It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Personalized public transport: GrazUniversity of Technology develops autonomous mobility service
Public transport without a fixed timetable: an autonomous on-demand shuttle service developed at TU Graz integrates vehicle and infrastructure sensors to enable safe, efficient and sustainable mobility
The transport sector is still responsible for around a third of greenhouse gas emissions. Shifting from private transport – particularly vehicles with internal combustion engines – to electric public transport offers a way to reduce emissions. To this end, researchers at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) have teamed up with Chinese partners to develop an on-demand mobility service available 24/7, which can bridge the gap between the convenience of private cars and the efficiency of public transport. At the heart of the project is a battery-powered, self-driving shuttle bus capable of carrying up to 15 people. Instead of running on fixed routes according to a timetable, it can be requested on an on-demand basis and operate flexibly within a wider route network. A test vehicle is already being used successfully on a test route in real-world traffic conditions in China, and demonstrator vehicles are being planned in Austria.
“Every car journey – especially one in a combustion-engine-powered vehicle – that you don’t have to make helps the environment and the climate,” says project manager Cornelia Lex from the Institute of Automotive Engineering at TU Graz. “Through our project, we aim to make it easier for people to give up their private journeys, as the on-demand shuttle offers them an equally flexible and, moreover, sustainable way of getting to their destination.”
Collaborative perception
Central to the safe autonomous control of vehicles is the so-called collaborative perception. The shuttle is equipped with lidar, radar and camera systems and also communicates via 5G with smart infrastructure, such as cameras positioned on challenging or blind spots along the road. This additional connectivity enables the vehicle to monitor its surroundings – including pedestrians and cyclists – in real time, even if they are not detectable by the shuttle’s on-board sensors. In the event of a network failure, the vehicle is equipped with an independent safety feature that brings it to a controlled stop.
Millions of simulation kilometres
The researchers carried out extensive testing of the vehicles’ safety concept in advance using high-fidelity simulations. To this end, real streetscapes, complete with buildings and infrastructure, were precisely recreated in order to virtually validate the algorithms for extreme and everyday situations. As the validation of autonomous vehicles requires the testing of countless scenarios and the simulation of millions of kilometres of driving, virtual testing is the only practical way to provide the necessary safety evidence. The simulations make it possible to test complex algorithms for safe route planning, object detection and the behaviour of other road users under controlled conditions before they are deployed in real-world traffic.
To ensure the vehicles can be deployed as flexibly as possible, the university research partners in China have developed a dynamic optimisation system for routes and charging processes, with the aim of minimising waiting times for passengers and maximising capacity utilisation. “It is precisely high-capacity utilisation that helps to reduce our carbon footprint,” says Cornelia Lex. “If several people travel to their destination in an electric shuttle rather than each driving alone in their own car, there are significant benefits in terms of air quality and road space.”
In addition to TU Graz, Tongji University, Wenzhou University and Seisys from China were involved in the project. The project was funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG.
Method of Research
Computational simulation/modeling
The movement of the buses is monitored centrally.
Credit
Seisys
UMA scientists reveal how climate studies could predict where and when the risk of Ebola outbreaks increases
They identify how their occurrence is related to large-scale meteorological patterns and propose their use for epidemiological surveillance
A study led by the University of Malaga has shown that outbreaks of Ebola virus do not occur randomly over time; rather, their appearance is linked to specific large-scale meteorological patterns, even with oscillations occurring in regions thousands of miles away from Central Africa, where they are currently suffering from an epidemic of this disease, which can be fatal.
The scientific team, which also includes the Spanish Institute of Oceanography, the Manchester Metropolitan University and the Center for International Forestry Research, calls these links “teleconnections” and advocates their analysis as a “clue” to predict where and when the risk of Ebola increases.
According to the latest report from the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, based on data collected through September 26, more than 8,000 confirmed infections have been recorded in the latest outbreak, which began in May, including 3,901 deaths, with a case fatality rate of nearly 50 percent.
This new finding, obtained after collecting data on 49 outbreaks in Africa between 1976 and 2025 and comparing them in a database with 26 climate oscillation indices, could be used as a means of epidemiological surveillance, capable of detecting early warning signals to identify periods and regions where weather conditions may be more favorable for the occurrence of new outbreaks. The paper has been published in the scientific journal Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment, from the prestigious publisher Springer Nature.
