Italy

15 Oct 2021; MEMO: A Rome judge yesterday suspended the trial of four senior members of the Egyptian security services citing concerns that there was no certainty they had been formally made aware that they were charged in the 2016 abduction, torture and killing of an Italian doctoral student, Giulio Regeni in Cairo.

ROME, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Britain does not know when it might get a full trade deal with the United States but is hoping to join a Trans-Pacific trade partnership next year, British trade minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said on Wednesday.

Trevelyan only took up her post last month and met many of her key counterparts face-to-face for the first time earlier this week, including U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, at a gathering of ministers from the Group of 20 major economies.

ROME, October 12. /TASS/: Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine demonstrates up to 82% efficacy against coronavirus variants, Andrea Antinori, director of the clinical research department at the National Institute for Infectious Diseases, which conducted the study on Sputnik V, told Italy’s Rai 3 TV channel late on Monday.

"Sputnik’s efficacy against [coronavirus] variants has been proved to be 82%. Compared with the 88% efficacy of Pfizer’s shot, it is not much lower. It is a high efficacy, at least against the Delta variant, which was proved by laboratory tests," he said.

ROME (AP) — The European Union warned that humanitarian aid for Afghans won’t suffice in itself to keep hunger at bay as winter approaches after the bloc announced a support package worth 1 billion euros ($1.15 billion) on Tuesday.

The 27-nation bloc made the pledge during a virtual summit of the Group of 20 dedicated to Afghanistan. The Italian government, which holds the G-20 presidency, said the aim of the meeting was to address “urgent” humanitarian support for Afghans, the fight against terrorism and freedom of movement for Afghans inside the country and out.

ROME, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Political leaders from Group of 20 (G20) countries should play key roles in tackling world hunger and climate change, said the head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Friday.

Addressing participants at the G20 parliamentary summit, FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said the FAO is eager to support efforts to combat hunger and malnutrition, calling for "deeper cooperation" between countries and multilateral groups like the FAO.

08 Oct 2021; MEMO: A 3.5-metre tall puppet depicting the journey of a Syrian refugee has arrived in Brussels.

'Little Amal' arrived in Brussels as part of 'The Walk', an initiative hoping to raise awareness of the refugee journey from Syria to the UK.

She delivered a mountain of letters to the European Parliament yesterday. The sacks of letters were presented to the parliament to draw attention to the difficulties experienced by Syrian children.

ROME, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Thursday thanked outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel for playing a "decisive role" in shaping the future of the European Union (EU).

His remarks came at the conclusion of what likely was Merkel's last official meeting with Italy's top officials, as she prepares to leave the stage as soon as a new German federal government is formed after the recent parliamentary elections.

ROME, Oct 4 (Reuters) - The leader of Italy's centre-left Democratic Party (PD) Enrico Letta is on track to win a parliamentary by-election in Siena, early results showed on Monday, strengthening his position as party leader.

Letta had said he would resign from the PD leadership if he lost, so the outcome has political repercussions far outside the Tuscan city, home of troubled lender Monte dei Paschi (MPS) (BMPS.MI).

SASSARI, Sardinia (AP) — Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont faces a hearing Monday on the Italian island of Sardinia to decide whether to extradite him to Spain, where he is accused of sedition.

A group of about 20 supporters rallied outside the courthouse as Puigdemont arrived for the hearing accompanied by his lawyer, Gonzalo Boye. Some members of the crowd shouted “freedom!”

MILAN, Oct 3 (Reuters) - A small private plane crashed into an empty building on the outskirts of Milan, northern Italy, on Sunday, killing all eight people onboard, police said.

The plane, which took off from Milan's Linate city airport, was headed for the island of Sardinia, officials said.

The crash occurred just outside a suburban metro station.

People in the area could hear a blast when the plane collided with the two-story building, which was empty at the time as it was being renovated.