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☆ Italy FM: Belt and Road China deal did not bring expected results
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Visitors walk past a wall with a map showing the species of peony in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries, at horticultural exhibition Beijing Expo 2019, in Beijing, China April 29, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer/file photo Acquire Licensing RightsCERNOBBIO, Italy, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Trade between Italy and China has not improved as expected since Rome joined Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative four years ago, Italy's Foreign Minister said on Saturday. Under a previous government, Italy in 2019 became the first major Western nation to join China's infrastructure initiative, despite protests from the United States. "The Silk Road did not bring the results we expected," Antonio Tajani said at the European House Ambrosetti economic forum shortly before leaving on a trip to China. Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was planning to visit China in one of her next trips abroad.

Persons: Stringer, Rome, Antonio Tajani, Tajani, Giorgia Meloni, Francesca Landini, Giselda, John Stonestreet, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Initiative, REUTERS, House, Italy's, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Italy, Beijing's, United States, Rome

☆ Many Italian parties are against China's Belt and Road Initiative, foreign minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Many Italian parties are against Rome's participation in China's Belt and Road Initiative, Antonio Tajani, the country's foreign minister said Saturday, ahead of a critical decision on whether to quit the project. Under the agreement the two parties can end the deal after five years, otherwise the partnership gets extended for another five-year term. Tajani, however, did not confirm any specific time for when Italy will unveil its final decision on whether to continue in the Belt and Road Initiative. In this moment the countries without the Belt and Road Initiative, the European countries, are working better than us. For this, Italy will decide if [to] stay or not [to] stay in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Persons: Antonio Tajani, Rome, Mario Draghi, Tajani, Steve Sedgwick Organizations: Initiative, European Central Bank, Ambrosetti, Italy Locations: Italy, Beijing, Rome, China

☆ Libyan PM sacks foreign minister as row over Israel meeting grows
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Libyan Foreign Minister Najla el-Mangoush attends a joint press conference at the conclusion of the Libya Stabilization Conference, in Tripoli, Libya, October 21, 2021. Mangoush had said her meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in Rome was unplanned and informal, but an Israeli official told Reuters it had lasted two hours and was approved "at the highest levels in Libya". The meeting is contentious because Libya does not formally recognise Israel and there is widespread public support across the Libyan political spectrum for the Palestinian cause of creating an independent state in territory Israel occupies. The Libya prime minister sees Israel as a possible bridge to the West and the U.S. administration," the official said. Libya's parliament based in the east, which rejects the GNU, said on Sunday it would hold hearings into the meeting with the Israeli minister.

Persons: Najla, Mangoush, Hazem Ahmed, Najla Mangoush, Eli Cohen, Abdulhamid, Muammar Gaddafi, Cohen, Antonio Tajani, Dbeibah, Libya's, Abraham, Francesco Galietti, Giorgia Meloni, Dan Williams, Francesca Landini, Gavin Jones, Angus McDowall, James Mackenzie, Peter Graff, Mark Heinrich, Conor Humphries Organizations: Libyan Foreign, Libya Stabilization Conference, REUTERS, Rome Israeli, Israeli, Reuters, Protesters, Libya's Foreign, Palestinian, Libyan, U.S, United Arab, Abraham Accords, of National Unity, GNU, UAE, High State Council, Dbeibah, Italian, Thomson Locations: Libya, Tripoli, Rome, TRIPOLI, JERUSALEM, Israel, Benghazi, Italian, Italy, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, United States, Dbeibah's, Reuters Libya, Jerusalem

☆ Israeli and Libyan ministers discussed cooperation, Israel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JERUSALEM, Aug 27 (Reuters) - The Israeli and Libyan foreign ministers met in Italy last week despite not having formal relations, Israel said on Sunday, saying they discussed possible cooperation. Since 2020 Israel has moved to normalise ties with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan through the so-called 'Abraham accords' brokered by the United States. "I spoke with the foreign minister about the great potential for the two countries from their relations," Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said in a statement. A spokesperson for Libya's Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Cohen's meeting with Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush. The meeting was facilitated by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Israel's foreign ministry said, adding they had discussed possible cooperation and Israeli aid in humanitarian issues, agriculture and water management.

