By Crispian Balmer and Angelo Amante ROME, March 24 (Reuters) – Giorgia Meloni’s defeat in a justice reform referendum has thrust the Italian leader into the toughest phase of her premiership, with her authority weakened, her reform programme in tatters and no easy way to regain the initiative. The prime minister’s right-wing coalition suffered a…
BEIJING, March 24 – Chinese President Xi Jinping made a rare visit to the ambitious Xiongan project still under construction near Beijing, calling on officials to “throw themselves” into completing a task on which he has staked his name and legacy. Located about 100 km (60 miles) southwest of the capital in the province of…
VILNIUS, March 24 (Reuters) – A military drone that crashed in Lithuania came from Ukraine and was aimed at attacking Russia’s oil exports before going astray, the Baltic country’s government said on Tuesday. Lithuania’s armed forces said on Monday a suspected drone had entered the country’s airspace and crashed into an ice-covered lake some 20…
BERLIN, March 24 (Reuters) – Germany’s foreign minister said on Tuesday that he believed U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement about talks with Iran could mark a turning point in the nearly month-long conflict. “Something is happening, and that’s a good thing in this time when there have been more risks of escalation than possibilities of…
MOSCOW, March 24 (Reuters) – The Kremlin on Tuesday, when asked about a Reuters report that Russia was postponing a plan to boost long-term fiscal reserves, said that the issues were being worked out and that they were being discussed at President Vladimir Putin’s meetings on the economy. Reuters’ sources said on March 23 that…
March 24 (Reuters) – Russia would view any spillover of the Iran conflict into the Caspian Sea “extremely negatively”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. Israel said last week its military had carried out strikes on the Iranian navy in the Caspian, hitting dozens of targets including missile boats. A military spokesperson said Israel…
KYIV, March 24 (Reuters) – Russia launched drones and missiles overnight on Tuesday at Ukraine, killing at least three people, damaging houses and triggering fires, Ukrainian officials said. The attack came as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned on Monday of an imminent, mass Russian attack on the country, citing Ukrainian intelligence. One person was killed and…
WASHINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) – Senior U.S. officials traveled to Kyiv this week for a meeting of the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, with both sides hoping to move forward soon with a first investment project, U.S. and Ukrainian officials said. The fund, established as part of a minerals deal signed between the U.S. and Ukraine…
SEOUL, March 24 (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country would permanently strengthen its nuclear forces and treat South Korea as its most hostile state, as he set out policy priorities in a speech to parliament, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday. Kim said Pyongyang’s status as a nuclear‑armed state was…
March 23 (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that Ukrainian intelligence believed Russian forces were preparing a new, imminent mass attack on the country. Zelenskiy, speaking in his nightly video address, suggested the new attack could occur on Monday, but gave no further details of a time frame or possible targets. “Please pay…