Croatian fishermen feel the strain after Iran war ramps up fuel prices
PULA, Croatia (AP) — As the sun sets over the Adriatic Sea, Marijan Jakopovic prepares his boat and nets to sail out as he has done for the past 30 years. But the 55-year-old fisherman from Croatia says times have never been so tough for many in his line of work.
Rising prices of fuel driven by the war in Iran are taking their toll on Croatia’s fishing industry, adding to a myriad of existing problems, from limited stocks and fishing restrictions, to widespread imports of frozen seafood.
Key providers of fresh fish during Croatia’s summer tourism season, the fishermen are warning that if the ceasefire in Iran does not hold and fuel prices surge again, things could become unbearable.
“This is turning into an almost hopeless situation,” said Jakopovic, who is from the small village of Lanisce, in the northern Croatian peninsula of Istria.
Prices in Croatia of so-called blue diesel, fuel solely used by farmers and fishermen, have increased by around 70% in a month, from 0.80 euros ($0.94) per liter on March 8 to 1.36 euros ($1.59) per liter on April 7, according to official data.
Croatia’s government has temporarily capped the price rise but this did not fully avert the blow. Other countries in the region have been similarly affected despite introducing state subsidies or price limits.
Vedran Spehar, a senior official in Croatia’s Ministry of Economy, said this week on state-owned Croatian Radio that prices of blue diesel would have reached at least 2 euros ($2.34) per liter had it not been for government action, which also ensured there were no shortages.
A European Union member state since 2013, Croatia adopted the euro currency in 2023, a transition that coincided with price increases across many sectors. Previously, the economic fallout from the war in Ukraine had pushed up energy and food prices even before the start of the Iran war.
Croatia currently has the highest inflation in the EU at 4.8% annually.
Jakopovic said accumulated costs have forced some fishermen to spend up to 70% of their earnings on fuel, depending on the type of boat they use. And, this is in addition to the cost of crews, maintenance and equipment, he pointed out.
The problem is not new.
Commercial fishing in Croatia has faced difficulties for years even as tourism along the country’s breathtaking coastline and islands exploded — last year alone, more than 20 million tourists visited the country.
This year, the price of fish at Croatian markets and in restaurants could go up.
Almira Raimovic is a vendor at the market in the northern town of Pula. She predicted that if fishermen raise the price of their catch to accommodate the fuel cost, this would affect both market and wholesale prices.
Raimovic herself used to fish but shifted to a more profitable option — she now takes tourists out for trips on what used to be her fishing boat. People will always buy fish in the Mediterranean countries, Raimovic said, but their habits might have to change.
“The focus will likely shift to cheaper fish, sardines and anchovies, which are still more affordable than other (fish),” she said. “Rising fuel prices will affect everyone, inflating the cost of living and of food across all sectors, not just fishing.”
Fishermen have already complained of shrinking stocks, seasonal bans on some kinds of fish, catch limits and protected sea zones designed to help preserve certain endangered species.
As a member of the EU, Croatia has adopted the bloc’s strict rules on sustainable fishing.
All this means that fishermen now have to sail further out and spend more time at sea, ramping up their fuel consumption. The vicious circle could drive many out of business as each sea trip now comes with too much uncertainty, said Jakopovic.
“We don’t know how much longer we will be able to keep working,” he said.
VW to stop making its top electric vehicle in the US
DETROIT, April 9 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG.DE), opens new tab said on Thursday it will end production of the ID.4 electric SUV out of its Tennessee plant this month, citing a challenging time for the U.S. electric vehicle market.
Automakers have scaled back or canceled production of EVs after the federal government last fall ended the use of a $7,500 tax credit toward the purchase of an EV.
- Volkswagen is shifting production at its Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant to its higher-volume gas-powered SUVs, the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport.
- The automaker will launch production this summer of a redesigned version of its Atlas midsize SUV, scheduled to go on sale in 2027.
- Volkswagen is planning a future version of the ID.4 for the North American market, but did not provide timing on its release.
- The current inventory of ID.4 is expected to last into 2027.
- ID.4 sales declined 62% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2025.
- Volkswagen will still offer the ID. Buzz electric van in the U.S. market.
