Day: September 27, 2022

ROME -- A party with neo-fascist roots won the most votes in Italy’s national election, setting the stage Monday for talks to form the country's first far right-led government since World War II, with Giorgia Meloni at the helm as Italy’s first female premier. Italy’s lurch to the far right immediately shifted Europe’s geopolitics, placing Meloni's euroskeptic Brothers of Italy in a position to lead a founding member of the European Union and its third-largest economy. Italy’s left warned of “dark days” ahead and vowed to keep Italy in the heart of Europe. Right-wing leaders across Europe immediately hailed 45-year-old Meloni’s victory as sending a historic, nationalist message to Brussels. It followed a right-wing victory in Sweden and recent gains by the far-right in France and Spain. ...

BRUSSELS -- Belgium's justice minister remained under strict protection Monday after four people suspected of taking part in a plot by alleged drug criminals to kidnap him were arrested in the Netherlands. Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne said in a message on social media that he is “safe and in good hands" but will have to skip some activities in the coming days. In a video message relayed by broadcaster RTBF, Van Quickenborne said he was told by the country's federal prosecutor that he was the target of a kidnapping plot and that the suspects would soon be extradited to Belgium. The minister mentioned the “drugs mafia.” Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said the threat against Van Quickenborne is “purely unacceptable." “Let me be clear: We will not be intimidated by anyone," ...

SAO PAULO -- Brazilian police said on Monday that a 39-year-old supporter of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was stabbed to death in a bar amid rising concern about political violence in a tense presidential campaign. The newspaper O Povo reported that witnesses told police a man entered a bar in the city of Cascavel on Saturday and asked who was voting for da Silva in the Oct. 2 election. A man said, “I will,” and then was stabbed. He died in hospital the same day. A Ceara state police official confirmed the report Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity due to a lack of authorization to comment. Police earlier issued a statement saying the man was killed due to a “political discussion” and said a 59-year-old suspect named Edmilson Freire da Silva had been arrested. The s...

American ski mountaineer Hilaree Nelson is reportedly missing after attempting to ski down Manaslu in Nepal, North Face, her sponsor, confirmed to ABC News. Nelson was on the eighth highest peak in the world along with her partner, Jim Morrison, when she went missing just below the summit, North Face said, according to reports. They had reached the true summit late Monday morning, Outside magazine reported the managing director of the guiding company they were with said. The Himalayan Times reported eyewitnesses said she fell into a crevasse. At 26,781 feet, Manaslu is a difficult peak for rescue efforts. Further hindering efforts is bad weather on the mountain, according to the Himalayan Times and Outside.This comes as an avalanche caused tragedy lower down on the mountain. One person ...

HAVANA -- Hurricane Ian was growing stronger as it barreled toward Cuba on a track to hit Florida’s west coast as a major hurricane as early as Wednesday. Ian was forecast to hit the western tip of Cuba as a major hurricane and then become an even stronger Category 4 with top winds of 140 mph (225 km/h) over warm Gulf of Mexico waters before striking Florida. As of Monday, Tampa and St. Petersburg appeared to be the among the most likely targets for their first direct hit by a major hurricane since 1921. “Please treat this storm seriously. It’s the real deal. This is not a drill,” Hillsborough County Emergency Management Director Timothy Dudley said at a news conference on storm preparations in Tampa. Authorities in Cuba were evacuating 50,000 people in Pinar del Rio province, sent in ...