Die italienische Regierungschefin plant eine Justizreform. Sie will die Macht der Staatsanwälte und Richter beschneiden. Manche Kritiker sehen die Gewaltteilung in Italien in Gefahr.

Investigation finds three were hacked by Paragon spyware at same time, potentially fuelling questions for government

Italian prosecutors investigating a domestic spying scandal say they have independently confirmed that two immigration activists and a journalist were hacked at the same time in late 2024, suggesting all three were part of the same “infection campaign”.

The development could bring more questions for the far-right government of Giorgia Meloni, who has denied any involvement in the hacking of the journalist, the Fanpage editor-in-chief, Francesco Cancellato.

As the Spanish PM decries the war in Iran, other politicians are unable – or unwilling – to speak against the US president

On Wednesday morning, Pedro Sánchez delivered a 10-minute televised address with the rather bland title: “An institutional declaration by the prime minister to assess recent international events.”

The speech’s words, however, were anything but beige. Hours after Donald Trump had threatened to cut off trade with Spain over its government’s refusal to allow two jointly operated bases in Andalucía to be used to strike Iran, Sánchez set out his thinking.

To even be talking about this drastic deportation policy is a sign the far right is winning. In Italy, it’s more than just talk

Meeting Tommy Robinson earlier this month, the French anti-immigration politician Éric Zemmour bluntly summed up his mission: “Politics needs to defeat demographics.” Given rising numbers of Muslims, he said, there was perhaps “10 to 20 years” left to save Europe from “disappearing”. Both men placed their hopes in one policy to reverse the “invasion”: remigration.

At root, remigration means using mass deportations in order to curtail minority – especially Muslim – populations. In France’s 2022 presidential election, Zemmour pledged the creation of a “ministry of remigration” meant to remove “1 million” people, targeting undocumented and dual-national criminals. In practice, supporters of the idea often blur distinctions between criminals and non-criminals, longer-standing citizens and recent migrants, the undocumented and those with settled status.

Meloni government had claimed case showed why officers using weapons in self-defence needed more protection

The arrest of an Italian police officer on suspicion of murder over the fatal shooting of a Moroccan man has prompted a row after the opposition accused Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government of exploiting the case for political ends.

Abderrahim Mansouri, 28, was shot in the head by Carmelo Cinturrino, assistant chief of Mecenate police station, during a police drugs patrol in the Rogoredo area of Milan in late January. Cinturrino originally said he had acted in self-defence after Mansouri pulled a gun on him.

Rom bringt einen Algerier in eines der umstrittenen Haftlager in Albanien – ohne schriftlichen Beschluss. Nun muss der Staat ihm eine Entschädigung zahlen. Ministerpräsidentin Meloni reagiert heftig.

Political tensions rise after fatal attack at protest in Lyon as Emmanuel Macron hits out over remarks by Italian PM

A French prosecutor is seeking murder charges against seven suspects in the fatal beating of a far-right activist that has fuelled political anger beyond France’s borders, prompting Emmanuel Macron to tell Italy’s Giorgia Meloni to keep out of French affairs.

Quentin Deranque, 23, died from head injuries after being attacked by at least six people on the sidelines of a far-right protest in Lyon on 12 February. Most of the 11 suspects who have been detained are from far-left movements.

The deregulation agenda being pushed by Germany’s chancellor and Italy’s prime minister is economically and ethically flawed

When the European Union launched its green deal in 2019, putting into law the goal of climate neutrality by the middle of the century, it showed strategic foresight as well as global leadership. Russia’s war in Ukraine has starkly underlined the extent to which the continent’s energy security – and its future prosperity – is dependent on the transition away from fossil fuels. Lately, however, EU leaders’ environmental approach appears to be echoing the youthful St Augustine’s plea on chastity: make us greener, but not yet.

The recent European Industry Summit in Antwerp made unusually big headlines thanks to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s xenophobic outburst over immigration. But it was also notable for fierce attacks on one of the most important pillars of EU environmental policy. The bloc’s emissions trading system (ETS) – which makes polluters pay for the C02 they emit – has achieved dramatic results in driving down overall emissions since 2005 and encouraging green innovation. Worryingly, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, appeared to sympathise with demands from Sir Jim and other CEOs for a radical relaxation of the rules.

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Paolo Petrecca, director of Rai Sport, prompted widespread criticism and protests from journalists at network

The head of the sports division of the Italian public broadcaster Rai has resigned after his gaffe-strewn commentary of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony provoked protests among its journalists.

Paolo Petrecca, appointed director of Rai Sport last year, handed in his notice on Thursday after a board meeting, a source within Rai confirmed.