From the Pacific to Africa: following a climatic track
The scientists used this data until 2018 to build the models and dedicated the years 2019-2025 to seeing if they could forecast new outbreaks. They identified four climatic oscillation indices that were particularly associated with the distribution of outbreaks: the Caribbean Sea Surface Temperature Index (CAR) – no longer available since February 2020 – , the Dipole Mode Index (IMD), the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), the latter being the most frequent indicator or “signal” and, therefore, the most important macroclimatic factor of the model
“Our proposed interpretation is that these large oscillations modify meteorological patterns, for example, precipitation in the African continent, and these can alter ecological conditions that favor the occurrence of outbreaks”, explains the Zoology professor at UMA Raimundo Real, one of the authors of this paper.
In this sense, the Biogeography and Macroecology professor also at the University of Malaga Jesús Olivero, another of the authors of the paper, clarifies that this does not mean that these distant climate indicators directly cause Ebola, but they may serve as an early warning “clue” of environmental conditions more closely linked to the biological phenomenon.
“Early warning systems are essential for combating infectious diseases. To achieve this, it is not enough to detect cases of the disease early; we must anticipate them by monitoring risk factors, and our predictive tool could be key to this effort,” adds Olivero.
Surveillance tool
The researchers estimate that the “useful window” of these large climatic oscillations would be six to twelve months before a potential event, so their predictive capacity is still limited and further research along these lines would be needed before they could be considered an autonomous predictive system.
Nevertheless, the study represents an initial step as a surveillance tool that could help activate preparedness measures when climate conditions indicate an increased risk, identifying periods and locations that warrant closer epidemiological monitoring.
The study of the biogeography of Central African wildlife
This scientific team of the UMA, which includes researchers from the Faculty of Sciences Miguel Ángel Farfán and Ana L. Márquez, has been working for more than a decade on the study of the distribution of the Ebola virus in Africa, seeking to gain a better understanding of the transmission mechanisms of this disease, as well as on the analysis of the occurrence of new outbreaks.
Ebola is a zoonosis, that is, a disease transmitted from animals to humans. When the 2014 epidemic occurred, these researchers at the UMA had already been studying the biogeography of Central African wildlife for some time, as well as the human interaction with wildlife through hunting. “Since this same wildlife is part of the zoonotic cycle of Ebola, we decided to apply what we had learned to the study of this disease, and we discovered that we had a lot to contribute,” they explain.
This last project provides a new perspective on how outbreaks of infectious diseases do not depend on a single factor: the interaction between climate, ecosystems, species distribution, and local conditions can generate “temporary windows” during which an outbreak is more likely to occur. “Identifying these windows in advance could give healthcare systems additional time to prepare. Our goal is to build an ‘observatory’ capable of generating updated risk forecasts based on wildlife, deforestation, macroclimate, and local weather conditions”, they conclude.
The study is part of the project “Patogeografía espacio-temporal de las zoonosis mediadas por vertebrados voladores” [Spatial-temporal pathogeography of zoonoses mediated by flying vertebrates], co-financed by the European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) and managed by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and in the PPRO-RNM262-G-2023 project of the University of Malaga, financed by the Regional Government of Andalusia and the ERDF. It has also received support from the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) through a Transfer of Research Results Contract.
Bibliography:
Real, R., Farfán, M.A., Olivero, J. et al. Ebola-virus outbreaks are teleconnected with macroclimatic oscillations. Stoch Environ Res Risk Assess40, 234 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00477-026-03365-1
Journal
Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment
With cases of Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus recently detected in Kenya and Nigeria, in a new report published today the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reiterates the low risk for Europe while highlighting the need for preparedness.
As of 23 October, Kenya has reported nine cases, including one death. Eight of the cases were linked to the first case, who had travelled from DRC through Uganda and onwards to Kenya. Nigeria has reported one case, with investigations into the source of infection still ongoing.
According to ECDC’s new assessment, the likelihood of infection for people from Europe living in or travelling to affected areas in Kenya and Nigeria is low, provided they follow recommended precautions. The likelihood of the virus spreading further following an imported case in Europe is considered very low. The overall risk to the EU/EEA population therefore remains very low.
At the same time, ECDC emphasises the need for European countries to continue their preparedness for potential imported cases, including raising awareness among healthcare professionals and ensuring that healthcare facilities and laboratories are ready to identify and safely manage suspected cases. People living in or travelling to affected areas should follow the advice of local health authorities and take recommended precautions to avoid infection. ECDC does not recommend travel restrictions to or from Kenya and Nigeria.
