In the end, the six union leaders from Si Cobas and USB arrested in the summer of 2022 in connection with investigations into disputes in the logistics sector have been cleared of the charge of criminal association. Judge Francesca Gigli decided so, opting for dismissal with the formula “because the act does not exist.” At the same time, the defendants were time-barred on about 90 of the 145 total counts. Around a dozen charges of private violence remain, involving a series of incidents that have not yet expired, and for those the seven will stand trial. The union leaders had promoted and taken part in a broad mobilization with protest marches in numerous cities.

Last May, the Piacenza Public Prosecutor’s Office had asked for the unionists from SI Cobas and USB to be sent to trial on charges of criminal association aimed at private violence, resistance to a public official, sabotage, and interruption of public service. The allegations concerned protests and mobilizations in the logistics sector between 2016 and 2021. The investigation, made public in July 2022 with the arrest of the union leaders, had already suffered an initial setback a few weeks later, when the Bologna Review Court ordered the defendants released, noting that activities such as recruitment and the collection of union dues are protected by the Workers’ Statute. Despite this, in 2024 the prosecution revived the criminal association charge.

The seven suspects were Abed Issa Mahmoud El Moursi, Ali Mohamed Arafat, Elderdah Fisal, Aldo Milani, Roberto Montanari, Carlo Pallavicini, and Bruno Scagnelli; an eighth person involved, Zagdane Riadh, has since died. According to the accusation, the union leaders allegedly used SI Cobas and USB as tools to create two separate criminal associations, exploiting labor disputes to fuel conflict with companies and among different union groups, with the aim of increasing membership and obtaining economic advantages. Among the contested conduct were pickets, goods blockades, occupations, and gate blockades, which the prosecution considered unlawful pressure tactics and, in some cases, akin to extortion. The unionists immediately rejected the accusations, arguing that the challenged actions fell within normal union struggle practices and represented legitimate forms of protest to defend workers. According to the defense, even the demands deemed “excessive” by the prosecution — such as wage increases, meal vouchers, or sick-pay supplements — were part of normal union bargaining and had no extortionate purpose.

In recent years, the application of Article 416 of the Criminal Code (criminal association) to labor and protest movements has become a controversial issue. Similar allegations have also surfaced against some activists in the No TAV movement, although in several cases judges have ruled that the offense of criminal association did not exist, holding that a protest movement cannot automatically be treated as a criminal organization merely because some participants may commit offenses during demonstrations. The legal issue concerns, in particular, the distinction between the constitutional right to strike, demonstrate, and organize collectively, and the existence of a stable structure aimed at committing crimes, which is an essential requirement of Article 416. According to numerous criminal-law scholars who have addressed the issue, an excessively broad use of the offense risks moving the threshold of criminal repression forward, turning tools of social conflict — such as pickets, blockades, or occupations — into elements from which the existence of a criminal association can be inferred, with possible effects of compressing union freedoms and the right to dissent.

[L’Indipendente, June 27, 2026, Stefano Baudino]

Italy is finally beginning to move toward the medical use of psychedelics. After years of international talk about a psychedelic renaissance, Italy has recently launched several initiatives that could lead to the final goal: allowing doctors, psychiatrists, and psychotherapists to expand treatment options for patients with substances such as LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, and DMT.

The most important new development is that the first clinical study in the country has recently been authorized, and it will be carried out on patients to investigate the potential of psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, in the treatment of treatment-resistant depression, meaning depression that does not respond to the drugs traditionally used for this type of care.

“First of all, it should be said that ours is a multicenter study, coordinated by the Higher Institute of Health and carried out at the Chieti Hospital — with the contribution of the University G. d’Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara (Prof. Martinotti, Dr. Pettorruso), ASL Roma 5 (Dr. Nicolò, Dr.ssa De Risio), and the Policlinico Riuniti of Foggia (Prof. Bellomo, Dr. Ventriglio),” Francesca Zoratto, researcher at the Higher Institute of Health and principal investigator of the project, tells L’Indipendente.

“The study involves patients with treatment-resistant depression and compares two active treatments: psilocybin, administered in a controlled clinical setting, and accelerated neuromodulation (rTMS). We want to understand how much each treatment works, for whom it works better, and through which brain circuits. Each participant is assessed before treatment, randomly assigned to one of the two arms, and followed for about two months with clinical visits and instrumental measures (EEG and functional magnetic resonance imaging). The final goal is to personalize care by identifying biomarkers that can guide therapeutic choice. For ethical reasons, we do not use a placebo: both arms offer a treatment with already documented efficacy.”

She then describes how it will work in practice, outlining the different steps. The starting point is screening, with informed consent, of people diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression, followed by baseline evaluation of their starting characteristics through tests that include clinical scales, EEG, and functional magnetic resonance imaging. They will then be randomly assigned to one of two paths: one with psilocybin and therefore “a single administration in a clinical setting, with medical monitoring and support during and after the session.” The alternative is “accelerated rTMS: an intensive course of transcranial magnetic stimulation according to established clinical protocols.” Patients will then be followed up for up to 60 days with visits, symptom scales, safety monitoring, and repeat EEG/fMRI. Finally, there will be “comparative analysis of outcomes and changes in brain networks to identify predictors of response and guide precision psychiatry.”

Psychedelics and disease

Psilocybin is proving especially promising in the treatment of depression, as well as alcohol use disorders and smoking cessation.

Depression is one of the main conditions for which psychedelics were studied in the past and have now returned to the center of research, especially major depression and depression resistant to traditional drugs. But the conditions they could affect, and on which science has long been producing useful data, are many. “Based on the strongest evidence, psilocybin is proving especially promising for treatment-resistant depression and major depression. Emerging data also indicate usefulness in alcohol use disorders and smoking cessation; still preliminary results concern obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), migraine/cluster headache, and anorexia,” the researcher says, adding: “The clinical interest comes from the molecule’s ability to modulate neural plasticity and brain circuits; this can help, for example, ‘unlock’ rigid patterns of thought.”

But the fields of application could truly be many. According to Nicholas Barnes, Professor of Neuropharmacology at the University of Birmingham, “more and more evidence shows that psychedelic substances could be the key to managing inflammation, one of the main triggers of many chronic diseases, including depression, arthritis, and heart disease.” He recently laid out the evidence in an article reviewing recent findings pointing in this direction and suggesting that “the next generation of anti-inflammatory treatments could come from what I call Pipi drugs, inactive psychedelic compounds. These are drugs designed to mimic the therapeutic benefits of psychedelic substances without causing hallucinations.”

According to a recent study published in npj Aging, a scientific journal in the Nature network, psilocybin could even be considered a longevity elixir. “We provide the first experimental evidence that psilocin treatment (the active metabolite of psilocybin) prolongs cellular lifespan and that psilocybin treatment promotes greater longevity in aged mice, suggesting that it could be a powerful geroprotective agent.”

From brain to consciousness

Psychedelic substances, however, are also important for other reasons. One of the main ones is that they have been fundamental in helping neuroscientists understand how our brain works, with discoveries that have continued over time and are probably not yet exhausted. For example, many discoveries about the serotonergic system and its various receptor subtypes were made possible thanks to LSD, and others thanks to amphetamines. In the end, it is logical: a molecule capable of acting on the nervous system can reveal many of its internal mechanisms.

The most fascinating areas of research are also those closest to us: according to some branches of research, psychedelics could be at the basis of the formation of our consciousness. “From an evolutionary perspective, it is hypothesized that ingesting psilocybin may have contributed to improving visual abilities and the reproductive success of communities that used these mushrooms,” write researchers from Peru in the conclusions of an interesting scientific study published in Lilloa, in which they conducted a review of the scientific literature available to date to explore this complex topic. The idea behind this research is that: “The origin of human consciousness is one of the great questions that human beings must face, and the collected material indicates that psilocybin may have contributed to its early development.”

