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The arrest of a murderous mob boss who had been on the run for decades has prompted relief around Italy – while raising a pressing question: what becomes of the Mafia now?

Matteo Messina Denaro was detained on 16 January while he was at a hospital appointment, where he was getting treatment for cancer.

He had been on the run since 1993 and was jailed in absentia for murders he carried out in the early 1990s.

But with Messina Denaro now out of the picture, who is poised to take control of the Mafia?

Why was he important in the Mafia?

While Messina Denaro was Italy’s most wanted fugitive and the top boss in the Mafia, some experts say he did not control all the Mafia clans – in part because he was not from the Sicilian capital of Palermo.

Still, he was billed as the “last godfather” and was the last fugitive member of a generation of mobsters who masterminded a string of bombings and murders that terrorised Italy in the early 1990s.

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The man who was once the “boss of all bosses”, Salvatore ‘Toto’ Riina, was arrested in 1993 and died in 2017. His right-hand man, Bernando Provenzano, was arrested in 2006 and died in 2016.

According to some experts, Cosa Nostra, as the Sicilian Mafia is known, has lacked a supreme leader for years, possibly since Riina – in part because the various clans struggled to convene and select one.

Historian John Dickie, who wrote the book Cosa Nostra: The Definitive History of the Sicilian Mafia, told Sky News the Mafia is broken up, suggesting it might struggle to find someone to lead the group of clans around Palermo.

He said the Mafia’s “hierarchy, its leadership structure, its whole territorial structure… has been hugely disrupted” since the early 1990s.

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How was feared Mafia don captured?

Police think the Mafia is on the hunt for a super-boss

But some investigators see the Sicilian Mafia as a “single-headed structure” – and believe it is searching for its new super-boss.

Speaking about the future of the Mafia shortly after Messina Denaro’s arrest, Palermo prosecutor general Lia Sava said: “What will happen in detail, we can’t know.

“But one thing is sure: Cosa Nostra is made up of rules. It has supported itself on these rules for 150 years, so certainly it will put into motion those rules to repair the damage, and thus create the new leadership structure needed after the arrest.”

Who could become top boss?

So, if the clans get around the table and elect a new head, who would be in the running?

According to many reports in Italy, 85-year-old Settimo Mineo is a frontrunner. Officially, he runs a jewellery shop in Palermo, but he is also considered one of the oldest heads of the Mafia, being named as successor to Riina following his death.

Settimo Mineo. Pic: Getty/Igor Petyx/KONTROLAB/LightRocket
Image:
Settimo Mineo. Pic: Getty/Igor Petyx/KONTROLAB/LightRocket

Mineo, like many Mafia members, is currently serving a lengthy jail sentence after being arrested on suspicion of being the Mafia’s top boss – but it is not unusual for leaders to run the business from behind bars.

Corriere della Sera, Italy’s leading newspaper, believes 64-year-old Giovanni Motisi – known to most as “The Fatman”, could be next in line.

Giovanni Motisi. Pic: eumostwanted.eu
Image:
Giovanni Motisi. Pic: eumostwanted.eu

He is the boss of the organisation’s Pagliarelli district in Palermo, and has been on the run since 1998 after being found guilty of murdering a police officer. Motisi was also believed to be Riina’s most trusted hitman.

He is one of the most wanted men in Italy, with some even saying he may be dead.

The daily paper also says Giuseppe Auteri, 48, the treasurer of the richest Mafia district in Palermo, is in the running.

Though a barrier for Auteri could be that he has been on the run for a year in the Sicilian underbelly.

Sandro Capizzi also has leadership ambitions in Sicily, according to Sky Tg24. The 41-year-old’s father, Benedetto, attempted to seize power in Cosa Nostra by force in 2008, but the pair were arrested by police who feared Sicily was on the brink of a new Mafia war.

But, the junior of the pair is free from prison and is said to be gunning for head honcho.

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So what’s next for the Cosa Nostra?

Despite its fame as a powerful and ruthless crime syndicate, the Mafia has been struggling for years.

