A POPULAR destination in Europe is cracking down on tourists – with fines dished out to rule-breakers.
The small village of Varenna, near Lake Como, is banning anyone from walking around its historic streets either bare-chested or wearing swimwear.
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Varenna village on Lake Como is now fining people who are bare-chested or wearing swimwear in its streetsCredit: Getty
The new rules come as the village, which is home to only 650 people, is experiencing high levels of tourism each summer.
Tourists heading to the town will still be able to have a bare chest or wear their swimwear if they are at one of the lake’s beaches or if they are enjoying a boat trip on the lake itself.
However, if they are caught in the wrong place in the swimwear or with no shirt on, they could be fined between €50 (£42.74) and €200 (£170).
Varenna isn’t the only Italian spot to ban being shirtless and wearing swimwear in the town centre.
It is also banned to walk shirtless, barefoot or in a bikini in the town centres of Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast, with fines ranging from €25 (£21.37) to €500 (£427.48).
Varenna has also introduced a number of other rules impacting tourists.
There’s also a clampdown on crowds, as tour groups are now capped at 25 people.
The aim of this is so that the village’s lanes will not be blocked.
Guides have been banned from using speakers as well.
According to The Guardian, Mauro Manzoni, Varenna’s mayor, said: “Varenna is a wonderful village, and we are proud to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world every year.
“However, our residents’ quality of life cannot be sacrificed on the altar of mass tourism.”
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has identified more than 15,000 cases of adults gaining custody of multiple immigrant children who enter the U.S. without a parent, officials said Thursday, signaling a potential push to prosecute prolific child sponsors.
The Justice Department highlighted cases against three Guatemalan nationals that they say underscore the dangers of improper vetting of sponsors in a program that seeks to unite kids with relatives or family friends after they enter the U.S. Officials said they are investigating numerous other so-called super-sponsors — those who gained custody of more than three unrelated children — to determine whether the sponsors took the kids in fraudulently.
“We will not accept half measures when it comes to securing the border, protecting American lives and saving children from exploitation,” Acting Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche told reporters.
Taking custody of multiple unrelated migrant children is not a crime. The sponsors may be caring and well-intentioned, but senior administration officials calling them out suggests that authorities harbor suspicion about them and may subject them to deeper scrutiny.
Under former President Biden, officials tried to release children to eligible adult sponsors within 30 days, reuniting many families quickly. But the approach also yielded errors, with some children being released to adults who forced them to work illegally or to people who provided clearly false identification and addresses.
Under Trump, the administration tightened rules aimed at preventing traffickers from illegally bringing children into the country, and that has also led to a dramatic increase in federal custody times for kids. As of May, children are held in federal custody for an average of 206 days before they’re released, compared with an average of 37 days when Trump took office. At the same time, the number of total children in custody has steadily dropped.
Striking a balance between releasing children to vetted sponsors and shielding them from danger has proved a contentious partisan disagreement.
Democrats “want to claim that Republicans, because we’re enforcing the laws, it’s inhumane, somehow,” Blanche said after criticizing the vetting procedures under the Biden administration. “What’s inhumane about taking care of our kids?”
The cases announced Thursday include charges against a woman who, authorities say, was living in the U.S. illegally, schemed with others to smuggle kids across the border, then used fake identities to gain custody of them in exchange for money. In another case, a woman is accused of falsely claiming that she was siblings with a teen who had entered the U.S. illegally in her application to become the teen’s sponsor.
The Associated Press has sought comment from attorneys representing the accused in those cases.
Critics of the Trump administration have raised concerns over wellness checks carried out by immigration officers at elementary schools, immigration officers showing up and detaining sponsors at reunification meetings with children, and newly required documentation that’s created a “paperwork barrier” and led to a recent lawsuit.
Even sponsors willing to undergo the new vetting procedures have been forced to wait through unnecessary delays.
A Chicago father who is a U.S. citizen and had a valid birth certificate for his child was kept waiting for five months before the government could schedule a fingerprinting appointment. During the wait, his toddler daughter was sexually abused in federal custody, a lawsuit claimed.
Richer and Gonzalez write for the Associated Press. Gonzalez reported from McAllen, Texas.
