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☆ Jimmy Carter, the 39th U.S. president, is in hospice care
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Former President Jimmy Carter speaks to the congregation at Maranatha Baptist Church before teaching Sunday school in his hometown of Plains, Georgia on April 28, 2019. Former President Jimmy Carter, who at 98 years old is the longest-lived American president, has entered home hospice care in Plains, Georgia, a statement from The Carter Center confirmed Saturday. Jason Carter, the couple's grandson who now chairs The Carter Center governing board, said Saturday in a tweet that he "saw both of my grandparents yesterday. That's a staggering drop from when The Carter Center began leading the global eradication effort in 1986, when the parasitic disease infected 3.5 million people. I would not deserve to be your president," Carter said often as he campaigned.

☆ U.A.E. Names Oil Chief to Run COP28 Climate Summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Summer Said | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

DUBAI—The United Arab Emirates named the chief executive of its national oil company as the president of this year’s United Nations climate summit, drawing criticism from environmental activists. The Gulf state said Thursday that Sultan al-Jaber, chief executive of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., or Adnoc, would be tasked with framing the agenda of the COP28 summit in Dubai, which opens at the end of November. Mr. Jaber, a top Emirati technocrat, is also the country’s minister for industry and technology and special envoy on climate change, playing a leading role in the country’s move to finance and produce more renewable and nuclear energy.

☆ Exclusive: Peru eyes spending in protest zones, but fiscal goals 'non-negotiable' -minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Marco Aquino | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The political turmoil is increasingly threatening to derail Peru's economic stability, with ratings agencies warning of downgrades, blockades impacting major mines and protesters demanding Congress and new president Dina Boluarte step down. Amid warnings from ratings agencies about the economic impact of the unrest and possible elevated spending, Contreras pledged that fiscal responsibility would be maintained. Peru is aiming for a fiscal deficit of 2.5% of GDP this year and 2.4% next year. On Monday, ratings agency S&P cut Peru's outlook to negative from stable and warned about a possible ratings downgrade if the upheaval continued. Contreras said that he had spoken with S&P and Fitch and understood their concerns, but highlighted Peru's fiscal and monetary strength, which he said was a buffer for the economy.

☆ Obituary: China's Jiang Zemin confounded doubters, mended U.S. ties
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/5] A security guard stands next to a portrait of China's former President Jiang Zemin at an exhibition to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Beijing, China, July 7, 2011. Under Jiang, China weathered the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, joined the World Trade Organisation in 2001 and won the bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. "Jiang Zemin was more ready to be natural, even though sometimes it could be perceived as vulgar, not very sophisticated." At celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic in 1999, floats carried giant portraits of Mao, Deng and Jiang past Tiananmen Square. Jiang, like Mao, wore his trousers well above his waist and brushed his hair straight back.

[1/5] Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks during a news conference to present her government's first budget in Rome, Italy, November 22, 2022. Meloni, a fiery conviction politician, has often spoken out against Italy's reliance on technocrats to solve its economic problems and lambasted alleged interference from "high international finance" and "Brussels bureaucrats". During the election campaign Meloni called in vain for her predecessor Mario Draghi to freeze the sale of a majority stake in ITA. PUSHBACKDeputy Economy and Finance Minister Maurizio Leo, an adviser to Meloni, had proposed splitting his ministry by hiving off the finance department responsible for tax matters. The head of the finance department, Fabrizia Lapecorella, has asked to move to another ministry, two sources said.

WASHINGTON, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Ash Carter, who served as a U.S. defense secretary during the Obama administration, died late on Monday at the age of 68 after a sudden cardiac event, his family said in a statement on Tuesday. Under Carter, the U.S. military opened all military roles to women and also ended a ban on openly serving transgender service members. "To choose service members on other grounds than military qualifications is social policy and has no place in our military," Carter said at the time. Before becoming defense secretary, Carter served as deputy defense secretary and chief operating officer in the Pentagon. Since leaving public service, Carter led the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard's Kennedy School.

☆ Factbox: Key ministers in new Italian Meloni government
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

ROME, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government was sworn into office on Saturday. Here the profiles of some of the key figures:ECONOMY MINISTERGiancarlo Giorgetti, 55, is a veteran political wheeler-dealer viewed as a moderate and relatively pro-European member of his right-wing League party. He was not Prime Minister Meloni's first choice for the job. He held posts in centre-right governments led by Berlusconi and recently served as president of the influential parliamentary intelligence committee. Meloni insisted on him for the job, overcoming resistance from Berlusconi who wanted a Forza Italia member in the ministry.

