Italy Sets Jan 24 to Start Voting for New Italian President

FILE PHOTO: General view of the hall during a confidence vote at the Parliament in Rome, Italy, September 9, 2019. REUTERS/Remo Casilli
FILE PHOTO: General view of the hall during a confidence vote at the Parliament in Rome, Italy, September 9, 2019. REUTERS/Remo Casilli
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Italy Sets Jan 24 to Start Voting for New Italian President

FILE PHOTO: General view of the hall during a confidence vote at the Parliament in Rome, Italy, September 9, 2019. REUTERS/Remo Casilli
FILE PHOTO: General view of the hall during a confidence vote at the Parliament in Rome, Italy, September 9, 2019. REUTERS/Remo Casilli

Italy’s lower chamber of Parliament on Tuesday set Jan. 24 as the start date to begin voting for a new president, officially kicking off a campaign that is expected to see Premier Mario Draghi and ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi vie for the prestigious job.

The victor, who is chosen by around 1,000 “big electors" among lawmakers and regional representatives, will replace President Sergio Mattarella, whose seven-year term ends Feb. 3. The voting is expected to last several rounds over several days, The Associated Press said.

The Italian presidency has limited powers and is largely ceremonial. But the president plays a key role in resolving political impasses, which aren't uncommon in Italy. And this election comes before a new season of campaigning before the 2023 parliamentary election.

During Italy's political crisis last year, Mattarella tapped Draghi to lead a government of national unity to help guide the country through the pandemic and secure European Union funding for Italy’s recovery plan.

At his end-of-year news conference, Draghi said he had accomplished what he set out to do, indicating his availability to move into the presidential Quirinale Palace and allow political parties to resume the process of governing.

The center-left Democratic Party, which recently has topped polls with around 20% of voters, has voiced strong support for a Draghi presidency, believing that the internationally respected Draghi would send a signal of continued Italian stability and credibility.

The center-right, which combined far outpolls the PD, has instead rallied behind Berlusconi, the 85-year-old media mogul and three-time premier. Berlusconi, who faced continuous legal problems during three decades in politics, was acquitted by Italy’s highest court in 2015 of charges he paid for sex with an underage prostitute during infamous “bunga bunga” parties.

On Tuesday, Italian news reports said the 5 Star Movement was instead rallying behind a second Mattarella term. There has been no indication that Mattarella, 80, would accept.



Iran's IRGC Detains Two Britons on Spying Charges

Traffic flows through a congested highway in Tehran on January 18, 2025. (AFP)
Traffic flows through a congested highway in Tehran on January 18, 2025. (AFP)
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Iran's IRGC Detains Two Britons on Spying Charges

Traffic flows through a congested highway in Tehran on January 18, 2025. (AFP)
Traffic flows through a congested highway in Tehran on January 18, 2025. (AFP)

Iranian authorities said Tuesday that a British couple, arrested last month by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the country’s southeast, have been charged with espionage and accused of links to Western intelligence services.

Iran’s Judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir said Craig and Lindsay Foreman had entered Iran “posing as tourists” and gathered information before their arrest in Kerman province.

Jahangir also said the pair had been held by the IRGC “over espionage charges.”

The Foremans “had gathered information from several provinces” and were found to be “cooperating with covert institutions linked to the intelligence services of hostile and Western countries,” the spokesman said, according to AFP.

According to the judiciary’s Mizan Online website, the Kerman judiciary chief Ebrahim Hamidi said the couple’s links to foreign intelligence services “has been confirmed.”

BBC said the couple, in their early 50s, were on a motorbike trip around the world when they were detained in January.

Social media posts show the duo crossed into Iran from Armenia in December and were gradually making their way toward Australia.

On Friday, Britain’s Foreign Office confirmed that it was “providing consular assistance to two British nationals detained in Iran” and was in contact with Iranian authorities.

Last Saturday, the couple’s family said they were engaging with relevant authorities to ensure the pair's well-being and safe return home.

Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported last week that British Ambassador Hugo Shorter met with the couple at the Kerman prosecutor’s office.

The agency also published a photo of the meeting, with the couple’s faces blurred.

A statement issued by the British Foreign Office on their family's behalf said: “This unexpected turn of events has caused significant concern for our entire family, and we are deeply focused on ensuring their safety and wellbeing during this trying time.”

The family called it a “distressing situation,” adding: “We are actively engaging with the British government and relevant authorities, working diligently to navigate the complexities of this matter.”

The IRGC have arrested dozens of foreigners and dual nationals in recent years, mostly on espionage and security-related charges.

Human rights groups and some Western countries have accused Iran of trying to win concessions from other nations through arrests on security charges that may have been trumped up. Tehran denies such accusations.

In January 2023, Iran announced the execution of British-Iranian dual citizen Alireza Akbari, prompting outrage among Western governments including Britain, which called it “barbaric.”