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Meloni's shift from anti-globalist to pro-Europe, Biden buddy infuriates base: 'Will not vote for her anymore'

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Meloni's shift from anti-globalist to pro-Europe, Biden buddy infuriates base: 'Will not vote for her anymore'

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with President Biden this week, calling for an end to illegal immigrants amid criticism from her voters that she has strayed from the more hardline stances she supported during her campaign.

“I was just at the White House … and I was reading the comments that were below [my reporting],” Stefano Vaccara, founder of La Voce di New York and U.S. political correspondent for ITALPRESS, told Fox News Digital. “A lot of people were her voters, who were supporting, that were writing ‘I will not vote for her anymore,’” which he said was “because she gets along with Biden.” 

“So you’ve been in a position in the far right party… then you are the Prime Minister of a NATO country and go to the Oval Office … you couldn’t talk anymore like you were talking,” he argued. “She changed completely, so now … I would say if somebody woke up today and just listen to her speech and the way she talks, [they would] think that she is center, center-left.”

Meloni, Italy’s first female prime minister, met with Biden Friday, where they discussed a number of foreign policy issues, including Ukraine, Gaza and migration. Vaccara painted a picture of Meloni as a staunch anti-globalist when on the campaign trail, but once her Brothers of Italy Party, a national-conservative and right-wing populist party, won the election, she assumed a more globalist stance on most issues. 

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“There is a very famous phrase that she said when she was campaigning: I am Giorgia. I am a mother. I am a Catholic, and I am a patriot,” Vaccara said. “That was like a sign of her being very conservative.” 

“In foreign policy, when she was in the opposition, she was really anti-European, she was saying, ‘He’s big [on] bureaucracy, when I am in the government I will see what I will do’ – you know, all these things,” he explained.

President Joe Biden meets with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 1, 2024. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

But after taking power, “she didn’t do anything that she was saying when she was complaining, because she became a very, very stable partner of Europe and also of the United States,” Vaccara said.

German outlet DW questioned how “radical” Meloni has proven to be after taking power in Rome, noting that she has not repeated any of the “more radical slogans she was so fond of while campaigning.” 

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DW acknowledged that Meloni has tried to shape domestic policies around “strict conservative family ideals,” but her economic policy has “more or less carried on” with what her predecessor enacted, and her European policy has proven “almost moderate.” 

Thomas Corbett-Dillon, a U.S.-based political commentator and former adviser to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, warned that Meloni’s shift in stance will continue alienate voters and anticipates a return to her more anti-European and hard-right rhetoric come election time – but too little, too late.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (L) and U.S. President Joe Biden react during the launch of the Global Biofuels Alliance at the G20 summit in New Delhi on September 9, 2023.  (Evelyn Hockstein/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

“The people elected her to be the Italian Trump, it was supposed to be Italy First, instead it has been immigrants and Ukraine first,” Corbett-Dillon told Fox News Digital. “Europeans are absolutely sick of being ignored by these globalists who promise us everything but deliver nothing.”

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“She gave up on every right wing policy and jumped into bed with the globalists,” he said. “If she had done anything that she promised, or acted even slightly like the Italian people elected her to be, she would be seen nowhere near Joe Biden.”

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“Come election time she will suddenly try to shift to the right, but the Italian people see through it,” he added.

During their meeting, Meloni and Biden reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion, and Biden commended Meloni’s leadership in the G7, which started in January, and the European Union to bolster support for Ukraine. 

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, U.S. President Joe Biden, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, are seen at the G7 Declaration of Joint Support for Ukraine on the second day of the 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius, on July 12, 2023, in Vilnius, Lithuania. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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Most strikingly, Meloni said she would support the U.S. role to mediate in the Gaza crisis, reaffirmed a commitment to Israel’s right to self-defense “consistent with international law” and “underscored the urgent need to increase deliveries of life-saving humanitarian aid assistance throughout Gaza,” according to a readout from the White House. 

Meloni has also continued keeping the high level of migrants on Italy’s borders in the media, repeatedly promising to clamp down on unauthorized arrivals from North Africa with harsher immigration laws, restrictions on sea rescue charities and plans to build migrant reception camps in Albania.

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The prime minister last year announced that Italy would deport any foreigners living legally in Italy if they are deemed a threat to public order or national security and any immigrants who lied about their age to benefit from a “protection scheme” reserved for unaccompanied minors. 

