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New Far-Right Party Surpasses Italy’s League in Polls

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Italy’s emerging far-right party, Futuro Nazionale, has overtaken the League for the first time in a national opinion poll. The movement, led by former army general Roberto Vannacci, secured 5.9% support, narrowly ahead of the League’s 5.8%, continuing a steady rise since its launch earlier this year.

Founded in February after Vannacci and several lawmakers split from the League, Futuro Nazionale aims to become the dominant force on Italy’s far right. Its growing popularity has added a new dynamic to the country’s political landscape and is drawing attention ahead of next year’s national election.

The party’s rise is creating challenges for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her ruling coalition. While Meloni’s Brothers of Italy remains the country’s most popular party with 27.8% support, questions remain over whether an alliance with Vannacci could emerge as Italy’s right-wing parties compete for influence.

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Italian Families Sue Meta and TikTok After Teen’s Tragic Death

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An Italian mother has joined a landmark lawsuit against Meta and TikTok after the death of her 12-year-old daughter, Rossella, who died by suicide in 2024. Her parents say they discovered after her death that she had been heavily exposed to self-harm and depressive content on social media, including through a secret Instagram account. They allege that platform algorithms repeatedly promoted harmful material that worsened her mental state.

The case, the first collective legal action of its kind in Italy, seeks stronger protections for minors online and greater accountability from social media companies. Several families argue that current safeguards are insufficient and that algorithms are designed to encourage prolonged engagement, potentially exposing vulnerable children to harmful content. Meta and TikTok deny the allegations, stating that they actively remove dangerous material and have introduced tools to protect young users.

The lawsuit comes amid growing scrutiny of social media platforms across Europe and beyond. Regulators are increasing pressure on technology companies to strengthen child safety measures, while experts continue to debate the long-term impact of social media on adolescent mental health. Rossella’s mother says she joined the case to raise awareness and help other families recognize risks before it is too late.

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Sardinian Beach Limits Visitors and Bans Most Umbrellas

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Authorities in Sardinia have introduced strict new rules at Punta Molentis beach following devastating wildfires that damaged the coastline, dunes, and nearby car park last year. To protect the fragile ecosystem and support recovery efforts, visitor numbers will be capped at 150 people at a time, with mandatory reservations required for beach access through October.

Under the new regulations, visitors arriving by land must pay an entry fee of €10, while those arriving by boat will be charged €5. Vehicle access has also been restricted to just 70 cars per day. In one of the most unusual measures, beach umbrellas are prohibited for most visitors and are only allowed for families with children under 10 years old or adults aged over 65.

Local officials say the restrictions are necessary to reduce human impact and preserve one of Villasimius’ most valuable natural attractions. While some residents have criticised the rules as excessive, authorities argue they are essential to ensure the long-term protection of Punta Molentis, one of Sardinia’s most popular and environmentally sensitive beaches.

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Far-Right General Roberto Vannacci Launches Party, Challenging Italian PM Meloni

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Former general Roberto Vannacci has created a significant political headache for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni with the rapid rise of his new far-right party, Futuro Nazionale. Launched just four months after Vannacci broke away from Meloni’s coalition ally, the League party, the movement has already attracted nearly 100,000 paying members and is polling at 4.6%. Accusing Meloni’s government of becoming a “fearful right” that has softened on Brussels, crime, and immigration, Vannacci’s rapid ascent presents Meloni with a difficult dilemma ahead of next year’s tight election: alliance with a radical element or risking a fractured right-wing vote.

Vannacci, a 57-year-old former paratrooper and ex-defence attaché to Russia, initially shot to prominence by publishing a controversial book disparaging LGBTQ+ individuals, migrants, and feminists. Though suspended from active military service for bringing the army into disrepute, he was embraced by League leader Matteo Salvini, using that momentum to win a seat in the European Parliament in 2024. Now running his own anti-EU, pro-Russia movement, Vannacci is successfully siphoning support away from Salvini’s League, forcing mainstream right-wing leaders to consider adopting more radical stances to prevent being completely outmanoeuvred.

While no ruling coalition parties have officially proposed an alliance, Vannacci’s rise threatens to undermine Meloni’s efforts to recast her Brothers of Italy party as a mainstream, credible conservative force in Brussels and Washington. Futuro Nazionale has already poached eight lawmakers from government ranks and explicitly opposes unconditional financial and military aid to Ukraine. Mainstream coalition partners, such as Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani’s Forza Italia, remain deeply uncomfortable with Vannacci’s radical alignment with groups like Germany’s AfD, yet the rising poll numbers may eventually force a compromise to keep the centre-left out of power.

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Italy Cuts Growth Forecast, Sees Economy Expanding 0.7% Through 2027

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Italy’s national statistics bureau ISTAT has slightly lowered its economic growth forecast for 2026, projecting gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 0.7%, down from the 0.8% estimate issued in December. The agency also expects the economy to expand by 0.7% in 2027, supported by stronger-than-expected performance in the first quarter, when GDP rose 0.3% from the previous three months.

Despite the downgrade, ISTAT’s outlook remains somewhat more optimistic than forecasts from the European Commission, IMF, OECD and the Bank of Italy, all of which expect growth between 0.5% and 0.6% over the next two years. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government also revised its projections lower in April, citing rising energy costs and ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

ISTAT warned that geopolitical uncertainty continues to pose risks to the economy, particularly developments related to the conflict in the Middle East. The statistics bureau also improved its labour market outlook, forecasting an average unemployment rate of 5.5% this year and in 2027, lower than its previous estimate of 6.1%. Italy’s economy grew 0.5% in 2025, marking a third consecutive year of growth below 1%.

