Wildfires and heat push north as southern Europe's summer of extremes reaches Alpine fringe

Deadly blazes across France, Spain and Italy force evacuations while record temperatures threaten the region's delicate mountain ecology

Wildfires and extreme heat that have killed thousands across southern Europe are now advancing northward, with major blazes forcing evacuations in France and Spain and threatening the Valle d'Aosta's fragile Alpine environment.

Camille Bréan · NATIONAL

Death in police custody ignites Bologna street protests

Moroccan-born businessman's restraint death draws comparisons to Floyd case, sparks formal investigation

The death of Abderrahim Fakir, a 42-year-old Moroccan entrepreneur, while pinned face-down by Bologna police has triggered street protests, a prosecutorial investigation and a bitter political row over policing.

Giulia Benati · NATIONAL

Fincantieri wins Portuguese frigate order as defence exports reshape Mediterranean shipbuilding

Three-ship deal signals growing demand for Italian naval capacity amid European rearmament push

Italy's Fincantieri has secured a contract to build three frigates for Portugal, marking a significant export win for the country's largest shipbuilder at a moment when European defence spending is rising.

Marina Doria · ECONOMY

Campania confronts child obesity crisis as southern Italy diverges from Mediterranean diet

More than 40% of eight and nine-year-olds in parts of the region are overweight, marking a striking reversal for Italy's historical dietary heritage

Campania faces an acute child obesity crisis, with more than 40% of eight and nine-year-olds overweight in some areas, contradicting Italy's traditional association with healthy Mediterranean eating.

Rosaria Esposito · REGIONAL

Italian police widen luxury supply-chain inquiry as Chanel, Moncler face scrutiny

Nine fashion houses ordered to provide documents as prosecutors investigate alleged worker exploitation in supply chains rooted in Lombardy

Italian authorities have searched the offices of Chanel and eight other luxury brands as prosecutors expand an investigation into labour practices across Italy's fashion supply chain.

Beatrice Comolli

Umbria watches as southern Europe's deadly summer intensifies northward

France's June heatwave death toll reaches 5,700 as agricultural and demographic vulnerability spreads across the inland

France recorded more than 5,700 excess deaths during its June heatwave, signalling the scale of heat mortality now sweeping southern Europe and raising urgent questions about Umbria's ageing population and fragile agricultural economy.

Niccolò Mariani

Record migrant crossings reshape Mediterranean trafficking routes

As UK sees 165-person boat arrival, Calabria's role as southern Europe's migration frontier deepens

A record 165 migrants reached the UK in a single boat this week, underscoring how criminal networks are adapting vessel capacity and routing as European enforcement tightens across the Mediterranean.

Saverio Gallo

Japanese beetle spreads through northeast Italy's wine region, threatening Valle d'Aosta crop

The invasive pest has reached vineyards in the Alpine region, signalling a northward advance that threatens Italy's premium wine-producing areas.

Japanese beetles have been documented in Valle d'Aosta's vineyards, advancing through northern Italy's agricultural heartland and frustrating farmers across the region.

Sergio Madrussan

Sinner and Djokovic skip Canadian Open as tournament chief demands schedule reform

Italian star's withdrawal highlights toll of back-to-back Masters 1000 events on top players

The Canadian Open's tournament director has called for changes to the professional tennis calendar after Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic both withdrew from the Masters 1000 event.

Tobia Marenghi

Norris takes first pole of 2026 in Hungary as Hamilton and Antonelli face grid penalties

McLaren driver edges seven-time champion by 0.012 seconds in tight qualifying session

Lando Norris claimed his first grand prix pole position of the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix, edging Lewis Hamilton by the narrowest of margins before both drivers received penalties.

Tobia Marenghi

Italy marks Umberto Eco's tenth anniversary at Guadalajara book fair

Sixty-one authors and thirty-three publishers will represent Italian letters at Latin America's largest publishing showcase

Italy's guest-of-honor programme at the 2026 Guadalajara International Book Fair will honour the late semiotician Umberto Eco and showcase the breadth of contemporary Italian publishing.

Eleonora Vanzetti

Alpine valleys face heatwave as deadly temperatures sweep across southern Europe

France recorded more than 5,700 excess deaths during June heatwave as record temperatures advance northward across the continent.

France recorded more than 5,700 excess deaths during its June heatwave, according to the Guardian, as record-breaking temperatures sweep across southern Europe.

Klara Hofer

Mediterranean wildfire season tests Sardinia's readiness

Spain declares first national emergency as blazes spread across southern Europe; island braces for summer peak

Spain declared its first-ever national wildfire emergency Friday as France and Italy battled record-breaking summer fires, raising alarm across the Mediterranean.

Gavino Sanna

Venice museums face staff walkout as summer heat tops 30C for weeks

Union signals labour dispute over working conditions as cultural institutions struggle with extreme temperatures.

Trade unionists in Venice have formally signalled a labour dispute—a precursor to possible strike action—over complaints that museum temperatures have remained above 30 degrees Celsius for weeks.

Tommaso Veronese

Stellantis balances electrification spend against margin pressure in Europe

Turin automaker's cost discipline masks heavy battery investment as European demand shifts toward EVs and Chinese rivals gain ground

Stellantis is managing disciplined cost control while ramping up electrification spending, a strategy tested as European automakers face rising EV competition and shifting consumer demand.

Lorenzo Ferraris

Japanese beetle swarms Valle d'Aosta orchards as pest moves deeper into Alps

Iridescent invader leaves latticed damage across region's vineyards and fruit crops, threatening autonomy's agricultural base

The Japanese beetle, a pest new to Europe, has reached the Valle d'Aosta and is stripping leaves from vineyards and orchards across the Alpine region, alarming farmers dependent on fruit and wine production.

Camille Bréan

Italy invited its diaspora home, then locked the door

The government urged descendants of emigrants to reclaim citizenship—then tightened the rules so drastically that thousands were stranded. It is a parable of Italy's relationship with itself.

Editorial Board

The heat that kills: what southern Europe's summer tells us

France's excess deaths in June signal a broader crisis. Italy faces the same peril, yet the world's coverage asks what we are doing to prepare.

Editorial Board