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in northeastern Italy—was killed in broad daylight
Ogorchukwu was allegedly beaten to death in the early afternoon on the central street of Civitanova by 32-year-old Filippo Ferlazzo
who is understood to suffer from a psychological disorder
The assailant reportedly used Ogorchukwu’s own crutch to strike him first
then crushed him with his bare hands until Ogorchukwu suffocated
it was triggered by Ogorchukwu’s “insistent” attempts to sell paper handkerchiefs
an Afro-Latin Umbrian and the creative director of FestivalDiverCity
a platform that fights discrimination and spotlights creators of African descent
It usually happens that the reasons that “make a death happen” are one of the criteria by which we judge the world around us and through which we question the validity of the morality of the societies in which we live or which we observe
we tell ourselves that it is unjust to die from hunger
that it is unjust to die from lack of care
and that it is unjust and unacceptable to die from war: the worst of human instruments of violence
The reasons deaths occur are one of the criteria by which we judge the world around us
and through which we question the validity of the morality of the societies in which we live
and that it is unjust and unacceptable to die from war—the worst of human instruments of violence
that the reasons some deaths—those of people of color—occur
To do so means looking into the face of the monster that lives in our homes
It is a monster that fears its own reflection
that is afraid to call itself by name and hides in the chaos of journalistic narratives in which the victim is dehumanized and the perpetrator is marginalized
as if to say that this brutality is only be a single case
not an example of an evil circulating in the bowels of Western history
It makes one pause to reflect that not even two years ago
Italy woke up from the privileged sleep of those who have never known racism because an African-American man was deprived of his breath—whereas in this case
a Black man was killed by a different manifestation of systemic racism
The country is struggling to come to terms with what has happened but risks falling back into a racist slumber where passers-by remain helpless and political leaders and opinion-makers
The death of Alika Ogurchukwu is yet another case of brutality perpetuated against people of color in Italy
Alika Ogorchukwu is our George Floyd because this death also highlights the form in which racism systematically presents itself in our societies
and illustrates the painful truth that his name is the umpteenth in a long list that today needs to be said out loud and made public and visible
As in the counterpart campaign we’ve seen in the US
public figures including the geopolitical editor Leila Belhadj Mohamed are emphasizing the need to “say their names.” We need to shout out those existences to the world because the priority today is to call into question any sense of “normality,” the general feeling of drowsiness that is the second violent fact of this affair
in order to reveal the cruelties of a colonialist cultural heritage according to which the bodies of Black people
because in a certain sense they are not “valid.”
The BIPOC communities of Italy need something
a sign to overcome the fear that grabs us first thing in the morning
It is with trembling hands and a lump in my throat that I write these words; and my hands are trembling and my throat is dry because
we and our loved ones risk being the next name on that list
Souls stolen from this world because they happen to be in a country without feelings
without a sense of justice and that has made the cowardly resumption of slow and inhuman suffocation preferable to courage and solidarity
will one day force us to have to give a talk to our children before they leave home; it will oblige and already obliges us today to look into the eyes of the people we love with the hope that it will not be for the last time and with the hope that the temple of their bodies will not encounter the violence that has unjustly persecuted us for generations
we need a perimeter of healing and care where we can give a sense of peace to traumatized communities in need of repair and love
We need to build community spaces where we can find strength
be afraid and at the same time feel safer by honoring those who have fought before us—answering the prayer of the ancestors
embodying the hope of those who have been separated from their loved ones and this world
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Louis Vuitton in Civitanova Marche: the footwear plant is ready
and it will start producing in the coming weeks
It will be the third largest Italian site for the French brand
Even with the market’s slowdown and the difficult matter of unsold…
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All you need to know about the leather industry
"In the playout matches the tension is very high - says Mazzetti - being able to play game 2 with the score at 1-0 gives us a lot of confidence. For now the girls deserve a round of applause, but we know that Wednesday will be a completely different story and we have a very hard task ahead of us to complete the job".
PERUGIA: Plotnytskyi 14, Ben Tara 10, Semeniuk 10, Loser 8, Solé 7, Giannelli 2, Colaci (L1), Herrera, Cianciotta, Piccinelli (L2). NE – Zoppellari, Ishikawa, Candellaro, Usowicz. Coaches Angelo Lorenzetti and Massimiliano Giaccardi.
CIVITANOVA MARCHE: Lagumdzija 16, Nikolov 10, Chinenyeze 4, Boninfante 3, Bottolo 1, Podrascanin 1, Bisotto (L1), Loeppky 4, Gargiulo 1, Hossein Khanzadeh, Dirlic, Orduna. NE – Tenorio, Dolcini (L2). Coaches Giampaolo Medei and Romano Giannini.
