Page 8 - Italy

EU elections: Huge voter turnout expected; surveys predict shift to right

Voters are heading to the polls for the European Union's election super Sunday amid concern that a likely shift to the political right will undermine the ability of the world's biggest trading bloc to take decisions as war rages in Ukraine and anti-migrant sentiment mounts. Citizens in 20 countries, from the Alpine nation of Austria to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, will cast ballots to elect 720 members of the European Parliament. Seats in the assembly are allocated based on population, ranging from six in Malta or Luxembourg to 96 in Germany. Official results of the elections, which are held every five years and began in the Netherlands on Thursday, cannot be published before the last polling stations in the 27 EU nations close those in Italy at 11 p.m. (2100 GMT). Unofficial estimates are due to trickle in from 1615 GMT. An unofficial exit poll on Thursday suggested that Geert Wilders' anti-migrant hard right party should make important gains in the Netherlands, even thoug

Anant Ambani 2nd pre-wedding: Backstreet Boys perform on cruise in Italy

A viral showing the American band 'Backstreet Boys' performing for guests in Italy onboard the cruise hosting Anant Ambani's pre-wedding ceremony, in presence of a large group of celebrities, is viral

Universal Vulkaan to bring 30 Leonardo helicopters to India in next 3 years

Bullish on the Indian market which is "ready for expansion", Universal Vulkaan Aviation on Wednesday said it will bring 30 Leonardo helicopters into the country over the next three years. Universal Vulkaan Aviation Pte Ltd (UVA) is the distributor in India for Italy-based Leonardo Helicopters. The company, which is based in New Delhi, will bring a total of 30 helicopters -- 16 new and 14 from the pre-owned market -- over the next three years. "After signing the pre-sales contract for 5 units of AW09 machines in January 2024, UVA has ordered 11 units from types AW109 Trekker, AW139, AW169, from the Leonardo Helicopters... This is in addition to the 14 helicopters that were purchased by the Vulkaan Group from the pre-owned market, which include the AW 119Kx and AW 109 Trekker," a release said. The models have seating capacities varying from 5 to 15. Karan Sethi, Sales Director at UVA, told PTI that the current Indian market is ready for expansion, and its product portfolio in both .

TVS Motor starts operations in Italy, to introduce range of scooters, bikes

TVS Motor Company Ltd on Wednesday said it has started its operations in Italy with plans to introduce a range of both conventional as well as electric scooters and motorcycles. The company is expanding its operations in Italy via its branch office, TVS Motor Italia, headed by Giovanni Notarbartolo di Furnari, TVS Motor Co said in a regulatory filing. Furnari brings extensive experience from senior managerial roles in major automotive companies in Italy, Latin America, the UAE, and Europe, it added. "Our move into Italy is a strategic step towards our global ambitions," TVS Motor Co President, Head Group Strategy, Sharad Mohan Mishra said. The company will introduce its TVS Apache 310 Series bike, available in RR and RTR versions, that has been developed in collaboration with BMW. Other products lined up for the Italian market include TVS Ronin 250 - a 'modern-retro' lifestyle motorcycle; commuter bike TVS Raider; mid-range scooter TVS NTorq and scooter TVS Jupiter 125, along with

Italian Open: Novak Djokovic follows Nadal to early exit in his first match

Novak Djokovic's performance was so poor that even the 24-time Grand Slam champion admitted it was concerning. Djokovic put on one of his worst displays at one of his favorite tournaments as he was upset by 29th-seeded Alejandro Tabilo in the third round of the Italian Open. It was Djokovic's first match since accidentally getting knocked on the head by a water bottle while signing autographs after his opening win on Friday. I managed to sleep okay. I had headaches. The next day or yesterday was pretty fine, so I thought it's okay. Maybe it is okay. Maybe it's not, Djokovic said. I mean, the way I felt on the court today was just completely like a different player entered into my shoes. Just no rhythm, no tempo, no balance whatsoever on any shot. It's a bit concerning. Djokovic started off with a double-fault and it didn't get much better for the six-time Rome champion. The top-ranked Djokovic lost his first two service games and went on to lose the match 6-2, 6-3 in just 68 minu