☆ (OFFICIAL) Key ministers in new Italian government
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Italy's newly appointed Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks to the media following a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Palace in Rome, Italy October 21, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo MangiapaneROME, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Giorgia Meloni's Italian government will be sworn in on Saturday at 10 a.m. (0800 GMT). Here the profiles of some of the key figures:ECONOMY MINISTERGiancarlo Giorgetti, 55, is a veteran political wheeler-dealer viewed as a moderate and relatively pro-European member of his right-wing League party. He was not Prime Minister Meloni's first choice for the job. Meloni insisted on him for the job, overcoming resistance from Berlusconi who wanted a Forza Italia member in the justice ministry.

☆ Low-key 'fixer' Giorgetti named Italy's economy minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Gavin Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

read moreTim Jones, euro zone analyst for market consultancy firm Medley Advisors, said "long-time League fixer" Giorgetti was a better fit. I don't know if I'd be able to be economy minister." As industry minister, he helped block a number of Chinese takeover bids in strategic sectors of Italy's economy. "He backed Maroni when he got rid of Bossi, he backed Salvini when he got rid of Maroni and then he backed Draghi who undermined Salvini," said the source, asking not to be named. Tellingly, when Meloni proposed Giorgetti as economy minister, Salvini said he should be counted as an external figure, rather than part of the League's quota of ministers, a party source said.

Leader of Brothers of Italy party Giorgia Meloni attends the fourth voting session to elect the new speaker, at the lower house of parliament, in Rome, Italy, October 14, 2022. Giorgetti, the industry minister in Mario Draghi's outgoing government, is considered to be one of the League's most moderate and pro-European figures. Coalition sources said energy-related matters are likely to remain in the hands of the ecological transition ministry. The frontrunner to succeed technocrat Roberto Cingolani in the job is Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, a coalition source said. Brothers of Italy's Adolfo Urso, previously head of the parliamentary committee on security, is the frontrunner for the position, one source said.

☆ Breakingviews: Time for Britain to try technocratic government
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Peter Thal Larsen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Technocratic governments tend to take charge after an elected administration has collapsed, and rule for a short period with a limited mandate. Prime Minister Liz Truss’s technosceptic administration recklessly attempted to boost growth by cutting taxes, startling investors and forcing the Bank of England to step in. For example, Alec Douglas-Home parachuted into a parliamentary seat shortly after becoming prime minister in 1963. A more fundamental concern is that technocratic governments undermine faith in democracy. If Britain is going to replace another prime minister without an election, it could do a lot worse than a technocrat.

☆ Time for Britain to try technocratic government
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Peter Thal Larsen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Technocratic governments tend to take charge after an elected administration has collapsed, and rule for a short period with a limited mandate. Prime Minister Liz Truss’s technosceptic administration recklessly attempted to boost growth by cutting taxes, startling investors and forcing the Bank of England to step in. Britain could surely find a vacant constituency for a reassuringly technocratic new leader. A more fundamental concern is that technocratic governments undermine faith in democracy. If Britain is going to replace another prime minister without an election, it could do a lot worse than a technocrat.

ROME, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Giancarlo Giorgetti, a former industry minister and the deputy leader of the right-wing League party, looked well placed to become Italy's next economy minister on Thursday after getting the backing of the conservative coalition chief. "I think Giancarlo Giorgetti would be an excellent economy minister," Giorgia Meloni, expected to be named prime minister this month, told reporters in parliament. "If the League wants me at the economy ministry I'll go there," Giorgetti told reporters shortly before Meloni's comments, in a shift from previous, more cautious remarks. Asked by Reuters early on Thursday whether he would be willing to become economy minister, he replied: "if you're asked to do something you reflect and ask yourself if you'd be able to do it. I don't know if I'd be able to be economy minister."

