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☆ In rare public spat, Zelenskiy criticises Kyiv mayor over emergency centres
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 25 (Reuters) - In a rare public spat involving Ukrainian leaders, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday criticised the mayor of Kyiv for doing what he said was a poor job setting up emergency shelters to help those without power and heat after Russian attacks. In an evening address, Zelenskiy indicated that Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko and his officials had not done enough to help. In particular, there are a lot of complaints in Kyiv ... To put it mildly, more work is needed," he said, saying the level of services available in many Kyiv centres was not good enough. Zelenskiy also criticised those who he said had lied in their official reports, but did not give details. Klitschko, a 51-year-old former professional boxer, was elected mayor of Kyiv in 2014.

☆ China’s Xi attempts to claim diplomatic victory in battle for global influence after summit whirlwind
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Chinese leader Xi Jinping attends the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia on Wednesday. Since taking office, Biden has shored up relations with allies and partners to counter China’s growing influence. In a rare, candid moment caught on camera, Xi chided Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, accusing him of leaking details of a brief conversation between them. He also attended the Group of 20 dinner, where he shook hands and chatted with leaders including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Apart from the Dutch Prime Minister, Xi also invited US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s newly elected Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to visit Beijing early next year.

☆ Israel's president opens talks ahead of expected Netanyahu mandate
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Herzog began consultations with political parties on Wednesday, meeting representatives from Netanyahu's Likud party, to be followed by meetings with other party representatives over the coming days. He said he expected to complete the talks on Friday and assign the task of forming a government on Sunday. Last week's election saw Netanyahu end a stalemate after five elections in less than four years. "There is a clear mandate from most of the public to form a right-wing government," he said. Earlier on Wednesday, Herzog issued a statement dismissing local reports that he was pushing for a unity government with outgoing centrist premier Yair Lapid and National Unity party leader Benny Gantz.

☆ Italy open to supplying air defence systems to Ukraine -official
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People demonstrate against Russia's invasion of Ukraine during a rally in Rome, Italy, November 5, 2022. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File PhotoROME, Nov 8 (Reuters) - The Italian government is readying a new arms package for Ukraine including air defence systems, a governing coalition official said on Tuesday. The Italian coalition official, who declined to be named, said Rome was ready to provide Ukraine with a variety of air-defence systems, including the medium-range Franco-Italian SAMP/T and Italian Aspide, as well as portable Stinger missiles. Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto spoke by phone on Monday with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and pledged to support Ukraine against Russia's invasion for "as long as necessary", a statement said. On Monday, Kyiv said it had received its first delivery of NASAMS air defence systems from the United States.

☆ Putin endorses evacuation of parts of Ukraine's Kherson region
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, Russia, October 28, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly endorsed the evacuation of civilians from parts of Ukraine's southern Kherson region on Friday, the latest sign of Russia's retreat in one of the most bitterly contested areas in Ukraine. On Thursday, Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-installed occupation administration in Kherson, said Russia was likely to pull its troops from the west bank. Late on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the fiercest fighting over the last week had taken place around Bakhmut and Soledar, in the eastern Donetsk region about 500 km northeast of Kherson. During the day Ukrainian forces had downed eight Iranian drones and two Russian missiles, Zelenskiy said.

☆ Putin urges Kherson residents to evacuate amid doubts over Russian plans
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that civilians in Ukraine’s Kherson region should be evacuated from the conflict zone, the Kremlin chief’s first acknowledgement of a deteriorating situation in a region he claims to have annexed. Putin’s remark, which came unprompted after one activist told the Russian president on Red Square about his work delivering Russian flags to Kherson, was shown on state television and reported by state news agency RIA. The comment comes amid growing questions about whether Russian forces will stay and wage a bloody battle for the city of Kherson, or were signaling an imminent retreat. Some Ukrainian officials warned Thursday that signs of a potential Russian withdrawal from the crucial southern city could be a trap. He said that Russian forces would likely soon give up the west bank of the Dnipro to Ukraine.

