The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Italy

  • 3,000 exhibitors from 60 countries to participate in trade fair

    Over 3,000 exhibitors from over sixty countries including Nigeria, Italy, China, Switzerland and the United States will gather at, Messe Dusseldorf , Germany between October 16, 2019 and October 23, 2019, to discuss current trends and set the future for the plastic and rubber industry for the K Fair international.

    According to a statement by the organisers, the trade fair will provide a robust platform for leading players and exhibitors in the sector to present and experience innovative developments that will shape their business.

    K  Fair, the statement said is held at tri-annual intervals and represents the plastics and rubber industry’s production chain in unparalleled depth and breadth.

    At the last K fair in 2016, 3,293 exhibitors gathered at Messe Dusseldorf, Germany, for eight activity-filled days of insights into the newest developments and technologies of the industry.

    This year, the focus at K Fair the statement added will be on plastics for sustainable development and circular economies, and will feature topics such as water management and renewable energy.

    In addition to this, K Fair 2019 will also focus on the digitalization of the value-added chain, system integration and promotion of young professionals for the industry.

    According to Global Portfolio Director for Plastics & Rubber at Messe Dusseldorf, Petra Cullmann, who spoke at the K 2019 press briefing, held in Lagos ,he  said “this year’s K trade fair will show an increased responsibility from the plastics and rubber industry’s dedication to designing machines that create products that are easily recyclable”.

    Read also: Lagos Trade Fair Complex not for sale, says BPE

    She also described the importance of “educating people around the globe about the value of plastics and how it should be used and re-used”.

    Sarsoli Industries, a Nigerian based plastics additive manufacturer, will be exhibiting at the K Fair for the third time. When asked about why Sarsoli Industries continues to exhibit at K, Managing Director of Sarsoli Industries, Jaiprakash Changrani, who also spoke at the press briefing said, “ K is a trade fair that attracts a high calibre of visitors and exhibitionists in the plastics and rubber industry. It is an honour to be placed within that category of the best”.

    He also hopes to see a rise in the number of African exhibitors at K, stating that Africa has a largely “untapped but valued market potential for plastics and rubber”.

    Visitors at K 2019 can expect an extensive line up of exhibitors and specially curated sections, such as the “Bioplastics Business Breakfast”, which focuses on the role and market potential for biopolymers, and the Science Campus, which encourages discourse between research and industry. They will also be able to visit one of the rubber hot spots at K 2019, the “Rubberstreet”, which is a window into the world of rubber and elastomers.

    K  Fair is the performance barometer for the entire plastics and rubber industry, and remains at the forefront for global innovations.

    It provides an indispensable networking community of industry leaders, producers and consumers. In the wake of current debates concerning the potential management of resources and efficient processing of plastics, K Fair  2019 promises to serve as an international platform for information, innovation and communication about the future of the industry.

  • Five arrested in Italy for forced prostitution of Nigerian women

    Five people have been arrested in Italy for smuggling Nigerian women into Europe and forcing them into prostitution, according to Italian Carabinieri Police.

    The suspects, apprehended in the Sicilian town of Messina, were part of an organised crime racket that smuggled “at least 15’’ unaccompanied minors into “several European Union countries’’ via Libya and Sicily, the police said in a statement yesterday.

    The syndicate relied on an Italian accomplice who worked in a migrant charity.

    According to Police, he would help the criminals trace the women after their arrival in Sicily and contribute to forcing them into prostitution.

    The Carabinieri said they documented criminal activity during the 2015 to 2017 period.

    They said “black magic’’ rituals would be performed on the young women before they left Nigeria, to force them into submission.

    Read Also: Why I released my songs online, by Mr.Five

    Some of the arrested also dabbled in heroin trafficking, police said.

    In 2017, a report by the International Organisation for Migration said three-quarters of the roughly 11,000 Nigerian women who landed in Italy in 2018 may have been taken there by sex traffickers.

    The IOM, a UN agency, said it was difficult to make precise estimates because most victims of the sex trade are afraid to speak up.

