Rome issues public tender for 1,000 new taxi licences 

The city of Rome on Monday issued a public tender for the release of 1,000 new taxi licences in a bid to end long-standing cab shortages ahead of the 2025 Jubilee, La Repubblica reported. 

This marked the first time Rome issued a tender for new taxi licences since 2004.

Rome Mobility Councillor Eugenio Patanè said the move was “an important result for the city following a 20-year wait, especially in view of the upcoming 2025 Jubilee”.

Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri praised the development, calling it “a historic day for the city”.

“The tender for new taxi licences is now online, with applications open until September 23rd. After that, there will be the qualifying exams, and by December, we aim to issue the licences,” he said.

READ ALSO: ‘Historic day’: Rome issues public tender for 1,000 new taxi licences

The issuance of new licences was first announced in mid-July after years of complaints by both visitors and locals about long queues and lengthy waiting times when trying to hail a ride.

Forza Italia party presses ahead with citizenship through school proposal

Centre-right Forza Italia leader Antonio Tajani said on Monday his party was set to table a law proposal to grant citizenship to Italy-born children of foreign parents upon completion of ten years of compulsory education in the country, Ansa reported. 

The announcement came a day after Tajani said at a press conference that those who “successfully complete compulsory education […] should have the right to become Italian citizens if they request it”.

Talks of a ‘school right’ (or ius scholae) citizenship reform has made national headlines in recent weeks as contrasting views over the proposal reportedly created a rift in the ruling coalition, pitting Forza Italia against the League and PM Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, both of which have long opposed any change to current rules.  

Italy currently has one of Europe’s toughest citizenship regimes when it comes to children of foreign nationals born in the country as they are only able to apply for an Italian passport after turning 18 and by showing proof of uninterrupted residency.

120 migrants rescued off Lampedusa island

Some 120 migrants travelling on a crammed 12-metre boat were rescued by Italy’s coast guard and transferred to a reception centre on the island of Lampedusa, 205 kilometres south of Sicily, on Monday, Italian media reported.

The rescued migrants included people from the Middle East (Syria, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran), as well as people from African nations Senegal and Sudan.

Some of the migrants told rescuers that they had departed from Sabratha, on the Libyan coast west of Tripoli, on Sunday night and paid between 3,000 and 4,500 euros for the crossing.

Despite an overall decrease in landings this year, Italy has seen multiple migrant arrivals in recent weeks.

Two migrants died in early August after a boat carrying over 30 people sank some 17 miles south-east of the city of Syracuse, eastern Sicily.

Body of woman missing after southern Italy mudslide found

The body of a 74-year-old woman who had been reported missing following a mudslide in the hill town of San Felice a Cancello, near Caserta, last week, was found by search and rescue authorities on Monday, an Ansa report said.

The woman and her son, aged 42, were reported missing on Tuesday, August 27th, after their three-wheeled Piaggio Ape car was swept away by a mudslide caused by torrential rainfall. 

The woman’s son was still missing. 

According to local authorities, the pair were hurled out of their vehicle upon impact with the mudslide.