Today in Italy: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday
A "crisis" facing Italy's hospitals, calls to crack down on Fascist salutes, new rules for motorists, and more of the biggest news stories from Italy on Thursday.
Italy’s top story on Thursday:
Italy's emergency departments are facing a "crisis", Italy's doctors' association has warned, as the number of patients being hospitalised with severe cases of seasonal flu and Covid has soared in recent weeks.
There was alarm after two patients in the northern city of Vicenza died of the H1N1 flu virus, and three more were in intensive care in the same hospital as of Wednesday evening.
Doctors blamed the situation on Italy's "disastrous" seasonal vaccine campaign this year, with low take-up for flu vaccines.
Covid booster vaccines have also been available to at-risk categories since October in most Italian regions, and to the general public since early December, but a lack of publicity is being blamed for the fact that many doctors, as well as patients, were unaware that the vaccine was available.
Meloni urged to break silence over Fascist salutes
There have been growing calls for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to condemn the Fascist salutes made by hundreds of people in Rome on Sunday.
Opposition Democratic Party (PD) leader Elly Schlein said on Wednesday the premier's failure to comment three days later was "embarrassing".
"Premier Meloni spoke for three hours [at her end-of-year press conference]," Schlein told the Lower House on Wednesday. "All she needed was 30 seconds to declare herself to be anti-Fascist".
One member of Meloni's government - but not her party - Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi has so far publicly condemned the display, though he said banning extremist groups was complicated.
The president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, Noemi Di Segni, also added her voice to calls for the government to condemn the act and to strengthen laws against the glorification of fascism.
While some of those participating insisted it was just a “historical re-enactment”, Di Segni said: “that gesture has meaning”.
Italy already has laws against ‘apology of fascism’, which cover the dissemination of fascist propaganda. However they are rarely enforced.
Man arrested for stabbing ex on Boxing Day
A man accused of stabbing his ex-wife outside a motorway service station near Florence on Boxing Day has been arrested.
The man had presented himself to police for questioning the day after the incident, denying any involvement, but reportedly remained a prime suspect based on previous violent behaviour.
The woman had been returning home with her two adult daughters after spending Christmas with relatives outside Rome. She hadn't recognised her hooded attacker, who she managed to fight off, sustaining a wound to her thigh.
Italy has undergone something of a national reckoning over its femicide rates in recent weeks following the high-profile murder of 22-year-old university student Giulia Cecchettin by her ex-boyfriend in November.
Soon after news of the murder broke, Cecchettin's sister sparked a national debate by describing Giulia's killer as a "healthy child of the patriarchy" and calling on men to do a "mea culpa" for their treatment of women.
Motorists who abandon pets could lose driving licence
Italy’s transport commission “has approved an amendment to the Highway Code which provides for tougher penalties - up to the confiscation of the licence - for those who abandon animals,” stated MPs from the League party on Wednesday.
They said the “uncivilised phenomenon” of people abandoning their pets by the side of Italy’s roads, particularly before going away on summer holidays, had “reached unacceptable levels, and also puts the safety of road users at risk.”
As many as 71,000 dogs were abandoned in Italy in 2022 according to environmental lobby Legambiente.
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Italy’s top story on Thursday:
Italy's emergency departments are facing a "crisis", Italy's doctors' association has warned, as the number of patients being hospitalised with severe cases of seasonal flu and Covid has soared in recent weeks.
There was alarm after two patients in the northern city of Vicenza died of the H1N1 flu virus, and three more were in intensive care in the same hospital as of Wednesday evening.
Doctors blamed the situation on Italy's "disastrous" seasonal vaccine campaign this year, with low take-up for flu vaccines.
Covid booster vaccines have also been available to at-risk categories since October in most Italian regions, and to the general public since early December, but a lack of publicity is being blamed for the fact that many doctors, as well as patients, were unaware that the vaccine was available.
Meloni urged to break silence over Fascist salutes
There have been growing calls for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to condemn the Fascist salutes made by hundreds of people in Rome on Sunday.
Opposition Democratic Party (PD) leader Elly Schlein said on Wednesday the premier's failure to comment three days later was "embarrassing".
"Premier Meloni spoke for three hours [at her end-of-year press conference]," Schlein told the Lower House on Wednesday. "All she needed was 30 seconds to declare herself to be anti-Fascist".
One member of Meloni's government - but not her party - Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi has so far publicly condemned the display, though he said banning extremist groups was complicated.
The president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, Noemi Di Segni, also added her voice to calls for the government to condemn the act and to strengthen laws against the glorification of fascism.
While some of those participating insisted it was just a “historical re-enactment”, Di Segni said: “that gesture has meaning”.
Italy already has laws against ‘apology of fascism’, which cover the dissemination of fascist propaganda. However they are rarely enforced.
Man arrested for stabbing ex on Boxing Day
A man accused of stabbing his ex-wife outside a motorway service station near Florence on Boxing Day has been arrested.
The man had presented himself to police for questioning the day after the incident, denying any involvement, but reportedly remained a prime suspect based on previous violent behaviour.
The woman had been returning home with her two adult daughters after spending Christmas with relatives outside Rome. She hadn't recognised her hooded attacker, who she managed to fight off, sustaining a wound to her thigh.
Italy has undergone something of a national reckoning over its femicide rates in recent weeks following the high-profile murder of 22-year-old university student Giulia Cecchettin by her ex-boyfriend in November.
Soon after news of the murder broke, Cecchettin's sister sparked a national debate by describing Giulia's killer as a "healthy child of the patriarchy" and calling on men to do a "mea culpa" for their treatment of women.
Motorists who abandon pets could lose driving licence
Italy’s transport commission “has approved an amendment to the Highway Code which provides for tougher penalties - up to the confiscation of the licence - for those who abandon animals,” stated MPs from the League party on Wednesday.
They said the “uncivilised phenomenon” of people abandoning their pets by the side of Italy’s roads, particularly before going away on summer holidays, had “reached unacceptable levels, and also puts the safety of road users at risk.”
As many as 71,000 dogs were abandoned in Italy in 2022 according to environmental lobby Legambiente.
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