☆ Holocaust survivor to oversee start of rightist Italian parliament
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Crispian Balmer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Senator Liliana Segre attends a debate ahead of a confidence vote at the upper house of parliament after former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi pulled his party out of government, in Rome, Italy, January 19, 2021. REUTERS/Yara Nardi/Pool/File PhotoROME, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Italy's new parliament opens on Thursday, with a Holocaust survivor due to preside over the first session of the upper house Senate as the most right-wing coalition since World War Two takes control of both chambers. Liliana Segre was the only member of her family to emerge alive from the Nazi Auschwitz concentration camp at the end of the war. Honoured as a senator for life, the 92 year-old is the oldest active member of the house, meaning she will start proceedings. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterAdditional reporting by Angelo Amante; editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: China's 20th Communist Party Congress: who could be in Xi's new team?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BEIJING, Oct 13 (Reuters) - China's Xi Jinping is widely expected to clinch a third five-year leadership at the upcoming congress of the ruling Communist Party, a mandate that would secure his stature as the country's most powerful ruler since founding leader Mao Zedong. Hu Chunhua, 59, vice premierHu is considered a candidate for elevation to the PSC and possibly to become China's next premier. Chen Miner, 62, Chongqing party secretaryChen is also a trusted aide and considered a candidate for the PSC. The only current female member, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, is 72 and therefore ineligible to serve another term under China's unofficial age norms. Li Xi, 65, party chief of Guangdong provinceLi, considered a trusted ally of Xi, may get a bigger job after the Congress.

☆ Long picked for promotion, Xi loyalist Chen may get his chance
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( James Pomfret | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Chen, party boss of the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing, is regarded as a steady technocrat and has often espoused Xi's ideologies and policies in public. A native of Zhejiang province in eastern China, Chen spent close to three decades there before being promoted to deputy party secretary in Guizhou province in 2012. In 2017, Chen was parachuted into the more politically challenging position of Chongqing party chief, a clean-up task after the sudden dismissal of Sun Zhengcai in a corruption scandal. Shanghai Party Secretary Li Qiang, another contender for promotion, was also in the group. In Zhejiang, Chen worked as chief editor of the party's main local media organ, the Zhejiang Daily, rising to become propaganda chief for the province.

☆ Italy Holds Elections as Economic Clouds Gather
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Margherita Stancati | Marcus Walker | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ROME—Italians began voting Sunday morning in elections that will determine who will steer the country through Europe’s worsening energy crisis and its confrontation with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. A right-wing coalition is widely expected to win a comfortable majority in Parliament, according to opinion polls, a result that would likely pave the way for Giorgia Meloni , a politician with a far-right background, to succeed Mario Draghi as Italy’s prime minister. Mr. Draghi, a technocrat who led a bipartisan coalition, isn’t running in the election.

☆ Giorgia Meloni and her far-right Brothers of Italy party top vote in Italian elections, exit poll shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Matt Clinch | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Giorgia Meloni's Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) party are set to gain 22.5% to 26.5% of the vote, according to an exit poll late Sunday night. But the vote could mark a big political shift for a pivotal European country dealing with ongoing economic and political instability. Meloni's Brothers of Italy party was created in 2012, but has its roots in Italy's 20th century neo-fascist movement that emerged after the death of fascist leader Benito Mussolini in 1945. After winning 4% of the vote in 2018′s election, Brothers of Italy and 45-year-old Meloni used their position in opposition to springboard into the mainstream. The snap election on Sunday in the EU's third-largest economy comes six months before they were due to be held.

Giorgia Meloni, leader of the right-wing party Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) holds a giant Italian national flag during a political rally on February 24, 2018 in Milan, Italy. Giorgia Meloni's Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) party was created in 2012, but has its roots in Italy's 20th century neo-fascist movement that emerged after the death of fascist leader Benito Mussolini in 1945. After winning 4% of the vote in 2018's election, it has used its position in opposition to springboard into the mainstream. The Brothers of Italy party is expected to gain the largest share of the vote for a single party on Sunday. Fratelli d'Italia has been pro-NATO and pro-Ukraine and supports sanctions against Russia, unlike Lega which is ambivalent about those measures.

Starting in 2012, the year Mr. Putin retook the presidency, Roskomnadzor built a blacklist of websites that the companies were required to block. In 2021, authorities throttled access to the social media service to a crawl. It gathered information about government critics and identified shifting political opinions on social media. watch opponents and identify new threats to Mr. Putin, Mr. Voronin said. In the records, censors flagged ProUfu.ru for the critical Ukraine editorial written about Mr. Putin in February.

☆ How Italy could tip into a tailspin
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, speaks during a rally in Duomo square ahead of the Sept. 25 snap election, in Milan, Italy, September 11, 2022. Italy will probably muddle through under Meloni, the leader of the Brothers of Italy, which opinion polls suggest will be the largest party after this Sunday’s election. Nobody wants Italy to go into a tailspin and drag down countries such as France and Spain, which also have high levels of sovereign debt. She might think the EU would still keep financial support flowing to Italy as it wouldn’t have the guts for a confrontation. But if the ECB then refused to buy Italian debt, and if neither side blinked, there would be a blow-up.

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