Italian scientists investigate possible earlier emergence of coronavirus

MILAN - Italian researchers are looking at whether a higher than usual number of cases of severe pneumonia and flu in Lombardy in the last quarter of 2019 may be a signal that the new coronavirus might have spread beyond China earlier than previously thought.

Adriano Decarli, an epidemiologist and medical statistics professor at the University of Milan, said there had been a "significant" increase in the number of people hospitalized for pneumonia and flu in the areas of Milan and Lodi between October and December last year.

He told Reuters he could not give exact figures but "hundreds" more people than usual had been taken to hospital in the last 3 months of 2019 in those areas - 2 of Lombardy's worst hit cities - with pneumonia and flu-like symptoms, and some of those had died.

Decarli is reviewing the hospital records and other clinical details of those cases, including people who later died at home, to try to understand whether the new coronavirus epidemic had already spread to Italy back then.

"We want to know if the virus was already here in Italy at the end of 2019, and - if yes - why it remained undetected for a relatively long period so that we could have a clearer picture in case we have to face a second wave of the epidemic," he said.

The World Health Organization has said the new coronavirus and COVID-19, the respiratory disease it causes, were unknown before the outbreak was first reported in Wuhan in central China in December.

Decarli said once his research was concluded, local health authorities might decide to request authorization to exhume bodies of people with suspect symptoms.

Other experts cast doubt on the hypothesis that the new virus could have been circulating in Europe before the end of 2019.

"I think it extremely unlikely that the virus was present in Europe before January," said Paul Hunter, a professor in medicine at Britain's University of East Anglia who has been tracking the evolving pandemic.

Hunter said that unless Italian scientists get positive results from samples taken and stored at that time, then the suggestion should not be given credence.

He added that, given what we know about how infectious the virus is, and the ratio of patients showing no symptoms compared with those that get sick, "it is inconceivable that we would not have had a pretty major epidemic in Europe much earlier if these cases had in fact been COVID-19".

HIGHEST DEATH TOLL

Italy, which now has the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in the world, recorded its first case of infection on Feb. 21, though some scientists think the virus began circulating in the country at least a month earlier.

"The virus was already here in the second half of January," said Massimo Galli, head of the infectious disease unit at Milan's Sacco hospital and a professor at the department of biomedical and clinical sciences at the University of Milan.

He said, however, that the probability of the virus circulating in Italy before January was "very low."

Giuseppe Remuzzi, director of the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Milan, said some family doctors in Lombardy had reported unusual cases of pneumonia late last year that now looked potentially suspicious.

He said among those were several cases of bilateral pneumonia - which means both lungs are affected - in the areas of Gera D'Adda and Crema in late November and December, with high fever, cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing.

"None of these cases have been documented as COVID-19 because there was no evidence yet of the existence of COVID-19," he said.

Remuzzi said that if evidence of COVID-19 cases in Italy as far back as November was confirmed, this may signal that the virus can go undetected for months.

He said some reports in scientific journals had also led other scientists to question whether the virus may have emerged in China as early as October.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Ciao Italy: Jollibee opens first store in Europe

MILAN - Filipinos thronged the opening of Jollibee's first European store here for a taste of the fried chicken and spaghetti from back home.

Patrons lined up outside the store, some coming from Turin, Rome, Venice and Florence and even other parts of Europe like Switzerland and Denmark.

"Na-excite lang ako nung malaman ko na magkakaroon ng Jollibee rito. Pumunta ako dito kahit apat na oras ang byahe," said customer James Abanilla.

(I was excited when I learned that Jollibee will open here, even if I traveled for four hours.)

Swiss national Frank Fausch said he and his family traveled five hours from Swtizerland to Milan.

"I know that it’s good so we want to taste again," he said.

Italy is home to the seventh biggest population of expatriate Filipino workers, with close to 272,000 people working there in 2013, according to data from the Commission on Filipinos Overseas.


Jollibee Milan has an all-Filipino crew. Labor Sec. Silvestre Bello said he hoped the company would expand to other parts of Europe, bringing more job opportunities to Filipinos.

"It is a symbol of Filipino ingenuity. Talagang kayang-kaya nating iharap ang galing natin sa entrepreneurship," he said.