☆ Medvedev says Russia is fighting a sacred battle against Satan
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 4 (Reuters) - Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday cast Russia's war in Ukraine as a sacred conflict with Satan, warning that Moscow could send all its enemies to the eternal fires of Gehenna. Ukraine and the West have repeatedly dismissed President Vladimir Putin's assertions that Ukraine is run by fascists who have persecuted Russian speakers. In a message marking Russia's Day of National Unity, Medvedev said the task of the fatherland was to "stop the supreme ruler of Hell, whatever name he uses - Satan, Lucifer or Iblis". Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said Russia had different weapons, including the ability to "send all our enemies to fiery Gehenna", using a Hebrew term often translated as Hell. Satan's weapons, Medvedev said, were "intricate lies.

☆ Putin says civilians in Ukraine's Kherson should be evacuated
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that civilians in Ukraine's Kherson region should be evacuated from the conflict zone, the Kremlin chief's first acknowledgement of a deteriorating situation in a region he claims to have annexed. Russian-installed officials in Kherson region, one of four Ukrainian provinces that Putin declared part of Russia at a Kremlin ceremony in September, have pleaded for civilians to leave the region's west, where Ukrainian forces have retaken ground in recent weeks. He said that Russian forces would likely soon give up the west bank of the Dnipro to Ukraine. Ukraine announced a counteroffensive in Kherson in August, driving Russian forces from much of the region's north in September. General Sergei Surovikin, the commander of Russian troops in Ukraine, has previously referred to a difficult situation in Kherson.

[1/3] Cambodia's Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn speaks during a meeting with Southeast Asian foreign ministers at the secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta, Indonesia, October 27, 2022. Galih Pradipta/Pool via REUTERSJAKARTA, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military government warned on Thursday that any pressure from its Southeast Asian neighbours to put a time frame on a peace plan would create "negative implications". No Myanmar representatives were present at the special meeting of the group's foreign ministers to discuss the stalled peace plan. Late on Thursday, Myanmar's military-appointed foreign ministry released a statement blaming armed resistance movements for violence and saying pressure to set a time frame will create more negative implications than positive ones. And Indonesia has mentioned that this request needs to be delivered to Tatmadaw (Myanmar's military) immediately," said Retno.

☆ Explainer: Why is ASEAN holding a special meeting on Myanmar?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Martin Petty | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In August it cited "notable progress" on the peace plan, without providing specifics, but said its commitment would be determined by developments on the ground. It has accused its opponents of trying to sabotage the ASEAN plan and has justified military offensives as necessary to secure the country and enable political talks. Instead of advocating for the five-point ASEAN plan, the generals have instead been pushing a five-step roadmap of their own towards a new election, with few similarities. Suspending Myanmar as an ASEAN member would be extremely unlikely, as would any trade sanctions, and the junta has demonstrated it will not respond to threats. ASEAN has so far opted to bar the generals from key summits and invited non-political representatives instead, which the junta has declined.

☆ Air strike during Myanmar concert kills at least 50 - media, opposition
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Myanmar has been gripped by fighting since the army overthrew an elected government early last year. Resistance movements, some armed, have emerged across the country, which the military has countered with lethal force. Since the coup, open conflict has resumed between the Myanmar army and bitter rival the KIA, which has been fighting on and off for six decades for greater autonomy for the Kachin people. The U.N. in Myanmar said it was deeply concerned and saddened by reports of the attack. Foreign ministers of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN are due to meet later this week to discuss the Myanmar crisis, its chair Cambodia said on Sunday.

☆ Italy’s new boss is missing a trick on tax evasion
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Lisa Jucca | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A proper fight against endemic tax evasion would give her much-needed ammunition. Meanwhile, plans to allow Italians to retire earlier would likely cost more than 10 billion euros annually. She could target untaxed domestic revenue, which amounted to 100 billion euros in 2019. A serious effort to tackle tax evasion would materially help her fiscal position. The approach offers upfront windfalls but does not discourage tax evasion in the long term.

CNN —Dozens of people have been killed in military airstrikes that hit a celebratory event in Myanmar’s mountainous Kachin state on Sunday, according to local news outlets and international organizations. Reuters and local news outlet The Irrawaddy reported at least 50 people were killed. CNN cannot independently verify the number of reported deaths and has reached out to the military for comment. Kachin Alliance, a Kachin community organization based in Washington, DC, said Kachin artists, local elders, and KIO leaders were among those killed. The attack on Sunday drew international condemnation, with the United Nations saying it was concerned over reports of more than 100 civilians impacted.