Persons: Israel, Abraham, Eli Cohen, Najla Mangoush, Antonio Tajani, Cohen, Emily Rose, Sharon Singleton, Giles Elgood Organizations: Libyan, United Arab, Libya's Government of National Unity, GNU, Libyan Foreign, Italian, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Italy, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, United States, Tripoli, Libya, Palestinian, Turkey, Reuters Libya

☆ Niger waits for West African bloc's response after junta rejects ultimatum
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Members of a military council that staged a coup in Niger attend a rally at a stadium in Niamey, Niger, August 6, 2023. On Sunday as the deadline expired, the junta closed its airspace until further notice, citing the increased threat of military intervention. I hope that the ultimatum of ECOWAS, which expired last night at midnight, will be extended today," Tajani told La Stampa newspaper. The United States are very cautious about this, it is unthinkable that they would start a military intervention in Niger," Tajani added. Writing by Alessandra Prentice and Alexander Winning; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Mohamed Bazoum, Antonio Tajani, Tajani, Antony Blinken, Alessandra Prentice, Alexander Winning, Lincoln, Toby Chopra Organizations: REUTERS, NIAMEY, West African, West African States, La Stampa, Thomson Locations: Niger, Niamey, Europe, China, Russia, juntas, Mali, Burkina Faso, Italy, United States, U.S

☆ Italy announces special tourist trains and 'cruise trains'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Julia Buckley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS), Italy’s state-owned railway operator, has announced a new program of tourist-focused trains, using vintage locomotives on popular vacation routes. “Lusso” (luxury) trains will be spearheaded by the long-distance, super-luxury Orient Express Dolce Vita train, which will now launch in 2024, instead of this year as previously anticipated. The luxury Dolce Vita train will debut in 2024. These new routes will include night trains. sphraner/iStock Editorial/Getty ImagesThere will even be “cruise trains” – routes conceived with the idea of shuttling vacationers back and forth from short breaks.

Persons: we’ll, Stanley Tucci, Lusso, DIMORESTUDIO, Lamberto, Luigi Ferraris, ” Antonio Tajani Organizations: CNN, intel, Ferrovie dello Stato, Orient, Express, Golden Eagle, Cortina, d’Ampezzo, FS, Fondazione FS Locations: Italy, Venice, Milan, Tuscan, Rome, Otranto, Puglia, Metaponto, Basilicata, Reggio Calabria, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Calalzo, Umbria, Swiss

☆ Niger coup: Europeans evacuated from West African country as neighboring juntas warn against intervention
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Joseph Ataman Larry Madowo Caitlin Hu Shirin Faqiri Sana Noor Haq | Joseph Ataman | Larry Madowo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —France was preparing to evacuate French and European citizens from Niger on Tuesday after a presidential coup plunged the West African nation into a political crisis that polarized neighboring countries in the region. A message from the French embassy to French citizens in Niger, seen by CNN, instructed those wishing to be evacuated to bring food and water with them while they wait before boarding. Stringer/ReutersFrance and the European Union also cut off financial aid to Niger following the coup. Niger has “endemic problems, poverty, and terrorism, so there are many factors contributing to instability in the country,” Hudson added. In the wake of the deposition, some Nigeriens expressed their anger against the legacy of French colonialism and its continued influence in the West African country.

Persons: Catherine Colonna, Antonio Tajani, Mohamed Bazoum, Major Amadou Abdramane, Stringer, insurgencies, Bazoum, Cameron Hudson, ” Hudson, Issifou Djibo Organizations: CNN —, French, LCI, Embassy, CNN, Italian Foreign Ministry, West African States, Getty Images Security, Reuters, European Union, Nigerien, Niger, Center, Strategic, International Studies, World Bank, French Armed Forces, National Assembly Locations: CNN — France, Niger, West, France, Niamey, ”, Nigerien, Italy, Burkina Faso, Mali, Sahel, AFP, Reuters France, Guinea, Niger ., Niger’s, Africa’s Sahel, Nigeria, Western, Russia, Elysee, Moscow

It has yet to disburse a $131.5 million loan to Niger that was approved on July 5, it added. The interior minister, transport minister, and a deputy had already been detained, it added. The arrests confirm the "repressive and dictatorial" nature of the coup leaders, the party said in a statement, calling on citizens to come together to protect democracy. The arrests were announced a day after Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby arrived in Niger to try to mediate between the coup leaders and the ousted government. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, last week welcomed the coup in Niger, and said his forces were available to restore order.

