy urgently needs the support of the government.


Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright

News

Kidnapped Italian woman finally free

By 1120 0

An aid worker from the European country of Italy, Silvia Romano who was kidnapped in the African country of Kenya in late 2018, has returned back to her home country, as she has secured freedom from those who curbed her freedom illegally for her.

The liberated woman has received a huge reception at the airport. She has been greeted even by Italian prime minister and foreign minister.

The airport has also witnessed a very emotional reunion of her family.

She was under the custody of al-Shabab, a terrorist group which is active in several regions across the continent of Africa.

Her liberation has been materialized by a joint operation carried out by Italian secret service along with Turkey and Somalia.

Anyway, the terror group has not claimed the responsibility for the act of abduction – which happened nearly 18 months ago.

There are many reasons to believe that the terror organisation is behind the attack.

The organisation is very active in the region. It has carried out several terror operations in the region, including the Nairobi hotel and office complex attack – in which 21 innocent people lost their lives.


Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright

News Trending

EU agrees emergency aid plan

By 1005 0

The heads of the European Union has agreed a plan for injecting billions of euros of emergency aid into Europe’s Covid-19 affected economies such as Italy and spain.

The agreement has been reached in a meeting done with the support of the possibility of video conference.

As part of the agreement, a huge sum of 540 billion Euro will be released to support the affected countries.

The fund has been connected to the European Union budget, as per a latest report released by the greatest economic union of the world.

A senior European Union official has said that the process will boost investment in the region of the continent of Europe.

Earlier, there was disagreement between the southern countries of the EU and the northern countries over the sharing of the financial burden caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.

It remains unclear whether the issue has been fully resolved or not.

Recently, Italy expressed its unhappiness over the way the union responded to the outbreak in its initial stage.

The Italian government has welcomed the latest development in connection with the sharing of the burden caused by the outbreak.


Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright

News Trending

Italy to announce exit plan soon

By 946 0

The European country of Italy, which is under lockdown like many other countries in this part of the world, has announced its plan to launch an exit plan.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, through his social media post, has assured to release the plan this week.

Mr. Conte has used his Facebook handle to publicise his plan to launch the exit plan aimed to bring everything back to normal.

From the post, it can be assumed that the country will seek the advice of all stakeholders – especially scientific experts – to develop the policy.

A statement in the post reads: a reasonable expectation is that the country will apply it from May 4.

Italy is one of the worst affected countries in the continent of Europe, as well as in the world. Italy has suffered over 24,114 deaths due to the virus outbreak, which is the highest recorded death toll in the continent.

Anyway, the new indices are favorable to the country.

The country has passed its peak. It is slowly coming back to normal.

The bold post of the PM indicates that the country – which has suffered a lot due to the outbreak – at present is confident enough to think of an exit plan.


Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright

News Trending

EU apologises to Italy

By 964 0

The EU has expressed its apology to the European country of Italy for the improper way it responded to the member country when the country required support in the initial stage of the Coronavirus outbreak.

The EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, has extended a wholehearted apology to Italy, while she was speaking at the European Union Parliament.

In her statement, the President has recognised the improper way the union behaved in the initial stage of the virus outbreak.

Italy has welcomed the statement made by the EU Commission leader. The country has termed the statement as the recognition of truth.

Earlier, Italy expressed serious dissatisfaction over the way the EU reacted when they sought for the support of the union.

It even warned that the EU’s inability to address the crisis would question the sustainability of the union in the future.

Italy is one of the worst affected country in the continent of Europe. As many as 21,000 persons have lost their lives in the country so far due to the virus outbreak.

Though it is a late admission, the statement made by the EU may help the union overcome the ire it has faced for its irresponsible reaction.

Most affected countries want the EU to take up the task of mitigating the economic impact caused by the virus outbreak, though some prime EU powers are not a fan of that idea.


Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright

News

Austria, Italy ease restrictions

By 1015 0

Shortly after the European Commission advised its members countries to prepare a road map to return to normal, the European countries of Austria and Italy have eased certain restrictions they imposed to contain the spread of Covid-19.

As certain restrictions have been removed, several shops have reopened in Austria, as well as in Italy – which is one of the worst affected regions in the continent.

Though some restrictions have been removed, the countries have not decided to give any relaxation of the matter of social distancing.

The shops, which has benefited from the relaxation, have been directed to maintain the measures necessary to avoid the spread of virus.

In Italy alone, over 20,000 people have lost their lives due to the disease outbreak – which originated in the Asian region of China.

Austria, though better than Italy, is far away in this matter.

Both countries have avoided their worst-hit regions from the scope of the relaxation they have announced.

Meanwhile, the European country of Denmark has also hinted its intention to bring some serious changes on its restrictions.

It has recently allowed its schools to reopen.

The country has already clarified that it might be able to return to normal much earlier than expected.


Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright