Latest news with #Carabinieri
News24
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- News24
Royal devotion – Princess Charlene and Prince Albert are more united than ever
It's the highlight of the Monaco social calendar, a soirée that oozes glitz and glamour while raking in cash for worthy causes. A seat at a table at Le Gala de la Croix Rouge – or the Red Cross Gala, if you don't speak French as the principality's Benoni-raised princess has learnt to do – will set you back €1,400 (about R29,400). But people do cough up – and this year there was something extra special for the guests to get excited about. Prince Albert II, the leader of the tiny enclave on the shores of the Mediterranean, was marking the 20th anniversary of his reign – and who better to honour him than his wife. READ MORE | SEE | Monaco royals celebrate 20th anniversary of Prince Albert's reign Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene, who was once looked down upon for not speaking French and struggled to be accepted by notoriously snobbish Monégasques, took to the stage to deliver a moving speech in the local lingo to the black-tie-and-ballgown crowd. 'Today marks exactly the 20th anniversary of your accession,' she told her husband, who was seated among 800 guests in the famed Monte-Carlo's Salle des Étoiles ballroom on 12 July. 'Twenty years ago, you took the reins of the principality, and since that day, you have guided Monaco with wisdom, courage and determination. Your wish for unity and serenity for Monaco has been your guideline.' Charlene (47) then added her own personal touch for her 67-year-old husband. 'Albert, you know I am always by your side, along with the Monégasques. We are standing with you with all our hearts to protect Monaco and its future under your leadership.' We love you, we support you and we thank you for being there for all of us Princess Charlene The former South African Olympic swimmer lived up to her style-queen credentials in an ethereal light-blue silk gown by Elie Saab paired with a dazzling diamond necklace. It was an outfit befitting the prestigious event, which has a history stretching back 70 years. From 1949 to 1958, Albert's father, Prince Rainier III, chaired the event, and from 1958 to 1982, the honour fell to his mother, Hollywood screen icon Grace Kelly – and thanks to her connections, it attracted acting royalty in the form of Elizabeth Taylor and Gregory Peck, and the likes of former US First Lady Jackie Onassis. Princess Grace's granddaughter, Camille Gottlieb, paid tribute to her in an Elisabetta Franchi dress similar to one the Oscar-winner wore in the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock movie Rear Window. 'This ball is an opportunity for us to come together around a cause that's dear to us and touches us deeply,' said Camille (27), who was there with her mom Princess Stéphanie (60) and brother Louis Ducruet (37). Following Charlene's speech, 10 members of the Prince's Carabinieri – Monaco's military guard – performed a moving version of the country's anthem, which saw a visibly touched Albert joining in. A few minutes before midnight, he officially opened the dance floor with his wife to Coldplay's Everglow, and the evening closed with a bang with a performance by veteran English rocker Billy Idol, who played over 10 of his biggest hits. For guests, it was a night to remember. 'The gala is one of the biggest drawcards in Monaco,' one said afterwards. 'And Albert's anniversary made it all the more special.' READ MORE | 'Breach of trust': New controversy rocks Monaco royals as former wealth manager claims tax fraud When Albert took over the principality after his father died, it was largely seen as a tax haven for the super-rich – a principality that lived up to writer William Somerset Maugham's description of it being 'a sunny place for shady people'. Rainier focused on transforming Monaco into an upmarket tourist destination, developing luxury hotels and glitzy casinos. He also ensured owning property in the principality came with stringent bank-account checks – you had to have a certain level of wealth to own a slice of this seaside pie. Things aren't all that different in that regard today – sports cars still line the streets, designer shops glitter on litter-free roads, and heaven help dog owners if their pooches relieve themselves anywhere other than fenced-off poo-parks. But Albert's vision is more encompassing than the financial success of his country. He's passionate about the environment and is the only head of state to have travelled to both the North and South Poles to highlight the dangers of global warming. He's deeply committed to the welfare of his countrymen and women and in his first year as ruler founded his Prince Albert of Monaco Foundation, a global non-profit organisation committed to preserving the health of the planet. In a recent interview, Albert said he wanted to ensure a future Monaco that's 'proud of its values and its past, serene, prosperous, responsible and united'. He likened leadership to sport. 'You can train very thoroughly and prepare for every scenario, but there are always unforeseen events – and you have to respond as best as possible. What drives me is my love for my country, my sense of duty and the trust the Monégasques place in me Prince Albert 'Governing means anticipating, but also facing challenges with loyalty and resolve. In Monaco's history, we've always found ways to secure our future – even in tough and uncertain times. If we stay united, enthusiastic, innovative and supportive, we'll have one of the happiest futures possible.' Part of that future are his 10-year-old twins Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella with Charlene. And for Jacques, his son and heir, he hopes to 'hand down to him a principality that is neither quite the same nor entirely different'. Supporting Albert along the way is Charlene, who remains a steady rock by his side despite constant divorce rumours. On 2 July they celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary, an occasion marked by an Instagram post of the couple at the Formula One Grand Prix in Monaco earlier this year. The princess certainly seems to have put behind her annus horribilis of 2021, which saw her stuck in South Africa with ongoing medical issues and beset by rumours that her marriage was on the rocks. There was also speculation she wasn't happy in her role as princess, and felt ostracised and lonely in Monaco and longed to be back in South Africa. But these days, she and Albert seem more united than ever, and she appears to be throwing all her weight into helping him run Monaco instead of coming back regularly to SA. 'Charlene is emotionally more invested in Monaco now,' a source close to her told YOU. 'It appears she's far more comfortable now than ever in her role as princess.'
