Hundreds camp in Rome heatwave as Meloni government cracks down on squats

Spin Time provides homes, food banks and after-school clubs but the authorities have locked out residents

Hundreds of people have spent a week sleeping in tents in the Rome heat amid a standoff between Giorgia Meloni's far-right government and local politicians over the future of Italy's most high-profile centre for housing and social assistance.

A minor fire last week forced the evacuation of the building, occupied by grassroots groups since 2013, and it has remained closed as the Meloni government attempts to crack down on such squatted properties.