Italy
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said ICE agents sent to Milan‑Cortina Olympics would have no operational role but perform analysis and information‑sharing, a claim disputed by protesters ahead of Feb. 6.
Former general Roberto Vannacci quit the Lega in Italy and announced the Futuro Nazionale list and 2027 plans, prompting rebukes from Matteo Salvini and uncertainty in Fratelli d'Italia.
Italy's antitrust authority fined eDreams €9 million for misleading commercial practices, finding the travel company used dark-pattern techniques on its website and app to press customers into Prime subscriptions.
The 2026 Winter Olympics opened in Italy, with curling matches beginning in Milan-Cortina as competitions across multiple sports got underway.
In Rome, restorer Bruno Valentinetti said he had covered a basilica fresco whose angel resembled Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and claimed the Curia ordered it, while he called it coincidental.
The Carabinieri's health protection unit (NAS) reported that Italy's medical waiting lists were under siege from illicit intramoenia and fraud charging payments to unaware patients in its 2025 report.
Lindsey Vonn, 41, said she would race at the Milan‑Cortina Winter Olympics despite tearing her left ACL in a crash during a World Cup tune‑up in Cortina on Friday.
The government issued a pay‑equity decree requiring transparency and sanctions for pay gaps exceeding 5%, which constitutionalist Azzariti said fit a pattern of reactive, illiberal decrees.