How? “The hypothesis that psilocybin mushrooms may have intervened as a factor in the evolution of human consciousness, both as catalysts of mystical experiences and as drivers of cognitive processes, raises profound reflections on the ancient interaction between human beings and their natural environment.”

Italy’s evolution

It was 2017 when the University of Turin hosted the conference of SISSC, the Italian Society for the Study of States of Consciousness, founded in 1990 by ethnopsychologist and psychotherapist Gilberto Camilla, a dean among Italian scholars, with an open invitation to foreign researchers to share their experience abroad. “From that experience,” explains Dr. Tania Re, anthropologist, psychotherapist, and founding member of the first UNESCO Chair on Health, Anthropology, Biosphere and Care Systems, “another conference at the University of Milan and a meeting at the European Parliament followed, with an initial request for funding that would also involve research on psychedelics.”

Interest at the European and international level continues to grow, as shown by the increase in scientific publications and also by the clinical use of psychedelics. While compassionate use, and therefore limited and experimental use, is allowed in countries such as Canada, Switzerland, the USA, and Israel, 2023 was the year everything changed, because Australia became the first country in the world to allow psychiatrists to prescribe psilocybin and MDMA for a range of conditions. Today in Europe, the Czech Republic has also authorized a law for the medical use of psilocybin, which will take effect in 2026. Another European country that has recently passed legislation allowing the compassionate use of psychedelics is Germany, which, under certain conditions, allows patients to access these treatments. In fact, according to the Luca Coscioni Association, which has kept the battle for psychedelics alive in Italy for years, they could already be used today in our country as well, because even in the absence of an explicit law, compassionate use of experimental drugs — including psychedelics — is already provided for under current regulations (EU Regulation 726/2004, Ministerial Decree 2017).

“In Italy over these years, esketamine has been used in some hospitals, because it is the only psychedelic classified as a drug; on other substances, Italy is behind, and we hope the study that has been launched can help close the gap,” Re says. “In the meantime, two new scientific societies have been founded. One is Maps Italia, the Italian branch of the U.S. association founded by the famous Rick Doblin, created while they were experimenting with MDMA in Phase III studies in the United States, and Simepsi, an Italian scientific society, was also founded. Meanwhile, in 2024 Rovereto hosted a conference organized by the University of Trento, where expert and award-winning researcher Ornella Corazza returned to work after being based in London.”

Simepsi was founded in February 2024, “with the goal of promoting the harmonious, scientifically grounded, and ethically oriented development of psychedelic medicine in Italy and beyond,” says cofounder Matteo Buonarroti, a certified therapist in psychedelic-assisted therapy. “There was no specialized scientific organization in psychedelic medicine, so we filled that gap, with the idea of involving different professionals and organizations that want to approach the topic. It is aimed only at professionals such as doctors, psychologists, and researchers, and the activities are varied: from training to outreach, while waiting to contribute with institutions to create guidelines based on Simepsi’s expertise and that available internationally, where we are in contact with several associations.”

In short, after many years spent under the radar, Italy is also trying to reclaim the place it deserves in the study of these substances, as shown by the latest initiative, which sees Psychedelic Enlightenment, a podcast produced by the Coscioni Association and hosted by writer Federico Di Vita, turn into an academy offering a training course for the professionals of tomorrow.

[L’Indipendente, November 20, 2025, Mario Catania]

On July 4, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso, and Defense Minister Guido Crosetto will travel to Villa Taverna, the Rome residence of the U.S. Ambassador to Italy, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence. Given the presence at the event of U.S. military attachés and business representatives, the three ministers will likely try to combine business with pleasure, mending strained relations and seeking deals, particularly in the sectors of armaments and dual-use (military/civilian) materials such as rare earths. At the same time, in Rome and Istanbul, No War and No NATO activists will gather to call for a halt to rearmament, an end to the conversion to a war economy, a stop to weapons shipments to Ukraine and Israel, and, more broadly, an end to war-driven imperialism. Their July 4 will therefore be anti-business and anti-militarist—the antithesis of the gathering at Villa Taverna.

In Rome, the National No NATO Coordination (CNNN) has called a national assembly open to all, which will propose initiatives across the peninsula to implement Article 11 of the Constitution (the provision that rejects war). “Article 11 must not be merely an ethical and moral principle to be invoked in words, as the Meloni government does,” says Chiara Masini of the CNNN; “it must be a practical goal to be achieved, one that helps give the country a new, different, alternative political direction.” The discussion will therefore focus on struggles against compulsory military service, against U.S. and NATO installations in Italy shielded by secrecy and immunity, against rearmament and war-oriented industrial conversion, and, finally, on campaigns in favor of conscientious objection—even in workplaces.

The event—originally scheduled for June 20—will take place on Saturday, July 4, at 2:30 p.m. at Spin Time, via di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme 55. Organizers ask participants to confirm attendance and any request to speak by writing to coordinamentonazionalenonato@proton.me.

On July 4 in Istanbul, a People’s Summit against NATO and imperialism will be held, organized by TIP, the Workers’ Party of Turkey, and open to participants from around the world (Italian activists are among the signatories of the call to attend). The event aims to counter the NATO Summit that will take place in Turkey on July 7–8 in the city of Ankara. English will be used as the lingua franca.

Those unable to travel to Istanbul can follow the proceedings via a dedicated webinar; to receive the link, participants must fill out the form at https://notonato2026.org/en/events or write to notonato1949@gmail.com. Further details are available at https://notonato2026.org/en.

“Saying NO to NATO does not only mean opposing the existence of a military pact,” organizers say; “it means wanting to build a world without wars or exploitation, in which peoples live in solidarity. Faced with a summit (the one in Ankara) where leaders of NATO member states will gather to propose new plans of aggression, it is necessary to make the voice of peace and international solidarity heard.”

[L’Indipendente, June 29, 2026, Patrick Boylan]

For the first time in the recent history of global nutrition, the problem is no longer just hunger: today, worldwide, obese children have outnumbered underweight children. The data show a profound shift. About 188 million children and adolescents between 5 and 19 years old, nearly one in ten, are living with obesity. At the same time, underweight in that same age group has fallen to 9.2%, while obesity has reached 9.4%, reversing a trend that had long been dominated by malnutrition.

This is not just a problem for wealthy countries. In the past, childhood overweight was mostly associated with more developed economies, but today it is rising rapidly in middle- and low-income countries too. Worldwide, about 391 million children and adolescents are overweight, a figure that has more than doubled over the past 20 years.

At the root of this shift is a radical change in food systems. Wider access to ultra-processed foods, sugary drinks, and high-calorie snacks has transformed the eating habits of entire generations. In many urban settings, so-called junk food is now cheaper and easier to find than fresh food, while advertising aimed at young people and increasing sedentary lifestyles make the problem worse.

The long-term consequences could be devastating. Childhood obesity is linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and metabolic disorders, conditions that until a few decades ago affected mostly adults. In many cases, overweight developed in childhood tends to continue into adulthood, with consequences for health and quality of life. Italy is not immune. According to several surveys, more than one child in four is overweight and about one in ten is obese, placing the country among those with the highest rates in Europe.

Faced with this scenario, experts continue to call for structural action. Proposed solutions include policies that limit the spread of ultra-processed foods in schools, stricter rules on advertising aimed at minors, promotion of physical activity, and easier access to healthy and sustainable diets. Nutrition education in families and schools is also seen as a key tool for reversing the trend.

