europe
'Heat storm' hits Italy
After enduring two major heatwaves, Italy was faced on Sunday with what the iLMeteo.it weather website has described as a "heat storm", with exceptionally high temperatures and humidity rates, especially in the central and southern regions.
On Sunday the number of major Italian cities that the health ministry has put on red alert, meaning that the heat is so intense it poses a threat to the whole population, not just groups such as the elderly, the clinically vulnerable and very young children, climbed from 15 to 16.
REad:No respite from heat, with 3rd wave bringing record temperature in Italy
They are Bologna, Campobasso, Florence, Frosinone, Latina, Perugia, Pescara, Rieti, Rome, Viterbo. Bari, Cagliari, Catania, Civitavecchia, Messina and Palermo, Sunday's new entry.
Temperatures are forecast to climb as high as 47° Celsius in areas of southern Sardinia, 45 or 46° in Sicily and 45° in the province of Foggia, in Puglia.
In Rome, which The Times has called "The Infernal City" because of the heat it is suffering, temperatures are expected to reach 37° on Sunday and climb to 42 or 43° on Tuesday.
REad: Climate: 18,000 killed by heat in Italy last summer - study
iLMeteo.it Founder Antonio Sanò said temperatures of over 30° may last until up to midnight in some cases.
Sleeping is a problem, with temperatures not going below 20° during the night.
UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace says he'll quit government and stand down as a lawmaker
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said Sunday he plans to resign at the next Cabinet reshuffle after four years in the job.
Wallace has served as defense secretary under three prime ministers and played a key role in the U.K.'s response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
South Korea to expand support for Ukraine as President Yoon Suk Yeol makes a surprise visit
He told The Sunday Times his departure was due to the strain his job had put on his family. He also said he would stand down as a lawmaker at the next general election.
Wallace is the longest continuously serving minister in government. He was security minister under former Prime Minister Theresa May, before being promoted to defense secretary by her successor Boris Johnson.
MPs’ roundtable seeks UK-Bangladesh joint efforts ahead of COP28
Wallace drew criticism last week when he suggested that Ukraine should show "gratitude" for the West's military support. He made the remark at the NATO summit in Lithuania after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed frustration about when his country could join the military alliance.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak distanced himself from Wallace's comments, saying Zelenskyy had "expressed his gratitude for what we've done on a number of occasions."
Zelenskyy blasts NATO’s failure to set a timetable for Ukraine’s membership as ‘absurd’
No respite from heat, with 3rd wave bringing record temperature in Italy
Italy's third heatwave of the summer is set to arrive on Sunday, bringing record temperatures and immediately replacing the second to deny the nation a moment of respite.
The new heatwave is forecast to peak on Tuesday, when temperatures in areas of southern Sardinian may reach 48° Celsius, according to forecasts.
Read: Nearly 100 die as India struggles with a sweltering heatwave in 2 most populous states
The temperature in Rome is forecast to reach 41°C on Monday and 43° on Tuesday, beating the record of 40.7° set last summer.
Exceptionally high temperatures are also forecast for the rest of the country.
On Saturday 15 major Italian cities are on red alert, meaning that the heat is so intense it poses a threat to the whole population, not just groups such as the elderly, the clinically vulnerable and very young children.
Read: Heatwaves to impact almost every child by 2050: UNICEF report
They are Bologna, Campobasso, Florence, Frosinone, Latina, Perugia, Pescara, Rieti, Rome, Viterbo. Bari, Cagliari, Catania, Civitavecchia and Messina.
Palermo will join them on Sunday.
A study coordinated by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health and published in the Nature Medicine journal this week estimated that over 18,000 people died in Italy due to the intense heat the nation endured last summer.
Scientists say the climate crisis caused by human greenhouse gas emissions is making extreme weather events such as heat waves, drought, supercharged storms and flooding more frequent and more intense.
Turkey's parliament won't ratify Sweden's NATO membership bid before October, Erdogan says
Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Wednesday that Sweden’s NATO membership bid would not be ratified by Turkey’s parliament before October.
He said at a news conference at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, that the process would have to wait until after lawmakers return from a summer recess.
Read: NATO summit boosted by Turkey's decision to end opposition to Sweden's bid to join alliance
“The parliament is not in session for the upcoming two months … but our target is to finalize this matter as swiftly as possible,” he said.
Turkey on Monday withdrew its objections to Sweden joining the alliance, a step toward the unity that Western leaders have been eager to demonstrate in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The decision by Erdogan was a significant move toward Sweden’s membership and came after days of intensive meetings.
