The President of the United States, Donald Trump, stated in a television interview that the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, had "begged" him to take a photo together during the G-7 summit, held this week in the French town of Évian-les-Bains. Following Trump's statements, Meloni, who has been one of the American President's main allies in the European Union, admitted to being "surprised" by the comments, which she described as "completely invented". This is the latest in a series of clashes between Trump and Meloni that have brought the relationship between the two leaders to its most tense moment.

On April 14, 2025, just one week before his death, Pope Francis proclaimed Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926) a "venerable servant of God," a title with which the Catholic Church recognizes the heroic virtues of men and women, and which constitutes the first step towards sainthood within the long process of beatification and canonization. A historic decision that came after an initiative launched in the 90s by José Manuel Almuzara dedicated to disseminating the figure of the one known as the "architect of God.

The war in the Middle East has driven an exodus of millionaires who had been residing in Dubai and other countries in the region, where they enjoyed significant tax advantages. Iran's attacks on its Gulf neighbors in response to the offensive by the United States and Israel have caused a sense of insecurity among expatriates never before experienced. And it is for this reason that, amid growing uncertainty, large fortunes are returning to Europe and choosing Italy as the base for their operations.

Judicial cases are piling up around the PSOE, but Pedro Sánchez maintains a fierce defense of his government's honorability and insists he will serve out the legislature. This Wednesday he did so from the Spanish embassy to the Holy See, taking advantage of his trip to the Vatican to meet with the Pope. Sánchez arrived in Rome on Monday for an official two-day visit during which he met with Leo XIV in the Vatican and had a crowd-pleasing appearance at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Despite the efforts of La Moncloa, however, he could not meet with his Italian counterpart, the far-right Giorgia Meloni, who cited agenda issues.The main meeting of the Spanish president was, in any case, in the Vatican, where Sánchez was received by the pontiff this Wednesday, a few days before the Pope travels to Spain to visit Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands between June 6 and 12. Sánchez arrived at a quarter to nine at the Cortile di San Damaso where the Bosnian archbishop Peter Rajic, new prefect of the Pontifical Household, was waiting for him. A few minutes later, Leo XIV received him in the Sala del Tronetto and later both met in the Library of the Apostolic Palace in a private audience that lasted about 45 minutes. Before leaving the Vatican, Sánchez held a meeting with the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.During the audience, the first between Sánchez and the Pope since his election, now a year ago, both leaders have addressed issues of an international nature, with special attention to the consequences of conflicts in the world, and have agreed on the defense of multilateralism and on the urgent need to reach a commitment in favor of peace, according to a statement from the Holy See.The Spanish President, for his part, has highlighted the good rapport with Leo XIV in defending dialogue, diplomacy, and international law, and has defined the pontiff as "a moral compass in the fight against injustices and in promoting common sense and empathy in the face of unreason and the law of the jungle". The fight against hunger and immigration, on which the Pope has shown particular sensitivity, have been other issues addressed during the meeting. In this regard, Sánchez has applauded the Pope's decision to visit the Canary Islands, the entry point for migrants from Africa, during his next trip to Spain, as well as various humanitarian organizations helping refugees in Madrid and Barcelona.During the meeting, Sánchez presented the pontiff with an artisanal sculpture of a Spanish horse; and the Pope gifted the president of the government, among other things, a bound copy of his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, published this Monday, in which he reflects on human dignity in the age of artificial intelligence.Judicial imputations

The trip to Rome and the Vatican by the President of the Government has coincided with the indictment by the National High Court judge, Santiago Pedraz, of the former organization secretary of the PSOE, Santos Cerdán, and the party's manager, Ana María Fuertes, in the case in which former socialist militant Leire Díez was already being investigated. But above all, the meeting with the pontiff took place at the same time as UCO agents were appearing at the PSOE headquarters in Ferraz for an investigation by the National High Court into the Leire case. In front of journalists, Sánchez assured that the PSOE had already taken "all measures" when this case broke a year ago and announced that "as soon as new information emerges that affects illicit activities, the Socialist Party will act with force".The president has emphasized that "none of these investigations challenge everything that the Government of Spain is doing", and has ruled out early elections as even some socialist barons demand. "I cannot call elections for partisan interest," he assured.Despite acknowledging that "stability is not an end in itself", Sánchez has defended that a stable Government is indispensable to face the economic consequences of the current international crisis, after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the rise of tensions in the Middle East. "Despite all the difficulties, stability is an important lever to achieve what we are achieving in terms of economics and job creation in such a complex international context", he concluded.

