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A30 world news
Diaranson 24 augustus 2022

Italy's Meloni slams energy policy as campaign heats up

ers of Italy party, whose symbol bor- populist leader, Giuseppe Conte, wind up being exploited to work for
rows an icon from a neo-fascist party. the former premier who leads the low wages and in poor conditions by
5-Star Movement, sunk the national profit-hungry corporations — em-
She told the crowd of about 1,000 unity government of Premier Mario ployment conditions "that Italians
people in a town square there was a Draghi last month when they refused don't want."
reason why she chose Ancona in It- to back him in a confidence vote.
aly's east-central Marche region for At other public appearances, Meloni
her inaugural rally for Sept. 25 ballot- Often shouting, Meloni proclaimed has slammed what she calls the LG-
ing for Parliament. that the political right is "ready to give BTQ lobby, but she made no men-
"I'm starting in Ancona not by answers to the country that the left tion of that stance at the rally. Still,
chance,'' Meloni said, saying she did hasn't been able to do" for years. her past words have alarmed rights
it so she can remind voters that "we advocates in Italy.
have a class of leaders ready to govern She contended that the European
the country." Union had failed to craft policies that Matteo Marchegiani, leader of the
would ensure available, affordable en- Ancona chapter of Arcigay, a nation-
Introducing Meloni was Marche's ergy supplies. Sky-high energy prices wide advocacy organization, told The
governor, Francesco Acquaroli, elect- "have forced businesses and families Associated Press that he was very
ed in 2020 on the Brothers of Italy down to their knees," Meloni said. worried Meloni and her party could
ticket, one of several local or regional win a majority. Such an election vic-
elections where her party has gained While Salvini and Berlusconi in their tory "could lead to the cancellation of
(AP) — Leading her first elec- popularity in the last years, some- campaigns have called for reactivat- the few civil rights that the LGBTQ
tion campaign rally, Italian far- times at the expense of her right- ing Italy's long-shuttered nuclear community as a civil rights move-
right leader Giorgia Meloni on wing ally, anti-migrant League leader power plants, Meloni at the rally said ment has obtained after decades of
Tuesday slammed the European Matteo Salvini. Italy should exploit gas resources in work and great effort" in Italy, he said.
Union energy's strategy, saying the Adriatic Sea and not just look to
families and businesses are being Meloni's main rival in opinion polls buy gas from countries like Algeria, Italy doesn't permit same-sex mar-
"brought to their knees" by soar- in the last several weeks is Democrat- as Draghi has done, to wean Italians riage. Right-wing and pro-Vatican
ing prices. ic Party leader Enrico Letta, a former from supplies from Russia, given that politicians in recent years have
center-left premier. But while Melo- country's war against Ukraine. thwarted passage of legislation, pro-
Meloni, who has been buoyed for ni has center-right campaign alliances moted by the Democrats, for hate
weeks by opinion polls showing her with both Salvini and with former Meloni has called for naval blockades crime protection for the LGBTQ
leading in her quest to become Ita- Premier Silvio Berlusconi, Letta and in the Mediterranean to foil migrant community.
ly's first female premier and its first his party have failed to forge similarly smugglers from launching unseawor-
far-right government leader, used solid and broad alliances for the cen- thy vessels from Libya toward Italy's A few protesters rallied near the
the evening pep rally in Ancona, an ter-left. shores. Noting most migrants who square where Meloni spoke, with
Adriatic port city, to hammer away at reach Italy that way aren't eligible one of them holding a sign contend-
long-running themes for her Broth- Salvini, Berlusconi and another for asylum, Meloni said they only ing the leader foments hate.

UN nuclear agency again asks to visit Ukraine nuclear plant

(AP) — The U.N. nuclear vasion of Ukraine. Technical the agency experts will con- presidents of Ukraine and Ukraine's President Volody-
agency renewed its re- experts from Ukraine con- firm the real situation at the Turkey, it appeared progress myr Zelenskyy during the
quest Tuesday to assess tinue to operate the nuclear station," Nebenzia said. "We had been made on an IAEA Aug. 18 Lviv meeting.
the safety and security at equipment. stand ready to extend maxi- mission to the plant. But
Europe's largest nucle- DiCarlo called the situa- mum support possible to since then, there had been no "In close contact with the
ar plant in southeastern tion in and around the plant resolve all organizational is- sign of progress until DiCar- IAEA, the U.N. has assessed
Ukraine which Russia "dangerous" and called for sues." lo's announcement. that we have the logistics and
and Ukraine accuse each the withdrawal of all military She told the council that the security capacity in Ukraine
other of shelling, spark- personnel and equipment After last week's high-lev- U.N. chief had discussed the to support any IAEA mis-
ing warnings of a possible from the facility and agree- el meeting in the western issue of the plant's safety dur- sion to the plant from Kyiv,
nuclear catastrophe. ment on a demilitarized zone Ukrainian city of Lviv involv- ing a phone call with Rus- provided Ukraine and Russia
around its perimeter. ing U.N. Secretary-General sian Defense Minister Sergei agree," DiCarlo said.
U.N. political chief Rose- If the almost daily reports "of Antonio Guterres and the Shoigu on Aug. 15 and with
mary DiCarlo announced alarming incidents involving
at the start of an emergency the plant" continue or esca-
meeting of the U.N. Secu- late, DiCarlo warned, "we
rity Council on the situation could face a disaster."
at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear
plant that Rafael Grossi, di- Russia's U.N. Ambassador
rector general of the Interna- Vassily Nebenzia told the
tional Atomic Energy Agen- council that since its last
cy, requested to send an IAEA meeting on the operation
mission "to carry out essential of Zaporizhzhia about two
safety, security and safeguard weeks ago, "the nuclear safety
activities at the site." situation has further deterio-
rated."
DiCarlo said the U.N. has
the logistics and security ca- "The armed forces of Ukraine
pacity in Ukraine "to support continue basically every day
any IAEA mission to the plant to shell the territory of the
from Kyiv, provided Ukraine nuclear power plant and the
and Russia agree." town of Enerhodar and this
creates a real risk of a radia-
The Zaporizhzhia plant has tion accident," he said.
been under the control of "We expect that the IAEA
Russian forces since early trip mission will take place
March, soon after their in- in the very near future and