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Crisis talks over Naples rubbish Soldiers bulldoze Naples rubbish
(1 day later)
The Italian government is to hold an emergency meeting to find a solution to the rubbish crisis in Naples. The Italian army has begun bulldozing the 100,000 tonnes of rubbish that has piled up in the streets of the southern city of Naples.
There has been no collection of household waste for two weeks because landfills are full and more than 100,000 tonnes of rubbish lies rotting. The government is to hold an emergency meeting to find a solution to the rubbish crisis. Naples dustmen stopped collecting rubbish two weeks ago.
With nowhere to put it local people are forced to burn it. The fire brigade has been struggling to put out the fires.
Protesters have clashed with police near an overflowing landfill site.
Police tried to reopen the site, but residents of Pianura, a western suburb, said it was a health risk and blocked the roads. They threw stones at police, who responded with batons. At least three people were taken to hospital.
Prime Minister Romano Prodi has returned from his holidays to a national embarrassment. The EU is warning there will be tough penalties unless Italy resolves the crisis this week.
Schools which have been closed were reopened on the orders of the government, though only a handful of students have left their homes.
Finding a solution to this problem means tackling the mob.
The Camorra, the Neapolitan version of the Mafia, has turned this into a hugely profitable business.
They have sabotaged every effort to build hi-tech incinerators, so that Naples must rely on landfill sites, where they can hide the domestic and industrial waste, which they chuck in from all around the country.
Health concerns
Millions of tonnes of it have been dumped illegally in the sea or in the countryside, untreated and highly toxic.
Doctors say cancer rates in Naples are much higher than the national average.
Over the weekend angry Neapolitans clashed with police.Over the weekend angry Neapolitans clashed with police.
The Mafia in Naples is said to make millions from cheap dumping and has allegedly sabotaged efforts to build new incinerators.
Rising frustration
For two weeks the southern city has been buried beneath mountains of rotting rubbish. In some areas, household rubbish is mixed with toxic waste dumped illegally.
With nowhere to put the waste, local people have been left with no option but to burn it. Firefighters have been working round the clock tackling huge blazes which have spread out of control.
Frustration in the city is rising.
Over the weekend angry Neapolitans threw stones at police who, in turn, charged the protesters with batons.
In one of the more worrying developments, police found effigies of the mayor and the regional governor hanging from lampposts with death threats pinned to their chests.In one of the more worrying developments, police found effigies of the mayor and the regional governor hanging from lampposts with death threats pinned to their chests.
Protesters blame the Camorra, the Neapolitan version of the Mafia, which is making millions from dumping on the cheap.
The refuse industry is hugely profitable for the mob, which has sabotaged any effort by the local officials to build new dumps while trucking in other people's waste from all around the country.
EU warning
Rubbish collection is a perennial problem which has plagued Naples and its politicians for some 15 years.Rubbish collection is a perennial problem which has plagued Naples and its politicians for some 15 years.
The government is conscious it is under severe pressure to find a solution - but this means tackling the mob.The government is conscious it is under severe pressure to find a solution - but this means tackling the mob.
The EU says it is watching closely and is considering legal action for Italy's breach of European waste disposal directives.The EU says it is watching closely and is considering legal action for Italy's breach of European waste disposal directives.
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi says the problem needs to be solved once and for all, but Neapolitans put little faith in these pledges - they have heard them before. In 15 years of promises, the Italian state has spent some 2bn euros (£1.5bn) trying, and failing, to clean up the waste.
In 15 years of promises, the Italian state has spent some 2bn euros (£1.5bn) trying, and failing, to clean it up.
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