Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi claimed on Monday that 600,000 migrants who arrived illegally in Italy are “ready” to commit crimes, and he vowed they would be sent back to their homelands if an election next month propels his centre-right party into government.
In an explosive contribution to the national debate after the shooting of a number of African migrants at the weekend by a far-right activist, Mr Berlusconi poured petrol on the flames by claiming that immigrants lived "hand to mouth or from crime" and that they were responsible for most bank robberies, according to The Times.
The leaders of the main rival parties in the March 4 parliamentary election retorted on Monday that some policies from Mr Berlusconi’s three stints in office helped create the conditions that brought so many newcomers to Italy.
Italy’s experience with the hundreds of thousands of people who arrived after being rescued from smugglers’ boats in the Mediterranean Sea in the last few years has dominated much of the pre-election campaigning.
But the migrant issue took on even more energy on Saturday, when an Italian gunman allegedly shot and wounded six Africans from his car in the central Italian town of Macerata. Police have described the suspect as a far-right extremist with neo-Nazi sympathies.
The drive-by attack followed the arrest of a Nigerian man in the slaying of an 18-year-old Italian woman shortly after walking away from a drug rehabilitation centre in the area.
In an interview Sunday with TG5, a news prohramme that is part of his media empire, Mr Berlusconi cited the large number of rescued migrants who have landed in Italy since 2013, when the current centre-left government led by the Democratic Party came to power.
“The result is that today we have almost 630,000 immigrants, of which only 30,000 have the right to stay here because they are refugees,” he said. “Another 600,000 are tantamount to a social bomb ready to explode, because they live by the expedient of committing crimes.”
The former prime minister cannot run for office due to a tax fraud conviction. But Mr Berlusconi is campaigning so his Forza Italia party, in alliance with a right-wing anti-migrant party and a smaller party with neo-fascist roots, can gain enough seats in parliament to form a coalition government.
Democratic Party leader Matteo Renzi, also a former premier, blamed part of the problem on his predecessor.
"If in Italy migrants are arriving, it's because someone made war in Libya, and the premier was Berlusconi," Mr Renzi said in a reference to Nato's 2011 air strike campaign against Mummar Qaddafi's regime.
After his ouster, chaos took hold in the north African nation, and human traffickers resumed the lucrative business of launching unseaworthy boats crowded with people wanting to make it to Europe.
Also seizing on the Libya example on Monday was Luigi Di Maio, who is running for what the populist 5-Star Movement hopes will be its first premiership. The 5-Stars have themselves taken a hard line on immigration.
“Berlusconi created the social bomb of immigration by the bombing of Libya,” Mr Di Maio said.
“I ask Italians to check their memory about what this 81-year-old gentleman did when he was in government,” he said.
Last week, the first candidate Mr Di Maio presented on his movement's ticket for parliament was a retired admiral who boasted he took part in the Nato campaign against Libya. The admiral was removed as a candidate, officially for other reasons.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Avengers: Endgame
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin
4/5 stars
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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ICC Awards for 2021
MEN
Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)
WOMEN
Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: CVT
Power: 170bhp
Torque: 220Nm
Price: Dh98,900
Specs%3A%202024%20McLaren%20Artura%20Spider
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SPECS%3A%20Polestar%203
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Company%20Profile
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ICC Intercontinental Cup
UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (captain), Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Saqlain Haider, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Naveed, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Boota, Amir Hayat, Ashfaq Ahmed
Fixtures Nov 29-Dec 2
UAE v Afghanistan, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Hong Kong v Papua New Guinea, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Ireland v Scotland, Dubai International Stadium
Namibia v Netherlands, ICC Academy, Dubai
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Company%20profile
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Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
Poacher
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Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The%20Kitchen
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5