Judges seek trial for ministers tied to Libyan war crimes suspect release, UK website sparks outrage after adding butter and parmesan to famous Roman recipe, and more news from Italy this Thursday.
Judges seek trial for ministers tied to Libyan war crimes suspect release
Italian judges have requested permission from parliament to start legal proceedings against three government ministers over the release of a Libyan official wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to AFP.
Osama Almasri Najim, the head of Libya’s judicial police, was arrested in Turin on January 19th under an ICC warrant for alleged crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and torture.
He was released by a Rome court on procedural grounds two days later and flown to Tripoli on an Italian air force plane.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and three members of her government – Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and the undersecretary for intelligence services, Alfredo Mantovano – were all placed under investigation in late January for allegedly aiding and abetting Najim’s release and misusing public funds.
While the case against Meloni was dismissed earlier this week, Italian judges requested on Wednesday that the three ministers face trial.
The request is expected to be denied, as Meloni’s government enjoys a comfortable majority in both houses of parliament.
Italy’s release of Najim sparked outrage in January, with international human rights groups saying that the man was guilty of “horrific violations committed with total impunity”.
Opposition leaders have also accused Meloni’s government of releasing the suspect to protect contested deals with Libya to stem the departure of illegal migrants from the African country.
UK website sparks outrage after adding butter and parmesan to famous Roman recipe
Good Food, one of the UK’s most popular food websites, has sparked outrage in Italy after allegedly botching a recipe for a traditional Roman pasta dish.
The website described pasta cacio e pepe as a “store cupboard favourite” that could easily be whipped up using “four simple ingredients – spaghetti, pepper, parmesan and butter”.
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The recipe was met with anger by Italian restaurant association Fiepet Confesercenti on Wednesday, which noted that traditional cacio e pepe features tonnarelli pasta, pecorino romano cheese and black pepper.
Claudio Pica, the president of Fiepet Confesercenti’s Rome branch, said the association was “astonished” to see the recipe on such a popular food site, adding that letters of complaint had been sent to the site’s owner, Immediate Media, and the British ambassador to Rome, Edward Llewellyn.
“We regret contradicting the historic and authoritative British media, but the original recipe for cacio e pepe excludes parmesan and butter,” Pica said.
“There aren’t four ingredients, but three: pasta, pepper and pecorino,” he added, urging the website to “amend the recipe” and safeguard the original dish.
Italian media also expressed outrage over Good Food’s twist on the Roman recipe, with Il Messaggero writing “God save cacio e pepe” in reference to the God Save the King anthem.
Italy’s Berlusconi family edges closer to German broadcaster takeover
Italy’s MediaForEurope (MFE), the TV group controlled by the family of late media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi, moved closer to taking over German broadcasting giant ProSiebenSat.1 on Wednesday, as it continues to pursue plans to build a pan-European broadcaster.
ProSiebenSat.1 said in a statement it had recommended its shareholders accept a new takeover offer presented by MFE last week, valuing the company at nearly €1.9 billion.
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In announcing its decision, the German group said the latest bid “underscores MFE’s long-term investment and continued commitment to ProSiebenSat.1,” adding that the deal could deliver annual savings of up to €150 million.
The German broadcaster’s announcement sparked concerns in Berlin, with Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer voicing fears that the potential MFE takeover may undermine the group’s editorial freedom.
“Should MFE actually gain majority control of ProSiebenSat.1, we expect the editorial independence of the newsrooms to be preserved”, he said on X, adding that any future cross-border European media group should be headquartered in Munich, where ProSieben is currently based.
Weimer also said that he would discuss the details of the potential takeover with MFE CEO Pier Silvio Berlusconi in September.
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