Persons: Niger's, Mohamed Bazoum, Mahamane Sani Mahamadou, Issoufou Mahamadou, Mahamat Idriss Deby, Deby, Bazoum, Ursula von der Leyen, Emmanuel Macron, Abdourahamane Tiani, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Russia's Wagner, Antonio Tajani, Boureima Balima, Abdel, Kader Mazou, Anait Miridzhanian, Bate Felix, Nellie Peyton, Sofia Christensen, Alexander Winning, Bernadette Baum, Andrew Heavens, Nick Macfie Organizations: International Monetary Fund, IMF, CFA, West, African Union, European Union, Islamic, Junta, Nigerien Party for Democracy and, Chadian, ECOWAS, EU, REUTERS, Twitter, French Foreign Ministry, Paris, White, Thomson Locations: NIAMEY, Niger, West, Central Africa, United States, France, Islamic State, al Qaeda, EU, U.S, Nigerien, Niamey, Mali, Burkina Faso, Russia, Niger's

But she said more needed to be done to prevent migrants trying to make the perilous Mediterranean crossing via unauthorised means. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen echoed Meloni's point about offering legal routes into the 27-nation European Union (EU). Europe has pledged 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in aid to help Tunisia with its battered economy, with 100 million euros speficially earmarked for tackling illegal migration. The EU could work with countries such as Tunisia in expanding their production of renewable energy to the benefit of all, she added. Conference host Italy is struggling to cope with the number of unauthorised migrants arriving in centres such as its far southern island of Lampedusa.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, Ursula von der Leyen, von der Leyen, Mohamed al, POPE, Peter's, Pope Francis, COVID, Antonio Tajani, Ahmed Elumami, Foo Yun Chee, Conor Humphries Organizations: European Union, Presidential, Conference, EU, Thomson Locations: Italian, Rome, Europe, Italy, EU, Tunisia, St, Africa, Lampedusa, Tripoli, Brussels

☆ Italy foreign minister Tajani succeeds Berlusconi as Forza Italia chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, July 15 (Reuters) - Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani was elected on Saturday as leader of Forza Italia, the conservative party founded 29 years ago by billionaire media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi who died last month. "I am receiving an almost impossible inheritance," he told the Rome gathering of Forza Italia's national, European and local representatives. Forza Italia is the junior partner among the three main parties in Giorgia Meloni's right-wing government, behind the premier's own Brothers of Italy and Matteo Salvini's League. Recent polls put Forza Italia's support at about 7%, behind the League on around 10% and Brothers of Italy close to 30%. After beginning his political activity in a tiny monarchist movement in the 1980s, Tajani joined Forza Italia when it was founded in 1994 and was Berlusconi's spokesman in his first government that year.

Persons: Antonio Tajani, Silvio Berlusconi, Tajani, Berlusconi, Matteo Salvini's, Gavin Jones, David Holmes Organizations: Forza Italia, Forza Italia's, League, Thomson Locations: Italy, Brussels, Rome, Giorgia

☆ Russia seeks calm after aborted mutiny, West sees cracks in Putin's power
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"We've seen more cracks emerge in the Russian facade," Blinken told NBC's "Meet the Press" programme on Sunday. It was unclear if his visit to Russia's strongest ally was precipitated by the Wagner mutiny. It vouched support for Russia's efforts to maintain national stability, referring to the tension as Russia's "internal affairs". Biden and Trudeau both expressed support of Ukraine as it pursues a counteroffensive to recover territory seized by Russia, according to official statements. Giving its daily morning roundup on Monday, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said Russian forces had conducted unsuccessful operations around Bakhmut.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Sergei Shoigu, Putin, groping, Antony Blinken, Blinken, NBC's, Andrei Rudenko, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau, Biden, Trudeau, Zelenskiy, Lukashenko, Antonio Tajani, Dmitry Peskov, Prigozhin, Hanna Maliar, Serhiy Nayev, ” Nayev, Simon Cameron, Moore, Lincoln Organizations: Wagner Group, Defence, Press, Russia's, Russian Federation, U.S, Canadian, Twitter, Russia's Security, Defence Ministry, Russia's TASS, RIA, Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Russian, Ukraine's Joint Forces, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Russian, Rostov, Belarus, Beijing, China, Bolshevik, Lyman, Donetsk, Bakhmut

