Tag Archives: Italy

In Paris, military chiefs vow to intensify Islamic State fight

PARIS (Reuters) – Defense chiefs from the United States, France, Britain and four other countries pledged on Wednesday to intensify their fight against Islamic State, in an effort to capitalize on recent battlefield gains against the militants.

Islamic State lost control of the western Iraqi city of Ramadi last month, in a sorely needed victory for U.S.-backed Iraqi forces. But critics, including some in the U.S. Congress, say the U.S. strategy is still far too weak and lacks sufficient military support from Sunni Arab allies.

“We agreed that we all must do more,” U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter told a news conference after talks in Paris among the “core” military coalition members, which also included Germany, Italy, Australia and the Netherlands.

A joint statement by the Western ministers re-committed their governments to work with the U.S.-led coalition “to accelerate and intensify the campaign.”

The Paris setting for the talks itself sent a message, coming just over two months after the city was struck by deadly shooting and bombing attacks claimed by Islamic State.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian sounded an upbeat tone about the campaign, saying Islamic State was in retreat.

“Because Daesh is retreating on the ground and … because we have been able to hit its resources, it’s now time to increase our collective effort by putting in place a coherent military strategy,” he said.

British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said the goal was now to “tighten the noose around the head of the snake in Syria in Raqqa.”

Carter forecast that the coalition would need to ramp up the number of police and military trainers. He also emphasized preparations to eventually recapture the Iraqi city of Mosul from Islamic State and the expanding role of U.S. special operations forces in Iraq and Syria.

COALITION NOT “WINNING”

Still, U.S. Senator John McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and other critics of U.S. President Barack Obama’s approach to the war effort say Islamic State still poses a potent threat.

“ISIL has lost some territory on the margin, but has consolidated power in its core territories in both Iraq and Syria,” McCain said at a Wednesday hearing on U.S. war strategy, using another acronym for Islamic State.

“Meanwhile, ISIL continues to metastasize across the region in places like Afghanistan, Libya, Lebanon, Yemen, and Egypt. Its attacks are now global, as we saw in Paris.”

Carter has sought to lay out a strategy to confront Islamic State, both by wiping out its strongholds in Iraq and Syria and by addressing its spread beyond its self-declared caliphate.

But U.S. officials have declined to set a timeline for what could be a long-term campaign that also requires political reconciliation to ultimately succeed.

Carter announced a meeting next month of defense ministers from all 26 military members of the anti-Islamic State coalition, as well as Iraq, in what he described as the first face-to-face meeting of its kind.

“Every nation must come prepared to discuss further contributions to the fight,” he said. “And I will not hesitate to engage and challenge current and prospective members of the coalition as we go forward.”

(Additional reporting by Marine Pennetier, editing by Larry King)

Italian Cities Take Drastic Steps to Reduce High Air Pollution

A few Italian cities are taking some dramatic steps to reduce the amount of pollution in the air.

Milan is banning all private vehicles like cars and motorcycles from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Monday through Wednesday, according to a posting on the city’s website.

Rome has also introduced some restrictions on motorcycle and moped use due to a high level of air pollution there. The city is also saying that homes and offices must keep their thermostats between 62 and 64 degrees Fahrenheit, another anti-pollution measure.

In San Vitaliano, located just outside Naples, the mayor banned bakeries and catering businesses, including pizzerias, from burning wood chips, pellets and charcoal to cook – a staple of Italian pizza making – unless business owners first install an appropriate air filter.

Rome and Milan, Italy’s two largest cities, both rank in the top 20 when it comes to Europe’s most polluted cities, according to the Soot Free for the Climate campaign. Both have previously restricted traffic to fight pollution, according to a BBC report, and are doing so again because there hasn’t been any recent rain to help sweep away the smog.

San Vitaliano, on the other hand, is a relatively small municipality of about 6,000 people, though officials there are no less concerned about air pollution’s impact on public health.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 7 million people died as a result of air pollution in 2012, the most recent year for which data is available. That represented about 1 in 8 global deaths.

