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venerdì 18 aprile 2014

Ambrosian Refectory to serve leftovers from Milan Expo

Celebrity chefs in novel cultural project with Catholic Church



(by Emily Backus) (ANSA) - Milan, April 18 - The Milan branch of the Catholic charity Caritas this week announced an initiative to serve leftovers culled daily from the pavilions of Milan Expo 2015 to needy people and students through a novel food culture project. The Refettorio Ambrosiano (Ambrosian Refectory) will be set up in an abandoned theatre in the San Martino parish in Milan's northeastern Greco neighborhood to help people in difficulty, but it has also been conceived as an ambitious cultural initiative, uniting nutrition, gourmet food, art, solidarity and education, in keeping with the food-themed world fair that will take place in Milan next year. The Universal Exposition, which takes place next year from May 31 to October 31, is themed "Feeding the planet. Energy for life", tackling issues such as food security, hunger, and promoting environmentally, socially, economically sustainable global food production practices.

The Refettorio Ambrosiano will be active from May to July 2015. For one of those months, 40 of the world's best chefs will devote their talents to refashioning the leftovers for needy diners into gourmet meals. The project was conceived by leading Italian chef Massimo Bottura, whose Michelin three-star Osteria Francesca in Modena has ranked among the world's top five restaurants since 2010 by the World's 50 Best Restaurant Awards, along with Expo event editor Davide Rampello, a leading Milanese cultural figure and former chief of the Triennale Museum, which exhibits design and contemporary art. The Refettorio Ambrosiano is being carried out by the Milan Archdiocese and the Milan Expo 2015 company. But after Expo ends, the refectory will remain in place, serving people who have turned to the city's social services for help, and will be managed by Caritas Ambrosiana, the Milan branch of the global Catholic charity Caritas Internationalis.

Renovation of the ex-theatre into a 90-seat refectory will be overseen by Caritas Ambrosiana following a project design by the Polytechnic University of Milan, which has a major architecture school. Donations of artwork and furniture designed by Italian masters are also being sought to furnish the refectory interior. Meanwhile, in keeping with the Expo's theme of ecological, sustainable practices, Diana Bracco, general commissioner for the Italian pavilion, this week announced two key partners for the centre-piece and major landmark of the Expo site, an area of more than 100 hectares near Milan's massive Rho Pero trade fair exhibition centre.

The Italian lighting, energy, and home-automation firm Gewiss will oversee energy-efficient use of lighting and power at the Italian pavilion with a three-million-euro investment. Lavazza is to be the official coffee of the Italian pavilion. The Italian coffee maker will lure and welcome visitors with delectable aromas and a spiral shaped coffee bar created by the well known, Italian contemporary architect and designer Fabio Novembre at the Italian pavilion for Expo 2015. Bracco said that the comprehensive project for the Italian pavilion, from its contents to partners, will be presented on May 30 at the Triennale Museum. 

Coastguard confiscate 26 tonnes of illegal fish

Easter crackdown inspections in four regions



(ANSA) - Genoa, April 18 - Ligurian coast guard officers said Friday they had seized 26 tonnes of illegally traded fish during Easter inspections across northern Italy. Fish consumption surges on the Catholic Feast of Good Friday, when meat used to be banned and is still frowned on in some circles.

In all, as many as 18 violations of the strict laws governing the sale of fish were registered by the guards among fishmongers and wholesalers and altogether fines for as much as 79,000 euros were handed down, the coast guard said. Most of the fish was confiscated from three Chinese wholesalers in Milan while in Cuneo a fishmonger was fined for selling bullet tuna as red tuna. Also fined were a number of fishermen in Liguria while other inspections were carried out in Piedmont and Emilia Romagna as well as Lombardy. 

Benetton to name new fashion CEO

Former Autogrill GM Airoldi replacing Chiarolanza



(ANSA) - Milan, April 18 - Benetton will name Marco Airoldi the new CEO of the Italian clothing retailer as it prepares to split into three branches. The announcement came in a statement Friday by Edizione Ltd, the holding company of the Benetton family and majority shareholder. Taking over from Biagio Chiarolanza, Airoldi's position will be made official at a May 8 shareholders meeting renewing the board of directors, whose mandate expires with the approval of the 2013 budget.

The Treviso-based company, whose lines include United Colors of Benetton, Sisley and Playlife, has said it plans to branch off into separate units for clothing, manufacturing and retail businesses by the beginning of 2015. Airoldi, 54, is set to take over Benetton's fashion division. He is the senior partner at Boston Consulting Group and has worked with Edizione for 20 years, the holding company said in a statement, including as general manager of highway restaurant chain Autogrill, which is owned by Edizione. With Benetton's restructuring, Edizione is set to claim 100% control of the group, following the Benetton family's controversial move to take the clothing maker private for 276.6 million euros in 2012 amid signs that its market value was shrinking. Sales have been hit during the recession, especially in the company's core market in southern Europe, where cheaper competitors H&M and Zara have cut into profits. The company has said it plans to cut around 25% of its 6,500 franchises in 120 countries it no longer deems strategic. 

Britain's Economist warns Renzi of fight ahead

London-based newspaper calls premier's plans 'courageous'



(ANSA) - London, April 18 - Italian Premier Matteo Renzi is in for a fight from various parts of Italian society as he tries to push through dramatic changes outlined in his "courageous" political program, a leading British business newspaper said Friday. The weekly Economist warned that Renzi will meet resistance from an "arrogant" political class, public administration, unions, parts of the business and finance community all of which are resistant to change.