Referees: Massimiliano Giardini (VR) and Marzo Zavater (RM).
sparks racism debate amid election campaign focused on immigration
Hundreds of people marched in a central Italian town on Saturday
demanding justice for the murder of a Nigerian street vendor as prosecutors investigated an attack against a Nigerian woman in a separate incident
The killing in broad daylight of Alika Ogorchukwu, 39, and case of Beauty Davis, who was allegedly slapped by her restaurant owner boss after she asked for wages owed to her, sparked a racism debate in Italy amid an election campaign in which immigration is a central theme for a coalition containing two far-right parties that is tipped to win
Ogorchukwu was beaten to death in Civitanova Marche, on the Adriatic coast, allegedly by an Italian man who reacted violently after Ogorchukwu tried to sell him a packet of tissues. The suspect, said to suffer from psychiatric issues, was arrested although Matteo Luconi
adding that his response was provoked by Ogorchukwu’s “insistent request for a handout”
View image in fullscreenCharity Oriakhi (centre)
the widow of street vendor Alika Ogorchukwu
had been working as a dishwasher in a restaurant at a beach resort in the southern region of Calabria when she asked her employer for wages due
She claimed the man had only paid her for three hours a day
The confrontation was filmed and in the footage the man
who is being investigated for causing personal injury
a politician with the centre-left Democratic party
blames the incidents on “years of propaganda by the [far-right] League and Brothers of Italy” that has “always described immigrants as a threat to the security of Italians
She added: “We need immigrants to work in a variety of areas
but there is also this idea that you can exploit them
Because some people don’t consider them to be worthy of respect and because they are considered an inferior category.”
Brothers of Italy, a party with neofascist roots headed by Giorgia Meloni, is leading a coalition including Matteo Salvini’s League and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia that is predicted to win the election on 25 September.
Read moreSalvini said he hoped the punishment against Ogorchukwu’s assailant was “the maximum possible”
and in response to the attack against Davis
Unfortunately there are hundreds of Italians attacked every day … we are not here to classify whether the aggression is white
Although Italy passed legislation in 1993 that outlawed racist violence and hate speech
a motive of racism is rarely recognised by judges if a case reaches court
middle-aged men who are embedded in a system of white supremacy,” said Kwanza Musi Dos Santos
a Rome-based member of the national anti-racist network DEI Futuro Antirazzista
“They’re not going to recognise [racism] and even if they are in a position of power
they will never report it or call it out.”
However, Dos Santos also blames leftwing parties for failing to tackle immigration in a constructive way, instead treating it as a problem and supporting laws such as the anti-immigration bill brought in by Salvini during his stint as interior minister in 2018
when the Italian government was led by a coalition of the Democratic party and Five Star Movement
it renewed an EU-sponsored deal that funds the Libyan coastguard to essentially keep migrants out of Europe
“The leftwing actually acts exactly like Salvini
instead using the ideological propaganda of saying ‘we’re not against immigration’
but actually what they do is treat it as a problem
just like the right wing,” said Dos Santos
ROME (AP) — Italians debated Sunday whether a Nigerian street vendor could have been saved from a fatal attack by an enraged Italian man that played out in public as bystanders watched
Mourners left flowers and placards denouncing the violence and the indifference of those nearby
as strollers promenaded along a bustling shopping street in Civitanova Marche
was left for dead after first being struck with his own crutch and then pummeled furiously by the suspect
"Four-minute long horror,'' headlined Corriere della Sera
noting that other Nigerian immigrants in the town had decried the indifference and racism seen in the killing
Video footage of the attack has circulated on Italian news websites and social media
A judge on Monday will rule if the alleged attacker
identified by police as Filippo Claudio Giuseppe Ferlazzo
should remain jailed during the investigation
Police investigator Matteo Luconi told reporters on Saturday that the assailant went after the vendor following “insistent” requests by Ogorchukwu to the suspect and his female companion for pocket change
The slain man’s lawyer said he was attacked after complimenting the woman's beauty
An autopsy will help determine if Ogorchukwu died from the beating or possibly was strangled as he lay on his back
his attacker on top of him and striking him
Ogorchukwu frequently peddled packets of tissues or cigarette lighters to customers
During a popular talk show on Italian state radio Sunday
listeners called in to decry the indifference of at least two bystanders who filmed the event and the fear the attack generated.