ECDC has been providing direct support since the current outbreak began, with experts deployed to DRC and Uganda to assess exit screening at airports in the affected areas, and to provide expertise and support at the centre of the outbreak. ECDC experts have also been deployed elsewhere in the region. The Centre is currently liaising with key partners, including Africa CDC, the European Commission, the World Health Organization, the European Union Delegation in Nigeria and Nigeria CDC to provide further support. The Centre will reassess the risk to the European population as new information becomes available.
A practical checklist developed by ECDC for national authorities to review internal procedures and strengthen system readiness helps ensure they can react quickly and effectively in case of need.
Bacteria constantly reinvent their weapons
A new study illuminates for the first time the complex interplay of evolutionary forces that shape some of the world's most versatile natural products
Many of the most potent antibiotics originate from bacteria. A large proportion belong to a class of compounds known as nonribosomal peptides (NRP). They are produced by large bacterial enzyme machineries – the nonribosomal peptide synthetases, or NRPS for short. These function like molecular assembly lines: similar to the stations in a car factory, where new parts are added to the car at each step, several specialized modules string together amino acid by amino acid to build a peptide.
The finished product is used in nature as a weapon in microbial competition – and by us humans, chemically optimized, as an active ingredient in medicines. The research group of Helge Bode at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology aims to engineer the NRPS machinery at the genetic level to create entirely new drug candidates.
Like ordinary proteins, NRP are subject to evolution – but the way they change is unusual. While ordinary proteins evolve mainly through random mutations of individual DNA building blocks, NRPS exchange entire gene segments with one another. This process is called recombination. The result is new combinations of modules – and thus new peptides with altered chemical properties.
How exactly this diversity arises and which forces drive it has been poorly understood, not least because frequent recombination pushes classical methods of evolutionary research to their limits. Standard tests that normally distinguish selection from random evolution do not work here, because they are designed for changes at individual DNA positions rather than the exchange of entire DNA segments.
From insect toxin to evolutionary model
A team led by Helge Bode and Georg Hochberg from the University of Marburg has now solved this problem through an elegant approach. They focused on the GameXPeptide (GXP) – an insecticide produced by the bacteria Xenorhabdus and Photorhabdus. These bacteria live in a complex three-way partnership: They live in the gut of nematodes, which in turn infect insect larvae. Once the host is infected, the bacteria are released by the nematode and kill the insect – partly through GameXPeptides. This system of predator, host, and parasite generates evolutionary pressure: insects develop resistance, and bacteria must adapt their toxins accordingly.
The responsible enzyme machinery, the GxpS synthetase, consists of five modules – making it manageable enough to reconstruct its full evolutionary history. Through phylogenetic reconstructions, the researchers discovered a surprisingly large diversity of previously unknown GXP variants. In total, they identified 49 distinct compounds, including shortened cyclic tetrapeptides and an extended hexapeptide.
Particularly striking were patterns of convergent evolution: several bacterial lineages that had evolved independently produced identical or very similar peptide structures by separate routes. To understand the order in which the different GameXPeptide variants arose, the research group reconstructed the last common ancestor of GxpS synthetase. To do so, they had to restore around 15,000 base pairs of genetic material, assemble them into a functional gene, and finally bring it to life in Escherichia coli. This allowed them to determine what the ancestral GxpS looked like – and in what order today's variants evolved from it.
"It felt like playing five-dimensional chess," says Georg Hochberg, describing the methodological challenge. "Frequent recombination obscures the evolutionary history of these enzymes – each recombination event overwrites a piece of their past. But it is precisely this complexity that makes the system so fascinating."
Three forces shape the natural product diversity of bacteria
The detailed teamwork paid off: the analysis revealed that natural selection alone does not explain the diversity of GameXPeptides. At least three forces act together: natural selection, genetic drift, and a "recombination bias."
To distinguish natural selection from random evolution, the researchers used a statistical comparison. They identified recombinations that do not structurally alter the peptide – for example, when two modules with the same specificity are swapped for one another. These so-called homotypic recombinations served as a benchmark for what would be expected under neutral evolution. Heterotypic recombinations – those that actually change the amino acid sequence – hit significantly more often exactly those regions of the enzyme that are critical for substrate specificity. This was a clear sign of positive selection. Experiments with four different insect species confirmed it: different GXP variants kill different insects with different efficiency.
