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Straits Times
a day ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Italy cracks down on protests, squatters and cannabis
FILE PHOTO: General view from the Gianicolo hill during sunset in Rome, Italy, February 6, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo ROME - Italy's upper house of parliament on Wednesday gave final approval to a wide-ranging security decree that targets public protests, pickpockets and squatters, and outlaws so-called "legal" cannabis. The measures, spearheaded by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing coalition government, have been criticised by opposition groups and civil rights campaigners as unduly repressive. The Senate passed the decree with a 109-69 vote, with one abstention, after a stormy session that was temporarily suspended when opposition lawmakers staged a protest on the floor of the chamber, shouting "shame, shame". "We challenge a government that wants to imprison children, students who strike and protesters outside factories," Francesco Boccia, the lead senator for the centre-left Democratic Party, told reporters. The decree criminalises the blocking of roads and the defacing of public property, thus targeting anti-climate change protesters who in Italy have often disrupted traffic or thrown paint at monuments. It introduces new crimes against revolts in prison and migrant detention centres, punishing even acts of passive resistance, and against people who occupy private property, such as social housing. It bans the trade of "cannabis light", or hemp, which unlike marijuana has no mind-altering qualities, infuriating local entrepreneurs who say the move will cost thousands of jobs and imperil millions of euros of investments. The bill scraps an exemption from prison detention for convicted pregnant women or those with babies, as backers say the rule was exploited by female members of the Roma ethnic minority to escape punishment for serial pickpocketing. "It's useless to say that this decree is inhumane, because women who have children in order to steal are not worthy of having them," said Gianni Berrino, a senator from Meloni's Brothers of Italy party. The decree also introduces tougher sanctions for protesters who clash with police, causing them injuries, and offers legal cover of up to 10,000 euros ($11,385) for army or police officers who are put under investigation or sent to trial. Meloni's coalition won elections decisively in September 2022 and is still riding high in polls after promising to get tough on law and order. It has introduced dozens of new crimes, often reacting to public outrage about specific issues, but critics say this is not necessarily effective and aggravates already serious prison overcrowding. "We want a state where citizens live peacefully and whoever breaks (things) pays, whoever makes a mistake pays, and it is right that they pay with prison," Berrino said during the Senate debate. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Japan Today
23-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
Iran, U.S. see hope for progress after nuclear talks
Members of the Iranian delegation leave the Omani embassy, where the fifth round of U.S.-Iran talks takes place, in Rome, Italy, May 23, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane By Parisa Hafezi and John Irish Iranian and U.S. delegations wrapped up a fifth round of talks in Rome on Friday and signs of some limited progress emerged in the negotiations aimed at resolving a decades-long dispute over Tehran's nuclear ambitions. Despite both Washington and Tehran taking a tough stance in public ahead of the talks on Iran's uranium enrichment, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said there was potential for progress after Oman made several proposals during the talks. "We have just completed one of the most professional rounds of talks ... We firmly stated Iran's position ... The fact that we are now on a reasonable path, in my view, is itself a sign of progress," Araqchi told state TV. "The proposals and solutions will be reviewed in respective capitals ... and the next round of talks will be scheduled accordingly." A senior U.S. official said the talks lasted more than two hours and were both direct and indirect with Omani mediators. "The talks continue to be constructive – we made further progress, but there is still work to be done. Both sides agreed to meet again in the near future. We are grateful to our Omani partners for their continued facilitation," the official said. The stakes are high for both sides. President Donald Trump wants to curtail Tehran's potential to produce a nuclear weapon that could trigger a regional nuclear arms race and perhaps threaten Israel. The Islamic Republic, for its part, wants to be rid of devastating sanctions on its oil-based economy. Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said on X the talks between Araqchi and Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had ended "with some but not conclusive progress". Ahead of the talks, Araqchi wrote on X: "Zero nuclear weapons = we Do have a deal. Zero enrichment = we do NOT have a deal. Time to decide." Among remaining stumbling blocks are Tehran's refusal to ship abroad its entire stockpile of highly enriched uranium - possible raw material for nuclear bombs - or engage in discussions over its ballistic missile programme. Diplomats have said reaching a concrete deal before the summer would technically be impossible given the complexities of an accord. In the meantime, a senior Iranian official involved in nuclear talks with the U.S. said "if Washington drops its 'zero enrichment' demand, a political agreement is feasible." STUMBLING BLOCKS U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that Washington was working to reach an accord that would allow Iran to have a civil nuclear energy program but not enrich uranium, while acknowledging that this "will not be easy". Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last say on matters of state, rejected demands to stop refining uranium as "excessive and outrageous", warning that such talks were unlikely to yield results. Iran says it is ready to accept some limits on enrichment, but needs watertight guarantees that Washington would not renege on a future nuclear accord. Trump in his first term in 2018 ditched a 2015 nuclear pact between major powers and Iran. Since returning to office this year, he has restored a "maximum pressure" campaign on Tehran and reimposed sweeping U.S. sanctions that continue to hobble the Iranian economy. Iran responded by escalating enrichment far beyond the 2015 pact's limits. Wendy Sherman, a former U.S. undersecretary who led the U.S. negotiating team that reached the 2015 agreement, earlier said that Tehran presents enrichment as a matter of sovereignty. "I don't think it is possible to get a deal with Iran where they literally dismantle their program, give up their enrichment, even though that would be ideal," she told Reuters. The cost of failure of the talks could be high. Iran's arch-foe Israel sees Iran's nuclear program as an existential threat and says it would never allow the clerical establishment to obtain nuclear weapons. Tehran says it has no such ambitions and the purposes are purely civilian. Israel's strategic affairs minister and the head of its foreign intelligence service, Mossad, were also due to be in Rome for talks with the U.S. negotiators, a source aware of the matter told Reuters. Araqchi said on Thursday that Washington would bear legal responsibility if Israel attacked Iranian nuclear installations, following a CNN report that Israel might be preparing strikes. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Reuters
07-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Italy retail sales fall 0.5% m/m in March
Shoppers walk along a shopping street ahead of Christmas in Rome, Italy, December 23, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab May 7 (Reuters) - Italian retail sales fell 0.5% in March from the month before, data showed on Wednesday, following a 0.1% rise in February. Sales fell 2.8% in unadjusted year-on-year terms in March, ISTAT said. The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here. The data are expressed in value terms and are not adjusted for consumer prices, which increased 2.1% in March from the year earlier, based on Italy's EU-harmonised index(HICP). ISTAT gave the following data: Mar Feb Jan Mth/Mth change* -0.5 +0.1 -0.4 Yr/yr change** -2.8 -1.4r +0.9 Food sales (m/m) -0.5 +0.2r -0.4r Non-food sales (m/m) -0.3 0.0 -0.5 *seasonally adjusted Advertisement · Scroll to continue **unadjusted r=revised Reporting by Enrico Sciacovelli, editing by Valentina Consiglio Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab Share X Facebook Linkedin Email Link Purchase Licensing Rights
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Papal conclave live updates: Cardinals gather at Vatican to elect next pope
Catholic cardinals are gathering at the Vatican to elect the successor to Pope Francis, who died on April 21. Voting will take place in the Sistine Chapel, with ballots continuing in succession until any candidate secures two-thirds of the available votes. If no clear choice has emerged after three days, balloting is suspended for 24 hours to allow cardinal electors time to reflect. Since 1831, no conclave has lasted more than four days. The end of each round of balloting will be signaled by smoke emanating from a stovepipe chimney atop the Sistine Chapel. Black smoke -- fumata nera in Italian -- indicates an inconclusive vote, while white smoke -- fumata bianca -- will signify that a new pope has been elected, as will the ringing of the bells of St. Peter's Basilica. Latest Developments May 7, 3:00 AM What to expect as cardinals gather for conclave Hundreds of Catholic cardinals -- of whom 133 will be voting -- have gathered at the Vatican to begin the process of electing the next pope on Wednesday. The cardinals will first attend a mass at St. Peter's Basilica at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET). PHOTO: Nuns walk near St. Peter's Basilica on the first day of the conclave to elect the next pope near the Vatican, in Rome, Italy, on May 7, 2025. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters) The 133 voting cardinals will then enter the Pauline Chapel at around 4:15 p.m., from which they will proceed to the Sistine Chapel to take their oaths at approximately 4:30 p.m. The master of ceremony will then oversee the official start of the conclave at approximately 5 p.m. -ABC News' Phoebe Natanson and Joe Simonetti
