Tag: Italy

  • Western ambassadors to skip Nagasaki memorial after Japan exclude Israel

    Western ambassadors to skip Nagasaki memorial after Japan exclude Israel

    Ambassadors from Western countries including the United States will skip a ceremony marking the 79th anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki after Israel was snubbed, officials said Wednesday.

    Nagasaki’s mayor last week said that Israel’s ambassador Gilad Cohen was not invited to Friday’s event in the southern Japanese city because of the risk of possible protests over the Gaza conflict.

    The US and British embassies said on Tuesday that their ambassadors would not take part as a result, and that their countries would be represented by lower-ranking diplomats.

    Media reports said that Australia, Italy, Canada and the European Union, who together with the US, Britain and Germany signed a strongly worded joint letter to Nagasaki’s mayor last month, would follow suit.

    US ambassador Rahm Emanuel will not attend “after the mayor of Nagasaki politicised the event by not inviting the Israeli ambassador”, an embassy spokesperson told AFP.

    Instead Emanuel, 64, who was ex-president Barack Obama’s chief of staff, will go to a separate event at a temple in Tokyo, the spokesperson said.

    The British embassy said that ambassador Julia Longbottom would also not be in Nagasaki, saying that not inviting Israel “creates an unfortunate and misleading equivalency with Russia and Belarus — the only other countries not invited to this year’s ceremony.”

    A spokesperson for the French embassy said that its number two would attend, telling AFP that the “decision not to invite the representative of Israel is regrettable and questionable”.

    Nagasaki mayor Shiro Suzuki had said last week that the decision not to invite Cohen was “not politically motivated” but based on a desire to “hold the ceremony in a peaceful and sombre atmosphere”.

    In June Suzuki said Nagasaki had sent a letter to the Israeli embassy calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza.

    Cohen, who was invited to and attended a memorial ceremony on Tuesday in Hiroshima, last week had said the Nagasaki decision “sends a wrong message to the world”.

    “As a close friend and like-minded nation of Japan, Israel has attended this ceremony for many years to honor the victims and their families,” he wrote on social media platform X.

    On Monday Cohen told US broadcaster CNN that the security concerns were “invented” and that he was “really surprised by (Suzuki) hijacking this ceremony for his political motivations.”

    In their letter to Suzuki seen by AFP, the six Western envoys had warned that if Israel was excluded “it would become difficult for us to have high-level participation at this event.”

    Government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi on Wednesday declined to comment, saying invitations were “a decision for the organiser, Nagasaki City.”

    A Nagasaki official in charge of the ceremony said it was “obviously better to have high-level individuals, like ambassadors themselves, taking part”.

    “What is important is that representatives of the countries will attend the ceremony,” he told AFP.

    hih-mac-stu/kaf/mca

    © Agence France-Presse

  • Pakistanis seeking asylum in foreign countries will not receive passports

    Pakistanis seeking asylum in foreign countries will not receive passports

    The federal Ministry of Interior has decided on Tuesday not to issue passports to Pakistanis who have requested asylum or are already living on asylum in foreign countries, citing security concerns.

    The ministry sent a letter to relevant authorities asking them not to issue travel documents to asylum seekers.

    According to the ministry’s notification, previously issued passports will be suspended and not renewed.

    The Director General Passports issued the notification on Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s directions.

    The Foreign Ministry and other relevant authorities have also received copies of the notification.

    According to data issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),  almost 40,618 Pakistanis applied for asylum in 2022.

    Most Pakistani asylum seekers are currently based in Italy, Austria, and Canada.

    Some of them are in the United States of America, as almost 1477 individuals fled away from Pakistan to the USA in 2022.

    Pakistan was the fifth most represented country, with 5342 immigrants arriving in Europe; however, the number of Pakistani asylum seekers in Greece didn’t increase from 2022 to 2023.

  • Complaint registered against ‘bad mannered’ Ambani wedding in Italy

    Complaint registered against ‘bad mannered’ Ambani wedding in Italy

    Ananat Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s pre-wedding events are making waves on social media but locals and police in Portofino were enraged by the loud music and bad manners on display by the wedding party.

    While the wedding is set to take place in July, Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in Asia, booked the whole Italian village of Portofino and took over 800 guests there for a four-day cruise.