That could make it difficult for the premier, the youngest in Italian history, to borrow enough to push through his policies and may ultimately run up a budget deficit beyond this year's target of 2.6% deficit to gross domestic product (GDP), said the newspaper. But Renzi has a powerful tool he can still use - public relations, it added. "He has convinced many Italians, like the many people who hail him from Brussels to Berlin, that he represents the last chance for Italy to exit from its inexorable decline".

Spoleto Festival to star Wilson, Muti, Ronconi, Valeri

Bennato, Huppert, Depardieu also on 57th roster



(By Erica Firpo). (ANSA) - Rome, April 18 - The Spoleto Festival opens on June 27 with a double billing of music and stage performance. Returning to the festival are blockbuster names, including Robert Wilson and Luca Ronconi, a new piece written and performed by Franca Valeri, special events from Luca Barbareschi and Edoardo Bennato as well as Isabelle Huppert and Gerard Depardieu, and a special concert conducted by Riccardo Muti. "We hope to have created a festival that is always more interpretive of our time in the belief that art can and must do its part", said Giorgio Ferrara, Festival artistic director, in the company of minister Dario Franceschini, while presenting the festival billboard and pointing out the support of its many sponsors, from Foundation Carla Fendi Foundation to the newly return Mercedes.

The June 27 fest opens with a trio of short operatic works by Berlioz, Poulenc and Schoenberg conducted by John Axelrod and directed by Frederic Fisbach, followed by the debut Strindberg's "The Dance of Death", a stage performance with Giorgio Ferrara and wife Adriana Asti, directed by Ronconi. The July 13 closing performance includes a concert dedicated to American musical of the 1940s and 50s held on the main square with two great performers, soprano June Anderson and baritone Paulo Szot. The day before the festival's conclusion, Riccardo Muti will conduct a special program "Concert for a Friend" at the restored Caio Melisso Theatre. The concert is dedicated to Candido Speroni, husband of Carla Fendi who recently passed away, a performance that Muti "could not pass by for his dear friend".

The crux of festival programming is focused on the three festival weekends, when visitor presence is heightened. Opening weekend presents the debut of the new comedy "Il Cambio dei Cavalli" with the always lively Franca Valeri, 93, on stage with Urbano Barberini in performance directed by Giuseppe Marini. To follow will be Luke Barbareschi's recital celebrating his 40 years on stage, and Huppert in "Lit Sade" from the writings of the Divine Marquis.

The San Francisco Ballet performs the second weekend with a great dance. Also, Robert Wilson debuts his new avant-garde theatre performance of "Peter Pan", with music by the duo CocoRosie, followed by Giancarlo Sepe's "Dubliners" based on the novel by James Joyce. Anouk Aimee accompanies Depardieu in A.R. Gurney's classic play "Love Letters".

Pisans march for slain Bangladeshi waiter

Zakir Hossain beaten to death on the street by four suspects



(ANSA) - Florence, April 18 - Shops lowered their shutters or turned off their lights in signs of mourning Friday as some 1,000 people marched through downtown Pisa in memory of Bangladeshi waiter Zakir Hossain, who was beaten to death on the street Sunday night. Police on Thursday released CCTV footage of the fatal attack, in which Hossain was hassled by a group of four men and then assaulted by one of them.

The four suspects fled the scene aboard a car, and later attempted to attack two more people in two different central Pisa locations, police said. They have been identified as Tunisian national Hamrouni Hamza, 27, who threw the fatal punch and stands accused of voluntary manslaughter. He flew out of Milan's Malpensa airport on Tuesday evening.

Italian national Simone Tabbita, 22, and a 16-year-old Tunisian who is a relative of Hamza have been charged with aiding and abetting the elder Hamza. Another 20-year-old who was part of the group is not being charged because he did not participate in the assault and did not intervene to free Hamza when witnesses tried to stop the attack on Hossain.

The march was led by Pisa Mayor Marco Filippeschi, Bangladeshi Ambassador Shahdat Hossain, and the mayor of Cascina, where the four attackers live. "This act of senseless violence is astonishing for its gratuity and utter absence of respect for others," said Casina Mayor Alessio Antonelli. Filippeschi praised the Bangladeshi community's "intelligent and positive attitude" in the face of this attack on one of their own. "But we were not surprised, given the more than positive relations with the city, which a criminal act cannot undermine".

The ambassador thanked "Pisa for the solidarity and the investigation". Other participants included politicians from the center-left Democratic Party and center-right Forza Italia, as well as smaller leftist parties Communist Refoundation and Left Ecology and Liberty (SEL), trade union representatives, and leftist intellectual Adriano Sofri.

The Bangladeshi community asked everyone to observe a minute of silence to "pray for Zakir's soul and to invoke forgiveness for his aggressors". The march stopped by the spot where Hossain was killed, where people have been leaving flowers since Thursday, and ended at the office of the prefect, who came out and shook hands with Bangladeshi community leaders. 

Sollecito explains why he returned to scene of Kercher crime

'Nothing exceptional happened to me there' says Knox's ex



(ANSA) - Perugia, April 18 - Raffaele Sollecito, who has been convicted with co-defendant Amanda Knox of murdering Meredith Kercher in 2007, on Friday explained why he took his current girlfriend to the scene of the crime while on a tour of Perugia.

"I was just showing my girlfriend the places in Perugia where I spent three years of life. That's how we ended up on Via della Pergola," Sollecito told ANSA. Kercher shared a flat with Knox on Via della Pergola, and was raped and murdered in her bedroom there. "That place has no particular meaning for me, because I did not experience anything transcendental there," Sollecito continued. "The night of the murder, I was not there".

Sollecito went on to explain that before Kercher was slain, student life had been good. "What was alleged after that has nothing to do with me. It is a version of events invented by others".