]]>

Artificial intelligence (AI) "is not neutral", but rather "an unprecedented form of colonialism" that reduces victims to data to feed those behind this technology, warns Pope Leo XIV in his first encyclical, the most relevant papal document. A highly anticipated writing, which gathers the principles that will guide his pontificate and which, for the first time in history, has been presented by the Pope himself in an event this Monday at the Vatican. In the text, Robert Prevost calls for protecting “the magnificent humanity inhabited by God”, promoting truth, the dignity of work, social justice, and peace.

]]>

“An unarmed peace that serves to disarm”. With this wish, the North American cardinal Robert Francis Prevost inaugurated his pontificate on May 8, 2025. That afternoon, from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, in the Vatican, the new elected Pope Leo XIV presented himself to the world with a plea to end all wars at a time rife with conflicts and growing tension, unaware that the worst was perhaps yet to come.

]]>

Peace in the Middle East and the promotion of religious freedom have been some of the issues addressed this Thursday by Pope Leo XIV and the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. The head of US diplomacy was received by the pontiff amid a diplomatic crisis between the White House and the Vatican, after the unprecedented attacks by US President Donald Trump.

]]>

Donald Trump is increasingly isolated in Europe. The estrangement between the US president and the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, widened this Tuesday. Trump has accused Meloni of not having enough "courage" to give military support to Washington in the war in Iran, after the prime minister criticized Trump for his attacks on the Pope.

]]>

The unprecedented attack on the Pope by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, has, for the first time, received a direct response from the pontiff. Leo XIV has assured that he is not "afraid" of the North American leader and that he will continue to raise his voice against war, "fostering dialogue and multilateralism".

]]>

Giorgia Meloni is experiencing her lowest point since being elected in 2022. The defeat at the polls of her controversial reform of the judiciary, which More than 54% of Italians rejected the proposal in a constitutional referendum held this Sunday and Monday.This has caused an earthquake in the hitherto stable Italian government.

]]>

With more than 53.5% of the votes, Italy rejected a controversial justice reform promoted by the government of Giorgia MeloniThe referendum, held this Sunday and Monday, was intended to amend several articles of the Constitution, but it has ended up becoming a plebiscite on the Prime Minister's performance, resulting in her first major defeat at the polls since her election in 2022. "BK_SLT_LNA~" promised: to push through a judicial reform that was written in our electoral program. "We defended it to the very end, and then we left the choice in the hands of the citizens," Meloni stated in a video posted on social media, acknowledging the initiative's failure. The separation of the careers of judges and prosecutors was one of the most controversial issues introduced by the reform. The technicalities of the first weeks of the campaign gave way to mutual attacks between the government, the opposition, and the judiciary, which largely opposed a reform it feared would jeopardize the independence of the judiciary. "If the reform is not approved, we will find ourselves with even more negligent judges advancing in their careers and even more surreal decisions affecting the lives of citizens." "Illegal immigrants, rapists, pedophiles, and drug traffickers released from prison will sow chaos without any legal consequences," the victim went so far as to say, justifying a constitutional reform that included the creation of a court exclusively to judge the professional or ethical misconduct of judges.

]]>

Italians return to the polls this Sunday and Monday to vote in a referendum on a controversial judicial reform promoted by the government of Giorgia Meloni. The reform aims to amend several articles of the Constitution to eliminate ideological bias within the judiciary and guarantee its impartiality. The opposition, however, argues that the reform will subject the judiciary to the executive branch and jeopardize the separation of powers. The separation of the careers of judges and prosecutors is one of the key points of this rather technical reform, which has become a plebiscite on the prime minister's leadership, despite Meloni's efforts to distance her political future from the election results. "We are not voting for Meloni, we are voting for justice. Even those who disagree with this government should consider the merits of a reform that seeks to improve the functioning of the system," she asserted this week.

]]>

Six million euros. That was the sum stored in the safe of an armored van that was robbed last week on the highway connecting the cities of Brindisi and Lecce in southern Italy. A heist straight out of a movie, in which a gang of thieves used machine guns and explosives against the police before fleeing. Italian authorities They suspect from the beginning that the shadow of the mafia is hiding behind the gang.The armored van had left the headquarters in Brindisi and was heading to the Bank of Italy branch in Lecce when the robbers stopped it, posing as law enforcement officers with fake police cars and flashing blue lights. In the same incident, the criminals rammed and set fire to a van and a truck to block the Carabinieri – the Italian military police – and disrupt traffic on the highway. This highway has already been the site of other similar robberies, such as the one in 2024 when a gang of thieves stole almost three million euros.