In the lucrative drugs market, it has been supplanted by the ‘Ndrangheta, an organisation based in the Calabria region in southern Italy.

Though the Mafia does retain control of Sicily and some parts of the economy, Anna Sergi, an organised crime expert at Essex University, said: “Messina Denaro was the last godfather, he represented all the secrets of Cosa Nostra.

“It is the end of a myth and the organisation will have to cope with this.”

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Tents abandoned as Palestinians flee Israeli advance into Gaza City

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Tents abandoned as Palestinians flee Israeli advance into Gaza City

Thousands have fled parts of Gaza City in recent days amid airstrikes and advancing Israeli troops, new satellite imagery shows.

Israel’s advance comes as it prepares to mount a full-scale invasion of the city, where the UN says around one million Palestinians are sheltering.

Satellite imagery shows that entire tent camps in southeast Gaza City were emptied between 9 and 17 August as families fled the renewed attacks.

The video below shows the moment of an airstrike in southeastern Gaza City on 13 August. Sky News geolocated the footage to a building less than 200 metres from a major tent camp.

Another video, taken on 15 August, shows a strike on a building right next to the camp.

By the following day, almost all the camp’s residents had fled, along with people sheltering at 30 other locations in the area.

Fresh vehicle tracks in the area indicate extensive troop movements on the ground.

The satellite image below, taken on 17 August, shows at least nine military vehicles in the streets surrounding one former tent camp.

Sky News counted 58 military vehicles in the area on 17 August, including 17 bulldozers.

The image below shows four IDF vehicles, including a bulldozer, parked next to the remains of one tent camp. Several nearby buildings had been levelled in the days beforehand.

Between 9 and 17 August, at least 132 buildings were destroyed in less than one square kilometre of the city.

It’s unclear how much of the destruction was carried out by IDF bulldozers and how much was a result of airstrikes.

On Monday, eyewitnesses reported that Israeli tanks had made further advances into eastern Gaza City.

The advances came as Hamas said it had approved a ceasefire deal presented by mediators Egypt and Qatar. Israel has yet to respond to the proposal.

Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed his country’s military to prepare for a full-scale invasion and occupation of the city in order to “free Gaza from Hamas”.

The UN has said that the invasion risks “catastrophic consequences” for the estimated one million Palestinians sheltering in the city, while UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the plan would “only bring more bloodshed”.


The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

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Investigation launched into ‘horrifying’ death of French online streamer

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Investigation launched into 'horrifying' death of French online streamer

An investigation has been launched into the death of an internet streamer who was known for taking part in extreme online challenges.

Raphael Graven, who went by Jean Pormanove, was found dead in Contes, near Nice, on Sunday night.

Viewers of the Frenchman’s last live stream on the Twitch-like platform Kick had reportedly become concerned about him lying lifeless on a mattress, unresponsive to their comments.

According to France24, prosecutors said the 46-year-old had been in accommodation rented for the purpose of broadcasting internet live streams. The broadcast had reportedly been running for 10 days.

French newspaper Le Monde said Graven was known for participating in videos in which he suffered violence and humiliation, alongside two colleagues. One man was seen throwing a water bottle at him as he laid on the mattress.

France’s digital technology minister, Clara Chappaz, said he had been “humiliated and abused for months”.

“A judicial investigation is underway,” she said.

“Holding online platforms responsible for the dissemination of illegal content is not an option: it is the law.

“This type of failure can lead to the worst and has no place in France, Europe, or anywhere else.”

What is Kick?

Streaming platform Kick has been making waves since it was launched in early 2023.

Built as a competitor to the Amazon-owned platform Twitch, it hosts livestreaming for everyone from gamers to influencers to gamblers.

Although Kick’s ownership isn’t fully public, it is backed by some of the founders of the online casino Stake.com and streamers can currently make more on Kick than on other platforms.

While Twitch lets creators keep 50% of their profit, and YouTube lets creators keep 70%, Kick lets creators keep 95% of their earnings, according to Internet Matters.

Those potential earnings have drawn a number of streamers – and their fans – over to the newer platform.