China's car exports accelerate despite disruption from Mideast crisis
BEIJING, April 9 (Reuters) - Car exports, an increasingly important source of growth for China's hyper-competitive auto sector, picked up pace in March despite shipment disruptions from the crisis in the Middle East, one of the industry's key overseas markets.
Exports grew 73.7% from a year earlier to nearly 700,000 vehicles last month, faster than the 54.1% in the first two months, data from the China Passenger Car Association showed on Thursday.
"Car exports have entered a stage of super high growth, beating our expectations," said Cui Dongshu, the association's secretary-general.
Domestic sales dropped 15.2% from a year earlier to 1.67 million vehicles last month, a sixth straight month of decline, as rising fuel prices dampened demand for conventionally fuelled models while electric vehicle sales continued to feel the impact of reduced incentives amid a sputtering economic recovery.
Combustion engine car sales were down 15.7%, accelerating from a 13.4% decline in the January-February period, although China has capped domestic fuel price hikes to soften the impact of surging oil prices from the Mideast conflict.
Dealers remain under pressure from bloated inventories, with an index tracking unsold vehicles ticking up last month as consumers showed little interest in buying new EVs on reduced incentives, including the end of a purchase tax exemption.
Facing cut-throat competition in the home market where sales of EVs and PHEVs slipped 14.4% year on year, EV giant BYD (002594.SZ), opens new tab posted a seventh consecutive monthly sales drop in March, despite continued strong growth in overseas markets such as Europe where fuel price hikes drove EV demand.
BYD executives said they were optimistic the company would sell more than 1.5 million vehicles overseas this year.
3-DAY PUBLIC WEATHER FORECAST
(TCI National Weather Service) - GENERAL SITUATION: A prefrontal trough combined with a warm, moist, and unstable air mass will increase the likelihood of showers later today.
‘Rest in beats’ iconic drummer Sly Dunbar
The passing of legendary drummer and producer, Sly Dunbar, one week after the death of Third World co-founder, Stephen ‘Cat’ Coore has left the music industry reeling.
“A wha’ really a gwaan?” a puzzled General Lee asked of no one in particular. “Cat Coore last week and now Sly?”
High Power Music producer General Lee, who is based in the UK, has enjoyed a decades-long friendship with both Sly and the late bass player, Robbie Shakespeare, spoke to the drummer up to early Monday morning, England time, hours before his passing. Like many in the industry, he is shaken. Sly’s wife, Thelma, confirmed his passing to The Gleaner, weeping as she mourned the loss of her “best friend”.
Lowell ‘Sly’ Dunbar, who Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, described as “one of the greatest drummers ever,” passed away at his home in St Andrew on Monday morning after a period of illness. He was 73.
Noting that Dunbar’s death is “a great loss for the music” the minister in a press release, recalled “the outstanding body of work” produced by Sly Dunbar and the late Robbie Shakespeare, co-founders of the Taxi Records label.
“Sly and Robbie produced some of the best Jamaican music, they appeared on many records and backed some of our most outstanding artistes including Bunny Wailer, Black Uhuru, Jimmy Cliff, Beenie Man, Chaka Demus & Pliers, Grace Jones and Omi, among others.”
Minister Grange said Sly and Robbie were sought after by international artistes.
“Sly and Robbie were the ‘go to’. They produced and/or played on tracks for several international acts including No Doubt, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, the Fugees and Simply Red. Sly was a truly gifted and remarkable musician and producer whose passing today is a great loss for the music,” said Minister Grange.
Poetic tribute
Andi Green-Browne singer/song-writer and widow of the late musician and producer Noel Browne, poured her heart into a poetic tribute to Sly.
“Honestly, Sly may just be the humblest and most talented Jamaican musician I have ever met,” Green-Browne told The Gleaner. “Sleek, spiffy and humble at all same time, he brought life to the Simmons Drums ... like they walked and talked ... the most fascinating rolls through my chest. I just couldn’t stand still.”
She skilfully painted a scene that played out one day in the mid 1980s inside the legendary Channel One Studio .
