Latest news with #Ital
TimesLIVE
13-05-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Ancelotti to leave Real Madrid and become coach of Brazil
Italian Carlo Ancelotti, one of the most decorated managers in world football, will become Brazil coach after leaving Real Madrid at the end of the season, the Brazilian FA (CBF) said on Monday after finally landing their first-choice candidate. The 65-year-old Ancelotti has enjoyed four hugely successful years in his second tenure at the Spanish giants but they are set to finish this season without a trophy. He is set to be replaced at the Bernabeu by former Real midfielder Xabi Alonso, with sources close to the 41-year-old former Spain international saying he has agreed a two-year deal with the option to extend it by an extra year. 'Ancelotti begins his mission next week,' the CBF said in a statement. 'He will meet CBF officials to finalise the preliminary list of players called up for the World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay next month. On the 26th, in Brazil, the coach will announce the final squad.' Earlier.. Carlo Ancelotti: "The day I will leave, whether today or a year from now, the first thing I'm going to do is THANK REAL MADRID for EVERYTHING." Good luck in your new stage 👏🏻 — Real Madrid Info ³⁶ (@RMadridInfo) May 12, 2025 Brazilian soccer sources said Ancelotti will sign a one-year deal to become the world's highest-paid national team coach ahead of the 2026 World Cup, with the option to extend his contract. Real have yet to announce Ancelotti's departure. 'Bringing Carlo Ancelotti to coach Brazil is more than a strategic move. It is a statement to the world that we are determined to regain football's top spot,' CBF President Ednaldo Rodrigues said in the statement. 'He is the greatest coach in history and now he is at the helm of the greatest national team on the planet. Together, we will write new chapters in the glorious history of Brazilian football.' The CBF's announcement confirms a highly anticipated move, ending a saga that has rumbled on for years. A maior Seleção da história do futebol agora será liderada pelo técnico mais vitorioso do mundo. Carlo Ancelotti, sinônimo de conquistas históricas, foi anunciado nesta segunda-feira (12) pelo presidente da CBF, Ednaldo Rodrigues, como o novo técnico da Seleção Brasileira. Ele… — CBF Futebol (@CBF_Futebol) May 12, 2025 Rodrigues first acknowledged in an exclusive interview with Reuters more than two years ago that he intended to sign Ancelotti, saying 'it would be a no-brainer' having him in charge after coach Tite left after a heartbreaking loss on penalties to Croatia in the 2022 World Cup quarterfinals. Rodrigues was unable to lure Ancelotti away from Real then and when the Italian extended his Real contract for two more years in December 2023 it appeared to end any chances of him taking over the five-times world champions any time soon. However, after Brazil's new manager Dorival Jr was fired in March after just over a year in the job due to a series of bad results, Rodrigues turned to Ancelotti again. The Italian had a year remaining on his contract but Real's underwhelming season and his desire to coach Brazil have led to a mutual agreement to part ways, soccer sources added. An official announcement regarding a managerial change is expected before Real's last game of the season at home to Real Sociedad on May 25, when Ancelotti should receive a fitting farewell to recognise his great success with the club. His replacement Alonso, 43, who said on Friday that he was leaving Bayer Leverkusen after guiding them to a domestic double last term, will join Real before the inaugural Club World Cup in the US from June 14 to July 14, club sources said. When Ancelotti was lured back to Madrid for a second spell three years ago, after the departure of club great Zinedine Zidane, the Italian knew that his only mission was to increase Real's trophy haul and he did not disappoint. He became the first manager to capture titles in each of Europe's top five leagues — England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France — and has guided Real to two Champions League and LaLiga doubles in three seasons. Ancelotti's Madrid silverware includes three Champions League titles, two Club World Cups, three European Super Cups, two LaLiga titles, two Spanish Cups, two Spanish Super Cups and one Intercontinental Cup.
