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Sicily revokes century-old Mondello beach concession over mafia links

Regional authorities withdraw permit after citing risk of organised crime infiltration linked to a subcontractor

It is one of Europe’s most celebrated shorelines, framed by mountains and 19th-century villas and famed for its Caribbean-blue water and white sand.

But Mondello beach in Palermo, Sicily, has also been mired in controversy, the subject of complaints stretching back a century from residents and tourists who say its private lidos, cabins and deckchairs have left scant room for public access.

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© Photograph: Kess16/Alamy

© Photograph: Kess16/Alamy

© Photograph: Kess16/Alamy

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Firefighters in Sicily rescue 400 rare library books from precipice after landslide

Landslide in Niscemi in January tore away entire slope of town and carved 4km chasm

Firefighters in Sicily have rescued about 400 rare books from a library in Niscemi that hangs on the edge of a mudflow, after a devastating landslide in January tore away an entire slope of the town and carved a 4km chasm.

The library stands on the lip of the precipice gouged out by the landslide, with part of the building in effect hanging in mid-air. The recovery operation, which began on Monday, was preceded by a detailed study of floor plans and interior photographs to map the position of the books.

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© Photograph: Courtesy of Sicilian Unit of Firefighters

© Photograph: Courtesy of Sicilian Unit of Firefighters

© Photograph: Courtesy of Sicilian Unit of Firefighters

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Mafia accused of using Naples hospital for fraud and illegal transport of corpses

Four arrests over Camorra’s alleged infiltration of San Giovanni Bosco to carry out lucrative criminal activity

Italian police on Wednesday arrested four people over an alleged Camorra plot to infiltrate a Naples hospital, stage fake crashes for insurance payouts and spirit corpses away on oxygen-masked stretchers to profit from private ambulance transfers.

The investigation, prompted by the testimony of a state witness, uncovered a web of lucrative criminal activity allegedly carried out by members of the Contini clan of the Camorra, the Neapolitan mafia, inside San Giovanni Bosco hospital. Prosecutors said the “operations were made possible by the organisation’s capacity for intimidation, a force that bent public officials and private citizens alike to its will”.

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© Photograph: Regione Campania

© Photograph: Regione Campania

© Photograph: Regione Campania

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