Right-wing Meloni sworn in as Italy’s first woman prime minister
Rome, ItalyReuters Giorgia Meloni was sworn in as Italy’s first woman Prime Minister on Saturday alongside her cabinet team, giving the country its most right-wing government since World War II. She takes office at an especially fraught moment, with Italy’s debt-laden economy once again heading into recession, firms buckling under the weight of soaring energy […]
Italy to hold September election after PM Draghi resigns
Milan/Rome, Italy Reuters Italy will hold a snap national election on 25th September after Prime Minister Mario Draghi resigned following the collapse of his national unity government, sending tremors through financial markets. It will be the first autumn national election for more than a century in Italy, where the second half of the year is […]
European leaders visit Ukraine, dangling hope of EU membership; UK sanctions Patriarch Kirill
Kyiv/Irpin, Ukraine Reuters The leaders of Germany, France and Italy, all criticised in the past by Kyiv for support viewed as too cautious, visited Ukraine on Thursday and offered the hope of EU membership to a country pleading for weapons to fend off Russia’s invasion. Air raid sirens blared in Kyiv as the visit by […]
Russia intensifies push for Donbas, halts gas to Finland
Kyiv, Ukraine/Oslo, Norway Reuters Russia intensified an offensive in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine on Saturday and stopped providing gas to Finland, escalating Moscow’s dispute with the West over energy payments. After ending weeks of resistance by the last Ukrainian fighters in the strategic south-eastern city of Mariupol, Russia is waging what appears to […]
G20 offers little new on climate, leaving uphill task for COP26
Rome, ItalyReuters Leaders of the Group of 20 major economies agreed on a final statement on Sunday that urged “meaningful and effective” action to limit global warming, but angering climate activists by offering few concrete commitments. The result of days of tough negotiation among diplomats leaves huge work to be done at the broader United […]
Vatican defends intervention over Italy anti-homophobia law
Vatican CityReuters The Vatican on Thursday defended a request for changes to a draft law in Italy aimed at combating homophobia, saying it was not an interference in another country’s domestic affairs and was not seeking to block it. The Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said the draft law was too “vague and […]
The Pontiff and the PM: Pope Francis and Mario Draghi could become a powerful duo in shaping Europe’s future
CLAIRE GIANGRAVÉ, in an article first published on Religion News Service, takes an in-depth look at the relationship between the Pope and Mario Draghi, the new Prime Minister of Italy…