EU border agency Frontex allocates 7.1 mn euros to Italy

Operations Hermes and Aeneas counter illegal immigration by sea



(ANSA) - Brussels, April 17 - European operations to combat illegal immigration in Italian waters have been allocated 7.1 million euros for the period May-September, sources close to the European Union agency for external border security FRONTEX said Thursday. There are currently two Frontex operations underway in Italy: Hermes and Aeneas, respectively covering the southern Mediterranean between Italy and North Africa and the Adriatic and Ionian seas.

So far this year these have been running thanks to 4.8 million euros carried forward from the November 2013 budget after the agency received additional funds following boat accidents off the Sicilian island of Lampedusa last October in which over 350 migrants are known to have died. The total Frontex budget for 2014 was 89.1 million euros, the agency said. Of this sum, 42.1 million was destined for operations, of which just over half was for sea operations.

The Frontex-sponsored operations are in addition to Mare Nostrum, a military and humanitarian operation launched by the Italian navy and coast guard last autumn in the wake of the Lampedusa disaster to spot and save migrants at sea. On Tuesday Interior Minister Angelino Alfano told parliament over 20,500 migrants had landed on the Italian coast so far this year, as compared to 2,500 during the same period in 2013.

Speaking before a committee on the country's borders, Alfano stressed that the number of incoming migrants was on pace "to reach the record levels of 2011, when more than 62,000 people entered".

Three restored Pompeii domus unveiled

Treasures of buried city open during Easter holidays



(ANSA) - Rome, April 17 - Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi on Thursday gave assurances that a deal in which Abu Dhabi-based carrier Etihad is set to invest in Italian flag-bearer Alitalia is "in the final stage". The two airlines have been negotiating terms of a major cash injection by Etihad in the cash-strapped Italian carrier, and Lupi said that Wednesday night, Alitalia received a letter updating conditions.

When asked if the new conditions meant a deal may be stalled, Lupi said, "Yes, but we're in the final stage. If the responses convince Etihad to proceed, it's fundamental for each party to do its part". For months, expectations have been high for an investment deal that would see the Abu Dhabi-based airline inject as much as 300 million euros into Alitalia in return for a stake of about 40%. "It's my understanding that Alitalia is responding to all of Etihad's observations. We have Alitalia's guarantee that they'll respond soon. It's my understanding that the deal is still on and we're paying close attention to the continuation of the agreements," added Lupi. 

Lupi says Etihad-Alitalia deal still on, with possible delay

300-million-euro injection plan 'in final stage'



(ANSA) - Rome, April 17 - Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi on Thursday gave assurances that a deal in which Abu Dhabi-based carrier Etihad is set to invest in Italian flag-bearer Alitalia is "in the final stage". The two airlines have been negotiating terms of a major cash injection by Etihad in the cash-strapped Italian carrier, and Lupi said that Wednesday night, Alitalia received a letter updating conditions.

When asked if the new conditions meant a deal may be stalled, Lupi said, "Yes, but we're in the final stage. If the responses convince Etihad to proceed, it's fundamental for each party to do its part". For months, expectations have been high for an investment deal that would see the Abu Dhabi-based airline inject as much as 300 million euros into Alitalia in return for a stake of about 40%. "It's my understanding that Alitalia is responding to all of Etihad's observations. We have Alitalia's guarantee that they'll respond soon. It's my understanding that the deal is still on and we're paying close attention to the continuation of the agreements," added Lupi. 

Extensive Andy Warhol exhibit opens in Rome

159 masterworks on show from renowned Peter Brant collection



(ANSA) - Rome, April 17 - An important part of the renowned Peter Brant collection of Andy Warhol paintings will be on display at the Italian capital's Museo Fondazione Roma - Palazzo Cipolla starting Friday, April 18 through September 28. The 159 masterworks shown in Rome include Brant's early acquisition Blue Shot Marilyn, one of four masterpiece portraits of Marilyn Monroe shot in the forehead by a bullet.

The exhibit's curators are Francesco Bonanni and Peter Brant himself, who was introduced to the artist in 1968 by legendary New York art dealer Leo Castelli and became one of the artist's closest friends and a regular at the Factory, Warhol's famous studio space in Mahnattan. The retrospective in Rome follows a very successful exhibit at Milan's Palazzo Reale that attracted 225,000 visitors. It spans Warhol's lifetime production, starting with his early drawings and ending with one of his Last Supper canvases.

Brant, a US newsprint magnate, began buying Warhols at 20 when he was still in college. The first piece he reportedly purchased in 1967 was a drawing of a Campbell's soup can, which he picked up for $500. A few months later he bought Blue Shot Marilyn for $5,000, thanks to a family gift which he had invested.

Today, the founder of Pop art's paintings and prints of presidents, movie stars, soup cans and other American icons that have made him one of the most famous artists worldwide fetch significantly more and Brant's Warhol collection is one of the most extensive in private hands. 

Cruise lines vow to give Venice a wide berth from December

Long-running row about big ships' impact on fragile lagoon



(ANSA) - Venice, April 17 - Cruise lines said Thursday their biggest ships would give Venice a wide berth from November 30 after a long-running row about their effect on the delicate lagoon city. The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) made the vow after a meeting with Italian culture, environment and transport ministers. In the latest episode in the long saga, Italy's leading environmental group last month accused a regional court of recklessness for suspending a ban on large cruise ships in Venice's fragile lagoon. "It is certainly not a good sign, and it is the result of a reckless choice of recent years that has created the practice of channelling cruise ships in an environment where they should be banned," said Legambiente.