Chelsea have endured a difficult campaign after the departure of two managers and protests among the fanbase – so what would an FA Cup win do for their season?
FOR someone whose face never moves, Katie Price couldn’t hide her emotion yesterday as her husband Lee Andrews stood her up on live TV.
What was supposed to be the loved-up couple’s chance to quieten the naysayers turned Katie into a laughing stock as she desperately tried to explain Lee’s absence amid claims he had been detained in the UAE. We’re told the public humiliation was a step too far for those close to Katie, 47, but has it been enough for her to see the light?
Katie Price was left high and dry on GMB yesterdayCredit: ITVLee Andrews claimed he was at the airport and travelling to the UKCredit: wesleeeandrews/Instagram
An insider said: “It’s not nice to see Katie put on the spot like that. All she ever does is try to be the perfect wife, but she’s struggling with the constant uncertainty.
“Her inner circle are worried it’s going to take its toll on her. It’s put a lot of pressure on the other relationships in her life – like with her sister Sophie, who has been terrified about Lee’s intentions from the start.
“Katie has been through so much heartache in the past and been treated so badly by men, and they think she deserves more – or at least some transparency.
“It’s one thing Lee supposedly missed the flight, but the videos of him at the airport while he desperately insists he is still coming are a hard watch. There is a feeling that he needs to accept the game is up, and they are just worried about how Katie will react when she realises that something is amiss.”
The couple, who tied the knot in January, were due to appear on GMB yesterday. It was set to be their first joint telly interview and a chance for them to set the record straight.
But while Katie, who had been visiting Lee in Dubai, made it back to the UK, Lee was nowhere to be seen. What followed was a bizarre game of will-he, won’t he, while poor Katie was left struggling alone.
There is ongoing speculation that Lee, 43, is unable to leave the United Arab Emirates city after allegedly forging his ex-girlfriend Dina Taji’s signature to secure a £200,000 loan – something he’s strongly denied.
Presenters Susanna Reid and her co-host Ed Balls told how they had approached the Foreign Office to see if Lee had a travel ban.
They said they had been informed they had “supported a British man detained in the United Arab Emirates”.
When the pair quizzed Katie as to whether this was Lee, she said he had denied it in a voice note and added laughing emoji icons to his message.
Explaining the reason for his no-show, Katie, who wore a pink shirt and gold hoop earrings for her chat, said: “He just didn’t make the flight.
“He’s coming here to spend quite a few months now. He’s been sorting out my visa, my international driving licence.
“He’s flying from Muscat, and he had things to do; he didn’t make the flight, but he’s at the airport now”.
Lee reinforced her words as he took to his social media page from the departures lounge.
He praised Katie’s appearance on GMB and said: “Yes, I am at the airport and flying to my wife, who did very well on GMB today.
“And I am on my way to her. I had a couple of things that I had to do last-minute; I couldn’t make the show. I was hoping to get on there with the Zoom link, but they carried on with Kate, and she did really, really well”.
Katie appeared upset when she found out Lee wouldn’t be on GMBCredit: BackGridKatie and Lee’s marriage has been highly controversial and full of AI picturesCredit: wesleeeandrews/Instagram
Mum of three Susanna mused: “I wonder if he’s telling you everything, do you trust him?” to which Katie said, “Yes”.
He then asked if Lee was normally unreliable, and she replied: “Not with me”.
Our insider added: “Katie was desperate to keep painting a happy picture, but the cracks are starting to show. She will have been upset about the line of questioning about the man she loves. She is a hopeless romantic and wants to believe the best in Lee, even if no one else does.”
The interview was a disaster, and clips of Katie frantically trying to defend Lee quickly went viral, and Lee was heavily scrutinised. Some people claimed the video he shared wasn’t filmed where he said it was, while others felt sympathy towards her.
Who is Katie Price’s husband Lee Andrews?
KATIE Price tied the knot with Lee Andrews in January 2026. Yet who is he?
