Giorgia Meloni

A top European Union official on Wednesday refused to be drawn on an opinion of an agreement between Italy and Albania to process some migrants in centers set up in the tiny Western Balkan country, saying only that it was being closely monitored.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni invited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday to visit Italy in the first half of 2025 for a new session of the Italy-Türkiye Intergovernmental Summit.

Images from the early 1990s of thousands of Albanians crammed onto all kinds of ships—most famously the “Vlora” with 10,000 passengers—on the journey of hope from Durrës to Italy are not so distant. It was August 8, 1991, when scenes of a drama were unfolding at the port of Bari that were destined to be repeated.

Italy's Defense Minister Guido Crosetto (L) welcomes US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin prior to the Group of Seven (G7) Defence Ministers Summit at the Palazzo Reale in Naples, Italy, on Oct. 19, 2024.

G7 defense ministers started talks on Saturday against a backdrop of escalation in the Middle East and mounting pressure on Ukraine as it faces another winter of fighting.

A Rome court has rejected orders to detain a group of migrants in a reception facility in Albania and said they had a right to be brought to Italy, dealing a blow to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's plan to divert asylum-seekers abroad.

As Italy dispatched a first group of asylum seekers to Albania on Wednesday under a new deal between Rome and Tirana, one eatery in the port town where they arrived found cause for celebration.

A group of migrants, intercepted in Italian waters, disembark at Shengjin port in Albania on Oct. 16, 2024.

A navy boat carrying migrants intercepted in Italian waters docked at Shengjin port in Albania Wednesday, AFP reported, the first arrivals under a new deal between Rome and Tirana.

An eclectic range of topics will be in focus at the world's biggest book fair this week, from a row over an Italian mafia author to growing interest in wacky literary subgenres and AI in publishing.

The Frankfurt book fair, which officially kicks off today, brings together authors, publishers and other industry players over five days in the western German city.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday hailed a controversial deal to send migrants for processing in Albania as "courageous," saying Rome was setting a "good example" for other countries.

Italy is the first country in the European Union to create processing centers outside the bloc for migrants arriving at its borders.

(L-R) Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Malta's Prime Minister Robert Abela, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, Croatia's President Zoran Milanovic, Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Slovenia's Prime Minister Robert Golob, and Portugal's Foreign Minister Paulo Rangelas hold a press conference after t