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Middle East crisis live: US and Iran race to recover missing pilot from downed jet; another ship passes through strait of Hormuz

Iraq has closed the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iran after airstrikes on the Iranian side killed an Iraqi citizen, security sources told Reuters news agency. A further five Iraqis were injured in the strike, the sources said, adding that Iraqi police recovered the body of a man and the wounded were taken to hospital, most in critical condition. The crossing, located in southern Iraq’s Basra province, serves as one of the main routes for imports of vegetables and other food supplies from Iran, Reuters reported.

Keir Starmalade, anyone? Will marmalade really have to be rebranded in UK?

The story is, in Fleet Street terminology, a marmalade dropper. The name marmalade is being dropped. But is it? What has been reported? “Starmer’s breakfast reset, or why you won’t be able to call it just marmalade any more,” shouted the Daily Mail on Saturday morning. Its online title went further asking: “What would Paddington think!” The story provided the title with an excuse to run a reader poll asking: “Did Starmer always intend to steer Britain back towards the EU?” The Times called it a “bitter end for marmalade”, while the BBC, which broke the story, was slightly more sober, reporting that “marmalades may need to be relabelled under post-Brexit food deal”. The Conservative former home secretary Priti Patel accused Labour of “attacking the great British marmalade”, saying the prime minister was “so desperate to fit in with his EU pals and unpick Brexit, he’s now looking to rename British marmalade to align with the EU”. So, what has actually happened? As part of a planned food deal with the EU, the BBC reports, the UK is considering aligning with the bloc’s naming rules that allow all conserves to be marketed as marmalades – as long as the type of fruit is specified. For example, citrus-based conserves being labelled “citrus marmalade”. Another example of EU red tape? That really depends on how far back you want to go. The UK is being asked to align with regulations in force within the bloc. That much is certainly true. It is part of the entirely standard practice of ensuring common values and norms between two entities when they agree a trade deal. But any divergence arguably only exists in the first place because of British idiosyncrasy. In the 1970s, following UK lobbying, the EU agreed to allow only the conserve made from oranges to be named marmalade. This caused a problem in some countries on the continent, where that word – or its cousins – refers to a whole range of conserves. In German, the word for jam is “marmelade”, in Italian it is “marmellata”. In 2004, the EU relaxed its rules to allow fruit-based spreads being sold in farmers’ markets in Germany and Austria to be referred to as marmalades. Following Brexit – with the need to keep the British sweet having gone – the rules were relaxed further to allow all conserves to be marketed as marmalade, as they naturally would be in many European languages. Nevertheless, we’re being banned from calling orange marmalade “orange marmalade”? No. An exemption has been drafted that would allow the citrus fruit used to make the conserve to be specified in the name. In other words, “orange marmalade” would be fine. A government source pointed out that marmalade on UK supermarket shelves is already usually labelled as “orange marmalade” or “Seville orange marmalade”, which they suggested was in compliance with the EU rules. Either way, this is all part of a Labour plot to “unpick Brexit”? As Patel might reasonably be expected to know, the rules on naming conserves were already due to come into force in the UK as part of the “Windsor agreement” struck by the Conservative government – and backed by Labour in parliament – in 2023. This proposal would simply see them extended from Northern Ireland to the rest of the country. What has the government said? A government spokesperson said: “British marmalade is not changing. There is no requirement for retailers or producers to relabel orange marmalade as ‘citrus marmalade’, and jars on UK shelves will remain exactly as they are today. “Many British manufacturers already meet international labelling standards voluntarily so their products can be sold overseas – this deal simply supports that trade by cutting unnecessary red tape with our largest market. “Crucially, the agreement supports exporters while fully preserving the UK’s ability to shape food rules in the national interest.”

‘Feels like history is being made’: will young Hungarian voters oust Orbán?