At the same time, the researchers found evidence for genetic drift – changes without any discernible selective advantage. This suggests that a substantial portion of GXP diversity arose through the random fixation of neutral variants. This effect is favored by the bacteria's life cycle: each nematode is initially colonized by only a small number of bacterial cells. These bottlenecks limit population size and amplify the role of chance in evolution.
The researchers also discovered that not every recombination is equally likely. In fact, recombinations occur preferentially between modules that are similar at the sequence level. Since similar modules are found mainly within the same gene cluster, NRPS in practice incorporate primarily those amino acids already represented in the cluster – even though they could theoretically draw on a repertoire of up to 300 different amino acid variants.
This bias is self-reinforcing and leads to an evolutionary tunnel vision: each recombination within the cluster makes the participating modules even more similar to one another, making future recombinations between the same partners increasingly likely. This mechanism may explain why the same variants so often evolve convergently – not because they are particularly effective, but because they are particularly easy to produce. "I was completely surprised by how many variants of GameXPeptides even exist," says first author Sebastian Kaiser. "And I think we are just at the beginning of understanding the evolution of natural products. There is so much more to discover."
Uncovering hidden diversity
Indeed, the implications of this work reach beyond basic research. Many well-known antibiotics are also nonribosomal peptides. If their evolutionary histories likewise conceal numerous, as-yet undiscovered recombination events, new bioactive variants may be hidden there – ones that overcome existing resistances or possess novel mechanisms of action. The methods developed in this study offer for the first time a systematic way to uncover this hidden diversity.
"Our results show that the conceptual framework we developed for the GameXPeptides can serve as a guide to decipher the evolutionary forces acting on other natural product families, such as the polyketide synthases, which like NRPS produce many clinically relevant natural products," says Helge Bode. "If we better understand the mechanisms underlying bacterial natural product diversity, it may become possible to discover new antibiotics that overcome existing resistances."
Journal
Nature Ecology & Evolution
Method of Research
Experimental study
Subject of Research
Cells
Article Title
Drift, selection and recombination bias drive the evolution of a non-ribosomal peptide.
Article Publication Date
21-Oct-2026
Saturday, October 24, 2026
Mass protests of youth and workers spread to Italy
On the interminable political news and discussion TV programmes here in Italy the pundits are all talking about ‘catching the virus’ of the huge protests in the Spanish state and France. Hundreds of thousands of students mobilized on 16 October. Tent protests have sprung up in some city squares and there were minority skirmishes with the police in a few places.
On 17 October students joined the national demonstration against the spiraling cost of living called by the General Confederation of Italian Workers (CGIL) – the largest and most progressive of the union federations. Around 100,000 marched in Rome, beyond official expectations. There were more significant incidents in Milan where some shops were looted and some fires started. A police car was burnt out.
In the TV debates you see the same old positions expressed. Both the centre left and the right condemn all violence. The right wing call for a firmer response from the police and condemn the centre left for encouraging the demonstrations and not denouncing the incidents strongly enough.
Much is made of rupture between generations and the sense among many people that their future is looking a lot bleaker than previous ones. The mainstream press and the government are all issuing grave warnings about the risks of things getting out of hand on the general strikes called for 30 October by the rank and file USB unions and those on 20 November by the CGIL. Student organizations have already indicated that they are supporting these days of action and there is a national organizing meeting for students on 23 November.
Spontaneity of youth upsurge
Luciano Cimino, for radical left daily newspaper, Il Manifesto described 16 October student mobilization in the following way:
“No national coordination between cities, no shared platform, no leading organisation – simply the announcement of a date led yesterday to student demonstrations on a scale not seen for years. Tens of thousands of people marched in the capital, two thousand in Florence, five thousand in Milan, and similar numbers in Turin, Naples, Genoa and Palermo. And hundreds more took part in marches in smaller towns, such as Latina, Mestre and Padua. In total, half a million young people took to the streets yesterday with a range of demands: the impact of the ‘security decrees’ on their schools, solidarity with Palestinians amid soaring rents, the climate emergency alongside the issue of gender-based violence. All united by opposition to right-wing parties that are increasing military spending whilst cutting welfare.”
The mobilization was called the ‘No Meloni Day’ calling out the far right prime minister who has denounced the protesters. You can see a significant degree of spontaneity at this stage. Social media means the message from France and the Spanish state travel fast and then it acts as an effective tool of mobilization.
The idea that there are ‘extreme left’ organizations behind the movement is just something the government wants people to believe. In that sense there are similarities with what is happened elsewhere in Europe. The Italian radical left is far weaker than in its heyday back in the 70s where it had tens of thousands of activists. Palestine solidarity has certainly played a role also in radicalizing young people before the recent demonstrations.