“What looked like something out of a futuristic movie ... that still set of weirdly shaped pieces arranged like a traditional drum set. But then, cool Sly sat behind them, after politely greeting everyone along the path. Then time stood still, in anticipation of what could possibly be emitted from those interesting hexagonal looking pods. Baxcide! He clapped the sticks together as he counted down the starting roll. Mega sigh.... Out of this world,” exclaimed the singer, who at one point was the manager at Donovan Germain’s Penthouse Recording Studios.
From Green-Browne’s perspective, “Sly applied Sly to the process and that was the loud beginning of an era in our music.”
She continued, “I now understood the magic that was recorded at Dynamic Sounds Recording Studio when Sly & Robbie served up Black Uhuru’s Solidarity, and slammed us with undisputed drum and bass niceness. I’m surprised and sad to say goodbye. All I can say now is Rest In Beats”
Like Green-Browne, Bridgett Anderson and General Lee spoke about Sly’s humility.
“Lowell ‘Sly’ Dunbar he is one of the individuals responsible for my musical journey,” Anderson shared. “My first experience in the music business was September 1991 when I toured with Judy Mowatt and Sly & Robbie. Sly has always encouraged me never to give up despite the challenges. The humblest, most talented human being I’ve ever met ... his greatness seems to make him more humble. I have not seen him for a while but my love and respect is forever. Sly was a Simeon a man of Faith. SIEP my brother.”
General Lee admitted that “Sly death nuh soak in yet” as he recalled their friendship and the kindness that Sly has shown him and countless others.
“I remember once I was having a challenge and me and Sly a reason and him seh him soon call mi back. Next thing is VP [Records] call mi and seh come for something. It was US$5,000 ... and it wasn’t a loan. Sly do plenty things for plenty people, but him neva loud it up. Sly was a good man. Sunday he asked me to get him some of the hats that he wears ... is me always get them for him. If yuh look on him phone now, yuh will see where mi ask him what size and tell him that the last time is 56 cm mi did buy. Mi cyann believe seh Sly gone,” General Lee said with a loud sigh.
Born on May 10, 1952, Lowell ‘Sly’ Dunbar, the two-time Grammy winner and 13-time nominee, had been awarded the Order of Distinction from the Jamaican Government. His passing made headlines in news outlets across the world, including, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, New York Post, TMZ and Ultimate Classic Rock.
- Yasmine Peru, The Gleaner
Spain to hold three days of mourning for victims of high-speed train crash
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced three days of national mourning for victims of a high-speed train crash that killed at least 40 people.
Sanchez also promised to get to the bottom of why the two high-speed trains collided in southern Spain, as rescuers continue to search the wreckage.
More than 120 more people were injured as carriages on a Madrid-bound train derailed and crossed over to the opposite tracks, colliding with an oncoming train in Adamuz on Sunday evening.
The crash is the worst the country has seen in more than a decade.
Rail network operator Adif said the collision happened at 19:45 local time (18:45 GMT) on Sunday, about an hour after one of the trains left Málaga heading north to Madrid, when it derailed on a straight stretch of track near the city of Córdoba.
The force of the crash pushed the carriages of the second train into an embankment, according to Transport Minister Óscar Puente. He added that most of those killed and injured were in the front carriages of the second train, which was travelling south from Madrid to Huelva.
Rescue teams said the twisted wreckage of the trains made it difficult to recover people trapped inside the carriages.
Sanchez visited the site of the crash with senior officials on Monday afternoon.
"This is a day of sorrow for all of Spain, for our entire country," he told reporters.
"We are going to get to the truth, we are going to find the answer, and when that answer about the origin and cause of this tragedy is known, as it could not be otherwise, with absolute transparency and absolute clarity, we will make it public."
Puente said an investigation could take at least a month, describing the incident as "extremely strange".
But Reuters news agency quoted an unnamed source briefed on initial investigations as saying experts had found a faulty joint on the rails, which was causing a gap between rail sections to widen as trains travelled over it. They added that the joint was key to identifying the cause of the accident.
Spain's El País newspaper said it was not clear whether the fault was a cause or a result of the crash.
Four hundred passengers and staff were on board the two trains, the rail authorities said. Emergency services treated 122 people, with 41, including children, still in hospital. Of those, 12 are in intensive care.
Puente said the death toll "is not yet final". Officials are working to identify the dead.