At the end of the year, though, Meloni told reporters at a conference that a deal on the E.U.’s Migration and Asylum Pact partially improved the situation for Italy and other asylum countries, but does not represent a solution to the ever-increasing migrant arrivals. 

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“What needs to be done in Africa is not charity,” she said. “What needs to be done in Africa is to build cooperation and serious strategic relationships as equals, not predators.”

Meloni also stressed the need “to defend the right not to have to emigrate … and this is done with investments and a strategy.” 

Italy outlined its proposed strategy in Africa in the so-called Mattei Plan — named after Enrico Mattei, founder of state-controlled oil and gas giant Eni — which seeks to tackle education and training, agriculture, health, water and energy development. 

The aim is to make Italy an energy hub to transport natural gas supplies from Africa to the rest of Europe, with Italian energy major Eni set to play a key role in the initiative.

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The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.  

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Patriots rookie RB Tre’Veyon Henderson sidelined against Ravens with head injury

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Patriots rookie RB Tre’Veyon Henderson sidelined against Ravens with head injury

BALTIMORE (AP) — New England running back Tre’Veyon Henderson left Sunday night’s game at Baltimore in the second quarter with a head injury.

Henderson was slow getting up after a carry in Baltimore territory. He was able to walk off the field, but then headed to the tunnel a short time later. He was later ruled out.

Henderson entered the game with 773 yards rushing and is a Rookie of the Year candidate after teaming up with Drake Maye to help the Patriots close in on a playoff berth. He had touchdown runs of 52 and 65 yards in last week’s loss to Buffalo.

He had just 3 yards on five carries before exiting against Baltimore.

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Iran executes man convicted of spying for Israeli intelligence

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Iran executes man convicted of spying for Israeli intelligence

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Iranian officials executed a man over the weekend who was convicted of spying for Israel’s intelligence arm and its army, according to state media.

The man was Aghil Keshavarz, who was put to death on Saturday, state media reported.

Keshavarz, 27, had “close intelligence cooperation” with the Mossad — the national intelligence agency for Israel — and captured photos of Iranian military and security areas, according to state media.

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Iran executed Aghil Keshavarz, 27, after he was convicted of spying for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. (Getty Images)

Keshavarz was arrested in May while taking pictures of a military headquarters in the city of Urmia, located about 371 miles northwest of Iran’s capital of Tehran.

He was accused of engaging in more than 200 similar assignments for the Mossad in various Iranian cities, including Tehran.

Keshavarz was tried and sentenced to death in connection with the spying accusations. The country’s Supreme Court later upheld the sentence, according to state media.

Smoke rises from the building of Iran’s state-run television after an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, on June 16, 2025.  (AP Photo)

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Iran has executed 11 people for espionage since a 12-day air conflict in June that was kicked off by Israel, killing roughly 1,100 people in Iran, including military commanders and nuclear scientists. Iran countered with a missile barrage that killed 28 people in the Jewish State.

In October, Iran executed an unknown person convicted of spying for Israel’s intelligence agency in the city of Qom.

IRAN HANGS A MAN CONVICTED OF SPYING FOR ISRAEL

A police officer stands guard as demonstrators wave flags and cheer during a gathering following the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, on June 24, 2025, in Tehran, Iran. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

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Various others have been executed in Iran in recent years before the June conflict on allegations of spying for the Mossad, including multiple earlier this year.

Iran routinely conducts closed-door trials of people accused of espionage, with the suspects often unable to access the evidence prosecutors used against them in their case.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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EU plans to raise €90 billion in joint debt for Ukraine — here’s how

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EU plans to raise €90 billion in joint debt for Ukraine — here’s how

Reparations loan is out, joint debt is in. That is the agreement that the 27 leaders of the European Union reached at their make-or-break summit this week.

With the reparations loan ruled out for good, the bloc turns to common borrowing to raise €90 billion to meet Ukraine’s budgetary and military needs for the next two years.

It is a simpler, faster and more predictable solution compared to the high-risk scheme of using the immbolised Russian assets. But joint debt is expensive, and immediately so.

Here’s what you need to know about the plan.

Back to the markets

Since neither the EU nor its member states have €90 billion at their disposal at the moment, the European Commission will go to the markets and raise the money from scratch by issuing a mix of short-term and long-term bonds.

