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Digested week: Iranian embassy trolls the most ‘powerfool’ man on the planet | Emma Brockes

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Monday

The one upside to a rolling international crisis is that it can give backroom people a rare chance to shine. Witness, this week, the breakout stars of the Iranian diplomatic corps, who from two different diplomatic missions managed to poke fun at Donald Trump while maintaining the base-level decorum that so eludes the American president.

In Pakistan, the Iranian ambassador, Reza Amiri Moghadam, responded to questions about the ongoing blockade of the strait of Hormuz by the US with an elegant and irony-laden reference to Jane Austen. “It’s a truth universally acknowledged,” said the ambassador, in a reference that was almost certainly lost on his antagonist in Washington, “that a single country in possession of a large civilisation, will not negotiate under threat and force.” Oh, well played, sir!

Meanwhile, from the Iranian embassy in Ghana, a steady stream of trolling social media posts designed to turn Trump’s mockery around and send it back at him. After the US president’s recent spat with the pope, an excitable social media manager at the Iranian mission to Ghana posted a satirical note addressed to, “Dear Italy,” in which it offered itself as a replacement friend for the US.

“Your PM just defended [the] Pope and lost an ally in Washington, the Commander in Grief, yet the most ‘powerfool’ man on earth,” ran the post, which made up in rough energy for what it lacked in polish. “We’d like to apply for the vacancy,” it went on, and while some of the material could do with a tune-up, the subsequent list of Iran’s qualifications as a premium ally, including “7,000 years of civilisation, a shared love of poetry, architecture, and food that takes longer to prepare than Trump’s attention span” – absolutely landed.

There was also a decent gag about Iranian versus Italian ice-cream, and the onslaught continued this week with a reference to Trump, after his endless reversals on Truth Social, as “a one-man WhatsApp chat group”. Solid stuff and let’s not spoil the gesture with any pettiness about the reality of life under a theocratic authoritarian regime.

Keir Starmer on a visit this week to a community centre in Newcastle: ‘Yeah, OK. The question, “How’s your week going?”, isn’t that funny.’ Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

Tuesday

It’s finally hot(tish) out and the sun is shining, so it’s time to have our annual conversation about coffee. Do you enjoy an iced beverage which, after 10 minutes in your sweaty little hand, primarily consists of melt water? Do you enjoy a cup filled almost entirely with ice, so that you are paying approximately 40p per sip? As with one’s position on clowns or pineapple on pizza, there is no middle ground in this debate; you either despise iced coffee or are a wrong-headed fool, and I refer you for reference to a piece published last week on the website Gothamist, in which the writer James Ramsay went out into Manhattan in search of other summer hot coffee drinkers.

His position: that ice coffee neither refreshes, like a proper cold drink, nor energises, like real coffee. He shared with us the detail that cold drinks now make up 75% of all sales in Starbucks, a fact that, when we turn to look back on this period, might turn out to be the canary in the coalmine of where it all started to go wrong. Most of those cold drinks aren’t coffee, of course, but the iced matchas and strawberry refreshers that push up towards £7 a cup and fall into a category with what Larry David once referred to as “vanilla bullshit” drinks. So before you order it on ice, think about that.

Wednesday

Nike, the sportswear behemoth, would like those of us who go for a run and end up walking to, if not hate ourselves, exactly, then at least feel slightly bad about our underperformance. Since the launch of a new slogan in Boston timed to coincide with the city’s marathon – “Runners Welcome. Walkers Tolerated” – a sizeable palaver has kicked off from runners who like to take a break, or walkers who occasionally break into a run, or anyone whose fitness level is such that they feel “shamed” by the “elitist” slogan.

This week, Nike pulled the ad and replaced it with the more inclusive, “Movement is what matters”. This is a better sell, to my mind, but as ever with this kind of dispute one is left with an impression of a wild overreaction, with participants in running clubs thousands of miles away from Boston claiming to feel undermined and embarrassed by Nike’s slogan. Ignoring it is, apparently, not an option, anyway Just Do It (But Only If You Feel Like It; Otherwise Don’t Worry).

