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Trump Calls Italy’s Meloni a ‘Nice Person’ but Blames Her for Not Helping with Iran

President Donald Trump greets Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during summit to support ending the more than two-year Israel-Hamas war in Gaza after a breakthrough ceasefire deal, Oct. 13, 2025, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. (AP)
President Donald Trump greets Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during summit to support ending the more than two-year Israel-Hamas war in Gaza after a breakthrough ceasefire deal, Oct. 13, 2025, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. (AP)
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Trump Calls Italy’s Meloni a ‘Nice Person’ but Blames Her for Not Helping with Iran

President Donald Trump greets Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during summit to support ending the more than two-year Israel-Hamas war in Gaza after a breakthrough ceasefire deal, Oct. 13, 2025, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. (AP)
President Donald Trump greets Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during summit to support ending the more than two-year Israel-Hamas war in Gaza after a breakthrough ceasefire deal, Oct. 13, 2025, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. (AP)

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday called Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni a "nice person" but criticized her for failing to help in the conflict with Iran, his latest remarks in a diplomatic dispute that is straining bilateral ties.

Meloni was once seen as a close ally of Trump, but the relationship faltered last month when he told Italian TV channel La7 that she had "begged" him to take a photo with her at a G7 summit in France.

She denied the claim and accused him of fabricating the story.

She had criticized ‌him this year ‌for lashing out at Pope Leo over his condemnation of ‌the ⁠Iran war. That, ⁠in turn, prompted a blunt rebuke from the US president, who denounced her for refusing to help re-open the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said his relationship with Meloni "became a little bad because she refused to help us" with Iran.

"She refused to get involved so it soured my relationship with her a little bit. But I like her. I think she's a nice person, actually. But I think she made a mistake," Trump told reporters in Türkiye where ⁠he was attending a NATO summit.

In March, Italy denied permission ‌for US military aircraft to land at the Sigonella ‌air base in Sicily before heading to the Middle East because Washington had not sought ‌prior authorization from the government in Rome.

The US leader had been asked about a ‌picture he posted on Truth Social at the weekend, showing Meloni looking up at him with the caption "RESTRAINING ORDER NEEDED", a move that reignited the dispute with the Italian prime minister ahead of the NATO gathering in Ankara they will both attend.

SAY HELLO 'WITH A SMILE'

During the conflict with Iran, ‌Trump lashed out at other European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz who also criticized the war.

Yet, Trump's reprimand was a painful ⁠blow for Meloni, ⁠who had initially tried to forge a close relationship with him leveraging their shared right-wing political outlook. She was the only European leader to attend his inauguration in 2025.

The Italian government chose not to respond to the latest attack on Truth Social, with ministers pledging to avoid fueling tensions that could harm bilateral ties.

"Trump speaks for himself. We have a US president who loves to provoke, especially on social media. We have decided to stop responding to these remarks," Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told La Stampa newspaper on Tuesday.

Meloni's office declined to comment on how she would behave when meeting Trump in Ankara.

A source close to her, who declined to be named, ruled out the possibility that she would snub Trump, saying she knew how to handle such situations and could instead greet him "with a smile".

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World

Iran Executes Two Men Linked to Anti-govt Protests

Iranians protest to halt the implementation of the death penalty (file - Reuters).
Iranians protest to halt the implementation of the death penalty (file - Reuters).
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Iran Executes Two Men Linked to Anti-govt Protests

Iranians protest to halt the implementation of the death penalty (file - Reuters).
Iranians protest to halt the implementation of the death penalty (file - Reuters).

Iran's judiciary said two men were executed on Monday for involvement in the deaths of four police officers during anti-government protests that peaked in January.

Authorities accused them of murdering the officers in the central city of Isfahan during protests that began in the capital Tehran in December over economic grievances before spreading nationwide.

The movement rapidly evolved into large anti-government rallies that peaked on January 8 and 9, causing unprecedented destruction and thousands of deaths.

"Alireza Sepahi and Alireza Raissi were hanged this morning after the Supreme Court upheld the verdict," the judiciary's Mizan Online website said, without specifying the dates of their arrest or trial, AFP reported.

The court had sentenced the two men, whose ages were not given, to death "for membership in an armed group and undermining national security", Mizan added.

Iranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths in the unrest, attributing the violence to "terrorist acts" orchestrated by the United States and Israel.

Foreign-based NGOs, citing much higher death tolls, maintain however that Iranian security forces fired on protesters.

The number of executions in Iran has risen since the start of the Middle East war, which was triggered in late February by US-Israeli strikes.

In 2025, Iran executed at least 1,639 people, the largest number in any year since 1989, according to the NGOs Iran Human Rights and Together Against the Death Penalty.

