While Germany's economy is stalling, Italy is experiencing continued growth. But this has little to do with PM Giorgia Meloni's economic policies and everything to do with subsidies and new debt. Mauro Congedo has been finding and renovating small architectural treasures with his brother and father for 25 years in Salento — a peninsula in the southeast of Italy that makes up the "heel" of the country. The apartments and houses that Congedo restores in this rather remote region are now suddenly finding buyers from Germany and England. "Things are going well again," said the 50-year-old architect. During the coronavirus pandemic, business almost came to a standstill. But what happened afterward in Italy in the industry was "crazy" he says, dragging out the "a" for a long time. But look deeper and Congedo isn't the only one enthusiastic about the economic recovery in Italy.  Italy goes from problem child to head of the class While governments in Rome were used to announcing depressing growth forecasts and poor debt rankings in the years before the pandemic, the country is now quickly becoming Europe's growth engine. In the last quarter, the Italian economy grew by 0.6%, while the German economy shrunk by 0.3% in the same period. Beyond this short three-month snapshot, other figures for Europe's third-largest economy are impressive. "The Italian economy has grown by 3.8% since 2019," said Jörg Krämer, chief economist at Commerzbank. That is "twice as much as the French economy and five times more than the German economy," he told DW. In Germany, the prospects are indeed looking bleak. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predicts growth of 0.3% this year for Germany. Leading German experts are only expecting growth of 0.1%. Italy, on the other hand, is expected to grow by 0.7% this year, according to the OECD. The Italian stock market is also benefiting from the optimistic mood. The FTSE MIB benchmark index, which is made up of 40 big companies, rose by around 28% last year, more than any other European stock market indices. Italy is on track for more growth. Trust in the Italian government is returning It didn't always look so encouraging. Economists initially reacted very cautiously when Giorgia Meloni became prime minister in October 2022. During the election campaign, Meloni and her Brothers of Italy party announced a nationalist "Made in Italy" economic course, agitated against migrants and did not clearly distance herself from Russia. After her election, the German weekly Stern described her as the "most dangerous woman in Europe." But in terms of economic policy, Meloni has so far largely remained on the same course as her predecessor Mario Draghi. This course is paying off for Italy, at least on the bond market. The interest rate at which the county borrows money is back to the level before she took office. At a press conference earlier this year, Meloni tried to take credit for the economic upswing. Above all, the lack of political stability in the past had slowed the economy she said, speaking from a position firmly in the saddle. But how much of the growth is down to Meloni's success? "Not much," said Krämer from Commerzbank. "The strong growth can be explained by Italy's loose fiscal policy." That means Italy's growth is based primarily on new debt. While the Italian state's new debt before COVID-19 was 1.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), it has shot up in recent years and was 8.3% of GDP in the first half of 2023. The country's overall mountain of debt is growing, too. In January, the EU Commission estimated that it would exceed 140% of GDP this year and continue to rise in 2025. For comparison, in Germany the debt ratio is 66%, in France it is almost 100%. Huge construction subsidies inject the economy To help the economy, the Italian state has been funding various home renovation measures since the end of 2020. For some measures they pay around 50% of the cost, others get even more. The most popular is called the "Superbonus 110" for energy-efficient renovations. Through this program anyone who renovates their house or apartment to make it more energy-efficient will get the entire expenses plus a 10% refund on top through a tax reduction scheme. "You can imagine that construction investments have skyrocketed," said economist and Italy expert Krämer. "This effect explains two-thirds of the strong growth we are seeing." The architect Mauro Congedo is not overly enthusiastic about the Superbonus 110 program. Everything has become more expensive. On top of inflation, the program drove up the costs of materials and workers. "If the state pays for everything, then people don't care how much it costs," said Congedo. In addition, no one controls the prices. Construction companies from Naples, Bari and the provincial capital Lecce asked him several times to adjust his costs upward. "They wanted me to charge twice as much. I didn't do it. It feels like stealing," he said. He thinks a bonus for the energy-efficient renovation of buildings is a good thing in general. However, owners should have to contribute to the costs and not just get it all from the government. Congedo doesn't think much about Giorgia Meloni either. The only good thing she did was get the Superbonus 110 program under control, he says. Money from the European Union In fact, the ultra-right head of government has slowed down the Superbonus program introduced by the left-wing Five Star Movement. In 2023, it covered a maximum 70% of costs and this year up to 65% of the renovation costs. Nevertheless, the tax credits resulting from the program will significantly reduce government revenue in the next few years. For the government in Rome it is probably very convenient that billions are still flowing — primarily from Brussels. Italy is one of the biggest recipients of the EU's COVID recovery fund. By 2026, almost €200 billion ($216 billion) will be paid out to Italy in the form of subsidies and loans. "The Italian state must reduce its very high budget deficit by this time at the latest," ​​said Krämer. "If they only start saving then, then this Italian growth miracle will probably end because they didn't use the time for structural reforms." Mauro Congedo is worried that remnants of the Superbonus 110 program will remain for a long time. "The prices are very high, and we have incurred a lot of debt." Luckily, he won't run out of work anytime soon. He's currently working on eight projects at the same time.  