☆ Mercenaries return to bases after challenge to Putin's authority
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Ending their short-lived mutiny, fighters of the Wagner group began heading back to their bases late on Saturday in return for guarantees for their safety. Their commander, Yevgeny Prigozhin, will move to Belarus under the deal mediated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Peskov said Lukashenko had offered to mediate, with Putin's approval, because he had known Prigozhin personally for around 20 years. She said the swift ending of the turmoil indicated that Putin's rule would not be undermined by it alone. Russia's ministry of digital affairs recommended that IT, telecoms and media companies give employees the day off on Monday.

Persons: Belarus Wagner, Vladimir Putin's, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Antony Blinken, Putin, Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau, Biden, Trudeau, Zelenskiy, State Anthony Blinken, NBC's, Anton Vaganov, Dmitry, Oleg, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Marina Miron, Antonio Tajani, Messaggero, Brian Taylor, Russia's, Gareth Jones, Philippa Fletcher, Frank Jack Daniel, Jane Merriman, Chris Reese Organizations: Kremlin, U.S, Russia's Security, Canadian, Twitter, State, Press, Rostov, Reuters, Sunday, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics, Defence Ministry, King's College London's Defense Studies Department, Syracuse University, Thomson Locations: Belarus, Rostov, ROSTOV, VORONEZH, Russia, Russian, Moscow, Ukraine, China, Bolshevik, Africa

☆ Italy's Meloni to meet Musk in Rome, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, June 15 (Reuters) - Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is scheduled to meet with Tesla (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk in Rome later on Thursday, two government sources said, after holding brief talks with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in the morning. One of the sources said Musk's meeting with Meloni will take place as part of a "European tour" by the Tesla chief, who will also meet French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday. Macron said he would promote France to Musk as a possible site for one of the electric vehicle (EV) maker's factories as well as tech regulation. Earlier on Thursday, Musk and Tajani held a discussion on the automotive and aerospace sectors, the minister said in a tweet. Reporting by Angelo Amante, Giuseppe Fonte and Giulio Piovaccari; editing by Federico Maccioni and Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Elon Musk, Antonio Tajani, Meloni, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Tesla, Tajani, Angelo Amante, Giuseppe Fonte, Giulio Piovaccari, Federico Maccioni, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Italy's, Tesla, Foreign, Thomson Locations: Rome, France

☆ Italy's Meloni meets Musk in Rome
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, June 15 (Reuters) - Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with Tesla (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk in Rome later on Thursday, a government source said, after holding brief talks with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in the morning. Talks between Meloni and Musk focused on the low birth rate in Italy, the issue of deregulation in the European Union and the risks related to the use of artificial intelligence, the source said. Another official said the meeting with Meloni was part of a "European tour" by the Tesla chief, who will also meet French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday. Macron said he would promote France to Musk as a possible site for one of the electric vehicle (EV) maker's factories as well as tech regulation. Earlier on Thursday, Musk and Tajani held a discussion on the automotive and aerospace sectors, the minister said in a tweet.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Tesla, Elon Musk, Antonio Tajani, Musk, Meloni, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Tajani, Angelo Amante, Giuseppe Fonte, Giulio Piovaccari, Federico Maccioni, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Italy's, Foreign, European Union, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy, France

☆ Italy prepares to bid farewell to Berlusconi with grand funeral
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] A person leaves a letter among flowers and football memorabilia near Villa San Martino, the residence of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, to which his body was transported following his death, in Arcore near Milan, Italy, June 13, 2023. REUTERS/Yara NardiMILAN, June 13 (Reuters) - Italy was preparing on Tuesday to bid farewell to former premier Silvio Berlusconi, a scandal-prone billionaire who dominated the country's politics, business and soccer world for at least three decades. "Italy without Berlusconi," the country's largest circulation newspaper, Corriere della Sera, wrote on its front page, dedicating more than 30 pages of coverage to the event. Corriere said Berlusconi had been well enough to watch on television Saturday's Champions League soccer final between Inter Milan and Manchester City. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a TV interview on Monday that she had spoken "at length" with him that day.

