Italy's top story on Monday:
Some 44 migrants were rescued and three reported missing after a small boat sank in international waters south of Italy on Sunday, according to news agency Ansa.
A Tunisian fishing boat rescued 44 people, including Gambian, Guinean, Malian and Senegalese nationals, in the early hours of Sunday.
The rescued migrants were then transferred to an Italian coastguard’s patrol boat and taken to Lampedusa, a small island located around 145 kilometres off the coast of Tunisia.
Three migrants were reported missing and were at the centre of search efforts from Italy’s coastguard on Sunday.
The rescued migrants said they had left the port of Sfax, northern Tunisia, on Friday night and had paid 800 euros each for the crossing.
Sicily’s Mount Etna spews lava and ash in latest eruption
Mount Etna, on Sicily’s eastern coast, spewed lava and a five-kilometre-high column of ash in its latest eruption on Sunday, Ansa reported.
The volcano shot black ash and small stone fragments known as 'lapilli' into the air, while the Nuova Bocca (‘New Mouth’) crater belched a fresh flow of lava.
Flights to and from Catania’s airport were briefly suspended on Friday morning after ash plumes from Mount Etna shot up into the sky as high as 4.5 kilometres.
Mount Etna, Europe's tallest active volcano, is believed to have the longest documented history of eruptions of any volcano, with records dating as far back as 425 BC.
Justice minister says Italian mayors will toast 'abuse of office' decriminalisation
Italy’s Justice Minister Carlo Nordio said on Saturday he expects Italian mayors to toast the upcoming decriminalisation of the offence of abuse of office, Ansa reported.
"I think that the vast majority of administrators who may have voted against [it] in deference to party rules are happy and, perhaps, when this reform is approved on Wednesday, they will open a bottle of sparkling wine," he said.
Abuse of office – a criminal offence punishing public officials who unlawfully use their powers for self-serving purposes – has long been a target of criticism from Nordio, who first proposed its abolition last June.
READ ALSO: Rome in push to decriminalise abuse of office despite corruption fears
Nordio has described abuse of office as an “feeble crime” that complicates investigations “because it clogs up public prosecutors’ offices with useless files".
Italy’s plan to abolish abuse of office was slammed by the EU in early January, with European Commission spokesman Christian Wigand saying it “decriminalises an important form of corruption and may have an impact on the effectiveness of the fight against corruption".
Italian disco icon Pino D’Angiò dies aged 71
Pino D’Angiò, an iconic figure of the 1980s Italian disco music scene, died at the age of 71 on Saturday, according to Ansa.
His wife Teresa and son Francesco said in a statement on Saturday: “Unfortunately, dad left us today, struck by a serious illness that took him away within a few weeks. He endured a lot, as he always has."
Born in Pompeii in 1952, D’Angiò, stage name Giuseppe Chierchia, enjoyed a string of international chart successes in the 1980s but was perhaps best known for hit song Ma quale idea (literally, ‘But What Idea’), which returned to the charts in early 2024 after being remixed by Italian group Bnkr44.
D’Angiò duetted with the group on the stage of the Sanremo music festival in February of this year.
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