Kick currently boasts around 57 million users worldwide, according to data reported by Digiday in April.

Although its community guidelines have been recently updated, Kick is seen as having a more relaxed approach to moderation.

This approach has led to some influencers who are banned on other platforms making their way over to Kick.

Sarah El Hairy, France’s high commissioner for children, described his death as “horrifying”.

“Platforms have an immense responsibility to regulate online content so that our children are not exposed to violent content,” she said. “I urge parents to be extremely vigilant.”

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Graven had more than one million followers across social media.

He was particularly popular on Kick, which was founded in 2022 as a competitor to Amazon-owned Twitch. It’s known for having looser moderation, and offers creators a higher share of revenue.

A spokesperson for Kick told Sky News: “We are deeply saddened by the loss of Jean Pormanove and extend our condolences to his family, friends, and community.

“We are urgently reviewing the circumstances and engaging with relevant stakeholders to investigate the situation.

“Kick’s community guidelines are designed to protect creators, and we remain committed to upholding these standards across our platform.”

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Andrew and Dawn Searle: Actor son of ‘murder-suicide’ victim urges late mother’s friends not to attend stepfather’s funeral

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Andrew and Dawn Searle: Actor son of 'murder-suicide' victim urges late mother's friends not to attend stepfather's funeral

An actor and musician whose mother was the victim of a suspected murder-suicide in France has urged her friends not to attend his stepfather’s funeral.

Callum Kerr, who starred in Hollyoaks and Netflix’s Virgin River, said it would be “inappropriate” for the memory of his mum to be associated with a service honouring the man who “may have been responsible for her death”.

The bodies of British couple Andrew and Dawn Searle were discovered on 6 February at their home in the hamlet of Les Pesquies.

Mrs Searle’s body was found outside the property with a significant head injury, while Mr Searle’s body was discovered inside.

The couple lived in the hamlet of Les Pesquies
Image:
The couple lived in the hamlet of Les Pesquies

Officers locked down the scene following the February incident
Image:
Officers locked down the scene following the February incident

Prosecutors later ruled the incident to be murder-suicide due to a lack of evidence that someone else was involved.

In an Instagram post on behalf of himself and his sister, Amanda Kerr, Mr Kerr said: “In the absence of any evidence suggesting third-party involvement in the tragic death of our mother, Dawn Kerr, the prevailing hypothesis remains that of a murder-suicide.”

Mr Kerr, a country music singer who is also set to appear in the second season of Netflix’s One Piece, said his mother was “killed by multiple blows to the head”, while “no defensive wounds” were found on Mr Searle.

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Mr Kerr said: “While the official investigation is still ongoing, we cannot ignore the circumstances as they stand.

“For this reason, we must respectfully but firmly request that our mother not be included in any way in the funeral arrangements being made for Andrew.

“Please do not share photographs of them together. Please do not attend Andrew’s service if you were a friend of our mother.

“It would be inappropriate for her memory to be associated with a service honouring the man who, based on all available evidence, may have been responsible for her death.

“We ask for understanding, privacy and respect as we continue to grieve and seek justice for our mum.”

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Mr and Mrs Searle, who previously lived in Musselburgh in East Lothian, had been living in the Aveyron region for five years.

They lived in Les Pesquies and were married in 2023 in the nearby town of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, with Mr Kerr walking his mum down the aisle.

Neighbours described them as a happy couple, who had fully integrated into rural French life and held an annual party for villagers.

Jean-Sebastien Orcibal, the mayor of Villefranche-de-Rouergue who conducted the couple’s wedding, told Sky News they were “very happy, very friendly and didn’t seem to have any problems”.

Police at the scene in February
Image:
Police at the scene in February

Mrs Searle, 56, grew up in Eyemouth in the Scottish Borders, while Mr Searle, 62, was originally from England.

According to his LinkedIn page, Mr Searle retired in 2015 after previously working in financial crime prevention at companies including Standard Life and Barclays.

Following the deaths, investigators were said to be following several lines of inquiry – including whether the couple were killed during a burglary or potential links to Mr Searle’s previous work in the UK.

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