☆ Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni sworn in as Italy's first female prime minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

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. Meloni, head of the nationalist Brothers of Italy, swept to victory in an election last month as part of a coalition that included Forza Italia, led by former premier Silvio Berlusconi, and Matteo Salvini’s League. “I swear to be faithful to the republic,” the 45-year-old Meloni said under the crystal chandeliers of a frescoed chamber, before shaking hands with President Sergio Mattarella. Her government, the 12th this century, replaces a national unity administration led by former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi. After days of often tense, behind-the-scenes talks, Meloni unveiled her team on Friday, giving five ministries each to her junior partners, the League and Forza Italia, while reserving nine cabinet posts for her own party.

☆ Italy's Meloni sworn in at head of right-wing government
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Italy's newly elected Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reacts during the swearing-in ceremony at the Quirinale Presidential Palace, in Rome, Italy October 22, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo MangiapaneROME, Oct 22 (Reuters) - 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 Two. Meloni, head of the nationalist Brothers of Italy, swept to victory in an election last month as part of a coalition that included Forza Italia, led by former premier Silvio Berlusconi, and Matteo Salvini's League. "I swear to be faithful to the republic," the 45-year-old Meloni said under the crystal chandeliers of a frescoed chamber, before shaking hands with President Sergio Mattarella. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Crispian Balmer and Angelo Amante; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Iran's Guards warn cleric over 'agitating' in restive southeast
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Molavi Abdolhamid, Zahedan's leading Sunni cleric, said during his Friday sermon that officials including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, head of the Shi'ite-dominated state, were "responsible before God" for the Sept. 30 killings. State media said at the time of the Sept. 30 violence that "unidentified armed individuals" opened fire on a police station, prompting security forces to return fire. The Revolutionary Guards said five members of its forces and the volunteer Basij militia were killed during the Sept. 30 violence. Abdolhamid, the Sunni cleric, described the Sept. 30 killing as a massacre, saying bullets had been fired at heads and chests. The activist news agency HRANA reported on Friday that 244 protesters had been killed in the countrywide unrest, including 32 minors.

☆ Myanmar villagers say army beheaded high school teacher
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The slain teacher, Saw Tun Moe, was a longtime educator who had participated in anti-military protests before taking charge of a high school founded by the country’s pro-democracy movement in his native Thit Nyi Naung village. Saw Tun Moe also taught mathematics at his village school and another nearby alternative school and was involved in the administration of Thit Nyi Naung, where he lived with his family. She said Saw Tun Moe was taken to Taung Myint village, almost a mile north of Thit Nyi Naung, and killed there the following day. A villager from Taung Myint village said he saw Saw Tun Moe’s body at about 11 a.m. Monday after the soldiers had left. I immediately knew that it was Teacher Moe.

☆ Italy's Giorgia Meloni to head new right-wing government
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Giorgia Meloni has agreed to form Italy's next government, a presidential official said on Friday, clearing the way for her to become the country's first female prime minister. Meloni, head of the nationalist Brothers of Italy, led an alliance of conservative parties to victory at a Sept. 25 election and will take charge of the country's most right-wing government since World War II. "Giorgia Meloni has accepted the mandate and has presented her list of ministers," the presidential official Ugo Zampetti told reporters after Meloni had consulted with President Sergio Mattarella in his Quirinale palace. Meloni heads a coalition including Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia and Matteo Salvini's League. Italy's 68th government since 1946 faces daunting challenges, including a looming recession, rising energy bills and how to present a united front over the Ukraine war.

☆ Factbox: Ethnic groups swept up in Iran's nationwide protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Critics say these accusations aim to present the protests as ethnic unrest rather than a country-wide uprising, and to justify a crackdown. Rights group Hengaw says it has recorded the deaths of at least 32 civilians killed by government forces during protests. Estimated to number some 10 million, Iranian Kurds are also Sunnis and mostly live in northwestern regions bordering Turkey and Iraq - which also have large Kurdish minorities. Kurdish human rights organisation Hengaw has identified 23 Kurdish people killed in the latest protests. The Revolutionary Guards, which have put down unrest in the Kurdish region for decades, have accused armed Iranian Kurdish dissidents of involvement in the protests.