    They are also afraid to seek assistance because they are: ashamed; submissive to traffickers accompanying them on migrant boats; or fear retaliation against their relatives.

  • S/Falcons to play ten matches before 2019 Women’s World Cup – NFF

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Thursday said it has put in place plans to provide the Super Falcons with better preparations for the 8th FIFA Women’s World Cup finals.

    Ademola Olajire, NFF’s Director of Communications, said in a statement that the federation had made plans for the African champions to participate in about 10 matches altogether.

    “Participation in the Four-Nation Invitational Tournament in China from Jan. 17 to Jan. 20 will be followed by participation in the Cyprus Women’s Cup billed for Feb. 25 to March 7.

    “They will then play planned friendly matches with Spain or Canada before a final training camp in Austria that could also take in two tune-up games,’’ he said.

    Already, the NFF has announced that the Falcons would have their final camping programme at the same Avita Hotel and Resort in Bad Tatzmannsdorf in Austria.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Super Eagles stayed at that same facility before heading to Russia to participate in the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals.

    Read Also: Super Falcons in tough France 2019 draw

    Olajire disclosed that players and officials of the nine-time African champions were on Tuesday at the Embassy of China in Abuja for visa processing.

    “The team is expected to fly out of Nigeria to China on Monday,’’ he said.

    Hosts China, Romania and Korea Republic are the other teams taking part in the four-day invitational.

    The NFF official added that the players and officials would on return from the invitational tournament in China begin visa processing for the trip to Cyprus.

    “They will take part in a 12-nation Invitational Tournament between Feb. 25 and March 7.

    “Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Italy, North Korea, Mexico, Slovakia, South Africa and Thailand are the other nations taking part.

    “Of the lot, Nigeria, Italy, South Africa and Thailand will be going to France,’’ he said.

    Olajire disclosed also that Spain and Canada have approached Nigeria for friendly matches.

    Spain will face South Africa, Germany and China in Group B at France 2019, while Canada will also take on African team Cameroon, New Zealand and The Netherlands in Group E.

    “Jamaica, who play Australia, Italy and Brazil in Group C, have also written to the NFF expressing interest in playing against the Super Falcons,’’ he added.

    Nigeria are the only African country to have featured in all previous editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup since the competition was launched in China in 1991.

    The African champions, who are the Women National Team of Year 2018 in Africa, will tackle host nation France, Korea Republic and Norway in Group A of this summer’s finals.

    The Super Falcons, who were quarter-finalists in 1999, will open their account in France against Norway, at the 21,000-capacity Stade Auguste Delaune in Reims on June 8.

    They will then face Korea Republic in Grenoble on June 12 and hosts France in Rennes on June 17.

    The 8th FIFA Women’s World Cup finals will hold from June 7 to July 7.

    France will be up against Korea Republic in the opening match at the Parc des Princes in Paris on June 7.

  • African Migrants rejected by Italy were tortured, raped – UN

    African migrants rejected by Italy in a standoff with the European Union on Aug. 15, said they had been held by smugglers for up to two years in Libya and many had been beaten, tortured and raped, the UN said on Tuesday.

    The 150 migrants, mainly Eritreans and Somalis, were rescued in the Mediterranean but waited 10 days while
    Italy’s anti-immigrant government refused to let them disembark, until Ireland, Albania and the Vatican
    agreed to accept them.

    A further 27 unaccompanied minors and 13 people needing urgent hospital treatment had earlier been allowed ashore in Italy, whose government had threatened to cut funds to the European Union unless other states took in the migrants.

    The UN International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said its staff had gathered testimony from the migrants.

    All were malnourished and exhausted and said they had been held against their will in Libya for up to two years, IOM spokesman Joel Millman told a UN briefing in Geneva.

    “In Libya they complained that many had been beaten and tortured by smugglers and traffickers seeking ransom money from their families in their countries of origin,” he said.

    “Italian doctors who attended all the women … reported that many of them said they had been raped while in Libya.”