Following Moscow concert hall attack, Italian official said "surveliance and checks will be increased" ahead of the religious Easter holiday. Italy joined France on Monday in raising its security alert level following the  attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall for which an affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility. The decision was reached during a national security council meeting in Rome on Monday, bolstered security is planned for the various events this week ahead of the Christian Easter religious holiday this weekend. Pope Francis has a busy schedule of events in Rome and at the Vatican in the days leading up to Easter Sunday. "Both surveillance and checks will be increased, paying the most attention to the places of greatest aggregation and transit of people, as well as sensitive targets," Italy's Interior Ministry said in a statement. France had taken the same step on Sunday, saying it found the Afghan branch of the Islamic State (ISIS-K) claiming responsibility for the attack in Moscow plausible. President Emmanuel Macron said the group "also tried to commit several actions on our own soil."  The attackrenewed attention in Europe on the risk from the extremists as the continent gears up for big events such as the Paris Olympics and the European Championship in Germany. In Germany, Interior Ministry spokesperson Cornelius Funke said the threat from Islamic extremists "remains acute" but authorities' risk assessment hadn't changed so far as a result of the Moscow attack..  

Paolo Garbisi's injury-time penalty hit the post as Italy were denied a first Six Nations victory in France. The fly-half looked set to seal the historic win until the ball fell off the tee, which resulted in a rushed attempt due to the shot clock. Ange Capuozzo's late try and Garbisi's difficult conversion had drawn Italy level against the 14-man hosts. Centre Jonathan Danty saw his high tackle upgraded to a red card during a half-time review. The 31-year-old made direct head-on-head contact with Juan Ignacio Brex in an upright tackle at the end of a frustrating first half for the French. The hosts dominated early on and scored the opening try through Charles Ollivon but lacked accuracy throughout. The Azzurri, who have beaten France twice in Rome during the Six Nations, remained in touch thanks to penalties from Martin Page-Relo and Garbisi. Despite having an extra player for the entire second half, Italy never threatened until the closing stages when history was in sight. The draw means Italy's victory in Cardiff two years ago remains their only championship win in their last 45 attempts.   Source: BBC

Four Egyptian officials are going on trial in absentia for the 2016 torture and death of Italian student Giulio Regeni. The 28-year-old was abducted and killed in Cairo while conducting research for his doctoral thesis. The trial of four senior Egyptian security officials accused of the kidnap, torture and murder of Italian student Giulio Regeni in 2016 gets underway in Rome on Tuesday. The opening hearing marks the second time the four security officers will go on trial in absentia. The first trial was halted in 2021 after it was argued there was no certainty the men had been officially notified that they were charged with Regeni's death. The four defendants have been identified as senior officers in Egypt's domestic security agency. What do we know about Regeni's death? Regeni, who was 28 at the time of his death, had been conducting research in Cairo for his doctoral thesis, when he was abducted in January 2016. His body was discovered nine days later, dumped near a highway and showing signs of torture. His mother said his body was so mutilated that she was only able to recognize the "tip of his nose" when she viewed it. The family's lawyer said that five of his teeth were broken, and 15 of his bones had been fractured, while letters were found carved into his skin. Human rights activists have said the injuries on Regeni's body resembled those resulting from torture in Egyptian Security Agency facilities. Strained ties after student's death Regeni's death strained relations between Italy and Egypt, with Italian lawmakers accusing Cairo of being hostile to attempts at securing justice. At one point, Italy withdrew its ambassador in an effort to press Egypt into cooperating with the investigation. Investigators believe Regeni was abducted and killed after being mistaken for a foreign spy. Egyptian authorities claim the Cambridge University doctoral student was the victim of common robbers.

