🇮🇹Week of October 26

The youth package at the centre of the budget is a tax discount on pay rises for young workers, rather than the no-tax area for under-25s or the flat tax for under-35s that had been discussed. The package was presented by the president of the council. The budget also carries Irpef discounts and an extension of the flat tax, while the Tobin Tax doubles.12

The measures were settled at a majority summit, which allocated spending sector by sector. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti has framed the budget's approval as closing the manoeuvre, with caution now applied to a turning point in May and a European strategy.34

The budget covers Irpef, rents, health care and the car tax among its main items, alongside the personalised plates and the higher health funding.567

A 24-hour general strike called by USB and Cobas is set for 30 October, with demonstrations planned in more than 50 cities and transport and health services at risk. Students will return to the squares in all the main cities on the day of the stoppage.123

Transport Minister Matteo Salvini has issued a precettazione order covering transport, so trains will run normally on 29 and 30 October while local public transport remains exposed to disruption. Roma Capitale said the 30 October strike has been deferred and service will be regular across the entire network.456

Milan will see two marches on Friday with security heightened, but the city's public transport strike will not go ahead. The national action still covers the rest of the country.7

Jordan carried out airstrikes on southern Syria in response to an attack on a church in which nine people were killed, Il Post reported. Sky TG24 put the death toll from the Jordanian raids at least 8. The strikes followed the attack on the Orthodox church of St George in Hammoud, where the number of victims rose to 8, Il Fatto Quotidiano reported.123

Jordan's raids targeted Islamic State positions after the church attack, ANSA reported, with more than 20 jihadists killed. Hezbollah called the church attack "a terrorist act against humanity", Il Fatto Quotidiano reported.43

Syria will close its borders with Jordan following the raids, Tgcom24 reported. Damascus's decision came as the two countries' frontier became the focus of the confrontation.5

The attack struck the church of St George in Hammoud, and Dal Toso said the shock unites the community, Vatican News reported. Queen Rania of Jordan was shown in tears after the attack in a video carried by Amica.it.67

Youssef Siher, described as the founder of the Movimento 17 ottobre, is in prison accused of terrorism. Prosecutors say his project was eversive and that through the M1710 chat he aimed to create terror among the population. His wife, Sagia Hammoud, is also under investigation; her mobile phone led police to find him.123

The Digos considers Siher the political mind behind the protest, and a validation hearing for his detention was due in Milan. In Genoa, investigators are checking possible links to the Hamas network. Nine people were arrested and 87 reported at the 24 October demonstrations.4

The Telegram group managed by Siher has emptied, and investigators are examining the hypothesis that the chats moved to Signal.56

On Thursday Il Sole 24 Ore reported that Siher had been released, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called it shameful.7

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's office in Helsinki said Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held a conversation with Vladimir Putin. It was the first direct contact between European leaders and the Russian president since July of last year. Putin and Zelensky both spoke with the two Nordic leaders.123

Attributed claim: Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen criticised Norway and Finland over the calls, and Denmark said it was "very sceptical" of the two Scandinavian colleagues' initiative. Italy's Palazzo Chigi said the contacts must not proceed "in no particular order", and the European Union described the Putin call as being on a bilateral basis while insisting members remain united on Kyiv.425

Helsinki said Stubb and Støre used the conversation to press for direct talks to stop the war. The EU said negotiations are being held in several formats with different actors and that it is taking part.65

Russian media reported that Oleshky residents would be evacuated through Crimea. The truce and the phone calls were described as a diplomatic acceleration.78

Italy's Council of Ministers is due to meet at 12 on Wednesday to approve the 2027 budget text, with the majority aiming for the cabinet sign-off. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said proposals were running above the budget but that the package would be closed by the evening.123

The draft on the table is worth €23.5 billion and centres on a flat tax and a cut to Irpef, the personal income tax. The government's focus is on families, pensions and energy, with possible changes from 2027 to pensions, cigarette duties, the car ownership tax and parental leave.456

Giorgetti said there may be more room for manoeuvre in the coming weeks. League leader Matteo Salvini said he was confident the Fornero pension law would be overcome and that work was under way on a pension at 64.78

The first text is expected after the cabinet meeting, with the calendar of parliamentary work to follow.910

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that trilateral talks between Ukraine, the United States and Russia will be held in November, and said Kyiv is ready to negotiate. Moscow said it accepts the trilateral format and that the end of the conflict is near, while Kyiv signalled its readiness to talk.12

Zelensky also said part of the residents of Oleshky will be evacuated from 27 October.3

Attributed claim: Il Fatto Quotidiano (left) headlined the announcement as Zelensky surrendering, quoting him as saying: "Peace right away, without ceding anything more." Sky TG24 (centre) and RaiNews (centre) reported the same announcement as confirmation of the November Ukraine-US-Russia meeting and of readiness to negotiate.134

la Repubblica (centre-left) dated its war news roundup to 25 October while carrying the same confirmation of the November trilateral meeting.5

Serbia's parliamentary elections were won by the List of Students, ending 14 years of rule by Aleksandar Vucic, according to Italian outlets reporting the result. The outcome was described as an exceptional victory for the student movement that had campaigned against his government.123

The result was reported across Italy's political spectrum, from the centre-right Corriere della Sera to the left-wing Il Fatto Quotidiano and Radio Radicale, and by the centre-left Il Post. Corriere della Sera followed up on Thursday with an assessment of what happens next in Serbia after the students' landslide.12345

ANSA framed the Serbian vote alongside Bulgaria's, reporting that both Belgrade and Sofia went to the polls and that the European Union fears a pro-Russian drift in the region. The same report placed the two elections in a single regional context for Brussels.6

Prosecutors in Taranto have asked for house arrest for Lucia Morselli, the former chief executive of Ilva, and two other managers in a case concerning pollution and fraud against the state. The request covers three people in total, and one of them is a manager from Ispra, Italy's environmental protection and research institute.1234

The investigation also examines the pollution controls themselves, with the oversight system under scrutiny alongside the managers who ran the steelworks. The former Ilva plant is the site at the centre of the case.52

Morselli is named across the coverage as the former chief executive at the centre of the request, and the other two are described as managers or indagati, people under investigation.1678

Matteo Salvini was re-elected secretary of the Lega at the party congress, taking 75 percent of the vote. He told the congress there should be no more money or weapons sent to Kyiv. The result keeps him as party leader until 2031.123

Salvini said he would carry the demand into the government, promising a "pacifist" line on ending arms shipments to Ukraine. The congress also adopted a new party symbol. He said the Lega would become Italy's second party.456

Asked about Roberto Vannacci, Salvini said: "We solve problems, others just talk." The congress drew both supporters of the leader and members who had asked for a change at the top.78

Attributed claim: Outlets differ on the size of the mandate. Il Sole 24 Ore, ANSA and Il Foglio report 75 percent of the vote, while Fanpage and Zazoom Social News put it at 76 percent; Corriere Toscano counts 465 votes in favour.123768

Attributed claim: HuffPost Italia, a left-leaning outlet, called the result a Pyrrhic victory, saying Salvini had taken the congress but remains constrained by Veneto governor Luca Zaia and by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Il Foglio, a centre-right outlet, said Salvini stays secretary until 2031 and is pressing Meloni over Kyiv.93