(It is a symbol of Filipino ingenuity, that we can really hold our own when it comes to entrepreneurship.)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Italy bakes world's biggest Christmas cake panettone

MILAN -- Forget mistletoe, Christmas is not Christmas in Italy without a slice of panettone -- and festivities kicked off in Milan on Sunday with free slices of the biggest Italian candied cake in the world.

Weighing in at 140 kilograms, the over six foot high marvel was sliced up into 1,200 pieces for sweet-toothed tourists and locals at the Victor Emmanuel II shopping gallery near the city's Gothic cathedral.

"Panettone is the Christmas dessert par excellence. Fashions may change, but panettone remains an unshakable tradition," Angelo Bernasconi, owner of the San Gregorio patisserie behind the giant dome-shaped delight, told AFP.

The Milanese factory makes the traditional cake with its candied fruits and raisins not just for Italy but around the world, with some 200 of the golden buns headed to a New York caterer alone each week.

In the run-up to Christmas, "we never stop," said Bernasconi's partner Savino Moretti, who is retired but comes twice a week to pass on his 50 years of experience to the pastry team.

The pair, aged 67 and 68, said the secret to their success lies in the mother dough, which they inherited along with the shop from the master baker, who made it -- so legend has it -- by adding a dash of horse urine to the mix for acidity.

It takes 36 hours to turn out a panettone, with raisins and candied peel added to the mix of water, sugar, flour, eggs, butter and vanilla. Once baked, the cakes are hung upside down for 10 hours to allow the butter to drop.

The giant version had to be cooked in a special oven and was baked "a lot longer and more slowly," Bernasconi said.

"It tastes good, but a little different from usual. It's a little dry, otherwise it would collapse," he added.

According to the Italian agricultural association Coldiretti, three quarters of Italians will have a slice of panettone at some point over the Christmas holidays -- perhaps with a dollop of mascarpone cream or washed down with a sweet liqueur.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Coffee rivals square off in Italy ahead of Starbucks invasion

MILAN - Two of Italy's biggest coffee houses are reinforcing their brands with flagship cafes in Milan near the spot where U.S. rival Starbucks is set to begin an invasion next year.

Lavazza opens its first flagship cafe in the coffee-obsessed city on Tuesday, not far from the renovated 19th century palazzo where Starbucks will open its first Italian store, a 'Reserve Roasteries' outlet offering specialty blends and fine food.

Another top Italian brand, illycaffe, opened its own luxury cafe close to the Starbucks site in May, in a cozy courtyard in Milan's most fashionable street.

Lavazza, which is opening near the city's famous La Scala opera house, and illycaffe both deny their moves are a response to a global rival's impending arrival, a first step in what may become a 200-store expansion.

Industry experts suspect it is no coincidence.

"Lavazza and illycaffe are the purists of coffee, they want to show they are there when Starbucks arrives," says Jean-Paul Gaillard, who ran Nespresso for 10 years before founding the Ethical Coffee Company, a Swiss firm selling coffee pods.

Milan's battle of the coffee palaces reflects global competition among major brands to capture a growing market for people who are prepared to pay a premium for quality espresso coffees in upmarket boutique cafes.

Nestle last week bought California-based Blue Bottle Coffee, one of the top boutique U.S. chains whose single-origin and cold-brewed coffees have proven popular with hipsters and have made inroads into the Starbucks franchise.

JAB Holdings, the investment vehicle of Germany's Reimann family, has also been buying up independent start-ups selling premium brews around the world, from Europe to the Americas.

Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz hopes his company's arrival in Milan, which he calls the home of the "perfect espresso", and the inspiration for his Starbucks vision, will show discerning Italian coffee-lovers that "we got it right".

"We are happy to hear about Lavazza's growth," said a Starbucks spokesman when asked to comment on Lavazza's opening.

The U.S. chain will open its 2,400-square-meter cafe in late 2018, seeking to attract tourists, young Italians and the business crowd. If the Milan experiment succeeds, Starbucks and its local partner, Antonio Percassi, could open more than 200 stores in Italy over six years, according to Percassi.

Some analysts are skeptical that Starbucks can crack a market where espresso typically sells for just one euro ($1.20), a fraction of the price of a Starbucks coffee.