The type of train involved in the crash was a Freccia 1000, which can reach top speeds of 400 km/h (250 mph), a spokesperson for the Italian rail company Ferrovie dello Stato told Reuters.
Salvador Jimenez, a journalist with RTVE who was on one of the trains, said the impact felt like an "earthquake".
"I was in the first carriage. There was a moment when it felt like an earthquake and the train had indeed derailed," Jimenez said.
Footage from the scene appears to show some train carriages had tipped over on their sides. Rescue workers can be seen scaling the train to pull people out of the lopsided train doors and windows.
A Madrid-bound passenger, José, told public broadcaster Canal Sur: "There were people and screaming, calling for doctors."
All high-speed services between Madrid and the southern cities of Malaga, Cordoba, Sevilla and Huelva have been suspended until Friday.
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia said they were following news of the disaster "with great concern" and offered their "most heartfelt condolences".
The emergency agency in the region of Andalusia urged any crash survivors to contact their families or post on social media that they are alive.
The Spanish Red Cross has deployed emergency support services to the scene, while also offering counselling to families nearby.
Miguel Ángel Rodríguez from the Red Cross told RNE radio: "The families are going through a situation of great anxiety due to the lack of information. These are very distressing moments."
In 2013, Spain suffered its worst high-speed train derailment in Galicia, north-west Spain, which left 80 people dead and 140 others injured.
Spain's high-speed rail network is the second largest in the world, behind China, connecting more than 50 cities across the country. Adif data shows the Spanish rail is more than 4,000km long (2,485 miles).
The ‘Reggae Ambassador’ bows out
KINGSTON January 20 (Jamaica Observer) — The global music community is in mourning following the sudden passing of Stephen “Cat” Coore, legendary guitarist, cellist, and founding member of Third World. Coore, a towering figure in reggae music, died on Sunday, January 18, 2026.
As the industry grapples with the loss of another musical icon, less than two months after the passing of Jimmy Cliff, those closest to Coore say he embodied reggae and wore the title of ambassador with immense pride.
“Cat loved music. Music was him, music is him. He represented the soundtrack of our lives and was proud to carry the spirit of Jamaica with him everywhere he travelled,” said Band Manager Heather Cameron.
Describing the late musician as “kind and compassionate”, Cameron said his passing came as a shock, as he had been making international appearances in December. She shared that, aside from being faced with the usual fatigue that accompanied ageing, Coore was well.
“We’re all still kind of shocked. We spent the summer in Europe and did lots of travelling last year. Aside from the normal stuff that comes with age, he was good. We finished up some shows in Zurich in December, and Cat returned to Jamaica to spend Christmas with his family,” she shared, revealing that the singer made his transition peacefully while he slept.
Outlining that he will be greatly missed, Cameron said Coore’s impact far exceeded the studio or the stage. She expressed that, as a humanitarian, the late entertainer also dedicated much of his life to philanthropy, environmental conservation, and social upliftment.
Coore served as a long-time Goodwill Ambassador for the Issa Trust Foundation, the non-profit arm of Couples Resorts Jamaica. He was deeply involved in their “For The Children” initiatives, which provide critical health care and equipment to paediatric wards across Jamaica. He was also a prominent ambassador for the Alligator Head Foundation in Port Antonio, where he used his platform to advocate for marine conservation, specifically targeting issues like overfishing and plastic pollution.
Tony “Ruption” Williams, who joined Third World in 1997, also shared similar sentiments. Reminiscing on his early days in the band, Williams told the Jamaica Observer that Coore was the most fun person to be around. Always finding ways to lighten the mood, Williams said his bandmate embodied happiness.
“Before I was even asked to play with Third World, I admired the band. I was a big fan of their music, and so it was an automatic yes when they asked. They kept their standards high, and so it was a great honour being a part of that legacy,” he said. “That honour became even greater as I settled into the band, and Cat was a big part of that. He was one of the greatest guitarists in the world, but he was also the nicest, most jovial person. He would joke nonstop, and he was a true humanitarian. He will be heavily missed.”
Outlining that the band has experienced tremendous loss since “Bunny Rugs’”passing in 2014, Williams and Cameron said the band will continue to honour their legacies through the music.
