Attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon ‘unacceptable’: PM Meloni
Italian PM Giorgia Meloni "reiterated the unacceptability of UNIFIL [peacekeepers] being attacked by Israeli armed forces" in a phone conversation with Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu, her office said in a statement on Sunday, according to Ansa.
Meloni said that the peacekeeping mission "acts under a mandate from the [UN] Security Council to contribute to regional stability" and "stressed the absolute necessity that the security of UNIFIL personnel be guaranteed at all times," the statement said.
The phone call between the two premiers came a day after a fifth member of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was wounded by gunfire following two similar incidents on Thursday and Friday.
Netanyahu on Sunday called on UN chief Antonio Guterres to move peacekeepers deployed in south Lebanon out of "harm's way", saying Hezbollah was using them as "human shields", according to AFP.
Speaking ahead of a cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said Israeli forces had asked UNIFIL to withdraw from the border area multiple times.
"Your refusal to evacuate the UNIFIL soldiers makes them hostages of Hezbollah. This endangers both them and the lives of our soldiers," he said.
Technical problem halts services on Milan’s new M4 metro line
Services on Milan’s M4 metro line came to a halt on Sunday, less than 24 hours after a new section of the route, including 13 new stations, was inaugurated, Il Corriere della Sera reported.
There were no trains running for at least 35 minutes between midday and 1pm on Sunday. Services resumed shortly after 1pm.
Operator ATM said the stoppage was due to a technical fault involving the line’s software and an investigation into the problem was still ongoing.
La Repubblica also said that some escalators and lifts at the new stations were out of order and that some turnstiles were not able to read electronic tickets.
The M4 metro line allows people to travel from the east to the west of the city and vice versa in around 27 minutes.
President Mattarella says workplace safety must be ‘permanent priority’
Italian President Sergio Mattarella said on Sunday that workplace health and safety must be a "permanent priority" after Italy registered some 680 fatal work-related accidents over the first eight months of 2024 – up by 3.5 percent compared to the same period in 2023, Ansa reported.
"Today Italy turns its thoughts to the people who have lost their lives or suffered injuries and illnesses because of their job," Mattarella said in a statement on Italy’s national day for the victims of work-related accidents.
"Safety at work is a permanent priority for the Republic,” he said, adding that "every life lost, every life compromised calls for a collective commitment to preventing further loss of health and dignity".
Mattarella’s words came a day after a 29-year-old worker was killed by a falling pallet loaded with windows in Altavilla Vicentina, Veneto.
Two Ravenna men under investigation over rape of American student
Two men from Ravenna, Emilia Romagna, were placed under investigation in connection with the alleged rape of a 19-year-old American student in late August, Ansa reported on Sunday.
The 19-year-old woman was allegedly raped on August 25th at a beach club in the Punta Marina Terme resort, on the Adriatic coastline.
Prosecutors put the two men under investigation following checks aimed at establishing whether or not a date rape drug was used on the woman.
Italian media reports said the suspects were “just over the age of 20”.
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