June 11, 2020
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"Italian News" cont’d from Page 8
Airport you are not allowed enthusiastic about the ability to to catch a train into Rome or travel from region to region to meet for any other destination). relatives and friends, the end of the travel ban has been criticized by • If you are on a short stopover other European countries. Due to between flights and do not concern about the contagion level of leave the airport, you are some regions of Italy, many European free to board a connecting countries, such as Austria and Greece, flight to any other domestic plan to keep their borders closed or international destination. to Italians. These restrictions will likely last through June 15 at the • You may rent a car (with or earliest, after which many plan to without a driver) or use a taxi. impose new restrictions and checks. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe • If you are traveling to Italy Conte said these travel restrictions from abroad for proven work, against Italy are “discriminatory and urgent or health reasons, you totally unacceptable,” and the Italian may delay the start of self- government is currently trying to isolation for 72 hours (or, in negotiate these re-openings with these exceptional circumstances, 120 countries. hours in total). The delay must Other European countries continue be justified by the same reasons to maintain strict travel restrictions. In that justified your traveling Germany, France, Greece, Portugal, to Italy in the first place. Denmark and Malta, tourists will not be admitted until June 15th, and Even though many Italians are Spain will keep its doors shut to
tourists until July 1. Nevertheless, negotiations are underway all over Europe about possible early lifting of these travel bans. Last week, the EU’s home affairs commissioner Ylva Johanson told media that “all of the Schengen zone’s internal border controls would be removed by the end of June, although a ban remains in place for non-essential travel coming from outside the bloc until 1 July.” As for travel within Italy, the governors of some southern Italian regions, which have been less affected by the pandemic than those in the north, have expressed concern over the loosening of the travel restrictions. Although Italy continues to see a downward trend of COVID-19 cases, the northern region of Lombardy still has the country’s most infections. As a precautionary measure, Sicily and Sardinia will require tourists to register through their regional government’s websites for tracing purposes during their holiday in the islands.
Navy Moves to Ban Confederate Flags on Bases, Ships, and Public Spaces By Gina Harkins, Military.com
T
he Navy’s top admiral is following the Marine Corps’ lead in banning the Confederate battle flag from all public spaces and work areas. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday has directed his staff to begin crafting an order that would prohibit the Confederate battle flag in many areas on bases, ships, aircraft and submarines. “The order is meant to ensure unit cohesion, preserve good order and discipline, and uphold the Navy’s core values of honor, courage and commitment,” said Cmdr. Nate Christensen, Gilday’s spokesman. The news comes days after the Marine Corps made official its policy to prohibit flags, T-shirts, mugs and other items that feature the Confederate flag.
Commanders are authorized to conduct inspections in some areas -- including schoolhouses, openbay barracks and bathrooms -- for the paraphernalia. Statues and other displays honoring Confederate leaders have been coming down across the country as protests continue after the death of George Floyd, a black man who died last month while in police custody. Demonstrators have flooded cities calling for an end to racism and police brutality. Army officials announced on Monday that top leaders are open to changing long-standing names of installations that honor Confederate leaders. Retired Army Gen. David Petraeus in a Tuesday op-ed for The Atlantic said the move is overdue. “The irony of training at bases
named for those who took up arms against the United States, and for the right to enslave others, is inescapable to anyone paying attention,” Petraeus wrote. “Now, belatedly, is the moment for us to pay such attention.” The Navy has not indicated when an official order banning Confederate items will be complete. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger announced his plans for a policy banning the flag in February, nearly four months before the policy was made official. Berger told Military.com in March that he chose to move ahead with the ban because anything that divides Marines is not good. “We have to think as a unit and how to build a team, a cohesive team,” Berger said.