One listener recalled a young man beaten to death by a gang of Italian youths near Rome in 2020 when he tried to defend a friend and subdue a fight
a cook whose family originated from Cape Verde
people paused at the spot where Ogorchukwu died
leaving flowers and tying placards to a tree
Some radio listeners were indignant that two bystanders used their phones to film the attack and no one apparently tried to pull the suspect off his victim
The police said some did call to report an attack in progress
One caller asked the host what would he have done if he were there
“I would have kicked him," replied Mario Sechi
The attack comes as Italian politicians begin campaigning for an early parliamentary election on Sept
The anti-migrant head of the right-wing League party
has made immigration as well as protecting citizens from violent crime his top issues
Salvini in a tweet contended that his center-left opponents were exploiting the Nigerian's death to “accuse me
the League and millions of Italians of racism
several minutes of silence would be held at Sunday's Masses
The mayor of the nearby San Severino Marche
Italian media said local citizens also started fundraising to help his widow
This story has been corrected to show that the killing happened Friday
rewritten or redistributed without permission
Investigation Should Consider Racist Motivation
On Friday in the small town of Civitanova Marche on Italy’s Adriatic coast, an Italian man beat and strangled a Nigerian street vendor in broad daylight
had apparently tried to sell the alleged assailant and his girlfriend a packet of tissues and then asked for some change
Public debate is focused on gruesome details of the crime: Ogorchukwu was beaten with the crutch he used to walk and bystanders failed to intervene for the four minutes it took to kill him
Attention has also focused on the fact that the suspect’s lawyer says the suspect has a mental health condition
Italy has historically failed to respond adequately to hate crimes
It has a law providing for longer prison sentences for racially aggravated crimes
and courts tend to pursue this only if racism is identified as the sole motive
That’s why in 2009 a court didn’t recognize any racist motivation when it convicted two men of murdering 19-year-old Italian Abdoul Guiebre after he stole a packet of cookies from their coffee shop
even though the killers shouted racist slurs and
go back to your own country.” The judge ruled that the perpetrators had
“a conservative vision of one’s cultural and territorial integrity
more than in a discriminatory theory of racial superiority.”
“If my son had had a different color of skin
the [perpetrators] wouldn’t have acted like that.”
The failure to identify hate crimes reflects a failure to acknowledge that racialized thinking influences behavior. It also means official statistics for hate crimes are low, giving Italian authorities and society a pretext to claim racially aggravated violence is rare and adopt the platitude that “Italy is not a racist country.”
Italy needs to reckon with the institutional racism in its laws and policies
A call by all parties for a serious investigation of the role race played in the killing would be a start
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Beating in broad daylight of Alika Ogorchukwu in Civitanova Marche sparks outrage and protests
An Italian man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a Nigerian street seller
whose beating in broad daylight was reportedly filmed by onlookers and which has sparked outrage and protests
was killed in the centre of Civitanova Marche on Friday afternoon
A 32-year-old man from Salerno in the Campania region has been arrested on charges of murder and allegedly stealing Ogorchukwu’s mobile phone
the alleged attacker responded violently when Ogorchukwu said to his girlfriend: “Bella
can you buy some handkerchiefs or give me one euro.” The man is alleged to have grabbed a crutch the vendor used to walk and struck him down
The attack was recorded on several surveillance cameras
“Witnesses will be heard and camera images viewed to clarify the dynamics of the beating,” said Matteo Luconi
Hundreds of people from the Nigerian community and Italians
protested in Civitanova Marche on Saturday
The protesters were reportedly angry that those who witnessed the attack did nothing to intervene
instead recording the event on their mobile phones
The killing was condemned by Francesco Acquaroli
a politician with the far-right Brothers of Italy who has been president of the Marche region since September 2020
“Along with expressing deep condolences to Alika’s family
it is also necessary to reiterate the firm condemnation of an act of insane and unprecedented violence
which has no justification and which damages the entire Marche region,” Acquaroli said
The killing was reminiscent of when Luca Traini
wounded six African migrants in a shooting rampage in Macerata in February 2018
weeks before general elections in which immigration was a central theme for rightwing parties
Italy is holding snap elections on 25 September
which a coalition led by Brothers of Italy and including Matteo Salvini’s far-right League and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia is tipped to win
Tackling illegal immigration and tightening national security are among the coalition’s priorities
I hope the penalty is the maximum possible,” said Salvini
a priest and founder of a welfare association
blamed the killing on “racism and anger that is vented on the most fragile”
He told La Repubblica: “We live in a distrustful region
where black people are accepted only if they do the humblest of jobs.”
said: “A man was killed on the street in Civitanova Marche with brutal violence
indifference and anger find an outlet on the weakest.”