As he rushed to finish off his cigarette before heading to class, Ákos, 20, confessed that he has more at stake than most as Hungarians prepare to head to the polls in the coming days. “If things remain the same, or get even worse, I can’t see a future here,” said the aspiring teacher. “There are many people who want to try living elsewhere, and that’s totally fine, but I’m not one of them. For so long I’ve dreamed of working and teaching here.” Ákos was four years old when Hungarians voted in Viktor Orbán as prime minister in 2010, setting in motion a 16-year grip on power that has sought to transform the central European country into an “illiberal democracy” – and which has defined much of this student’s early life. Ákos is a member of Generation Orbán – the young Hungarians who came of age as the country plunged in press freedom rankings, was accused of being an “electoral autocracy”, and became the most corrupt country in the EU. Now, it is these people, many of whom will be voting for the first time in a general election on 12 April, who have become the primary and most powerful driving force for change. One recent poll suggested that 65% of voters under the age of 30 are planning to cast their vote against Orbán. “It’s been devastating at times,” said Boldi, 22, another student, citing the lack of opportunities for young people and stalled social mobility. “I think anything is better than a party that had 16 years to change things and just made it worse.” In interviews with young Hungarians on an overcast day in Budapest, the Guardian heard many voters express deep hopes that their country is on the brink of change. Most polls have suggested that Orbán is trailing in voter support as he faces off against an unprecedented challenge from Péter Magyar, a former top member of Fidesz. “With all of the marches and gatherings that are happening, it kind of feels like history is being made,” said Betti, 24, as she made her way through a leafy courtyard just off the Astoria intersection in central Budapest. The election has pitted two distinctly different versions of Hungary’s future against each other, leaving deep divisions as Fidesz works to convince voters that Ukraine is the country’s top enemy and Orbán the only safe pair of hands, while Tisza urges voters to focus on economic stagnation, fraying social services and corruption. “It’s just terrible right now,” said Betti, whose job as a cashier gives her a frontline view to the rising cost of living and, like the others who spoke to the Guardian, declined to give their surname. “It’s kind of depressing knowing that there are people around you who just don’t want things to get better or they believe the propaganda, like ‘Ukraine is coming for us’.” The shift of young voters away from Fidesz – a movement founded by pro-democracy, change-seeking youth which at one point required its members to be under the age of 35 – is one of the biggest stories of the election, said Nóra Schultz, a Budapest-based political analyst. “Even before Tisza came on to the scene, there was definitely a mood for change among youngsters. But when Péter Magyar started running his party, there was a complete shift,” she said. “Now, in the most reliable polls, Fidesz has below 10% support among people under the age of 40.” She listed a raft of reasons to explain the change, from domestic concerns over the cost of living and access to housing to a pro-EU stance that clashed with Orbán’s drift towards Russia. Social media, she added, had also played a role: independent journalists and opposition politicians had managed to carve out spaces capable of circumventing Fidesz’s tight grip on traditional media, where the party and its loyalists are estimated to control 80% of the landscape. In the run-up to the election, both candidates have also taken very different approaches to courting the youth vote, said Schultz. Magyar has made a conscious effort to call on them to help spread the word, while Orbán has highlighted initiatives such as the aid his government rolled out for first-time homebuyers or tax benefits for young mothers. “Magyar treats young people as political actors. Orbán is more like: ‘Be happy about what you’ve been getting,’ whereas Péter Magyar is: ‘Come and join me,’” she said. The impact can be plainly seen in places such as TikTok, where legions of young women have posted videos of themselves lip-syncing and dancing to Magyar’s speeches or flaunting nail designs featuring the party’s branding, said Schultz. “And you don’t see that with Fidesz at all.” On the streets of central Budapest, however, some were swift to stress that their vote was less about Magyar and more about the need for change. “It’s not like all the youngsters are Tisza activists,” said Jani, 21, who is studying to be a film director. “It’s more like everybody is against this system and Tisza is the only option we have. I don’t sympathise with Péter Magyar at all, but I have no choice so I will vote for him.” Others worried that the wave of opposition wouldn’t be high enough to dislodge Fidesz from power. Some of this was about the electoral maths, as polls suggest Fidesz continues to lead among voter aged 65 and over, as well as much of the countryside. But it was also about accusations of an electoral system that over the years has been remade to tilt heavily in Orbán’s and his party’s favour. These claims came to the fore in the last election, as the opposition alleged gerrymandering and vote-buying to explain why its momentum had failed to translate into electoral success. Other young Hungarians said they were anxious about how Orbán – the leader whose strongman approach has been touted as an inspiration to Donald Trump and far-right movements across the globe – would react if Tisza were to win. “I think they’ve already realised that it’s over for them, but I don’t think they will go down without a fight,” said Betti. “They will try something.” Even if Magyar succeeded in taking power, she is under no illusion that the system that Orbán and his party have spent years building will quickly unravel. “We know that, even if we change governments, the next four to eight years are going to be hard because they just absolutely took the country to shit. There’s no other way to say it,” she said. “It’s going to be hard, but it’s probably still going to be better.” That optimism was echoed by Ákos as he steeled himself for a result that he sees as decisive to his future. “I’m pretty hopeful,” he said, as he ground out his cigarette. “Like most of my generation, I’m awaiting change. Change in the government, change in the system, and a change in people’s thinking.” Such a change was desperately needed in today’s Hungary, he said, even if many refused to admit it. “I would certainly hope that the divisions between Hungarians will diminish over time, so that we realise that we are not each other’s enemies,” he added. “And that we have to share this country and work to make it a better place together.”

