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Magnitude 4.7 Earthquake Shakes Naples, Damages Buildings and Disrupts Transport

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A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck the Campi Flegrei volcanic area near Naples in southern Italy on Friday evening, causing power outages, disrupting rail and metro services, and damaging several buildings. According to Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, the quake occurred at 7:46 p.m. local time with its epicentre in the Campi Flegrei area at a depth of around 3 kilometres. Residents in several neighbourhoods rushed outdoors as the tremors were felt across the region.

Italy’s fire service reported minor structural damage in and around Naples but said there were no immediate requests for rescue operations. As a precaution, local rail and metro services were temporarily suspended while authorities assessed the situation. Italian media described the quake as one of the strongest ever recorded in the Campi Flegrei area, which has experienced increasingly frequent seismic activity in recent years.

The Campi Flegrei volcanic caldera, which covers much of western Naples, has been under close monitoring due to heightened earthquake activity. Officials have warned that stronger tremors have revived memories of the seismic crisis in the early 1980s, when thousands of residents were forced to evacuate. Italy is no stranger to earthquakes, with the devastating 2016 central Italy quakes claiming around 300 lives and the 1980 Irpinia earthquake remaining one of the country’s deadliest disasters.

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Naples Bank Robbers Take Hostages And Escape Through Tunnel

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Armed robbers carried out a dramatic daytime bank heist in Naples, taking around 25 people hostage inside a Crédit Agricole branch before escaping through a tunnel. The incident began around midday, prompting a swift police response that saw the building surrounded as negotiations unfolded to secure the hostages’ release.

After roughly two hours, all hostages were freed without serious injuries, though several were left shaken and required medical attention. Witnesses said the robbers, while armed, did not use violence and had confined people inside a room. Firefighters assisted in the evacuation by breaking windows, with scenes showing emotional reunions as people emerged from the bank.

Authorities later stormed the building using special forces and stun grenades, but the suspects had already fled, reportedly through a tunnel possibly connected to the sewer system. Investigators are still assessing the extent of the theft, as the robbers targeted safety deposit boxes rather than cash, making the total value of the loot unclear.

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Italian outcry as MP Pozzolo’s gun wounds man at New Year’s Eve party

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A New Year’s Eve celebration turned into a political controversy when it was revealed that a man was lightly wounded by a gunshot fired from a gun owned by Italian far-right MP Emanuele Pozzolo, a member of Prime Minister Georgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party. Although Pozzolo admitted bringing the gun, he denied firing the shot, which injured a 31-year-old man in the leg.

The incident occurred in the small town of Rosazza in the northern Piedmont region, leading local prosecutors to launch an investigation. Pozzolo, 38, reportedly showed his .22 caliber mini-revolver, a weapon he has a license to own, to party guests. The gun was passed between guests and accidentally went off, hitting one person in the leg.

Andrea Delmastro, a party colleague and junior justice minister, claimed he was unaware of Pozzolo having a gun and had stepped outside when the shot was fired. The wounded man happened to be the son-in-law of a member of Delmastro’s security team.

Pozzolo invoked parliamentary immunity to avoid gunpowder residue tests on his clothes. Prime Minister Meloni’s party stated that the incident had no “political relevance” and emphasized that local authorities would investigate. Meloni has not yet responded to the incident.

Critics, including the centre-left opposition leader Elly Schlein, called for action, describing the individuals involved as “incompetents” and a danger to security. Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi criticized Brothers of Italy, calling them “inadequate, incompetent, and dangerous.”

Pozzolo, previously a member of Matteo Salvini’s League before joining Brothers of Italy, has been a vocal opponent of Covid-19 vaccines, labeling them “experimental,” and has opposed Italy’s “Green Pass” system requiring proof of immunization for access to certain venues.

In a separate incident, a 55-year-old woman was shot and killed at a New Year’s Eve celebration near Naples, with a man arrested in connection to the death.

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