The political dislocations under way across Europe are remarkable. Some are inevitable, the result of economic and currency crises and the efforts being made by governments to cut spending and reduce deficits. But these have also changed the nature of the immigration debate. Ireland last week found itself facing a deficit of one-third of its gross domestic product as it sought to clear up the unholy... 

Mr Berlusconi, whose comments in support of Mr Sarkozy follow his stated opposition to a multi-ethnic Italy. Italy’s conservative premier Silvio Berlusconi has given his full support to France’s controversial decision to forcibly repatriate thousands of Roma people to Eastern Europe. And in an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro, he appeared keen to exploit the row by calling... 

Mosques in Italy will not receive a share of income tax revenue the Italian government allocates to religious faiths each year. Hindu and Buddhist temples, Greek Orthodox churches and Jehovah’s Witnesses will be eligible for the funds, according to a bill approved by the Italian cabinet in May and still must be approved by parliament. Until now, the government had earmarked 8 percent of income... 

A beggar on the streets of Venice. The Italian remarks come hot on the heels of Roma expulsions in France. Italy has said it intends to expel citizens from other EU states if they are not able to support themselves, in a move apparently inspired by France’s current crackdown on Roma. Interior Minister Roberto Maroni told daily newspaper Corriere della Sera on Saturday (21 August) that French... 

Immigrants working as crop-pickers wait to be transferred from Rosarno, Italy, after clashes with locals in some of the worst episodes of racial unrest in years. Authorities remove all remaining immigrants out of Rosarno for own protection after locals unleash bloody ethnic cleansing. Rosarno in southern Italy had, by last night, been turned into what one politician termed the world’s only entirely... 

World leaders “believe absolutely” that Israel may decide to take military action against Iran to prevent the latter from acquiring nuclear weapons, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Saturday. “Iran is not guaranteeing a peaceful production of nuclear power [so] the members of the G-8 are worried and believe absolutely that Israel will probably react preemptively,”... 

The European Union should push world powers to bring in a global levy on banks to “make those who caused the crisis pay,”Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday. EU leaders are keen not to repeat the experience of the last two years, when they had to bail out banks with public funds to prevent the financial crisis from worsening. The intervention left them with huge deficits,... 

An Italian couple’s adoption bid was denied after they said in their application that they did not want “dark-skinned” children. An appeal court in Sicily ruled that the couple were unfit to adopt children of any description, local media reported. A child protection agency took the couple to court after they submitted an application in Catania, in eastern Sicily, saying they were... 

Pope Benedict XVI A retired Italian bishop has provoked fury by reportedly suggesting that Zionists are behind the current storm of accusations over clerical sex abuse shaking the Vatican and the Catholic Church. Monsignor Giacomo Babini, the Bishop Emeritus of Grossetto, was quoted by the Italian Roman Catholic website Pontifex as saying he believed a “Zionist attack” was behind the criticism... 

Free Speech? A Rome court has sentenced a man to six months in jail for having posted a list of 162 academics on his blog and describing them as members of an alleged “Jewish lobby.” In a verdict handed down Thursday, Paolo Munzi, 42, was convicted of defamation. But he was acquitted of having violated privacy laws and a law against instigating racial hatred. In February 2008 Munzi posted... 

Milan Muslim Riots! Dozens of immigrants from North Africa rioted during the night in a multi-ethnic district of Milan, smashing shop windows and overturning cars to protest at the knifing death of an Egyptian, Italian police said on Sunday. It was the second episode of violence involving immigrants this year, after clashes in southern Italy in January brought about the worst racial violence in the... 

Violence broke out in southern Italy yesterday as hundreds of migrant workers, most of them Africans, went on a rampage in retaliation to two of their number being shot and three more beaten with iron bars by white youths. Authorities reporting at least 37 were wounded in the ensuing clashes, including 18 police officers and five migrants, as the violence reached its second day in the coastal town... 

A Crucifix in an Italian school Liberal senators led by Silvio Berlusconi have placed on the agenda of the last meeting of the Italian Senate passed a bill to protect the Holy Cross sign ‘as a universal sign of culture and Christian civilization’ reported ‘Radio Liberty’ – Moldova. According to the definitions set out in the document, the Holy Cross sign is a sacred symbol... 

A nativity scene featuring a dark-skinned Jesus, Mary and Joseph that has gone on display in a Verona courthouse has created heated debate in a city with strong links to Italy’s anti-immigration Northern League party. The nativity’s appearance coincides with the League’s controversial “White Christmas” operation, a two-month sweep ending on 25 December to ferret out foreigners... 

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi was punched in the face at the end of a rally on Sunday by a man holding a small statue in his hand, leaving the 73-year-old media mogul with a bloodied mouth and looking stunned, police said. The 42-year-old man accused of attacking Berlusconi in Milan as he signed autographs was immediately taken into custody. TV showed the leader with blood under his nose, on...