Zero's Briefs
Afternoon updates: excise duties, EU Commission reform, a shipwreck in the Black Sea, the Mecca alliance, the Nobel Prizes, an AI hearing and sport.
Italy — Government backtracks on excise duties, diesel returns to 2.25 euros — The government is abandoning its pledge to activate mobile excise duties on fuel: the extra VAT revenue collected due to high oil prices will remain in state coffers, and the price of diesel will return to 2.25 euros per litre. Deputy Economy Minister Maurizio Leo has urged caution on the timing of any decision. “We are thinking it over, there is no decision” — Maurizio Leo, Deputy Minister of Economy. Source: Il Fatto Quotidiano.
Europe — Brussels proposes fewer commissioners and less unanimity — The European Commission is proposing to abandon the principle of one commissioner per member state and to reduce reliance on unanimity, in view of a Union of 30 or more countries following future enlargement. Source: Euronews Italia.
World — Ship carrying Ukrainian grain sinks in Black Sea, two dead — A ship that departed from Izmail, Ukraine, bound for Italy with a cargo of grain sank off the coast of Romania following an attack attributed to Russia: eleven people were rescued, two died. Brussels condemned the Russian raids on merchant vessels. Source: Quotidiano Nazionale.
World — Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan decide on rapid deployment of forces — Following the emergency meeting in Riyadh on 5 October, the Mecca alliance decided to arrange for the rapid deployment within the Kingdom of the agreed military forces. Retired Pakistani General Nauman Mahmood was appointed first secretary-general for a 3-year term. Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye.
Health — Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded for optogenetics — The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was jointly awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for their discoveries on light-activated ion channels, which form the basis of optogenetics. The prize, worth 12 million Swedish kronor, will be shared equally among the three laureates. Source: NobelPrize.org.
Tech — Major AI companies cannot guarantee total control over their systems — Before the New York City Council, representatives from OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and Google stated that they cannot guarantee their AI agents will always comply with safety measures, as lawmakers consider regulation for the sector. Source: Fox News.
Sport — Djokovic wins ATP Beijing at 39 — Novak Djokovic won the title at the 2026 ATP Beijing, with opponent Alex de Minaur retiring in the final: it is the 102nd title of the Serbian tennis player’s career. Source: Sky Sport.
← Archive · Front page · Past editorials · Report an error · Original article (in Italian)