    While the guests must have enjoyed the luxury, locals, and tourists who were stopped from accessing the main attractions were less than thrilled and took to social media to voice their disappointment.

    “Many billionaires have come to party here, but no one has ever taken away access to the main part of the city. Who do they think they are? They can’t just come in and throw their party and make it difficult for people to do their daily chores,” Express Tribune quoted an angry local.

    Another News source reported that a number of complaints were registered to the police as the cruise pulled into the port of Genoa and pumped out loud music until dawn.
    The manager of the Puny restaurant in Genoa refused to serve lobster sandwiches to the party-goers despite an offer of 10,000 euros, stating that he found their behaviour to be “offensive, bad-mannered and incorrect.”

    “I have my customers and an illustrious history to protect,” added Andrea Miroli, the manager at the restaurant.

    The pre-wedding celebration had a long list of guests, including Shah Rukh Khan, Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor, Jeff Bezos, and world-renowned Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli.

  • Mother of murdered Italian teenager arrested in Pakistan

    Mother of murdered Italian teenager arrested in Pakistan

    After dodging arrest for three years, the mother of Saman Abbas has been taken into custody in Azad Kashmir, Italian news agency Ansa has said.

    The 18-year-old was an Italian-Pakistani teenager who went missing in the Reggio Emilia on April 30, 2021, and her body was found in November 2022.

    Her mother, Nazia Shaheen, left Italy after the murder. An international arrest warrant was issued against her.

    The arrest is said to be made possible through joint efforts between Interpol and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

    Shaheen was taken to Islamabad, where she appeared before the court on Friday for the extradition procedure.

    Her husband, Shabbar Abbas, was also extradited to Italy in August 2023 after he came to Pakistan following the murder b

    In December 2023, a court in Reggio Emilia sentenced the couple to life in prison in absentia after finding them guilty of homicide.

    Ansa reports that as per the orders by Italian judges, Saman’s mother “may have been the person who actually carried out the murder.”

    The judges also dismissed the widely believed notion that Saman’s refusal to marry an older man in Pakistan was the motive for the murder. Instead, they determined that the killing was a “spur of the moment” act, driven by anger over the victim’s desire to leave home and live with her boyfriend.

    Saman’s uncle was also extradited from France for the trial. He has been sentenced to 14 years, while two cousins were acquitted.

  • Worried about getting visa for Italy? We have good news for you!

    Worried about getting visa for Italy? We have good news for you!

    Getting a visa for certain countries, especially when they don’t have an embassy, can be a hassle. If you want to go to Italy, we have good news for you.

    Italy has commenced visa services from Lahore, with plans underway to extend similar facilities to other major cities in Pakistan, announced Augusto Palmeiri, the First Secretary of the Italian Embassy, during a session at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

    Palmeiri highlighted that Lahore held special significance as it was the first city he visited in his official capacity as the embassy secretary. He emphasised the importance of strengthening ties between Italy and Pakistan, both in terms of general cooperation and business ventures.

    While noting the symbolic significance of opening visa services in Lahore, he called it a signal of openness to visitors and business collaborations. He underscored the potential of elevating bilateral trade to new highs by setting an ambitious goal of $5 billion.

    In efforts to deepen trade ties, he outlined plans for a step-by-step approach to encourage entrepreneurs to participate in fairs and exhibitions in Italy, inviting businessmen to engage in upcoming expos for networking and fostering B2B connections.

    He also emphasized the significance of political cooperation through the signing of memoranda of understanding and trade agreements to facilitate growth.

    The secretary talked about a recent productive meeting with the Board of Investment, where the potential for Italian investment in Pakistan was emphasized.

    LCCI President Kashif Anwar lauded the initiatives taken by the Italian embassy, particularly the launch of visa services, as a significant step towards enhancing bilateral trade. He highlighted Italy’s importance as a trading partner for Pakistan, ranking eighth among the top exporting destinations.

  • Farmers protest: From India to Europe

    Farmers protest: From India to Europe

    Farmers are protesting from India to Europe, separately, for their rights and to register their rebellion with sitting governments against soaring fuel, and fertilizer costs, lower prices of their produce, and restrictive regulations. The protests are shedding light on the very pertinent issues faced by the primary food-producing sector of countries owning big agricultural markets.