    He said IOM believed thousands of migrants were still being detained – held in safehouses or warehoused, but getting people to the shore had recently become more difficult because of violence in the west of the country.

    A drop in the value of the Libyan dinar had also made it more difficult for sub-Saharan Africans hoping to earn enough in Libya to fund their sea voyage to Europe, prompting the smugglers to look for other nationalities with more resources.

    Italian Interior Minister Salvini, who has led a popular crackdown against immigration since his government took office in June, has said he was under investigation by a Sicilian prosecutor for abuse of office, kidnapping and illegal arrest over the migrant standoff.

  • Decision to leave Real Madrid was “easy’’ – Ronaldo

    Cristiano Ronaldo says the decision to leave Real Madrid for Juventus in Italy after nine trophy-filled years in Spain was an easy one to make.

    The 33-year-old joined the Italian champions last month on a four-year deal, ending a stint in Spain that saw him win two La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions League trophies.

    Read Also: Ronaldo scores in first Juve appearance

    “It was an easy decision. What was done in Madrid is incredible, I won everything, my family lives there, but it’s part of the past,” Ronaldo told sports streaming service DAZN.

    Juventus paid 100 million euros ($114.37 million) to sign Ronaldo, who made his Serie A debut in their 3-2 win at Chievo last Sunday.

     

  • Bridge collapse in Italy

    •With 50 bridges due for repair and restoration, Nigeria needs a more proactive bridge monitoring and maintenance policy

    The world has been mourning with the government and people of Italy over the collapse of the bridge on the main highway between Genoa in Italy and Nice in France, which had claimed no fewer than 43 lives. Many others were injured.

    Since the tragic event, the government of Italy and the company that operates most of Italy’s bridges, Autostrade per l’Italia have been calling for a commission of inquiry to determine the cause(s) of the collapse of the Morandi Bridge built in 1961, with the hope to last for 100 years, like most bridges. One striking irony is that the bridge collapsed at a time that it was already undergoing maintenance.

    But professional and lay commenters have already identified four likely causes of the collapse: wear and tear arising from nearness of the bridge to the sea and industries; heavy traffic on the bridge that carries about 25 million people per year; design flaws that may have resulted from the strength of materials and tendons carrying the weight of vehicles on the bridge; and weather conditions.

    Italy’s ministers have accused the managing company of poor maintenance culture: “Autostrade should have done maintenance and didn’t do it,” while Autostrade has affirmed that it has carried out regular maintenance and has been pleased with comments of “companies and institutions which are world leaders in testing and inspections.” However, the government has re-affirmed its commitment to improve Italy’s infrastructure while Autostrade has agreed to pay compensation to families of victims and owners of houses damaged by the bridge’s collapse, and even to rebuild the bridge within eight months.

    There is an African proverb which says that an orphan needs to listen to admonitions that are given to his peers by their parents. This proverb calls on people to learn lessons from whichever situation provides them. The tragedy in Genoa is relevant to other countries that depend on bridges to connect their citizens, especially Nigeria, with several bridges that connect various parts of the country. The bridges on the two biggest rivers in the country connect the northern part to the south and west: Jebba, Lokoja, Makurdi, and Onitsha, for example, just as Lagos, the country’s cultural and commercial centre, virtually lives on bridges: Third Mainland, Carter, Eko, Ijora, etc. In addition to bridges that go over water, the latest civil engineering vogue in the country is construction of over-head bridges for vehicles and pedestrians to ease traffic flow in Africa’s largest city.

    What connects these bridges to the Morandi Bridge accident is that they are all human creations that are liable to the whims of nature and man-made products, such as sea salt and pollutants, respectively. Just like Morandi Bridge, all the bridges in Lagos, particularly the Third Mainland Bridge carry heavy traffic round the clock. In addition, other bridges in Lagos have become, in recent times, long-term parking lots for heavy trucks and trailers. Nigeria may not be similar to Italy that has been described by EU officials as the home of endangered infrastructure, but it is not hyperbolic to say that Nigeria is a site for an infrastructure that can be at peril, if prompt, regular, and proper maintenance is not an abiding part of the culture of agencies charged with maintenance of bridges across the country.

