A malfunction, a summit, an alert that shifts: the day of October 20

The story that opened the day is the one we close it with: the malfunction in Google’s cloud systems, originating from the europe-west2 region linked to the London data center, caused difficulties for banks, payment services and commonly used applications in several European countries. It is the lead piece of this edition, and remains the day’s dominant fact.

On the European summit in Brussels, the morning edition had no elements yet: this afternoon we report that the European Council did not unblock the Ets2 review requested by Rome, while on the Ukrainian front, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen claimed that the Union and its Member States cover 80% of external aid to Kyiv, asking other partners to do more.

On the bad weather, the picture widens compared to what was reported this morning on Liguria: Campania’s Civil Protection has issued an orange alert valid from midnight for Wednesday, October 21 in four areas of the region, from the Piana campana-Naples to Alta Irpinia. This is a new development, not a repetition.

We have also updated the markets: European stock exchanges opened weak on doubts regarding the stability of investments in artificial intelligence, with the Stoxx 600 down 0.7% and the Ftse Mib down more than 1%, while Brent crude oil rose above 110 dollars per barrel. And we followed the Wfp, which announced cuts to aid in Gaza capable of leaving half a million people without direct assistance, with food rations halved.

On road haulage, the government has released the first billion euros against rising fuel costs, with 480 million being disbursed starting today: we report this while stating that the news currently comes from a single source, without independent confirmation.

We close with a Swedish study, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, linking the presence of green spaces within 100 meters of home to a lower risk of dementia: an observational correlation, not proof of causation, as the piece states.

The Cinema & Entertainment, News, Culture, Economy and Markets, Foreign Affairs and Geopolitics, Europe, Italy, Health, Sport and Tech & AI sections remain those published this morning at 6:30 am: none of these sections has been reopened in this edition, and readers will still find them on the front page. The newspaper returns tomorrow morning at 6:30 am.