a Senegalese street vendor who had lived in Italy for more than two decades
died after being shot at six times as he sold his wares on Florence’s Vespucci Bridge
His killer was Roberto Pirrone
a 65-year-old white Italian who told police he had planned to commit suicide
When he could not pluck up the courage to kill himself
This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025
The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media
I’m a fan of not thinking ideas through too much
Life’s more of an adventure when you come up with a half-baked plan and give it a go
you’ve still had an experience and you have a story to tell
this might not be the best approach if you work in aerospace
but for the rest of us it kind of does the job
You can plan stuff to the nth degree and pretty much know before you start that it’s all going to end up comfortable and smooth
Or you can just get a dumb-ass idea in your head and wing it
We’re at the Hotel Belvedere in Riccione on the road.cc Italy Week and we spotted a little sign saying that Stage 10 of this year’s Giro d’Italia passes through the outskirts of the town
It’s a 120-mile (200km) mainly flat route from Civitanova Marche to Forli
a stage that’s definitely going to be one for the sprinters
why don’t we go and ride the route?” I said
And neither of the two Daves had the sense to say
don't be such a tit,” so the following morning we found ourselves getting up at 5am to catch a train to the start
I don’t know about you but I’m a different person in the morning to the person I am in the evening
When the alarm clock goes off and I’m applying sunscreen before it’s even light
I find myself cursing the idiot I was the previous day
the security guard at the hotel’s front desk was thinking much the same thing
Not once you’ve told everyone what you’re up to
So off we rolled down to the stazione for the ridiculous o’clock express to Civitanova
three cappuccini and six pastries later and we’re hitting the ‘start’ buttons on our bike computers
a few rippling hills for about 15 miles (24km) starting at around the halfway mark
and that’s about yer lot as far as climbing goes
you’re talking about bridges over the motorway
When you’re organising a big race like the Giro you usually stick to big roads
With getting on for 200 riders plus all the team cars
That’s why we soon found ourselves riding on A roads
Big A roads that big lorries use to get around the country
not ones that you’d generally choose as a cyclist
not unless you had a particular interest in bypasses
service stations and/or out-of-town superstores
Italy has so much to offer cyclists: beautiful countryside
It’s pretty much the perfect cycling destination
the road.cc boys are breathing in the fumes coming out of the back of tipper trucks as they pass about a foot to the left
We did the first 20 miles in 50mins and by the time we got to Ancona my Garmin was telling me that we were averaging 24mph
Goodness knows how fast the pros will do it
Fulltime athletes riding in a big pack will polish it off in no time
There were just three of us so we were more like a breakaway
but we were still rattling through the miles without much trouble
One other thing that race organisers like to do is to send the race through the middle of towns
the people of Ancona – and everywhere else we passed through – wanted to get on with their lives
Pro riders also have the route marked up and a lead car to follow
had a hastily cobbled together map on Big Dave’s Garmin 1000
That’s fine most of the time but if there was a road closure or something
there were quite a lot of road closures over the course of our ride
eventually found the right road out of town
45 miles in and we were all out of food and drink so we pulled over for our first stop of the day
That’s another advantage the pros have
They have everything handed up to them as they ride
it gave us a good excuse to take it easy for 10mins and refuel on turbo-charged doughnuts
I’d like to shake the hand of the culinary genius who invented these
with energy reserves restocked we were back to more of the same
There’s absolutely no way we could paint this as an enchanting ride
we were following the Adriatic coast but we saw more of Carrefour supermarkets and those big stores that sell cheap sports goods than we did of the sea
We got a bit more town centre action in Fano – where we had to contend with more road closures
believe it or not – before hitting roads we already knew
Riccione is about two-thirds of the way into the Stage 10 route and over the past few days we’ve ridden a lot of the same sections the Giro will use
After a spot of lunch in the coastal town of Pesaro
we started on the most interesting riding of the day
There’s a climb of about two miles straight out of Pesaro itself that’s not too steep but it takes in a few hairpins – it’s a fourth category climb in the Giro’s mountains classification – and then the terrain goes up and down erratically for the next few miles
The climbs aren’t long but the roads are narrow and winding so a group might well try to get away here on race day
they’ll never make it stick; not with 45 flat miles to the finish
on our ride it didn’t last long enough
After a long descent from Panorama da Gabicce Monte we were back on the A roads with traffic
you have to keep these things in perspective
How bad can it be where the sun is shining and you’re out on a bike
Santarcangelo di Romagna and then crossed the Rubicon at about 100 miles
the hills and the occasional headwind had pushed our speed down a bit but I did notice that we clocked the century at 4:39hrs and we were still ticking along well.