    Demands of Greek farmers

    Farmers in Greece are protesting across the country against rising costs. They are conducting a tractor rally all across the country. Manolis Liakis, a farmer from the southern island of Crete, talked to __ and singled out fuel costs as his biggest problem. He said farmers pay more than three times as much for petrol as shipping companies due to tax disparities. Farmers can’t sell their products “for ridiculously low prices while the consumer buys them at extremely high prices”, he said.

    Demands of Polish farmers

    In Poland, farmers are blocking roads to stop cheap grain imports crossing the border from Ukraine. They are demanding a “complete embargo” on Ukranian produce. During the protests on Tuesday against competition from imports of cheaper Ukrainian products, farmers in Gorzyczki, southern Poland, unfurled a banner saying “Putin, get Ukraine, Brussels, and our government in order”. Consequently, the farmers were warned by the government against raising the slogans.

    Demands of Spanish farmers

    Spanish farmers are gathering with hundreds of tractors in tow to protest against the unfair competition from outside the European Union. They want to include production costs in the end product so they don’t end up selling their goods at a loss. Additionally, they want imported products to be subjected to the same conditions that they have to face.

    Demands of French farmers

    French farmers blocked a milk transport in protest against wholesale prices they say are too low. The farmers’ unions have made it clear they want ironclad assurances that their grievances over produce prices and red tape have been addressed. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal is trying to negotiate and pacify the raging farmers with the negotiations.

    Demands of Czech farmers

    In Prague, farmers are on the roads because they feel neglected in the policy-making process. After all, they are not given due attention by the government. “Around 3,000 tractors took to the streets,” The Czech Chamber of Agriculture said in a statement on the nationwide protests. Their demands included an end to restrictions on agricultural production, cutting red tape for farming, and introducing changes to the EU-Ukraine arrangements on farming imports.

    Demands of Italian farmers

    In Rome, cowbells are clanking with the message that Farmers feed the world, but can’t afford to farm.

    Demands of Indian farmers

    In India, massive protests have broken out over minimum crop price guarantees which were promised nearly a year ago but not implemented by the government. Thousands of Indian farmers riding tractors attempted to resume their push towards New Delhi. They were attacked by the police claiming the life of young farmer Shubhkaran Singh and injuring 25 others. Farm unions are demanding a law to set a minimum price on all crops, expanding a government scheme that already exists for staples, including rice and wheat. They have also demanded other concessions, including the waiving of loans and universal pensions for farmers aged 60 and above.


    Concerns of Canadian Farmers

    In Canada, there are fewer environmental regulations but farmers feel a disconnect with the central government whose main mandate is based on the environment. They have been pushing forward all kinds of policies about fertilizer reduction and disallowing certain pesticides. The green policies and higher costs have instead of favouring them making farmers feel ignored. Experts say the consumers feel that lower output prices and higher input prices are just a way for the government to tell them that do whatever they want but in a cleaner and environmentally friendly way.

    Conclusion

    Protesting farmers are trying to divert attention to the most neglected yet important sector of a country which is the food-producing sector which is the backbone of both the society and the economy of the country yet remains ignored by the political class for their vested interests.

  • Italy, Home Of The Mafia, Now One Of Europe’s Safest Countries

    Italy may be the land that launched Cosa Nostra, but today it is one of the safest countries in Europe, with a murder rate well below its neighbours.

    From the mid-19th century through to the 1990s, thousands of people died in mafia violence, from rivals or traitors cast in cement or fed to pigs, to judges, priests and witnesses killed for daring to defy the mob.

    There were also the traumatic “Years of Lead” from the end of the 1960s to the 1980s, when armed groups from the extreme left and extreme right brought terror to Italy with bombings and assassinations.

    The brutal murder of former prime minister Aldo Moro by the Marxist-Leninist Red Brigades in 1978 is burned into the national psyche, although the largest number of the estimated 400 victims of the period were killed by neo-fascists.

    But when this bloody period ended, and after a crackdown on mafias which pushed them into less violent financial crime, the murder rate plummeted.

    Back in 1990, there were 34 murders per one million inhabitants in Italy, compared to 24 in neighbouring France, according to UN figures.

    In 2021-22, this had fallen to 5.5 per million in Italy and 11 in France, eight in Germany and 10 in the UK.

