Italy

ROME (AP) — Italians voted Sunday in an election that could move the country’s politics sharply toward the right during a critical time for Europe, with war in Ukraine fueling skyrocketing energy bills and testing the West’s resolve to stand united against Russian aggression.

ROME, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin was "pushed" into invading Ukraine and wanted to put "decent people" in charge of Kyiv, former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi has said, drawing fierce criticism just ahead of Italy's election.

The Italian leader, whose Forza Italia party belongs to a right-wing coalition expected to win Sunday's parliamentary election on Sunday, is a long-time friend of Putin and his comments are likely to alarm Western allies. 

ROME, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin was "pushed" into invading Ukraine and wanted to put "decent people" in charge of Kyiv, former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi has said, drawing fierce criticism just ahead of Italy's election.

The Italian leader, whose Forza Italia party belongs to a right-wing coalition expected to win Sunday's parliamentary election on Sunday, is a long-time friend of Putin and his comments are likely to alarm Western allies. 

ROME, Sept 20 (Reuters) - The Brothers of Italy party, which is tipped to win national elections at the weekend, suspended one of its candidates on Tuesday after he was found to have praised Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler in online posts.

Brothers of Italy traces its roots back to a neo-fascist group set up after World War Two, but its leader Giorgia Meloni, expected to be Italy's next prime minister, has looked to distance herself from the far-right and says her party is mainstream conservative.

CANTIANO, Italy, Sept 16 (Reuters) - At least nine people were killed by torrential overnight rains and floods in the central Italian region of Marche, authorities said on Friday, as rescuers continued to search for four still missing.

In Cantiano, a village close to the neighbouring Umbria region, residents were clearing mud from the streets, Reuters footage showed, after torrents had swept through several towns leaving a trail of trapped and damaged cars.

"My fruit shop has been turned upside down," Luciana Agostinelli, a local resident, told Reuters.

ROME (AP) — Costly construction delays, a leadership vacancy linked to a volatile political climate and a lack of sponsors amid a spreading financial crisis has prompted International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach to acknowledge the “challenges” facing organizers of the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.

ROME, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Italy's right-wing bloc is on track to win a clear majority in both houses of parliament at this month's election, according to studies based on the final opinion polls before a ban on their publication kicks in on Saturday.

The far-right Brothers of Italy which dominates the conservative alliance is set to be the largest single party at the Sept. 25 vote, according to the latest surveys which show it widening its lead over the centre-left Democratic Party (PD).

ROME, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Italy's right-wing bloc is on track to win a clear majority in both houses of parliament at this month's election, according to studies based on the final opinion polls before a ban on their publication kicks in on Saturday.

The far-right Brothers of Italy which dominates the conservative alliance is set to be the largest single party at the Sept. 25 vote, according to the latest surveys which show it widening its lead over the centre-left Democratic Party (PD).

CERNOBBIO, Italy, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Giorgia Meloni, set to lead a new Italian government with two parties once close to Moscow, warned on Sunday of the risk posed to Western nations by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, calling it the "tip of the iceberg" in a struggle for influence.

"If Ukraine falls and the West perishes, the big winner will not be (Vladimir) Putin's Russia, but Xi Jinping's China," Meloni, leader of the nationalist Brothers of Italy party, told a business conference.

ROME (AP) — The Vatican on Tuesday moved to defend Pope Francis from allegations he hasn’t come down hard enough on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, saying the pontiff clearly views the war launched by Moscow as “senseless, repugnant and sacrilegious.”

Last week, Ukraine summoned the top papal diplomat to complain about recent comments by Francis. At an audience a day earlier at the Vatican, Francis had referred to a national Russian TV commentator who was killed by a car bomb in Moscow as a “poor girl.”