Persons: Silvio Berlusconi, Nardi, Berlusconi, Sera, Corriere, Giorgia Meloni, Antonio Tajani, Tajani, Berlusconi's, Giuliano Urbani, Meloni's, Sergio Mattarella, Alvise, Ed Osmond Organizations: Italian, REUTERS, AC Milan, Monza, Saturday's Champions League, Inter Milan, Manchester City, Berlusconi's Forza Italia, Forza, La Repubblica, Meloni's Brothers, Thomson Locations: Villa San, Arcore, Milan, Italy, Nardi MILAN, Raffaele, Milan's, Washington

Media tycoon Berlusconi founded Forza Italia when he entered politics in 1994. "I expect Brothers of Italy to be attractive to Forza Italia members," Lorenzo De Sio, a politics professor at LUISS University in Rome, said. The relationship between Berlusconi and Meloni repeatedly came under strain since they won general elections together last year. That triggered a long process which ended up in a merger between Forza Italia and MSI's heir Alleanza Nazionale in a single party. Althea Spinozzi, fixed income strategist at Saxo Bank, said the risk associated with investing in Italy can decrease with a downsized Forza Italia.

Persons: Marina, Silvio Berlusconi, Giorgia Meloni, Berlusconi, Matteo Salvini's, Meloni's, Giuliano Cazzola, Lorenzo De, Meloni, Alleanza, Brothers, Sergio Mattarella, Yara, Eugenio Pizzimenti, Antonio Tajani, Pizzimenti, Althea Spinozzi, Marina Berlusconi, Angelo Amante, Giuseppe Fonte, Antonella Cinelli, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Forza Italia, Media, Matteo Salvini's League, Forza Italia's, Forza, Reuters, Analysts, LUISS University, Italian Social Movement, Berlusconi's, Alleanza Nazionale, REUTERS, Pisa University, Union, Saxo Bank, Meloni, Thomson Locations: ROME, Italy, Rome, Ukraine, Brussels

☆ NATO soldiers on guard in Kosovo Serb town following clashes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ZVECAN, Kosovo, May 30 (Reuters) - Dozens of NATO troops secured on Tuesday a municipal building in the Kosovo town of Zvecan, where the previous day 30 NATO soldiers and 52 Serb protesters were injured in clashes. On Monday, Serb protesters in Zvecan threw tear gas and stun grenades at NATO soldiers. The NATO force, known as KFOR, said 30 of its soldiers were hurt in the clashes. In another Serb-majority town, Leposavic, an ethnic Albanian mayor was unable to leave his office for more that 24 hours because of protesters outside, media reported. Tensions have risen since ethnic Albanian mayors took office in northern Kosovo's Serb-majority area after elections the Serbs boycotted.

☆ Berlusconi says his 'nightmare is over' after 6-week hospital stay
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"We'll wait for you on the field to fight many battles together," Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni - whose coalition includes Berlusconi's Forza Italia party - wrote on Twitter, welcoming her ally's discharge. Berlusconi served as prime minister in 1994-1995, 2001-2006 and 2008-2011. In more recent years, Berlusconi's health markedly deteriorated, with open-heart surgery in 2016 and numerous hospital admissions since contracting COVID-19 three years ago. During his latest hospitalisation, Berlusconi remained politically active, appearing in two video messages this month in which he looked frail but insisted he was ready to return to work. There is no designated heir to replace Berlusconi at the helm of Forza Italia, and it is far from clear if the party can stick together without his leadership.

The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, scheduled for this weekend, has been canceled and the site evacuated. An aerial view of flooded houses in Cesena, where residents had to climb onto rooftops to escape high water levels. Water levels on northern Italy’s Lake Garda fell to record lows in February, with Venice experiencing unusually low tides. Formula 1 race canceledFormula 1 has announced the cancellation of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix because of heavy flooding in the region, citing safety concerns. The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is the first event of the Formula 1 season in Europe and was scheduled to take place this weekend.

