Milan, Italy | AFP | A trial for oil giants Eni and Shell over bribery and corruption allegations in the purchase of an offshore oilfield in Nigeria was delayed for two months on Monday. The trial had been set to start in a Milan court, but the judge said that, …
Read More »Eni and Shell go on trial over Nigeria kickback scandal
Milan, Italy | AFP | Oil giants Eni and Shell go on trial in Milan on Monday, charged with bribery and corruption in the purchase of an offshore oilfield in Nigeria. Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi, his predecessor Paolo Scaroni and several officials from Eni and Shell are among those facing …
Read More »Slovak police free all suspects held after journalist murder
Bratislava, Slovakia | AFP | Slovak police on Saturday said they had released seven Italian businessmen detained after they were named by murdered journalist Jan Kuciak in an explosive report on alleged high-level political corruption linked to the mafia. “The investigator has, within the legal timeframe (48 hours) at his …
Read More »Thousands attend protest vigils for slain Slovak journalist
Bratislava, Slovakia | AFP | Thousands flocked to candlelit anti-corruption protests and memorials held across Slovakia on Friday for murdered journalist Jan Kuciak, killed as he was about to publish an explosive report on alleged high-level political corruption linked to the Italian mafia. Organisers estimated that around 25,000 people gathered …
Read More »Britain and Italy to bolster troop presence in Africa’s Sahel
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Britain is set to send helicopters to bolster a key French counter-terrorism operation in Mali in a package of measures to be agreed at a summit near London on Thursday. The commitment will come as Prime Minister Theresa May meets French President Emmanuel Macron …
Read More »Migration to dominate southern EU meet in Rome
Rome, Italy | AFP | The heads of seven southern European states gather in Rome on Wednesday to tackle one of the stubbornest thorns in the EU’s side: flows of migrants from war-torn and impoverished countries. The leaders of Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain will meet in the …
Read More »Italy to send troops to Niger to stem migrant flow: PM
Rome, Italy | AFP | Italy will be sending 470 soldiers to Niger to help the west African nation stem the flow of Europe-bound migrants, Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Thursday. Agadez, the main city in central Niger, has become a revolving door for economic migrants seeking to reach Europe via …
Read More »‘10,000 refugees’ to be relocated from Libya to EU in 2018
Rome, Italy | AFP | Up to 10,000 people stranded in refugee camps and detention centres in Libya could be relocated to Europe in 2018, the Italian government said on Sunday. The initiative would be part of an attempt by EU countries to address the deteriorating conditions in Libya, where …
Read More »Refugees directly flown from Libya to Italy in ‘historic’ first
Rome, Italy | AFP | A group of 162 “vulnerable” refugees were flown directly from Libya to Italy on Friday for the first time, a day hailed as “historic” by Interior Minister Marco Minniti. “For the first time a humanitarian corridor has been opened from Libya to Europe. It’s a start,” …
Read More »Libya, Italy to join forces against people traffickers
Tripoli, Libya | AFP | Italy and Libya will set up a joint commission in a bid to fight back against people traffickers and tackle the problem of illegal migration, the Tripoli government said Saturday. The announcement was made after talks in the Libyan capital between Italian Interior Minister Marco …
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