]]>

In his crusade against irregular immigration, The Italian government built a very expensive detention center in Albania to deport undocumented immigrants. Intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea, the practically empty vessel began a war against rescue NGOs and limited the recognition of the right to international protection, among other measures. Now, the government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is going a step further and proposing to block ships and expedite the summary deportations of migrants, even in countries other than their countries of origin.

]]>

Children, the elderly, and pregnant women became the preferred target of tourist groups, mostly wealthy and influential Europeans. who paid huge sums of money to have them shot with rifles from the hills surrounding Sarajevo, the city besieged during the Balkan War between 1992 and 1996The Milan prosecutor's office opened an investigation in November and on Monday summoned the first Italian suspect in these "human safaris" to testify. He denied any involvement.

]]>

Former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi has never hesitated to call things by their name. "With these, let's call them what they are, dictators with whom we have to collaborate, we must be honest when expressing differing viewpoints, but we must cooperate." On that occasion, he was referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. as a result of the sexist protocol imposed by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen During an official visit, the Italian Prime Minister's candor cost Rome a diplomatic incident with Ankara, one of its main trading partners, although things didn't escalate. Five years have passed since that episode, and Draghi is no longer at the head of the Italian government or the ECB, but with the benefit of hindsight, that statement could have been made today if, instead of the President of Turkey, the target of his criticism were a certain leader of a Western country. "We are facing the United States, which, at least in its current position, emphasizes the costs it has borne, ignoring the advantages it has gained. It imposes tariffs on Europe, threatens our territorial interests, and makes it clear, for the first time, that it believes European political fragmentation benefits its interests," he warned.

]]>

Italy will install metal detectors in schools to prevent students from bringing knives into the classroom after an 18-year-old boy killed a classmate with a kitchen knife at a high school in the northern region of La Spezia. The first pilot tests began on Friday at the entrance to the Einaudi Chiodo High School, where Youssef Abanoub, 18, was fatally stabbed two weeks ago by a classmate, Zouhair Atif, 19. Police officers with canine units and handheld metal detectors scanned the backpacks of all students outside the school gates. The violent death of Youssef Abanoub sparked a broad debate in Italy about youth violence and led the La Spezia police headquarters' provincial public order and security committee to decide to implement stricter security measures. The proposal was presented last week by Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara and confirmed this Thursday by the Interior Ministry through a circular sent to schools. "We need to restore parental authority and for everyone to understand that a parent's role cannot be delegated to a mobile phone," the minister declared in an interview, in which he warned of the rise in violence among young Italians. "Metal detectors in schools will be a useful tool; they are not repressive in any way, especially since those who don't carry knives have nothing to fear," Valditara asserted, responding to those who criticize a supposed "militarization" of Italian schools. Deterrent effect

According to the Italian government, the aim is to prevent the increasing use of bladed weapons by students through a system designed to have a deterrent effect. The measure can be adopted at the request of school principals, but law enforcement, with full "respect for school autonomy," may conduct surprise checks at schools "if there are specific concerns about the commission of crimes or ongoing judicial investigations in this area," the circular states. The document emphasizes that "the commission of serious acts of violence among young people, the discovery of weapons or other objects capable of causing harm in or around schools, as well as the presence of drug trafficking and consumption in areas frequented by schools, have highlighted the marginalization and illegality that permeate the social fabric of schools, requiring a coordinated institutional response." Increase in complaints

Despite warnings from institutions, Italy has one of the lowest rates of juvenile delinquency in Europe. However, according to a recent study by the NGO Save the Children, between 2019 and 2024, the number of minors reported for possession of weapons—from knives to brass knuckles or even stun guns—rose from 778 to 1,946. The first school to implement this measure was Marie Curie in Ponticelli, a troubled neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples. "Three or four times a year, police officers check students at the entrance to see if they are carrying concealed weapons or drugs," explains the principal, Valeria Pirone. The decision was made after a student stabbed another two years ago. After speaking with the students, Pirone understood the magnitude of a worrying phenomenon that, she says, "the school couldn't fight alone." In an interview in the newspaper The RepublicThe headmistress acknowledges that, at first, the students were afraid, but now they accept the checks calmly because they feel safer. "If this measure deters even one student from carrying a knife in their pocket, it will have been worth adopting. But it's sad to have to do it with a dead body on the floor," she concludes.