Mugs come out in support of Farage. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

Thursday

The fifth and final season of the HBO hit show, Hacks, is under way and the best thing about it is Robby Hoffman. While the two leads limp towards the finish, the breakout star of the show since the previous season has been the actor and standup who you may or may not have been obsessively watching on YouTube, and who came to prominence a few years ago in the underrated FX show Dying for Sex.

The 36-year-old Hoffman, who grew up the seventh of 10 siblings in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, first in Brooklyn, then in Canada, has the flat delivery of an earlier generation of comics and I would urge you to Google her routines hingeing on the words “no backsies”, and also “hard towel”. That the rest of this season of Hacks is as flat as a pancake is sad, but it’s been a good run and all good things etc, and we wait with excitement to see what Hoffman does next.

Friday

Madonna’s corset, at the time of writing, remains unrecovered, after the singer lost her wardrobe at Coachella off the back of a golf buggy. The vintage costumes were being transported from the stage to the car park after Madonna’s set with Sabrina Carpenter and included “archival” pieces that the singer is so keen to get back she launched an online appeal urging anyone with information to email her team.

While this definitely won’t solicit thousands of weird and unrelated messages to the email address she shared, I find myself thinking more about whoever was in charge of driving that golf cart. I very much hope they enjoy their time off and are familiar with how to launch a GoFundMe to make up for the sudden loss of income.



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Amazon’s $11.57B Globalstar acquisition takes direct aim at Starlink

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Chances are, you have never thought much about who owns the satellites keeping your phone connected in the middle of nowhere. That could change soon. Amazon is betting $11.57 billion that you will start paying attention. Its acquisition of Globalstar is a major move against Starlink, and the stakes go far beyond bragging rights.

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AMAZON TAKES ON ELON MUSK, LAUNCHING 27 INTERNET SATELLITES

A rocket launches with plumes of smoke billowing from it.

Amazon is making a major satellite push with Globalstar, aiming to challenge Starlink and expand direct-to-device connectivity for remote users. (Manuel Mazzanti/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

What Amazon’s Globalstar deal means for you

Globalstar has operated for more than 30 years as a mobile satellite services provider. It brings something Amazon needed badly: spectrum. The company operates in Band 53, a slice of spectrum from 2483.5 to 2495 MHz. It describes this aslicensed spectrum with global authorizations designed to support fast, low-latency connectivity with reduced interference. That matters. Spectrum is limited, and having access to it gives Amazon a real edge. 

Amazon is also getting Globalstar’s satellites, infrastructure and global licenses. It is a full package. But the real value is the spectrum. This deal is also about what that spectrum enables. Amazon plans to use it to power direct-to-device satellite services, allowing phones to send texts, make calls and access data even when there is no cellular signal. 

The system is expected to roll out starting in 2028 and will support features on devices like iPhones and Apple Watches, including emergency messaging and roadside assistance. That turns this into more than an infrastructure deal. It is a shift in how everyday devices stay connected beyond traditional networks.

Amazon vs Starlink: Where things stand now

Let’s be clear about the gap. Starlink serves more than nine million users and has about 10,000 satellites in orbit. Amazon’s Leo network has just over 200 satellites. Adding Globalstar’s two dozen barely moves the number. So why spend $11.57 billion? Because this deal is not about satellite count. It is about future capability. 

Amazon plans to launch a next-generation direct-to-device system in 2028. This would deliver voice, data and messaging straight to phones. The Globalstar deal gives Amazon the tools to make that happen. It brings spectrum, infrastructure and experience together.

MUSK CONFIRMS SPACEX SUCCESS IN PREVENTING RUSSIAN MILITARY FROM ACCESSING STOLEN STARLINK UNITS

A rocket with Amazon Leo's branding stands on a launch pad.

