Italy welcomes release of Italians held by Venezuela
Italian leaders on Monday hailed the release of two Italian citizens who had been held in Venezuelan prisons for over 14 months.
Alberto Trentini, a 46-year-old Venetian aid worker, had been detained in a maximum-security Caracas jail without charge since November 2024, according to Italian news agency Ansa.
Turin businessman Mario Burlò, 53, was also detained while travelling from Caracas to Guasdualito around the same time for reasons his lawyers said were unclear.
The two were taken to the Italian embassy in Caracas and were expected to arrive in Rome's Ciampino airport on Tuesday morning.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she felt "joy and satisfaction", and thanked Venezuela's Interim President Delcy Rodriguez for their release.
Protests after worker dies in fall at troubled steel plant
Italian unions have called a 24-hour strike after a worker at the former Ilva steel plant in Taranto, southern Italy, fell to his death during an inspection on Monday.
47-year-old Claudio Salamida was checking valves when he fell several metres after the platform he was working on is believed to have given way, according to Ansa.
The steelworks has been at the centre of controversy for years after being linked to increased cancer rates in children, plus high rates of asthma and respiratory problems.
Despite fears of toxic pollution, many locals want the plant to remain open amid concerns about job losses, and have protested government plans to sell off the plant to foreign buyers.
Dozens of mobsters from Italy's three mafias sentenced
Dozens of mafiosi from Italy's three main organised crime groups were sentenced on Monday for teaming up to traffic drugs and commit financial crimes in the country's richest region.
The so-called "maxi-trial", which began in May, involved defendants linked to Calabria's 'Ndrangheta, Sicily's Cosa Nostra and the Camorra with roots around Naples – all accused of running what prosecutors called a lucrative "consortium" in Lombardy.
The court sentenced 62 defendants under a rapid summary trial procedure to up to 16 years in prison each and ruled that 45 more will face a full trial, Italian media reported.
Dubbed "Hydra" in a reference to the mythological multi-headed monster, the trial is one of the biggest related to the dealings of Italy's organised crime groups far from their southern strongholds.
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