But the local brands are also gambling Italians will spend much more than one euro for a restaurant-style experience: illycaffe charges around three times that for coffee brought to the table.

Nestle, JAB Holdings and Starbucks are the three largest players in the global coffee market, followed by several mid-tier players including Lavazza and illycaffe.

"As the biggest get bigger, mid-tier companies are in a position where they must either expand or risk being left behind or swallowed up by their massive rivals," said Matthew Berry, an analyst at market research firm Euromonitor International.

Lavazza's chief executive and some of its family owners will cut a ribbon to launch their cafe, where customers can sip a blend of coffee specifically crafted for the store, taste gourmet food and buy single-origin coffees.

"The opening of the new flagship store has nothing to do with Starbucks," a Lavazza spokeswoman said, adding that it was solely aimed at giving people an exclusive Lavazza experience.

The group is primarily a roaster and supplier to independent cafes and restaurants rather than a retailer and its new store is a way of boosting brand visibility on the high street.

Lavazza went on an acquisition spree three years ago, buying up three coffee suppliers in Europe and Canada, boosting sales to nearly 2 billion euros last year. It has overtaken Starbucks in supermarket sales, Euromonitor International says.

Illycaffe sells its coffee both through independent cafes and 230 mono-brand stores, some of them directly owned, in 43 countries, and says it wants to develop the network further, though not via major acquisitions.

"The new store wants to be a landmark for the global nomad in search for the real Italian lifestyle experience," illycaffe said, without commenting on the arrival of Starbucks.

Milanese coffee society is divided on whether Starbucks can make its name at the high-end of Italian market, the world's fourth-largest coffee consumer.

"I am curious about Starbucks, I will give it a try when it arrives in Milan," office worker Giuseppe Gaggiano, 55, said at a small, upmarket independent cafe close to the Starbucks site.

However, another customer there, Alberto Paparusso, 31, said he wouldn't abandon his usual cafe: "I don't like Starbucks coffee. It's not worth going there."

(Additional reporting by Silke Koltrowitz in Zurich and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles, Editing by Mark Bendeich and Philippa Fletcher)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Pinay accessory designer gets noticed in Milan

MANILA – A Filipina accessory designer in Paris successfully held her first exhibit in Milan last month.

Marjorie Renner's exhibit was held at the Four Seasons Hotel last February 26.

Renner makes deluxe handbags and accessories using local materials such as sea shells, mother-of-pearl, precious stones, animal pelts and tropic woods.

The textures and forms of the materials metamorphose into high fashion pieces. Some materials originate from provinces like Bulacan, Bohol, Cebu and Palawan.

Her works also received positive response from the Italian press and players in the fashion industry.

The bags are exclusively handmade to perfection, bearing elegant, unique and exotic qualities.

Renner named one of her collections as M7.2 as her tribute to Bohol after it was hit with a magnitude 7.2 earthquake in 2013. The collection provides supports to some scholars in Bohol.

Renner hails originally from Mindanao but is now living in Paris with her family. Her creations are sold in the US, Asia and Europe.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Asian, European leaders tackle sea disputes, Ebola

MILAN - Asian and European leaders started a biennial summit meeting Thursday in Milan, with how to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus topping the agenda.

The leaders will state that the spread of the Ebola virus is a global threat at the end of the two-day summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting, or ASEM, according to a final draft of the chair's statement.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the meeting his government will consider providing additional assistance for preventing the spread of the deadly virus.

Japan pledged $40 million for West Africa at the U.N. General Assembly in September and is considering sending medical staff to the region and providing an anti-influenza drug developed by a Japanese company as a possible Ebola treatment.

Other key issues at the summit include the Ukraine crisis, as well as the territorial disputes between China and Japan in the East China Sea, and between China and Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines and Vietnam in the South China Sea.

The meeting is being attended by the leaders of around 50 countries and institutions, including the heads of the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as Abe, South Korean President Park Geun Hye and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Russian President Vladimir Putin is also expected to attend.

Russia joined ASEM in 2010 and it is the first time that Putin will take part in the meeting.

On the sidelines of the summit, Abe is looking for an opportunity to make unofficial contact with Putin.