Read: Biden’s upcoming European trip is meant to boost NATO against Russia as the war in Ukraine drags on
Finland has already become the 31st member of the alliance, and Sweden is on deck to become the 32nd. Both Nordic countries were historically nonaligned until the war increased fears of Russian aggression.
Read more: NATO again extends Stoltenberg's mandate, happy with a safe pair of hands as the war drags on
Over 30,000 crimes against environment in Italy in 2022
There were 30,686 crimes against the environment in Italy in 2022, an increase of 0.3% with respect to the previous year, Legambiente said Tuesday in its Ecomafia 2023 report.
The environmental association said this worked out at 84 environment crimes a day, or 3.5 an hour.
Climate: 18,000 killed by heat in Italy last summer - study
It said the biggest category of environmental crime regarded illegal building work, with 12,216 felonies last year, 39.8% of the total and a rise of 28.7% on 2021.
Next came crimes against fauna, of which there were 6,481, while illegal-waste-related crimes dropped 33.8% to 5,606.
Italy agrees to lift ban on flights from conflict-stricken Libya after 10 years
The report said revenue generated from environmental crime in Italy was stable at 8.8 billion euros a year.
It added that 67,030 administrative offences were committed against the environment last year, an increase of 13.1% on 2021.
Italy govt okays legal entry of 452,000 foreign workers in 3 years
Climate: 18,000 killed by heat in Italy last summer - study
Over 18,000 people died in Italy due to the intense heat the nation endured last summer, according to a new study.
The study, coordinated by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health and published in the Nature Medicine journal, said that Italy had the highest heat-related death toll in Europe in the summer of 2022, with 18,100 mortalities out of a total of 61,672 for the whole continent.
Read: EU must act to stop migration at source: Italian PM
Spain was second with 11,324 deaths followed by Germany with 8.173.
Europe was hit by a series of intense heatwaves last year that led to drought and devastating wildfires.
The study said the average temperature in Europe was about 2° Celsius above the average for the period last summer.
Read: 10 mn Italians to spend on average 227 euro in summer sales
In France it was 2.43° above average while in Italy it was 2.28° higher.
Scientists say the climate crisis caused by human greenhouse gas emissions is causing extreme weather events such as heat waves, drought, supercharged storms and flooding to be more frequent and more intense.
Ukrainian minister says he fears Russia has 'no red lines' to prevent attacks on nuclear plant
The catastrophic collapse of a dam in southern Ukraine has made Kyiv worried that Russia might stage an attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to foment panic and quell Ukrainian advances on the frontline, Ukraine’s energy minister said Monday.
Herman Halushchenko said the destruction of the dam while under Russian control in the Kherson region proved “there are no red lines” for Moscow. He said it warrants the level of alarm Ukraine’s leadership has been raising in recent weeks of an alleged Russian ploy to attack the nuclear plant in a possible false flag operation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alleged last week, citing intelligence reports, that Russian troops placed “objects resembling explosives” atop several power units to “simulate” an attack. Drone and satellite images obtained by the Associated Press showed unidentified white objects on the roof of the plant’s fourth power unit, but Ukrainian leaders have so far been unable to provide further evidence.
Read: Russian mercenary leader Prigozhin's commanders met Putin after short-lived mutiny, pledged loyalty
While Russia accuses Ukraine of bombarding the Kakhovka dam, Kyiv blames Moscow for the attack on the dam in late May, which triggered a humanitarian crisis and caused widespread ecological devastation. An AP investigation found that Moscow had the means and motive to carry out the attack.
Halushchenko said he and Zelenskyy had raised alarms as early as October 2022 that the Russians could plant mines to blow up the Kakhovka dam.
“For many many people it sounded ridiculous … and when it happened everybody understood that there are no red lines for them,” he said in a sit-down interview with The Associated Press. “And of course it’s all connected to the counter-offensive operation, and after Kakhovka, the one tool which they still have is Zaporizhzhia.”
Read: EU must act to stop migration at source: Italian PM
The nuclear plant was seized by Russia in March 2022, in the first weeks of the war in Ukraine, raising fears of a nuclear accident. Over the past year, Russia and Ukraine repeatedly accused each other of shelling the plant.
Ukraine’s military intelligence has claimed for weeks, without providing evidence, that Russia is planning a “large-scale provocation” at the nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, in the southeast of the country.
Around the same time, Ukraine launched the early phase of its much anticipated counter-offensive last month and has reported steady advances along multiple directions of the 1,500 kilometer (930-mile) frontline. An incident at the plant could halt Ukraine's advance, Zelenskyy has said.