Amazon’s planned Globalstar acquisition gives it spectrum, satellites and infrastructure to power satellite texting, calls and data beyond cell coverage. (Manuel Mazzanti/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

How Amazon’s satellite service will power iPhones and Apple Watches

This is where the story hits home. Amazon and Apple have an agreement for Amazon Leo to support satellite features on iPhones and Apple Watches. That includes Emergency SOS via satellite. If you rely on that feature in a dead zone, it will soon run through Amazon’s network. Apple says the service has already helped in real emergencies, including stranded hikers and crash victims rescued in remote areas. Amazon will continue supporting current devices using Globalstar’s system while working with Apple on future upgrades. So nothing breaks, but the system behind it changes.

Amazon satellite timeline and FCC approval

The deal still needs regulatory approval, and that takes time. Amazon expects it to close in 2027. The FCC will decide, though early signs look positive. Amazon also faces a deadline. It plans to deploy about 3,200 satellites by 2029. About half must be in orbit by July 2026. That timeline adds pressure to move fast.

What this means for rural and remote users

This deal matters most in places where cell towers do not reach. Satellite connectivity can act as a backup during disasters like hurricanes or wildfires. In those moments, having no signal can be dangerous. But the impact goes beyond emergencies. Remote workers, trucking fleets, maritime crews and rural communities all stand to benefit. These are places where traditional networks fall short. Amazon’s full Leo network will include thousands of satellites. It aims to support hundreds of millions of devices worldwide.

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BLUE ORIGIN LAUNCHES 38TH NEW SHEPARD FLIGHT INTO SPACE

A rocket takes off from a launch pad in the distance.

Amazon launched its second fleet of 27 Project Kuiper internet satellites in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on June 23, 2025, to create a mega constellation which will offer global broadband internet access. (GREGG NEWTON/AFP via Getty Images)

Kurt’s key takeaways

Amazon’s $11.57 billion acquisition of Globalstar sends a clear message. It does not plan to let Starlink dominate the sky. Right now, the satellite gap is massive. Amazon knows that. Instead, it is betting on better spectrum, smarter technology and key partnerships like Apple. Amazon executive Panos Panay says billions of people still lack reliable connectivity. Amazon wants to close that gap. That is a real problem and a serious opportunity. The big question is speed. Can Amazon scale fast enough to compete before Starlink pulls further ahead?

If two of the richest companies in the world are racing to control the sky, who decides how that access is priced and delivered? And what does that mean for you? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com

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DoJ watchdog will investigate release of Epstein files – US politics live | US news

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Key events

An internal Pentagon email outlines options for the United States to punish Nato allies it believes failed to support US operations in the war with Iran, including suspending Spain from the alliance and reviewing the US position on Britain’s claim to the Falkland Islands, a US official told Reuters.

The policy options are detailed in a note expressing frustration at some allies’ perceived reluctance or refusal to grant the United States access, basing and overflight rights – known as ABO – for the Iran war, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the email.

The email stated that ABO is “just the absolute baseline for Nato,” according to the official, who added that the options were circulating at high levels in the Pentagon.

One option in the email envisions suspending “difficult” countries from important or prestigious positions at Nato, the official said.



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Mamdani voters who backed him sue to block East Village homeless shelter

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East Village residents who voted for New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani by a 40-point margin are now suing to stop a building in their neighborhood from becoming a temporary homeless shelter.

The lawsuit, filed with the New York City Supreme Court on Monday, shows hesitation even among Mamdani supporters on the cost of implementing some of his plans.

News of the lawsuit has prompted conservative criticism online, with figures like Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, noting the irony of Mamdani’s supporters turning on the fruits of his administration.

“Oops,” Sen. Ted Cruz said in a post to X.

