NYC Mayor’s Woes Are So Bad Even Andrew Cuomo Is Eyeing a Run
There’s political blood in the water after a series of blows to New York City Mayor Eric Adams,
2023-11-30 19:49
Spanish clergy sexually abused over 200,000 children, probe estimates
Over 200,000 minors are estimated to have been sexually abused in Spain by the Roman Catholic clergy since 1940, according to...
2023-10-27 22:48
Jacksonville killings: What we know about the hate crime
Authorities say a white man wearing a mask and brandishing a weapon with a swastika fatally shot three Black people Jacksonville, Florida, in what the city's sheriff described as a racially motivated attack
2023-08-28 02:48
Strange thing found in student's meal is rat's head, Chinese officials rule after food scare anger
A foreign object found in a school meal in China was the head of a rat, Chinese authorities have concluded, overturning previous official reassurances that it was duck neck in the latest twist to a food safety scandal that gripped the nation for weeks.
2023-06-21 16:47
Biden is welcoming far-right Italian Prime Minister Meloni for White House talks
President Joe Biden is set for talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday, welcoming the far-right leader who has won praise from the U.S. administration for her strong backing of the U.S.-led effort to assist Ukraine as it tries to fend off the Russian invasion. The warm reception comes after initial trepidation in the Biden administration about Meloni, who rose to power last year as the head of Italy’s most far-right government since the end of World War II. Biden administration concerns about her ideology have been eased by her support for Ukraine and her seeming openness to pull back from Italy's participation in China's infrastructure-building Belt and Road Initiative. Her visit comes as Italy prepares to take up the presidency next year of the Group of Seven industrialized nations. White House officials said that in addition to discussing Ukraine and China, the two leaders were expected to discuss migration from North Africa to Europe's southern shores. More than 1,900 migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean so far this year, bringing the total of dead and missing since 2014 to 27,675, according to the International Organization for Migration. “On issues of foreign policy, there’s been a lot of overlapping and mutually reinforcing approaches that we’re taking on with Italy,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. “Italy is a NATO ally and they are a very competent NATO ally and they’ve been a tremendous supporter of Ukraine.” The Biden administration viewed Meloni's predecessor, economist and former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi, as an intellectual force and one of its strongest allies in Europe. Soon after Meloni's victory last September, Biden warned about the rise of hard-right populism in Europe and in the United States. “You just saw what’s happened in Italy in that election,” Biden said in an address to the Democratic Governors Association after Meloni’s victory last September. “You’re seeing what’s happening around the world. And the reason I bother to say that is we can’t be sanguine about what’s happening here either.” Meloni became Italy’s first far-right leader to hold the premiership in Italy’s post-World War II republic after the Brothers of Italy party she co-founded more than a decade ago emerged as the largest vote-getter in the September 2022 elections. Her Brothers of Italy party, named after the first words of Italy’s national anthem, has roots in a party founded by nostalgists for fascism following the demise of dictator Benito Mussolini’s regime. But Meloni brushes off any insinuation that she is nostalgic for Mussolini, writing in her autobiography, “I don’t hold the cult of fascism.” Since coming to power, Meloni has faced criticism for her government's direction that city halls stop automatically registering both parents in same-sex couples but instead limit recognition of parental rights only to the biological parent of the child. When Meloni ran for the premiership, she called for a naval blockade of northern Africa to thwart smugglers’ boats overcrowded with migrants determined to reach Europe’s southern shores. But once in office, she quickly dropped talk of any blockade. On the eve of Meloni's visit, the White House sought to stress the U.S. and Italy's close cooperation on Ukraine. Kirby noted that Meloni has been one of the European Union’s most vocal supporters of Ukraine's sovereignty, and Italy has hosted some 170,000 Ukrainians who have fled the war. Meloni has also been a champion of a stronger NATO and views the trans-Atlantic alliance as the linchpin of traditionally strong U.S.-Italian relations. “From a foreign policy lens, the Biden administration sees this is better than what they could have possibly expected or hoped for,” said Max Bergmann, director of the Europe, Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. The prime minister has also expressed skepticism about Italy's ties with China through the Belt and Road Initiative. In 2019, Italy became the first and only G7 nation to join China’s ambitious infrastructure building effort, despite objections from the United States. The project was launched by Beijing in 2013 by President Xi Jinping to link East Asia and Europe through physical infrastructure. The ambition for the project has expanded to Africa, Oceania and Latin America, significantly broadening China’s economic and political influence. Italy must either renew or abandon the accord by early next year. Kirby called Italy's decision on whether to stay in Belt and Road a “sovereign decision” but added that “it's becoming increasingly obvious that more and more countries around the world are seeing the risks, and quite frankly lack of reward for economic partnerships with China.” Meloni is also scheduled to meet with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Thursday at the U.S. Capitol. ___ D'Emilio reported from Rome. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide One of Libya’s rival prime ministers returns to Tripoli on 1st commercial flight from Italy in years Italy's Meloni opens conference that aims to stanch flows of migrants to Europe with aid to Africa Rights activists fear Tunisia deal will be model for bartering EU money for migrants' lives
2023-07-27 12:22
Big fashion is getting bigger. Parent of Coach will buy Versace owner Capri in $8.5 billion deal
Tapestry, parent company of luxury handbag and accessories retailer Coach, is buying the owner of fashion brands including Michael Kors, Versace and Jimmy Choo, Capri Holdings
2023-08-10 19:53
Phoenix restaurants fail inspections, expired food and dirty meat cutter among health violations
It has been reported that La Locanda Italian Bistro, located at 3915 N Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale, was subject to five violations
2023-11-23 19:53
Serbian president says reports about troop build up on the Kosovo border 'not fully accurate'
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said on Monday that Washington's reports last week warning of a big build-up of Serbian troops on the Kosovo border "were not fully accurate."
2023-10-03 03:23
Blinken calls for G7 'clear voice' on Gaza
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Tuesday on the G7 to speak "in a clear voice" about the Israel-Hamas war as he kicked off talks with fellow foreign...
2023-11-07 20:28
A manhunt is underway for a homicide suspect who was accidentally released from an Indianapolis detention center, officials say
A manhunt is underway for a suspect in a 2021 killing who was accidentally released from a detention center in Indianapolis last week, a sheriff's office said Tuesday, asking for the public's help finding him.
2023-09-20 15:16
Djokovic outlasts Alcaraz in nearly 4 hours for title in Cincinnati; Coco Gauff wins women's title
Novak Djokovic outlasted Carlos Alcaraz in a thrilling rematch of their Wimbledon final, winning 5-7 7-6 (7) 7-6 (4) to win the Western & Southern Open
2023-08-21 09:47
Trump's lawyers file challenges to Washington election subversion case, calling it unconstitutional
Donald Trump's lawyers are raising new challenges to the federal election subversion case against him in Washington
2023-10-24 19:20
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