Ukrainian military intelligence reports have said that Russia placed mines on the roof of the nuclear plant, and put remote-controlled and regular anti-personnel mines in technical and machine rooms.
Read: Zelenskyy hails Ukraine's soldiers from a symbolic Black Sea island to mark 500 days of war
Image experts the AP spoke to could not identify the objects that have been seen on the roof.
Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute and satellite image expert, said the objects appeared to be placed on the roof of the unit’s turbine hall, and, if it turns out to be a bomb, is unlikely to cause serious damage to the reactor.
The Russians have cited security concerns in granting only limited access to officials from the International Atomic Atomic Energy Agency. The agency’s Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said recently that the IAEA had recently gained access to more of the site, including the cooling pond and fuel storage areas.
The Ukrainians had said those areas were mined by the Russians, but the IAEA found they were not, Grossi said. The agency has not yet been given access to inspect the roof of the plant.
Haluschenko noted that the IAEA representatives were not able to access the entire site. “So the Russians allowed them to see only what they decided they could see, and that is the problem," he said.
EU must act to stop migration at source: Italian PM
The European Union must take action to stop migration at the source, rather than focusing on sharing out the migrants who get to Europe, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said Monday after meeting Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins in Riga.
"We agreed on the issue of migration," Meloni said after the meeting, on the eve of the NATO summit in Vilnius.
Read: 10 mn Italians to spend on average 227 euro in summer sales
"Latvia has EU external borders (like Italy).
"(It's necessary) to think about primary movements instead of discussing secondary ones. It's easier.
"In order to be addressed in a unanimous way, migration must be managed at the origin.
Read: Italy govt okays legal entry of 452,000 foreign workers in 3 years
"We are diverse nations. Working together to stop illegal immigration, giving equal rights to those who come to live in our countries when the (migrant) flows are managed, is the best way to address this issue".
She said that after the meeting she would visit a camp where 270 Italian troops are working within the framework of the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence mission.
Read: Six die in fire at elderly care home in Milan
"This demonstrates not only the attention that Italy pays to our allies who are on the border, but also how much we believe that, in terms of defence and security, we must be particularly attentive, focused and lucid at this time," she said.
Russian mercenary leader Prigozhin's commanders met Putin after short-lived mutiny, pledged loyalty
July 11 (AP/UNB)--Just five days after staging a short-lived rebellion, mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin 's commanders met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and pledged loyalty to the government, a senior government spokesman said Monday, the latest twist in a baffling episode that has raised questions about the power and influence both men wield.
The three-hour meeting took place June 29 and involved not only Prigozhin but commanders from his Wagner Group military contractor, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Putin gave an assessment of Wagner’s actions on the battlefield in Ukraine — where the mercenaries have fought alongside Russian troops — and of the revolt itself.
“The commanders themselves presented their version of what happened. They underscored that they are staunch supporters and soldiers of the head of state and the commander-in-chief, and also said that they are ready to continue to fight for their homeland,” Peskov said.
The confirmation that Putin met face-to-face with Prigozhin, who led troops on a march to Moscow last month to demand a military leadership change, was extraordinary. Though the Russian leader branded Prigozhin a traitor as the revolt unfolded and vowed harsh punishment, the criminal case against the mercenary chief on rebellion charges was later dropped.
Read: Belarus says Wagner chief who staged mutiny is in Russia, raising questions about Kremlin's strategy
Prigozhin has not commented on the Kremlin meeting, and his ultimate fate remains unclear, particularly since Monday's announcement shows much is negotiated behind closed doors. He could still face prosecution for financial wrongdoing or other charges.
Monday's announcement came as Russia’s Defense Ministry published a video featuring military chief Gen. Valery Gerasimov — who was one of the targets of Prigozhin's rebellion. It was the first time Gerasimov has been seen since the revolt.
In the video, Gerasimov is seated at a table with his team, watching a video report from the chief of staff of Russia’s aerospace forces about a missile attack on Russian territory on Sunday. Gerasimov responds by calling for preemptive strikes against missile bases and for improvements in missile defenses.
The twin updates appeared to be another attempt by the Kremlin to show it’s in control after a turbulent period, and to reflect Putin's delicate balance between condemning the biggest threat to his 23-year rule and the man behind it while not alienating a popular figure whose troops scored the biggest battlefield victory for Russia in the past year of the war.
Former Putin speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov told The Associated Press that Putin acknowledges Prigozhin’s patriotism and needs his forces on the front line, while Prigozhin needs Putin to ensure his freedom from prosecution. The two are negotiating as allies, with Prigozhin escaping punishment, Gallyamov said.