Lebanese forced to bury their dead twice as war robs them of final goodbyes

In Lebanon, the dead are usually given one last glimpse of their home town before they are laid to rest. Hoisted high above the heads of the living, their casket is slowly marched through the streets where they grew up. It is the hands of their loved ones that guide them into their final resting place, already dug, and gently sprinkle dirt on their body. In south Lebanon, war has robbed the dead of their final goodbye. As Israel expands its ground invasion, families have been forced to abandon traditional funeral rites and bury their loved ones in temporary graveyards farther north. In Tyre, 2-metre-wide ditches have been dug to house the dead. The epitaphs are brief: a number spray-painted in bright red on a thin wooden board to count the deceased. Rabih Koubaissi has stayed behind in Tyre to supervise the burials, despite the Israeli orders that people have to leave and airstrikes on the city. It is his second war in three years. In Islam, the imam explained, a body should not be exhumed after being buried. It is typically washed, wrapped in a white shroud and placed directly into the ground without a casket, where it should return to the earth without being disturbed. But in exceptional circumstances such as war, a special funeral rite can be invoked. In Islamic jurisprudence there is a technicality wherein bodies can be buried in a casket, in a procedure called wadiaa, literally meaning “deposit”. The theory is that it is the casket, not the body, that is being dug up again. “A Muslim can be buried in any Muslim cemetery. But people have emotional attachment – they want their loved ones buried in their ancestral land. It reflects belonging, heritage and presence,” said Koubaissi. The brutality of war has disrupted every step of the burial process, at times making it impossible to wash the bodies of the dead. “Sometimes we just receive pieces of bodies,” he said. “In those cases, we just collect what we can, place them in a shroud and a body bag, and then put them in the coffin.” Though temporary burials gave some peace of mind, they were ultimately a source of pain, Koubaissi said. “It’s very difficult. Families are being forced to bury their loved ones twice.” People from south Lebanon, however, are worried they may not get the chance to bury their loved ones back home. Statements from Israeli officials that the military will occupy the area south of the Litani River indefinitely have led to fears that it could be months, or years, before Lebanese people could finally lay their loved ones to rest in their ancestral homes. Even if Israeli soldiers withdraw, people worry what awaits them when they return to their villages. At the end of the 13-month war between Hezbollah and Israel in November 2024, people from Dhayra, a border village, rushed to rebury two residents who were killed by airstrikes months previously and buried in temporary gravesites in Tyre. When they returned home, however, they found their village graveyard in ruins. Israeli bulldozers had ripped up gravesites and the local mosque had been destroyed – the bodies had to be buried in an alternative graveyard. While the dead wait to be reburied, they have few visitors. After attending the rushed temporary funerals, most families have been forced to leave Tyre as the city has come under increasing attack. A young couple who remained in Tyre, despite the dangers, visited one of the temporary gravesites last week, tending to flowers at the foot of the grave of two young men from the town of Al-Qlailah. They are the only two graves which have pictures of the departed. The couple, overcome with emotion, consoled each other as they gazed at the photographs. Standing above the first grave in the row, Hecham Reda, a medic from the border village of Aita al-Chaab, began to cry as he recalled his friend. “Hadi was always with us, putting out fires, carrying the martyrs. In this war, he didn’t have time. The strike that hit him was fast, brutal,” said Reda, who fears, like many people from south Lebanon, that he will never get the chance to bury his friend back home. As Koubaissi overlooks the graves, airstrikes thud in the distance. He does not bother to look up when they hit. “The hardest part is when families ask you how their loved ones looked,” he said. “They cannot see them, but I have seen them. You can’t lie to them, but you can’t tell the truth either. So you try to comfort them. “It’s a very heavy feeling. We hadn’t even recovered from the last war before entering this one.”