A day before, on March 16, a regional administrative court agreed to suspend the ban submitted by companies operating in the port of Venice, including members of the cruise ship industry, which is a major employer in the local tourism-driven economy. The ban was imposed late last year as a response to the crash of the Costa Concordia cruise ship off the Tuscan island of Giglio, which killed 32 people and inflicted severe environmental and archeological damage.

Similar limits had already been enacted in every other port city in Italy after the wreck, where the cruise-ship industry carries less influence. The regional administrative court said the ban in Venice was inappropriate due to a lack of alternate routes for large cruise ships. The issue will be reopened at a hearing in June. "Now the government must hurry up and find solutions and take immediate measures for the good of the city and the lagoon ecosystem," said Legambiente. "Port operations must be reworked, moving the home port to (the nearby town of) Marghera, far from the fragile heart of the city...giving a new future to the city".

Environmentalists have long warned that the lagoon surrounding Venice, itself a UNESCO heritage site, is at great risk. Other experts warn that the thousand-year-old underwater wooden piles that prop up the city would crumble like toothpicks under the weight of a 114,500-ton cruise ship like the Costa Concordia. In addition, liners ushering tourists into the heart of the city disrupt the extremely fragile foundation of Venice and its medieval monuments by displacing massive amounts of water in the shallow lagoon.

Over 650 cruise ships pass through the city annually. The ban would tighten daily limits on cruise liners, with no more than five ships over 40,000 tonnes allowed passage, obliging many ships to find alternative docking outside the city itself. 

Renzi's economic plan wins Parliament's approval

Cabinet likely to give green light to tax-cut decree on Friday



(ANSA) - Rome, April 17 - Premier Matteo Renzi's economic blueprint was given the green light Thursday by both the Senate and the Lower House, setting the stage for cabinet approval Friday of a decree implementing the plan's high-profile income tax cuts. Those 10 billion euros in income-tax cuts, designed to target low-income earners, are among the highlights of Renzi's Economic and Financial Document (DEF) that aims to kick-start the sluggish economy.

That ambitious programme will next be sent to the European Commission along with official notice that Italy is postponing by one year the target of balancing the State's structural budget. Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan has explained that for Italy, "the current year is a year of change," with economic recovery still fragile, but he also maintains that reforms proposed by Renzi's government will have a significant and permanent affect on the underlying structural budget. On Thursday, Padoan told parliament that Italy's structural-budget deficit will be slashed in 2015 thanks to spending cuts, but the target of balancing the budget will not be achieved until 2016. "In 2015, the structural deficit will decrease by 0.5 of a percentage point thanks to a budget consolidation courtesy of spending reductions," Padoan told the Lower House.

Opposition members say they're concerned that Italy cannot afford to cut 10 billion euros in income taxes, as well as targeted business tax reductions. Renato Brunetta, House whip for the opposition Forza Italia party led by ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi, complained that the DEF contained errors and flawed assumptions that undermine the economic plans. But Renzi has insisted he has sufficient "cover" to finance his promises, pointing to the formal spending review led by Commissioner Carlo Cottarelli which has been going on for months, and has targeted as much as 4.5 billion euros in savings in this year alone.

Renzi's three-year DEF blueprint foresees 26 billion euros in further public-spending cuts in 2015 and 2016. Earlier in the week, the Bank of Italy also raised questions about the assumptions in the economic blueprint, including just how much in savings will actually be found. "In 2015, the expenditure savings indicated as the maximum obtainable from the spending review would not be sufficient to cover the program goals," the central bank said.

The Bank of Italy described as "ambitious" the government's target of raising the equivalent of 0.7% of Italy's gross domestic product by selling off public assets, properties and stakes in State-controlled firms. The executive hopes to raise up to 12 billion euros each year until 2017 with divestments and asset sales, which - along with spending review savings - will help to offset new spending and programs.

mercoledì 16 aprile 2014

Probe launched into embryo alarm

Health minister says procedure safe, when protocols followed



(ANSA) - Rome, April 16 - The Rome prosecutor's office ordered an investigation Wednesday into reports alleging that the fertility clinic of a hospital in the Italian capital accidentally mixed up embryos.

Prosecutors are going to look into complaints about Rome's Sandro Pertini Hospital, which has been inundated with calls following reports that said embryos may have been switched among couples, with one woman reportedly carrying twins that are not her own. One day earlier, a couple who believes their embryos may have been switched by mistake with those of another couple announced they were suing. In that case, the alleged switch occurred on December 4, when four women were scheduled to have viable embryos implanted.

Three of them became pregnant as a result of the procedure and the fourth expressed deep concerns. "If the embryos were mine, then obviously the children are mine as well. I couldn't live with the idea that children of mine are growing up somewhere in Italy," the fourth, a 36-year-old Rome woman, told local newspapers. "We were four aspiring mothers. The others are pregnant and I'm not," said the woman. Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin said Wednesday that she has asked for an investigation by regional authorities to ensure that proper procedures are in place and were followed.

She also expressed confidence in national standards set for assisted-fertility treatments. "I want to reassure everyone that in Italy every day hundreds and hundreds of these insemination interventions proceed and are very safe," said Lorenzin. "When these things (reported mix-ups) happen, it is because someone did not comply with the control procedures," she added.

Rome's Pertini hospital has helped hundreds of people with assisted-fertility treatments, many of whom now fear that children they are expecting or that have been born to them may not be genetically theirs.

Aperitif-maker Campari buys after-dinner delight Averna

Acquisition of household Italian brand brings new products



(ANSA) - Rome, April 15 - Italian beverage giant Campari continued to expand its line of popular products with the announcement Tuesday of the purchase of 100% of Fratelli Averna SpA, an iconic maker of after-dinner drinks. The price tag for the Sicily-based distiller was 103.75 million euros, with 98 million euros paid immediately, the companies said.