The Age
21-04-2025
- The Age
I said Italy was overcrowded and overpriced. Then I went back
Hotel Hassler is one of the city's last independent luxury hotels, and right on top of the Spanish Steps. I knew I had a haven after a big day's sightseeing. I could nip out in the early mornings and evenings after tour groups had departed. I could tap into the concierge's local knowledge. Places to walk without having to battle the tour groups? Yes. Recommendations for proper restaurants where Romans eat? Tick. When I couldn't be bothered to eat out, my terrace had views of Rome and the Vatican for a panoramic picnic, with quality prosciutto and prosecco from a nearby supermarket. Upgrading your hotel and price-cutting elsewhere is sometimes wise. Informed choices are a must in any destination that has issues of tourist overcrowding and creaking infrastructure. With a week to spare behind the wheel of a hire car after Rome, that meant avoiding Tuscany and Venice and opting for Umbria. Umbria has its problems, too. Its roads and motorways are cracked, patched and uneven. I wasn't breezing along a country road in a red sports car beside a movie starlet. I was lurching along highways surrounded by trucks, terrified my rear wheel was going to come off in an unanticipated pothole. And Umbria, while less visited than some parts of Italy, is hardly crowd or rip-off free. Orvieto's old town barely hangs on to its old-time shops and eateries. I got a terrible and expensive meal in Assisi. I knew it was going to be terrible, but I needed the energy boost – and somewhere to sit. The knowing helps dampen some of the annoyance, but good planning makes for a better visit. In Assisi, the church associated with St Francis is glorious, and all I needed to see in a town subsumed by tourists. There are places to linger in Umbria. I spent an afternoon in Todi and saw only a handful of other tourists, even though this medieval town has a hilltop location and fine architecture. Gubbio was quiet, too, and as dense in old buildings as anywhere in Tuscany. Like Todi, it still had proper family restaurants for a fine meal, served by agreeable waiters not yet schooled in indifference. I got over the horizon from the obvious in Umbria and my experience was better for it. Visitors should carry some blame if all they have is a bad time. That doesn't let Italy off the hook, however. Tourism isn't about people making random, spontaneous decisions. It's a highly regulated industry in which tourist choices are controlled, directed and managed. All levels of government policies on everything from budget airlines to Airbnb and whether to facilitate Netflix filming influence where people go and what they do. What's more, towns generally become over-touristed because they have nothing else to rely on: alternative businesses and opportunities have gone. That's why Perugia gets a big thumbs up. Its old town is superb and culture-dense, but this university and manufacturing town hasn't sold its soul to tourism. Loading The Italian government is aware of the problem. In interviews, Italian tourism minister Daniela Santanche has said Italy needs to focus on better quality, sustainability and organisation, and encourage tourists to come year-round and visit Italy's smaller towns. Wise words. But while you're waiting for Italian governments to solve problems, you might use those guidelines yourself the next time you plan a trip to Italy. It will give you a much better experience.
Sydney Morning Herald
21-04-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
I said Italy was overcrowded and overpriced. Then I went back
Hotel Hassler is one of the city's last independent luxury hotels, and right on top of the Spanish Steps. I knew I had a haven after a big day's sightseeing. I could nip out in the early mornings and evenings after tour groups had departed. I could tap into the concierge's local knowledge. Places to walk without having to battle the tour groups? Yes. Recommendations for proper restaurants where Romans eat? Tick. When I couldn't be bothered to eat out, my terrace had views of Rome and the Vatican for a panoramic picnic, with quality prosciutto and prosecco from a nearby supermarket. Upgrading your hotel and price-cutting elsewhere is sometimes wise. Informed choices are a must in any destination that has issues of tourist overcrowding and creaking infrastructure. With a week to spare behind the wheel of a hire car after Rome, that meant avoiding Tuscany and Venice and opting for Umbria. Umbria has its problems, too. Its roads and motorways are cracked, patched and uneven. I wasn't breezing along a country road in a red sports car beside a movie starlet. I was lurching along highways surrounded by trucks, terrified my rear wheel was going to come off in an unanticipated pothole. And Umbria, while less visited than some parts of Italy, is hardly crowd or rip-off free. Orvieto's old town barely hangs on to its old-time shops and eateries. I got a terrible and expensive meal in Assisi. I knew it was going to be terrible, but I needed the energy boost – and somewhere to sit. The knowing helps dampen some of the annoyance, but good planning makes for a better visit. In Assisi, the church associated with St Francis is glorious, and all I needed to see in a town subsumed by tourists. There are places to linger in Umbria. I spent an afternoon in Todi and saw only a handful of other tourists, even though this medieval town has a hilltop location and fine architecture. Gubbio was quiet, too, and as dense in old buildings as anywhere in Tuscany. Like Todi, it still had proper family restaurants for a fine meal, served by agreeable waiters not yet schooled in indifference. I got over the horizon from the obvious in Umbria and my experience was better for it. Visitors should carry some blame if all they have is a bad time. That doesn't let Italy off the hook, however. Tourism isn't about people making random, spontaneous decisions. It's a highly regulated industry in which tourist choices are controlled, directed and managed. All levels of government policies on everything from budget airlines to Airbnb and whether to facilitate Netflix filming influence where people go and what they do. What's more, towns generally become over-touristed because they have nothing else to rely on: alternative businesses and opportunities have gone. That's why Perugia gets a big thumbs up. Its old town is superb and culture-dense, but this university and manufacturing town hasn't sold its soul to tourism. Loading The Italian government is aware of the problem. In interviews, Italian tourism minister Daniela Santanche has said Italy needs to focus on better quality, sustainability and organisation, and encourage tourists to come year-round and visit Italy's smaller towns. Wise words. But while you're waiting for Italian governments to solve problems, you might use those guidelines yourself the next time you plan a trip to Italy. It will give you a much better experience.