☆ Iranians keep up protests over Mahsa Amini death despite growing death toll
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A police motorcycle burns during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 19, 2022. Protests ignited by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran's morality police on Sept. 16 have turned into one of the boldest challenges to the clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution. Another video showed dozens of riot police deployed in a Tehran street where a fire was burning. The Norway-based Iran Human Rights organisation said the death toll had increased to at least 201 civilians during the unrest, including 23 minors. Khamenei, a focus of protesters' anger, said the protests were designed by Iran's enemies, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

☆ Covid leads to long Covid, in governments as well as people
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Brian Michael Jenkins | Brian Michael Jenkins Is An Army Combat Veteran Who Currently Serves As Senior Adviser To The President Of The Nonprofit | Nonpartisan Rand Corporation. His Latest Book Is | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

Unlike previous pandemics, however, Covid didn’t see the same offsets in unifying sentiment. There were many explanations for this, including underreporting of Covid deaths in many countries, but the optics were not good. Democratic governments imposed controls that intruded into ordinarily personal space, while authoritarian governments exploited the pandemic to tighten their control. The decline in Covid numbers, if it holds, will not reverse these developments after the November elections. Just as we may talk about societal comorbidity, societies may suffer from long Covid — an impaired functioning of democracy that may persist long after the contagion survives.

☆ Exclusive: Qatar conscripts civilians for World Cup security
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Andrew Mills | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The match is the first to take place at the stadium, which will host the World Cup 2022 final. The civilians were told they had been called up to assist with the World Cup and that it was their "patriotic duty" to do so, the source said. Asked for comment, a Qatari government official said in a statement that Qatar's national service program would continue as normal during the World Cup. The diplomats are expected to return to their posts after the World Cup. World Cup organisers intend to relax Qatar's strict laws limiting the public sale of alcohol, and will allow beer to be served near stadiums a few hours before matches kick off.

☆ Italy's election humbles former populist heroes Salvini and Di Maio
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Gavin Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio listens to the opening remarks of Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi during the opening session of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia July 8, 2022. They picked unknown lawyer Giuseppe Conte as their prime minister, a compromise figure widely seen as a puppet, and installed themselves as his two deputies to dictate policy. In the last four years Di Maio gradually shed all his populist ardour, serving as deputy premier, labour minister, industry minister and foreign minister before eventually quitting 5-Star to form his own centrist party. Eugenio Pizzimenti, politics professor at Pisa University, said that unlike the more charismatic Salvini, Di Maio's support was strongly dependent on that of his party. ECLIPSED BY MELONISalvini's popularity soared during his government with Di Maio, which he brought down after 14 months in a failed bid to become prime minister.

Leader of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) Enrico Letta reacts as he speaks to media a day after Italy's election where the rightwing alliance led by Giorgia Meloni triumphed, in Rome, Italy, September 26, 2022. REUTERS/Stoyan NenovROME, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The leaders of Italy's opposition parties on Monday blamed their defeat on a lack of unity and on voters choosing a path of populism, after Giorgia Meloni's rightist bloc overwhelmingly won the national election. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterEnrico Letta, the head of the opposition Democratic Party (PD), announced he would stand down. M5S leader Giuseppe Conte said overnight it was the PD's fault if it proved impossible for the centre left to win. "They have undermined a political offer that could have been competitive against this centre right," Conte said.

☆ Italy’s right-wing winners inherit poison chalice
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Lisa Jucca | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Soaring energy prices are destabilising large sections of Italy’s economy, possibly leading to rationing and a recession. League leader Salvini, a former eurosceptic who has backed Russian President Vladimir Putin, favours borrowing 30 billion euros to subsidise energy bills. Follow @LJucca on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSGiorgia Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy emerged as the largest party in Italy’s parliament in the general election on Sept. 25. With counting nearly complete on Sept. 26, Meloni’s party had attracted nearly 26% of preferences, according to Interior Ministry data. The coalition is expected to form a government by the end of October with 45-year-old Meloni as prime minister, the first female premier in Italy’s history.

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