TOPIC

/ location

Italy

The latest breaking news and stories on Italy, a country in southern Europe known as a parliamentary republic, and the world’s eighth largest economy. Also covering Italy’s relationship with China and Europe, plus commentary and updates on Italy’s economy, politics, society and social issues.

Capital

Rome

Head of State

President Sergio Mattarella

Head of Government

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni

Italian Carabinieri officers pose with three artworks recovered following a police operation, in an image released on Friday. Photo: Italian Carabinieri via AP

Art

Italian police recover stolen Renoir, Cezanne and Matisse art worth millions

The three pieces were taken from a private museum earlier this year, in a nighttime heist that took less than three minutes.

15 Aug 2026 - 2:00AM

Nato

Nato jets shoot down foreign drone after it enters Latvian airspace

14 Aug 2026 - 8:13PM

India

Why India is eyeing France’s fighter jet project for future air warfare

13 Aug 2026 - 10:00AM

Natural disasters

Tourists rush to Mount Etna as it erupts, alarming Italian guides

Unruly locals and climbers in flip-flops are among the thousands trying to get a closer look at the volcano’s spectacular lava flows.

13 Aug 2026 - 1:20AM

Smoke spews and lava flows from Sicily’s Mount Etna on Tuesday. Photo: Etna Walk via AFP

China-EU relations

Can Europe stay united in China trade battle? Ceuta crisis offers a warning

The recent row over migration and Spain’s border policy suggests it may be hard for the bloc to stand together under pressure from Beijing.

9 Aug 2026 - 10:00PMvideocam

Timepieces

Full-lume watches are the new flex, from heritage brands to indie upstarts

Luminescence was a stand-out trend at this year’s Watches and Wonders – here’s how makers are using innovative materials to light up horology.

9 Aug 2026 - 12:00AM

European Union

Spain to start Italy border controls amid Ceuta migrant row

Italy had rejected Spain’s ultimatum to lift checks imposed in response to the migration crisis. Now Spain has announced its own checks.

8 Aug 2026 - 7:20PM

An information panel displays flight details on Saturday at Adolfo Suarez Madrid–Barajas Airport, as Spain’s government said it would establish border controls for flights and ships from Italy. Photo: Reuters

Russia

Russian drone factory boss badly injured in car blast that killed driver

Targeted attack on Uraldronzavod chief outside Yekaterinburg follows series of strikes against defence figures.

6 Aug 2026 - 2:20PM

Offbeat

Lost US$1.15 million lottery ticket dug out of trash by Italian binmen

The winner had discarded the stub, not realising that she had won the big jackpot.

5 Aug 2026 - 4:03AM

Spain

Death toll from migrant rush into Spanish enclave of Ceuta reaches 72

More bodies recovered near shoreline following mass movement of 50,000 people across Moroccan border.

3 Aug 2026 - 11:19AM

Belongings left behind by migrants float in the sea after they crossed from Morocco into Ceuta. Photo: AP

Icons and Influencers

Style according to … Italian designer Alessandra Rich

The designer is obsessed with Alfred Hitchcock’s films and draws inspiration for her feminine designs from Grace Kelly and Ingrid Bergman.

1 Aug 2026 - 4:00PM

Designer Alessandra Rich divides her time between London and Milan. Photo: Handout

Spain

France, Italy tighten borders after 60,000 migrants enter Spain’s Ceuta

France is increasing its border police presence fivefold while Italy has suspended its Schengen agreement with Spain.

1 Aug 2026 - 11:54AM

Spain

Italy halts EU Schengen free-travel pact with Spain over Ceuta migrant crisis

Over 50,000 people had rushed into Spanish territory from Morocco, sparking concern over border security.

1 Aug 2026 - 1:42AM

Obituaries

Franco Baresi, the ‘Johan Cruyff of defenders’, dies aged 66

Iconic captain spent entire 20-year career with AC Milan, and earned his place among the game’s all-time greats.

31 Jul 2026 - 3:45PM

AC Milan’s Franco Baresi was in Hong Kong last year ahead of the city’s inaugural football festival, when Liverpool played the Italian club. Photo: AC Milan

China economy

Opinion | Can the West really decouple from China?

Instead of trying to ‘catch up’, Western economies should focus on boosting resilience in key sectors without disrupting global supply chains.

30 Jul 2026 - 8:30PMvideocam

A worker responsible for electrode technology development near a mixing container for battery production at a factory in Bavaria, Germany, on October 26, 2023. Photo: dpa

Hong Kong sports

On This Day | Windsurfer wins Hong Kong’s first Olympic gold in 1996 – SCMP archive

On this day 30 years ago, Hong Kong won its first Olympic gold. It would take almost exactly 25 years to win another one.