Failed actor is just another title to add toLee’s questionable CV, after he claimed to have once worked as the Director of Philanthropy at The Prince’s Trust (now The King’s Trust)
Lee also shared images – since proven to be AI – of him working with Elon Musk and Kim Kardashian
It’s been revealed shameless Lee told former girlfriends that he had studied at Cambridge University, and has a PhD in biotechnology science
But The Sun has seen a response from the university explaining it could not find a record of Lee being registered as a student with a date of birth they had provided
His LinkedIn profile says Lee has been a Member of the Board of Advisors to the Labour Party since 2015
Lee was also mocked for repeating theexact same wedding proposalon Katie – that he did for another woman just four months ago.
One person commented: “I actually feel a bit sorry for her.”
Another remarked: “This is so sad. The penny still has not dropped, even though GMB know its him that’s been detained as they would have had it confirmed. I hope Suzannah told her after the cameras stopped rolling.”
And as the day went on, it seemed less and less likely Lee would actually arrive, despite his insisting he was on his way.
There certainly seems to be some confusion with the couple’s timeline – over 12 hours before she was due on GMB, Katie posted on her social media – in a video which has now been deleted – to reveal Lee was joining her
She said on social media: “Where the hell is my husband? Lee will not be on Good Morning Britain with me!!”
She added: “Well, he is not coming, which is gutting really as he said he was coming, so I’m getting the house ready for me”.
And for the first time, the tide might be slightly turning for Katie, and in a surprise movie, she did lay down an ultimatum.
Katie said that although Lee “pays for” her flights to Dubai, she needs him to be more present in the UK.
Katie has said she can no longer keep travelling back and forth to DubaiCredit: Instagram/mistraesthetics/Those close to Katie fear she is headed for more heartacheCredit: Getty
The mum-of-five, who hasn’t even been able to introduce her kids to Lee, said: “I’ve been in Dubai, I came back on Friday.
“But because I can’t keep going to Dubai, because obviously I’ve got work and my kids here.
Susanna quipped: “And it’s expensive”, and Katie replied: “Well, he pays for it anyway.”
The European Commission on Wednesday imposed anti-dumping duties on glass fibre —a key input for the EU’s renewable industry— produced by Chinese companies operating in Egypt, Bahrain and Thailand.
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The move confirms the EU’s push to curb Chinese imports entering the bloc via Belt and Road routes to sidestep tariffs on products officially labelled “made in China.”
Brussels seeks to shield its market from a surge of low-cost imports from the Asian giant, targeting goods it considers heavily subsidized or sold in the EU below production cost in China.
The tariffs on glass fibre from the three countries will range from 11% to 25.4% of the product’s value.
“The investigation confirms the existence of unfair practice, which is an important signal,” Ludovic Piraux, President of Glass Fibre Europe, said.
But he added that the measures adopted “remain insufficient to fully address the predatory strategies pursued through these investments in third countries.”
Job losses loom
China has invested $1 trillion through the Belt and Road initiative – a large-scale infrastructure programme which replaced the former silk road initiative and is aimed at strengthening connectivity, trade and communication across Eurasia, Latin America and Africa. The programme spans more than 150 countries, supporting infrastructure, transport, raw materials extraction and the relocation of industries and state-owned enterprises abroad.
As early as 2010, following an industry complaint, the Commission imposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese glass fibre imports. In the years that followed, Chinese producers established factories in Bahrain and Egypt, from which exports to the EU resumed.
By 2024, glass fibre imports from those countries, along with Thailand, accounted for 24% of the EU market. Egyptian imports alone reached 18%, with Glass Fibre Europe warning the situation could worsen.
This is not the first time the Commission has targeted Chinese products made in third countries under Belt and Road arrangements. It has previously imposed measures on aluminium foil from Thailand and glass fibre produced in Türkiye.
European glass fibre manufacturers have been pushing for action for more than a decade, alongside unions seeking to protect jobs in the sector.
The complaint which lead to Wednesday’s anti-dumping duties was first reported by Euronews in January 2025.
The industry directly employs more than 4,500 workers in the EU and says it supports hundreds of thousands of indirect jobs along the value chain.
Judith Kirton-Darling, General secretary of industriAll Europe, warned that “in the longer term”, the situation could worsen if the EU does not take “a stronger” stance on Chinese dumping.
“It is more than likely that we will face plant closures in Europe which will fundamentally undermine our industry,” she said.
