Download the app and get the day’s most important stories.
Download the app and get the day’s most important stories.
Three people have been arrested in Italy over Sunday’s cable car accident that left 14 dead. Investigators say the emergency brakes had been disabled and the three members of the operating company were aware. According to a local transport official, the brake failure meant the car was traveling at over 100km/h (62 mph) when the cable broke. Prosecutors are carrying out an investigation into suspected involuntary homicide and negligence.
At least 14 people have died from a cable car accident in northern Italy on Sunday, according to officials. The car was completing its 20-minute voyage, some 4,891 feet above sea level at the top of the mountain, when the cable broke 984 feet from the top of the mountain, according to Italian news agency ANSA. The car then crashed into a wooded area with no direct road access.
The battle is on to save Rome’s umbrella pine trees – as much a part of the landscape of the Italian capital as its ancient monuments – from a deadly parasite. The trees, which offer respite from Rome’s summer heat, have become infested with pine tortoise scale, insects originally from North America that are capable of killing pines in two to three years.
An alleged Mafia fugitive who had been on the run since 2014 was arrested by police in the Dominican Republic thanks to his hobby as a YouTube chef. Marc Feren Claude Biart, a 53-year-old suspected member of the ‘Ndrangheta mafia organization, arrived in Milan, Italy, on Monday following his arrest on March 24. While the videos never showed the man’s face, investigators say they were able to recognize Biart from his tattoos.
Italy will be placed under a nationwide lockdown over the Easter weekend for the second year running, a draft decree law seen by Reuters said on Friday, underlining the struggle to stem a fresh surge in coronavirus cases. Non-essential shops will be shuttered nationwide from April 3-5. On those days, Italians will only be allowed to leave their homes for work, health or emergency reasons.
Italy’s ambassador to Democratic Republic of Congo, his bodyguard and a driver from the World Food Programme were killed on Monday when their convoy was attacked in the east of the country, Italy and the United Nations said. WFP said the delegation was on its way to visit a school feeding program in Rutshuru. It said the road had previously been cleared for travel without security escorts.
President Sergio Mattarella asked former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi on Wednesday to form a government tasked with tackling the coronavirus crisis and deep economic recession that are battering Italy. Draghi, widely credited with saving the euro zone from collapse in 2012, accepted the mandate, saying he was confident he could find backing in Italy’s fractured parliament for a new administration.
Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte has resigned, according to the country’s president. Mr Conte survived two confidence votes in parliament last week, but then lost his absolute majority in the Senate after centrist ally and former PM Matteo Renzi defected. This has made it much more difficult for the premier to pass legislation or make decisions on the COVID-19 crisis, which has devastated Italy’s long-suffering economy.
Italy’s prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, has managed to cling to power, but he will plow ahead with an even more fragile government as the country battles to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic and recession. The victory ends the turmoil triggered by former prime minister Matteo Renzi, who last week yanked his small Italia Viva party from the ruling coalition.
Italy imposed a nationwide outdoor mask mandate Wednesday with fines of up to 1,000 euros ($1,163) for violators, as the European country where Covid-19 first hit hard scrambles to keep rebounding infections from spiraling. The government passed the decree even though Italy’s overall per capita infection rate is among the lowest in Europe. But Premier Giuseppe Conte warned that a steady, nine-week rise in infections nationwide demanded new preventive measures.