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, SUN., OCT. 18, 2026No. 14 · Morning, 6:00 a.m. CEST6 a.m. CEST
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News · Protests✓ 3 outlets · final toll of injured and detained not yet consolidated

March over the cost of living: clashes in Milan and Bologna, Meloni asks the opposition to condemn the violence

Stones, paper bombs and fireworks thrown at police at the Duomo and in Piazza Cordusio; meanwhile in Rome the Cgil announces a general strike for November 20.

On Saturday, October 17, several Italian squares filled up for a protest against the rising cost of living, and in Milan the march turned violent over the course of the afternoon. ANSA reports scuffles in Piazza del Duomo and in Piazza Cordusio, with police pelted by groups of youths dressed in black; ANSA, La Stampa and Google News speak of stones thrown at officers, of paper bombs and fireworks, of charges by law enforcement, of injured and of detained. In the evening the agency said that about 50 people were detained in Milan and that almost half of them are minors, headlining that the cost-of-living protest had turned into guerrilla warfare and that the city had looked like a battlefield.

The tensions did not stop at Milan. In Turin the demonstration opened with chants against Meloni and against Vannacci; participants repeated that they were non-partisan, and students and social centres were also in the square, then there were moments of scuffling. In Bologna there were clashes in front of the station between young demonstrators and law enforcement: in the afternoon ANSA counted seven demonstrators detained, while the evening toll speaks of four minors arrested and 36 injured among law enforcement. In Bologna, Lepore declared that devastation and violence have no justification.

The government’s response came in the evening. Meloni declared that any reticence about street violence becomes justification and spoke of thugs who exploit demonstrations to sow chaos; she also asked the opposition to condemn the violence at the students’ marches. Foreign Minister Tajani called the violence unacceptable and attacked those in the opposition who stoke the fire, expressing solidarity with the men and women in uniform. The mayor of Milan, Sala, spoke of understandable reasons but unjustifiable violence.

The day also had a political and union side. In Rome, in the square with the Cgil, Landini announced that on November 20 the union will proclaim a general strike; Conte said the Five Star Movement (M5S) is ready and hoped that talks among the opposition parties would begin within days, while Schlein spoke of the spirit of the referendum and of the will to build the alternative together. Still to be clarified are the final toll of injured and detained in the three cities and who promoted the marches that turned violent: the sources consulted do not attribute the violence to an organizer.

Open the story and DailyDrop’s take
By the numbers
≈50detained in Milan, almost half of them minors (ANSA)
36injured among law enforcement in Bologna, with 4 minors arrested (ANSA)
Nov. 20date given by Landini for the Cgil general strike
Word of the day
paper bombsPublic order

Crude devices that go off with a loud bang, often thrown at law enforcement in marches.

Society · Family in the Woods✓ 4 outlets · terms of the return not detailed

Family in the woods, after eleven months the children come home: the night in Palmoli with their parents

After eleven months away from home, the children of the so-called family in the woods are coming home. The news is reported by ANSA, Tgcom24, La Stampa and Google News, which place it in the early afternoon of Saturday, October 17. According to the ANSA dispatch, the parents will take them by car to the house in Palmoli, where the minors will spend the night. The reference to a single night is the detail the outlets consulted report in matching fashion, without adding what will happen in the following days. The sources do not yet specify the framework of the return: they do not indicate whether it is a definitive return or a temporary stay, which authority ordered it and under what conditions, nor who will follow the children in the coming hours. It is not clear either whether follow-up visits or meetings with social services are planned. These are all questions that official communications or the family’s lawyers should clarify in the coming hours. Until they arrive, the story must be read for what the dispatches say: after eleven months the children are once again in the house in Palmoli together with their parents.

Open the story and DailyDrop’s take
By the numbers
11months spent away from home before the return
1night announced in Palmoli, according to ANSA
4outlets reporting the return
Economy · Budget✓ 1 outlet (ANSA) · content of the summit not disclosed

Budget package: Monday summit at the Palazzo with Meloni and Giorgetti; Orsini warns: no electoral handouts

According to ANSA, the budget package will be at the center of a summit on Monday, October 19, with Prime Minister Meloni and Economy Minister Giorgetti. Deputy prime ministers Salvini and Tajani and the leader of Noi Moderati, Lupi, will also attend the meeting. The dispatch does not give the venue of the meeting or the files on the table, and for now there is no confirmation from a second outlet, so the story should be considered as reported by a single source. In the same hours Orsini, speaking of the budget law, said no to electoral handouts and asked for things that serve the country, with long-term measures, adding that it is not possible to please everyone. Salvini, on the phone with one of the workers on a sit-in at the Poggio Imperiale toll booth, announced that he will meet the truckers of Puglia, Calabria and Sicily. It remains to be seen whether the Monday summit will produce indications on the category’s demands or on other chapters of the budget package.