Cubans study oil tanker diplomacy for signs of progress in secret talks with US

When a sanctioned Russian oil tanker, the Anatoly Kolodkin, docked at Cuba’s Matanzas oil terminal on Tuesday, unloading 700,000 barrels of crude, it was not immediately clear why the ship had been allowed to pass through Donald Trump’s oil blockade. In January, the US president had proclaimed on social media: “THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO!” yet last week he told reporters, “If a country wants to send some oil into Cuba right now, I have no problem with it” – and waved the Russian ship through. Then, on Thursday, came news that Cuba was releasing 2,010 prisoners. The government framed the move as a humanitarian gesture for Holy Week, but observers were quick to link the two events – and see both as evidence that negotiations between Washington and Havana are continuing. The US oil blockade has caused an already stuttering Cuban economy to trundle into the ditch. Tourism is all but dead, after airlines from Canada, Russia, China and France ceased operations, and Iberia is leaving at the end of May. Most petrol stations are closed. Blackouts, long a problem, are now a daily grind. Those Cubans who still live on the island, estimated at 9.5 million after a 2 million-strong exodus in the last five years, are exhausted. “Everything is collapsing – health, education, transport, everything,” said one man outside a church in El Cobre, a famous site of pilgrimage in the east of the country. Meanwhile, the population is left studying the scraps of information leaked – always from the US side – about the talks. It’s a dialogue between apparently irreconcilable positions: Trump has vowed to “take” the island, while Cuba maintains that its political system is not up for negotiation. Initially many diplomats credited the tanker’s arrival to the worsening crisis on the island. “One option is that it’s a tactical move by the White House,” said one ambassador, attempting to parse the week’s events. “So that as the humanitarian emergency worsens they can point to something specific they did – even though we know it’s nothing in the grand scheme of things.” This, however, did not seem in character for Trump, whose humanitarian instincts have never been obvious. But the diplomat went on: “Or it could mean there is a bit of progress on negotiations. And this is a confidence-building measure.” The prisoner release suggests the latter. William LeoGrande, professor of government at the American University in Washington, said: “It suggests that the two sides may be making reciprocal gestures of good will to advance the conversations they have been having,” pointing to similar episodes in prevents efforts at detente. Meanwhile, another tanker with 200,000 barrels of Russian fuel – the Sea Horse – has been floating in the Atlantic. As the Anatoly Kolodkin arrived in Cuba, the Sea Horse moved to Venezuela, whose government since the US abduction of Nicolás Maduro has been keen to appease Trump’s demands. The choreography suggested the oil shipments were a series of carrots being offered to the Cuban government. While no amount of oil or pressure seems likely to encourage the Cuban regime to give up the power it has held since 1959, other events over the last week suggest a more transactional way forward. Since they were first permitted by the government in 2021, Cuba has become home to more than 10,000 small to medium-sized private businesses, called Mipymes. They are apparent in the small corner stores across the island, but also in the big container lorries running down the highways. The Mipymes have created a group of very wealthy Cubans, many with links to the regime and Gaesa, the army’s economic wing which controls large swathes of the economy. Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, who has been at the front of negotiations with the US, is not only the grandson of former president Raúl Castro, but also the son of the former head of Gaesa, Luis Rodríguez López-Calleja, who died in 2022. This week CNN interviewed another member of the Castro family, Fidel’s grandson Sandro Castro. Sandro is a 33-year-old influencer, often treated by Cubans with exasperation for the bling lifestyle he projects, but diplomats say he is also a successful businessman and importer. “There are many people here who want to do capitalism with sovereignty. I think the majority of Cubans want to be capitalist, not communist,” he told CNN. Normally such a statement – let alone his subsequent opining that the current Cuban president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, “is not doing a good job” – would have earned the speaker a visit from state security. But it seems not in this case. Díaz-Canel’s political defenestration has been touted by the US as one of the prices for negotiations to go forward. So perhaps a route forward is forming where Cuba’s economy would open up, while senior members of the regime, including several Castros, retain power and influence. That would conform with Trump’s statement that he wanted a “friendly” takeover of Cuba, mirror events in Venezuela and – as Iran continues to frustrate his hopes of an easy victory – give him a win. “At the moment, it is this smallish group who is making all the money,” said another senior diplomat in Havana. “If the Americans are saying, ‘you can keep your businesses, but you need to open the economy up to the US too,’ then I can see that happening.” How that would sit with Marco Rubio, Trump’s Cuban-American secretary of state, who has long expressed his commitment to unseating the Castros, remains to be seen. “I suspect the hardliners in Miami would have a hard time accepting anyone named Castro in a position of authority,” said Pedro Freyre, a Miami attorney at the heart of the exile community. “But while the Castro name carries a heavy historical load, it may prove difficult to dislodge. Díaz-Canel is a leader by consensus without deep historical connections, which make him easier to move around.” More worryingly is where such a deal would leave the roughly 40% of Cubans who do not work for the private sector or receive money from relatives abroad. These people are often elderly and gave their lives to a revolution that promised to look after them from cradle to grave. The answer is probably nowhere good: they are now on the edge of starvation.