For Cameron, the band is a family, with members prepared to stand in the gap as the group continues to share reggae music with the world.
“Music doesn’t stop; it is continuous and lives on forever. Third World will never die. We will continue playing the band’s timeless catalogue because there is longevity in this band. Ruption has been with the band for 29 years, Richard Daley has been there since the foundation days, and Norris has been there 20 plus years. We will honour the legacy of Cat the same way we honour the legacies of all the others, through the music,” she said. “On stage is the best way we know how to pay tribute, and I know Cat definitely wouldn’t want the music to stop.”
The band, which was founded in 1973, has since lost a number of its founding members, including Bunny Rugs (2014); Irvin “Carrot” Jarrett (2018); Ibo Cooper (2023); Cornell Marshall, who served as an early drummer (2024); Milton “Prilly” Hamilton; and Rupert “Gypsy” Bent III, who both died in 2025.
Ewan Simpson, chairman of the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA), said as the country prepares to celebrate Reggae Month in February, the time must be spent honouring Coore’s legacy.
“It [Coore’s passing] has come at a time when we are still reeling from the loss of Jimmy, and Barry G, who has not even yet been buried. To lose such a musical Icon on the cusp of Reggae Month is tough, but we must use the opportunity to celebrate his legacy,” Simpson said. “The legacy of the Third World is too great to die. I trust that the team has already been organising for its longevity with the appropriate legal and artistic decisions such that the world can continue enjoy live offerings from this great Jamaican outfit. Great bands can outlive their original members, and they should! That’s why they are great. Just like great companies outlive their founding directors.”
As the musical director of Third World, Coore was instrumental in crafting the “reggae-fusion” sound that propelled Jamaican music onto the world stage through timeless classics like 96 Degrees in the Shade and Now That We’ve Found Love. His mastery of the cello, an unconventional instrument in reggae, became a hallmark of the band’s sophisticated sound and a symbol of his lifelong mission to expand the boundaries of the genre.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Third World’s first album eponymously titled.
Canada's Carney aims to lead new global trading order less reliant on US
OTTAWA/DOHA/DUBAI, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is trying to foster a new global trading order by working more closely with China and inking smaller trade deals, but faces constraints from Canada's still overwhelming economic dependency on the United States.
Last week, Carney took his trade diversification push further than his allies in Europe by signing a deal with China, and aims to project Canada as a potential leader in a new global trading order after U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs upended long-standing relationships.
Forging new alliances and trading partnerships has taken on new urgency for countries like Canada as Trump's foreign policy grows more aggressive and unpredictable. Trump has intensified his push to wrest sovereignty over Greenland from fellow NATO member Denmark, prompting the European Union to weigh hitting back with its own measures.
Carney, the former head of both the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada, won an election last year promising to create new economic alliances to help Canada survive Trump's tariffs and threats to annex Canada.
Before arriving at an annual gathering of the global elite in Davos on Monday, he circled the world and visited countries previously overlooked by Canada.
"A number of the multilateral relationships, institutions, rules-based systems, are being eroded by various decisions of various countries, the United States included," Carney said in Doha on Sunday, where he pledged more cooperation on defense and security and said progress had been made on an investment promotion agreement.
"Where there is progress, and where Canada and like-minded countries are looking to make progress, is through plurilateral deals," Carney said, advocating for agreements between a smaller number of countries.
Carney said Canada was already advocating to be a bridge between the European Union and Pacific Rim nations.
"In this moment of volatility, Canada will step up and lead. We will make sure that we are bringing countries to the table who will assist in this role," Foreign Minister Anita Anand told Reuters in an interview in Doha.
U.S. TRADE DEPENDENCY
The European Union is also intensifying its trade diversification efforts - signing a deal with South American trade bloc Mercosur after 25 years of talks, concluding a deal with Indonesia in September and updating agreements with Mexico. The EU has resumed trade agreement negotiations with Malaysia, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates and India.
But while the EU relies on the U.S. for just over 20% of goods exports, Canada still sends close to 70% of its exports south of the border.
For Canada to reduce merchandise exports to the U.S. by 10%, it would have to double its exports to China, Germany, France, Mexico, Italy and India or find similar countries of that size, said Prince Owusu, senior economist with Export Development Canada.