Meanwhile, some European countries are already trying to tackle the problem with laws aimed at curbing it. Norway approved a law in 2025 banning advertising of unhealthy foods and beverages directed at anyone under 18. Portugal introduced a law in 2019 restricting advertising of foods high in sugar, salt, and fat to those under 16, with precise nutritional thresholds defining what counts as “unhealthy food.” The United Kingdom introduced a law earlier this year banning junk food advertising on TV before 9:00 p.m. and imposing online restrictions to protect minors. In Belgium, stricter food-advertising rules for minors took effect in 2026, banning the promotion of products considered unhealthy to anyone under 16. A similar initiative was proposed in Denmark in 2025, but has not yet been approved. Sweden does not have a specific junk food law, but it has one of the strictest rules in Europe on advertising to minors: direct advertising to children under 12 is banned, regardless of the product. Finally, Hungary, after introducing a variable tax on these foods in 2011, last year banned the sale of energy drinks to anyone under 18. In Italy, the only measure is the tax on sugary drinks, introduced in the 2020 budget law but never brought into force because of repeated delays.

For decades, the global challenge, one never truly won, was to defeat hunger. Today the problem has become far more complex, and the overtaking of underweight by obesity among the youngest says exactly this: we are not simply eating more, we are eating worse.

[L’Indipendente, 28 June, 2026, Mario Catania]

Seventeen years after the Viareggio railway disaster, a final verdict has arrived: eleven convictions for negligent railway disaster, plus, for Mauro Moretti, the former CEO of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana and Ferrovie dello Stato, a conviction for arson. The ruling, issued by Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassation, upholds the sentences handed down in the third appeals trial and sentences Moretti to five years in prison. The Viareggio massacre took place on the evening of June 29, 2009, when a freight train carrying liquefied petroleum gas derailed shortly after passing through the station in the Tuscan town of the same name, causing the gas to leak and triggering an explosion that engulfed three apartment buildings in the area. The toll was 32 dead and about a hundred injured.

The Supreme Court’s ruling comes twelve and a half years after the trial began, which opened in the first instance at the court in Lucca. The legal process was long and saw some charges lapse due to the statute of limitations, as in the case of the offense of multiple negligent homicide, with which all the defendants had been charged. This is not the first time the Cassation has ruled on the case: despite being the court of last resort, the files on the Viareggio disaster were already reviewed by the court in 2024. At the time, the judges had confirmed the defendants’ criminal liability but ordered a new appeals trial to reconsider the sentences and apply any generic mitigating circumstances. In May 2025, the third appeals trial set the sentences that were upheld yesterday, June 25, by the Cassation.

With the final ruling, Moretti will go to prison. This was also confirmed by the former executive’s lawyer, who said her client will surrender himself. In addition to Moretti, ten technicians and managers from the companies involved in managing and maintaining the train that derailed on the evening of June 29 seventeen years ago were convicted. These include former RFI CEO Michele Mario Elia, sentenced to 4 years, 2 months, and 20 days; Mario Paolo Pizzadini, manager at Cima Riparazioni, the company responsible for part of the tanker car’s maintenance, sentenced to 2 years, 10 months, and 20 days; the company’s technical manager Daniele Gobbi Frattini, who received the same sentence as his colleague; Mario Castaldo, former director of the Cargo Chemical division, the company responsible for managing the rail transport of LPG, who was sentenced to 4 years; and technical managers and workers at Jungenthal, the company responsible for other maintenance operations on the derailed tanker car.

[L’Indipendente, 26 June 2026, Dario Lucisano]

Eight people have been arrested by the Carabinieri as part of an investigation into the exploitation of workers at the construction site of the new Genoa breakwater, a project funded by Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR, an EU-backed post-pandemic investment program). The suspects allegedly forced workers to return between 40% and 60% of their wages and to cover expenses for protective equipment and housing.

The judge also ordered judicial supervision of two companies, based in Brescia and Genoa, and the seizure of €277,000. The investigation, which began following inspections at the port of Vado Ligure, also involves five additional individuals under investigation who have not been arrested.

[L’Indipendente, June 27, 2026]

Italy’s Ministry of Health has issued a red alert in 18 cities due to the ongoing heat wave. The cities are Ancona, Bari, Bologna, Bolzano, Brescia, Florence, Frosinone, Genoa, Latina, Milan, Perugia, Pescara, Rieti, Rome, Turin, Venice, Verona, and Viterbo.

The ministry’s heat-wave bulletin covers 27 Italian cities and is updated Monday through Friday at 11 a.m., with forecasts for 24, 48, and 72 hours ahead.

The red alert is the highest heat-risk level and is meant to warn of conditions that can affect vulnerable people, especially older adults, young children, and people with chronic illnesses.

The advice is to avoid going out during the hottest hours of the day, stay out of direct sunlight, and avoid outdoor activity.

[L’Indipendente, June 27, 2026]

On 29 June 2013, Margherita Hack died in Trieste at the age of 91. Born in Florence on 12 June 1922, she became one of Italy’s most prominent astrophysicists and a widely recognised science communicator. Hack was the first woman in Italy to direct an astronomical observatory, leading the Trieste Astronomical Observatory from 1964 to 1987. Under her leadership, the institute transformed from a struggling facility into an internationally respected research centre. She dedicated her scientific work to stellar astrophysics, particularly the study of Cepheid variable stars, which are essential for measuring cosmic distances. Her career combined rigorous research with an exceptional ability to explain complex ideas to the general public. Over decades, she became a familiar figure in Italian media, promoting scientific literacy and critical thinking.

Hack’s academic path began at the University of Florence, where she graduated in 1945 with a thesis on a Cepheid star at the Arcetri Observatory. She continued her research in stellar spectroscopy, studying the physical properties and evolution of stars through their light spectra. In 1957, she conducted pioneering observations of epsilon Aurigae, identifying its complex structure as a binary system surrounded by rings of gas, a notable result given the limited ultraviolet observation tools available at the time. Her work extended internationally, including collaborations and roles with organisations such as NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the International Astronomical Union. She was also a member of the prestigious Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, one of Europe’s oldest scientific academies. Throughout her career, she published hundreds of scientific papers and several university textbooks. Her research helped refine methods used to calculate distances across the universe.

Beyond academia, Hack played a central role in science communication in Italy, founding the magazine L’Astronomia in 1979 and later directing Le Stelle from 2002. She received major recognitions, including the Giuseppe Piazzi Prize in 1994 and the Cortina Ulisse Prize in 1995 for the book Il nuovo sistema solare, co-written with journalist Giovanni Caprara. Known for her outspoken views, she defended secularism, identified as an atheist, and advocated for the separation of science and religion. She was also a committed animal rights activist and a lifelong vegetarian, explaining her ethical stance in the book Perché sono vegetariana. Her influence extended beyond science, inspiring generations of young people, especially women, to pursue careers in STEM fields. In 2022, a statue titled Sguardo Fisico was unveiled in Milan to mark the centenary of her birth, and the asteroid 8558 Hack was named in her honour. Today, she remains a symbol of scientific curiosity, intellectual independence, and public engagement in Italy.

[Riccardo Ongaro]

A few days ago, the EU formally joined “Pax Silica,” the new U.S.-led technological and geopolitical alliance that represents the State Department’s key initiative on artificial intelligence (AI) and supply-chain security. The project’s main objective is to reduce dependence on countries outside the U.S. sphere of influence, especially China, by encouraging concrete cooperation among partner countries while also securing the supply chains for AI, advanced semiconductors, and critical minerals. In the Pax Silica declaration, the initiative is described as aimed at “promoting a new consensus on economic security among allies and trusted partners.” However, the risk for the EU is losing the ability to develop its own technological sovereignty, entering a system of dependence that calls for restructuring supply chains in Washington’s favor in exchange for access to the U.S. technology ecosystem.

