The choice of technocrat Luciana Lamorgese as Interior Minister to deal with Italy’s migration crisis marks a significant break with the recent past.
Ms Lamorgese, an independent political operator, could hardly be more different than her right-wing predecessor Matteo Salvini.
A lifelong career civil servant, she was sworn into office on Thursday, a day after being appointed by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.
The unlikely alliance between the centre-left Democratic Party and the populist Five Star Movement under Mr Conte was forged to block the advancement to leadership of Mr Salvini, who was also deputy prime minister.
The leader of Italy’s far-right League party had used Italy's highly divisive migrant crisis to dominate the previous government.
Mr Salvini pushed his anti-immigration stance, posting relentlessly about the arrival of migrants on Facebook and Twitter.
But Ms Lamorgese does not have any social media presence.
"She is not part of the Twitterati," Francesco Galietti, chief executive of political risk consultancy Policy Sonar in Rome, told The National.
“She deals with the issues in very quiet and professional ways. She doesn’t want to make a spectacle of them."
Ms Lamorgese was chosen for the role because of her knowledge of the migrant crisis.
As one of the most senior civil servants in the Ministry of Interior under successive centre-right and centre-left governments, she dealt with the issue when migration to Italy reached its peak in 2015.
“She knows the machinery extremely well and she is very familiar with the issue of migrants,” Mr Galietti said.
But her appointment was not intended to completely depoliticise the issue of migration.
The appointment of Five Star leader Luigi Di Maio as Minister of Foreign Affairs may give a hint as to Italy’s new stance on migration.
“That's a role where you can do a lot of bilateral deals with the countries of origin such as Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali and Chad, or countries that are used as a logistical springboard by migrants, such as Libya or Tunisia,” Mr Galietti said.
For charities operating rescue vessels in the Mediterranean, which were regularly demonised by Mr Salvini, Ms Lamorgese’s appointment offers little reason for optimism.
Five Star and the Democrats have pledged to keep Mr Salvini’s decree that introduced fines of up to €1 million (Dh4.1m) against operators of boats carrying migrants into Italian waters.
Axel Steier, the co-founder of the Germany's Mission Lifeline, said that only small changes were expected under the new government.
“It is possible there will be a change for the disembarkation which was denied in the past,” Mr Steier said.
He said Italian navy ships might now relieve rescue boats of migrants in international waters. But the rescue boats would still be barred from Italian waters.
“We can't get fuel, we can't get food," Mr Steier said. "Entry is denied so we have a logistical problem and we always have to go back to Spain or France, and this is far away."
His warnings over the delays in mission times were stark.
“People will die if we are not there,” Mr Steier said. “Directly, from our point of view, this policy kills people."
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Important questions to consider
1. Where on the plane does my pet travel?
There are different types of travel available for pets:
- Manifest cargo
- Excess luggage in the hold
- Excess luggage in the cabin
Each option is safe. The feasibility of each option is based on the size and breed of your pet, the airline they are traveling on and country they are travelling to.
2. What is the difference between my pet traveling as manifest cargo or as excess luggage?
If traveling as manifest cargo, your pet is traveling in the front hold of the plane and can travel with or without you being on the same plane. The cost of your pets travel is based on volumetric weight, in other words, the size of their travel crate.
If traveling as excess luggage, your pet will be in the rear hold of the plane and must be traveling under the ticket of a human passenger. The cost of your pets travel is based on the actual (combined) weight of your pet in their crate.
3. What happens when my pet arrives in the country they are traveling to?
As soon as the flight arrives, your pet will be taken from the plane straight to the airport terminal.
If your pet is traveling as excess luggage, they will taken to the oversized luggage area in the arrival hall. Once you clear passport control, you will be able to collect them at the same time as your normal luggage. As you exit the airport via the ‘something to declare’ customs channel you will be asked to present your pets travel paperwork to the customs official and / or the vet on duty.
If your pet is traveling as manifest cargo, they will be taken to the Animal Reception Centre. There, their documentation will be reviewed by the staff of the ARC to ensure all is in order. At the same time, relevant customs formalities will be completed by staff based at the arriving airport.
4. How long does the travel paperwork and other travel preparations take?
This depends entirely on the location that your pet is traveling to. Your pet relocation compnay will provide you with an accurate timeline of how long the relevant preparations will take and at what point in the process the various steps must be taken.
In some cases they can get your pet ‘travel ready’ in a few days. In others it can be up to six months or more.
5. What vaccinations does my pet need to travel?
Regardless of where your pet is traveling, they will need certain vaccinations. The exact vaccinations they need are entirely dependent on the location they are traveling to. The one vaccination that is mandatory for every country your pet may travel to is a rabies vaccination.
Other vaccinations may also be necessary. These will be advised to you as relevant. In every situation, it is essential to keep your vaccinations current and to not miss a due date, even by one day. To do so could severely hinder your pets travel plans.
Source: Pawsome Pets UAE
In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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