Observer
6 days ago
- Observer
Italy receives back ancient mosaic stolen during WWII
A two-millennia-old mosaic, which was stolen by a member of the Nazi armed forces, has been returned to Italy more than 80 years after the end of World War II. The piece will now be displayed on the site of the ancient city of Pompeii near Naples, which was buried in the year 79 AD during an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the director of the museum site, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, said. 'Every returned stolen artefact is like a wound that heals,' Zuchtriegel, a German national, said. The intricately crafted piece depicts a man and a woman. According to the museum, the mosaic most likely originates from the region around the volcano and may have once adorned the floor of a bedroom. It is believed to have been created in the first century BC or AD. According to the Carabinieri Police Force for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, the mosaic probably came into the 'wrongful possession' of the Wehrmacht member during the German occupation. The soldier gifted it to a German. His heirs approached the Italian state to return the mosaic. They said that the Wehrmacht member was an officer, the Carabinieri spokesman said. Documents regarding the theft, the gifting, names, or similar have not yet been found, he said. The mosaic was brought back to Italy in September 2023 through the Italian Consulate General in the south-western German city of Stuttgart. After the armistice between Italy and the Allies in September 1943, the German Wehrmacht occupied large parts of the country. The approximately 20-month occupation period was marked by violence. At the same time, numerous art and cultural objects disappeared from public collections or archaeological sites. — dpa
The Advertiser
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Ancient mosaic stolen during WWII returned to Pompeii
A two-millennia-old mosaic, which was stolen by a Nazi officer has been returned to Italy more than 80 years after the end of World War II. The piece will now be displayed on the site of the ancient city of Pompeii near Naples, which was buried in the year 79 AD during an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the director of the museum site, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, said. "Every returned stolen artefact is like a wound that heals," Zuchtriegel said The intricately crafted piece depicts a man and a woman in Roman attire in a bedroom in an intimate pose. According to the museum, the mosaic most likely originates from the region around the volcano and may have once adorned the floor of a bedroom. It is believed to have been created in the first century BC or AD. According to the Carabinieri Police Force for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, the mosaic probably came into the "wrongful possession" of the Wehrmacht member during the German occupation. The German officer gifted the piece to a civilian, who kept it until his death. His heirs, realising its origin, contacted the Italian authorities to arrange its return. Documents regarding the theft, the gifting, names, or similar have not yet been found, a Carabinieri spokesman said. A two-millennia-old mosaic, which was stolen by a Nazi officer has been returned to Italy more than 80 years after the end of World War II. The piece will now be displayed on the site of the ancient city of Pompeii near Naples, which was buried in the year 79 AD during an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the director of the museum site, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, said. "Every returned stolen artefact is like a wound that heals," Zuchtriegel said The intricately crafted piece depicts a man and a woman in Roman attire in a bedroom in an intimate pose. According to the museum, the mosaic most likely originates from the region around the volcano and may have once adorned the floor of a bedroom. It is believed to have been created in the first century BC or AD. According to the Carabinieri Police Force for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, the mosaic probably came into the "wrongful possession" of the Wehrmacht member during the German occupation. The German officer gifted the piece to a civilian, who kept it until his death. His heirs, realising its origin, contacted the Italian authorities to arrange its return. Documents regarding the theft, the gifting, names, or similar have not yet been found, a Carabinieri spokesman said. A two-millennia-old mosaic, which was stolen by a Nazi officer has been returned to Italy more than 80 years after the end of World War II. The piece will now be displayed on the site of the ancient city of Pompeii near Naples, which was buried in the year 79 AD during an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the director of the museum site, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, said. "Every returned stolen artefact is like a wound that heals," Zuchtriegel said The intricately crafted piece depicts a man and a woman in Roman attire in a bedroom in an intimate pose. According to the museum, the mosaic most likely originates from the region around the volcano and may have once adorned the floor of a bedroom. It is believed to have been created in the first century BC or AD. According to the Carabinieri Police Force for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, the mosaic probably came into the "wrongful possession" of the Wehrmacht member during the German occupation. The German officer gifted the piece to a civilian, who kept it until his death. His heirs, realising its origin, contacted the Italian authorities to arrange its return. Documents regarding the theft, the gifting, names, or similar have not yet been found, a Carabinieri spokesman said. A two-millennia-old mosaic, which was stolen by a Nazi officer has been returned to Italy more than 80 years after the end of World War II. The piece will now be displayed on the site of the ancient city of Pompeii near Naples, which was buried in the year 79 AD during an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the director of the museum site, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, said. "Every returned stolen artefact is like a wound that heals," Zuchtriegel said The intricately crafted piece depicts a man and a woman in Roman attire in a bedroom in an intimate pose. According to the museum, the mosaic most likely originates from the region around the volcano and may have once adorned the floor of a bedroom. It is believed to have been created in the first century BC or AD. According to the Carabinieri Police Force for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, the mosaic probably came into the "wrongful possession" of the Wehrmacht member during the German occupation. The German officer gifted the piece to a civilian, who kept it until his death. His heirs, realising its origin, contacted the Italian authorities to arrange its return. Documents regarding the theft, the gifting, names, or similar have not yet been found, a Carabinieri spokesman said.