The initiative was launched by the U.S. State Department in December 2025 to secure artificial intelligence supply chains: its main architect is Jacob Helberg, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, who during the second summit in Washington announced the coalition’s expansion to include Germany, the Netherlands, Chile, Costa Rica, Greece, Kazakhstan, Panama, Argentina, and the European Union, joining Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Australia, Israel, the Netherlands, Finland, India, Norway, Qatar, Singapore, Sweden, the Philippines, and the United Arab Emirates. The initiative’s name is itself a statement of intent: it evokes the Pax Romana and the Pax Americana, that is, an order guaranteed—in this case—by the hegemony of whoever controls strategic resources: in AI, the fundamental resource is precisely silicon.

Pax Silica is not, however, a binding treaty, but rather a political act that follows the model of a coalition of capabilities. Each country is called upon to contribute a specific asset in exchange for access to the full set of technologies used to build a technological project. So far, in addition to the EU as a collective institution, three European countries have joined the initiative in their individual capacity: the Netherlands, Germany, and Greece. On this point, the initiative’s main promoter, Helberg, stressed that Germany is “the workshop of Europe, the engine of its industry,” while Greece offers “strategic ports, one of the most powerful merchant fleets ever to sail, a nation situated at the crossroads of three continents and determined to protect it.” As for funding, the U.S. State Department announced that, in cooperation with Congress, it intends to allocate $250 million in foreign assistance funds for this initiative.

Despite the fact that on June 3 the EU announced the most ambitious technology sovereignty package ever proposed, with the aim of reducing dependence on non-European suppliers across the entire supply chain, its recent accession to Pax Silica exposes it to risks that point in the opposite direction. Jacob Helberg himself, after saying that the expression “technological sovereignty” evokes the idea of independence and the “dignity of self-government,” argued that it is “a seductive vision. But it is also backward-looking and counterproductive.” For this reason, Pax Silica does not provide for the technological autonomy of individual nations, but rather for a continuous exchange of knowledge, infrastructure, and equipment among allies, contributing to what Helberg has called “innovation sovereignty.” This exchange of knowledge, critical materials, and technologies not only converges with American interests in trying to get ahead in the AI race, but also represents another strategy for geopolitically controlling the so-called allies, one that is effective at least as much as the one based on gas and energy resources more broadly.

As for Italy, Armando Varricchio — ambassador and special envoy of the Foreign Ministry for technology — said that Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will sign a memorandum of understanding “at the first available opportunity,” despite the strong tensions recently recorded between the U.S. and Italy. The only European country to express opposition to the initiative was France, which described it as an attempt to colonize Europe and sabotage the continent’s technological sovereignty.

[L’Indipendente, 26 June 2026, Giorgia Audiello]

A letter containing a live bullet was delivered to Pietro Bondetti, the mayor of Varallo, in Italy’s Piedmont region. The message, signed by a group calling itself the “Anti-Zionist Movement,” targets Progetto Baita, an initiative that has facilitated the relocation of Israeli families to several municipalities in the Valsesia valley.

The envelope and its contents are now being examined by the Prosecutor’s Office in Vercelli, which has opened an investigation to identify those responsible.

Progetto Baita was established as an initiative to address long-term depopulation in the Valsesia valley. According to information released by the project’s organizers, more than 80 Israeli families—around 250 people—have already relocated to the area, while more than 400 people have registered for the program. The municipalities involved include Varallo, Borgosesia, Cravagliana and Scopello.

Original letter (Italian)

FUCK ISRAEL

IL QUI PRESENTE REGALO È
INDIRIZZATO A UGO LUZZATI,
CHE PRETENDE DI INSEDIARE COLONIE
ISRAELIANE IN TERRITORI
ALTRUI E AL SINDACO PIETRO
BONDETTI E A TUTTI I SINDACI
DELLA VAL SESIA CHE APPOGGIANO
IL PROGETTO BAITA.

L’ESPANSIONE E L’INSEDIAMENTO
DEI COLONI SI FERMA CON I
PROIETTILI SE SARÀ NECESSARIO.

NON PERMETTEREMO IL TRASFERIMENTO
DI ALTRE FAMIGLIE DI MACELLAI
NAZI SIONISTI.

QUESTO È L’UNICO AVVISO PRIMA
DI COMINCIARE A SPARARE.

MOVIMENTO ANTI
SIONISTA

English translation

FUCK ISRAEL

The enclosed “gift” is addressed to Ugo Luzzati, who seeks to establish Israeli colonies on other people’s land, and to Mayor Pietro Bondetti and all the mayors of the Valsesia Valley who support Progetto Baita.

The expansion and settlement of the colonists will be stopped with bullets, if necessary.

We will not allow the transfer of more families of Nazi Zionist butchers.

This is the only warning before we start shooting.

ANTI-ZIONIST
MOVEMENT

Italian authorities have opened an investigation into the incident. The letter and the bullet have been seized for forensic examination as prosecutors work to identify those responsible for sending the threat.

The case has attracted attention because it is linked to Progetto Baita, a relocation initiative that has received significant media coverage in recent months. The threatening letter explicitly references the project, its promoter Ugo Luzzati, and the local mayors who support it, making it the central focus of the intimidation.

In Varallo, a town in the Valsesia valley in northern Italy, Mayor Pietro Bondetti received a threatening letter accompanied by a bullet. The message was reportedly signed by a group calling itself the “anti-Zionist movement” and referred to Progetto Baita, the local initiative that has brought Israeli families to the area.

Progetto Baita was created in response to long-term depopulation in Valsesia, an Alpine valley in the Piedmont region. The project has supported the relocation of Israeli families to towns including Borgosesia, Varallo, Cravagliana, and Scopello, and local officials have described it as a way to revive schools, housing, and the local economy.

According to the material you provided, the project has brought more than 80 Israeli families to the valley, or around 250 people, with more than 400 people registered overall. The initiative has been presented by its organizers as a response to a personal and political shift among some Israelis who chose to move away from Israel after recent events there.

The letter sent to the mayor is now being examined by the prosecutor’s office in Vercelli, which handles criminal investigations for the area. The case has attracted attention because it combines a local security incident with a project that has become visible well beyond the valley itself.

[Riccardo Ongaro]

After clearing the hurdle of the Constitutional Affairs Committee, the text of the new electoral reform officially entered the chamber yesterday. The measure, strongly backed by the center-right majority (though with numerous internal reservations that could weigh on the parliamentary process), aims to profoundly reshape the institutional rules by which citizens choose their representatives. Specifically, the text—dubbed “Stabilicum”—proposes a proportional system with a majority bonus that, according to its promoters, should guarantee stability for the country. However, the overall framework raises serious concerns among experts, clearly shifting the center of decision-making power from voters to party leaderships.

Seats, thresholds, and signatures

Political parties formed after December 31, 2025—such as Futuro Nazionale and +Europa—will have to go through the process of collecting signatures. Pictured: Futuro Nazionale leader Roberto Vannacci.

At the core of the new bill is a proportional system paired with a substantial majority bonus. If a single list or coalition manages to capture at least 42% of valid votes nationwide, placing first in both chambers, it will receive a decisive bonus: 70 additional seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 35 in the Senate. The stated goal is to push the winning bloc up to a maximum of 220 deputies (out of 400) and 113 senators (out of 200), ensuring ample numbers to govern. If no grouping surpasses that threshold, or if the results produce different majorities in the two chambers, seat allocation would revert to a purely proportional method.

As for thresholds to enter Parliament, the reform keeps those already established by the current electoral law, the “Rosatellum,” requiring 10% for coalitions and 3% for individual parties. A new feature is the introduction of a “repechage” mechanism for the allied party that achieved the highest percentage among those that fell below the threshold.