Carney has pledged to double Canada's non-U.S. exports over the next decade. Trade experts and economists say to achieve this, Canada has to heavily rely on China, currently its No. 2 trade partner.
"We have to be very cautious... Moving too quickly and integrating too quickly with China also creates some issues around long-term stability for the economy," said William Pellerin, partner and co-head for international trade at law firm McMillan.
Chinese manufacturers have the ability to flood the Canadian market overnight in just about every category of goods, he said.
China's shipments to the U.S. fell last year but rose sharply to the rest of the world.
Canada's share of exports to the U.S. fell to their lowest ever level outside the COVID-19 pandemic years in October, according to official data. But the U.S. still accounted for 67.3% of all exports. While the government hopes to sell more oil to Asia, 90% of Canadian crude goes to the U.S.
Economists say the U.S. share of Canadian exports is unlikely to decline much more anytime soon, with many companies awaiting the outcome of negotiations over the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement this year.
PURSUING MULTIPLE TRADE DEALS
Carney last week became the first Canadian prime minister to visit Qatar and the first to visit China since 2017.
In Beijing, Carney said China had become a more predictable partner than the U.S. He is expected to visit India soon, after the two countries restored diplomatic ties and agreed to restart trade talks that had stalled under his predecessor Justin Trudeau.
Canada has also wrapped up trade deals with Ecuador and Indonesia and signed investment agreements with the United Arab Emirates.
Carney's Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu said Canada will next focus on the Philippines, Thailand, Mercosur and Saudi Arabia, as well as India.
"Normally, the government of Canada signs one trade agreement a year," Sidhu said in an interview in Dubai. "We want to make sure we get those done as soon as possible."
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Additional reporting by Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels; Editing by Caroline Stauffer and Nia Williams
Valentino, designer whose gowns made royals and movie stars feel beautiful, dies at 93
MILAN (AP) — Valentino Garavani, the jet-set Italian designer whose high-glamour gowns — often in his trademark shade of “Valentino red” — were fashion show staples for nearly half a century, died Monday. He was 93.
“Valentino Garavani was not only a constant guide and inspiration for all of us, but a true source of light, creativity and vision,″ the foundation founded by Valentino and his partner Giancarlo Giammetti said in a statement posted on social media. The foundation said he died at his Rome residence but did not mention the cause.
Universally known by his first name, Valentino was adored by generations of royals, first ladies and movie stars, from Jackie Kennedy Onassis to Julia Roberts and Queen Rania of Jordan, who swore the designer always made them look and feel their best.
“I know what women want,” he once remarked. “They want to be beautiful.”
Though Italian-born and despite maintaining his atelier in Rome, he mostly unveiled his collections in Paris, and spoke French with his Italian partner Giammetti, an entrepreneur.
Alessandro Michele, the current creative director of the Valentino fashion house, wrote in Instagram that he continues to feel Valentino’s “gaze” as he works on the next collection, which will be presented March 12 in Rome, departing from the usual venue of Paris. Michele remembered Valentino as “a man who expanded the limits of the possible” and possessing “a rare delicacy, with a silent rigor and a limitless love for beauty.’'
Another of Valentino’s successors, Pierpaolo Piccoli, placed a broken heart emoji under the announcement of his death. Former supermodel Cindy Crawford wrote that she was “heartbroken,” and called Valentino “a true master of his craft.’'
Condolences also came in from the family of the late designer Giorgio Armani, who died in September at the age of 91, and Donatella Versace, who posted two photos of Valentino, saying “he will forever be remembered for his art.’'
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni remembered Valentino as “an indisputable maestro of eternal style and elegance of Italian high fashion.”
Never one for edginess or statement dressing, Valentino made precious few fashion faux pas throughout his nearly half-century career, which stretched from his early days in Rome in the 1960s through to his retirement in 2008.
His fail-safe designs made Valentino the king of the red carpet, the go-to man for A-listers’ awards ceremony needs. His sumptuous gowns have graced countless Academy Awards, notably in 2001, when Roberts wore a vintage black and white column to accept her best actress statue. Cate Blanchett also wore Valentino — a one-shouldered number in butter-yellow silk — when she won the Oscar for best supporting actress in 2005.