The WHO has said polluted air is the world’s largest environmental health risk as it can fuel other issues like heart and lung diseases. The organization is especially concerned about fine particulate matter, which can adversely affect one’s health even at relatively small levels.

In issuing his edict, San Vitaliano mayor Antonio Falcone noted the city “has recorded high values ​​of pollutants,” particularly the fine particulate matter, and no one has been able to determine the source of the problem, which has worsened as temperatures became colder.

Meanwhile, the BBC reported Thursday that 10 cities in northeast China have asked residents to stay inside because of dangerous air pollution.

Italian Police Seize $2 Billion From Mafia

Italian police announced a huge step forward in their fight against organized crime in their nation.

A police sting against the ‘Ndrangheta mafia, the crime syndicate which controls much of the cocaine trade across Europe, seized assets worth over 2 billion euros or over $2.2 billion American dollars.

“[This is] a serious blow to the ‘Ndrangheta,” Italy’s interior minister Angelino Alfrano told the BBC.

Police seized at least 1,500 betting parlors, 82 gambling websites, 45 Italian companies and 11 foreign companies under the mafia’s control.  Six of those companies were in Malta according to investigators.

“[The suspects] recycled an enormous amount of ‘dirty’ money through the use of gaming accounts assigned to willing or unwitting people,” a police statement read.  “They bypassed the laws governing this sector, accumulating significant profits that were then reinvested in the acquisition of new companies and licences to further expand their activities.”

It’s the second major seizure by police in the last two weeks.  Two weeks prior, they seized more than 1.6 billion euros in assets from five men suspected of links to the mafia.

Italian Authorities Arrest Terrorists Who Plotted Vatican Attack

A massive anti-terrorism operation in Italy has arrested several terrorists including one cell that had plans for an attack on the Vatican.

Authorities say that some of the cell members had contact with Osama bin Laden before his 2011 death and that they had recordings of the exchanges from wiretaps.

Prosecutor Mauro Mura said that intelligence showed the group had planned attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan along with domestic attacks.  The plot against the Vatican first came up among the terrorists in 2010 discussions.

Police say some of the suspects arrested Friday had been under surveillance for a decade.

The group was also smuggling currency to other terror networks.  One of the suspects arrested today was captured on a flight from Italy to Pakistan with 55,000 euros.

Investigators say the group tried to grow by smuggling migrants into Italy.  They would attempt to recruit the migrants to be a part of the al-Qaeda network.

The raids, which police called a “first-of-its-kind operation”also took out the terrorist’s headquarters on the island of Sardinia.

Shroud of Turin On Display For First Time in Five Years

Over a million people are expected to head to Turin, Italy for a glimpse of one of the most rarely viewed historical items.

The Shroud of Turin is believed to be imprinted with the face of Christ.  The shroud has only been displayed to the public five times since 1933. The shroud is usually kept inside a sealed container in a chapel next to the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist.

The BBC said that one of the visitors will be Pope Francis.  The Vatican has never acknowledged the shroud as authentic although they admit the item is “important.”

Gary Habermas of Liberty University says that one of the recent discoveries on the Shroud is that the teeth of the person wrapped in it are visible.

“His skin is intact, his beard is intact, but you are able to see what’s inside coming out, just like if you are able to see what’s on the back of a hand,” he said.

“This is one of the best indications that the man in the Shroud, who was dead and was crucified, (has) radiation coming out,” he said of the teeth discovery. “And if that’s what this is, you’ve got something from the inside (coming out).

“(The teeth) are on the inside, but on the photo they are showing outside. Whichever way (the radiation) is coming, it dragged the image from the inside to the outside.”

The Archbishop of Turin says that regardless of what people believe about the Shroud, the relic is important.

“[It shows] in a clear and precise manner how the Gospels describe the passion and death of Jesus,” Archibishop Cesare Nosiglia said.

Muslims Throw Christians Overboard To Drown

Italian officials have 15 Muslims under arrested after it was discovered they singled out Christians to throw overboard during a crossing from Africa to Italy.

Authorities in Palermo, Sicily, are charging the Muslims with suspicion of murder.