MAMDANI PRESSED ON PLEDGE TO BE TRUMP’S ‘WORST NIGHTMARE’ AND LANDLORD PUSHBACK ON RENT FREEZE PLAN

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a press conference at La Marqueta in East Harlem on April 14, 2026, outlining plans for city-run grocery stores aimed at lowering food prices.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a press conference at La Marqueta in East Harlem on April 14, 2026, outlining plans for city-run grocery stores aimed at lowering food prices. (New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a press conference announcing a city-run grocery store plan in East Harlem.)

“No one is more ‘not in my backyard’ than white progressives. This community voted for Mamdani in a landslide but don’t want to live with the consequences,” another observer wrote on social media.

“Not shocked,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said in a post of his own.

Election District 45, the area that includes East Village, voted for Mamdani in a 70.1% victory over independent candidate Andrew Cuomo, who garnered just 26.0% of the vote.

Even so, 10 residents joined the Village Organization for the Integrity of Community Engagement (VOICE) in their suit against the city after Mamdani announced plans earlier this year to turn a building at 8 East 3rd Street into a citywide intake shelter to house homeless adult men.

MAMDANI DISCOURAGES HAKEEM JEFFRIES PRIMARY CHALLENGER, TELLS CITY COUNCIL MEMBER TO ‘FOCUS’ ON NYC

Queensboro Plaza subway station with trains arriving and departing and New York City skyline in background

Trains arrive and depart at the Queensboro Plaza subway station with the New York City skyline visible behind on Dec. 23, 2005. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The filing argues the city fast-tracked the process without proper environmental and legal safeguards.

“It challenges the city’s hastily made and legally invalid decision to locate a new citywide homeless adult male intake center at 8 East 3rd Street without following any of the legal requirements that must precede such a significant and consequential decision,” the filing reads.

To circumvent them, the complaint notes Mamdani relied on an emergency declaration from 2022 — a power originally issued to handle an influx of asylum-seekers.

Mamdani announced the temporary housing project at 8 East 3rd Street as a way to accommodate the closure of Bellevue Shelter, a separate homeless intake site that the mayor’s office said had deteriorated too far for use.

“The Department of Social Services (DSS) and Department of Homeless Services (DHS) will immediately implement an operational plan to vacate 30th Street and relocate the critical functions to other sites. There are approximately 250 individuals in the shelter and the DSS is working to relocate these individuals by mid-March,” Mamdani’s office said in a press release.

NYC LANDLORDS FIRE BACK AT ‘RACIST’ MAMDANI AIDE’S CLAIM THAT TIES HOMEOWNERSHIP TO ‘WHITE SUPREMACY’

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaking at a SEIU rally on Park Avenue in Manhattan

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivers remarks at the Service Employees International Union 32BJ SEIU rally on Park Avenue in Manhattan on April 15, 2026. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu)

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The mayor’s office also detailed that a second accommodation site would be opened at 333 Bowery St., beginning on May 1, to house families without minor children.

The New York Supreme Court has not yet responded to requests for emergency relief that would pause the city’s plans.



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Epstein housed alleged victims in London after Met declined to investigate him, reports say | Jeffrey Epstein

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Jeffrey Epstein housed some of his alleged abuse victims in flats in London after police in the UK decided against investigating him, according to reports.

The BBC said it had uncovered evidence of four flats in Kensington and Chelsea in receipts, emails and bank records contained within the Epstein files. Six women who stayed in the properties have since accused the late financier of sexually abusing them, the broadcaster said.

Some of the women – including some from Russia and eastern Europe – were brought to the UK after the Metropolitan police decided not to investigate Virginia Giuffre’s 2015 allegation that she had been a victim of international trafficking to London, the BBC said. Giuffre was one of Epstein’s most high-profile accusers, alleging the convicted child sex offender abused and trafficked her.

She claimed in a 2021 US lawsuit that Andrew Mountbatten Windsor had sex with her at a home in London in 2001 when she was 17 after she had been trafficked by Epstein. Mountbatten Windsor has denied the allegations.