Averna, founded 150 years ago, produces the popular household 'amaro' liqueur, and with the acquisition, Campari also adds Fratelli Averna's other after-dinner drinks to its holdings, including the herb-based bitters Braulio, Limoncetta and Frattina. As well, Campari - best-known for its signature red aperitif - gains Averna, the second best-selling liquer in Italy.

The company's limoncello is especially popular, made with the peel of high-grade lemons from Italy's popular Sorrento area, as is the Grappa Frattina of Pordenone. Bob Kunze-Concewitz, chief executive officer of Campari, emphasized the role of brand-name recognition in the industry in a statement on the Fratelli Averna deal. "Adding a portfolio of brands with high quality, high margin and strong cash generation capability, this acquisition represents a great opportunity for us to leverage our international route-to-market for profitable growth, in line with our acquisition strategy," he said of the purchase, which is expected to close in June.

That includes expanding in Germany and other parts of central Europe as well as in North America, where Campari sees growth potential from interest in mixed drinks including Italian bitters and liqueurs. In a statement, the Averna family said it was confident the deal will help to ensure the authenticity of its made-in-Italy brands. "Today we pass the leadership of our business to Gruppo Campari, who has very deep roots in Italian traditions and values in the beverage sector with more than 150 years history," the family said. "We are confident that Gruppo Campari will efficiently develop the business that has been managed by five generations of our family, who first of all associated its name with the iconic bitter product, and developed other high quality products as well". 

Knox, Sollecito judge rapped but disciplinary case shelved

Interviews 'inappropriate' but no sanctions taken



(ANSA) - Rome, April 16 - The Italian judiciary's self-governing body, the CSM, on Wednesday formally shelved a disciplinary case against a Florence judge who broke Italian legal convention by giving press interviews after heading a panel that in February convicted Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito of the 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher. But, as in the past, the CSM rapped Judge Alessandro Nencini's comments to the press as being out of line with conduct expected from the judiciary. The CSM called the interviews "inappropriate". But it unanimously ruled that it was an isolated incident and there were insufficient grounds for a transfer or other disciplinary measures.

In Italy, judges usually only talk about their verdicts via written explanations published at least a month after they are handed down. But Nencini, the head of the panel that sentenced Sollecito to 25 years and American citizen Knox to 28 and a half years at the repeat of the appeals-level trial, gave three interviews to different newspapers that were published February 1.

As a result, Nencini was accused of being biased. One of the most controversial aspects was that in one of the interviews, Nencini seemed to suggest that the fact Sollecito had not allowed himself to be cross-examined had damaged his chances of getting off.

The judge told a CSM panel in March that he had not given interviews but had rather spoken in passing to reporters at the courthouse. He also denied saying the murder was the result of "kid's play" gone wrong, or expressing an opinion on Sollecito's defense strategy. 

Rome prosecutor probes reports of embryo mix-up

Couple launched suit over concerns about clinic management



(ANSA) - Rome, April 16 - The Rome prosecutor's office ordered an investigation Wednesday into reports alleging that the fertility clinic of a hospital in the Italian capital accidentally mixed up embryos.

Prosecutors are going to look into complaints about Rome's Sandro Pertini Hospital, which has been inundated with calls following reports that said embryos may have been switched among couples, with one woman reportedly carrying twins that may not be her own. One day earlier, a couple who believes their embryos may have been switched by mistake with those of another couple announced they were suing. In that case, the alleged switch occurred on December 4, when four women were scheduled to have viable embryos implanted.

Three of them became pregnant as a result of the procedure and the fourth expressed deep concerns that a mistake may have occurred. "If the embryos were mine, then obviously the children are mine as well. I couldn't live with the idea that children of mine are growing up somewhere in Italy," the fourth, a 36-year-old Rome woman, told local newspapers. "We were four aspiring mothers. The others are pregnant and I'm not," said the woman.

Rome's Pertini hospital has helped hundreds of people with assisted-fertility treatment, many of whom now fear that children they are expecting or that have been born to them may not be genetically theirs. The hospital is conducting a series of tests to verify the accuracy of DNA tests carried out by the parents who reported the embryo swap, "also to reassure the others," the hospital said. The lawyer of the couple that reported the mix-up also sent the documentation of the DNA exam to Roman public health authorities. The documentation will be analyzed while during the wait for the results of additional exams. The case of the mistaken embryos comes after a controversial ruling by Italy's Constitutional Court, which last Wednesday lifted a ban on the use of donor sperm and eggs in a law limiting assisted-fertility treatments.

Debate over the decision has pitted Catholics against members of the scientific community. "Finally, couples won't be forced to travel abroad," top oncologist Umberto Veronesi, a former health minister, told Roman daily Il Messaggero in an interview published last Thursday. Some 2,700 couples have been forced to travel abroad every year since so-called law 40 was approved 10 years ago, Veronesi said, stressing it "denied a couple's will and desire to become parents of a child they would raise with love". 

EC accuses Italy of new infractions with ILVA steel plant

Brussels says nothing yet stopping pollution in south Italy



(ANSA) - Brussels, April 16 - The European Commission gave notice to Italy Wednesday of further infraction procedures involving the troubled steelmaker ILVA and the environmental-health scandal in the southern city of Taranto, an EC spokesperson said. There are high levels of pollution in the region, and nothing has been done to stop it, the spokesperson said. Italy now has two months to respond to the EC's new complaint.

The Taranto ILVA plant has been accused of violating directives on industrial emissions. The latest letter follows on Italy's response late last year to EC concerns from September 2013. That's when the EC raised serious concerns about the troubled steelmaker ILVA, and apparent inaction on earlier directives and conditions it imposed on the plant, which has been blamed for a major environmental and health disaster over a number of years.

