Protesters march against Italy's tough new anti-migrant law

ROME - Several thousand people marched in Rome Saturday in protest at Italy's tough new anti-migrant law which makes it easier to expel new arrivals.

The protesters waved flags and donned yellow vests emblazoned with the slogan "Get up! Stand Up! for your right" in a reference to the famous Bob Marley song.

The new law would "only increase the number of people without papers in Italy and force people underground", protester Kone Brahima, originally from Ivory Coast, told AFP.

Another, Tony Scardamaglia, from Palermo, said: "We are still building more walls, more barriers," adding that the anti-migrant and security degree adopted last month would just cause more "difficulties".

The decree, adopted by parliament on November 28, also limits residence permits in a country that has become the main gateway for migrants crossing the Mediterranean.

A populist coalition government made up of the far-right League and anti-establishment Five Star Movement took power in Italy in April 2018.

Interior Minister Matteo Salvini's anti-immigrant League has since surged in popularity, with opinion polls putting the party on 30 percent, up from the 17 percent it won in the election.

"First of all, we started two years ago criminalizing those who save thousands of lives at sea" and ended up "closing ports to boats loaded with survivors", said Project Rights, a collective bringing together various human rights groups.

"Today with the Salvini decree, we have abolished humanitarian protection, creating an endless stream of people forced into hiding," it said in a statement.

The decree also ends two-year "humanitarian protection" residency permits -- a lower level of asylum status based on Italian rather than international law -- that were awarded to 25 percent of asylum seekers last year.

Instead, residency permits will be awarded under stricter conditions such as a one-year "special protection" status or a six-month "natural disaster in country of origin" status.

A new procedure to fast-track the expulsion of "dangerous" asylum seekers will also be implemented.

The Italian Refugee Council has said it is "seriously concerned" by the new law.

The United Nations refugee agency has also said it does "not provide adequate guarantees, especially for the vulnerable or those with particular needs such as victims of abuse or torture".

This year some 22,500 migrants landed on Italy's coasts, representing a drop of more than 80 percent compared to 2017.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Tennis: Zverev stuns Djokovic to win Italian Open

ROME -- German youngster Alexander Zverev pulled off the biggest win of his career on Sunday when he beat world number two Novak Djokovic 6-4 6-3 to win the Italian Open on Sunday.

Zverev, 20, was on top from the moment that he broke Djokovic in the very first game as he became the youngest winner of a Masters 1000 tournament since the Serb himself in Miami in 2007.

He controlled play from the back of the court with his fluid two-handed backhand and heavy forehand.

Zverev broke again in the third game of the second set and clinched the match with another break in the ninth game.

Djokovic, who has wrestled with injuries and lack of confidence since winning the French Open last June, had looked his old dominant self when he beat Dominic Thiem in Saturday's semi-final but was unable to recapture that form on Sunday.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Djokovic back on song to set up Zverev final in Rome

Novak Djokovic made a timely return to his brilliant best after a traumatic year on Saturday and talked of rediscovering his lost "joy" for tennis as he thrashed Dominic Thiem to set up an Italian Open final meeting with young German Alexander Zverev.

Djokovic, who has suffered a fall from grace over the last year while wrestling with injuries and a lack of confidence, looked his old dominant self as he hammered the Austrian 6-1 6-0 in the second semi-final in virtuoso fashion.

Earlier in Rome, Zverev won a battle of the giants to down unseeded American John Isner 6-4 6-7(5) 6-1, making the tall 20-year-old the youngest ATP Masters 1000 finalist since a 19-year-old Djokovic in Miami in 2007.

Djokovic said that his mini masterpiece, carved out in just 59 minutes against Thiem who had ended Rafael Nadal's 17-match winning streak so thrillingly on Friday, was "by far" his best performance of a difficult year.

The quick workout against Thiem was just what Djokovic needed as it was his second match of the day, having completed a 6-1 6-4 win over Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro in a rain-delayed quarter-final carried over from Friday.

"Best by far, obviously," Djokovic said when asked on Sky Sports whether the win over world number seven Thiem, which saw him spray 14 winners and give up a mere six unforced errors, was his best in 2017.

"The closest I got to this level was the final against Andy (Murray) in Doha in the first week of the season (which Djokovic won). Otherwise, I've been struggling to find the right level and be consistent."

Earlier this month, the Serb had parted company with his entire coaching team in a bid to regain the form that had made him an untouchable world number one a year ago.