Prigozhin “emerged victorious from this rebellion,” Gallyamov said in a Zoom interview from Tel Aviv. “He has shown himself to be the master of the situation.”
Adding to the unusual nature of the meeting was that until very recently, Putin had denied any link between the state and Prigozhin’s forces. Mercenaries are illegal in Russia, but Wagner troops have fought for Russian interests around the globe and played a vital role in the capture of Bakhmut in the war’s longest and bloodiest battle. Putin has confirmed that Prigozhin's companies operated under government contracts.
Read: Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of preparing imminent attack on Europe's biggest nuclear plant
Throughout the war, Prigozhin has criticized decisions made by Russia’s top military brass, leading to tensions with the Kremlin that culminated in the June 24 mutiny.
The rebellion severely weakened Putin’s authority, even though Prigozhin claimed the uprising was not aimed at the president but at removing Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Gerasimov. Prigozhin called off his mutiny after a deal was brokered for him to go to Belarus.
Mark Galeotti, an author who heads the consulting firm Mayak Intelligence, said the delicate dance with Prigozhin is “a further compromise on Putin’s part and reflects his unwillingness to take tough and ruthless personnel decisions.”
“He is willing to see Ukrainians bombed by the dozen, but not confront any of the figures in his own circle,” Galeotti wrote in The Spectator.
Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, predicted that some Russian observers would be stunned by the turn of events.
“When you look from the point of view of Russian elite, it’s ridiculous,” she told the AP. “It’s just so unbelievable and just so shocking.”
Days after the revolt, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Prigozhin was in Belarus. But last week the president said the mercenary chief was in Russia while his troops remained in their camps.
Read: Putin says Russia is 'united as never before' during Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting
Peskov said that during the June 29 meeting, Putin offered an “assessment” of Wagner’s actions on the battlefield in Ukraine and "of the events of June 24.” The president also “listened to the explanations of the commanders and offered them options for further employment and further use in combat,” the Kremlin spokesman said.
A total of 35 people took part in the meeting, Peskov said. Putin has given options to Prigozhin’s fighters: fight as part of the regular Russian army, retire from service or join Prigozhin in Belarus.
A NATO summit later this week in Lithuania is looking at how to crank up the pressure on Moscow after 16 months of war.
In other developments, a Russian airstrike on a school in southern Ukraine killed seven people as residents gathered to receive humanitarian aid, authorities said, with the governor of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region branding the attack "a war crime.”
Gov. Yuriy Malashko said a guided aerial bomb caused an explosion Sunday at a school in Orikhiv, without providing evidence.
Overall, Russia fired on 10 settlements in the province over the course of a day, he said.
Moscow denies it targets civilian locations. Russia has been accused numerous times of doing so and committing other war crimes since the start of its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
In March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.
Investigations are also underway in Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, located in The Hague, is helping with those probes.
Ukraine has launched a counteroffensive to regain occupied land, and on Monday, the deputy defense minister, Hanna Maliar, reported progress.
She said the country’s fighters had reclaimed 10.2 square kilometers (3.9 square miles) of territory in the south and four square kilometers (1.5 square miles) in the east in the past week. The gains, she said on Telegram, included the commanding heights of Bakhmut, where Prigozhin’s forces declared control of the city in May. None of the claims could be independently verified.
Dutch prime minister says he will leave politics after next election
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the Netherlands’ longest serving premier, said Monday he will leave politics after a general election sparked by his government’s resignation.
His decision means the end of more than 13 years in power for the conservative leader sometimes called Teflon Mark because scandals that plagued his four different administrations did not stick to him.
Rutte, the 56-year-old leader of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, or VVD, announced his decision at a hastily arranged parliamentary debate to discuss the fall of his latest governing coalition.
Read: Dutch premier resigns because of deadlock on thorny issue of migration, paving way for new elections
“Yesterday morning I made a decision that I will not be available again as a leader of the VVD. When a new Cabinet takes office after the elections, I will leave politics,” he said.
Rutte called is a “personal decision, regardless of the developments in recent weeks.”
Rutte’s four-party ruling coalition resigned Friday after failing to agree on a package of measures to rein in migration. He said it was a unanimous decision by the four partner parties prompted by “irreconcilable differences.”
Read: Post-LDC era: Dutch support sought for development journey to continue
There was no immediate indication who might replace Rutte as leader of the VVD. The party's parliamentary faction is led by Sophie Hermans, Rutte's former political assistant.
No date has yet been set for the election, but it is not expected before October or November.
Read more: Dutch electronics giant Philips to cut 6,000 jobs worldwide