ROME: Italian authorities have closed down 410 websites selling fake luxury goods, including Prada handbags and Patek Philippe watches and launched raids against counterfeiters nationwide, finance police said on Friday. Italy’s fashion industry has long battled with counterfeiters who churn out low-quality copies of the upmarket clothes and accessories that contribute some 60 billion euros a year to its economy. Fifteen people who ran websites are being investigated, prosecutors said at a news conference in Rome. The raids were conducted in 11 cities, from Milan in the north to Palermo, the main city on the southern island of Sicily, as part of a broader crackdown on counterfeit goods. Counterfeiting has ‘obvious negative effects on the economy, in terms of job losses, tax evasion, connections with organised crime, exploitation of minors, security, health and damage to consumers’, police said in a statement.

Greece-Russia pact

SAINT PETERSBURG: Russia and Greece on Friday signed a preliminary agreement to set up a joint venture to build a pipeline through Greece, Moscow said. “This is the start of a large investment project in Greece that is beneficial to the country’s economy,” Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said at the signing ceremony on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. He estimated the total volume of supplies at 47 billion cubic metres. The two countries will jointly own the venture, ministry Spokeswoman Olga Golant said.

IMF reviews Somalia

NAIROBI: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed its first economic consultation on Somalia in more than 25 years, saying the economy of the nation that is rebuilding after decades of conflict grew by 3.7 per cent in 2014. Somalia’s growth may lag others in the region but the government will be encouraged by the mere fact that an annual IMF Article IV consultation has taken place, marking a step to rehabilitation, even if the team held discussions in Nairobi. “Economic activity is estimated to have expanded by 3.7 per cent in 2014,” the IMF said in a statement.