AMAZING FEELINGS

The move, which he described as "shock therapy", appears to have already paid dividends as Djokovic, who lost his top ranking to Murray at the end of 2016, produced a devastating display against one of the game's new luminaries.

"This game brought back some amazing feelings and memories on the court so I'm really glad," said Djokovic, who feels he is running into form at the perfect time with the start of his defence of the French Open just over a week away.

"Yes, I was looking for that," he said, when asked if everything was falling into place again.

"I was looking to have a nice balance between the right intensity and the fire and feeling satisfied and happy, calm again on the court and finding the joy of playing because, to be honest, I lost that in the last seven, eight months.

"There was fire but perhaps too much fire. Now I feel I'm on the right track and things are progressing well," he added, looking forward to his first final since Doha.

Another of the young guns, Zverev, had looked like wrapping up his match with Isner in straight sets after romping through the opener in under half an hour, but the defiant American took the second set down to a tiebreak.

The German was 5-0 down in the tiebreak but battled back before Isner took the match to a third set with a forehand winner.

Isner, the first American to reach the semi-finals in Rome since Andy Roddick in 2008, had a chance to break with Zverev leading 3-1 in the final set but the German snuffed out the challenge.

Earlier, Djokovic had finished an emphatic job against Del Potro. The match had been halted by rain and lightning on Friday with the Serbian leading 6-1 1-2.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin and Ian Chadband; Editing by Ken Ferris and Pritha Sarkar)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Sharapova handed Rome wildcard as Murray hits out

ROME, Italy -- Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova has been given a wildcard to play in the Italian Open in May, organizers said Wednesday.

The former world number one makes her return to the circuit in Stuttgart in April after completing a 15-month ban for doping.

"We officially announce the wild card for the 3-time Rome champion @MariaSharapova into the main draw ... " organizers announced on Twitter.

Sharapova hasn't played on tour since testing positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open. An initial two-year ban by the International Tennis Federation was reduced to 15 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The Rome tournament runs from May 15 to May 21. She has also been handed a wildcard for the May 6-13 Madrid Open.

However, the decision to hand the Russian wildcards into three of Europe's prestigious clay court events was criticized by men's world number one Andy Murray.

"I think you should really have to work your way back," Murray told The Times.

"But most tournaments will do what they think is best for their event. If they think big names will sell more seats, they're going to do that."

Murray refused to elaborate on his standpoint on Wednesday after reaching the quarter-finals of the Dubai ATP event.

"I spoke about it yesterday and made my opinion pretty clear," said Murray.

"I have been answering questions on this honestly for over a year now, and I don't know what else I'm supposed to say."

Former world number one and 18-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer was also reluctant to get involved in the Sharapova controversy after suffering a shock second round exit to Russia's Evgeny Donskoy in Dubai.

"Could see it either way, depending on who you are, and I don't know if it matters what the cause was for being banned, because at the end, it's all sort of the same. Banned is banned, you know," said the 35-year-old Swiss.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Pope 'doubts' sex abuse case vs Australian cardinal

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE - Pope Francis said Sunday there were "doubts" over the case being made against Vatican finance chief George Pell, Australia's most senior Roman Catholic, for alleged child abuse.

"There are doubts. 'In dubio pro reo'," he said using a Latin expression meaning that a defendant may not be convicted by the court when doubts about his or her guilt remain.

"We must avoid a media verdict, a verdict based on gossip," he told journalists aboard the papal plane during the return trip from Poland, where he had headlined a Catholic youth festival.

Explosive allegations emerged against the Australian cardinal last week with two men now in their 40s saying Pell had groped them during the 1970s.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation which aired their claims also alleged Pell was naked in front of three young boys, believed to be aged eight to 10, in a Torquay surf club changing room in summer 1986-87.

Pell, 75, has denied the allegations and suggested there was a conspiracy against him.

The allegations come just months after Pell admitted he "mucked up" in dealing with paedophile priests in Victoria in the 1970s, while giving evidence to a national inquiry into institutional responses to child sex abuse.

He was accused of historic sex abuse claims when he was the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney in 2002, but was later cleared of any wrongdoing.

Pell was ordained in Rome in 1966 before returning to Australia in 1971 and rising to become the nation's top Catholic official.

He left for the Vatican in 2014 after being hand-picked by Pope Francis to make the Church's finances more transparent, although his powers were reined in earlier this month.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Bernie gets mobbed by media in Rome, but no pope meeting

ROME, Italy -- He came (to Rome), he saw (the inside of the Vatican but not Pope Francis) and he conquered (the few dozen students and expats who turned out to see him).