As in France, you can see too that young people from the poorer urban periphery are involved. They are at times more likely to be targeted by police since that happens anyway in their neighbourhoods and they are more likely to fight back. Consumer capitalism creates it own explosions. Young people are subject o endless advertising that only certain products will make them fully human. They have less money then ever, hardly surprising that when the opportunity arises a small minority will take advantage. As one said on the TV – my father would need two weeks salary just to buy some of this stuff in the luxury shops.
The government response has not been to negotiate or discuss improvements. Instead it has extended its power to put people it deems to be a threat to order in preventive detention. From now on it can also detain minors. New crimes and more severe penalties have been created. Government ministers have made ludicrous accusations today that the hand of Moscow or the Islamists are behind the incidents. It’s all about hybrid warfare against the left and Western values because kids are nicking trainers from FootLocker.
Trade union day of action on cost of living
At the end of the CGIL demonstration on Saturday there were many incidents. Fires were started. People attacked shops. A big Feltrinelli book store was invaded, books were scattered and some electronic items were pocketed. Official reports say 80% of those arrested were the previous day there were skirmishes in Turin and Bologna.
Landini, CGIL leader, provided some militant rhetoric at the march in Rome:
We are placing ourselves at the service of this process of change to put social justice back at the centre,’ because ‘this is not the time to ask young people to fight; it is time for us to fight to secure the rights they do not have, and the strike is the most solidarity-based tool there is’. A quote from Giuseppe di Vittorio (founder of the CGIL and member of the Constituent Assembly) is a must: “The working citizen, when alone, is weaker than the capitalist citizen. (from Il Manifesto, Luciano Cimino 18 October)
Poverty and inequality
So there is a potential for the demands of young people and of workers in general to come together. Already the south of Italy is being affected by industrial action taken by hauliers who are reeling under the costs of diesel. Poverty and inequality is rampant in Italy. As Franco Turigliatto from Sinistra Anticapitalista (Fourth International organization in Italy) points out on its web site:
The full burden of PAYE tax (80 per cent) falls on the shoulders of workers and pensioners. A jeweller declares less income than a teacher.
Too many flat-rate taxes for the self-employed, whilst inflation erodes pay packets.
Reduced spending, steep utility bills.
The cost of the weekly shop has risen by 24 per cent in five years.
Electricity prices are up 13 per cent.
The huge drain of rent, a hidden tax that eats into wages and savings. In Milan, rent amounts to 76 per cent of the average wage; in Rome, 65 per cent.
Millions of Italians (5.8 million) are foregoing medical treatment due to costs and regional inequalities: the figures on the healthcare crisis. Healthcare spending in Italy has fallen to 6.2 per cent of GDP, a figure below the European average that places our country among the lowest-ranked G7 nations.
Wages of Italian workers are lower than they were 30 years ago. It is less well known that the current wage agreement system is governed by rules which provide for wage increases linked solely to the price index, without, however, taking into account rises in energy prices. Not only, therefore, is any real improvement in wages prohibited, but their reduction is actually planned; all productivity gains benefit only the capitalists;
Added to this disgrace is an even greater one: there are millions more workers in precarious or part-time employment, the vast majority of whom are underpaid, and many others working entirely off the books on starvation wages. [1]
Right wing government stokes fear of other
One tactic the right wing government has been using to divide workers is to actively encourage fear over migration and crime. This works well for a key part of its electoral base which is self employed and small business people. Italy has a much bigger number of smaller family businesses than other European countries.
Fear of the other is also shamelessly cranked up by government passing laws against Muslims wearing the veil or the burka. Islamophobia is stoked and the rightwing split from Salvini’s Lega by ex General Vanacci only encourages this. Taxation is modified to reduce its weight on the self employed and business. Attacks on Palestine solidarity is another form of this – the amalgam between anti-Zionism and antisemitism is pursued in further anti-democratic moves.
The febrile political situation is also animated by next year’s general election. As is customary in Italy, the government is tweaking the electoral law so that the proportional representation system is modified to give an every bigger ‘bonus’ of seats to the winning coalition. The rules favour the formation of pre-electoral coalitions with the designation of the potential prime minister. This takes Italy further away from its much more democratic system that lasted until 1993. Meloni favours a more presidential system concentrating even more power in the hands of one individual.
