Italy

ROME (AP) — A blaze, possibly sparked by a gas canister explosion, destroyed part of an historic bridge spanning the Tiber River in Rome before firefighters extinguished the flames early Sunday.

Firefighters said the fire erupted before midnight Saturday near the Ostiense neighborhood and by 4 a.m. Sunday they had completed their work.

No one was injured in the fire that involved the Industry Bridge, but three nightclubs near the riverside neighborhood popular with young people were evacuated as a precaution, Italian state TV said.

ROME (AP) — Millions of people in Italy started voting Sunday for new mayors, including in Rome and Milan, in an election widely seen as a test of political alliances before nationwide balloting just over a year away.

The two days of voting end on Monday and the first results are expected afterwards. But many voters will have to wait two weeks to learn who their mayor will be.

Runoffs will be held Oct. 17-18 in municipalities with more than 15,000 people between the top two vote-getters if no single candidate garners more than 50% of the ballots.

MILAN (AP) — U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said Saturday he thinks “enormous progress” can be made at upcoming U.N. climate talks in Scotland but more governments must come up with concrete commitments in the next 30 days.

Kerry attended a preparatory meeting in Milan where delegates from around the world sought to identify where progress can be made before the U.N. Climate Change Conference of the Parties starts in Glasgow on Oct. 31.

ROME, Sept 29 (Reuters) - An extraordinary meeting of the Group of 20 major economies to discuss Afghanistan will take place on Oct. 12, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Wednesday.

Italy holds the rotating G20 presidency this year and Draghi has recently discussed Afghanistan with other world leaders - including Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping - in an effort to organise a special meeting to lay down strategies to confront the crisis.

MILAN (AP) — AC Milan president Paolo Scaroni is confident the team’s new stadium will be ready in three years and that the club will be ready to break ground on the project by the end of next year.

The beginning of the end for Milan’s iconic San Siro stadium was announced in 2019 when the Rossoneri and Inter Milan unveiled the two shortlisted projects for their proposed new stadium.

The two rival clubs both play their home games at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza — commonly referred to as San Siro.

ROME (AP) — A former Catalan leader sought by Spain for a failed 2017 secession bid is expected to appear at an extradition hearing Friday after being detained in Sardinia, an Italian island with strong Catalan cultural roots and its own independence movement.

Italian police on Thursday night transferred Carles Puigdemont to a jail in Sassari, a Sardinian city near Alghero, where he had been detained upon arrival at the airport there. Alghero is hosting a traditional Catalan folklore festival that he was expected to attend.

ROME, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Italy began administering booster COVID-19 vaccine shots on Monday, after the procedure received the official green light from the country's Medicines Agency (AIFA).

As the Health Ministry announced earlier this month, third doses -- of either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines -- will be offered to people with fragile immune systems.

PANTELLERIA (Italy), Sept 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least two people have been killed after a tornado swept through an Italian island on Friday.

Nine others were injured as the whirlwind overturned cars and ripped off roofs on the tourist hotspot of Pantelleria on Friday, according to Italy’s civil protection agency.

Four of the wounded remain in a critical condition.

One rescue worker who spoke to Italy’s Ansa news agency described the scene as “apocalyptic”.

Local media report that the tornado ripped down a coastal road.

10 Sep 2021; MEMO: The Vatican has rejected criticism from senior Israeli rabbis over remarks by Pope Francis about Jewish books of sacred law, saying he was not questioning their continuing validity for Jews today.

London, Sep 7 (PTI) The Health Ministers from G20 countries, including India, have united to pledge global action to improve future health security, increase vaccine confidence and tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in a Health Declaration agreed in Rome.

The G20 Health Ministers' Meeting in Italy this week is focused on building on strong cooperation and collaboration to end the COVID-19 pandemic and support recovery around the world. The Health Declaration was agreed on Monday.