In the process, Bernie Sanders got very nearly trampled by a Roman media scrum.

And with Pope Francis opting not to spend any time in the company of the Vermont senator, aides must have been wondering if the 8,500-mile roundtrip and two days out of the race to be the Democrat presidential candidate were worth it.

Sanders did have a few relaxed moments in the spring sunshine on Friday, strolling through the Vatican's Perugino gate to greet a group of around 30 American expatriates and students brandishing "Go Bernie" and "Feel the Bern" placards.

The relaxed meet and greet lasted only seconds however before a swarm of international media engulfed the democratic socialist.

Flustered, flushed and looking all of his 74 years, Sanders stumbled at one point and briefly looked as if he might fall to the Roman cobblestones.

"Can we get everyone back behind the barriers," one of the security team frantically shouted, before adding, more forlornly, "Could someone say that in Italian."

Having recovered his balance, Sanders shoved forward and regained his focus. "Are there any American reporters here?" he asked.

The rolling maul of cameras, microphones and sweaty hacks never made it back behind the barricades, so Bernie opted to deliver his explanation of what he was doing here from the middle of it.

He said he had come to Rome out of respect for Francis's positions on the global economy and the environment -- "historic and incredible" positions the pontiff happens to share with a certain Brooklyn native.

- 'Could not refuse invite' -

"What the pope is saying is that we cannot continue to go forward when so few have so much and when greed is such a destructive force, not only in the United States of course but around this world," Sanders said.

And he said Francis's intervention in the climate change debate had been a game changer.

"So when I received this invitation, and I know it's taking me away from the campaign trail for a day, it was so moving to me that it was simply something I could not refuse to attend."

Sanders had flown to Rome at the invitation of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, a kind of Vatican think-tank on social, economic and environmental issues, for a Friday conference.

Some political commentators have suggested he was looking for a boost to his ratings among US Catholics with a trip that could be spun as an indication of Vatican endorsement.

Although the papal spokesman had made it clear earlier in the week there was no prospect of a personal audience with Francis, the pontiff would normally have turned out to greet all of the attendees at such a high-profile seminar.

On this occasion however he sent a letter of apology, citing his need to prepare for Saturday's trip to Lesbos.

Sanders was unlikely to get a warm greeting from two other attendees of the Vatican-hosted meeting -- Ecuador's President Rafael Correa and Bolivian President Evo Morales -- both known for being hostile to US interference in Latin America.

The 79-year-old pontiff will have an early start with a 7am flight to catch to the Greek island at the centre of Europe's migrant crisis.

Sanders may or may not have been disappointed with the papal no-show but American expatriates Linda Lauretta and Chelsie Nieman were delighted to have seen him in the flesh.

"We have been here since 9.30am this morning. We weren't sure where he was going to be but luckily one of the Swiss guards took pity on us and told us to come here," said Lauretta, an English teacher from New York state.

"I think a lot of Americans living outside of the US back Bernie because they have experienced different types of society and they can see them working."

Nieman, a graphic designer from Atlanta, added: "I've just been really impressed with everything that he stands for."

Thousands march in Rome for gay rights

ROME - Thousands of people marched in Italian cities Saturday to demand legal recognition for gay couples and their children, days before lawmakers begin addressing the deeply divisive issue.

Italy is the only major Western European country not to have enacted civil union legislation allowing same-sex couples to have their relationships acknowledged and protected in law.

A bill, which the Senate will start examining on Thursday, is the first to get to parliament.

If approved, the draft legislation will enable same-sex couples to commit themselves to one another before a state official, to take each other's names and, in certain circumstances, adopt each other's children and inherit each other's residual pension rights.

"The first time I marched with these slogans, it was 10 years ago, and I was pregnant. I hope this time it works," said bank worker Costanza Tantillo, who joined the Rome protest with her partner and their two children, nine-year-old Beatrice and Ludovico, four.

Two women who marched nearby held up a sign that read: "Stella and Paola, we've been together for 30 years and you still don't acknowledge us."

Protests had been planned for 90 towns and cities across Italy, under the slogan "Wake up Italy! It's time to be civil."

Opponents of the bill, in contrast, are planning a show of strength at a demonstration scheduled for January 30 in Rome's Circus Maximus.

Hundreds of thousands are expected to attend the self-styled "Family Day," organised by mainly Catholic groups under the battle cry of "Defend our Children".

