Italian PM Meloni denies discussing SpaceX deal with billionaire Elon Musk
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday denied talking to Elon Musk about a cybersecurity deal with the billionaire's SpaceX company after reports of an agreement sparked widespread controversy in Italy.
"I have never spoken personally with Musk about these matters," she told journalists at her annual press conference in Rome.
In the wake of Meloni's surprise visit to US President-elect Donald Trump in Florida on Saturday, Italian media reported that Rome was in advanced talks with SpaceX for a €1.5-billion contract to provide Italy with secure telecommunications.
Rumours that a contract was discussed on the sidelines of Meloni's visit to Trump sparked outraged reactions from Italy's opposition parties.
The head of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), Elly Schlein, on Monday demanded that Meloni and her government "immediately report on the discussions with Musk".
"If 1.5 billion euros of Italian money to use the satellites of an American billionaire in our country is the price to pay for his friendship, we do not agree," she said.
Meloni's office denied "categorically" that the contract with SpaceX was "discussed during the meeting with President-elect Donald Trump".
However, she acknowledged on Thursday that "SpaceX has presented the government with a technology that allows secure communication at the national level but above all at the global level".
For Italy, this means “guaranteeing secure communications with our diplomatic missions and, for example, our military contingents abroad,” she said.
Body found in Italy’s Dolomites believed to be that of missing Briton Sam Harris
A body found in the search for two missing British hikers in the Dolomites is believed to be that of 35-year-old Sam Harris, Il Corriere del Trentino reported on Thursday.
The body was recovered by Italy’s alpine rescue service on Wednesday. It was located under a layer of snow at an altitude of about 2,600 metres in the Conca pass of the Adamello natural park, Trentino.
The discovery came after two rucksacks and other equipment were found during a search of a nearby bivouac hut on Wednesday morning.
Searches for Harris’s friend, Aziz Ziriat, 36, continued on Thursday after they were stalled by adverse weather conditions on Wednesday afternoon.
Harris and Ziriat, both from London, were last heard from on January 1st after they sent messages home.
Joe Stone, one of Ziriat’s friends, said on Tuesday that the pair were experienced hikers, but “alarm bells were raised” when they failed to check in for their return flight on January 6th.
Italian PM Meloni says US won't forcefully take Greenland, Panama Canal
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday dismissed speculation that the United States might use force to take Greenland or the Panama Canal, saying Donald Trump's comments on the issue were aimed at China.
"I feel like I can rule out that the United States in the coming years will try to forcefully annex territories that interest them," Meloni told reporters at her annual press conference, according to AFP.
She said Trump's remarks were "more of a message to...other big global players".
"They are both territories in which we have witnessed a growing Chinese prominence in recent years," she said.
Trump on Tuesday refused to rule out military intervention in the Panama Canal and Greenland, which he said he wants the United States to control.
"We need Greenland for national security purposes," he declared.
A mineral- and oil-rich Arctic island, Greenland is an autonomous territory of EU member Denmark.
Italian car maker Lamborghini sets new sales record amid hybrid push
Italian sports car manufacturer Lamborghini set a new sales record in 2024, defying the gloom that has hit mass-market car makers, according to AFP.
Lamborghini sold 10,687 cars last year – up by six percent against 2023.
Deliveries were up by six percent in Europe and the Middle East – Lamborghini's largest market by volume – and up by seven and three percent in the Americas and Asia-Pacific respectively.
"The results highlight the success of strategically balancing supply and demand, along with a well-calibrated order portfolio, strengthening the brand’s desirability," said chairman and CEO Stephan Winkelmann.
2024 was a transition year for Lamborghini, with the brand moving to produce only hybrid cars.
Lamborghini has enough orders for the Revuelto, its first hybrid supercar, to last until 2026 and its Urus SUV will soon be available only as a hybrid.
Lamborghini is in no hurry to make electric-only cars, though it developed an electric concept car in 2023.
"The market for electric cars won't be mature in 2025 and it won't be too late to have an electric model by 2030," Winkelmann told French daily Le Figaro in December.
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