☆ Italy calls for clearer apology from France over migration 'insult'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, May 7 (Reuters) - Italy remains dissatisfied with the apologies offered by Paris after a French minister accused Rome of mishandling the influx of migrants, Italy's foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on Sunday. "Clearer words are needed," Tajani, who is member of the conservative Forza Italia party, told Italian state-owned television RAI in an interview. "I hope that the French government changes its position and that an apology comes that represents a contrast to the positions adopted by the Interior Minister. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said last week that Italy's right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had been "unable to solve the migration problems on which she was elected". Tajani called off a visit to Paris at the last minute on Thursday in a sign of protest over what he considered an "insult" to Italy.

☆ Italian foreign minister threatens to cancel Paris trip over French criticism
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, May 4 (Reuters) - Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has threatened to cancel a trip to Paris on Thursday unless France clarifies comments by the French interior minister that were critical of Italy's prime minister, an official said. The French minister, Gerald Darmanin, told RMC radio earlier that Italian leader Giorgia Meloni was "unable to solve the migration problems on which she was elected" and accused her of "lying" to voters that she could end the crisis. An Italian government official, who declined to be named, said the trip would not go ahead without a "decisive and definitive" clarification from France on Darmanin's "offensive and totally unacceptable" statement. A French government source said they were trying to find a way to diplomatically reverse the comments by Darmanin, who is seen as particularly close to French President Emmanuel Macron. Reporting by Angelo Amante and Crispian Balmer in Rome and John Irish and Tassilo Hummel in Paris, editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: Countries rush to evacuate foreign citizens from Sudan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday some 16,000 people had crossed from Sudan to Egypt, including 14,000 Sudanese citizens. The foreign ministry said those evacuated included not only French nationals but also Britons, Americans, Canadians, Ethiopians, Dutch, Italians and Swedes. Cyprus said it had activated a humanitarian rescue mechanism at Britain's request to let third countries use it for reception and repatriation of foreign citizens evacuated from Sudan. NETHERLANDSAbout 100 Dutch nationals have been evacuated from Sudan since Sunday, Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said. IRANIran's foreign minister said on Saturday 65 Iranian citizens had left from Port Sudan, through Jeddah, to Iran.

LUXEMBOURG, April 24 (Reuters) - Recent remarks by China's ambassador to France questioning the sovereignty of former Soviet states such as Ukraine are totally unacceptable, several EU foreign ministers said before a meeting on Monday. "It is totally unacceptable", Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said ahead of the Luxembourg meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers. It was unclear when Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassador to the EU, gave the interview to the Chinese news outlet The Paper. But its publication came hard on the heels of the remarks by China's ambassador to France. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he disagreed with Lu's comments, while Luxembourg's foreign minister Jean Asselborn called Lu's remarks a "blunder" and said efforts were being made to calm things down.

☆ G7 nations considering near-total ban on exports to Russia -Kyodo
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, and Deputy Secretary-General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Enrique Mora pose for photographs at the start of the fifth working session of a G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Prince Karuizawa hotel in Karuizawa on April 18, 2023. YUICHI YAMAZAKI/Pool via REUTERSTOKYO, April 21 (Reuters) - The Group of Seven (G7) countries are considering a near-total ban on exports to Russia, Kyodo news agency reported on Friday, citing Japanese government sources. Bloomberg news on Thursday also reported that the United States and Ukraine's allies were considering "an outright ban on most exports to Russia". That report said officials from G7 nations were discussing the idea before a summit meeting in Japan next month. "What is important for ending Russian aggression as soon as possible is that G7 remains united for severe sanctions against Russia and strong support for Ukraine," he told a press briefing.

☆ Italy's Berlusconi spends second night in hospital, friends hopeful
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, April 7 (Reuters) - Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi spent a second night calmly in the intensive care unit of Milan's San Raffaele hospital and is reacting positively to treatment, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Friday. He has suffered from chronic blood cancer for some time and is in intensive care for a lung infection, his doctors said on Thursday. "(Zangrillo) told me he had a good sleep, that he is under intensive care and is reacting positively to the treatment," Tajani said. Berlusconi's Forza Italia party is part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing coalition, though he does not have a direct role in her government. Meloni and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Thursday they had spoken to Berlusconi by telephone.

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