The BBC reported various details from the files dated around 2018 and 2019 – after Giuffre’s allegation – that show Epstein corresponding with women housed in flats in affluent areas of London.

In some of the exchanges seen by the broadcaster, Epstein uses aggressive language after the women apparently complained of the conditions. In one message, he reportedly swears at one woman, calls her “rude” and accuses her of “disgusting behaviour”, saying she was a “brat who has yet to accept responsibility”.

Another message seen by the BBC reveals pictures of “cute” models sent to Epstein by one of the women in London. Epstein also reportedly paid for at least five women – many of whom were in the UK on student visas – to study in London.

Millions of documents, images, videos and emails detailing the activities of Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, have been released since December last year, including documents collected as evidence in the criminal cases against him and his associates.

The files were released after the US House of Representatives passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act and the Senate unanimously approved it, with Donald Trump signing the bill into law the next day.

The Met police have been contacted for comment.



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Olympic bobsled legend Kaillie Humphries joins XX-XY Athletics

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The most accomplished Olympic women’s bobsledder in history is now an official brand ambassador in the movement to “save women’s sports”

Olympic bobsled legend Kaillie Humphries has signed with the activist sportswear company XX-XY Athletics, becoming the latest medal-winning Olympian to represent the brand.

“Being able to partner with a brand that believes in the same things I do, that’s willing to stand up and actively work on protecting the women’s space and women’s sports is huge,” Humphries told Fox News Digital. 

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Humphries first spoke out about her support for protecting women’s sports from biological male trans athletes in a Fox News Interview that went viral after the Milan-Cortina Olympics in February.

Humphries had just returned after winning bronze in women’s bobsled, marking her sixth career Olympic medal. She later revealed that she received backlash for coming out as a Republican with other conservative stances in that interview, but didn’t back down.

Humphries went on to be honored at a White House Women’s History Month event by President Donald Trump in March, and gave her Order of Ikkos medal to Trump, citing his actions to protect women’s sports. 

“Being able to come back to the USA after the Olympics and then be able to make connections and meet some people, I was able to, when I went to the White House, I was able to meet people that were connected obviously in working with XX-XY and that’s how the conversation started,” Humphries said.

Humphries, who is originally from Canada and competed in her first three Olympics for Canada, moved to the U.S. in 2016 and then competed for Team USA at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

FEMALE ATHLETES ANXIOUSLY AWAIT SUPREME COURT DECISION TO TAKE UP TRANSGENDER PARTICIPATION IN WOMEN’S SPORTS

Kaillie Humphries presenting the Order of Ikkos to President Donald Trump in the White House East Room

Kaillie Humphries, U.S. Olympic bronze medalist bobsled athlete, presents the Order of Ikkos to President Donald Trump during a Women’s History Month event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 12, 2026. (Al Drago/Bloomberg)

Just months after that, America was rocked by the news that male transgender swimmer Lia Thomas was winning championships for UPenn’s women’s swim team.

Humphries, who was following the story in the news, found it startling. 

Now, as a California resident and the mother of a newborn son, she is energized to help combat the wave of trans athletes in girls’ sports in the state, as California has become the nation’s biggest hotbed for the issue. 

XX-XY Athletics co-founder and former U.S. gymnast Jennifer previously told Fox News Digital one of her biggest goals for the brand was to land high-profile superstar women’s athletes as brand ambassadors, especially Olympic medalists.

Now, with Humphries, the brand has a three-time Olympic gold medalist and six-time Olympic podium finisher across her stints for Canada and the U.S. 

Humphries joins Olympic silver medalist gymnast MyKayla Skinner and gold medal swimmer Nancy Hogshead on XX-XY Athletics’ growing roster of Olympians.