    In Europe, only Norway and Switzerland have a murder rate lower or equal to Italy’s, while Latvia, the worst, has a rate 6.5 times higher.

    “Homicides in general have decreased in the last 25 years, especially the percentage of men” — who previously were the main victims of mafias, noted Raffaella Sette, a sociologist at the University of Bologna.

    Just 10 percent of murders each year are now blamed on organised crime.

    “The mafias — the Camorra, the ‘Ndrangheta, the Cosa Nostra — have radically changed their way of operating,” said Gianluca Arrighi, a criminal lawyer who writes police novels.

    “Today, they operate from a more economic point of view, buying up real estate, entering into companies,” he said.

    Analysing the causes of violence across different countries is always risky, but Arrighi believes several factors are at play.

    While Italy is poorer than its comparable EU neighbours, he says this is not always detrimental to social well-being, saying “goodwill” between people can help compensate for life’s difficulties.

    “The higher the conflict in a society, the higher the number of murders, committed by people who are in some state of anger,” Arrighi told AFP.

    The murder rate is, however, higher in the south of Italy, the poorest part of the country.

    But Stefano Delfini, head of criminal analysis at the government’s department of public security, agrees that “our society is less violent”.

    “The social fabric is more resistant, probably because of the presence of family values which mean difficulties are felt in a less harsh way.”

    Another factor that drives violence in other countries is alcohol or drug use, particularly in France and the UK.

    Italy does not keep data on this, but consumption of alcohol is the lowest in the EU, according to the World Health Organization.

    There is rising awareness in Italy about femicides — killing of a woman or girl by a partner, spouse or family member — with 97 recorded in 2023, out of a total 330 murders.

    A lack of harmonised data on femicides makes comparisons with other European countries difficult.

    But statistics compiled by the World Bank for 2021 show a rate of 3.9 murders of women per one million people in Italy, well below the 6.8 in France and 8.0 in Germany.

    © Agence France-Presse

  • Pakistani passport once again least powerful

    Pakistani passport once again least powerful

    Henley & Partners‘ Passport Index has published a list portraying the world’s travel access hierarchy.

    Top on the list of countries that encourage travelling are France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Spain, whose citizens can visit an astounding 194 destinations without requiring arduous visa procedures. This group of countries offer passport-to-plane experience, setting the bar high for unmatched worldwide mobility.

    With access to 193 locations, Finland, South Korea, and Sweden share second place. Many visa-free or visa-on-arrival options are available to their well-travelled inhabitants, providing access to a variety of cultures and environments.

    Austria, Denmark, Ireland, and the Netherlands take third place with access to 192 destinations. These nations serve as entry points to a wide range of travel opportunities.

    The long list goes on, honouring countries that place a high priority on global connection. Among the notable entries are the United States, Canada, Greece, Switzerland, and New Zealand, all of which provide their inhabitants with an abundance of travel options.

    On the other hand, the Passport Index identifies states with more limited travel options. Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, and Pakistan are among the least accessible, offering their passport holders entry to just 34 countries that require no visa or one upon arrival.

    The London-based company, which offers residency and citizenship consultancy services, teamed together with the International Air Transport Association to create a unique ranking that takes into account passport holders’ access to countries without a visa or with one upon arrival.

  • Italy: Pakistani parents sentenced to life-imprisonment for killing daughter

    Italy: Pakistani parents sentenced to life-imprisonment for killing daughter

    A Pakistani couple was sentenced to life in prison by an Italian court on Tuesday for the 2021 murder of their daughter after she refused an arranged marriage.

    Saman Abbas, 18, was living in Novellara near Bologna when she disappeared in May 2021, having rejected the previous year her family’s demand that she marry a cousin in Pakistan.

    A tribunal in Reggio Emilia in central Italy ruled that the parents ordered the murder and that an uncle had strangled his niece.

    The uncle was sentenced to 14 years after accepting a plea bargain, while two cousins were acquitted in an affair that shocked the country.

    Abbas had denounced her parents to the police and social workers placed her in a shelter in November 2020.

    But she visited her family in April 2021, planning to pick up her passport and start a new life with her boyfriend, whom her family disapproved of.

    She disappeared soon after, and police, alerted by the boyfriend, raided the family home in May but the parents had already left for Pakistan.