The Christians were part of a boatload of migrants who left Libya Tuesday in a rubber boat.  Police say the Muslims, who are from Ivory Coast, Mali and Senegal, began to throw the Christians overboard as they were in the middle of the crossing.

The dead are from Nigeria and Ghana.

The remaining passengers reportedly formed a human chain to stop the Muslims from being able to kill anyone else on the boat.

Thousands each year attempt to make the voyage from Africa to the European coast and die in the process.  Rarely do people die from deliberate means as the Christians who were killed in this incident.

ISIS Vows To “Blow Up White House”

ISIS has released a statement that they plan to “Blow up the White House, Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower.”

ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani outlined the group’s plot to take over Portugal, Spain, Paris and Rome in a 30 minute broadcast.  The message, aimed at the West, is called “So They Kill And Are Killed”.  The title is a reference to a verse in the Koran.

“We won the day Europe and U.S. dreamt of reclaiming Tal Hamis, Mosul, Sinjar, Tikrit, Qaim, Derna, Tell Abyad, and more,” stated the ISIS mouthpiece, as transcribed by Ynet News.

“We — with Allah’s help — want Paris, before Rome and Islamic Iberia and after we blow up the White House, Big Ben, and the Eiffel Tower before Paris, and Rome,” al-Adnani warned. “The Muslims will return to power, to be the vanguard and lead in every place.”

Intelligence experts say the message is really an attempt to boost the morale among the members of ISIS after a series of big losses to Iraqi troops and U.S. airstrikes.

Pope Francis Believes Reign Will Be Short

Pope Francis said in an interview published Friday that he doesn’t believe he will serve as Pope until his death.

The Pope spoke with Mexican broadcaster Televisa on the second anniversary of his election as Pontiff.  Francis told the broadcaster that he didn’t mind being Pope but that it would be nice to be able to go out in Rome and get a pizza without being recognized.

“I have the feeling that my pontificate will be brief – four or five years, even two or three. Two have already passed. It’s a somewhat strange sensation,” he said, according to a Vatican translation from Spanish.

“I feel that the Lord has placed me here for a short time.”

The Pope said that he likes what Pope Emeritus Benedict did in stepping down from the position.

“In general, I think what Benedict so courageously did was to open the door to the popes emeritus. Benedict should not be considered an exception, but an institution,” Francis said.

Vatican Confirms ISIS Threat On Pope’s Life

The Vatican has confirmed that ISIS has threatened to kill Pope Francis but that so far they have not been able to find evidence of an imminent attack.

The Pope, meanwhile, has ramped up his criticism of the terrorist group, condemning the “intolerable brutality” of the group.

The terrorists released a video last week talking about conquering Rome, installing Shariah law and then throwing gays from the top of “the leaning power of pizza.”  

“The threat exists. This is what has emerged from my conversations with Italian and foreign colleagues,” said Domenico Giani, inspector general of the Corpo della Gendarmeria, Vatican City’s state police force.

The Pope has called on those around the world to do everything they can to show Christ’s love to the victims of the brutality of ISIS.  

The inspector general said Pope Francis has refused to change the way he deals with the public and refuses to cancel public appearances because of the ISIS threats.  

“Even as pope, he’s still a priest who doesn’t want to lose the contact with his flock. It’s us, those in charge of his safety, are the ones that have to help him, not the other way around,” Giani added.

Italy Confirms First Case of Ebola

Italy has confirmed their first case of Ebola.

Italian health officials say that a doctor who had been treating patients in Sierra Leone became contracted with the virus.

“The procedures for transfer of the Italian doctor who is positive for Ebola do not present any risk to the community,” Gianni Rezza, director of the Department of Infectious Disease at the Spallanzini clinic told the Corriere della Sera.

“We have been ready for this possibility and are already equipped to manage the situation. It is our moral duty to provide therapy and support to co nationals struck by Ebola: better here than in Sierra Leone. We can resolve this safely.”

The doctor, whose name has been withheld, was flown to Rome for treatment at the Lazzaro Spallanzani infectious diseases institute.

There are 26 Italian doctors with with the charity group Emergency in Sierra Leone.