NZ Herald
21-07-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
For a decade, a Chinese tailor worked 13-hour days making high-end garments near Milan
The crackdown, led by Milan's corporate court and the labour-crimes unit of the Carabinieri military police, has snared contractors linked to five well-known fashion labels including Valentino, Armani, and Dior. Loro Piana, owned by French luxury powerhouse LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, became the latest last week, and was placed under court supervision for up to a year. 'There is already a reputational issue in the fashion industry, which started with prices spiralling unreasonably,' said Stefania Saviolo, a lecturer on fashion and luxury management at Milan's Bocconi University. 'These investigations not only damage the brands involved, they affect all of Made in Italy as a system.' Loro Piana, part of LVMH since 2013, denied wrongdoing and said it will co-operate with authorities. The company said it terminated relations with the supplier within 24 hours of being informed of the contractors' existence. The fragmented, mostly family run structure of high-quality Italian manufacturing 'can pose challenges in transparency and oversight', said Toni Belloni, president of LVMH Italy. The group has strengthened controls and revised its internal charter, he said in a statement to Bloomberg News. 'However, areas of fragility remain, so we must work to improve our practices.' The fashion industry is one of Italy's biggest, accounting for about €96 billion worth of Made in Italy products in 2024, according to industry group Camera Nazionale della Moda. The vast majority are destined for overseas markets. Yet the tailor's case shines a light on the treatment of workers who make garments that can cost thousands. He worked from 9am to 10pm daily through to late 2024, when his 'caporale', or boss - also a Chinese migrant - stopped paying him for unknown reasons, according to the court documents. After repeated demands for his wages, a confrontation ensued. The employer punched the tailor and beat him repeatedly with an aluminium tube, the documents said, leading to a criminal complaint. Persistent Lapses Past enforcement efforts have failed to stamp out labour abuses. 'These cases have been increasing in the last few years, with more big groups taking control of smaller Italian companies and starting outsourcing part of the production,' said Roberta Griffini, secretary for the Filctem CGIL Milano union. Responsibility is sometimes hard to determine because subcontractors work for more than one fashion group, Griffini added. Britain has also cracked down on illegal sweatshops, particularly small factories operating in cities such as Leicester. A 2021 United Kingdom report found companies in numerous industries couldn't guarantee their supply chains were free from forced labour. For fashion producers in Italy, the supply chain should be short and closely monitored, said Saviolo of Bocconi University. Younger consumers in particular are paying more attention to brand credibility. Milan is the locus of the sprawling fashion industry in Italy, housing about one-fourth of the nation's 600,000 fashion workers across some 60,000 companies, according to Camera Nazionale della Moda. The Lombardy region's dense ecosystem of design studios, tanneries, and sample makers gives brands unrivalled speed but also shelters what prosecutors called 'a generalised manufacturing method' in which legitimate subcontractors parcel out work to micro-factories operating from converted garages and semi-legal industrial parks. Chinese-owned firms make up a significant part of this complex. About 20% of Lombardy's 10,000-plus textile workshops and factories are Chinese-owned, according to Milan's Chamber of Commerce. The area has drawn a large number of Chinese immigrants, driven by small-business opportunities, globalisation of the fashion industry, and growing family ties. A Loro Piana SpA label on a cashmere pullover. Photo / Alessia Pierdomenico, Bloomberg via the Washington Post Falling Sales The judicial clampdown in Italy is unfolding against a jittery global backdrop, with demand falling and a United States-led tariff war threatening to magnify export costs. The personal luxury-goods industry, worth €364b, lost 50 million customers in 2023 and 2024, Bain estimated last year. The sector will shrink between 2% and 5% this year, according to the consulting firm's June follow-up. Italy's fashion industry was already grappling with falling sales, inflation and international tensions. Brands squeezed by softer demand and volatile costs have doubled down on 'near-shoring' quick orders to Lombardy's workshop belt to protect margins. That very strategy, say prosecutors, is fuelling the race to the bottom that the courts are now trying to halt. Investigators traced Loro Piana's knitwear to intermediaries which subcontracted to factories where illegal migrants worked 90 hours a week and slept next to their sewing machines. The judges said the firm 'negligently benefitted' from