One dead and dozens injured at Peru football stadium during pre-match event

One person has been killed and dozens more injured at the Alejandro Villanueva Stadium in Lima, Peru, according to the football club Alianza Lima. Hundreds of fans were attending a “flag-waving event” on Friday around the stadium, a day before a derby match between the home team Alianza Lima and local rivals Universitario de Deportes. Officials are investigating the cause of the incident, which was not immediately clear. Initial reports suggested parts of the stadium’s wall had collapsed, but Alianza Lima said there were not any structural failures, as did a fire official. The club offered condolences for the casualties, which included 60 injured, according to media reports. “We are fully and transparently collaborating with the competent authorities,” the club said in a statement on X, promising “total transparency” in helping to investigate what happened. The Peruvian health minister, Juan Carlos Velasco Guerrero, confirmed the death and said that 47 people had been hurt, with three people in critical condition. The fire chief, Marcos Pajuelo, told the news channel Canal N that based on initial assessments, the structure of the stadium had not been affected. “There are no collapsed walls or sections fallen into the pit,” he said. “There hasn’t been any debris,” he added. Earlier, the interior ministry had said on X that 40 firefighters responded to an emergency at the stadium “involving people trapped in a structure”. The Peruvian professional soccer league said Saturday’s match would proceed as planned. “We will continue to work closely with the clubs and authorities to promote safe environments both inside and outside the stadiums,” it said in a statement. The league also highlighted its “commitment to the safety and wellbeing of all” at sporting events. The Alejandro Villanueva Stadium, popularly known as Matute, was built in the 1970s and is located in the Matute neighbourhood of the La Victoria district in the Peruvian capital. It has a capacity of more than 33,900 seats. There has been limited modernisation of the stadium since then, and it has remained a “fairly basic ground”, according to The Stadium Guide. In 2010, the wooden benches were replaced by plastic seats, and Alianza was reportedly exploring ways to upgrade the stadium, including increasing the capacity to 40,000 spectators, as well as plans for a new arena that could hold 60,000.