The EC warned then that it was opening an infraction procedure against Italy, and evaluating if Rome failed to apply European laws in the case. ILVA has faced enormous problems in the past two years, leading to a decision by the Italian government to appoint a commissioner to take over management of the company's ill-fated Taranto plant - the largest steel producer in Europe. ILVA has been at the centre of political and legal battles since July 2012 when local magistrates ordered the partial closure of the Taranto plant due to serious health concerns. 

Maurizio Gasparri indicted for looting state funding to PDL

'Post-Fascist' hawk allegedly embezzled funds for life insurance



(ANSA) Rome, April 16 - Hardline right-wing MP Maurizio Gasparri was indicted Wednesday for allegedly embezzling some 600,000 euros from state funds to Silvio Berlusconi's now-defunct People of Freedom (PdL) party. Judge Cinzia Parasporo ordered Gasparri, a former member of the neo-Fascist MSI party who later became an ardent Berlusconi supporter, stand trial October 1 on charges of filching the money to buy himself a life insurance policy.

Gasparri subsequently paid back the cash in two tranches after he was busted for the alleged embezzlement. According to the indictment the investigation headed by Judge Alberto Pioletti established that: "(Gasparri), having access to sums of money from the Senate budget allocated as contributions to the workings of the office of the leader of his parliamentary group, helped himself to 600,000 euros using them to buy an insurance policy in his own name valid for his entire lifetime and for his beneficiaries in case of death".

Berlusconi dissolved the PdL and revived his first party, Forza Italia, after a pro-government group peeled off last year, refusing to bring down the executive when the ruling Democratic Party (PD) insisted on enforcing a ban from office for the three-time premier and media magnate because of a tax-fraud conviction. 

Rome budget chief quits after clash with mayor - update

Half a billion 'hole' partly filled by govt



(ANSA) - Rome, April 16 - Rome budget chief Daniela Morgante on Wednesday quit after weeks of squabbling with Mayor Ignazio Marino over a half-a-million-euro hole in the city's finances. Marino blames the previous administration of right-winger Gianni Alemanno for the financial chasm but ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party says it dates back to a string of centre-left mayors.

The government was forced to step in to fill some of the hole after Marino warned the Italian capital would grind to a halt, menacing the canonisation of two popes later this month, unless it got a key capital injection. Last week the government passed its so-called 'Save Rome' decree after putting it to a confidence vote Thursday. The cabinet of Premier Matteo Renzi on February 28 approved the decree granting provisions for basic services in Rome after Marino's warning. Without the injection of funds Rome risked losing bus service, crucial road repairs, and even the ability to host the April 27 canonisation of popes John XXIII and John Paul II, according to Marino.

Renzi's showdown with Marino, a member of his ruling Democratic Party, was one of his first big tests as premier since ousting PD colleague Enrico Letta in February. Marino said Morgante's departure will have no affect on the government's 2014 budget. When asked if he now planned to restructure his administration, Marino had no comment. 

Surgeons try working with Google Glass computer devices

Wearable computers expected to assist in medical procedures



(ANSA) - Milan, April 16 - Italian medical experts say they expect great things following a test run Wednesday using Google Glass - a kind of wearable computer that fits the user's face like a pair of smart eyeglasses. The device was put through a trial in the Humanitas Institute in Rozzano, and the hands-free Google Glass devices are now expected to help to record patient information as well as take photos during procedures without the doctor ever being required to set down a scalpel.

The institute said it is also expected that surgeons will be able to transmit medical information as they see it during procedures to other specialists. "Having the point of view of the doctor engaged in a delicate surgery" is valuable, said Patrizia Presbitero, who is responsible for hemodynamics - the study of blood flow - and cardio interventions at the institute.

Google Glass devices can also be used during training courses, so students can closely follow a surgeon's hand movements in the operating room via the device. It is also hoped that voice-activated features will make it possible for other health professionals, such as anesthesiologists, to readily view a patient's vital signs and refer to patient files including medical history at the same time.

The first Glass products combining a tiny screen, camera and audio on a device worn at eye level are expected to go on sale to the general public in 2015. Numerous high-end eyeglass manufacturers are already signing up for deals with Google Glass to use the technology in what is being called the "emerging smart eyewear market". 

Money seized in alleged scam of actor Alberto Sordi's sister

About 40,000 euros taken from driver after financial review



(ANSA) - Rome, April 16 - Authorities reviewing the financial affairs of the elderly sister of the late actor Alberto Sordi seized 400,000 euros Wednesday from a driver suspected of fleecing the 95-year-old woman. It is alleged that driver Arturo Artadi took advantage of Aurelia Sordi's mental deterioration to convince her to give him 400,000 euros in 2003.

Last month, prosecutors put Artadi and two other suspects under investigation for allegedly attempting to defraud Aurelia Sordi. An investigation is continuing into notary Gabriele Sciumbadi and lawyer Francesca Piccolella. The nature of the matter remains private, but Sordi is believed to have been the victim of exploitation and she has already been questioned.

Alberto Sordi, an icon of Italian cinema, was famous for comedy and light drama. He first made his name dubbing the voice of Oliver Hardy in Laurel and Hardy shorts. His name appeared on more than 150 titles over a career that lasted six decades. The Roman actor died shortly before his 83rd birthday in 2003. His funeral was attended by a crowd of more than a million people. 

