Valle d’Aosta region requests state of emergency after devastating floods

Regional authorities in Valle d’Aosta, northwest Italy, on Thursday asked the Italian government to declare a state of emergency for the region in the wake of devastating flooding and landslides last weekend, according to Ansa.

Some 1,800 people were evacuated from the town of Cogne, southern Valle d’Aosta, earlier this week after flooding blocked the main local road and damaged the water supply network. 

Italian Civil Protection minister Nello Musumeci said on Tuesday that it will take operators at least a month to repair the road. 

The popular mountain resort of Cervinia was also severely hit by landslides and flash floods last weekend, with deputy mayor Massimo Chatrian saying the damage to local infrastructure added up to “millions”.

Italy to recruit 1,600 new labour inspectors after rise in workplace deaths

The Italian government on Thursday said it will recruit some 1,600 new labour inspectors following a spate of workplace deaths across the country in recent months, Ansa reported.

“We ordered the hiring of 1,600 additional labour inspectors, with the goal of doubling the number of inspections in 2024,” PM Giorgia Meloni said in a speech in the lower house of parliament on Thursday.

The announcement came just over two weeks after the gruesome death of Satnam Singh, 31, an undocumented Indian labourer who bled out after his arm was severed by farm machinery.

38-year-old Italian employer Antonello Lovato, for whom Singh worked without papers, was arrested last Tuesday on second-degree murder charges. He stands accused of dumping the injured worker’s body outside his home instead of calling for help.

Activists splash red paint on state TV’s headquarters in femicide protest

Five activists from Italy’s Bruciamo Tutto (‘Let’s burn everything’) movement threw red paint over the entrance of state broadcaster Rai’s Rome headquarters on Thursday in an act of protest against violence against women, according to media reports.

Protesters reportedly made chants denouncing poor public information regarding gender-based violence and left dolls in memory of Italian femicide victims. 

All five activists were arrested by local police shortly after the protest.

Some 120 women were murdered in Italy in 2023, with over half of the victims killed by their partners or former partners, according to data from the Interior Ministry’s Criminal Police Directorate.