A roundup of the latest news on Friday

Two Italians among victims of Dominican Republic nightclub collapse

Two Italian nationals are among the 218 confirmed victims of a roof collapse at a nightclub in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, sources cited by Ansa said on Thursday.

One of the victims had dual Italian-Dominican nationality, while the other was a 48-year-old man from Catania, Sicily, they added.

Juan Manuel Mendez, director of the local Emergency Operations Center (COE), told reporters on Wednesday that 218 people had lost their lives in the accident.

189 people had been rescued, he added.

Dominican authorities ruled out the possibility of finding any other survivors late on Wednesday.

“Our rescue workers are concluding the search [for survivors],” Mendez said.

Over 500 people were inside the club at the time of the collapse, according to local media reports.

Among the dead were famed merengue singer Rubby Perez, who was performing on stage as the roof caved in, as well as two former Major League Baseball players and a local politician.

The Dominican government has said it will open an inquiry into the disaster once all rescue operations have been completed.

Britain’s royal couple visits Dante’s tomb on last day of Italy tour

Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla capped a state visit to Italy on Thursday with a visit to Dante’s tomb in Ravenna, Emilia Romagna.

Hundreds of people waved British flags and cheered as the king and queen arrived in the northeastern city on the fourth day of a trip that saw Charles become the first British monarch to address a joint sitting of Italy’s parliament.

Advertisement

The 76-year-old monarch, who was briefly admitted to hospital last month after experiencing side effects from his cancer treatment, looked cheerful as he shook hands with well-wishers.

The royals – who celebrated 20 years of marriage at a state banquet in Rome on Wednesday evening – attended a reading of the closing canto of Italian poet Dante Alighieri’s most famous work, The Divine Comedy, before visiting his tomb.

Dante, who’s often referred to as the “father” of the Italian language, was born and raised in Florence but was later exiled from the Tuscan city for his political beliefs and spent the rest of his life in Ravenna, where he died in 1321.

Charles referenced the poet during his speech to parliament on Wednesday – part of which he delivered in Italian.

“I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language… so much so that I never get invited back to Italy!” he quipped.

Charles and Camilla’s trip to Ravenna came after they paid a surprise private visit to Pope Francis on Wednesday.

An official audience with Francis had been previously removed from the royals’ Italy schedule due to the pontiff’s ill health.

Advertisement

Italy’s Prada to buy rival Versace for €1.25 billion

Italian fashion house Prada announced on Thursday that it had reached a deal with US group Capri Holdings to buy Versace for €1.25 billion.

The acquisition will create a luxury group with revenues of over €6 billion.

“We are delighted to welcome Versace to the Prada Group and to build a new chapter for a brand with which we share a strong commitment to creativity, craftsmanship and heritage,” Prada Group chairman and executive director Patrizio Bertelli said in a statement.

Capri Holdings paid €1.83 billion to acquire Versace from the Versace family and US investment fund BlackRock in 2018.

Following a decline in sales in recent years, Capri Holdings put the Milan-based label up for sale and began exclusive negotiations with Prada at the end of February.

Advertisement

Capri, which also owns Jimmy Choo and Michael Kors, has reportedly accepted a reduced price from Prada amid market turmoil caused by fears over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The Financial Times reported that the price was initially expected to be around $1.6 billion, but the final figure has been negotiated downwards in recent days.

With reporting from AFP.