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Kaillie Humphries holding a USA flag after bobsleigh women's monobob race

USA’s Kaillie Humphries holds a USA flag after winning bronze in the bobsleigh women’s monobob heat 4 at Cortina Sliding Centre during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo on Feb. 16, 2026. (Marco Bertorello/AFP)

“Kaillie is the GOAT of her sport. She is the only Olympian to win gold for two different countries. She is an elite athlete and a courageous, fierce woman who has fought for female athletes to have equal opportunities in sport.” Sey told Fox News Digital.

“The women’s monobob event exists because of Kaillie’s leadership, and she has gold-medal proof that women have the skill, strength, and speed to compete at the highest level. She has driven meaningful change and expanded opportunities for women at the Olympic level — more female athletes represent Team USA because of Kaillie. And that’s exactly why we’re leading with her as we grow in how we support female athletes.”

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.



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Tropic Trooper Uses Trojanized SumatraPDF and GitHub to Deploy AdaptixC2

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Ravie LakshmananApr 24, 2026Malware / Threat Intelligence

Chinese-speaking individuals are the target of a new campaign that uses a trojanized version of SumatraPDF reader to deploy the AdaptixC2 Beacon post-exploitation agent and ultimately facilitate the abuse of Microsoft Visual Studio Code (VS Code) tunnels for remote access.

Zscaler ThreatLabz, which discovered the campaign last month, has attributed it with high confidence to Tropic Trooper (aka APT23, Earth Centaur, KeyBoy, and Pirate Panda), a hacking group known for its targeting of various entities in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. It’s assessed to be active since at least 2011.

“The threat actors created a custom AdaptixC2 Beacon listener, leveraging GitHub as their command-and-control (C2) platform,” security researcher Yin Hong Chang said in an analysis.

It’s believed that Chinese-speaking individuals in Taiwan, and individuals in South Korea and Japan, are the targets of the campaign. The starting point of the attack is a ZIP archive containing military-themed document lures to launch the rogue version of SumatraPDF, which is then used to display a decoy PDF document, while simultaneously retrieving encrypted shellcode from a staging server to launch AdaptixC2 Beacon.

To accomplish this, the backdoored SumatraPDF executable launches a slightly modified version of a loader codenamed TOSHIS, which is a variant of Xiangoop, a malware linked to Tropic Trooper, and has been used in the past to fetch next-stage payloads like Cobalt Strike Beacon or Merlin agent for the Mythic framework.

The loader is responsible for activating the multi-stage attack, dropping both the lure document as a distraction mechanism and the AdaptixC2 Beacon agent in the background.The agent employs GitHub for C2, beaconing out to the attacker-controlled infrastructure to fetch tasks to be executed on the compromised host.

The attack moves to the next stage only when the victim is deemed valuable, at which point the threat actor deploys VS Code and sets up VS Code tunnels for remote access. On select machines, the threat actor has been found to install alternative, trojanized applications, likely in an attemptto better camouflage their actions.

What’s more, the staging server involved in the intrusion (“158.247.193[.]100”) has been observed hosting a Cobalt Strike Beacon and a custom backdoor called EntryShell, both of which have been put to use by Tropic Trooper in the past.

“Similar to the TAOTH campaign, publicly available backdoors are used as payloads,” Zscaler said. “While Cobalt Strike Beacon and Mythic Merlin were previously used, the threat actor has now shifted to AdaptixC2.”



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After Meloni’s law change, Americans hope Italian supreme court ruling will open door to citizenship | Italy

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In 2025, after a long and arduous journey in her attempts to gain Italian citizenship, including a pivotal genealogical research trip to a village in Calabria, US-born Sabrina Crawford was hoping to fulfil her lifelong dream of building a life in Italy as she edged towards the final hurdle of the bureaucratic process.

But her plans were scuppered when Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government enacted a law stopping access to Italian citizenship via distant ancestry. Since May last year, only those with a parent or grandparent who was an Italian citizen at birth, and who did not take on dual nationality, are eligible to apply.