Straits Times
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Meet the US Catholic TV network that drew the ire of Pope Francis
Montse Alvarado, President and COO of EWTN News (Eternal Word Television Network) a U.S.-based media bringing news to Catholics worldwide, poses for a portrait before a live broadcast near square at the Vatican, in Rome, Italy, May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo Staff of EWTN News (Eternal Word Television Network) a U.S.-based media bringing news to Catholics worldwide, work at their headquarters near the Vatican, in Rome, Italy, May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo NEW YORK - As cardinals gather in Rome this week to select the next pope, global news networks covering every twist and turn will be competing against a small but influential Catholic broadcaster based in the Alabama town of Irondale. The Eternal Word Television Network was launched by a nun named Mother Angelica in the garage of the town's Our Lady of the Angels monastery in 1981. Since then, it has grown into a global media conglomerate with nearly a dozen TV stations, a book publishing division, a newspaper and radio affiliates. Along the way, it has emerged as a beacon for conservative Catholics and a potent voice in Trump-era politics -- not to mention an occasional critic of the late Pope Francis, who complained about it "bad-mouthing" him. The majority of EWTN programming deals with the Catholic ministry: broadcasting Mass, specials on saints, rosary prayers and talk shows centered on family, marriage and faith. But it also airs a sizable dose of news and political content, with a particular appeal to conservatives: President Donald Trump has appeared on the network several times, one of the network's top hosts is a Fox News contributor and another anchor just left EWTN for the Trump-friendly Newsmax. "I think EWTN has a great deal of influence on certain portions of the Catholic population in the U.S.," said James Martin, an American Jesuit priest, writer and editor-at-large of America, the Jesuit magazine. "Many Catholics, even if they may not agree with their commentary at times, find them to be the place where they turn for church news and events." Martin said it was hard to know if it would have any influence on the conclave, which starts on Wednesday when cardinals gather to choose a successor to Francis. Participants are sworn to secrecy about discussions and votes, which could last for several days. "I'm sure some of the cardinals watch," said Martin. "On the other hand, some of the cardinals, because of their cultural background, might be less inclined to listen because it's an American media company. So perhaps it's a wash." EWTN's rise was mirrored in the United States by that of the evangelical right, as issues such as abortion and homosexuality became entwined with national politics during the culture wars of the Reagan era. Mother Angelica, the founder, who died in 2016, used her popular television show to criticize efforts to liberalize the church. The network has proven adept at wedding "spiritual content and political news for conservative Catholics," according to Michelle Nickerson, a historian at Loyola University Chicago, a Jesuit school. "EWTN is part of a broader expansion of conservative Christian media," she said. Some of the network's programming was critical of Francis, who denounced Trump's mass deportation plans in February and broke from tradition by allowing priests to perform same-sex marriage blessings. Francis took note of EWTN's criticism, telling a network reporter and cameraman in 2021 that EWTN "should stop bad-mouthing me," according to America, the Jesuit magazine. Months later, addressing a gathering of Jesuits, he said, "There is, for example, a large Catholic television channel that has no hesitation in continually speaking ill of the pope. I personally deserve attacks and insults because I am a sinner, but the church does not deserve them." "They are the work of the devil," he added. Montse Alvarado, president and chief operating officer of EWTN News, said EWTN gave Francis a platform by broadcasting his words and letting him speak for himself – a reflection of the network's love for him. She noted that Francis' comment was made in 2021, but he later gave his blessing to a movie made by the network's Irish unit. "I doubt Pope Francis watched much TV," Alvarado said, adding that EWTN includes a diversity of opinion. "We are proud of our wall-to-wall coverage of the Church and Pope Francis's pontificate." She described EWTN in an interview as an "apostolate", or having a mission from God. "Our mission is to defend the church, to share the teachings of the church with the world – and to use our talents to that end, to be a platform for other people who want to do the same," Alvarado said. READY FOR WHOEVER IS CHOSEN From its headquarters in Irondale and broadcast studios in Washington, D.C. and