We had to go into the town because that’s the route the pros will ride
but they’ll almost certainly have more success than we did at getting out again
an invisible force seemingly dragging us back into the centre on each occasion like a big magnet that attracts carbon fibre
We did find out that Cesena has an ippodromo
so if you like horse racing it could be the place for you
We might have seen the football stadium at one stage too
we got the hell out of there as soon as we could
Back out on the open road and we were seeing signs for Forli
the town where we'd complete our adventure
We’ve got well over 100 miles in our legs and all of a sudden the finish line is shuffling backwards to keep us at arm’s length
We upped our speed a bit in order to outfox Forli – there was no way we were going to be outrun by a town – and we gradually started to catch up with it
The best that could be said of those last few miles is that they were flat so the mileage clicked over pretty quickly
There’s not much worse than looking down at your computer to see how much progress you’ve made and finding out that the ‘distance’ figure is stubbornly refusing to change
we didn’t actually have a finish line
found the station for our trip back to Riccione
and parked ourselves in the nearest café for a couple of beers while we waited for the train home
rather than the 120 miles we were expecting
we actually clocked up 132 (a lot of them in Cesena)
It took us just over 6hrs at 21.5mph despite all the traffic and the town centres
riding a mostly flat Grand Tour stage route isn’t nearly as much fun as riding a mountain stage route
We’ve done this ride so you don’t have to
I won’t be rushing back to do anything similar in future
but it was fun in a setting and completing a challenge kind of a way
We also learnt just how hard it would be to make any breakaway work on a flat stage like that
Doing that route in a big group would be ridiculously easy if you just sat in
No wonder most breakaways get caught on flat stages
The Civitanova Marche - Forli stage of the Giro d’Italia takes place on Tuesday 19 May
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Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist
and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus
Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade
and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing
He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run
Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism
and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer
he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions
but that's no reason not to slip a crafty classical allusion in there
Not the best roads IIRC but a good ride and equally good read all the same
Inland from Ancona has some lovely roads - happy hours spent exploring on down time during the Sarajevo airlift
I’m a fan of not thinking ideas through too much
Life’s more of an adventure when you come up with a half-baked plan and give it a go
you’ve still had an experience and you have a story to tell
Some of my most memorable group cycle rides have been 'planned' like that
very impressed by the correct use of the plural of cappucino - cappucini - bravo ragazzo
Entertaining report--you guys will remember it fondly in 30 years
I just wonder if there were tailwinds helping
looks like an entertaining day despite the trucks
each day bookended with breakfast/bath time for twin toddlers
there was no way we were going to by outrun by a town -
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Ambassador Mfawa Omini Abam has condemned the gruesome murder and has commiserated with Mrs
wife of the deceased and the rest of his family
His Excellency has directed the provision of immediate consular assistance as appropriate
The Embassy is currently collaborating with relevant Italian authorities to ensure justice is served and to provide succour to the family of the deceased
Ambassador Abam wishes to enjoin members of the Nigerian community in Italy to remain calm and to refrain from taking laws into their hands
His Excellency wishes to reassure Nigerians in Italy that citizen’s diplomacy remained the key thrust of his administration and will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that all Nigerians in Italy receive timely
efficient and professional consular services
and website in this browser for the next time I comment
Join our newsletter to instantly receive news about Nigerians in Diaspora Commission
Alika Ogorchukwu beaten to death in broad daylight while onlookers stood by in far right-led Marche region
Video footage of a Nigerian street seller being attacked and killed in broad daylight in Italy has sparked a row over far-right parties’ xenophobic tactics in the country’s election campaign
was killed on Friday in the centre of Civitanova Marche
According to Italian media reports and witnesses
the attack began after Ogorchukwu made “insistent” requests to sell handkerchiefs and “for pocket change”
Video recorded by onlookers who apparently did not attempt to intervene shows the attacker wrestling Ogorchukwu on to his back on the pavement as the victim tried to fight back
The assailant allegedly grabbed a crutch that the vendor used to walk and struck him down
The attack was also recorded on several surveillance cameras
said: “Witnesses will be heard and camera images viewed to clarify the dynamics of the beating.”
Hundreds of people from the Nigerian community and Italians protested in Civitanova Marche on Saturday
Some compared the killing to that of George Floyd in the US
said: “I want to look that man in the eye and ask him why he killed my husband
The incident has caused outrage in Italy
which will hold snap elections on 25 September
A coalition led by Brothers of Italy and including Matteo Salvini’s far-right League and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia is tipped to win power
A few days after Mario Draghi confirmed his resignation as prime minister on 21 July
members and leaders of the coalition began preparing their electoral campaign by posting on Twitter news of crimes and rapes allegedly committed by “fake refugees” and “illegal immigrants”
Tackling immigration and tightening national security are among the coalition’s priorities
said: “Some political parties are legitimising fear and hatred towards those who are different
This is a serious danger that we must fight every day.”
a local priest and founder of the Capodarco Community
an association that takes care of refugees and people with disabilities
told La Repubblica: “We live in a distrustful region
where black people are accepted only if they do the humblest of jobs
We are dealing here with a culture that despises anyone who is not white and local
You have to think that when a black priest says mass then there are people who come to me to complain because according to them that mass is not valid.”