Crawford, from the San Francisco Bay area, was waiting for one crucial document proving that her Italian great-grandfather had not become a US citizen before submitting her application when the new rules were announced out of the blue.

Sabrina Crawford, from the San Francisco Bay area, has travelled to Italy to prove her heritage.

“It was as if the sky collapsed,” she said. “This horrible news really upended all of my plans, all of my hopes, all of my goals. It broke my heart.”

Crawford is now counting on Italy’s supreme court to deliver a favourable outcome to a legal challenge presented by two US families arguing that the law should only apply to those born after it was enacted. A supreme court panel is expected to make its decision in the coming weeks.

The legislation, which breaks with the longstanding tradition of welcoming the descendants of Italy’s huge global diaspora, was aimed at clamping down on those claiming tenuous links to the country in order to obtain a powerful Italian passport, and to clear the backlog in local councils and consulates, which for years have been overwhelmed by citizenship requests.

“We believe that granting citizenship is a serious matter and should be reserved for those with a genuine connection to our nation,” said Meloni shortly after the law was approved in parliament.

It appears to have stemmed from several contentious cases, including allegations in 2024 that the Italian consulate in Venezuela illegally granted citizenship to five members of Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia group and political party backed by Iran. The deputy prime minister, Antonio Tajani, also justified it by claiming that Black Friday-style discount deals were being offered on Italian citizenship in Brazil.

But the move has had serious consequences for thousands of legitimate requests, especially from the US, Brazil and Argentina, where millions of Italians emigrated in the 19th and early 20th centuries to escape poverty.

Marco Mellone is representing two US families in the supreme court case. Photograph: Gregorio Borgia/AP

In March, Italy’s constitutional court ruled that the law was valid, but the supreme court has the power to clarify its scope, said Marco Mellone, the lawyer representing the two US families in the case.

Mellone argues that the law should not apply retroactively and that his clients are invoking their rights enshrined in the legal principle of ius sanguinis, Latin for “right of blood”, which allows anyone who can prove ancestry after Italy’s formation in 1861 to seek citizenship.

“This is a crucial point, and the main reason we consider this law to be absolutely unconstitutional and unfair,” said Mellone. “It touches on a [citizenship] right at the time of birth and so it should not be applied retroactively.”

Citizenship has always been a thorny topic in Italy, and even though the number of children born in the country to immigrant parents has been rising sharply they are still denied birthright citizenship. A referendum last year on easing the rules failed because of low turnout.

Citing recent data from Eurostat forecasting that by the end of the century Italy’s population will fall to 44 million compared with roughly 59 million today, Mellone said neither of these obstacles to citizenship were helping the government tackle what Meloni has described as Italy’s “demographic winter”. “They say no to children born in Italy to immigrants and no to those born to Italian emigrants,” he said. “The demographic decline is dramatic. Who will be the Italian citizens of the future?”

Crawford, 50, who for several years lived and worked in Italy, albeit on temporary visas, started her citizenship procedure in 2018. She is Italian from her mother’s side but could not follow the maternal descent route through her consulate owing to an old law preventing Italian women born before 1 January 1948 from transmitting citizenship to their children. Instead, she had to trace an unbroken line of descent to her great-grandfather, who was born in the Calabrian village of Verbicaro.

That involved a trip to the village where, by a stroke of luck, a local priest and historian helped her dig through archives to confirm her ancestor’s name, which in turn enabled her to obtain his birth certificate. Many other bureaucratic hurdles ensued, but Crawford persevered.

If the supreme court ruling goes in her favour, she will be able to pursue her application through a court in Catanzaro, Calabria. “I hope there’s still a ray of hope for people like me who have invested so much time and energy into this,” she said, adding that she grew up surrounded by Italian relatives. “I always knew that I wanted to make my life in Italy.”

Jennifer Daley, a historian from Kansas whose case Mellone is also representing, has been through a similar ordeal over the past 10 years. “This has been a long journey, but I have hope that justice will prevail,” she said.



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