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WORLD NEWS Monday 18 July 2022
Pleas pile up in Italy for PM Draghi to rethink exit

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Ukraine, including sending
Associated Press military aid despite grum-
ROME (AP) — Pleas were bling by the populists, has
piling up Sunday in Italy earned him statesman sta-
aimed at persuading Pre- tus in Europe.
mier Mario Draghi to stay in Conte, whose left-leaning
office instead of resigning ruling coalition crumbled in
as he tried to do last week 2021 amid pandemic strug-
after being let down by a gles, over the weekend
populist coalition partner. refused to pledge unwav-
Hundreds of mayors have ering support for Draghi’s
signed an open letter. Union national unity government.
leaders and industrialists, After huddling for hours
who often have oppos- with his squabbling Move-
ing agendas, have been ment, Conte demanded
united in pressing Draghi Italian Premier Mario Draghi addresses the Senate in Rome, that Draghi give the 5-Stars
to keep on governing. Italy Tuesday, June 21, 2022. “guaranteed conditions of
and other European na- Associated Press respect” and said his law-
tions are facing soaring en- 11 mayors, including from who last week rebuffed makers could vote “from
ergy costs, steep inflation, Rome and Milan, but soon Draghi’s resignation, told time to time” in favor of
surging COVID-19 cases gained support from sev- him to lay out the political government measures.
and the war in Ukraine. In eral hundred mayors of situation before lawmakers. Five-Star Sen. Gianmauro
addition, a severe drought cities and towns, state TV Clearly not budging was Dell’Olio insisted Sunday
is parching Italy. said Sunday. The mayors Giuseppe Conte, Draghi’s that if Draghi “wants to of-
By Sunday afternoon — cited the problems of ev- predecessor, who trig- fer us peanuts, I don’t be-
three days after populist eryday citizens as some of gered the crisis by having lieve that it’s opportune for
5-Star Movement senators the “good reasons” Draghi his 5-Star lawmakers walk us to carry on with this gov-
boycotted a confidence should stay put. Financial out of the Senate vote be- ernment.”
vote tied to an govern- markets consider the for- cause it contained a provi- Ultimately, Mattarella must
ment energy relief bill — mer European Central Bank sion to build an incinerator decide what to do if Draghi
more than 80,000 citizens chief as a pillar of solid fis- in trash-choked Rome that on Wednesday insists on re-
had signed a “Draghi stay” cal governance for Italy, the populists oppose. signing.
online petition, launched which is receiving billions in Depending on support from Mattarella could dissolve
by former Premier Matteo European Union pandemic his coalition partners rang- Parliament, triggering an
Renzi, who heads a small recovery funds. ing from the left to the right, early election as soon as
centrist party in Draghi’s If Draghi has been moved Draghi had been forging late September. He could
17-month-old government. by the entreaties, he wasn’t ahead with economic and also see if there is political
“Let’s mobilize ourselves in saying. other reforms that are a support for a limited-agen-
every way to bring back The premier has been holed requirement for Italy to re- da government to stay in
Draghi to Chigi Palace (the up in a countryside home ceive 200 billion euros ($200 place until Italian lawmak-
premier’s office),’’ Renzi mulling over what he’ll tell billion) in EU pandemic re- ers pass the national bud-
tweeted. Parliament on Wednesday. covery funds. get, necessary by year’s
The letter originally grouped President Sergio Mattarella, His steadfast support for end.q

Experts comb cargo

plane crash site in north

Greece; 8 dead

By COSTAS KANTOURIS tween two Greek villages
DEMETRIS NELLAS and late Saturday. The plane
JOVANA GEC crashed shortly before 11
Associated Press p.m. about 40 kilometers
PALAIOCHORI, Greece (25 miles) west of Kavala In-
(AP) — Experts investigat- ternational Airport.
ed a cargo plane crash in Minutes before, the pilot
northern Greece on Sun- had told air traffic control-
day, finding no evidence of lers he had a problem with Debris of an Antonov cargo plane smolders in Palaiochori vil-
dangerous substances but one engine and he had to lage in northern Greece, Sunday, July 17, 2022, after it report-
edly crashed Saturday near the city of Kavala.
saying there’s a lot of ord- make an emergency land- Associated Press
nance that the plane was ing, officials said. He was
carrying spread around the directed to Kavala Airport plosions for two hours after dead. He said the plane
crash site. Serbia’s defense but never made it there. the crash. Drone footage was carrying 11.5 tons of
minister confirmed that all The fuselage of the Soviet- showed that small frag- Serbian-made mortar am-
eight crew members died era four-engine turboprop ments were all that is left of munition to Bangladesh,
in the crash. The An-12 dragged on the ground the plane. Serbian Defense which was the buyer. It had
cargo plane from Serbia for 170 meters (nearly 190 Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic taken off from the Serbian
was being flown by a Ukrai- yards) before it disintegrat- told a news conference city of Nis and had been
nian aviation crew before ed. Locals reported seeing Sunday that the plane’s due to make a stopover in
it smashed into fields be- a fireball and hearing ex- eight crew members were Amman, Jordan. q