The measure confirms the exemption from collecting signatures for parties that have a parliamentary group in either chamber, provided it was formed by December 31, 2025. Parties such as Futuro Nazionale and +Europa are excluded and will therefore have to gather signatures. Special rules are предусмотрены for Trentino-Alto Adige and Valle d’Aosta, whose votes will be counted in the national total. Local lists may link with a national list and, in that case, the seats they win will count toward the majority bonus cap. The issue of voting for out-of-town voters remains unresolved, with amendments set aside without even receiving rapporteurs’ opinions. No changes are planned for overseas constituencies, although measures are envisaged to ensure greater transparency.

Closed lists and prime minister candidate

One of the most controversial aspects concerns how members of Parliament will be selected. Under the new law, citizens will still not be able to express preferences for candidates. Voting will take place on closed lists within multi-member districts: ballots will display names in the order decided by parties, and party leaderships will determine who has the best chance of being elected. A change approved during parliamentary review requires that every candidate included in the lists tied to the majority bonus also appear in at least one multi-member district in the constituency, but this does not alter the core principle: voters can choose a party symbol, not the individuals who will represent them.

On this front, the Rosatellum had already drawn heavy criticism for its closed lists in the proportional component; however, it at least preserved some direct voter-candidate link through single-member districts, where each party or coalition presents one candidate, and whoever gets the most votes wins.

Another new feature likely to reshape perceptions of the system of government is the requirement, when formally submitting the electoral symbol, to clearly indicate the figure proposed as prime minister to the President of the Republic, along with the political program. While formally framed as enhancing transparency and reaffirming compliance with Article 67 of the Constitution (no binding mandate) and Article 92 (the President’s exclusive power to appoint the Prime Minister), the real impact appears significant. Opposition forces have sharply criticized this provision, calling it bluntly “a foretaste of premiership reform.”

The myth of governability

The majority has long argued that this law is meant to ensure “governability.” Yet the idea of “governability at all costs” contains more than one contradiction. The bonus of 70 seats in the Chamber and 35 in the Senate could bring the winner close to 60% of seats—far beyond what is needed to form a governing majority and sufficient to influence institutional safeguards. The system rewards the winner but does not guarantee that the winner will govern better, which primarily depends on the cohesion among coalition parties. Italian political history shows that overwhelming majorities have not always produced more efficient governments or wiser decisions. On the contrary, an excessive majority can reduce parliamentary debate, compress the role of the opposition, and turn Parliament into a mere ratifying body for executive decisions.

In many established European democracies—such as Germany, the Netherlands, or the Scandinavian countries—electoral laws remain largely unchanged for decades, spanning entire political generations. Even there, majority crises occur and governments fall, but it is not customary to blame the electoral law for systemic instability. In Italy, by contrast, electoral laws change with unmatched frequency—every two or three legislatures, sometimes even less—as if adjusting the mechanism could erase the often fraught dynamics of coalition politics.

Legal scholars’ criticisms

Opposition to the new law has been voiced by around 160 legal experts, united under the manifesto “A Thousand Voices for Equal Voting. Electoral Law: Back to the Constitution.” The signatories stress that the reform is not a mere technical adjustment but a profound alteration of the checks and balances of representative democracy. Their main criticism focuses on the combination of a fixed, large majority bonus and the complete elimination of preferences. According to the appeal, assigning up to 60% of seats to the winning coalition goes far beyond what is necessary for stability, artificially transforming a minority into a supermajority capable of affecting even constitutional safeguard thresholds.

This imbalance is compounded by the adoption of extensive closed lists, depriving citizens of the right to choose their individual representatives and reducing voters to passive ratifiers of decisions made by party leaderships. This could further exacerbate voter abstention.

At the territorial level, constitutional scholars denounce a clear asymmetry and a violation of the principle of equal voting power. Introducing a national bonus for the Senate effectively undermines Article 57 of the Constitution, which requires election on a regional basis. It also creates disparity between ordinary regions and special autonomous regions such as Trentino-Alto Adige: citizens there contribute to calculating the national bonus, but their local representation remains fully protected, shifting the burden of seat reduction onto other constituencies. Finally, the requirement to pre-designate the coalition leader is seen as an attempt to introduce a “de facto premiership” through ordinary legislation, bypassing proper constitutional amendment procedures and reducing Parliament to a passive extension of executive power.

Ultimately, it will be Parliament that determines whether this framework survives the internal disputes dominating the political scene and whether Italians will vote under this law in the 2027 general election. One broader implication is that changes to electoral systems in major EU countries can influence debates on democratic representation and governance standards across Europe.

[L’Indipendente, June 27, 2026, Stefano Baudino]

“My colleagues had to endure an inspection, a reprimand, and an internal investigation at the ISS for having published this work.” The director of Italy’s National Institute of Health, Maurizio Federico, said this during the latest session of the parliamentary inquiry commission on pandemic management. Federico was referring to a 2023 study on myocarditis and pericarditis associated with mRNA vaccines, such as those developed by pharmaceutical companies against Covid-19. He then pointed the finger at the decision not to provide any active vaccine surveillance, relying exclusively on citizen reports. That created “a very serious flaw” in Italian pandemic management, one that “has never been explained,” and is now under review by the parliamentary inquiry commission.

The study Federico referred to, which he was questioned about by the Covid Commission, was conducted by three of his ISS colleagues and gathered material already widely published in other scientific journals on possible adverse effects of mRNA Covid vaccines. “They put in order the logical consequences of a large body of data,” the director clarified in an interview with Il Giornale d’Italia. “What happened was that the content of this review was not liked.” The researchers were subjected to disciplinary action by the Institute for publishing the study: in the warning letter, Federico explained, “it was stated clearly that one of the important reasons was the message conveyed through this study.” In short, according to the director, his colleagues were investigated because their article did not align with the vaccine narrative and, therefore, for political reasons.

Federico also said he had proposed to the ministry the launch of a national research program on the adverse effects of mRNA anti-Covid vaccines: “I tried to make this case to my ministry at least three times, and three times it all ended up in the trash. I didn’t even receive the dignity of a ‘we’ll let you know.’” And yet the possible negative effects of the vaccines against Covid, specifically their “statistically significant” correlation with the onset of myocarditis and pericarditis in patients, were highlighted by Moderna itself: as Federico reported in his presentation, the company itself in 2024 acknowledged the existence of this problem “as a matter of fact.” In general, in Italy there have been several cases of patients who developed problems after taking the Covid vaccine, caused precisely by the drug; on numerous occasions, courts have ordered that the people affected be compensated.

Politics is demanding clarity. “We ask that the circumstance mentioned by Dr. Federico be examined more closely, to dispel the—legitimate—doubts that the ISS measure was a warning so that certain studies on vaccine adverse effects would not hinder the ongoing vaccination campaign,” commented Senator Lucio Malan of Brothers of Italy and member of the Covid Commission, announcing inquiries into the case reported by Federico. “Science, after all, must never submit to political needs and, precisely because of the trust it deserves, must be transparent and offer everyone the results of its research.”

[L’Indipendente, June 25, 2026, Dario Lucisano]

Luigi Pirandello was born in Agrigento, Sicily, on 28 June 1867. He became one of the central figures of Italian literature in the 20th century.

Among his most important works are Il fu Mattia Pascal, L’umorismo, Così è (se vi pare), Sei personaggi in cerca d’autore, and Uno, nessuno e centomila. These titles show the main themes of his writing: identity, illusion, and the instability of reality.

Pirandello also left a major mark on modern theatre. His Nobel Prize in Literature in 1934 confirmed his international stature.

In 2025, audiovisual piracy, across films, TV series, and sports, took €2.3 billion in revenue away from the formal economy. A study by Fapav/Ipsos reveals this.

Piracy of audiovisual content stands at 37% of the Italian population, 4% lower than last year.

