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Woman, 22, killed and five injured in shooting at Swiss rave

30 August 2026 at 18:00

Manhunt under way after Italian dies from her injuries in the town of Aarau in the early hours of Sunday

A manhunt is under way in Switzerland after a 22-year-old woman was killed ⁠and five people were injured, ⁠some seriously, in a ​shooting at a rave in the northern town of Aarau, local police have said.

In the attack in the early hours of Sunday at a techno party at a covered horse-racing track, an Italian woman died from her injuries at the scene, authorities said. All those caught up in the shooting were residents of Switzerland and in their 20s.

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© Photograph: Harold Cunningham/AFP/Getty

© Photograph: Harold Cunningham/AFP/Getty

© Photograph: Harold Cunningham/AFP/Getty

Italy may ban staring at your phone while crossing the street. Why stop there? | Dave Schilling

30 August 2026 at 14:00

The move sends the right signal. While we’re at it, can we ban using ringtones and scooting on the sidewalk?

Imagine driving in Italy, with its narrow, cobblestone streets and scooter enthusiasts. I find it hard enough to drive in Los Angeles, a city designed specifically with the automobile in mind. I’d probably squash a pedestrian or two trying to navigate Italian roads.

The modern world is just too hectic for the ancient streets of Europe, so Italy is considering doing the only sensible thing it can: outlawing texting in crosswalks. The Italian government’s updated draft of its highway code proposes fines of €75 or more for anyone caught sending a DM, updating their LinkedIn, finishing Wordle on the fifth guess, or anything else phone-related that might make them miss an oncoming metal projectile. I’m sure most people will risk the slap on wrist to get that message off, but it at least sends a signal to the Italian people that paying attention to traffic is actually kind of important.

Dave Schilling is a Los Angeles-based writer and humorist

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© Illustration: Fortunate Joaquin/The Guardian

© Illustration: Fortunate Joaquin/The Guardian

© Illustration: Fortunate Joaquin/The Guardian

‘I’ve had a very hectic career’: Mario Balotelli on Italian football’s troubles and his future

30 August 2026 at 10:00

Striker talks life in the UAE, problems with the Azzurri and ‘special feeling’ of playing for Manchester City

Whenever the name Mario Balotelli is brought up, particularly in Italy, the conversation is almost inevitably laced with a sense of regret. There is that lingering “What if?”, a collective sigh over a player who possessed the raw, undeniable potential to be one of the best in the world, if only things had been different.

Yet being in front of him, with a smile on his face, it becomes clear the 36-year-old striker has reached an unexpected level of wisdom and maturity, traits that shine through in his lucid analysis of Italian football’s current struggles and the vanishing street culture of the sport. As Balotelli reflects on what he would tell his adolescent self, there is also a distinct feeling that he has finally made peace with his own turbulent narrative, that he isn’t chasing the ghosts of unfulfilled expectations.

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© Photograph: Marco Ravagli/Future Publishing/Getty Images

© Photograph: Marco Ravagli/Future Publishing/Getty Images

© Photograph: Marco Ravagli/Future Publishing/Getty Images

Messina mystery: theft of Renaissance art from Sicilian museum leaves investigators baffled

30 August 2026 at 07:00

How did thieves pull off robbery of Antonello da Messina’s 15th-century masterpiece – and why did they leave part of it behind?

At about 8.47pm on the evening of 15 August, while tens of thousands of worshippers filled the streets of central Messina for a religious festival, at least two men cut through the fencing surrounding the regional museum, located a few miles to the north on the outskirts of the Sicilian harbour city.

Capitalising on the fact that the streets around the museum were unusually quiet, the men forced open a side door with a crowbar, gaining direct access to a display case containing the five surviving panels of the Renaissance master Antonello da Messina’s polyptych Polittico di San Gregorio, his most important work, and a small double-sided painting. Undisturbed, they removed the works from the building and fled.

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© Photograph: Museo Regionale Accascina Messina/Reuters

© Photograph: Museo Regionale Accascina Messina/Reuters

© Photograph: Museo Regionale Accascina Messina/Reuters

Woman, 22, killed and five injured in shooting at Swiss rave

30 August 2026 at 18:00

Manhunt under way after Italian dies from her injuries in the town of Aarau in the early hours of Sunday

A manhunt is under way in Switzerland after a 22-year-old woman was killed ⁠and five people were injured, ⁠some seriously, in a ​shooting at a rave in the northern town of Aarau, local police have said.

In the attack in the early hours of Sunday at a techno party at a covered horse-racing track, an Italian woman died from her injuries at the scene, authorities said. All those caught up in the shooting were residents of Switzerland and in their 20s.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Harold Cunningham/AFP/Getty

© Photograph: Harold Cunningham/AFP/Getty

© Photograph: Harold Cunningham/AFP/Getty

Giorgia on their minds: Farage and Badenoch scrap to be mates with Meloni

30 August 2026 at 07:00

Tories accuse Reform of ‘peddling conspiracy theories’ as row erupts in wake of Conservative leader’s trip to Rome

Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch have spent years trading barbs and fighting for the rightwing vote. But now the party leaders find themselves in a much more bizarre struggle – for the affections of the rightwing Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.

The row began on Monday when the Times published an article claiming that during a meeting in Rome, Meloni had advised the Conservative leader against doing a deal with Farage to unite the right. After complaints from Reform – and, reportedly, Meloni’s team – the article was amended to remove that claim.

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© Photograph: Christine Quarmyne/CCHQ

© Photograph: Christine Quarmyne/CCHQ

© Photograph: Christine Quarmyne/CCHQ

Giorgia on their minds: Farage and Badenoch scrap to be mates with Meloni

30 August 2026 at 07:00

Tories accuse Reform of ‘peddling conspiracy theories’ as row erupts in wake of Conservative leader’s trip to Rome

Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch have spent years trading barbs and fighting for the rightwing vote. But now the party leaders find themselves in a much more bizarre struggle – for the affections of the rightwing Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.

The row began on Monday when the Times published an article claiming that during a meeting in Rome, Meloni had advised the Conservative leader against doing a deal with Farage to unite the right. After complaints from Reform – and, reportedly, Meloni’s team – the article was amended to remove that claim.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Christine Quarmyne/CCHQ

© Photograph: Christine Quarmyne/CCHQ

© Photograph: Christine Quarmyne/CCHQ

Egyptian queen’s 673-diamond necklace stolen in Vienna smash-and-grab raid

28 August 2026 at 17:46

Police hunt two suspects after historic 200-carat piece is snatched from Austrian museum during opening hours

Austrian police are hunting two men alleged to have stolen a 200-carat platinum necklace encrusted with 673 diamonds that was on loan to a museum in Vienna and once belonged to Egyptian royalty.

Authorities in the capital released pictures of the suspects captured by security cameras during the heist at the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK), amid a rash of spectacular smash-and-grab thefts from European cultural institutions.

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© Photograph: Stéphane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Stéphane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Stéphane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images

Egyptian queen’s 673-diamond necklace stolen in Vienna smash-and-grab raid

Police hunt two suspects after historic 200-carat piece is snatched from Austrian museum during opening hours

Austrian police are hunting two men alleged to have stolen a 200-carat platinum necklace encrusted with 673 diamonds that was on loan to a museum in Vienna and once belonged to Egyptian royalty.

Authorities in the capital released pictures of the suspects captured by security cameras during the heist at the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK), amid a rash of spectacular smash-and-grab thefts from European cultural institutions.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Stéphane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Stéphane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Stéphane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images

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