The Italian cabinet named General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo as extraordinary commissioner tasked with overseeing the reconstruction of the northern Emilia Romagna region after it was devastated by floods last month. The appointment of Figliuolo, 61, comes six weeks after the floods left at least 15 people dead and caused billions of euro in damage to property, infrastructure and farmland in Emilia-Romagna as well as parts of Marche and Tuscany.

An extraordinary commissioner - typically appointed following a natural disaster - is granted special powers to cut through red tape and implement measures to get urgent works underway faster. Figliuolo, an army general and logistics expert, served as Italy's emergency coronavirus commissioner from 2021 to 2022, leading the country's covid vaccination programme.