Compared with 2023, the decline reaches 7%. The shift in trend is being driven above all by the very young.

[L’Indipendente, June 23, 2026]

The mystery surrounding the company set to build military drones in collaboration with the British firm MGI Engineering is deepening. Let’s recap the tangled story and its latest developments. On June 22, we published an investigation titled “In Modena, a company with just €10,000 in capital will produce kamikaze drones,” in which we showed that a joint venture called MGI Italy had planned to manufacture armed drones in the city of Modena. By accessing official company registry records, we also disclosed the company’s ownership structure. Modena-based entrepreneur Christian Storci, chairman of the board of Atlantic Fluid Tech (a metalworking company in San Cesario sul Panaro, Modena) and sole owner of the small real estate firm Rosstar, held 51% of MGI Italy through Rosstar. Another 9% was owned by Alessandro Alletto, operations director of Atlantic Fluid Tech, while the remainder belonged to Vigilar Group, a private Milan-based surveillance and intelligence company that in September 2025 had announced a partnership with the British multinational MGI Engineering to develop the Skyshark and Tigershark military drones.

MGI Italy was founded in May 2026 by Storci and Vigilar with the explicit aim of producing both civilian and military drones. Given the direct involvement of senior figures from Atlantic Fluid Tech, our article suggested that the San Cesario sul Panaro facilities might be used for drone production. After our article was published (and not before, despite our having emailed the Modena company prior to publication), Atlantic Fluid Tech’s press office told us that on June 12 Christian Storci and Alessandro Alletto had transferred all their shares in MGI Italy to Vigilar Group and to Mauro Cattana (CEO of Vigilar).

Although this ownership change is not yet visible in public registry documents, the company provided us with proof of the transfer. In practice, MGI Italy is now entirely owned by a Milan-based private investigation firm that does not have the capacity to assemble even a drone wing. It is clear they will rely on a specialized company to physically manufacture the drones. But where?

The Modena location, after our article, has been partially walked back. Yet the news that Modena had been chosen as the production site for the new drones had been publicly announced by Michael Guascoyne, CEO of MGI Engineering. His statements appeared in an interview with Il Sole 24 Ore on June 4 and were reiterated on MGI Engineering’s official LinkedIn profile. However, no one—at least until June 23—felt the need to deny Guascoyne’s claims.

Only after our article was published did Vigilar Group issue a press release on June 23, clarifying that “references to Modena should not be interpreted as indicating the company’s registered office nor, even less, as identifying an operational production or assembly site. The industrial plan is currently being defined and will identify the most suitable operational methods and locations for developing the activities.”

So what exactly were Guascoyne and MGI Engineering referring to when they clearly mentioned Modena? That remains a mystery. Meanwhile, other regions are now being mentioned as possible production sites: “Various production areas in Central and Southern Italy are currently under evaluation,” Vigilar Group’s statement adds, remaining vague.

According to Gian Paolo Maini, head of external communications at Atlantic Fluid Tech, “we don’t know where they intend to produce the drones; at the moment they’re talking about the Campania aerospace district, certainly not in Storci’s facilities.” When asked why Christian Storci founded MGI Italy in May 2026 only to exit in mid-June—if he was never interested in producing military or dual-use drones (technologies usable in both civilian and military contexts)—the company’s press office responded: “The relationship between MGI Engineering and Storci (Rosstar) has existed for some time, linked to the design and development of automotive and Formula 1 components. Subsequently, MGI began developing drones for civilian use and later for defense. As Storci was not interested in these products, it was decided to create a spin-off (MGI Italy), transfer the contracts, and pass them to Vigilar. This operation was necessary to manage the collaboration agreement with MGI: the automotive segment remains with Rosstar, while the defense segment is transferred to Vigilar.”

In summary, Christian Storci—chairman of Atlantic Fluid Tech and majority shareholder together with his brother Michele—is tied (through a real estate company) to a collaboration agreement with MGI Engineering and, by virtue of that agreement, “had to” create the newly formed drone company despite not being interested in military drone production, only to then transfer all his shares to Vigilar.

It remains unclear why the British multinational needed the Storci family to establish a joint venture with Vigilar. Why not create a company directly with Vigilar by acquiring shares? As of today, the British multinational holds no stake in MGI Italy.

The Tigershark drone manufactured by MGI. Described on the company’s website as capable of engaging targets within a range of 750 km “without the need for real-time control” and of carrying a payload of 300 kg of high-explosive material while traveling at a subsonic speed of 750 km/h [image published on mgidefence.co.uk]

These unanswered questions highlight just how opaque this entire affair is. In any case, the Storci family’s decision to withdraw from the military business can be interpreted as a victory for the anti-militarist movement in Modena, which since early June has been protesting against the proposed drone factory. Our article, which exposed the company’s direct involvement, also played a role: after its publication, trade unions and workers at Atlantic Fluid Tech mobilized, demanding clarification from the company.

However, it is necessary to ensure that this withdrawal is lasting and that promises are kept, especially in light of the ongoing collaboration between the Storci family and MGI Engineering. Although the supply of components is said to be limited to the automotive sector, it is well known that the know-how, technologies, and even materials used in automotive—and particularly in Formula 1—can be highly versatile and applicable to drone production. It is not always easy to distinguish which contracts are for civilian use, which are dual-use, and which are military.

Guascoyne himself, a Formula 1 expert, has for years proudly stated that he uses F1 materials and technologies in the military drone sector. Thus, while Italy quietly searches for an operational site, the Tigershark kamikaze drone by MGI Engineering completed its first test flights on April 1, and its sale is scheduled for October 2026. Its power and lethality make it closer to a “cruise missile” than a simple drone. “A single-use, subsonic system with a payload capacity of 300 kg, launched from the ground via rocket-assisted takeoff (RATO) from a vehicle-mounted launcher. The declared range exceeds 1,000 km at cruising speed. MGI estimates a unit cost of about $549,000. It features a composite-material fuselage, a 3D-printed nose, and two Argive A1100 gas turbines. Navigation is based on an inertial system and terrain mapping without GPS,” as reported by the specialized website Overdefense.

L’Indipendente will continue to closely follow this story, convinced that only independent journalism can ensure the democratic transparency needed regarding the militarization of companies and territories. This issue also carries global implications, as it reflects broader trends in the privatization and decentralization of advanced weapons manufacturing across international supply chains.

[L’Indipendente, June 26, 2026, Linda Maggiori]

After decades of investigations, requests for international cooperation, and judicial inquiries, prosecutors in Rome have now asked for the final closure of the last remaining investigations. While the theory of a bomb on board has been definitively ruled out, investigators concluded that the available evidence supports the scenario of an aerial military confrontation. What remains unknown is the identity of those responsible.

The End of the Last Judicial Investigation

After more than four decades of judicial inquiries, international requests for cooperation and competing theories, Italian prosecutors have asked for the definitive closure of the last remaining investigations into the Ustica disaster. The decision does not overturn the conclusions reached over the years, but reflects what prosecutors describe as the impossibility of identifying those legally responsible, despite an extensive body of evidence.

The request concerns two separate investigations. The first, opened in 2008, was prompted by statements from former Italian President Francesco Cossiga, who publicly claimed that the Itavia DC-9 had been shot down by a French missile during a military operation. The second, launched in 2022 following a complaint filed by the Association for Truth on Ustica, sought to determine whether new evidence or international cooperation could finally identify those responsible.

Both investigations ultimately confirmed what previous judicial inquiries had already suggested: the aircraft was most likely lost within the context of an aerial military confrontation, rather than as a result of structural failure or an onboard bomb. However, prosecutors concluded that the available evidence, while pointing toward an aerial battle, does not meet the legal threshold required to bring charges against any individual or state.