Italy pushes G7 to set date for coal phase-out ahead of energy meeting

An agreement on this would be one step in the direction indicated by the COP28 United Nations climate summit in Dubai last year to transition away from fossil fuels, of which coal is most polluting

Venice imposes world's first tourist entry fee: All you need to know

Venice is overwhelmed by tourists - around 30 million arrive each year, dwarfing the less-than 50,000 residents

Italy lauds India's G20 presidency for placing Africa on global agenda

Six months after India passed the G20 baton to Brazil, the ambassadors of Italy and Indonesia have lauded New Delhi's presidency of the bloc for bringing Africa and the Global South at the centre of international agenda. "The success of India's G20 presidency is precisely the capacity to preserve the role of G20 because that was at risk," Italy's Ambassador to India Vincenzo de Luca said. He was speaking at a panel discussion held to release a book, titled 'India's G20 Legacy: Shaping a New World Order.' "After G20 India, Global South and Africa have been in the centre of the stage," said the Italian envoy at the event last evening. On the Ukraine-Russia standoff, the Italian envoy lauded not only India's G20 presidency, but also Indonesia's presidency" of the grouping for finding a consensus formulation on the contentious issue. Indonesia's Ambassador to India Ina H Krisnamurthy lavished praise on New Delhi's G20 presidency for promoting inclusivity in the grouping. Induction of

Italy seeks G7 message to de-escalate Mideast tensions as ministers meet

Group of Seven foreign ministers are meeting on the Italian resort island of Capri, with soaring tensions in the Mideast and Russia's continuing war in Ukraine topping the agenda. Under Italy's rotating stewardship, the G7 leaders are expected to issue a united call for Israel to exercise restraint after Iran's unprecedented weekend attack involving hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles fired toward the Jewish state. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he had spoken to his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, on Tuesday and urged Israel to not only de-escalate any reaction to Iran's attack but to stave off a planned offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah. I reiterated this message and I believe that on the occasion of the G7 foreign ministers in Capri, tomorrow and Friday morning, a similar message will be sent, Tajani told state-run RAI. With Israel's war in Gaza in its sixth month, Tehran's attack added a new element of urgency to the three-day

Italy, Spain's digital nomad visa: A checklist for you and your family

Italy has introduced a new visa programme specifically for digital nomads, enabling professionals to work remotely while exploring the country

MakeMyTrip expands global reach, now available in over 150 countries

India's online travel firm has expanded its reach to major travel markets like the UK, Germany, Japan, Italy, France, and others

JAM ties up with MAE to invest Rs 2,700 crore in carbon fibre plant

Composite materials producer Jindal Advanced Materials (JAM) has collaborated with Italy's MAE S.p.A. to invest Rs 2,700 crore to set up a carbon fibre plant of 3,500 metric tonnes annual capacity. With the development, JAM is set to become a key supplier of carbon fibre, a statement said. According to the statement, JAM has signed an agreement with Italian speciality chemical fibre manufacturer MAE S.p.A. to set up India's first carbon fibre facility of 3,500 metric tonnes (MT) annual capacity at an investment of Rs 2,700 crore. The facility will offer a comprehensive range of intermediates viz prepregs, fabrics, multiaxial and carbon fibre composites catering to diverse industrial needs. OP Jindal family scion Abhyuday Jindal has invested in the company. The company aims to penetrate industrial markets, offering lightweight carbon fibre solutions. JAM's ambitious plan includes the production of low-tow to high-tow carbon fibres, with the capacity expansion projected to reach 10

Japan approves plan to sell future next-generation jets to other nations

Japan's Cabinet on Tuesday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it's developing with the UK and Italy to other countries, in the latest move away from the country's postwar pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan's role in the joint fighter jet project and part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan's arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to countries other than the partners. Japan has long restricted arms exports under the country's pacifist constitution, but has rapidly taken steps to deregulate amid rising regional and global tensions, especially from nearby China. The decision on jets will allow Japan to export lethal weapons it coproduces to other countries for the first time. Japan is working with Italy and the UK to develo