Weil der Staat ein Schiff der Hilfsorganisation Sea-Watch beschlagnahmt hatte, spricht ein Gericht der Organisation 76 000 Euro zu. Premierministerin Giorgia Meloni ist empört.

In the 2010s it described an insurgent rhetorical style; in the 2020s it is inadequate to account for the wildly diverging fates of the left and right

“Populism” may well have been the defining word of the previous decade: a shorthand for the insurgent parties that came to prominence in the 2010s, challenging the dominance of the liberal centre. But no sooner had it become the main rubric for discussing both the far left and far right than commentators began to question its validity: worrying that it was too vague, or too pejorative, or fuelling the forces to which it referred.

Now, with the fortunes of the two political poles heading in different directions – the right gaining ground across the west while much of the left struggles to rebound from serial defeats – the notion that this word could encompass such different players seems even less plausible. For a lucid account of these forces, we might have to shift our focus elsewhere: finding terms that can explain their unequal balance of power, so that we can in turn find the proper remedy.

Oliver Eagleton is managing editor at Phenomenal World

Kann man gute Beziehungen zu Maga-Amerika unterhalten und doch auf EU-Linie bleiben? Giorgia Meloni versucht es: Italien soll zumindest ein bisschen an Trumps „Friedensrat“ teilnehmen. Ihre Distanz zu Bundeskanzler Merz lässt aufhorchen.

Legislation is latest step in crackdown by Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government on irregular migration

Italy’s prime minister says her government will deploy every tool at its disposal to “guarantee the security of our borders” after approving a bill authorising naval blockades to stop boats from arriving in Italy during periods of “exceptional pressure”.

The bill is the latest step in the crackdown on irregular immigration by Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government, which has included tough measures against charity rescue ships, harsher jail terms for human smugglers and schemes aimed at swiftly repatriating people.

Opposition parties condemn security laws as ‘violation of the constitutional right to demonstrate’

As leader of the Milan unit of Cub, a grassroots workers’ union, Mattia Scolari joined thousands who marched on Saturday in the northern Italian city against the Winter Olympics. “Wages never grow, young people are fleeing abroad for work and there is more and more poverty. We are fed up with an Olympics that causes mayhem in the city, only brings temporary jobs and will leave lasting ecological damage,” he said.

The rally, which brought together an array of activist groups, was predominantly peaceful, marred only by a brief clash at the end when protesters on the march’s fringe threw firecrackers, smoke bombs and bottles at the police, who in turn responded with teargas, water cannons and six arrests. On the same day, rail infrastructure in northern Italy was sabotaged in a protest action subsequently claimed by anarchists.

Rastlos reist Friedrich Merz durch die Welt. Zwischen den rivalisierenden Großmächten sucht er Partner, die noch etwas von Regeln halten. Dabei ist nicht einmal klar, wie es in Europa weitergeht.

Ein Angriff auf eine Synagoge, problematische Banner bei Demonstrationen: Judenfeindliche Vorfälle häufen sich auch in Italien. Die rechte Regierung reagiert mit einem Gesetz, das viele kritisch sehen.

Abschiebezentren in Drittstaaten: Agiert die Europäische Union menschlicher bei Einwanderung und Asyl als die USA unter Trump? Eine Reise in die Zukunft der EU-Migrationspolitik.

Director of state broadcaster Rai Sport welcomed viewers to wrong stadium and mistook Italian actor for Mariah Carey

Sports journalists at the Italian state broadcaster are staging protests in response to blunders made by the sports director throughout his commentary on the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

Paolo Petrecca, who was appointed to the role at Rai Sport in 2025, first welcomed viewers to Rome’s Stadio Olimpico instead of Milan’s San Siro, where Friday’s ceremony was held, before mistaking the Italian actor Matilda De Angelis for Mariah Carey and Kirsty Coventry, president of the International Olympic Committee, for Laura Mattarella, daughter of the Italian president.

In der Olympiastadt Mailand kommt es zu Konfrontationen zwischen Demonstranten und der Polizei, Bahnstrecken werden sabotiert. Ministerpräsidentin Meloni spricht von „Feinden Italiens“.

Vatican appears to have ordered removal of restored work, which artist confessed he had made to resemble PM

The face of a winged angel bearing a striking resemblance to the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has been erased from a fresco in a historic Rome church, putting an end to a debacle that embarrassed the Vatican.

The image on the wall painting in a chapel of the Basilica of St Lawrence in Lucina in central Rome was removed overnight, leaving the cherub headless.