The Marche region has been ruled since 2020 by Brothers of Italy, a descendant of the neofascist Italian Social Movement (MSI). The party’s leader, Giorgia Meloni, who could become Italy’s first far-right leader since Mussolini, once said Italy needed to “repatriate the migrants back to their countries and then sink the boats who rescued them”
Many on social media accused Salvini and Meloni of spreading hatred against asylum seekers during their political rallies
the leader of the leftwing Democratic party
the Brothers of Italy president of the Marche region
Salvini and Meloni also denounced the killing and said they hoped the perpetrator would receive the maximum possible sentence
a 39-year-old Nigerian street seller from Civitanova Marche (Macerata)
was killed in broad daylight on 29 July in front of passers-by
Alika was allegedly beaten to death in the early afternoon in the central street of Civitanova by 32-year-old Filippo Ferlazzo
The assailant reportedly used Alika’s own crutch to strike him first
then beat him and crushed him with his bare hands until Alika suffocated
which was captured on mobile phone footage
According to reports it was triggered by Alika’s “insistent” attempts to sell paper handkerchiefs
and that it is unjust and unacceptable to die from war – the worst of human instruments of violence
that the reasons some deaths – those of people of colour – occur
To do so means looking into the face of the “monster” that lives in our homes
that is afraid to call itself by name and hides in the chaos of journalistic narratives in which the victim is dehumanised and perpetrator is marginalised
The death of Alika Ogurchukwu sparked protests in Italy
It makes one stop and reflect to think that
Italy woke up from the privileged sleep of those who have never known racism because an African-American man was deprived of his breath – whereas this time a Black man was killed by a different manifestation of systemic racism
The country is struggling to come to terms with what has happened
but risks falling back into a racist slumber where passers-by remain helpless and political leaders and opinion-makers – even progressive ones – ignore the second pandemic
The death of Alika Ogurchukwu is yet another case of brutality perpetuated against people of colour in Italy. Alika Ogorchukwu is our George Floyd because
this death highlights the form in which racism systematically presents itself in our societies
and illustrates the painful truth that his name is just the latest in a long list that today needs to be said out loud and made public and visible
public figures including the geopolitical editor Leila Belhadj Mohamed are emphasising the need to “say their names”
We must shout these existences to the world in order to question any sense of normality – the general feeling of drowsiness that is the second violent fact of this affair – in order to reveal the cruelties of a colonialist cultural heritage according to which the bodies of Blacks
because in a certain sense they are not “valid”
The Black community in Italy needs something
a sign to overcome the fear that grabs us from early in the morning
It is with trembling hands and a lump in my throat that I write these words
will one day force us to have to give a “talk” to our children before they leave home; it will oblige and already obliges us today to look into the eyes of the people we love with the hope that it will not be for the last time
and with the hope that the temple of their bodies will not encounter the violence that has unjustly persecuted us for generations
Castel Volturno, 1986, Thomas Quaye and George Anang
Provincia di Caserta, 1987, Fouad Khaimarouni
Mondragone, 30 September 1988, Juma Iddi Bayar
Casal di Principe, 6 April 1989, Ben Alì Hassen
Casapesenna, 3 June 1989, Abderrhmann Meftah and Baid Bouchaid
Caserta, 25 August 1989, Jerry Essan Masslo
Province of Varese, 17 June 2008, Said Abdel Halim
Massacre of Castel Volturno, 18 September 2008, Kwame Antwi Julius Francis, Affun Yeboa Eric, Christopher Adams, El Hadji Ababa e Samuel Kwako, Jeemes Alex, Kwado Owuso Wiafe and Karim Yabuku
Milan 14 September 2008, Abdul William Guibre
Civitavecchia, 21 January 2009, Cheik Diouf
Florence, 11 December 2011, Samb Modou and Diop Mor
Marches, 7 July 2016, Emmanuel Chidi Namdi
Reggio Calabria, 27 January 2018, Becky Moses
Foggia, 28 March 2019, African migrant killed (without ID)
Colleferro, 6 September 2020, Willy Monteiro Duarte
Voghera, 23 July 2021, Youns El Boussettaoui
Turin, 20 December 2021, Souleymane Adama Coundoul
Civitanova Marche, 29 July 2022, Alika Ogorchukwu
Wanted in RomeMagazine
A 39-year-old Nigerian man was beaten to death on the street in Civitanova Marche
a seaside town in Italy's central Marche region
was beaten on the head with his own crutch after reportedly complimenting the female companion of the man who killed him
a 32-year-old Italian man from the Campania region around Naples
The murder occurred at lunchtime on a busy street in front of shocked onlookers
some of whom filmed the attack with their cell phones
a voice is heard shouting "You will kill him"
The attacker reportedly used his knee to crush Ogorchukwu's head to the ground
before fleeing the scene after stealing the victim's phone
was well known in the town and was described by local residents as "never a problem
His killing recalls the murder of another Nigerian man in a racially-motivated attack in the nearby Marche town of Fermo in 2016
