Today in Italy: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday
Italy accuses ChatGPT of breaching privacy rules, outcry over Italian chained in Hungary, rail worker killed in Brescia, and more news from around Italy on Wednesday.
Italy's top story on Wednesday:
Italy's front pages featured images of an Italian woman in chains as she awaited trial in a Hungarian court, as the Italian government said Budapest authorities had gone "too far" and summoned the Hungarian envoy in protest.
Ilaria Salis, an elementary school teacher from Monza, northern Italy, was arrested in Budapest last February following a counter-demonstration at a neo-Nazi rally.
She is charged with three counts of attempted assault and accused of being part of an extreme left-wing organisation, for which she faces a sentence of up to 11 years, according to AFP reports.
Salis's father said she has been treated "like an animal" by the Hungarian authorities and asked prime minister Giorgia Meloni, who has close ties with Hungary's Viktor Orban, to intervene in the case, AFP reported.
Rail worker killed in train crash
Another death on Italy's railways: a 51-year-old railway worker was reportedly killed on the tracks in Chiari, in the northern province of Brescia, on the night between Monday, January 30th and Tuesday 31st.
Joao Rolando Lima Martins, originally from Portugal, was hit by a high-speed train around midnight while crossing the tracks to work on a high-voltage pylon.
It's thought that foggy conditions may have prevented the victim, an employee of the Rebaioli construction company, from seeing the oncoming train.
The Brescia Prosecutor's Office has reportedly opened an investigation into his death.
Italy accuses ChatGPT of breaching privacy rules
Italy has formally accused ChatGPT creator OpenAI of breaking EU data protection laws, giving the company 30 days to respond, the country's data protection watchdog said in a statement on Monday.
The Italian watchdog last year issued a temporary ban on ChatGPT, making Italy the first Western country to block the artificial intelligence-based chatbot.
It later concluded that the "available evidence pointed to the existence of breaches of the provisions contained in the EU GDPR", the European Union's general data protection regulation, according to AFP reports.
The watchdog said in issuing its final judgement, it would make use of the work of a task force established by the EU's central data regulator to assist member states in dealing with issues related to ChatGPT.
Italy returns Ethiopia's 'first plane' after nine decades
Italy has handed back Ethiopia's first ever plane, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Tuesday, about nine decades after it was taken by Italy's Fascist invading forces.
"Today is a day of great pride for Ethiopians as we celebrate the official handover of 'Tsehay' by the Italian Government," Abiy said on his official account on X, formerly Twitter.
His post was accompanied by pictures of the now gleaming red two-seater plane, which was originally built in 1935 during the reign of emperor Haile Selassie.
Historians say the plane was taken to Italy after the invading forces of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini occupied Ethiopia, then Abyssinia, in 1935, taking the capital Addis Ababa the following year, AFP reported.
The Italian defence ministry said the monoplane had made its first flight in December 1935, describing it as a "unique specimen".
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Italy's top story on Wednesday:
Italy's front pages featured images of an Italian woman in chains as she awaited trial in a Hungarian court, as the Italian government said Budapest authorities had gone "too far" and summoned the Hungarian envoy in protest.
Ilaria Salis, an elementary school teacher from Monza, northern Italy, was arrested in Budapest last February following a counter-demonstration at a neo-Nazi rally.
She is charged with three counts of attempted assault and accused of being part of an extreme left-wing organisation, for which she faces a sentence of up to 11 years, according to AFP reports.
Salis's father said she has been treated "like an animal" by the Hungarian authorities and asked prime minister Giorgia Meloni, who has close ties with Hungary's Viktor Orban, to intervene in the case, AFP reported.
Rail worker killed in train crash
Another death on Italy's railways: a 51-year-old railway worker was reportedly killed on the tracks in Chiari, in the northern province of Brescia, on the night between Monday, January 30th and Tuesday 31st.
Joao Rolando Lima Martins, originally from Portugal, was hit by a high-speed train around midnight while crossing the tracks to work on a high-voltage pylon.
It's thought that foggy conditions may have prevented the victim, an employee of the Rebaioli construction company, from seeing the oncoming train.
The Brescia Prosecutor's Office has reportedly opened an investigation into his death.
Italy accuses ChatGPT of breaching privacy rules
Italy has formally accused ChatGPT creator OpenAI of breaking EU data protection laws, giving the company 30 days to respond, the country's data protection watchdog said in a statement on Monday.
The Italian watchdog last year issued a temporary ban on ChatGPT, making Italy the first Western country to block the artificial intelligence-based chatbot.
It later concluded that the "available evidence pointed to the existence of breaches of the provisions contained in the EU GDPR", the European Union's general data protection regulation, according to AFP reports.
The watchdog said in issuing its final judgement, it would make use of the work of a task force established by the EU's central data regulator to assist member states in dealing with issues related to ChatGPT.
Italy returns Ethiopia's 'first plane' after nine decades
Italy has handed back Ethiopia's first ever plane, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Tuesday, about nine decades after it was taken by Italy's Fascist invading forces.
"Today is a day of great pride for Ethiopians as we celebrate the official handover of 'Tsehay' by the Italian Government," Abiy said on his official account on X, formerly Twitter.
His post was accompanied by pictures of the now gleaming red two-seater plane, which was originally built in 1935 during the reign of emperor Haile Selassie.
Historians say the plane was taken to Italy after the invading forces of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini occupied Ethiopia, then Abyssinia, in 1935, taking the capital Addis Ababa the following year, AFP reported.
The Italian defence ministry said the monoplane had made its first flight in December 1935, describing it as a "unique specimen".
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