illegal cost-cutting. The judicial administrator appointed last week is tasked with monitoring Loro Piana management's progress towards addressing its supply chain. The issues have been similar at other luxury brands, including Giorgio Armani Operations, Dior Manufactures, Valentino Bags Lab and Alviero Martini: opaque layers of small subcontractors, paper safety records, and a workforce of mostly undocumented Chinese migrants. Armani, Dior, and Alviero Martini were released of court oversight after implementing measures such as real-time supplier audits. The unit of Valentino, which is majority owned by Mayhoola of Qatar alongside partner Kering SA, is still subject to court monitoring. The Italian Competition Authority has also been involved. In May it closed an unfair-practices probe into Dior, securing €2 million in funds for anti-exploitation initiatives and requiring the company to improve supplier vetting. Dior, also part of the LVMH orbit, noted then that no infringement was established, and said it is dedicated to high standards of ethics and excellence. Armani Group, still under investigation by the competition authority over alleged unfair commercial practices, said the allegations have no merit and its companies are co-operating with authorities. Greater co-ordination In Milan, co-ordination has tightened with an accord in May between the Milan Prefecture, the fashion chamber, trade unions, and leading brands. The pact sets up a shared database of vetted suppliers and commits signatories to regular certifications. The outcome of the Loro Piana case for now rests with updates to the bench on its progress. LVMH's Belloni said the group had carried out more than 5000 audits in Italy and introduced a stronger control body. While the prefect's new protocol is a 'building block', deeper change will take time and a more collective effort is needed, he said. As for the tailor, the Milan prosecutor is now trying to get him hired legally, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named discussing a personal matter. This would require the employer to make pension contributions, pay taxes, and provide standard benefits. - With assistance from Antonio Vanuzzo, Deirdre Hipwell and Angelina Rascouet.
Irish Independent
21-07-2025
- Irish Independent
Venice gangs using young children to steal from tourists
But criminal gangs are cleverly exploiting a legal loophole and recruiting thieves as young as 12 or 13. Those under the age of 14 escape criminal prosecution. Police chiefs say gangs have turned away from using pregnant women – who can be prosecuted – and instead turned their attention on children. But even when the youngsters are caught and sent to a community centre for the night, they escape within hours, according to Marco Agosti, the commander of the Venice local police. Many of the pickpockets are known to police. Frustrated local activists catch them tailing their victims and later post their images on social media, as well as their names or nicknames such as 'Shakira', 'Mika' or 'Dodu'. 'I didn't feel a thing, they were invisible,' said one 50-year old British victim, who did not want to be named. She was targeted during the city's annual Carnevale festivities in February. 'I didn't realise my wallet was gone until I arrived at the railway station.' Local and national Carabinieri police say they have apprehended more than 150 alleged thieves since the beginning of the year and filled 15 large bags of stolen bags and empty wallets at the town hall. The victims are mostly foreigners and they hardly ever come to the hearing Despite more than 800 police cameras conducting surveillance across the World Heritage listed city, police say they are hamstrung by legal loopholes that allow criminal gangs to exploit the 'baby borseggiatori' (or baby pickpockets) as well as the transient nature of their crimes. 'Pickpocketing is only actionable on a party's complaint and if the robbed person does not show up for trial, the complaint is thrown out,' Gianni Frazoi, the deputy commander of Venice police, told newspaper Corriere della Sera. 'The victims are mostly foreigners and they hardly ever come to the hearing. And so there are no trials and no convictions.' Venice police said 41 people had been caught pickpocketing or arrested between January and May this year but there had been more arrests in June and July. In the first two weeks of May, police arrested 11 pickpockets. All were minors but five could not be prosecuted under Italian law because they were under the age of 14. Commandant Agostini rejected suggestions Venice was any worse than Italy's other tourist hotspots such as Milan, Rome, Florence or Naples. But he did say it was sometimes difficult to get a conviction under Italian law, citing the recent arrest of an alleged Venetian burglar known as 'The Grasshopper' for leaping from one building to another and who has been in and out of jail for his alleged break-ins. Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro is calling for an immediate change to the law and broader police powers.
