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Italian beach managers make waves over EU competition law rollout

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Italian beach managers make waves over EU competition law rollout

New compulsory tendering processes are set to upend licensing in some of Italy’s most profitable resorts, and longtime operators are furious.

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Italy’s beach managers, or “balneari”, folded up their banana loungers and closed their umbrellas for two hours on Friday in protest at a new licensing law.

Italy’s coveted private beach licenses allow proprietors to seal off prized seafront space and rent out areas for sun loungers and beach umbrellas. These permits have been typically handed down through families and monopolised for generations — until now.

Starting early next year, under a law passed by Rome in compliance with EU regulations, beach club proprietors will have to apply for permits via new tender processes.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has faced mounting pressure to create a fairer playing field for the tightly-controlled beach real estate market since the EU’s top court ruled in 2023 that licences should not be automatically renewed.

The European Court of Justice ruled that Rome must comply with decades-old EU legislation, also known as the Bolkestein Directive, which aims to remove barriers to the bloc’s trade and services while increasing transparency.

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Previous governments have dragged their feet on implementing the process, but Brussels has demonstrated it is keen to apply pressure — and ready to hand out fines — to liberalise Italy’s seafronts.

The directive covers everything from the construction sector to the tourism industry, including Italy’s privatised beaches, a stretch of highly profitable sand occupying 50% of the country’s coastline, according to the Italian environmental association Legambiente.

Valentina Fabbri is the president of Italian hospitality advocacy organisation Ostia Fiumicino Confesercenti. She said 30,000 businesses and workers will be left in the lurch by the new system, which only guarantees year-long licenses.

“We are asking the government for a concrete, practical commitment,” she said.

Speaking on Ostia beach near Rome, Fabri addded that business owners who have invested on these shorelines for generations also deserve reimbursement.

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Ruggero Barbadoro, President of Rome’s Confesercenti Fiba — a confederation representing commercial, tourist and service operators in the bathing sector — said the recent legislative shift had caused “problems” that spurred on the nationwide protest.

“Closing the umbrella until 9:30am is symbolic,” he said.

“But the real protest is that no one is giving us a chance to be able to renew the concessions and work and see a future [and] guarantee us a future.”

Beachgoers are sympathetic to the concerns of the balneari, with one at Ostia describing the protest as “very fair”.

Another argued the protest is “legitimate” because business owners have had their legs “cut off” by the new laws, which not only impact them but have a knock-on effect on lifeguards, cleaners and other seasonal employees.

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‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ Launches Atop U.K., Ireland Box Office

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‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ Launches Atop U.K., Ireland Box Office

Sony’s “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” launched atop the U.K. and Ireland box office, opening to £3.3 million ($4.5 million) and taking the No. 1 spot, according to Comscore.

Lionsgate U.K.’s “The Housemaid” moved to second place in its fourth weekend, adding $3.8 million for a robust cumulative total of $30.5 million. Universal’s awards-season contender “Hamnet” placed third, earning $3.5 million in its sophomore frame and pushing its running total to $11.3 million.

Disney’s tentpole “Avatar: Fire and Ash” continued its strong run in fourth place with $2.3 million, lifting its cumulative gross to $51.8 million. Entertainment Film Distributors’ “Marty Supreme” rounded out the top five, collecting $2 million in its fourth weekend for a $16 million total.

Further down the chart, Disney’s “Zootopia 2” landed sixth with $1.3 million, taking its total to $41.1 million. Disney also debuted “Rental Family” in seventh, where it opened to $705,000. Warner Bros.’ reissue of “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” opened in eighth place with $639,000.

Paramount’s “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants” claimed ninth place, adding $631,000 for a cumulative $10 million, while Sony’s “Anaconda” completed the top 10 with $406,000, bringing its total haul to $7 million.

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A varied slate rolls into U.K. and Irish cinemas from Jan. 22, led by event cinema and a cluster of high-profile wide releases. The National Theatre brings “Hamlet – NT Live 2026” to the big screen, while Trafalgar Releasing adds music documentary fare with “Megadeth: Behind the Mask.”

The week’s biggest commercial muscle arrives on Jan. 23 with Universal’s “The History of Sound,” Oliver Hermanus’ romantic drama starring Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor, which lands on 300+ screens. Sony is opening cyber thriller “Mercy,” while Entertainment Film Distributors unleashes genre sequel “Return to Silent Hill,” targeting horror fans. Vertigo Releasing is opening “Saipan,” a soccer drama headlined by Steve Coogan, Éanna Hardwicke and Alice Lowe.