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The €90 billion will be gradually dolled out to ensure a steady flow of assistance to Ukraine, which needs a fresh tranche as early as April. The country will be able to use the funds for both military and budgetary purposes for greater flexibility.

In the meantime, the EU budget will absorb the interest rates to spare Ukraine, already heavily indebted, from any additional burden. The Commission estimates that, under current rates, the interest payments will amount to €3 billion per year. This means the next EU budget (2028-2034) will have to make space for about €20 billion.

Member states will share the interest according to their economic weight. Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Poland will carry the highest costs.

According to Commission officials, the €90 billion will not count towards domestic levels of debt because the issuance will be done exclusively at the EU level.

Forever roll-over

Under a non-recourse loan agreement, Ukraine will be asked to pay back the €90 billion only after Russia ceases its war of aggression and agrees to pay war reparations.

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Given that Moscow has emphatically ruled out the possibility of any compensation, the Commission is already prepared to roll out the liability over time so that Ukraine does not have to pay out of pocket, which will be painful after suffering so much devastation.

“The assumption is, today it’s a non-recourse loan to Ukraine that is only paid back when reparations are there, and therefore this debt is going to be rolled over up until then,” a senior Commission official explained.

But will the roll-over continue for eternity?

That seems unlikely. At some point in the future, the EU will have to settle the fate of the €90 billion to stop paying interest rates. The go-to method will be the EU budget, which will act as the ultimate guarantor to ensure investors are always paid back.

The three opt-outs

The reason why joint debt for Ukraine is now possible is that, as first reported by Euronews during the summit, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic agreed to refrain from vetoing in exchange for being exempted.

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This is key because under current rules, the EU budget cannot be used to raise money for a non-EU country. Any changes to that effect will require unanimous approval.

Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic will commit to that unanimity. In return, the bloc will activate the so-called “enhanced cooperation” mechanism to spare them from any costs and responsibilities associated with the €90 billion.

The other 24 countries will take over their share of the interest. But the change will be minimal because the three opt-outs only amount to 3.64% of the bloc’s GNI.

The exemption will also be institutional. Once the budget rules are amended and the “enhanced cooperation” is triggered, the three countries will lose their voting rights to approve the regulation that will establish the new assistance programme.

In practice, they will be strictly removed from the initiative.

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Strings attached

The Commission intends to recycle the now-discarded proposal of the reparations loan to set up the €90 billion common borrowing.

As a result, Ukraine will be subject to the same conditions to receive the funds.

One of them is a “no rollback” clause that will link the aid to the anti-corruption measures that Kyiv must implement to advance in its EU accession bid. The country was recently shaken by a corruption scandal in the energy sector that precipitated numerous resignations, including that of Andriy Yermak, President Zelenskyy’s chief of staff.

If Kyiv takes a step back on the fight against corruption, as it briefly did in the summer when it undermined the independence of two anti-corruption agencies and prompted widespread protests, payments will be suspended.

There will also be safeguards to strengthen oversight on how Ukraine allocates defence contracts, which have been a source of controversy in the past.

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Additionally, there will be “Made In Europe” criteria to ensure the €90 billion fosters Ukraine’s and Europe’s domestic defence industries. Only when the equipment is not readily available on the continent will purchases outside Europe be allowed.

Assets still on the table

Resorting to joint debt means the cash balances from the Russian assets will not be touched, as was originally planned in the reparations loan.

However, in their conclusions, EU leaders say they reserve “the right” to tap the assets, or at least try, sometime in the future, as a way to repay the €90 billion borrowing.

“For me, it’s very difficult and very premature today to say how this will be translated in actual terms,” a senior Commission official said when asked about the meaning.

“I think the message is pretty political, which is to say that the option to use the cash balance assets of the Russian Central Bank is not off the table.”

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The addition of the assets into the final wording is considered a way to placate those countries that were most vocally supportive of the reparations loan, particularly Germany, and had publicly ruled out the idea of common borrowing.

President Zelenskyy hailed the decision as an “important victory” for his country.

“Without these funds, it would be very difficult for us. In any case, this is tied to Russian reparations,” he said. “For us, this is a reinforcement. It is a signal to the Russians that there is no point for them to continue the war because we have financial support, and therefore, we will not collapse on the front line. We will support our army and our people.”

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