    It is, however, reassuring that the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has not been unmindful of the importance of properly maintained bridges. “Many of the bridges we built in the country over the last four, five decades have not been under any form of maintenance. We now have a three-year plan affecting over 50 bridges across the country for maintenance, repairs and restoration. And it is going to cost about N270 billion over three years. Our plan is to start with about N70 to N100 billion in year one; starting with the very critical ones so that they do not collapse, and then we move to the less critical ones,” Fashola said.

    Given the commitment of the minister to saving the country’s bridges, there should be no excuse for postponing needed repairs. Mercifully, the Third Mainland Bridge will undergo structural tests from today till Sunday. We hope this will be followed by appropriate measures. However, creating a situation for trailers and trucks to park on other bridges is not in compliance with requirements for sustaining such structures. As important as constructing new roads may be, it is more logical to keep existing bridges in excellent condition, to save human lives and property.

  • Bridge collapse: Italy declares state of emergency

    Italian Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, has declared a state of emergency covering the region around Genoa, after a bridge collapse killed at least 39 people and severed the port city’s main land corridor with southern France.

    Conte, speaking at a news conference in Genoa, said he made the declaration after a request from regional authorities.

    He also took aim at operator Autostrade, a unit of Milan-listed Atlantia group, which operated the bridge as part of a stretch of the A10 motorway it manages.

    Conte said the firm had been responsible for ensuring safety on the bridge and the government would not await the outcome of a current criminal investigation into the disaster before taking action.

    “A cabinet meeting took place in which we have decreed a 12-month state of emergency and made available a first allocation worth 5 million Euros for the national emergencies fund,” Conte said in a news conference.

    The announcement comes as rescuers are continuing to search for survivors among huge chunks of debris after the bridge in Genoa collapsed on Monday.

    Furious government ministers have rounded on the viaduct’s operator, saying it should pay fines and compensation and lose its concession.

    The 50-year-old bridge, part of a toll motorway linking the port city of Genoa with southern France, collapsed during torrential rain yesterday, sending dozens of vehicles crashing onto a riverbed, a railway and two warehouses.

    Italian Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, visiting the disaster scene, said bridge operator Autostrade would have to contribute to the cost of its reconstruction as well as pay heavy fines.

    Conte said “all infrastructure” across the country needed to be double-checked.

    “We must not allow another tragedy like this to happen again”.

    Rescuers searching through the wreckage, strewn among shrubland and train tracks, said there were “dozens” of victims, as rescue helicopters winched survivors on stretchers from the ruined bridge.

    Cars and trucks were tangled in the rubble and nearby buildings damaged by vast chunks of concrete.

    But Autostrade, a unit of Milan-listed Atlantia group, said it had done regular, sophisticated checks on the structure before the disaster, relying on “companies and institutions which are world leaders in testing and inspections” and that these had provided reassuring results.

    “These outcomes have formed the basis for maintenance work approved by the Transport Ministry in accordance with the law and the terms of the concession agreement,” it said.

    However, the bridge’s condition, and its ability to sustain large increases in both the intensity and weight of traffic over the years, have been a focus of public debate since the collapse, when an 80-metre span gave way as cars packed with holidaymakers as well as trucks streamed across it.

    “We’re not giving up hope, we’ve already saved a dozen people from under the rubble,” said fire official Emanuele Giffi.
    “We’re going to work round the clock until the last victim is secured.”

    The incident – the deadliest of its kind in Europe since 2001 – is the latest in a string of bridge collapses in Italy, a country prone to damage from seismic activity but where infrastructure generally is showing the effects of a faltering economy.

    Aerial footage showed more than 200 metres of the viaduct, known locally as the Morandi bridge, completely destroyed.

    Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said the private sector manager of the bridge had earned “billions” from tolls but “did not spend the money they were supposed to” and its concession should be revoked.
    He was apparently referring to Autostrade.

    “Imposing the highest penalties possible and making sure that those responsible for the dead and the injured pay up for any damages and crimes is the very least,” he said.