    The young woman was probably killed the night of April 30 to May 1, according to surveillance camera footage showing five people leaving the family home with shovels, crowbars and buckets, before returning two and a half hours later.

    A year later Abbas’s body was found in an abandoned farmhouse with a broken neck.

    Her brother told police that he had overheard his father talking about the murder and that it was the uncle who had killed his sister.

    The father, Shabbar Abbas, was arrested in Pakistan and extradited to Italy in August 2023.

    The uncle, Danish Hasnain, was turned over by French authorities while the cousins were arrested in Spain.

    The four men were present at the trial, but the mother, Nazia Shaheen, is still a fugitive.

  • US-led coalition to patrol Red Sea against Houthi attacks

    US-led coalition to patrol Red Sea against Houthi attacks

    The United States on Monday announced a 10-nation coalition to quell Houthi missile and drone attacks on ships transiting the Red Sea, with Britain, France, Bahrain and Italy among countries joining the “multinational security initiative.”

    “Countries that seek to uphold the foundational principle of freedom of navigation must come together to tackle the challenge posed by this non-state actor,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.

    Iran-backed Houthi rebels have escalated attacks on tankers, cargo ships and other vessels in the Red Sea, imperiling a transit route that carries up to 12 percent of global trade.

    The security coalition, Austin said, will operate “with the goal of ensuring freedom of navigation for all countries and bolstering regional security and prosperity.”

    It includes the United States, United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain, Austin said.

    Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said earlier they had attacked two “Israeli-linked” vessels in the Red Sea in solidarity with Gaza, as more companies halt transit through the troubled but vital waterway.

    The attacks on the Norwegian-owned Swan Atlantic and another ship identified by the Houthis as the MSC Clara are the latest in a flurry of maritime incidents that are disrupting global trade in an attempt to pressure Israel over its war against Hamas militants.

    In a statement, the Yemeni rebels said they had carried out a “military operation against two ships linked to the Zionist entity” using naval drones.

    They vowed to “continue to prevent all ships heading to Israeli ports… from navigating in the Arab and Red Seas” until more food and medicine is allowed into Gaza.

    But the Swan Atlantic’s owner, Norway’s Inventor Chemical Tankers, said in a statement the ship was carrying biofuel feedstock from France to Reunion Island.

    It said the vessel has “no Israeli link” and was managed by a Singaporean firm, adding that the Indian crew were unharmed and the vessel sustained limited damage.

    British oil giant BP became the latest to suspend transit through the Red Sea on Monday, while Taiwan shipping firm Evergreen said it was suspending its Israeli cargo shipments with immediate effect.

    Frontline, one of the world’s largest tanker companies, also said it was rerouting ships and would “only allow new business” that could be routed via South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.

    That route is far longer and uses more fuel.

    The Red Sea attacks have forced insurance companies to significantly increase premiums on ships, making it uneconomical for some to transit through the Suez Canal.

    Italian-Swiss giant Mediterranean Shipping Company, France’s CMA CGM, Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd, Belgium’s Euronav and Denmark’s A.P Moller-Maersk — the latter accounting for 15 percent of global container freight — have all stopped using the Red Sea until further notice.

    The attacks have become “a maritime security crisis” with “commercial and economic implications in the region and beyond,” Torbjorn Soltvedt of analysis firm Verisk Maplecroft told AFP.

    Monday’s attack took place as the Pentagon chief visited Israel after a stop in Bahrain, home base of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

    “In the Red Sea, we’re leading a multinational maritime taskforce to uphold the bedrock principle of freedom of navigation. Iran’s support for Houthi attacks on commercial vessels must stop,” Austin said at a news conference.

    On Saturday, a US destroyer shot down 14 drones in the Red Sea launched from rebel-controlled areas of Yemen, the US military said.
    Britain said one of its destroyers had also brought down a suspected attack drone in the area.

    Rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam said neutral Oman had launched mediation efforts to safeguard shipping using the waterway.

    “Under the sponsorship of our brothers in the Sultanate of Oman, communication and discussion continue with a number of international parties regarding operations in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea,” he said on X, formerly Twitter.

    The Gaza war broke out when its rulers Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, killing around 1,140 people and kidnapping some 250, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

    Gaza’s health ministry says Israel’s military response has killed more than 19,450 people, mostly women and children.