Today in Italy: A roundup of the latest news on Friday
Calls for Meloni to comment on party's youth wing fascist chants, tax measure for wealthy regions becomes law, and more news from Italy on Friday.
Italy's top story on Friday:
There were growing calls from Italy’s opposition parties and Jewish groups for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni break her silence on the publication of video clips showing members of her far-right party’s youth wing engaging in fascist chants and Nazi salutes.
Undercover reporters from investigative website Fanpage infiltrated the youth wing of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party and published clips of members chanting “Duce” – a reference to Benito Mussolini – and “Sieg Heil”.
Two members of the youth wing resigned on Thursday as a result, according to Italian media, including one who had said she wished she could vote “for Mussolini three times” in the European elections and made derogatory comments about Black people.
Brothers of Italy lawmakers Luca Ciriani said the Fanpage report “was built on fragmented, decontextualised images, taken in a private setting.” Meloni has long aimed to distance herself from her party’s neofascist roots, insisting in 2022 the party was “not fascist”.
Tax measure for wealthy regions becomes law
President Sergio Mattarella on Wednesday night officially put the contested new 'differentiated autonomy' law into effect following its approval last week, reported Italian news agency Ansa.
Opposition parties had asked the president to send the law, promoted by Matteo Salvini’s League party, back to parliament for further debate amid concerns that it would widen the country's north-south divide.
The controversial measure gives regional governments more power over how tax revenues collected in their areas are spent, but critics say it will unfairly favour the wealthiest in a country with stark economic inequalities.
The Five Star Movement, the Democratic Party and the other opposition groups have united in protest against the law, saying they plan to petition for a referendum on abolishing it.
Migrant shipwreck survivor arrested for murder
Italian police have arrested a survivor of a deadly migrant shipwreck on suspicion of murdering a teenage Iraqi girl on board, AFP reported on Thursday.
The AGI news agency reported the man, also Iraqi, had been raping the girl when she died, although a police spokesman would not confirm this to AFP.
In a statement police said the sailing boat was adrift off Italy when the man "vented his aggression on a 16-year-old Iraqi girl, the daughter of another survivor, leading to her death by suffocation".
Twelve people were rescued from the ship, which police said was believed to have been carrying around 70 people. The known death toll stood at 36 as of Tuesday.
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Italy's top story on Friday:
There were growing calls from Italy’s opposition parties and Jewish groups for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni break her silence on the publication of video clips showing members of her far-right party’s youth wing engaging in fascist chants and Nazi salutes.
Undercover reporters from investigative website Fanpage infiltrated the youth wing of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party and published clips of members chanting “Duce” – a reference to Benito Mussolini – and “Sieg Heil”.
Two members of the youth wing resigned on Thursday as a result, according to Italian media, including one who had said she wished she could vote “for Mussolini three times” in the European elections and made derogatory comments about Black people.
Brothers of Italy lawmakers Luca Ciriani said the Fanpage report “was built on fragmented, decontextualised images, taken in a private setting.” Meloni has long aimed to distance herself from her party’s neofascist roots, insisting in 2022 the party was “not fascist”.
Tax measure for wealthy regions becomes law
President Sergio Mattarella on Wednesday night officially put the contested new 'differentiated autonomy' law into effect following its approval last week, reported Italian news agency Ansa.
Opposition parties had asked the president to send the law, promoted by Matteo Salvini’s League party, back to parliament for further debate amid concerns that it would widen the country's north-south divide.
The controversial measure gives regional governments more power over how tax revenues collected in their areas are spent, but critics say it will unfairly favour the wealthiest in a country with stark economic inequalities.
The Five Star Movement, the Democratic Party and the other opposition groups have united in protest against the law, saying they plan to petition for a referendum on abolishing it.
Migrant shipwreck survivor arrested for murder
Italian police have arrested a survivor of a deadly migrant shipwreck on suspicion of murdering a teenage Iraqi girl on board, AFP reported on Thursday.
The AGI news agency reported the man, also Iraqi, had been raping the girl when she died, although a police spokesman would not confirm this to AFP.
In a statement police said the sailing boat was adrift off Italy when the man "vented his aggression on a 16-year-old Iraqi girl, the daughter of another survivor, leading to her death by suffocation".
Twelve people were rescued from the ship, which police said was believed to have been carrying around 70 people. The known death toll stood at 36 as of Tuesday.
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