The story of the day on Friday 14 June 2024 with the main news from the 7.30pm radio newspaper. Ilaria Salis was freed, the Hungarian police removed her electronic bracelet. At the G7 underway in Puglia today was Pope Francis’ day. Vladimir Putin said that his country is ready for a ceasefire if Kiev undertakes not to join NATO and if it renounces the regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporigia and Kherson. For the third consecutive day, Lebanese Hezbollah launched dozens of rockets towards northern Israel. There have been two other suicides in Italian prisons. Almalaurea’s latest report highlights the problem of the blocked social elevator.
The Pope’s speech at the G7
At the G7 underway in Puglia today was Pope Francis’ day. The pontiff was invited by the Italian presidency to talk about artificial intelligence, a topic that the pope addressed above all from an ethical point of view and closely linking it to the question of peace. “It is man who must always decide,” said Bergoglio, “not machines”, underlining the importance of politics for the future of the world, even in the face of technological advancement. Pope Francis then launched an appeal to the leaders of the G7, asking for the abolition of lethal autonomous weapons: “No machine should ever choose whether to take the life of a human being”, he said.
There was great anticipation for his speech, also because it was the first time that a religious leader participated in a G7.
We talked about it with Giorgia Serughetti, professor of political philosophy at the Bicocca University of Milan.
The presence of the Pope at the summit was also linked to the elimination of the word “abortion” from the draft of the final document. The controversy was then joined by that raised by the American newspaper Bloomberg according to which the mention of the protection of LGBT rights had also been removed from the draft. News later denied both by the Italian presidency and by the latest version of the draft seen by the agencies.
(by Anna Bredice)
It is likely that for Giorgia Meloni it was a somewhat indigestible morsel to have signed in the final draft of the G7 the commitment of all states to achieve gender equality, the condemnation and concern for the reduction of the rights of LGBTQ+ people and commitment to their participation in all spheres of society. Even if this theme had already been included in the Hiroshima document, it is now also reiterated in the final one of the Brindisi summit, on the eve of the pride demonstrations in Rome and other cities. Perhaps Giorgia Meloni would have preferred it to end like the point on abortion, a word that will not be mentioned in the conclusions, but explicit reference is made to the Hiroshima agreements that Italy has shared and accepts. Maybe she would have been less exposed on the internal front when she will have to deal with Matteo Salvini, who nominated and got elected with 500 thousand votes an army general who stated that “homosexuals are not normal”. Realpolitik and being president of the G7 forced Giorgia Meloni to deny a clash with Macron, declassifying everything as an electoral campaign by the French President. It is possible that this is also the case, that there is both an American and French political interest in exacerbating this issue in view of the vote in both countries, with Von Der Layen who remains silent out of concern, given that alliances will also be at stake on these topics for the next European Commission. The Pope may have also been present on abortion, but the word is not reported in the final document, it is true that commitments had been made, but now only this sentence will be read: “the commitment to adequate health services, including sexual and reproductive health of women”.
Putin has said he is ready for a ceasefire
While the G7 is underway in Puglia and on the eve of the peace conference in Switzerland in which Ukraine but not Russia will participate, today Vladimir Putin said that his country is ready for a ceasefire, if Kiev undertakes to not join NATO and if it renounces the regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporigia and Kherson. “There is nothing new and no desire to end the war, it is a farce” replied Zelensky’s most important advisor, Mychajlo Podoljak. NATO head Stoltenberg commented on Putin’s words by saying “it is not a proposal for peace, but for greater aggression”. In fact, at the moment Russian forces do not have complete control of the regions mentioned by Putin. “He was the one who illegally occupied Ukrainian territory and is in no position to dictate to Ukraine what to do,” US Defense Secretary Austin said.
Tension is growing on the border between Lebanon and Israel
Tensions remain high between Lebanon and Israel. For the third consecutive day, Lebanese Hezbollah launched dozens of rockets towards northern Israel. Warning sirens sounded at various times throughout the day.
Other fires broke out in the evening, which firefighters are still trying to contain. According to Israeli media, the army has requested to move men and forces to the northern front. A senior Hezbollah official today said that these intense attacks show Israel what the price of an all-out war against Lebanon would be. An eventuality that the international community is trying to avoid by pushing for a de-escalation.
Meanwhile, Israeli bombing does not stop in Gaza either. In particular, the intense military operation on Rafah continues. According to Hamas, two hostages were killed here in an Israeli air raid a few days ago. The Palestinian group said no one has any idea how many hostages are still alive. The humanitarian situation in the strip is also continuously worsening. The world food program has raised yet another alarm about an increasingly serious famine. Dozens of children are at risk of dying of starvation, while trucks with humanitarian aid continue to be blocked at checkpoints.
Ilaria Salis was freed
Ilaria Salis will celebrate her fortieth birthday at home on Monday.
“I’ll go get her and take her home” said her father Roberto before leaving for Budapest. The happy news came to her family as a surprise today around midday when the Hungarian police took away her electronic bracelet. After 16 months of detention Ilaria will be able to return to Italy.
“I’m very happy – said Roberto Salis – I’m trying to organize my return as quickly as possible”.
The Hungarian lawyer said that in the coming weeks the Hungarian judicial authority could ask the European Parliament for authorization to proceed against the MEP, requesting that her immunity triggered by the election in Brussels be removed.
Meanwhile, today for Ilaria Salis was a day of rediscovered full freedom and happiness. Let’s talk to the lawyer Eugenio Losco who heard her as soon as she was released
Two more suicides in Italian prisons
Last night in the Biella penitentiary a 46-year-old Romanian national inmate was found dead hanging with a rudimentary rope tied to the bars of his cell. The other suicide in the prison of Ariano Irpino, a 38-year-old Italian prisoner.
Since the beginning of the year, 42 inmates have taken their own lives. Today the Council of Europe said it was very concerned about the high number of suicides in Italian prisons and asked the government to intervene urgently.
The last suicide, as we said, was in the Ariano Irpino prison, in the province of Avellino. In Campania there have been six suicides since January.
We hear from the guarantor of the prisoners of the Campania region and national spokesperson for the guarantors Samuele Ciambriello
Italian graduates flee abroad
(by Massimo Alberti)
Low salaries, less employment: and so Italian graduates go abroad. This is what emerges from the latest Almalaurea report, which highlights another problem, that of the blocked social elevator. Above all, those who are already the child of a graduate arrive at graduation. Almalaurea is a consortium that deals with intermediation, research and personnel selection. Starting from this context, the annual report provides interesting data that illustrate the situation of this level of education in relation to employment, the salary level and the social ladder. The latter is confirmed as the most worrying: Italy is the worst in Europe for the share of graduates: around 20%. But among the children of graduates, it rises to one in three. One in five comes from a family of entrepreneurs, freelancers and managers. Around 40 percent of law and medicine graduates are the children of lawyers, magistrates, notaries and doctors. In short, a degree by inheritance, which belies the rhetoric of merit, because the starting conditions that are inherited are decisive. The other photograph is that of the employment level; While following the general trend of the market, where companies aim to hold on to certain skills, permanent contracts increase, for the first time in 12 years (with the obvious Covid parenthesis) the employment rate one year after graduation is dropped by more than one percentage point. And among those who find work, or rather accept it, comes the third problem: that of low salaries. A graduate in Italy earns up to 60% less than abroad. 5 years after graduation, the average range is between 1384 and 1768 euros. Among the categories, the lowest salaries are for teachers: 1412 euros. In this context, the number of those who refuse wages that are too low or job offers that are not in line with their studies is growing. And those who can therefore go elsewhere. A picture that integrates with the general difficulties of the country.