Angelo Bagnasco, the chair of the Italian conference of bishops, has denounced the whole debate as a "grave and irresponsible distraction from the real problems of the country".

In the world of politics, dividing lines cut across party loyalties. A minority faction within the ruling Democratic Party supports junior coalition partner the New Centre Right (NCD) in opposing a reform championed by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

Renzi, who has allowed his allies a free vote on the "issue of conscience", can however count on backing from most of the opposition Five Star movement, left-wing fringe parties and even sections of Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia.

Most observers expect Renzi will get the bill adopted in the end.

- 'Historic day' -

According to Italian media, there were at least 7,000 demonstrators in Turin, 5,000 in Milan, thousands in Rome and Bologna, a thousand in Bari in the south, and hundreds in Naples and Venice among others.

"It is a historic day for this country, an immense protest that was fed by the desire and enthusiasm of a lot of people who hold the belief in equality close to their hearts," said Gabriele Piazzoni, the national secretary of Italy's biggest gay rights group, Arcigay.

In what many saw as papal intervention in the debate, Pope Francis on Friday ruled out any form of union except Catholic marriage.

"What he said didn't surprise me, all he did was to repeat the church's anthropological viewpoint," said Andrea Rubera, a gay man who married a fellow homosexual in Canada.

They came to the demonstration with their three young children.

"But he chose to say this on the eve of the day when we took to the streets to defend the rights of our children to have a little security."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Pope prays for protection of Rome amid mafia scandal

ROME, Italy - Pope Francis on Monday prayed for the protection of Rome from the "threat of the malign," in a public display of support for city authorities battling mafia influence.

Just days after the Italian capital was rocked by revelations that an organised criminal gang with links to neo-fascist terrorism has been stealing millions from city hall, Francis took the opportunity of a rare public appearance on the streets of Rome to warmly embrace centre-left mayor Ignazio Marino.

The pontiff then included a pointed reference to the city in a public prayer to the Virgin Mary to mark the Immaculate Conception, one of the most important feast days on the Catholic calendar.

"Know that evil has no power over you, you fill us with hope and strength in the daily struggle we have to wage against the threat of the malign," the 77-year-old leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics said in a prayer pronounced before thousands of believers and well-wishers packed into the surrounding narrow streets.

"Animated by this hope, today, we invoke your maternal protection for us, for our families, for this city and for the entire world," Francis said.

Marino, who has been told he should get a bodyguard in case of reprisals over last week's anti-mafia crackdown, said the pope had encouraged him to keep going.

"We exchanged a few words before the prayer and I told him I was feeling a heavy weight of responsibility this week. The Holy Father offered me encouragement and said he would pray for me and for Rome."

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who is from the same Democratic Party as Marino, earlier said it was still unclear whether the Rome scandal amounted to a system of spaghetti-style kickbacks or real mafia infiltration.

"It is up to the judiciary to tell us that but we will not leave the capital in the hands of thieves," Renzi said.

"We will keep Rome clean because she is too big and too beautiful to be left to the lowlifes out there."

Born without sin
Having made the short trip from the Vatican into the historic centre of Rome, the Argentinian pontiff observed tradition by laying a wreath at the foot of a towering column which supports a statue of the Madonna close to one of the city's most celebrated landmarks, the Spanish Steps.

The feast of the Immaculate Conception celebrates the Catholic doctrine which holds that the mother of Jesus Christ was conceived and born without sin -- contrary to the popular misconception that it refers to another tenet of Catholicism, that Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus.

It is a national holiday in many predominantly Catholic countries. As such, for many it represents the start of Christmas festivities, both religious and secular.

Rome police last week named 100 people including a former mayor as being under investigation as part of a major probe into organised crime in the city.

Twenty nine suspects have been detained, including alleged ringleader Massimo Carminati, a one-eyed convicted mobster who was a figure in the neo-fascist terror movements that blighted Italian society in the 1970s and 1980s.

The pope, who is of Italian heritage, takes a keen interest in events in Italy.

He has regularly spoken out on the plight of migrants trying to reach the country by boat from Africa. And last month he described anti-refugee violence in Rome as symptomatic of a "social emergency" in the recession-bound country.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Classic Pinoy movies featured in film festival in Italy

MANILA - For two nights, the Philippines was able to feature high quality films to both Filipinos and the Italian public during the 20th edition of the Isola del Cinema Film Festival.

Held early this month at the Isola Tiberina in Rome, Italy, the festival showcased "Insiang", "Sakay", "Himala", and a documentary film on Philippine Marine Biodiversity to the public for free.