was killed after coming to the defence of his wife who had been called an "African monkey" by an Italian right-wing football hooligan
In 2018 an Italian man with extreme right-wing views shot and wounded six African migrants
in a racially motivated attack in Macerata
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Obiettivo Risarcimento won the Italian Team Championship on Sunday
A last-minute substitute worked out well: GM Hikaru Nakamura won an important game as Black in a King's Indian
A number of top GMs are active in the Italian and Russian team championships this week
such as GMs Hikaru Nakamura, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Etienne Bacrot (Italy), Vladimir Kramnik, Levon Aronian and Alexei Shirov (Russia)
A separate report on the Russian league will follow soon
The 47th Italian Team Championship took place April 29 to May 3 in Civitanova Marche
a town along the Adriatic coast, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Ancona. The tournament was a Swiss event with 18 teams
Vachier-Lagrave and Bacrot were all playing for the same team
easily making reigning champion Obiettivo Risarcimento from Padova the top favorite. The team did manage to retain its title
there's a reasonable chance that something goes wrong if not everyone is in great shape
In the first round Pizzato Elettrica Scacchi Marostica
was beaten 3-1 even though GM Daniele Vocaturo lost to IM Mark Quinn
On board one GM Etienne Bacrot beat IM Federico Manca
who missed a chance to force a draw just before the time control:
GM Etienne Bacrot is in a slightly better position against IM Federico Manca on board 1. #cismaster2015 pic.twitter.com/nugnVfNRQL
Bacrot also played in round two (held on the same day) when he was held to a draw by GM Luka Lenic
Obiettivo's top board was changed for rounds three and four: then it was GM Hikaru Nakamura who played
First he drew with GM Sabino Brunello (yet another 3-1
but the next day he easily set aside FM Christian Cacco:
Later on the same day (last Friday) Nakamura gave up his seat for yet another top gun: GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Coming to Italy right after the Shamkir Chess tournament
the French GM suffered a surprising loss to FM Nicola Altini
Arrocco Chess Club A Montesilvano ended in 2-2
but at the end of the day Obiettivo was still comfortably leading with two match points ahead of four other teams
On Saturday MVL didn't get anything with White against GM Mladen Palac
Normally that would have been fine against the much weaker Banca Nuova Palermo
GM Michele Godena and GM Daniele Vocaturo were both held to a draw by FM Piero Mazzilli and FM Andrea Amato respectively
and GM Danyyil Dvirnyy even lost
How a grandmaster could take back on c6 with his queen is truly puzzling..
Suddenly the Italian league would see a very exciting final round on Sunday morning
Obiettivo Risarcimento played the new leader
as only the number one of the Italian league gets to play the European Club Cup
Vachier-Lagrave was supposed to play three games
“I wasn't playing my best chess to say the least
We discussed the issue the day before and I agreed it was better for me to rest,” MVL told Chess.com
At the last minute — about 8 pm on Saturday night
with the last round starting at 9 am Sunday morning — Obiettivo's manager Gaetano Quaranta asked Nakamura to play
The American grandmaster was supposed to play only two games
but nevertheless accepted the challenge.
Nakamura used the King's Indian to beat Polish GM Bartosz Socko as Black:
Vocaturo drew but both Dvirnyy and Mogranzini won
to set the final score at 3.5-0.5. WorldTradingLab Club 64 Modena beat Banca Nuova Palermo 2.5-1.5 to finish on the same number of match points
#cismaster2015 Nakamura Vachier-Lagrave Bacrot win Italian Team Championship with Padova photo by Giordando Macellari pic.twitter.com/FCdG4IkSfy
According to the regulations only one foreign player can play in an individual match
so that's why Obiettivo's three 2700s played in different rounds
Last year GM Fabiano Caruana still played for the team as well (under the Italian flag!) so back then it was still possible to come up with two 2700s
recently Caruana switched to the Azerbaijani powerhouse SOCAR and because of the one-foreigner rule this was quite a blow for Obiettivo.
Meanwhile the team has signed up more big names: GM Sergey Karjakin and GM Peter Leko
Even without Caruana they will be one of the favorites at the next European Club Cup
Email: peter@chess.com FOR SUPPORT PLEASE USE chess.com/support!Phone: 1 (800) 318-2827Address: 877 E 1200 S #970397
A SMALL Italian town has become world famous after accidentally erecting some rude Christmas lights on its palm trees.
Photos of the Christmas lights in Civitanova Marche have gone viral after being posted on Twitter by American model Amanda Cerny.
She pointed out how the phallic the decorations look and wrote: "Why you don't put Christmas lights on palm trees."
The lights cover the trunk of the tree and its bulbous top, before suprting out along the leaves of the palm trees.
Many people on Twitter tried to guess where the inappropriately decorated palm trees were, with most guessing Florida or Arizona in the United States.
Mark Aselstine said: "Having grown up in San Diego I've got to add: sometimes you work with what you've got."
But the lights are actually in Citanova Marche on the east coast of Italy.