As a result the opposition forces – the Democratic Party (PD) led by Elly Schlein, the Five Star movement (led by ex PM Conte) and the Left/Green Alliance (AVS) – are jockeying for who will lead the opposition coalition. There are some smaller even more moderate currents led by Calenda and Renzi (another ex PM) which may or may not end up inside the broad front. The prime minister designate will be decided by a primary where anyone can vote. Consequently the leader of the largest party does not necessarily win. Schlein’s latest declarations tack a little to the left as she criticizes the historic tendency of the PD to make electoral coalitions with the moderate centre. Inside her party three are the ‘reformists’ who want to do precisely that.
A fighting programme
We still do not know the programme of this centre left opposition. It will not be anything like the policies being proposed by Jean Luc Melenchon and La France Insoumise (LFI – France Unbowed) in France which do have a potential anti-capitalist dynamic. Turigliatto outlines some of the key policies that could repeat that in Italy:
substantial pay rises, including the minimum wage and a new sliding scale;
fair and proportional taxation;
the rejection of increased military spending – indeed, its reduction – and the conversion of arms factories;
a campaign against the normalisation of war;
the rights of migrants – which are nothing other than the rights of everyone – and the unity of all workers, putting an end to the disgrace of detention centres;
strong measures to restore public healthcare and the right to housing.
Of course the left needs to explain that the resources for this have to come from the pockets of the bosses and their profits. Over 40 years they have grabbed an additional 15 per cent of national income.
The anti-capitalist left in Italy has to build all these movements and the mobilizations on 30 of October and the 20 November. The various demands of the youth and students need to be brought together. A political alternative to the social liberal policies of the socalled centre left has to be patiently built.
Mass mobilizations can help give people on the left hope again.
Speaking to friends and comrades here you feel that a lot could be built if people could overcome the years of demoralization. The revolutionary left used to have a consistent presence in parliament but that has not been the case for a long time now. There is unlikely to be a coalition or current running to the left of the broad front. Nevertheless successful mobilizations could at least prevent a Meloni government mark two. Current opinion polls still indicate this is the most likely outcome if the social balance of forces does not radically change.
Dave Kellaway is a member of Anti*Capitalist Resistance, a constituent organisation of the section of the Fourth International in Britain.
Italy announces new security measures after Milan riots, deploying 500 soldiers
Italy announced tougher security measures on Tuesday after weekend riots in Milan left more than 100 police officers injured and shops looted. The government will deploy 500 additional soldiers, impose harsher penalties for violent protesters and hold parents financially responsible for damage caused by minors.
Italy announced new security measures on Tuesday aimed at tackling the kind of violent protests that caused damage to Milan's central shopping district when weekend rioters, many of them minors, looted stores and set fire to property.
A government decree calls for the deployment of an additional 500 soldiers to Milan through the end of the year, requiring parents to pay for damage caused by minors and making it easier to prosecute minors over 14.
In a video posted on social media, Premier Giorgia Meloni said the presence of so many young rioters was “painful and frightening”.
“Young people … came to the square to smash things, steal and film themselves doing it,” Meloni said. “This is a phenomenon that we must address seriously, also to prevent those images from becoming a model for others to imitate.”
The decree also creates a new criminal offence of violent participation in a demonstration, punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to 20,000 euros ($22,500). Penalties increase if offenders cover their faces or someone is injured.
Protesters will be responsible for paying for property damage, with parents liable for damage caused by minors, Meloni said.
The decree, which must be converted to law by parliament within 60 days, also automatically presumes that anyone over the age of 14 is capable of understanding their own actions, unless proven otherwise. That was previously up to a judge to determine.
Meloni also said the government would add new beds to detention facilities and judges to the juvenile justice system.
Cover image: La Policía se enfrenta a manifestantes de "Italia in Piazza" en Milán, Italia, el sábado 17 de octubre de 2026. Stefano Porta/LaPresse via AP - Stefano Porta 02:37
Police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse rioters, many with their faces covered, who clashed with police, looted stores and set property on fire in central Milan on Saturday. Looting and violence continued on Sunday, with authorities saying more than 100 police officers were injured over two days.
Milan police said 2,000 youths participated in the riots on Saturday night, including a large number of naturalised Italians born to foreign parents as well as foreign nationals. Of the roughly 50 people arrested over the weekend, more than 30 are minors.
The unrest coincided with nationwide demonstrations in neighbouring France against rising living costs and in support of high school students' grievances. French police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse violent protesters who joined the rallies.
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