Valentino was also behind the long-sleeved lace dress Jacqueline Kennedy wore for her wedding to Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis in 1968. Kennedy and Valentino were close friends for decades, and for a spell the one-time U.S. first lady wore almost exclusively Valentino.
He was also close to Diana, Princess of Wales, who often donned his sumptuous gowns.
Beyond his signature orange-tinged shade of red, other Valentino trademarks included bows, ruffles, lace and embroidery; in short, feminine, flirty embellishments that added to the dresses’ beauty and hence to that of the wearers.
Perpetually tanned and always impeccably dressed, Valentino shared the lifestyle of his jet-set patrons. In addition to his 152-foot (46-meter) yacht and an art collection including works by Picasso and Miro, the couturier owned a 17th-century chateau near Paris with a garden said to boast more than a million roses.
Valentino and his longtime partner Giammetti flitted among their homes — which also included places in New York, London, Rome, Capri and Gstaad, Switzerland — traveling with their pack of pugs. The pair regularly received A-list friends and patrons, including Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow.
“When I see somebody and unfortunately she’s relaxed and running around in jogging trousers and without any makeup ... I feel very sorry,” the designer told RTL television in a 2007 interview. “For me, woman is like a beautiful, beautiful flower bouquet. She has always to be sensational, always to please, always to be perfect, always to please the husband, the lover, everybody. Because we are born to show ourselves always at our best.”
Valentino was born into a well-off family in the northern Italian town of Voghera on May 11, 1932. He said it was his childhood love of cinema that set him down the fashion path.
“I was crazy for silver screen, I was crazy for beauty, to see all those movie stars being sensation, well dressed, being always perfect,” he explained in the 2007 television interview.
After studying fashion in Milan and Paris, he spent much of the 1950s working for established Paris-based designer Jean Desses and later Guy Laroche before striking out on his own. He founded the house of Valentino on Rome’s Via Condotti in 1959.
From the beginning, Giammetti was by his side, handling the business aspect while Valentino used his natural charm to build a client base among the world’s rich and fabulous.
After some early financial setbacks — Valentino’s tastes were always lavish, and the company spent with abandon — the brand took off.
Early fans included Italian screen sirens Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren, as well as Hollywood stars Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn. Legendary American Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland also took the young designer under her wing.
Over the years, Valentino’s empire expanded as the designer added ready-to-wear, menswear and accessories lines to his stable. Valentino and Giammetti sold the label to an Italian holding company for an estimated $300 million in 1998. Valentino would remain in a design role for another decade.
In 2007, the couturier feted his 45th anniversary in fashion with a 3-day blowout in Rome, capped with a grand ball in the Villa Borghese gallery.
Valentino retired in 2008 and was briefly replaced by fellow Italian Alessandra Facchinetti, who had stepped into Tom Ford’s shoes at Gucci before being sacked after two seasons.
Facchinetti’s tenure at Valentino proved equally short. As early as her first show for the label, rumors swirled that she was already on her way out, and just about one year after she was hired, Facchinetti was indeed replaced by two longtime accessories designers at the brand, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli.
Chiuri left to helm Dior in 2016, and Piccioli continued to lead the house through a golden period that drew on the launch of the Rockstud pump with Chiuri and his own signature color, a shade of fuchsia called Pink PP. He left the house in 2024, later joining Balenciaga, and has been replaced by Michele, who revived Gucci’s stars with romantic, genderless styles.
Valentino is owned by Qatar’s Mayhoola, which controls a 70% stake, and the French luxury conglomerate Kering, which owns 30% with an option to take full control in 2028 or 2029. Richard Bellini was named CEO last September.
A public viewing will be held at the Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti Foundation on Wednesday and Thursday, and a funeral will be held Friday in the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri in central Rome.
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Barchfield is a former Associated Press writer. Barry reported from Milan.
Two starkly opposed Americas laid bare by deadly ICE shooting
The fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis by a federal law-enforcement officer is laying bare the sharp divides in US politics – and threatening to inflame an already contentious debate over immigration policy.