29 Jul 2026 - 2:15PM

The Philippines

EU’s US$17 million maritime aid for Manila targets ‘fault lines’

Analysts say the European Union considers Manila ‘the most important’ partner for its Indo-Pacific strategy.

29 Jul 2026 - 3:58PMvideocam

United States

As I see it | America declares international law for thee but not for me

While the US is seeking to dismantle the International Criminal Court, it has signed a statement upholding the Hague tribunal’s South China Sea ruling.

28 Jul 2026 - 8:30PM

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends the 33rd Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines, on July 23. Photo: AFP

Extreme weather

France and Spain race to curb wildfires before new heatwave arrives

Authorities have evacuated about 220,000 people, including tourists, in France, while in Spain around 100,000 have been told to seek shelter.

28 Jul 2026 - 5:42AM

China-EU relations

Why did China put a Polish university on its European dual-use export blacklist?

Wroclaw University of Science and Technology placed on export control list alongside defence firms as China hits back at latest EU sanctions.

27 Jul 2026 - 12:14AMvideocam

Nordic nations

European heatwaves drive summer tourists to cooler north

The concept of ‘coolcations’ – holidays in a cooler clime – has been gathering pace in recent years and appears to have exploded in 2026.

26 Jul 2026 - 12:54PM

A tourist takes photos of Mount Nuolja, overlooking Abisko in northern Sweden, on August 26, 2021. Photo: AFP

Japan

Japan, UK, Italy eye Japanese factory to build fighter jet

The three nations launched the programme in 2022 to deploy the fighter jet from 2035, amid an increasingly tense global security environment.

25 Jul 2026 - 10:30PM

An F-2 fighter jet takes part in a live fire exercise by the Japan Ground Self-Defence Force in Gotemba in 2022. Japan plans to replace the F-2 fighter, which is scheduled to begin being phased out around 2035, with the next-generation jet. Photo: AFP

China-EU relations

China adds 14 EU entities to export control list, hitting back at sanctions

Ministry of Commerce action follows a new round of EU sanctions on Russia that affected 14 firms from mainland China and Hong Kong.

24 Jul 2026 - 7:40PMvideocam

Extreme weather

Heatwave-fuelled wildfires rage in southern France, Italy and Spain

Thousands flee homes and campsites as firefighters battle dozens of active blazes.

23 Jul 2026 - 11:36AM

Volleyball

Italy and Brazil sweep into last 4 of Women’s Volleyball Nations League Finals

Defending champions and team from South America brush aside Netherlands and Japan, and will face each other for place in title clash.

23 Jul 2026 - 12:21AM

Defending champions Italy eased into the semi-finals of the Women’s Volleyball Nations League with a 3-0 win over the Netherlands in Macau. Photo: WVBNL

Defence

Canada becomes first observer to British-Italian-Japanese GCAP fighter project

Ottawa gains front-row insight into the next-gen combat jet as it seeks to diversify ties amid Washington tensions.

22 Jul 2026 - 6:00PMvideocam

Defence ministers (fromleft) David McGuinty (Canada), Wes Streeting (Britain), Guido Crosetto (Italy) and Shinjiro Koizumi (Japan) discuss the Global Combat Air Programme at Wellington Barracks in London on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

SCMP Highlights

Xiaomi’s focus on new SUVs, BYD’s 15,000km-driving range cars: 7 EV reads

From CATL shares forecast to grow 50 per cent to the effects of China’s EV tax break ending, here are seven EV stories you may have missed.

22 Jul 2026 - 4:03PM

New Openings

Hong Kong’s hottest new openings, from homestyle Italian at Ninetta to meat-centric Marrow

Discover the city’s latest dining delights: from Santa Nata’s authentic Portuguese egg tarts and the finest Wagyu at Tanaka, to cosy trattoria Ninetta and meaty pop-up Marrow.

22 Jul 2026 - 8:00AM

Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.

SUPPORT NOW

Italy

Italian police recover stolen Renoir, Cezanne and Matisse art worth millions

The three pieces were taken from a private museum earlier this year, in a nighttime heist that took less than three minutes.

Nato jets shoot down foreign drone after it enters Latvian airspace

Why India is eyeing France’s fighter jet project for future air warfare

Tourists rush to Mount Etna as it erupts, alarming Italian guides

Unruly locals and climbers in flip-flops are among the thousands trying to get a closer look at the volcano’s spectacular lava flows.