Open the story and DailyDrop’s take
By the numbers
Mon 19day of the budget summit (ANSA)
5leaders cited among those present: Meloni, Giorgetti, Salvini, Tajani, Lupi
3regions of the truckers: Puglia, Calabria, Sicily
Vatican · Health✓ 2 outlets · reason for the hospitalization not specified

The Pope leaves the Gemelli and returns to the Vatican: tomorrow the Angelus from the Apostolic Palace

The Pope left Rome’s Gemelli polyclinic on Saturday, October 17 and returned to the Vatican. ANSA and Google News report that he left on foot and greeted the faithful present before getting into the car; it had previously been announced that he was considered fit for discharge. On Sunday, October 18 he will recite the Angelus from the Apostolic Palace, according to what Vatican sources reported by the agency announced. The President of the Republic, Mattarella, sent the Pope, on behalf of Italy, wishes for a serene convalescence, recalling an Augustinian exhortation to keep faith in recovery from illness. The dispatches consulted do not specify the reason for the hospitalization or the expected length of convalescence, and do not indicate whether any limits on his commitments in the coming days are planned, beyond Sunday’s Angelus. For now the only confirmed appointment remains the Sunday prayer, which will be held from the Apostolic Palace and not from St. Peter’s Square. The return to the Vatican was recounted by the two outlets with the same elements: leaving on foot, greeting the faithful and departing by car.

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By the numbers
Oct. 18date of the Angelus from the Apostolic Palace
2outlets reporting the departure from the Gemelli
1message of good wishes from President Mattarella
World · West Bank✓ 2 outlets · course of the attack to be established

Israeli settlers attack European diplomats at Taybeh, in the West Bank: army opens an investigation

According to ANSA and Google News, Israeli settlers attacked European diplomats at Taybeh, in the West Bank. Israeli military radio reported that the cars of Belgian, Polish and French diplomats were attacked. The IDF, the Israeli army, said that the diplomats’ visit to Taybeh had not been coordinated, condemned the attack and opened an investigation.

Prime Minister Netanyahu declared that any attack is unacceptable, but that the more serious the accusation, the greater the rigor must be, and called for caution over the violence against diplomats, arguing that incontrovertible proof is needed. The sources do not say whether there are injured or how many diplomats were present, and do not yet report formal reactions from the governments of Belgium, Poland and France. It is not even clear at what time of Saturday, October 17 the attack took place: the ANSA dispatch is from 16:27 and Netanyahu’s statement is from 19:24. The army, finally, said it had started the investigation but gave neither timeframes nor established responsibilities.

Open the story and DailyDrop’s take
By the numbers
3nationalities cited: Belgian, Polish, French
1investigation opened by the IDF
In brief
  • FrancePrime Minister Lecornu speaks of 1,200 detentions and 150 police officers injured during the protests: “It is a miracle that tonight’s toll was not worse” (ANSA).
  • EUThe European Commission wants to press ahead with sanctions on Moscow and believes that coordinated action with the US can make a difference (ANSA, Google News).
  • GasThe New York Times writes that Kushner and Witkoff proposed that Europe buy more gas from Russia as part of the peace plan for Ukraine (ANSA).
  • USTrump halts major sanctions and Graham Act tariffs on Russian exports, which would have complicated efforts to bring down diesel prices ahead of the midterms (ANSA, Google News).
  • SoccerGasperini after Roma: “I had no doubts about the reaction”; Lulli scores his first goal in yellow and red, “a dream come true” (ANSA).
  • CultureAt the Festa di Roma Helen Mirren plays Patricia Highsmith in A Talent for Murder, and the documentary Ultimo Fellini also brings together Benigni, Manara and Scorsese (ANSA).
  • Artificial intelligenceMeloni: we can build an Italian way to artificial intelligence, because we cannot rely only on the invisible hand of the market (ANSA).
  • USPower struggle at the White House: according to ANSA and Google News chief of staff Susie Wiles risks falling in the event of a defeat in the midterms.
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Unverified — what we could not confirm

“The marches that ended in clashes were organized by the Cgil.” The sources consulted place the Cgil demonstration in Rome, with the announcement of the strike, while the clashes are reported in Milan, Turin and Bologna; ANSA and La Stampa do not name organizers of the marches that turned violent.
“The Pope is still in the hospital at the Gemelli.” ANSA and Google News report that he left the polyclinic on foot and returned to the Vatican, where on Sunday he will recite the Angelus.
“The United States has cancelled all sanctions on Russia.” ANSA and Google News write that Trump halted major sanctions and Graham Act tariffs, not all the measures, and the European Commission said it wants to press ahead with sanctions.
Glossary · dotted words — economics, law, security and science terms explained in the context of the story. The list grows every day.
INSIDEMarch over the cost of living: clashes in Milan and Bologna, Meloni asks the opposition to condemn the violenceNews · ProtestsFamily in the woods, after eleven months the children come home: the night in Palmoli with their parentsSociety · Family in the WoodsBudget package: Monday summit at the Palazzo with Meloni and Giorgetti; Orsini warns: no electoral handoutsEconomy · BudgetThe Pope leaves the Gemelli and returns to the Vatican: tomorrow the Angelus from the Apostolic PalaceVatican · HealthIsraeli settlers attack European diplomats at Taybeh, in the West Bank: army opens an investigationWorld · West Bank