The incident took place in broad daylight. There are multiple videos taken by bystanders from various locations. And yet even the basic facts are being disputed.
Almost immediately after the shooting, two starkly different accounts began to take shape. Any ambiguities in the videos shared online were seized upon - different angles and different screengrabs were used to push a particular narrative.
And on the public stage, state and federal officials openly disagreed.
According to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the driver – 37-year-old Renee Good – was to blame. As she drove away from ICE officers, she "weaponised her car" in a "domestic terror attack", Noem said.
US President Donald Trump blamed a "professional agitator" and a "radical left movement of violence and hate" in a Truth Social post.
National Democrats - and state and local officials in Minnesota - have painted a completely different picture.
Jacob Frey, the Democratic Mayor of Minneapolis, said a federal agent "recklessly" used lethal force. He also issued an expletive-laced demand for immigration enforcement officials to leave the city.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called the shooting "totally predictable" and "totally avoidable", arguing it was a direct consequence of the surge in federal immigration officers into Minneapolis and surrounding areas in recent days.
"We have been warning for weeks that the Trump administration's dangerous, sensationalised operations are a threat to our public safety," he said on Wednesday.
This clear division between the federal government and local officials was only further illustrated on Thursday morning, when the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension announced that the justice department and the FBI were no longer co-operating with its investigation into the shooting.
Federal agencies, it said, would be solely responsible for handling the investigation into the use of lethal force by the ICE agent.
That Minnesota has become the epicentre of a growing conflict over immigration enforcement in recent months is both unsurprising - and ironic.
It is ironic because Good's death occurred just a few miles from where, in 2020, Minneapolis police killed George Floyd during an attempted arrest, setting off nationwide Black Lives Matters protests – including some, in Minneapolis, that turned violent.
Walz has put the state's National Guard on standby, and cautioned the hundreds of protesters who have taken to the streets not to resort to violence.
Minnesota's central role in this latest flare-up is unsurprising because it marks the culmination of conflict, controversy and scandal that had been building for months.
The recent surge in immigration enforcement comes after Trump derided the state's large Somali immigrant population - most of whom are US citizens - after members of the community were convicted of widespread fraud in the distribution of federal Covid aid.
"Hundreds of thousands of Somalians are ripping off our country, and ripping apart that once great state," he said in November. "We're not going to put up with these kind of assaults on law and order by people who shouldn't even be in our country."
Under pressure, Walz abandoned his bid for re-election last week, as allegations mounted of corruption in state social services, including childcare and food aid.
The surge in immigration enforcement in the state is just the latest example of the Trump administration using federal officials to target communities suspected of having high rates of undocumented migrants. The use of force during this operation is far from an isolated incident, either.
The Minnesota incident was at least the ninth immigration-enforcement-related shooting since September – all involving individuals who were targeted while in their vehicles - according to the New York Times.
The intensity with which the immigration actions have been undertaken – in an expanding list of cities across the US – has led to protests and calls from Democratic officials for greater oversight, accountability and restraint among law enforcement agents.
The fatal Minneapolis shooting has already given these efforts new urgency among their advocates.
Trump administration officials, for their part, are pressing ahead – citing the mandate they say they received from voters in the 2024 presidential election as well as the evidence, in dramatically reduced undocumented entries into the US, that their efforts have proven effective.
They have also vigorously disputed the argument that the video of the Minneapolis shooting is evidence of a misuse of lethal force.
"The gaslighting is off the charts and I'm having none of it," Vice-President JD Vance wrote in a post on X. "This guy was doing his job. She tried to stop him from doing his job."
While he said the incident was tragic, he added that "it falls on this woman and all of the radicals who teach people that immigration is the one type of law that rioters are allowed to interfere with".
Walz, in his next public comments, was quick to counter.
"People in positions of power have already passed judgement, from the president to the vice-president to Kristi Noem, have stood and told you things that are verifiably false, verifiably inaccurate," he said. "They have determined the character of a 37-year-old mom that they didn't even know."
It appears that even video evidence is open to interpretation at this point. Each person sees the same images and draws decidedly different conclusions – ones that frequently, perhaps not surprisingly, reinforce their previously established positions.
The chasm in US politics seems as immutable as it is daunting.