Hundreds camp in Rome heat as Meloni cracks down on squats

Hundreds of people have spent a week sleeping in tents in the Rome heat amid a standoff between Giorgia Meloni's government and local politicians over the future of Italy's most high-profile centre, the Guardian reported this week.

The Spin Time building, a former hotel in the capital's Esquilino district, has provided homes, food banks and after-school clubs for years, but the authorities have locked out residents, according to the Guardian's Rome correspondent.

The move comes as Italy places all 27 of its major cities under the highest heat alert as the fourth heatwave of the summer intensifies, edging temperatures in some areas close to 40C, according to the Guardian.