Italy’s budget needs to offer credibility, Eurogroup chief says

Portugal is to head to the polls on January 30, after the country's president called a snap election. The announcement comes a week after parliament rejected the minority government's 2022 budget bill.

The room containing three beds and one window was excavated in a villa buried by the 79 A.D. volcanic eruption. Officials say it offers "a very rare insight into the daily life of slaves" in the ancient city.

The 'ndrangheta organized crime network took over from the Cosa Nostra as the wealthiest and most powerful Italian Mafia in the world. Another 355 people will be tried and face sentencing in coming years.

The Sea-Eye 4 rescued more than 800 people from the central Mediterranean this week — including 200 minors and five pregnant women. The overcrowded ship was stuck at sea for days before getting permission to dock.

Dwayne Johnson, the action star whose films pull in big bucks at global box offices, is aiming to entertain viewers in their living rooms with his next movie spectacle, the globe-trotting Netflix heist caper "Red Notice." Johnson stars in the movie with Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds about a race to locate and steal three valuable artifacts. The movie will stream on Netflix starting Friday after playing for a week in a limited number of movie theaters. The film ranks among the most expensive ever made by Netflix with a pricetag of roughly $200 million.

Italy's antitrust authority has fined U.S. tech giants Amazon and Apple a total of more than 200 million euros ($225 million) for alleged anti-competitive cooperation in the sale of Apple and Beats products.

It was Europe's first coronavirus hot spot. Now, Italy already has one of the strictest anti-infection regimes in the world. And with case numbers rising again, the country is barring unvaccinated citizens from much of public life.

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Italian ex-interior minister Matteo Salvini has gone on trial in Sicily, accused of preventing a migrant boat from docking in August 2019. The right-wing politician denies kidnap and dereliction of duty charges. Prosecution witnesses include Hollywood actor Richard Gere, who was on board.

It's the largest trial of organised crime to be held in Italy since that of the Sicilian mafia Cosa Nostra at the end of the 1980s. The Calabrian mafia 'Ndrangheta, one of the most powerful in the world, went on trial in the beginning of 2021. Some 70 convictions were handed down in November, with 355 defendants still to be judged. Our correspondent Louise Malnoy met the protagonists in this so-called "maxi-trial" in which many southern Italians are placing their hopes.

In this edition we head to the Italian capital Rome, which has long attracted the cream of French artists. The prestigious setting of the Villa Medici is home to the Academy of France, and each year a select group of contemporary artists receive a fellowship, allowing them to work on their dream project in a uniquely cossetted setting. Our reporters Luke Brown and Xavier Chemisseur were lucky enough to get a sneak peek of what the artists-in-residence have been working on.

Our first stop in our new show FrancEurope is the Italian capital Rome and the prestigious setting of the Villa Medici. It's home to the Academy of France and each year a select group of contemporary artists receive a fellowship, allowing them to work on their dream project in a uniquely cossetted setting. Our reporters Luke Brown and Xavier Chemisseur were lucky enough to get a sneak peek of what the artists-in-residence have been working on.