News from Italy
The News: Short Weekly World Tour
– France: Elisabeth Borne has been appointed to replace Jean Castex, who has resigned as prime minister in France. (May 16, 2022)
– Culture and Art – Cannes Film Festival: the Cannes Film Festival started, which ran from May 17th to May 28th.
– NATO – Finland and Sweden: both countries have applied for official NATO membership. (May 18, 2022)
– NATO – Turkey: The President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated his opposition to the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO. For a country to join NATO, the votes of all member states are required.
– NATO – Russia: The Russian Defense Ministry has announced that 12 new military units will be created in the Western military region against the threat of NATO. (May 20, 2022)
– NATO – Finland: A company in Finland has produced a special beer to celebrate the Scandinavian country’s application for NATO membership. The name of the beer is Finnish “Otan olta”, which means “I’ll have a beer”. OTAN also stands for the French abbreviation for NATO. The can of Olaf Brewing beer bears the NATO compass symbol and a medieval knight in metal armour. (May 20, 2022)
– USA – Ukraine: The package of military, economic and humanitarian emergency aid worth about 40 billion dollars was welcomed in the Senate with 86 votes in favour and 11 against and was submitted for signature by US President Joe Biden. (May 20, 2022) US President Joe Biden approved the package, so the total amount of US aid approved for Ukraine exceeded $ 50 billion. (May 21, 2022)
– Russia – USA: Moscow has responded to the sanctions imposed by the USA on Russia. Russia has imposed an “entry ban” on a total of 963 US citizens, including US President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) United States William Burns and other officials. (May 21, 2022)
– Energy – Russia / Finland: Russia has cut off the flow of gas to Finland. Finland, on the other hand, has stated that its gas supply is in balance and has announced that it will meet its needs from the Estonian gas network. (May 21, 2022)
– Russia – US-EU-NATO: The Russian Defense Ministry announced that a large shipment of weapons sent from the West to Kyiv was destroyed by long-range missiles in northwestern Ukraine. Russia will not allow foreign countries to supply arms to Ukraine, stating that “any cargo entering the territory of Ukraine that we believe contains weapons will be a legitimate target”. (May 21, 2022)
– Energy – Germany: Germany has reduced transport fares for buses, trams and trains to 9 euros per month to encourage the use of public transport in the face of rising oil prices. The monthly passes will be valid in all cities. (May 21, 2022)
– Australian elections: the era of Conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrisson for 9 years is over. New Leading Prime Minister of the Labor Party Anthony Albanese (May 21, 2022)
– Monkeypox virus: the virus, present in many European countries, has arrived from America to Canada, Australia and Israel. Statements from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that the epidemic will increase due to the holidays and festivals held in the summer. (May 22, 2022)
– Afghanistan: Taliban officials, who forced Afghan women to wear burqas outside, also asked women who showed up on television to cover their faces. And he said: “May 21 is the last day without a burqa.” On May 22, 2022, female speakers with a burka appeared on the screen.
– EU – Ukraine: French Minister of State for European Affairs Clement Beaune announced that it could take 15-20 years for Ukraine to join the EU. “May 22, 2022)
– Davos: The World Economic Forum (WEF), which was cancelled for 2 years due to the coronavirus outbreak, has started in Davos, Switzerland. This year Russia was not invited to the Forum, which will last 4 days, with the participation of over 100 country representatives. (May 22, 2022)
– Earthquake: A 6.1 magnitude earthquake occurred in the Philippine province of Batangas. While the quake was felt in Manila, Bulacan and Oriental Mindoro provinces, no loss of life or property was reported. (May 22, 2022)
– Earthquake: A 5.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in Fukushima province in northeastern Japan (May 22, 2022).
– Culture Art – Ukraine: As the war between Russia and Ukraine, which began on February 24, continues, the Ukrainian National Theater of Opera and Academic Ballet in the capital Kyiv has already started to work. (May 22, 2022)