Italy has formally notified China of its withdrawal from Beijing’s ambitious belt and road infrastructure initiative (BRI), a significant trade and infrastructure project, according to two government sources. The decision, which had been expected for some time, was reportedly communicated to Beijing three days ago, although no official communication has been released by either side. The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has long been critical of the project and had expressed her intention to withdraw from the deal, seen by many as an effort by China to buy political influence but having limited benefits for Italy. Italy became the only G7 nation to join the initiative in 2019, irking its EU and US allies. Its agreement is set to expire in March 2024. “It’s now time for a more effective relationship between Italy and China,” said the then prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, in March 2019. During a visit to Rome, the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, was treated like royalty, and the two countries struck commercial deals in a variety of areas, including tourism, food and football. The BRI scheme envisions rebuilding the old Silk Road to connect China with Asia, Europe and beyond with vast amounts of infrastructure spending on roads and shipping routes. However, critics see it as a tool for China to spread its geopolitical and economic influence – a state-backed campaign for global dominance. China spent $240bn (£195bn) bailing out countries struggling under their BRI debts between 2008 and 2021, data showed in March this year. More than 100 countries have signed agreements with China to cooperate on BRI infrastructure and building projects since the scheme was launched in 2013. Last July, in an interview with Corriere della Sera, Italy’s defence minister, Guido Crosetto, said joining China’s BRI had been a poor decision. “The decision to join the [new] Silk Road was an improvised and atrocious act” that boosted China’s exports to Italy but did not have the same effect on Italian exports to China, he said. “The issue today is how to walk back [from the BRI] without damaging relations [with Beijing]. Because it is true that China is a competitor, but it is also a partner.” Crosetto also voiced concerns about Beijing’s “increasingly assertive attitudes”, its ambition to have the largest military presence in the world and its ambitions to expand, particularly in Africa. “They don’t hide their goals. They make them explicit,” he said. Meloni, who heads Italy’s most rightwing government since the second world war, has been keen to burnish her credentials as a committed pro-Nato leader. After a White House meeting with the US president, Joe Biden, last summer, Meloni said her government had until December to make a decision on the BRI. Italy formally exited the BRI with a letter delivered to Beijing a few days ago, the sources told the Ansa news agency. Rome was required to provide at least three months’ written notice to terminate the accord, thereby avoiding its automatic renewal. Meloni’s office made no comment when asked about the move on Wednesday and there was no immediate comment from China either. “We have every intention of maintaining excellent relations with China even if we are no longer part of the belt and road initiative,” a government source in Italy told Reuters. “Other G7 nations have closer relations with China than we do, despite the fact they were never in [the BRI].” Italy will assume the presidency of the G7 in 2024. Looking to maintain strategic ties, the Italian foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, visited Beijing in September and Italy’s president, Sergio Mattarella, is due to visit China at some stage next year. Meloni herself has said she wants to go to Beijing, but no date has been fixed. Source: The Guardian

Elon Musk on Friday said he spoke with Italy's culture minister, Gennaro Sangiuliano, about planning a cage fight with rival tech billionaire Mark Zuckerberg in Italy.  Musk said on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that he and Sangiuliano had agreed on an "epic location" for the fight, without specifying where.  "Everything in camera frame will be ancient Rome, so nothing modern at all," Musk wrote. However, Sangiuliano said after the conversation with Musk that the event would not be held in Rome, adding that they agreed on holding a  "large charitable and historically evocative event," which would respect and safeguard heritage sites. Musk said the fight would be organized by his and Zuckerberg's foundations.  Musk vs. Zuckerberg for charity  Sangiuliano said that "many millions of euros" are expected to be donated to two Italian pediatric hospitals, and scientific research for fighting childhood diseases.  However, the culture minister again seemed to diverge from Musk's interpretation of what was agreed upon, as the Tesla billionaire said on X that "all proceeds will go to veterans."  Opposition politician Carlo Calenda, a former industry minister and head of the centrist Azione party, criticized the culture minister's willingness to entertain the possibility of the Musk vs. Zuckerberg fight. "I find it simply mind-boggling that the Italian cultural heritage is being made available to two billionaires who want to indulge themselves like foolish teenagers," he said. On June 20 this year, Musk asked on then-Twitter if Zuckerberg, who is trained in jiujitsu was "up for a cage match." Zuckerberg responded a day later: "send location."

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina returned home from Italy on July 26 after attending the UN Food Systems Summit+2 Stocktaking Moment. A regular flight of Qatar Airways, carrying the premier and her entourage members, landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at 01:50 am after making over one hour stopover at Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar. (BSS Reported) Earlier, the flight departed from Rome Fiumicino Airport at 09:45am local time (01:45pm BST). Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina went to Rome, Italy on July 23 on a three-day official visit to join the UNFSS+2 conference at the invitation of the United Nations (UN) Secretary General António Guterres. The UNFSS+2 conference was held at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) headquarters on July 24-26 with the theme "Sustainable Food Systems for People, Planet and Prosperity: Diverse Pathways in a Shared Journey". The premier addressed the official opening of the conference at the FAO Headquarters as the special guest speaker on July 24. Around 2000 participants from over 160 countries, including over 20 heads of state and government, attended the UNFSS+2. Sheikh Hasina also participated in the plenary session titled "Food Systems and Climate Action". On the evening of the same day, she also joined the inaugural ceremony of Bangladesh-Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Room in FAO headquarters. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also had a bilateral meeting with her Nepalese counterpart Pushpa Kamal Dahal at the newly opened Bangladesh-Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Room in the FAO headquarters on the sidelines of the UN Food Systems Summit. Three Italian ministers -Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and Justice Minister Carlo Nordio - also paid a courtesy call on her at the FAO headquarters. FAO Director General Qu Dongyu, President of International Fund of Agricultural Development (IFAD) Alvaro Lario and World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Cindy Hensley McCain paid courtesy call on the prime minister. On July 25, the premier attended the "Regional Envoys Conference" organised with Bangladesh ambassadors stationed in 15 European countries. Sheikh Hasina also had a bilateral meeting with her Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni.  