    The Pope offered a prayer for the victims and their loved ones in a public address at St Peter’s Basilica:
    “While I entrust those, who have lost their lives to the mercy of God, I express my spiritual closeness to their families, to the injured, evacuees and all those who have suffered due to this dramatic event”.

    Fire Brigade Spokesman, Luca Cari, said 400 firefighters were at the site, lifting big chunks of concrete to create spaces for rescue teams to check for survivors.

    In Paris, France’s foreign ministry said three French nationals were among the dead.

    The Morandi Bridge, named after the engineer, who designed it, forms part of the A10 motorway run by Autostrade.

    The 55km stretch of the A10 accounts for around 1.7 per cent of total network traffic for Italy’s biggest toll road operator, according to one analyst’s estimate.

    Autostrade’s parent, Atlantia, also runs toll-road concessions in Brazil, Chile, India and Poland.

    “The top management of Autostrade per l’Italia must step down first of all,” Mr Toninelli said in a Facebook post.

    He also said the government would inspect the structure of ageing bridges and tunnels across the country with a view to launching a programme of remedial works if required. (Reuters/NAN)

  • Italy bans advert on betting

    Italy has become the first country in Europe to ban advertising on betting, its government announced on Tuesday, amid criticism from football clubs which benefit from the ads.

    The country’s Deputy Premier, Luigi Di Maio, said at a news conference that “I think this is an industry that has become a bit too big, at the expense of people’s health and dignity: we are going to cut it down in size.”

    Di Maio, who serves as industry and welfare minister, said gambling was ruining families and weighing on the budget of the National Health Service.

    According to Italy’s National Research Council, 400,000 people had a gambling problem in 2017, in a fourfold increase from 10 years earlier.

    A cabinet meeting decided the clampdown on Monday, in spite of criticism from the betting industry and from football clubs, which often rely on sponsorship from betting firms.

    Read Also: New government agreed in Italy

    Claudio Fenucci, chief executive of Serie A team Bologna, was quoted by Il Messaggero daily as denouncing the government’s “crazy” move as depriving football clubs of 100 million Euros (116 million dollars).

    “The only result will be to humiliate Italian football fans, whose teams will have less money at their disposal,’’ Deborah Bergamini of the opposition Forza Italia party said.

    Forza Italia is the party of former premier Silvio Berlusconi, whose family owns the private TV network Mediaset, which risks losing revenue from banned advertising deals.

    Di Maio said his anti-establishment Five Star Movement had long promised the ban, and criticised “famous people,” such as retired star footballer Francesco Totti, who appear in betting ads.

     

    NAN

  • Jailed in Italy

    •We need to know why many Nigerians are there and what can be done to reduce the number

    It is bad news that no fewer than 1,500 Nigerians are in jail for various offences in Italy. Not surprisingly, the Italian Ambassador to Nigeria, Stefanou Pontesilli, who supplied the information in an interview with journalists in Abuja, described the figure as “a big number.”

    Indeed, this high population of Nigerian prisoners in Italy is a cause for concern. Though the envoy didn’t provide details of their offences, it is disturbing that the Nigerian prisoners were judged to have broken the law, which is a sad reflection on their country.

    The Federal Government should seek clarifications about the prisoners and their offences to ensure that none of them is being punished unjustly. In addition, the country’s consular officials in Italy are expected to play mediatory roles, where they can, in cases involving Nigerian citizens.

    Inevitably, the issue of illegal migration came up, and the ambassador was quoted as saying: “Some Nigerians are stuck in Libya because they were never able to cross over to Italy, but all those who went to Italy, no one, not even one was ever sent back. All Nigerians who have reached Italy and are behaving well have no problem.” He added that thousands of Nigerians unable to cross from Libya to Italy were stuck in Libya.

    It is alarming that tens of thousands of Nigerians are reportedly fleeing from unfavourable conditions in their country, and willing to risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean to get to Europe. According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), crossing the Mediterranean to Europe is “by far the world’s deadliest” journey, with at least 33, 761 reported to have died or gone missing between 2000 and 2017.