In requesting that the case be closed, the Rome Prosecutor’s Office also criticized the limited cooperation received from allied countries. According to prosecutors, France, the United States, and several other European governments failed to provide complete or satisfactory responses to Italian judicial requests concerning military flights and radar activity over the central Mediterranean on the night of June 27, 1980. This lack of transparency, they argued, made it impossible to reconstruct with certainty the chain of command and identify those who ordered or carried out the operation.

For the families of the 81 victims, the decision marks yet another painful chapter in a decades-long search for justice. While prosecutors acknowledge that the aerial battle scenario has effectively been established, the absence of legally identifiable perpetrators means that one of Italy’s darkest national tragedies may remain officially unsolved.

From Technical Failure to an Air Battle

The official narrative surrounding the Ustica disaster has changed dramatically over the past four decades, reflecting one of the most controversial investigations in modern Italian history.

In the immediate aftermath of the crash, authorities initially suggested that the Itavia DC-9 had suffered a structural failure. As doubts emerged, attention shifted to the possibility of sabotage and later to the theory that a bomb had exploded inside the aircraft’s lavatory during the flight. That hypothesis dominated public debate for years, but was ultimately abandoned after extensive forensic examinations and judicial investigations found no evidence to support it.

Instead, successive inquiries increasingly converged on a different conclusion: the aircraft was most likely lost within the context of an aerial military confrontation over the Tyrrhenian Sea during the height of the Cold War. According to this reconstruction, the civilian airliner became caught in a military scenario unfolding in Italian airspace.

Three weeks after the disaster, the wreckage of a Libyan MiG fighter jet was discovered in the Sila mountains of southern Italy. The finding fueled decades of speculation about a possible connection between the Libyan aircraft and the events of June 27, 1980. While many aspects of that reconstruction remain disputed, judicial investigations have definitively ruled out the bomb theory, while recognizing the aerial-battle scenario as the reconstruction most consistent with the available evidence.

Within this framework, Ustica is no longer viewed simply as an aviation disaster. It has become a symbol of the hidden tensions of the Cold War, when military operations, intelligence activities and international alliances often remained beyond public scrutiny—even when civilian lives were lost.

Giuliano Amato’s Explosive Claims

Public debate over the Ustica disaster was reignited in September 2023, when former Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato told the newspaper La Repubblica that, in his view, the most credible reconstruction of events pointed to the French Air Force, allegedly acting with the complicity of the United States, as being responsible for shooting down the Itavia DC-9.

According to Amato, the civilian airliner was not the intended target. He claimed that the operation was aimed at striking a Libyan MiG believed to be carrying Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and that the DC-9 was brought down during that military operation. Amato also alleged that Gaddafi avoided boarding the aircraft after being warned by Italian Socialist leader Bettino Craxi, who, according to the former prime minister, never publicly revealed what had happened because doing so would have exposed him to accusations of disloyalty to NATO and of spying for the opposing side.

Amato further argued that both the structural failure theory and the bomb hypothesis, which had been presented over the years as possible explanations for the disaster, were false narratives intended to conceal what he described as a NATO-related secret. He also claimed that the Italian Air Force had been “deployed in defense of the lie” to protect that secret from becoming public.

Although Amato’s remarks introduced no new judicial evidence and did not reopen the investigation, they attracted widespread international attention and revived debate over one of Italy’s longest-running mysteries. His statements also echoed long-standing suspicions surrounding the case that geopolitical interests, military secrecy and the reluctance of allied states to cooperate may have prevented the full truth about Ustica from emerging.

A Long Trail of Suspicious Deaths

“Accident” of the Frecce Tricolore in Ramstein, in which Ivo Nutarelli and Mario Naldini lost their lives

One of the darkest chapters of the Ustica affair is the long series of deaths involving military personnel and other individuals connected, directly or indirectly, to the investigation. Over the years, these cases have fueled persistent debate, with relatives, journalists and investigators questioning whether they were merely tragic coincidences or part of a broader pattern surrounding one of Italy’s most controversial mysteries.

One of the most emblematic cases is that of former Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Sandro Marcucci, who died in a plane crash in 1992 that authorities officially attributed to pilot error and adverse weather. However, according to control tower records, police reports and witness testimony cited in the investigation, there was virtually no wind on the day of the accident. Marcucci, an experienced military pilot, had gathered documents concerning the Ustica case and was reportedly preparing to share his findings. Questions also surrounded the handling of the crash investigation itself: the accident site was not inspected immediately, the wreckage was examined only after it had been removed, and no full autopsy was performed.

Another key figure was Air Force Marshal Mario Alberto Dettori, who was on duty at the Poggio Ballone radar station on the night of June 27, 1980. Although his name was missing from some official attendance records, fellow servicemen later stated that he had indeed been present during the shift. According to relatives, Dettori returned home visibly shaken, saying that “something huge” had happened. Before withdrawing into silence, he reportedly suggested that military aircraft had been involved in the events of that night. After suffering severe psychological distress in the following years, he was found hanged in 1987. Authorities ruled the death a suicide, despite no autopsy being performed and his family continuing to dispute the official conclusion.

Air Force Marshal Franco Parisi, another radar controller connected to the case, met a remarkably similar fate. After giving testimony to Judge Rosario Priore, he was reportedly approached and threatened before being summoned to testify again. In 1995, shortly before his second appearance, he was found hanging. A forensic examination later described the case as an “atypical incomplete hanging,” noting that his feet remained in contact with the ground. A judge initially rejected requests to close the investigation, ordering further examinations because of doubts surrounding the circumstances of his death.

The investigation also recalls the deaths of Air Force pilots Ivo Nutarelli and Mario Naldini, who were flying F-104 fighter jets in the same area on the night of the disaster. Both men later died in the 1988 Ramstein air show disaster in Germany, only weeks before they were due to appear before an investigating judge. Their deaths became another frequently cited episode in the long chain of controversial events associated with the Ustica case.

Judge Priore’s Investigation and an Unfinished Truth

Much of what is publicly known about the Ustica disaster stems from the decade-long investigation conducted by Judge Rosario Priore, whose inquiry remains the judicial cornerstone of the case. After years of examining military records, radar data, expert reports and witness testimony, Priore concluded that the available evidence pointed to the scenario of an aerial military confrontation in Italian airspace during the Cold War, rather than to a structural failure or an onboard bomb. At the same time, he acknowledged that the evidence was insufficient to establish the legal responsibility of those who had carried out the operation.

Priore also devoted part of his investigation to the series of suspicious deaths surrounding the case. In his findings, he argued that several individuals had come into possession of information that differed from the official reconstruction, but revealed it only within limited circles of relatives, friends or colleagues, where those accounts could be ignored, silenced or dismissed. For Priore, these episodes reflected the broader climate of secrecy that surrounded the investigation rather than a series of unrelated personal tragedies.

More than forty-six years after the disaster, the essential elements of the case remain unchanged. A civilian airliner disappeared from the sky, 81 people were killed, the bomb theory has been abandoned, and successive judicial investigations have consistently supported the aerial-battle scenario. Yet the latest request by the Rome Prosecutor’s Office to close the final investigations highlights what has remained unresolved for decades: although the broader reconstruction of events has become increasingly clear, no individual or government has ever been held legally responsible.

For many Italians, Ustica has become far more than an aviation disaster. It remains one of the country’s deepest institutional mysteries—a case in which the search for truth collided with military secrecy, international alliances and political interests, leaving the victims’ families still waiting for the justice they have sought for more than four decades.