Ambassador Virgilio Reyes highlighted that the Philippine film industry has an abundant talent of artists.

The ambassador likewise thanked the European audience, particularly the Italians, for their support to Filipino films and film makers.

The festival also provided an opportunity to showcase the rich, diverse and beautiful culture of the Philippines through dance, songs, and a display of modern and traditional Filipino costumes.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Candle-lit vigil for gay rights after Italy youth suicide

ROME - Hundreds of gay rights activists held a candle-lit vigil at Rome's Colosseum Wednesday to call for a law against homophobia after a youth threw himself off the 11th story of a building in the Italian capital.

Some 500 activists and protesters holding candles, flowers and placards reading "I am gay" and "No Homophobia" demanded action after the latest in a series of suicide acts by gay students which have shocked the nation.

"This is a moment of pain for the homosexual community. These suicides are too much, they reveal a world of solitude and gay suffering," said LGBT activist Vanni Piccolo.

"We are calling for a real commitment from the institutions and not just words," he said.

The death this week of the 21-year-old known publicly as Simone D. followed two other youth gay suicides this year in Rome.

"We are here to launch a message against loneliness, we have to look after our young, gay or otherwise in this city and country," said Aurelio Mancuso, head of the Equality Italy association.

"We need a national plan to combat youth marginalisation," he said.

In his suicide note, Simone reportedly wrote that "Italy is a free country, but there are homophobes and those like that must search their consciences."

"Simone's tragic gesture, and leaving a note which was also a condemnation, reminds us of the country's inability to give people of diverse sexual orientations equal dignity," said Senate vice-president Valeria Fedeli, who attended the vigil.

Parliament must "approve a law against homophobia ... as quickly as possible, to restore equality, freedom and respect to Italy," she said.

In September, Amnesty International slammed Italy's lack of legislation against crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity as "unacceptable", saying it fell foul of international human rights laws.

Italy's lower house began in July to debate a bill which would outlaw homophobic hate crimes but it met opposition from Catholic figures within the centre-right who complained such a law risked curtailing freedom of speech.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

A look at Benedict XVI's first days in Castel Gandolfo

VATICAN CITY – Calm and serene.

These are the words to describe the Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s first days at Castel Gandolfo.

Vatican spokesperson Federico Lombardi said Benedict XVI had watched several news programs and expressed his gratitude for the work of journalists.

He also thanked the people who assisted him in his departure from the Vatican and his arrival at Castel Gandolfo.

The pope also spent time listening to music, reading and praying.

On Friday, he celebrated mass and prayed the liturgy of the hours.

The Pope Emeritus also enjoyed brief walks at the beautiful garden of Castel Gandolfo.

He is expected to do a lot of walking and reading. He brought with him various books on theology, history, and spirituality.

With the pope seat vacant, Vatican City has now issued four stamps to be used for postage.

The stamps will only be available during the Sede Vacante, and will cease circulation when a new pope is elected.

A 2-euro coin will also be issued to commemorate the Sede Vacante.

Filipinos in Rome have also prepared a special gift for the Pope Emeritus: a book with personal messages and dedication.

Through the book, Filipinos in Rome would like to extend their deepest appreciation of the Pope's service as the leader of the Catholic Church for almost 8 years.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Pray Tagle becomes next pope - Cardinal Vidal

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle and Cardinal Ricardo Vidal left for the Vatican on Tuesday to attend the conclave to elect the next pope.

Tagle and Vidal left the Philippines at 7:55 p.m. on board Cathay Pacific Airlines flight CX902 bound for Hong Kong with a connecting flight to Rome.

Vidal, who was in a wheelchair when he arrived at the airport, urged all Filipinos to pray that Tagle be elected as next pope.

Tagle, in an interview with airport reporters, also said we should all pray for the Church, adding that he is amazed by the media attention that his departure was getting.

Several airport workers lined up and extended their hands to be blessed by Tagle prior to their departure. -- Report from Raoul Esperas

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Catholic Philippines celebrates new saint

MANILA, Philippines - Church bells pealed across the Catholic Philippines Sunday as millions attended special masses to celebrate the naming of the country's second saint, a young missionary killed over 340 years ago.

President Benigno Aquino declared Sunday a "national day of celebration" in Asia's bastion of Catholicism and sent his vice president, Jejomar Binay, to lead a big congregation to the rites in the Vatican.

In the capital Manila, people from all walks of life congregated at the Sto. Nino de Tondo parish to watch the ceremonies naming Pedro Calungsod as one of seven new saints in the Catholic faith.