    It is noteworthy that, according to the Nigerian Immigration Service, no fewer than 10,000 Europe-bound Nigerians died between January and May 2017 while trying to illegally migrate through the Mediterranean Sea and the deserts.

    A  Roundtable on Migration and Human Trafficking organised by the Nigerian Senate in Benin City in February gave further insight into the scale of the problem. Senate President Olusola Saraki, citing UN reports, observed that “Nigeria accounts for the world’s highest number of irregular migrants going through the Agadez Route. Our citizens represent the fifth largest number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea into Europe.”

    Migratory pressures identified by the IMO include: “population growth coupled with limited livelihood opportunities, high unemployment and poor governance and political and economic instability.”

    The Nigerian authorities need to pay greater attention to the identified factors that drive the desperation of the citizens who have lost hope in the country and would do anything to escape. These factors are also relevant in cases of legal migration. The point is that, apart from the illegal migrants, there are those who leave the country by legal means because they see no future at home.

    The Italian envoy drew attention to what needs to be done by the Nigerian authorities, saying, ”We think that without a stable secure country there cannot be development… This to us is the number one priority of the country.”

    This is stating the obvious. It is clear that domestic socioeconomic conditions need to be improved to tackle both legal and illegal migration. Nigeria must make significant progress on poverty reduction and ensure that the majority of its citizens enjoy improved quality of life.  Increased spending on social services as well as increased capacity to deliver public services and more effective utilisation of resources will go a long way towards encouraging Nigerians to seek a better life within their country. In particular, the country must strengthen its capacity to contain the vibrancy of its youths.

    The development efforts needed to change the conditions must not be limited to the Federal Government. The state governments and local government councils also have important roles to play in improving the social conditions. Ultimately, a holistic development approach is the solution.

  • 1500 Nigerians in Italian prisons – Envoy

    The Italian Ambassador to Nigeria, Stefanou Pontesilli, says no fewer than 1500 Nigerians are serving jail terms for various offences in Italy.

    Pontesilli who made the disclosure in an interview with newsmen in Abuja said the number was huge.

    ”In Italy we have about 1500 Nigerians in jail for various offences. It is a big number.

    ”We sometimes send them back to Nigeria once they finished their terms because they have not behaved well, ” he said.

    He however denied reports that Italy sometimes send Nigerian migrants from Italy to Libya.

    ”Never, we never sent anyone not even one single person to Libya.

    Read Also: Buhari to Nigerians: Your sacrifices won’t be in vain

    ”Some Nigerians are stuck in Libya because they were never able to cross over to Italy, but all those who went to Italy no one, not even one was ever sent back.

    ”All Nigerians who have reached Italy and are behaving well have no problem.

    ”Not one of them not even one has heard of being  sent back to Libya,” he said.

    According to him, thousands of Nigerians unable to cross from Libya to Italy have been stuck in Libya.

    ”Thank God the government is doing a lot to repatriate them through chattered flights.

    ”Thanks for the help from the European Union and the International Organisation for Migrations that are slowly repatriating them back to Nigeria,” he said.

    The envoy said that the relationship between Italy and Nigeria remained stronger.

    ”That is why Italy has been doing so much on the migration by saving tens and thousands of the Nigerians’ lives when crossing the Mediterranean.

    ”Authority has been doing so much by taking them to Italy, feeding them,  getting them jobs, giving them house and trying to give them a new life,” Pontesilli said.

    He said that Italy had also done a lot in trying to help Nigeria maintain security and stability.

    ”This to Italy is very important, the stability and the security of Nigeria is our foremost consideration.

    ”We think that without a stable secure country there cannot be development.

    ”So that’s why we stand strongly behind President Muhammadu Buhari trying to establish a strong, safe and stable Nigeria.

    ”This to us is the number one priority of the country, we are doing all we can to support this,” he said.

    The envoy disclosed that the Italian government had been involved in training many Nigerian officials from the military, police and immigration.

     

    NAN