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Austrian Residents Block Critical Alps Motorway to Protest Excess Traffic

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Around 3,000 local residents successfully shut down Austria’s Brenner motorway on Saturday, blocking a vital Alpine transport corridor that connects Germany and Italy. Led by Karl Muehlsteiger, the mayor of Gries am Brenner, the symbolic eight-hour demonstration protested the persistent traffic congestion and pollution caused by heavy trucks and tourists passing through the narrow Wipp Valley. Police cordoned off both ends of the highway starting at 11 a.m., forcing approaching vehicles to turn around, while provincial side roads were restricted strictly to local traffic.

Despite occurring during a German school holiday, the major traffic chaos many anticipated was largely avoided as drivers heeded early warnings to avoid the area, leading to a surge in passenger numbers on local train routes instead. The protest highlights decades of political tension between Austria and Germany over transit management in the state of Tyrol, where local authorities have long attempted to curb cross-border traffic flows despite pushback from their German neighbors.

Meanwhile, a parallel disruption unfolded across the border in Italy, where a suspected overnight arson attack on electrical control units near Verona crippled rail traffic along the Verona-Brenner line. Italian investigators are currently looking into whether the railway sabotage is linked to radical environmentalist or anarcho-insurrectionist groups.

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Milan Restores Famous Bull Mosaic Worn Down by Tourist Ritual

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Italy has begun restoring the famous bull mosaic inside Milan’s historic Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II after years of tourist traditions caused visible damage. Visitors have long followed the ritual of spinning three times on the bull’s testicles for good luck and a guaranteed return to Milan.

The popular custom has worn away the mosaic’s pink tiles, creating a small crater at the centre of the artwork. Restoration experts this week started carefully replacing damaged stone pieces by hand while curious tourists watched the process unfold inside the 19th-century arcade.

City officials said the Galleria remains a “living heritage” loved by millions of visitors, but one that requires regular care to preserve its historic beauty. The last restoration of the iconic bull mosaic was completed in 2017.

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Mick Jagger’s Italian Island Film Party Halted by Police Over Local Music Ban

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A wrap party on the small Sicilian island of Stromboli, attended by rock legend Sir Mick Jagger and an ensemble of Hollywood stars, was abruptly shut down by Italian police. The Rolling Stones frontman was celebrating with the cast and crew of the upcoming film Three Incestuous Sisters—which stars Dakota Johnson, Jessie Buckley, Saoirse Ronan, and Josh O’Connor—to mark the end of filming. Festivities came to a sudden halt when local Carabinieri officers intervened to enforce a strict local ordinance enacted by the Mayor of Lipari, Riccardo Gullo, which completely bans music on Wednesdays across the Aeolian islands.

Despite local media reports noting that the music was only playing through a single small speaker at a reasonable volume, the police insisted on terminating the entertainment. The unexpected intervention was met with a mix of confusion and hilarity by the high-profile guests, who ultimately complied with the officers’ requests and wrapped up the event. Rosa Oliva, the head of Stromboli’s tourism office, sharply criticized the police action as a “punitive intervention,” arguing that local authorities should have welcomed and thanked the celebrity guests for their massive economic and promotional contribution to the territory rather than penalizing a moment of social gathering.

The interrupted celebration concludes the local filming of Three Incestuous Sisters, a movie directed by Palme d’Or nominee Alice Rohrwacher and based on a U.S. graphic novel about three sisters pining after a lighthouse keeper’s son. Sir Mick Jagger reportedly stars as the lighthouse keeper, with Josh O’Connor playing his son and Isabella Rossellini featuring in the lineup. Rossellini’s involvement carries deep historical significance, as she has been filming on the exact same volcanic island where her mother, Ingrid Bergman, and father, Roberto Rossellini, famously fell in love while filming the classic movie Stromboli back in 1949.

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Car Ploughs Into Pedestrians in Italy, Eight Injured

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A man drove a car at high speed into pedestrians in Modena on Saturday, injuring eight people, including four seriously, according to Italian authorities. One woman suffered devastating injuries and had both legs amputated. The vehicle crashed into a shop window near the city’s cathedral before the driver emerged carrying a knife and attacked a passer-by who tried to stop him.

The suspect, a 31-year-old Italian national of Moroccan origin, was eventually restrained by bystanders after injuring a man who chased him. Witnesses said the car suddenly accelerated toward the pavement at speeds estimated around 100 km/h, sending people flying. Officials said the suspect had previously been referred to a mental health centre in 2022 for schizoid disorders but later disappeared from treatment monitoring.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described the incident as “extremely serious” and visited victims in hospital alongside President Sergio Mattarella. Meloni also praised passer-by Luca Signorelli for intervening to stop the suspect despite being attacked with a knife. Authorities are continuing their investigation into the motive behind the attack.

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Five Italian Divers Killed in Maldives Cave Diving Tragedy

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Five Italian nationals died during a scuba diving expedition in the Maldives after reportedly becoming trapped while exploring underwater caves in Vaavu Atoll. According to authorities, the group was diving at depths of around 50 metres when they failed to resurface, prompting an emergency search operation in rough weather conditions.

Four of the victims were connected to the University of Genoa, including ecology professor Monica Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, researcher Muriel Oddenino, and marine biology graduate Federico Gualtieri. The fifth victim was identified as diving instructor and boat operations manager Gianluca Benedetti. Maldives military officials said one body had been recovered from a cave nearly 60 metres underwater, while rescue teams continued high-risk recovery efforts for the others.

The tragedy is believed to be one of the deadliest diving accidents in the Maldives in recent years. Authorities noted that strong sea conditions and weather warnings had been issued in the area at the time of the incident. The University of Genoa expressed deep condolences to the families of the victims as investigations continue into the fatal dive.

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