Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s new right-wing Cabinet, at its first meeting in Naples on Wednesday, endorsed a package of tough measures aimed at Gypsies and clandestine immigrants.
In a move that appeared certain to cause controversy, Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said local authorities would be empowered to check on the living conditions of citizens from other EU nations before granting them right of residence.
The measure appeared to be aimed at Roma living in encampments, and particularly at the estimated 50,000 Romanian Gypsies who have entered Italy in recent years and who are being blamed for much of the rise in crime.
The Cabinet also decided to make unauthorized entry into Italy a crime. The measures will make it easier to expel foreigners, including EU citizens, who are convicted of offences, a move that could bring the government into conflict with Brussels if it is judged to breach European law on freedom of movement within the EU.
In addition, the Cabinet agreed to the confiscation of property let to illegal immigrants, a rule that could have instant and drastic effects on hundreds of thousands of foreigners known to be living in Italy without the right papers.
Adults who force children to beg will face imprisonment.
Introducing the package, Berlusconi said it was intended to assure “the right of Italians not to be afraid — a fundamental right that the state must guarantee.”
Berlusconi’s government also endorsed moves designed to tackle the piles of rubbish that have built up in Naples, the reason why the inaugural Cabinet session was held in the city. The move includes the appointment of a junior minister to tackle the crisis and the opening of eight new dumps.
As the Cabinet met, there were chaotic scenes across Naples as pressure groups seized the opportunity to publicize their grievances.
RARE EVENT: While some cultures have a negative view of eclipses, others see them as a chance to show how people can work together, a scientist said Stargazers across a swathe of the world marveled at a dramatic red “Blood Moon” during a rare total lunar eclipse in the early hours of yesterday morning. The celestial spectacle was visible in the Americas and Pacific and Atlantic oceans, as well as in the westernmost parts of Europe and Africa. The phenomenon happens when the sun, Earth and moon line up, causing our planet to cast a giant shadow across its satellite. But as the Earth’s shadow crept across the moon, it did not entirely blot out its white glow — instead the moon glowed a reddish color. This is because the
DEBT BREAK: Friedrich Merz has vowed to do ‘whatever it takes’ to free up more money for defense and infrastructure at a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty Germany’s likely next leader Friedrich Merz was set yesterday to defend his unprecedented plans to massively ramp up defense and infrastructure spending in the Bundestag as lawmakers begin debating the proposals. Merz unveiled the plans last week, vowing his center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU)/Christian Social Union (CSU) bloc and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) — in talks to form a coalition after last month’s elections — would quickly push them through before the end of the current legislature. Fraying Europe-US ties under US President Donald Trump have fueled calls for Germany, long dependent on the US security umbrella, to quickly
Romania’s electoral commission on Saturday excluded a second far-right hopeful, Diana Sosoaca, from May’s presidential election, amid rising tension in the run-up to the May rerun of the poll. Earlier this month, Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau barred Calin Georgescu, an independent who was polling at about 40 percent ahead of the rerun election. Georgescu, a fierce EU and NATO critic, shot to prominence in November last year when he unexpectedly topped a first round of presidential voting. However, Romania’s constitutional court annulled the election after claims of Russian interference and a “massive” social media promotion in his favor. On Saturday, an electoral commission statement
In front of a secluded temple in southwestern China, Duan Ruru skillfully executes a series of chops and strikes, practicing kung fu techniques she has spent a decade mastering. Chinese martial arts have long been considered a male-dominated sphere, but a cohort of Generation Z women like Duan is challenging that assumption and generating publicity for their particular school of kung fu. “Since I was little, I’ve had a love for martial arts... I thought that girls learning martial arts was super swaggy,” Duan, 23, said. The ancient Emei school where she trains in the mountains of China’s Sichuan Province
RSS