Family audiences are catered for with Miracle/Dazzler’s animated “Dogs at the Opera,” while Lionsgate U.K. releases “H Is for Hawk,” the adaptation of Helen Macdonald’s acclaimed memoir. Mubi adds arthouse weight with Park Chan-wook’s Oscar-shortlisted “No Other Choice,” and AA Films U.K. brings in Bollywood war film “Border 2.” Rounding out the slate is BUFF Studios’ “Heavyweight,” a boxing drama featuring Nicholas Pinnock and Jason Isaacs.

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Trump confirms he invited Putin to join his Board of Peace: ‘He’s been invited’

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Trump confirms he invited Putin to join his Board of Peace: ‘He’s been invited’

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U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin received an invitation to join his new Board of Peace that will supervise the next phase of the Gaza peace plan.

Trump confirmed Putin’s invitation while speaking to reporters at the College Football National Championship Game in Florida, where Indiana defeated Miami.

“Yeah, he’s been invited,” Trump told reporters.

SIX COUNTRIES CONFIRM US INVITATIONS TO GAZA PEACE BOARD

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President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin as he arrives at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The Kremlin said earlier on Monday that Putin had received the invitation, adding that it is now “studying the details” and will seek clarity of “all the nuances” in communications with the U.S. government.

France has also received an invitation but does not plan to join the Board of Peace “at this stage,” a French official close to President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday.

The French official said the issue is raising questions, particularly with regard to respect for the principles and structure of the United Nations.

U.S. President Donald Trump meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

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Asked at the championship game about Macron being unlikely to join, Trump took jabs at his French counterpart and threatened tariffs for refusing to accept the invitation.

“Well, nobody wants him because he’s going to be out of office very soon,” Trump said of Macron.

“I’ll put a 200% tariff on his wines and champagnes, and he’ll join,” he added. “But he doesn’t have to join.”

LINDSEY GRAHAM MEETS WITH MOSSAD DIRECTOR DURING TRIP TO ISRAEL

U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron shake hands. (REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/Pool)

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Several other countries have also received invitations, including Israel, Canada, Belarus, Slovenia and Thailand.

Morocco, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Hungary and Argentina have already accepted invitations.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Australia closes dozens of east coast beaches after shark attacks

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Australia closes dozens of east coast beaches after shark attacks

NSW coastline has seen four shark attacks since Sunday, as experts say rainy conditions draw sharks to beach areas.

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Dozens of beaches along Australia’s eastern New South Wales (NSW) coastline have been closed following four confirmed shark attacks since the weekend.

The latest attack came on Tuesday near the town of Port Macquarie, about 400km (248 miles) north of Sydney, where a 39-year-old surfer was bitten by a shark at Point Plomer, according to Australia’s ABC News.

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Authorities say the victim escaped serious injury, but beaches around Port Macquarie were shuttered on Tuesday following the attack as the government-run Shark Smart App indicated dozens of recent shark sightings near NSW beaches.

Sydney’s Northern Beaches Council also shuttered its beaches for at least 48 hours after a 27-year-old man was left in critical condition on Monday night following a shark attack at a beach in the Sydney suburb of Manly.

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A young surfer at northern Sydney’s Dee Why beach narrowly escaped a shark attack the same day, although the shark bit a chunk out of his surfboard, according to ABC.

On Sunday, a 12-year-old was seriously injured by a shark while swimming at a beach in eastern Sydney, ABC reported.

“If you’re thinking about going for a swim, think of going to a local pool because at this stage, we’re advising that beaches are unsafe,” Steven Pearce, the chief executive of Surf Life Saving New South Wales, told reporters following the beach closures.

The beaches of NSW have been extra busy as Australians enjoy their summer holidays, but experts say recent heavy rains around Sydney have also created ideal conditions for shark attacks.

Brackish water makes it difficult to see, while sewage run-off from rainwater has drawn in baitfish and sharks to coastal areas, according to Chris Pepin-Neff, an academic and expert on shark behaviour.

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“Stay out of Sydney Harbour and the beach after a rainstorm. Wait 72 hours after a storm to swim in the harbour and be mindful of swimming or surfing at ocean beaches for 24 hours after a large downpour,” Pepin-Neff wrote on Tuesday in an op-ed for the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.

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