Biometric checks stalled again for cross-Channel travellers

Passengers crossing the Channel from the UK to France will not face new biometric checks in the coming weeks, despite an imminent deadline for the complete implementation of the EU’s entry-exit system (EES), ports say. Airlines and airports across Europe have feared chaos over the Easter holidays. The EU will officially demand biometric information from all applicable travellers – most non-EU citizens, including Britons – at the border from 10 April. A phased introduction of the system has already caused long delays at some airports. However, it has emerged that passengers on Eurotunnel’s Le Shuttle service, cross-channel ferries, or Eurostar will not encounter any changes, owing to delays in France’s developing the technology needed to collate and process the biometric information. Sources at the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel said France had not yet provided them with the technology. Wet-stamping of passports will continue at the French border, which is located in England for outgoing cross-Channel train, Shuttle, and ferry passengers. Only lorry drivers, coach passengers and ferry foot passengers, who have been checked by French border officials since November, will undergo the EES formalities. Despite the latest apparent stalling of the system, the EU’s websites still state that after 10 April visitors to the Schengen area must provide biometric information on entry. Home Office advice issued last week told UK travellers to allow more time for checks. However, Eurostar and Eurotunnel said passengers should continue to arrive at the time stated on their travel ticket. EES was introduced in October in a phased launch, years later than planned, but its rollout has varied at borders across Europe. At some airports, including Lisbon and Brussels, passengers have experienced hours of delays, with border officials insisting on biometric checks, including fingerprinting and facial IDs. Other airports have installed machines that have yet to be used. Getlink, which owns Eurotunnel, has invested at least £60m in kiosks at Folkestone and Coquelles in France to ensure the Shuttle was ready for the opening on EES last autumn, while Eurostar spent about £10m at London St Pancras for automated kiosks that remain sealed off. The Port of Dover has reshaped its road layouts and built new structures ready for EES. A spokesperson said the port was “working closely with our French border agency partners to ensure a smooth introduction of EES for tourist passengers, which includes waiting until current issues with the French technology are resolved and thorough testing at Dover has been conducted”. Eurotunnel said EES would “take a further operational step on 10 April with the Police aux Frontières beginning the creation of EES files”, but added: “This stage will not involve biometric data collection.” A spokesperson said LeShuttle customers would not see any change. Eurostar said it was “working closely with the French and EU authorities as they continue to introduce the next stages of the system”. It added that “enrolments are currently being completed manually by French border officers in London St Pancras”. It has added extra lanes at the border but said its focus was “in line with the authorities’ priority to maintain border fluidity as the rollout progresses”. The EU has told border officials they can exercise discretion to relax the rules if queues build up, until at least the end of July. Nonetheless, European airlines and airports are still anxious about the scaling up of EES during the holiday period. The trade bodies A4E, which represents most large European airlines, and ACI Europe, representing airports, issued a joint statement this week citing “persistent operational challenges” and predicting that passengers would face increasing delays from Easter. They called on the European Commission to continue to allow full suspension of EES if needed, arguing that long border queues were being the norm and were undermining air travel. Michael O’Leary, the chief executive of Europe’s biggest airline, Ryanair, said EES was causing queues of up to four hours at some airports, describing the system as “a shit show and a shambles” and a punishment for Brexit. He said the EU should postpone the full introduction until October. The European Commission was approached for comment.

Italian council buys Mussolini’s villa to keep it away from ‘fascist nostalgics’

An Italian council has bought a villa where Benito Mussolini spent his summer holidays, partly to avoid the property falling into the hands of “fascist nostalgics”. Daniela Angelini, the leftwing mayor of Riccione, a town close to Rimini along Italy’s Adriatic coast, said the acquisition of Villa Mussolini through an auction was “an act of love and vision” and that bringing it back into public hands was a victory for the entire town. Riccione’s council had fended off competition from a private buyer who was a former member of the Italian Social Movement, the neofascist party founded in 1946 by Mussolini’s lingering supporters. The villa has a long and, unsurprisingly, controversial history. Built steps away from the sea in 1893, it was bought by Mussolini’s second wife, Rachele, in 1934. The fascist dictator, who was born in Predappio, another town in the Emilia-Romagna region, would arrive by seaplane and often used the villa for government business during his stays. The Mussolini family expanded the property to include a third floor, 20 rooms and a tennis court. After the second world war and fall of the fascist regime in Italy, the property came under public ownership. During Riccione’s economic boom in the 1950s and 60s, it was used for various commercial purposes, including a veterinary clinic for dogs and a restaurant. A communist mayor of Riccione tried to have it bulldozed in the late 1970s. The villa was abandoned for years before being bought in the late 1990s by Rimini’s Cassa di Risparmio savings bank which restored and opened it in 2005 as a place for art exhibitions and other public events, including civil weddings. The presence of the villa and its Mussolini associations have long divided Riccione, with debate resurfacing last year when the Cassa di Risparmio foundation decided to auction it. Councillors from Brothers of Italy, the far-right party of the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, argued that whoever bought the property must not change its name from Villa Mussolini. Angelini said the name would be maintained, despite pressure from some of her allies to change it. She said history needed to be cultivated and not “cancelled” and that changing the name might have had the “dangerous effect” of turning the villa into a place for “fascist nostalgics … Something this administration will never accept”. Angelini said the plan was to continue using Villa Mussolini as a community space, including for exhibitions recounting the “good, the bad and the ugly” of 20th-century history, and for other social and cultural events. “Yes, the name evokes an ugly story, and that we will tell. You can’t erase it, you must tell it in the right way, making sure our democratic values emerge.” Since the second world war, Riccione, like the wider Emilia Romagna region, has been predominantly leftwing. But it was only in 2025 that the town council formally revoked Mussolini’s honorary citizenship, which almost all Italian towns and cities were forced to bestow during the fascist regime. “This is a man who was stained with crimes, who did not deserve that honour,” said Angelini. “But the villa is another story – it will be used as an expression of the values of our community and our democracy.”