Italy is heading into a fresh political and cultural debate over immigration, integration and religious symbols in schools after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced plans to introduce new classroom rules. Meloni said her government will bring forward legislation to set a legal maximum on the number of foreign students in each class, while also banning burqas and niqabs in Italian schools. The proposal would additionally require parents of foreign students facing serious integration difficulties to learn Italian. The announcement has triggered a wider political argument over assimilation, religious freedom, national identity and the role of schools in integrating migrant families.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has issued a fresh warning to the United States, claiming Tehran has weapons and military capabilities that have not yet been used in the ongoing confrontation. Iranian officials say any renewed escalation could see previously unused weapons deployed and the geography of the conflict expanded to new targets and battlefronts. The IRGC has also described the conflict as a “historic defeat” for the United States, while pointing to the continued disruption around the Strait of Hormuz and Washington’s difficulty in restoring normal commercial traffic through the strategic waterway. Recent incidents involving US and Iranian unmanned systems have further underscored the growing military confrontation around the waterway. WATCH