Roman Civilisation Reaches New Heights as Animals Win Rights

Cruel, careless or simply stupid pet owners in the city of Rome will now face fines and even the prospect of losing their beloved animals under new measures taken by the city of Rome to protect the rights of domestic animals.

One of the more eccentric yet no less important of the new bye-laws states that dogs are now entitled to at least one walk out in the fresh air per day. Animals are no longer to be left locked in cars during the hotter months and aesthetic trends such as the docking of tails and ears are also to be banned. Informed cat owners will already be aware of the dangers of trimming their felines’ claws, while fewer people may be aware of the fact that round goldfish bowls actually cause blindness (to the fish that is).

Other interesting new rules dictate that cat colonies that manifest themselves on building sites must now be taken care of in a humane way and animals may not be exhibited in shop windows or given as prizes.

"The civilisation of a city can also be measured by this," said Councillor Monica Cirinna, who sponsored the bye-law, which aims at protecting hundreds of thousands of domestic animals in the city. It’s understood that the new laws will be made public through a campaign of education beginning with schools, veterinary surgeries and via animal rights organisations, while personnel specialised in investigating animal cruelty will be working hand in hand with the police.

3000-Year-Old Remains Found in Roman Forum

The skeleton of a woman thought to be around 3000 years old has been unearthed by excavators in the Roman Forum. The tomb is said to be that of a noble or upper class lady – judging by the gold, amber and bronze adornments around the body – around thirty years old at the time of her death.

The Roman Forum is said to be one of the most important archaeological sites in the world and was the city centre of ancient Rome from the time of its foundation until the middle ages. It contains temples, monuments and various other buildings spanning almost the entire period of Roman civilisation, including the ancient senate building, the forum itself (or town square) and the temple of Julius Caesar, built upon the very spot where he himself was cremated in 44 BC. Also in the park is what some believe to be the tomb of Faustino, the adoptive father of the legendary founder of Rome, Romulus.

However, what makes this latest discovery particularly important is that it predates all of the above, by just under 250 years. Roman folklore recounts that the city was founded on precisely the 21st April 753 BC (the city, to this day, still celebrates its birth annually). It’s understood that other ancient civilisations populated the area before the Romans however, yet what also raises eyebrows is the fact that this lady, whoever she was, was buried rather than cremated, which was thought to be the most common funeral ritual among pre-Roman civilisations.

Italian Government Accused of 'Ethnic Screening' as Crackdown on Roma Gypsies Continues

Plans to target Italy's Roma Gypsy population with a fingerprinting campaign have been met with angry criticism and accusations of ethnic screening from several quarters, in particular the European Parliament, the Vatican and several human rights organisations. The plans were announced as part of the new right-of-centre government's crackdown on crime and supposed illegal immigration a few months ago, but have sparked outrage from those who feel that the institutional discrimination toward immigrants in Italy is reaching inexcusable levels.

Many Italians, encouraged by the new government and other increasingly popular right wing politicians, blame the country's Gypsy population for the sharp increase in crime in recent years and the establishment of vigilante groups in the north of Italy has been praised by leading political figures. Meanwhile in Naples a Gypsy commune said to be home to around 100 men, women and children was burned by a rampaging mob.

Now plans for a sweep of the nation's Gypsy camps and subsequent registration of the country's largest ethnic minority group have invoked disturbing memories of a less than proud period of Italy's history.

"Mussolini took a census of the Jews in 1938, and that was the beginning of a process that put me and my family in Auschwitz five years later." said one Holocaust survivor who now works for the human rights organisation Everyone Group.

Only this summer, Italian citizens were accused of demonstrating a "heartless and cold indifference" when the bodies of two drowned Gypsy teenagers were left on the beach under towels for several hours while people continued to sunbathe and chat as normal around them.

Interior Minister Roberto Maroni has denied that the campaign constitutes "ethnic screening".