Discredited stem-cell funding earmarked for rare diseases

Three mn euros for Stamina diverts to research



(ANSA) - Rome, April 16 - Three million euros due to be spent on the discredited 'Stamina' stem-cell treatment should be diverted to rare-disease research, Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin said Wednesday. "If the results of the first scientific committee are confirmed the three million euros foreseen for experimenting on Stamina will be made available for research into rare diseases," the minister told a group of rare-disease patients she met at the Rome Polyclinic Hospital.

Earlier this month local health authorities in Brescia decided to suspend Stamina treatments on grounds they were fraudulent. Italy's health ministry announced in October that the Stamina Foundation - the foundation that developed the treatment - would not be allowed to test it on humans.

The foundation was also stripped of its non-profit status after a study found its treatment was "ignorant of stem-cell biology". The head of the foundation, Davide Vannoni, a former psychology lecturer, was indicted earlier this year for alleged attempted fraud against the Piedmont Region.

The Stamina Foundation had asked for 500,000 euros of funding to develop a stem-cell laboratory, a request prosecutors argue was fraudulent because the efficacy of the treatment has been "completely disproved". The Stamina treatment involves extracting bone-marrow stem cells from a patient, turning them into neurons by exposing them to retinoic acid for two hours, and injecting them back into the patient.

Supporters of the therapy thought it could be a cure for fatal degenerative nerve diseases such as spinal muscular atrophy, while detractors said it was devoid of scientific merit. A panel of experts appointed by Italy's health ministry said in January it found the therapy seriously lacking in both premise and practice. 

Record number of exhibitors set to show at Cibus food fair

Parma food fair May 5-8 poised to receive 60,000 operators



(ANSA) - Rome, April 16 - A record number of exhibitors have signed up for the international food trade fair Cibus, taking place in Parma May 5-8. About 60,000 buyers are expected to flock to the trade fair. Of those, about 10,000 will be coming from outside of Italy.

Italian Agriculture Minister Maurizio Martina and Italian Deputy Minister for Economic Development Carlo Calenda will participate. The fair has undergone significant revamping in view of Milan Expo 2015. "We have prepared an edition of Cibus that we wanted to be truly extraordinary in anticipation of Expo 2015," said Franco Boni, the president of Fiere di Parma, which organizes the event.

Offerings from all parts of the food supply chain will be on show, from wholesalers to grocers and large discount stores, from restaurants to catering. Products cater even to niche markets, like organic, gluten-free, halal, and kosher food. 

F1: Montezemolo confident Mattiacci will rev up Ferrari

Former North America exec 'the right man', says president



(By Denis Greenan). (ANSA) - Maranello, April 16 - Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo said he was confident former Ferrari North America car sales chief Marco Mattiacci would rev up the struggling Formula One glamour team as replacement to Stefano Domenicali as team principal after another sluggish start to the season.

"He's the right man for the job," Montezemolo said, dismissing contentions that former Jaguar GB executive Mattiacci, 42, would be out of his depth in a sporting world he has never frequented. "I wish all the best to Marco Mattiacci, whom I know to be a highly regarded manager and who knows the company well," he said, praising the former sales manager for "accepting this challenge with enthusiasm".

Montezemolo said he had "no doubt" Mattiacci would be able to cope with the demands of arguably F1's most high-pressure job. "I decided to bank on a young manager I really believe in," Montezemolo said at the presentation of Ferrari's new turbocharged street dream car, the California T.

"I have heard and read a lot of reports that are off the mark, about Mattiacci not being a technical expert. "But we're all technical people here at Ferrari. "I wanted to stake our credibility on someone from inside the family, because that family has a wealth of qualities and abilities," Montezemolo stressed. "Now we have to roll up our sleeves, even though it's easy to forget how much you've won in the past when you're going through a lean spell. "Mattiacci will already start making a difference at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai on Sunday," the Ferrari chief concluded, predicting: "He's going to be at the helm for a long time".

Despite dismissing concerns over Mattiacci's inexperience, Montezemolo said he would himself "get closer to the team during this transition and take a more hands-on role until Marco gets the hang of things". 

Cultural heritage minister to unveil restored Pompeii domus

Treasures of buried city can be visited over Easter holidays



(ANSA) - Naples, April 16 - Minister for Cultural Heritage and Tourism Dario Franceschini will attract Easter visitors by inaugurating three restored domus at the ancient archaeological site of Pompeii on Thursday, officials said.

The domus are those of Marc Lucretius Frontone, Romulus and Remus, and Trittolemo, according to a statement by the office of the special superintendant for archeological heritage in Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabia.

martedì 15 aprile 2014

Photo Diary about Milan Design Week 2014: Cassina, Marni and “Untold”

Scenes from the Milan Design Week photo diary of Danilo Scarpati.

In his continuing coverage of this year’s Milan Design Week, the photographer Danilo Scarpati captured some of the most compelling collaborations of the fair. He visited the Cassina showroom for a closer look at the new Maralunga sofa, created in collaboration with 20 students from the Swiss art and design school ECAL. The design celebrates the 40th birthday of the brand’s best-selling model, which was the first upholstered sofa to incorporate movement. Scarpati then moved onto Marni’s “Animal House,” an installation of its limited-edition line of metal animal sculptures — giraffes, ostriches, rabbits, ducks, donkeys and flamingos — wrapped in brightly colored PVC. The army of colorful creatures were accompanied by the Marniesque furniture that rounds out the collection, which was handmade by a group of Colombian women and benefits Associazione Sogni Onlus, a foundation that aids terminally ill children. A short drive downtown brought Scarpati to his final destination: “Untold,” the group exhibition curated by the Italian design maven Rossana Orlandi in collaboration with Vionnet and Audemars Piguet at the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum. 















