Italy working to prevent 'fatal' US tariffs on pasta
Italy has appealed to Washington and the European Commission in an attempt to dissuade the US from imposing punitive tariffs on pasta imports.
In early September, the United States' Department of Commerce announced plans to impose provisional anti-dumping duties of over 91 percent on pasta from January 2026, on top of the 15 percent already in place.
Italy's largest agricultural association Coldiretti on Saturday called the decision a "fatal blow" and called on the EU and Rome to "protect a true symbol of the Mediterranean diet".
The foreign ministry said it was "working closely with the companies involved and in consultation with the European Commission to ensure that the US department reviews the provisional duties imposed on our companies".
The US market holds strategic importance for Italian producers, with an estimated value of nearly 671 million euros ($788 million) in 2024, according to Coldiretti, accounting for nearly 17 percent of exports.
Italy-Libya migration pact under renewed scrutiny over shootings
Years of criticism of an EU-backed migration pact between Italy and Libya are coming to a head as migrant rescuers say the Libyan coastguard has begun firing directly at them.
"Hundreds of bullets were fired during 20 terrifying minutes" in an attack "deliberately targeting crew members on the bridge... at head height", said SOS Mediterranee, the charity running the Ocean Viking ship, in August.
Last week, German charity Sea-Watch said its rescue ship was also shot at by the Libyan coastguard using live ammunition.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government and the European Union provide funding and training to the Libyan coastguard to intercept people attempting the crossing to Europe.
Critics say the agreement, signed in 2017 by the then-centre-left government, makes Italy and the EU complicit in human rights breaches by war-torn Libya. Opposition parties are calling for the deal to be scrapped before it automatically renews in February.
"It's unacceptable that the Italian government and the EU allows criminal militia to fire on civilians," said Sea-Watch spokeswoman Giorgia Linardi after last week's incident.
Last 15 Italians aboard Gaza flotilla to return on Monday
Fifteen Italians will be among more than 70 people of different nationalities to leave Israel on Monday after they were seized aboard an intercepted Gaza aid flotilla.
The Italian foreign ministry said its released nationals would fly from Israel to Athens on Monday alongside 27 Greek citizens. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on X that the 15 Italians would have assistance for a subsequent transfer to Italy.
A first group of 26 Italians already left Israel on Saturday, but the last 15 had to wait for their judicial expulsion from the country as they refused to sign a form allowing their voluntary release.
Several of the Italians in the first group said after returning to their country that they were subjected to degrading treatment by the Israeli authorities.
Saverio Tommasi, a journalist for the online media site Fanpage, said he was hit in the back and on the head by his Israeli captors.
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