Hundreds of thousands of people were yesterday expected to protest in Rome’s Circus Maximus against a civil unions bill for same-sex couples, a hot-potato issue for Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s government.
“As many people as possible must take part, remember this is the only weapon we have,” organizer Massimo Gandolfini said ahead of the “Family Day” rally, which was to begin in the capital’s ancient Roman chariot racing stadium at noon.
Gandolfini said he expected to fill the arena, which accommodates 350,000 people without counting the surrounding streets, while authorities in Rome said they were preparing for up to 500,000 people.
Italy is the last major Western country not to allow same-sex couples legal status. The Italian Senate began examining the bill on Thursday, which would enable gay people to commit to one another before a state official and, in certain circumstances, adopt each other’s children and inherit residual pension rights.
In 2007, another vast “Family Day” forced the center-left government of then-Italian prime minister Romano Prodi to drop a much less ambitious civil union project — and the failure of the bill was cited as one of the reasons behind the fall of his government early the following year.
Supporters say Italy has no choice this time but to change, pointing to repeated complaints from the European Court of Human Rights.
The Italian Episcopal Conference on Friday said it was “concerned” about the “process under way of putting marriage and civil unions on the same level — with the introduction of an alternative to the family.”
While some accused the bishops of failing to follow Pope Francis’ call for the church to show greater compassion to the marginalized or excluded, others said the Catholic country would do its utmost to protect vulnerable children.
Center-left Renzi has said he is confident the bill will pass, although there are several sticking points, in particular the ability to adopt the biological children of one’s partner.
“Italy tomorrow will become a beacon for Europe. Each child needs a father and a mother, the complete deal,” Jacopo Coghe, head of the Family Generation association, told journalists at a pre-rally event on Friday.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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