Rome, EWTN operates 11 global TV channels 24 hours a day, as well as satellite and AM/FM radio affiliates, a book publishing division, the National Catholic Register newspaper and the Catholic News Agency, among other properties. Since the last conclave in 2013, the non-profit EWTN, together with its three affiliates, has almost doubled its revenue -- to roughly $100 million in the fiscal year ending in June 2023, according to its most recent tax filings. EWTN and its affiliates generate revenue from advertising, sales of books and religious items, and donations, including from Catholic groups such as the Knights of Columbus and private foundations. Still, its audience is narrow compared with mainstream broadcasters. EWTN's U.S. cable audience swells during coverage of Easter Sunday Mass and other special events, but is relatively small on a day-to-day basis, reaching an average of 21,500 daily U.S. households in 2024. That's about the same as five years earlier, according to Comscore data. It draws additional viewers on its website, where visitors can stream content for free - roughly 174,000 average monthly unique viewers in 2024 - and reaches another 3.4 million subscribers and followers through its social media platforms. Comscore said more than 40,000 U.S. households watched Francis' funeral on EWTN's cable channel, compared to more than 1 million on the ABC television network. An EWTN spokesperson said online streaming in English and Spanish combined had generated 30 million YouTube views since Francis' death. Alvarado said that the company is focused on growing its audience outside the United States, where cable TV is not facing such steep declines; investing in streaming; and growing a younger audience on social media. She added, however, that EWTN does not monitor ratings because of Mother Angelica's insistence that they should work just as hard for one viewer as one million. EWTN has been covering the papal transition with daily live broadcasts in English, Spanish and four other languages. On May 7, it will increase to twice-daily broadcasts on cable and on social media for what it is calling "chimney watch" -- a nod to the smoke that will emerge from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel to signal whether a new pope has been selected. It is also producing more than 130 video packages about each of the cardinals. "We're ready whoever comes through that window, whoever is announced when the white smoke goes up, we want to share with the world who that person is," Alvarado said. "Because ultimately, our fidelity is to the institution and whoever it is that's leading the church." "That's our leader, too. That's our Papa," she added, using the Italian word for Pope. Alvarado declined to comment on who might be the next pope. POLITICAL INFLUENCE EWTN has a strong presence at the Vatican, where it has what is likely the largest Catholic newsroom in Rome, with dozens of print and TV journalists under the EWTN brand and the ACI brand. They publish in Italian, Spanish, and German, and there is a dedicated African news service. Michael Warsaw, EWTN's chief executive, is also one of 21 official "consultors" for the Vatican's Dicastery for Communication, which oversees all the Vatican's media entities. Closer to home, EWTN is part of the growing U.S. conservative media ecosystem that has gained newfound access to the White House under Trump. Raymond Arroyo, the host of EWTN's political show and the network's most visible star, is a Fox News contributor who makes regular appearances on conservative commentator Laura Ingraham's program. Arroyo has conducted friendly interviews with several members of the Trump administration in recent weeks, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and his "World Over" show has featured a recurring segment with a panel of Francis skeptics that criticized the recent pontificate. He has been broadcasting from Rome since Francis' death. The White House did not answer questions about EWTN but said there was "no greater advocate for religious liberty and Christians" than Trump. Trump, whose Truth Social account posted an AI-generated photo showing him as the pope over the weekend, has made a handful of appearances on EWTN, including a 2020 interview on EWTN News Nightly and an interview with Arroyo in October. Alvarado said that Arroyo's show represents just one hour a week out of 24-hour daily programming, and that EWTN has had Francis on the network much more than Arroyo. In November, Catholics voted for Trump 59%-39%, a 12 percentage point swing from 2020 when Catholic Joe Biden beat Trump, according to exit polling by Edison Research. EWTN's content defies easy categorization, Alvarado said. Yet she acknowledges that EWTN is defined as conservative because of its stance on marriage and life. "We're pro the immigrant and the poor and social services, universal health care, all of these things that you would put in a bucket of progressives or liberals," she said. "We also believe in supporting the family. We believe in taking care of life from the womb to the tomb – that would today be thrown in the conservative bucket." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