JSW Steel, Italy govt sign agreement to relaunch Piombino steel hub

Apart from doubling the current rail-making capacity from 300,000 tonnes to 600,000 tonnes per annum, the investments at Piombino are aimed at making the rail mill more efficient

PFC partners with SACE to enhance cooperation between India and Italy

State-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) on Friday said it has become the first government firm to collaborate with SACE, an Italian export credit agency, to boost the cooperation between the two countries. PFC is partnering with SACE, the export credit agency of Italy, for an innovative ECA-backed financing facility under its 'Push Strategy' initiative, according to a statement. This proposed partnership will position PFC as the first government-owned entity in India to partner with SACE under this initiative. Through this structure, PFC will benefit from an 80 per cent guarantee from SACE, with HSBC acting as a coordinating bank, lead arranger and facility agent for the financing of up to 200 million euros. Further, the envisaged financing under the 'Push Strategy' will provide project owners across India an opportunity to access Italian technology and collaborate with Italian companies through business-matching activities. "PFC has always been at the forefront of exploring .

UniCredit 2023 results: Profit at 8.6 billion euros, stock up 10%

Shares in Italy's second-biggest bank jumped 10% to a nine-year high after the results and as it also upgraded its outlook for a year in which interest rates are expected to start declining

Vodafone in 'active discussions' about Italy deal as German recovery slows

The British group rejected a merger offer from rival Iliad in Italy last month in favour of pursuing other options

Italian ambassador's wife injured in fireworks, FIR against Goa hotel owner

The Goa Police has booked the owner of a resort after the wife of the Italian ambassador to India suffered a head injury due to fireworks set off from the beach-facing facility, an officer said on Saturday. The incident occurred on January 1 during the New Year celebrations at Ashvem beach in North Goa. "Police registered an FIR on Friday (February 2) after Honorary Vice Consul of Italy in Goa, Shrinivas Dempo, lodged a complaint. The case was registered under section 338 (Causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code," the police officer said. The accused rashly and negligently allowed the launching of fireworks from the premises of the resort. Paola Ferri, wife of Vincenzo de Luca, the Ambassador of Italy to India and Nepal, suffered a head injury after she was struck by fireworks, as per the FIR. "We will record a statement of the victim and initiate further process. We are yet to arrest the owner of the resort," the officer

ChatGPT violated European privacy laws, Italy tells chatbot maker OpenAI

Italian regulators said they told OpenAI that its ChatGPT artificial intelligence chatbot has violated European Union's stringent data privacy rules. The country's data protection authority, known as Garante, said on Monday that it notified San Francisco-based OpenAI of breaches of the EU rules, known as General Data Protection Regulation. The watchdog started investigating ChatGPT last year, when it temporarily banned within Italy the chatbot that can produce text, images and sound in response to users' questions. Based on the results of its fact-finding activity," the watchdog said it concluded that the available evidence pointed to the existence of breaches of the provisions in the EU privacy rules. OpenAI has 30 days to reply to the allegations. It didn't respond immediately to a request for comment. The company said last year that it fulfilled a raft of conditions that the Garante demanded to get the ChatGPT ban lifted. The watchdog had imposed the ban after finding that some

Soccer-mad Italy now obsessed with Australian Open winner Jannik Sinner

Soccer-mad Italy has a new obsession. Jannik Sinner's performance on the tennis court has captured the country's attention. And not just for the way Sinner rallied from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev and win the Australian Open title on Sunday. Ever since Sinner reached the ATP Finals championship match at home in Turin and then played a leading role in leading Italy to the Davis Cup title on consecutive weeks in November, he's been taking over the headlines from soccer. "Jannik Sinner wrote a new page of history today that fills us with pride, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni wrote on Facebook. It's an achievement worthy of a real champion. The Turin final was the most watched tennis match of all time on Italian television, with 6.7 million viewers. It wouldn't be surprising if Sunday's match turns out to have an even bigger audience, even though it was shown only on Pay TV, starting at 9:30 a.m., in Sinner's home country. It's a testament to the 22-year-old Sinner's clean-c