Japan is seeking to strike a balance between maintaining solidarity with the West over Russia's actions in Ukraine and resolving bilateral issues with Moscow, most notably a long-standing dispute over the sovereignty of four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido.

Putin and Petro Poroshenko, president of Ukraine which is not part of ASEM, are due to hold talks on Friday to discuss a diplomatic solution to the situation in eastern Ukraine with the cooperation of the leaders of Germany and France.

ASEM was launched in 1996 as a forum for dialogue and cooperation between Asia and Europe.

After the ASEM summit, Abe will attend the first summit meeting between Japan and the Nordic-Baltic Eight group for regional cooperation, on Friday. The NB-8 comprises Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Bicolanos in Milan light candles for Robredo

MILAN, Italy - Bicolanos in Milan were stunned with the death of a man they considered the father of Bicolandia, former Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo.

Around 60 Bicolanos in Milan held a candle lighting ceremony at the Piazza Duomo and prayed for the eternal repose of the soul of the former mayor.

The gesture, according to them, was their way of thanking the person who truly loved the poor and made Naga as a world-class city.

Mildred Alforte, a former employee of the Department of Education in Naga, said Robredo was very accommodating and served the people of Naga with humility and honesty.

“Nandun siya sa pinaka seat ng local government pero ang rapport niya sa mga constituents, very down to earth,” said Alforte.

Meanwhile, Kate del Rosario, a former schoolmate of Robredo's daughter, Patricia, at the Colegio de Santa Isabel, grieves with the bereaved family.

Del Rosario encouraged Patricia to be strong now that her Dad's gone.

“Alam ko, sa panahon ngayon, mahirap tanggapin na maaga siyang nawala pero dapat mo’ng ipagpatuloy ang buhay mo. Malay mo, maging isang katulad ka rin niya na handang maglingkod sa bayan,” she said.

She added that Nagauenos are very proud of Robredo for transforming Naga City.

Meanwhile, the Alpha Phi Omega (APO) - Milan also expressed sympathy to Robredo's family.

Briggs Brijuegga, an APO member, said the fraternity will follow the good example set by Robredo when it comes to implementing its programs.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Italy mourns Ferrari design genius Pininfarina

ROME/MILAN - The Italian godfather of car design, Sergio Pininfarina, renowned for crafting sleek Ferrari race cars and revolutionizing the common auto, died in Italy's motoring capital Turin on Tuesday aged 85.

Born in 1926 near Turin in the industrial north of the country, Pininfarina worked with top carmakers during his long career, designing the 1984 Ferrari Testarossa, the 1986 Fiat 124 Spider, the 2002 Ferrari Enzo, the 2003 Maserati Quattroporte, the 2004 Ferrari Scaglietti, Fiat Dino and Maserati GranTurismo, among others.

His death was mourned by many in the car and design industries.

"His genius brightened the history of the car," Fiat said on Twitter, while the head of Maserati, Harald Wester, said "Italy has lost one of its most prestigious world ambassadors, and Maserati has lost a great friend."

Pininfarina joined the family car design company after graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering from Turin's Polytechnic University, and quickly became involved in all aspects of the business, from designing the cars to engineering and manufacturing.

Determined to change the common perception of cars as merely functional, Sergio rose to stardom with beautifully sculptured and blood red Ferraris, from the 410 SA to the Dino Berlinetta Speciale, Ferrari F40 and Enzo Ferrari.

He also applied his talents to less exotic Peugeots, Volvos and Mitsubishis.

Pininfarina "led the Company with steady hand... following the tradition of elegance and style constantly renewed with the highest standards of innovation and harmonious beauty," his company said in a statement.

He had a passion for forward-looking technology, becoming an early supporter of reducing car emissions and increasing fuel economy. In 1972, he opened the first wind tunnel in Italy, one of the few in the world at the time.

Pininfarina was awarded dozens of honors throughout his illustrious career, including four university degrees in fine arts and industrial design.

In his half-a-century reign at the company, its automobile production rose from 524 units per year to more than 50,000.

He inherited his love of car design from his father, Gian Battista Farina, a onetime Turin carriage maker who founded the company in 1930 and built his reputation by sculpting eye-catching designs for many of the best known post-war sports cars.