Local newspaper Cronache Maceratesi reported that town officials have taken the teasing in their stride, and hope the cheeky display will bring more people to Civitanova Marche to see their version of a white Christmas.
A Twitter user joked: "I don't think that's what's meant by a happy ending to the year."
Another join in the x-rated ribbing and said: "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas".
in Bristol this year locals were astonished to see a helter skelter at the temporary fun fair lit up in the shape of a part of the male anatomy in front of the town hall
A town local told the IBTimes: "Absolutely hilarious
Always good to celebrate the town council's sparkly erections at the annual Winter Festival – it's worth the council tax alone!"
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Michele Scarponi took Tirreno-Adriatico stage six and captured the overall race leader's jersey..
Michele Scarponi (Diquigiovanni-Androni) claims stage six and the overall Tirreno-Adriatico classification lead(Image credit: Sirotti)Italy's Ivan Basso (Liquigas) heads a group(Image credit: Sirotti)Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone-Caffè Mokambo) drives(Image credit: Sirotti)Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone-Caffè Mokambo) drives a group of four with Ivan Basso (Liquigas)
Egoi Martínez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Michele Scarponi (Diquigiovanni-Androni)
l-r.(Image credit: Sirotti)Ivan Basso (Liquigas) leads Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone-Caffè Mokambo) in the race's finale
Ivan Basso (Liquigas) and Michele Scarponi (Diquigiovanni-Androni) speed up as the finish line nears.(Image credit: Sirotti)Michele Scarponi (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli) took the race lead with his stage win.(Image credit: Sirotti)Michele Scarponi took Tirreno-Adriatico stage six and captured the overall race leader's jersey Monday
The Italian of Diquigiovanni finished the 235-kilometre stage from Civitanova Marche to Camerino ahead of Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone-Caffè Mokambo) and Ivan Basso (Liquigas)
Scarponi now leads the general classification over Garzelli and overnight race leader Andreas Klöden (Astana)
"Basso was going so strong and it was difficult
Danilo Di Luca (LPR Brakes-Farnese Vini) finished in fourth at 1:09 behind the winning trio
He led home the shattered group of Andreas Klöden (Astana)
Tirreno's toughest day consisted of two categorised climbs – Cingoli (km 74) and Sasso Tetto (192) – and many unclassified ascents
An escape of four – Egoi Martínez (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
Paolo Longo Borghini (Barloworld) and Martyn Maaskant (Garmin-Slipstream) – went soon after the departure in Civitanova Marche
winner of last year's País Vasco mountains classification
The escape carried on with an average speed just over 35
At the base of Sasso Tetto only Martínez and Carrara remained to confront the 14.65-kilometres climb after almost five hours of racing
The Liquigas- and LPR-led group started the climb 7:05 later
Danilo Di Luca (LPR Brakes-Farnese Vini) attacked with more than eight kilometres to climb
His move brought on the acceleration of Michele Scarponi (Diquigiovanni-Androni)
He caught and passed Di Luca in pursuit of the Martínez group five minutes up the road
They drove up the slopes where fresh snow fell last night
The trio picked up Scarponi then early escapees Maaskant and Longo Borghini
lost around a minute two kilometres later; he followed in a group of seven that included Simoni and Pellizotti
Martínez then Carrera led over the 1455-metre Sasso Tetto climb 2:16 ahead of the Scarponi group led by Nibali
The Scarponi group caught Carrera on the descent – Martínez was the only rider left of the original escape
Martínez held 2:35 and 3:50 over the Scarponi and Klöden groups
The Klöden group consisted of David Arroyo (Caisse d'Epargne)
Joaquím Rodríguez (Caisse d'Epargne)
Daniele Pietropolli (LPR Brakes-Farnese Vini)
Thomas Lövkvist (Columbia-Highroad) and Kanstantsin Siutsou (Columbia-Highroad)
Nibali attacked from the Scarponi group on the decent of Cicconi
The Italian went in pursuit of Martínez and the race's overall victory
Teammate Basso stopped contributing to the pacemaking behind
Scarponi led the chase over the next five kilometres to catch Nibali and then Martínez at the base of Colle Santa Barbara
Nibali was unable to keep pace in the new group of four - Scarponi
Basso lifted the pace at the speed on the four kilometres up to Camerino to vie for the stage win
but Garzelli and Scarponi held on to the Liquigas rider
Scarponi came to the front after the final 12% punch at 150 metres remaining
Garzelli followed and Basso drifted slightly off for third in the stage
"I heard some criticism after the time trial yesterday," said Basso
"I am very relaxed and Tirreno-Adriatico is going very well for me
The final stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico tomorrow will be one for the sprinters
The 169-kilometre run around San Benedetto del Tronto should not affect the overall
but be a final test for the Milano-Sanremo