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left here for Rome, Italy on a three-day official visit to attend UN Food Systems Summit+2 Stocktaking Moment on 23 July. PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said, "A regular commercial flight of Qatar Airways, carrying Prime Minister and her entourage members, took off from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at 05:05am." The flight is scheduled to land at Rome Fiumicino Airport of Italy at 02:05pm local time (06:05pm BST) after making around one hour stopover at Hamad International Airport in Doha of Qatar. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is joining the United Nations Food Systems +2 Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+2) conference at the invitation of the United Nations (UN) Secretary General António Guterres. The UNFSS+2 conference will be held at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) headquarters in Rome, Italy on July 24-26 with the theme “Sustainable Food Systems for People, Planet and Prosperity: Diverse Pathways in a Shared Journey”. In a media briefing on July 20, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said two Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) - “Cooperation in the Field of Energy” and “Cultural Exchange Programme” - are likely to be signed between Bangladesh and Italy. Source: BSS

The hotly debated AI chatbot is back online in Italy after installing new warnings for users and the option to opt-out of having chats be used to train ChatGPT's algorithms. The artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, ChatGPT, is once again available to users in Italy after its owners addressed data privacy concerns, an Italian regulator said on Friday. Italy blocked the site at the end of March after raising concerns about how ChatGPT processes and saves user data. What changes were made? Garante, Italy's data protection authority, said ChatGPT has been reinstated "with enhanced transparency and rights for European users." The move came after OpenAI, the US-based and Microsoft-backed company that developed the chatbot, implemented changes to comply with several data privacy conditions. The changes include increased transparency on OpenAI's website for how the chatbot processes user data. The platform now also grants users certain opt-out rights, including being able to toggle off the option for conversations to be used for training ChatGPT's algorithms. The site now also has checks to protect children under 13, with age verification in place for those accessing the site from Italy. "ChatGPT is available again for our users in Italy. We are delighted to welcome them back and remain committed to protecting their personal data," an OpenAI spokesperson said. When viewing the platform from Germany, the new data protection options were also available. The site also now has a notice making users aware that ChatGPT could produce inaccurate information about "people, places or facts." Why was ChatGPT banned in Italy? Italy became the first Western country to take action against ChatGPT at the end of March. The country's data protection watchdog said its developers did not have a legal basis to justify the storage and collection of users' personal data in order to train the site's algorithms. Authorities also criticized that inaccurate information produced by the platform was not being handled properly and that children were especially vulnerable to "absolutely unsuitable answers." ChatGPT has taken the world by storm since it was launched in 2022. Based on questions or input from users, the chatbot can generate essays, poems, songs, computer code and also news articles. While its release has been heralded as a milestone in technological advancement, it has also sparked a debate about the possibilities of artificial intelligence and the consequences that could arise.

Italy's data privacy watchdog said it was taking the temporary action "until ChatGPT respects privacy." Italy's Data Protection Authority said on Friday that it was temporarily blocking the popular artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT over data privacy concerns.  ChatGPT, which is developed by US firm OpenAI, has gained wide global attention for its ability to generate essays, songs, exams and even news articles from brief prompts. Critics have raised concerns about the lack of transparency on how ChatGPT and similar softwares collect and process users' data. Italy is the first Western country to block ChatGPT, although it was not immediately clear how exactly it plans it implement the ban nationwide. Why did Italy block ChatGPT?  The Data Protection Authority said in a statement that OpenAI had no legal basis to justify "the mass collection and storage of personal data for the purpose of 'training' the algorithms underlying the operation of the platform." The watchdog said it took the provisional action "until ChatGPT respects privacy," including temporarily limiting the company from processing Italian users' data.  The statement noted that the chatbot had suffered a data breach on March 20, which involved "users' conversations" and information about subscriber payments. OpenAI had taken ChatGPT offline on that day, citing a bug that it said it had to fix. "Our investigation has also found that 1.2% of ChatGPT Plus users might have had personal data revealed to another user," the company said. "We believe the number of users whose data was actually revealed to someone else is extremely low and we have contacted those who might be impacted," it added. Italy's authorities said OpenAI must respond with measures to ensure users' data privacy within 20 days or face a fine of up to either €20 million (nearly $22 million) or 4% of annual global revenue.