The ground-breaking 1947 Cisalfa coupe, which his father designed after World War Two, now sits in New York's Museum of Modern Art. It was one of Sergio's favorite models.

Farina senior, who was the tenth of 11 children, named the company after his nickname "Pinin" -- which means "little one" in Piedmontese dialect.

The family's prestige in Italy was such that it was allowed to change its name to Pininfarina from the original Farina with a presidential decree in 1961.

He was famed for having met Henry Ford on a trip to the United States in 1920, where he turned down a job with the Ford Motor Company to return to Italy and create the Pininfarina empire.

He also initiated the Ferrari connection in 1952, but Sergio ended up managing most of their common projects and turned the business from craftsman level into a world renowned name.

In 1960, Farina senior appointed his son to the post of general manager. In 1961, Sergio became chief executive and in 1966 he took over chairmanship of the company after his father died.

Forty years later, Sergio in turn handed over management of the company to his son, Andrea, who died two years later when he was hit by a car.

By then, the company had already risen to prominence through a knack for making the latest aerodynamic design trends attractive to a broader public.

Besides the historic partnership with Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and Maserati (all owned by Fiat), Pininfarina also designed cars for Rolls-Royce and other non-Italian brands.

The 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Rondine, 1986 Cadillac Allante, the 1995 Bentley Azure and the 1996 Peugeot 406 Coupe (designed by Sergio) all wore the Pininfarina badge.

Pininfarina was listed on the Italian Stock Exchange in 1986.

Sergio Pininfarina stepped down to become honorary chairman in 2006, shortly before the financial crisis, which hit the car industry heavily.

Many small builders, like Germany's Karmann and France's Heuliez, did not survive. Other design firms downsized, while Italdesign - another leading Italian stylist - was acquired by Volkswagen AG.

Pininfarina was forced to raise capital in 2009, re-negotiate its debt and shrink its business.

It had to close its manufacturing operations and reinvent itself as a smaller niche design player, with the family's 77 percent stake in the company used as collateral for loans with creditors it needs to pay back by 2018.

In 2011, the company announced it was stopping car production because it had seen its revenue plunge in a sector reeling from the financial crisis, but has continued to design and engineer, with a particular focus on electric cars.

Pininfarina was head of Italy's business association Confindustria from 1988 to 1992 and was named senator for life in 2005. He is survived by his wife Giorgio and two children Lorenza and Paolo.

"He was one of the greats of Italian industry, an example of 'Made in Italy' known around the world. This is a great loss," said Giorgio Squinzi, the current head of Confindustria.

The Cisl trade union also paid tribute to a man they said had been "a constructive and attentive interlocutor both as a businessman and as a head of Confindustria in difficult years in our history."

In May, Pininfarina said it expected to post its first profit this year since 2004.

source: interaksyon.com

Ferrari boasts record results for 2011

MILAN - Italy's luxury carmaker Ferrari announced record results for 2011 on Friday, with revenues exceeding two billion euros ($2.63 billion) for the first time, despite the widespread economic crisis.

"The year ended with extremely positive results that were in certain instances unprecedented in Ferrari's history," the company said in a statement.

Revenues reached 2.251 billion euros, up 17.3 percent, while a record 7,195 cars were sold, up 9.5 percent on the previous year's figure, it said.

Ferrari, which is owned by the autogiant Fiat, sold 6,573 cars in 2010 for revenues of 1.919 billion euros.

"We can only be satisfied with these results," the head of the famous sportscar brand Luca di Montezemolo was quoted as saying.

"They were achieved against an economic backdrop that remains challenging, particularly in Europe," he added.

The company said it achieved record sales in 2011 in America and in the Greater China Area -- which has become Ferrari's second largest market -- while it also performed well in the Middle East, with a 22 percent increase in sales.

Demand was also up in Britain, Germany and Switzerland in particular.

"Our international expansion continues and Ferrari today has a network covering 58 nations," he said.

Montezemolo said a new 12-cylinder model would be unveiled at a show in Geneva in March, which he described as "a revolutionary new car that delivers extreme performance and unprecedented power output."

source: interaksyon.com