Can Europe stay united in China trade battle? Ceuta crisis offers a warning

The recent row over migration and Spain’s border policy suggests it may be hard for the bloc to stand together under pressure from Beijing.

Full-lume watches are the new flex, from heritage brands to indie upstarts

Luminescence was a stand-out trend at this year’s Watches and Wonders – here’s how makers are using innovative materials to light up horology.

Spain to start Italy border controls amid Ceuta migrant row

Italy had rejected Spain’s ultimatum to lift checks imposed in response to the migration crisis. Now Spain has announced its own checks.

Russian drone factory boss badly injured in car blast that killed driver

Targeted attack on Uraldronzavod chief outside Yekaterinburg follows series of strikes against defence figures.

Lost US$1.15 million lottery ticket dug out of trash by Italian binmen

The winner had discarded the stub, not realising that she had won the big jackpot.

Death toll from migrant rush into Spanish enclave of Ceuta reaches 72

More bodies recovered near shoreline following mass movement of 50,000 people across Moroccan border.

Style according to … Italian designer Alessandra Rich

The designer is obsessed with Alfred Hitchcock’s films and draws inspiration for her feminine designs from Grace Kelly and Ingrid Bergman.

France, Italy tighten borders after 60,000 migrants enter Spain’s Ceuta

France is increasing its border police presence fivefold while Italy has suspended its Schengen agreement with Spain.

Italy halts EU Schengen free-travel pact with Spain over Ceuta migrant crisis

Over 50,000 people had rushed into Spanish territory from Morocco, sparking concern over border security.

Franco Baresi, the ‘Johan Cruyff of defenders’, dies aged 66

Iconic captain spent entire 20-year career with AC Milan, and earned his place among the game’s all-time greats.

.css-1pcrwvc{color:#2aa191;}Opinion | Can the West really decouple from China?

Instead of trying to ‘catch up’, Western economies should focus on boosting resilience in key sectors without disrupting global supply chains.

.css-1f6sr3w{color:#727272;}On This Day | Windsurfer wins Hong Kong’s first Olympic gold in 1996 – SCMP archive

On this day 30 years ago, Hong Kong won its first Olympic gold. It would take almost exactly 25 years to win another one.

EU’s US$17 million maritime aid for Manila targets ‘fault lines’

Analysts say the European Union considers Manila ‘the most important’ partner for its Indo-Pacific strategy.

As I see it | America declares international law for thee but not for me

While the US is seeking to dismantle the International Criminal Court, it has signed a statement upholding the Hague tribunal’s South China Sea ruling.

France and Spain race to curb wildfires before new heatwave arrives

Authorities have evacuated about 220,000 people, including tourists, in France, while in Spain around 100,000 have been told to seek shelter.

Why did China put a Polish university on its European dual-use export blacklist?

Wroclaw University of Science and Technology placed on export control list alongside defence firms as China hits back at latest EU sanctions.

European heatwaves drive summer tourists to cooler north

The concept of ‘coolcations’ – holidays in a cooler clime – has been gathering pace in recent years and appears to have exploded in 2026.

Japan, UK, Italy eye Japanese factory to build fighter jet

The three nations launched the programme in 2022 to deploy the fighter jet from 2035, amid an increasingly tense global security environment.

China adds 14 EU entities to export control list, hitting back at sanctions

Ministry of Commerce action follows a new round of EU sanctions on Russia that affected 14 firms from mainland China and Hong Kong.

Heatwave-fuelled wildfires rage in southern France, Italy and Spain

Thousands flee homes and campsites as firefighters battle dozens of active blazes.

Italy and Brazil sweep into last 4 of Women’s Volleyball Nations League Finals

Defending champions and team from South America brush aside Netherlands and Japan, and will face each other for place in title clash.

Canada becomes first observer to British-Italian-Japanese GCAP fighter project

Ottawa gains front-row insight into the next-gen combat jet as it seeks to diversify ties amid Washington tensions.

Xiaomi’s focus on new SUVs, BYD’s 15,000km-driving range cars: 7 EV reads

From CATL shares forecast to grow 50 per cent to the effects of China’s EV tax break ending, here are seven EV stories you may have missed.

Hong Kong’s hottest new openings, from homestyle Italian at Ninetta to meat-centric Marrow

Discover the city’s latest dining delights: from Santa Nata’s authentic Portuguese egg tarts and the finest Wagyu at Tanaka, to cosy trattoria Ninetta and meaty pop-up Marrow.

Opinion | Can the West really decouple from China?

On This Day | Windsurfer wins Hong Kong’s first Olympic gold in 1996 – SCMP archive