Arab Times
19-04-2025
- Arab Times
Italian court upholds life sentence for parents of Pakistani woman killed by family
ROME, April 19, (AP): An Italian appeals court Friday upheld life sentences for a Pakistani couple convicted of murdering their 18-year-old daughter in a so-called honor killing after she refused an arranged marriage. The case shocked many Ital ians and became a symbol of the brutal mistreatment of immigrant women who rebel against inflexible family rules. The appeals court in the northern city of Bologna said that Saman Abbas, whose body was found at a farmhouse in 2022, 18 months after she disappeared, was killed with the participation of the whole family. The court upheld a life sentence for both the teenager's father, Shabbir Abbas, and her mother, Nazia Shaheen. It also sentenced to life in prison two cousins who had been previously cleared by a lower court. Saman's uncle, Danish Hasnain, was also sentenced to 22 years in prison for his involvement in the murder. He had been previously given a 14-year sentence. The court case, in Reggio Emilia in northern Italy, became t he most high-profile of several criminal investigations in Italy in recent years dealing with the slaying or mistreatment of immigrant women or girls who rebelled against their family 's insistence that they marry someone chosen for them. So-called honor killings are common in Pakistan, where family members and relatives sometimes kill women who don't follow local traditions and culture or decide to marry someone of their own choice. Saman Abbas' body was dug up in November 2022 in an abandoned farmhouse near the fields where her father worked in northern Italy. Italian prosecutors contend the woman was murdered by her family on May 1, 2021. A few days later, her parents flew from Milan to Pakistan. Saman Abbas' father was later arrested in Pakistan and extradited to Italy for prosecution. Her mother was convicted in absentia but was arrested in May last year after three years on the run. Abbas' uncle, two cousins, her father and her mother went on trial first in February 2023. All the defendants have denied wrongdoing. Saman Abbas had emigrated as a teenager from Pakistan to the farm town of Novellara in Italy's northern region of Emilia-Romagna.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Yahoo
Italian court upholds life sentence for parents of Pakistani woman killed by her family
ROME (AP) — An Italian appeals court Friday upheld life sentences for a Pakistani couple convicted of murdering their 18-year-old daughter in a so-called honor killing after she refused an arranged marriage. The case shocked many Ital ians and became a symbol of the brutal mistreatment of immigrant women who rebel against inflexible family rules. The appeals court in the northern city of Bologna said that Saman Abbas, whose body was found at a farmhouse in 2022, 18 months after she disappeared, was killed with the participation of the whole family. The court upheld a life sentence for both the teenager's father, Shabbir Abbas, and her mother, Nazia Shaheen. It also sentenced to life in prison two cousins who had been previously cleared by a lower court. Saman's uncle, Danish Hasnain, was also sentenced to 22 years in prison for his involvement in the murder. He had been previously given a 14-year sentence. The court case, in Reggio Emilia in northern Italy, became t he most high-profile of several criminal investigations in Italy in recent years dealing with the slaying or mistreatment of immigrant women or girls who rebelled against their family 's insistence that they marry someone chosen for them. So-called honor killings are common in Pakistan, where family members and relatives sometimes kill women who don't follow local traditions and culture or decide to marry someone of their own choice. Saman Abbas' body was dug up in November 2022 in an abandoned farmhouse near the fields where her father worked in northern Italy. Italian prosecutors contend the woman was murdered by her family on May 1, 2021. A few days later, her parents flew from Milan to Pakistan. Saman Abbas' father was later arrested in Pakistan and extradited to Italy for prosecution. Her mother was convicted in absentia but was arrested in May last year after three years on the run. Abbas' uncle, two cousins, her father and her mother went on trial first in February 2023. All the defendants have denied wrongdoing. Saman Abbas had emigrated as a teenager from Pakistan to the farm town of Novellara in Italy's northern region of Emilia-Romagna. She quickly embraced Western ways, including shedding her headscarf and dating a young man of her choice. In one social media post, she and her Pakistani boyfriend were shown kissing on a street in the regional capital, Bologna. According to Italian investigators, that kiss enraged Abbas' parents, who wanted her to marry a cousin in Pakistan. The young woman was last seen alive on April 30, 2021 a few hundred meters (yards) away from where her body was discovered in surveillance camera video as she walked with her parents on the watermelon farm where her father worked. Abbas had reportedly told her boyfriend that she feared for her life because of her refusal to marry an older man in her homeland. An autopsy revealed a broken neck bone, possibly caused by strangulation. In 2019, Italy made coercing an Italian citizen or resident into marriage, even abroad, a crime covered under domestic violence laws. Following Abbas' disappearance, Italy's union of Islamic communities issued a religious ruling rejecting forced marriages.
