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Italy Early Elections

Italians are casting their ballots in early elections, for the Lower House and the Senate. The elections are forecast to return Italy's most right-wing government since World War Two and usher in its first woman prime minister. A right-wing alliance led by Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy Party appeared on course for a clear victory, when the last opinion polls were published two weeks ago. However, there's been speculation that support for the left-leaning 5-Star Movement has also picked up in recent days. That could jeopardize the rightist alliance's chances of winning a majority in the Senate. But whatever the result, Meloni would be the obvious candidate for premier as leader of the right-wing alliance. The early elections were triggered by party infighting that brought down Prime Minister Mario Draghi's national unity government in July.

UK Iran Envoy Summoned

Iran summoning the British and Norwegian ambassadors in connection with the recent riots in the country. The Foreign Ministry says it called-in the British ambassador to protest the hostile propaganda of London-based Persian-language media against the Islamic Republic. The ministry lodged Tehran’s strong protest with the UK government, saying the media Britain is hosting have been provoking riots in Iran over the past days. The ambassador was told that such measures represent an interference in Iran’s domestic affairs, as well as acts against its national sovereignty. The Norwegian ambassador was also summoned over what the foreign ministry said were meddlesome, false and partial comments by the country’s parliament speaker. The foreign ministry protested to Oslo about such unconstructive remarks, and interference in Iran’s domestic issues.

Referendums on Joining Russia

Four Ukrainian regions are voting for the third day in referendums on joining Russia. The Luhansk and Donetsk self-proclaimed republics in the east, as well as the partly Russian-controlled southern regions of Kherson and Zhaporizhzhia are holding the referendums. The voting will end on Tuesday. Russia says the regions will be under Moscow’s full protection if they vote to join Russia. Russian media reports say the country’s parliament could move to formalize the regions joining Russia within days. But the vote has drawn condemnation from Ukraine and the West. They’ve dismissed the votes as a sham and pledged not to recognize their results. The US has threatened Moscow with swift and severe economic costs over what it calls Moscow’s plan to annex those regions. Moscow says it is up to the residents of the four regions to decide if they want to be part of Russia.

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