"The canonization of Saint Pedro Calungsod is a major and historic event for the Catholic Church and our predominantly Catholic nation," Binay said in a statement from Rome.

"The event fills us with pride as Catholics, yet it calls on us to exercise humility and reflect on the supreme sacrifice made by Saint Calungsod in defense of his faith."

Thousands from all walks of life holding small replicas of Calungsod, many of them teary-eyed, trooped to at least three different venues in Manila where the government had set up giant screens on which to show the solemn proceedings in Rome.

As Pope Benedict XVI read the names of the seven new saints, church bells across the Philippine rang out for a few minutes to welcome Calungsod's sainthood.

"I am filled with joy. We now have two saints to intercede for our many problems," said Nanang Linda Petra, a 54-year-old mother of 12, who took a day off from her work as a laundry woman to watch the ceremonies.

Leony Mercado, a 65-year-old retired engineer and a grandmother of five, openly wept as Calungsod's name was called out.

"These are tears of joy. I cannot help but be overwhelmed," she said, adding that when one of her children, a 35-year-old woman, died due to an aneurysm in January, prayers to Calungsod helped to ease her suffering.

"I have asked Saint Pedro Calungsod to help bring her to heaven," she said, while clutching a small banner with a likeness of the saint.

Calungsod is only the second Filipino to become a saint, after Lorenzo Ruiz, a missionary who was killed in Japan in 1637 and canonized in 1987.

Six others were also canonized Sunday, including Kateri Tekakwitha, the first native American to become a saint.

Calungsod is the new patron saint for the youth, in recognition of his age -- believed to be just 17 -- when he was killed in Guam in 1672 while attempting to convert natives.

He qualified for sainthood last year after the Vatican officially recognized a 2003 "miracle" in which a 49-year-old Filipina woman declared dead from a heart attack was revived after a doctor prayed to Calungsod for help.

In 2011, the Vatican said the incident could not be explained scientifically, and Pope Benedict subsequently acknowledged the incident as a miracle by Calungsod.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Pinoys hold art exhibit for Calungsod's canonization

ROME, Italy – An art exhibit was launched in time for the celebration of the canonization of Blessed Pedro Calungsod on October 21.

Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and Ambassador to the Holy See Mercedes Tuason personally opened the art exhibit of the 50 united Filipino communities in Rome.

For Vidal, the exhibit can be likened to the life lived by the Blessed Pedro Calungsod.

“Tulad ni Pedro na nangibang bayan ay dala niya ang ating kulturang Pinoy at ang ating pananampalataya na ibinahagi tulad ng ginawa niya sa Guam,” Vidal said.

The exhibit worked on the theme “Evangelizing Presence of Filipinos in the World”.

“Ang art exhibit na ito ay nagpapakita sa mga ginagawa ng ating mga Filipino kung saan nagpapahayag sila ng kanilang pananampalataya sa Diyos dahil tulad ni Pedro Calungsod na naging banal,” said Fr. Romeo Velos, Chaplain of the Sentro Pilipino in Rome. Report from Jocelyn Ruiz, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau

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

Italy hospital conducts first fully robotic liver procedure

ROME - A medical transplant center on the Italian island of Sicily said Monday it had carried out the world's first partial liver transplant using only a robot to remove the organ of the donor.

According to a statement from the ISMETT transplant center in Palermo, only the arms of a robot entered the abdomen of the 44-year-old donor looking to save his 46-year-old brother suffering from cirrhosis of the liver.

Thanks to the robot, only five keyhole incisions and one nine-centimeter (3.5-inch) incision were required for the operation, the centre said.

"This is the first case in the world performed entirely and exclusively with the robotic technique," the center said.

The procedure, known as hepatectomy, was performed in March but the news was held until the recipient was given a clean bill of health and discharged from hospital, the centre said.

"In the past, some living donor liver transplants had been performed in the US using the robot," but were aided by a surgeon who inserted his hand through an incision to perform the surgery with the robot, the center said.

The procedure lasted 10 hours and the two brothers recovered well, with the donor leaving hospital after nine days and the recipient leaving a few weeks later.

The surgical first was carried out using the Da Vinci SHDI robotic surgical system, a multi-tentacled device conceived at the Robotic Surgery Center in Pisa.

"The use of new technologies in transplant surgery is extremely important since reducing trauma for patients may encourage living organ donations and increase the number of transplants," the centre said.

source: interaksyon.com