[L’Indipendente, Salvatore Maria Righi, Stefano Baudino]

With final approval in the Senate, the labor decree has become law. During the parliamentary process, the majority clarified the scope of the measure, starting with the concept of “fair wage,” which indirectly answers the opposition’s call for a minimum wage of 9 euros an hour. The Meloni government chose to relaunch the role of national collective labor agreements (CCNL), which often provide wages below the threshold proposed by the opposition. Companies that pay a “fair wage,” meaning one in line with what the CCNLs provide, will be rewarded with bonuses and tax breaks.

Fair wage and minimum wage

In Italy, the National Collective Labor Agreement (CCNL) is the instrument through which trade unions and companies reach an agreement on employees’ conditions, from wages to vacation days, including welfare measures. There are more than a thousand CCNLs, and they regulate different types of employment, but all must comply with the law, starting with the Constitution. For example, under Article 36 of the Constitution, “the worker is entitled to remuneration proportionate to the quantity and quality of his work and in any case sufficient to ensure for himself and his family a free and dignified existence.” In several cases, judges have declared certain CCNLs unlawful because they conflict with the Constitution. Sentence after sentence, the debate over introducing a minimum wage has grown, a measure that would provide workers with a common baseline from which to start.

The parliamentary opposition put forward a joint proposal for a minimum gross wage of 9 euros an hour. According to the latest data provided by ISTAT and the National Institute for the Analysis of Public Policies (INAPP), several CCNLs signed by the main unions — CGIL, UIL, and CISL — fall below the hypothetical minimum wage. In our country, about 3 million workers receive pay below 9 euros gross an hour.

Despite this, Decree No. 62/2026, just converted into law by Parliament, rejects the idea of a minimum wage and focuses on CCNLs, introducing the concept of “fair wage.” “For us, the benchmark for defining this fair wage is the national collective labor agreements,” Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated, stressing that in light of the measure, “those who sign fake contracts and underpay workers will not be entitled to public labor incentives.” Since the decree was approved, the majority has focused on defining the measure’s contours. The Ministry of Labor writes that the measure “identifies the TEC (Total Economic Treatment) provided for by contracts signed by trade union and employer organizations that are comparatively most representative at national level.”
This means that, in addition to the minimum wages agreed by the confederal unions (CGIL, UIL, and CISL), the fair wage must also comply with provisions on additional monthly payments, vacation days, and company welfare. Those who observe the TECs in their entirety, without having to worry about any extra additions, will gain access to bonuses and tax breaks.

“Enough welfareism,” but not for companies

“We continue to follow a clear path: support work, not dependence on subsidies. Create opportunities, not overblown welfareism. Give dignity to those who, every day, keep this nation going through their work,” Giorgia Meloni declared after securing approval in the Senate. The bonuses, however, remain, at least for companies, costing the state budget about 1 billion euros. The measure renews until the end of the year social security contribution exemptions of up to 650 euros per month for hiring women. The bonus rises to 800 euros if they reside in the Mezzogiorno, where in 2024 a single Special Economic Zone (ZES) was established. A similar arrangement applies to workers under 35, with contribution exemptions set at 500 euros per month (650 if the workers live in the Mezzogiorno).

Along with respect for the “fair wage,” the majority added a new condition tied to company size: micro-enterprises, meaning those with no more than 10 employees, may benefit from the tax breaks as long as they have not laid off any workers in the six months before the request.

There is also a new development regarding the renewal of collective agreements. In the case of expired contracts not renewed within 9 months (the draft decree had set 12), an automatic wage adjustment kicks in, equal to 50% of inflation. So with inflation at 10%, wages would rise by 5% while waiting for a new round of bargaining. As for proximity agreements, also known as second-level agreements because they can derogate from the reference CCNLs, the parliamentary process introduced filing with the Ministry of Labor and the National Council for Economics and Labor (CNEL), with the aim of strengthening oversight mechanisms.

The majority also clarified the measures put in place to “fight digital caporalato, which especially affects riders,” as Meloni put it. Workers on digital platforms must enjoy the rights provided for subordinate employment in cases of continuous work directly managed and controlled by companies. The fine for platforms that issue more than one account for a single tax code is set at 1,000 euros, rising to 1,500. At the same time, fines ranging from 800 to 1,200 euros are for workers who hand their account over to third parties, bypassing the new digital identification requirement introduced to monitor hours and responsibility.

[L’Indipendente, 25 June 2026, Salvatore Toscano]

On 27 June 1980, an Itavia DC-9 flying from Bologna to Palermo crashed into the Tyrrhenian Sea near Ustica. All 81 people on board were killed.

The disaster triggered years of investigations, court proceedings, and public debate. Even today, it remains one of Italy’s most contested and unresolved aviation tragedies.

The case also left a lasting mark on Italian memory, with relatives of the victims continuing to call for full clarity. Decades later, Ustica is still remembered not only as a crash, but as a national mystery.

They are real explosive weapons, which when used improperly can cause serious harm, even death. Yet despite the fact that tear gas has now become a constant response by law enforcement to demonstrations, whether peaceful or not, there is no regulation in Italy governing their use. This was admitted by the Interior Ministry itself in a response sent to the Bologna prosecutor as part of a trial over the damage caused by the explosion of one of these devices.

It was October 2, 2025, when a tear gas canister fired at head height exploded in Lince’s face (an alias used to protect the woman’s identity). The context was the protests for Palestine, systematically suppressed with violence by law enforcement. The consequences were devastating: the 33-year-old woman will never regain sight in her right eye. From that incident, a campaign was born, Lince. Eyes on Abuse, to help cover the woman’s medical expenses and to provide another platform for testimonies about police abuse. What happened has ended up under investigation in Bologna, where prosecutors are trying to determine any responsibility on the part of the police for the mutilation suffered by the woman. And it is precisely in response to a formal request from prosecutor Morena Palazzi that, according to Corriere di Bologna, the Interior Ministry admitted that no written documents or user manuals exist on the use of tear gas by police forces.

This is not the first case in which tear gas has seriously injured citizens. In April 2021, during a No TAV demonstration, Giovanna Saraceno was seriously injured by the explosion of a tear gas canister, which struck her face, causing two brain hemorrhages and multiple facial fractures. On that occasion, police tried by every means to deny the reconstruction of the facts provided by the activist, despite some videos clearly showing that the launch of the CS gas canisters had taken place at head height. Ten years earlier, also in the context of a demonstration against High Speed Rail, Yuri Justensen permanently lost part of his hearing.

Tear gas canisters, officially classified as “non-lethal weapons,” are considered true explosive devices, which is why the consequences of improper use and direct impact on people can be very serious, if not fatal. This is not just a hypothesis: it happened to Zineb Redouane in Marseille in 2018, and to dozens of protesters around the world, as documented by Amnesty’s research. For this reason, as the NGO points out, they should be used only as an extrema ratio, with a parabolic trajectory and solely for the purpose of dispersing protests.

Reports of use at head height, however, are countless: from the recent marches against the eviction of the Turin social center Askatasuna to the demonstrations for Palestine (such as the one held in Udine in October 2025, during which Amnesty reported human rights violations committed by police against those present), and even to the dozens of reports during demonstrations in the Susa Valley and in other protest settings. A video showing a police officer firing a tear gas canister at head height also surfaced in the context of clashes on the margins of the derby in Turin, during which a fan was seriously injured in the head by what some witnesses say was in fact a CS gas canister — though, according to law enforcement, it may have been a stone or a bottle.

For the campaign supporting Lince, what happened was not an accident, but the result of “political and operational choices that turn public space into a place of risk for those who dissent.” The Bologna prosecutor’s investigations will determine any responsibility. In the meantime, however, in recent years the use of tear gas and “non-lethal” weapons seems to have intensified significantly and goes hand in hand with a political trend toward increasingly protecting police conduct, which thanks to the new security decrees can boast a growing degree of impunity. All of this, on the backs of citizens.

[L’Indipendente, 23 June 2026, Valeria Casolaro]