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Bank of Italy expresses doubts about Renzi's economic plan

Central bank says cuts may not raise enough to reach goals



(ANSA) - Rome, April 15 - The Bank of Italy on Tuesday expressed doubts about the economic blueprint of Premier Matteo Renzi's government during a session in the Lower House. "In 2015 the expenditure savings indicated as the maximum obtainable from the spending review would not be sufficient to cover the programme goals," it said. Renzi's cabinet approved the blueprint, the Economic and Financial Document, last week. It includes ambitious plans for 10 billion euros in income-tax cuts targeting low-earners each year. The government said around 4.5 billion euros of the 6.7 billion needed to finance those cuts this year will come from an ongoing review of public spending.

Renzi's three-year blueprint foresees 26 billion euros in further public-spending cuts in 2015 and 2016. The Bank of Italy added that the target of raising the equivalent of 0.7% of Italy's gross domestic product by selling off public assets, properties and stakes in State-controlled firms was "ambitious". Parliament is set to vote on the DEF Friday so it can be delivered to the European Commission before the end of the month. 

Berlusconi gets community service

Ex-premier must serve year remaining on tax-fraud sentence



(ANSA) - Milan, April 15 - A Milan court on Tuesday accepted Silvio Berlusconi's request to serve the year remaining on his tax-fraud sentence by doing community service. The rest of the four-year sentence for fraud at his media empire was covered by amnesties. Prosecutors had recommended the court agree to the request.

The alternative was for the three-time premier be put under house arrest. The charismatic 77-year-old is too old to go to jail under standard Italian legal practice. The Milan court said Berlusconi would do social work on a trial basis. There have been reports that he could be asked to work one half day a week at a facility for the elderly or the disabled.

The prosecutor who asked for the ex-premier be allowed to serve the sentence by doing community service warned last week that he will be put under house arrest instead if he defames magistrates. The media magnate has repeatedly blasted judges in the past.

The billionaire has said the tax-fraud ruling, which led to him being ejected from the Senate in November, is part of a two-decade campaign by allegedly left-wing elements in the judiciary to erase him from Italy's public life.

His first-ever definitive conviction has prevented him standing as a candidate in next month's European elections and from voting in them. In two separate cases, Berlusconi is also appealing a conviction for sex with an underage prostitute and abuse of office that carried a life office ban; and is on trial for allegedly bribing a centre-left Senator to switch sides. But last month a Milan court ruled that a one-year term for alleged involvement in the publication of an illegally obtained wiretap had timed out.

Italy a darling of low-cost travel

Milan, Rome boast some of world's cheapest hotels, study says



(ANSA) - Rome, April 14 - Despite rising hotel costs, Italy is still a darling of low-cost travel. According to a report issued Monday by hotel ratings and booking service HRS, Milan and Rome are ranked 22nd and 25th in a list of most expensive hotels. The average Milan hotel room goes for 108.49 euros per night, up 11% on the year, while the average Rome room costs 87.92 euros, up over 5%. The rates fell well under those in Sydney, where a room goes for 173 euros, and New York, where they go for 152.52 euros. In third and fourth place were Los Angeles and London. As for the most expensive hotels in Italy, Milan is followed by Bolzano's average 107.81 euros and Venice's 102.44 euros, while the best deals are to be found in Naples, where the average room costs 76 euros. 

Motorcycling: Italy mourns young racer killed in collision

Dies in Misano World Circuit event named for Marco Simoncelli



(ANSA) - Rimini, April 14 - Italy was in mourning Monday for a promising young motorcycle racer who died in a crash with two other riders during an event near the Adriatic coast. Emanuele Cassani, 24, was killed in the crash during the 600 class of the Bridgestone Cup, the first round of the Italian Cup circuit, at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli race track outside the town of Misano Adriatico near Rimini. That track was named for Marco Simoncelli, who was killed at the race in Malaysia in the premium class, MotoGP, in late 2011.

Cassani's race had just started when the three riders collided, crashing to the asphalt, killing him almost instantly and raising comparisons with Simoncelli. Another driver broken his collarbone in the Sunday collision while the third was reportedly not injured.

Cassani, who was riding his Yamaha R6 600, had experience on the circuit and had won several trophies including the Mototemporada. Officials agreed to cancel all other races as a sign of mourning for the deadly crash. 

Merkel has spa treatment, massage on Ischia

German chancellor habituee' of Naples bay island



(ANSA) - Ischia, April 14 - German Chancellor Angela Merkel had spa treatment and a massage during her annual Easter visit to the Naples bay island of Ischia Monday. Merkel and her husband, who got to Ischia on a tourist ferry Sunday, spent several hours in the Aphrodite spa before strolling a short way in warm spring sunshine to have a massage in a wellness centre. The chancellor has been spending her Easter break for years in the picturesque 'borgo' (hamlet) of Sant'Angelo in the centre of the famed isle, which is especially popular with German tourists. She paid a surprise visit to Pompeii on Sunday. 

EU summit possible on 'new sanctions' against Russia

Fabius says 'great violence' a rising concern in Ukraine



(ANSA) - Luxembourg, April 14 - A summit of European Union leaders could be called for next week to debate possible new sanctions against Russia, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Monday.

"It is clear that Russia has a responsibility (in the) great violence (in the eastern Ukraine, and Europe must act,)" he said outside a meeting of EU foreign ministers. If necessary, a meeting of leaders could be organized for next week, said Fabius Meanwhile, talks are planned for Thursday in Geneva involving the United States, Russia, Ukraine and the EU.

European States have been divided over how deep sanctions against Russia, a major energy sources for parts of Europe, should go to punish Moscow for its role in the Ukraine crisis. Some are calling for more diplomacy while others say the current sanctions, including a list of Russian and Ukraine officials facing EU asset freezes and travel bans, should be intensified.