]]>

Italy is preparing for the Winter Olympics, to be held from February 6 to 22 in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezo, and many international delegations have already arrived in the country. Milan is being fortified to ensure maximum security for the athletes in the coming weeks. But what no one expected is that, along with the extensive police deployment surrounding both cities, there will also be members of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), just as these agents are under scrutiny for recent raids against immigrants and the violence of their operations. have cost the lives of two US citizensRenee Good and Alex Pretti, on the streets of Minneapolis.

]]>

Pope Leo XIV will visit Barcelona in the coming months, or at least that is what the Spanish Church is already taking for granted. This was confirmed by Cardinal José Cobo, Archbishop of Madrid, after meeting this Friday morning at the Vatican with the number two official in the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, Venezuelan Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra. Also present at the meeting were the president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE), Luis Argüello, the Archbishop of Barcelona, ​​Joan Josep Omella, and the Archbishop of the Canary Islands, José Mazuelos. "Will there be a trip? Yes, at least that is the Pope's interest," the Madrid cardinal acknowledged in Rome. The Spanish bishops traveled to the Vatican to discuss the possibility of the Pope visiting Spain this year. The leadership of the CEE presented its proposal, which must now be studied and approved by the Holy See. Although the agenda is still being reviewed, the Spanish bishops assume the trip will culminate with the Pope's visit to the Sagrada Família in June. The Cardinal of Madrid explained that the initiative came directly from the Pope, who has spoken with each bishop, and now the Spanish episcopate awaits instructions from Leo XIV to set in motion the enormous organizational machinery and then extend official invitations to Spanish authorities. The Spanish archbishop confirmed that negotiations have also taken place with the Spanish government, although official invitations have not yet been sent. The city of Barcelona is thus emerging as a key location for the Pope's trip to Spain in the coming months, which would also include a visit by Leo XIV to Madrid and the Canary Islands. "Madrid, Barcelona, ​​and the Canary Islands are the three proposed locations. It's a first draft that must be submitted to the Holy Father so he can then refine it with any notes he deems necessary," Cobo insisted to the media.

]]>

Everything is in place for Pope Leo XIV to visit Spain in 2026. Official sources from the Archdiocese of Madrid have confirmed to ARA that the Archbishop of Madrid, José Cobo, and the Archbishop of Barcelona, Joan Josep Omella, will hold a meeting next Friday, January 9, at the Secretariat of State. The President of the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE), the Archbishop of Valladolid, Luis Argüello, is also expected to participate in this meeting, as confirmed by CEE sources, who refer to it as a meeting with the Conference's leadership. The Spanish cardinals will arrive in Rome two days before this meeting to participate in the gathering of cardinals from around the world convened by Pope Leo XIV on January 7 and 8. The objective will be to reflect on the future of the Church and the challenges of the Pope's pontificate. Cobo, Omella, and Argüello will then remain in the Vatican for another day to participate in this "summit" regarding the Pope's future visit to Spain. The leading hypothesis is that the Pope will visit Madrid and Barcelona in June, to mark the centenary of the death of architect Antoni Gaudí, although it is not ruled out that the pontiff—whose mother has Spanish origins—could extend his visit to other Spanish cities, such as Santiago de Compostela (whose eighth centenary will be celebrated in 2026), Valladolid, or Alba de Tormes, where the remains of Saint Teresa of Ávila rest. Pending official confirmation from the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV, who holds American and Peruvian citizenship, already expressed to the Spanish journalists accompanying him on his first trip to Turkey and Lebanon in late 2025 his desire to visit the land of his ancestors. "He can have more than just hope," confessed the pontiff, who speaks perfect Spanish and has traveled to Spain on numerous occasions as Superior General of the Order of Saint Augustine. Before becoming Pope, Robert Prevost visited Madrid, Málaga, Seville, Bilbao, Valladolid, León, and Ávila. And after being appointed Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in 2024, he returned to Ávila to visit the birthplace of Saint Teresa of Ávila, where he signed the guestbook. During the Mass inaugurating his pontificate, celebrated on May 18, the King and Queen of Spain, Felipe VI and Letizia, conveyed to the Pope their desire to see him in the country soon. The formal invitation came later through the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa., whom Prevost received at the Vatican on October 1, and the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Almeida, who held a private audience with the Pope in December.

]]>