Amnesty International says Iran carries out more executions than any country except China.

On Saturday, Iran announced the execution of another man convicted of a raft of charges including firing a military-grade weapon at police officers during the protests.

World

Hundreds of French Schools Stay Closed ahead of Nationwide Day of Student Protests

A pedestrian walks past damage in the aftermath of clashes occurred between riot police and demonstrators during a high school students' protest against education conditions in Paris, France, 02 October 2026. EPA/Firas Abdullah
A pedestrian walks past damage in the aftermath of clashes occurred between riot police and demonstrators during a high school students' protest against education conditions in Paris, France, 02 October 2026. EPA/Firas Abdullah
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Hundreds of French Schools Stay Closed ahead of Nationwide Day of Student Protests

A pedestrian walks past damage in the aftermath of clashes occurred between riot police and demonstrators during a high school students' protest against education conditions in Paris, France, 02 October 2026. EPA/Firas Abdullah
A pedestrian walks past damage in the aftermath of clashes occurred between riot police and demonstrators during a high school students' protest against education conditions in Paris, France, 02 October 2026. EPA/Firas Abdullah

Hundreds of French high schools will begin a second week of closures on Monday as protests over dilapidated schools and classrooms, overcrowding and teacher shortages precede a nationwide day of demonstrations on Tuesday.

The nationwide demonstrations and blockades underline a fraught social atmosphere as France's government embarks on trying to pass a deficit-narrowing 2027 budget. France's 10-year bond yield briefly topped 5% last week, its highest since 2002, as the protests compounded investor concerns over the country's fiscal outlook, said Reuters.

About 400 to 500 high schools are expected to remain completely or partially closed on Monday ‌in France, ‌out of a total of 3,700, Education Minister Edouard Geffray said on Sunday ‌evening, Reuters said.

The ⁠protests began in ⁠late September at a high school in a Paris suburb over teacher shortages before spreading nationwide.

"Our priority is to restore order," government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon told CNews television on Monday.

Geffray said that 24 schools had been burned or ransacked and that 78 teaching staff had been injured since the beginning of the demonstrations.

POLICE AND STUDENTS CLASH, TEAR GAS USED

On Monday, BFMTV showed images of police and students clashing in Lille in northern France, tear gas being used in Toulouse in the southwest and of ⁠a fire being lit as people tried to break into a school ‌in central Paris.

Carole Zerbib, head of the vandalized Lycee ‌Vauquelin in the 13th district of Paris, said her school had been attacked by a "very determined" group ‌wearing hoods and masks who tried to break through the school's entrance door and then ‌lit a fire.

Police and firefighters quickly put out the fire and the school was evacuated and classes suspended.

"It was very violent and happened very quickly," she said, adding that the attack lasted 15-20 minutes.

"It was terrible for students who witnessed this outburst of violence," she said, adding those behind the attack on her school ‌were not students of the school.

Since last Monday, around 5,000 people, mostly teenagers, have been arrested nationwide and dozens injured. Teachers and members of ⁠the public have ⁠been attacked, while damage to property is estimated in the tens of millions of euros.

Bregeon said the French government would fast-track a bill in parliament on October 27 to make those found to have damaged property during protests financially liable.

Paris police chief Patrice Faure, in an open letter published on X on Saturday, said those who had launched the protests no longer controlled them and called on students to abandon blockades in favor of peaceful protest.

Student unions have nevertheless called for a national day of demonstrations on Tuesday. Security officials fear that an organised protest in central Paris in particular could see further violence amid concerns that far-left and anarchist groups could try to take over the protests.

CGT union head Sophie Binet told TF1 television on Monday that CGT union members will attend Tuesday's demonstrations "to protect high school students."

"We've been appalled by what we have seen over the past 10 days and by the unprecedented crackdown that the government has organized against the protests by high school students," she said.

World

Israeli Officials: Co-pilot Planned Flydubai Attack before Joining Airline

30 September 2026, Israel, Tel Aviv: A replacement Flydubai plane lands at Ben Gurion Airport. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/dpa
30 September 2026, Israel, Tel Aviv: A replacement Flydubai plane lands at Ben Gurion Airport. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/dpa
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Israeli Officials: Co-pilot Planned Flydubai Attack before Joining Airline

30 September 2026, Israel, Tel Aviv: A replacement Flydubai plane lands at Ben Gurion Airport. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/dpa
30 September 2026, Israel, Tel Aviv: A replacement Flydubai plane lands at Ben Gurion Airport. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/dpa

The flydubai co-pilot who stabbed his captain in a suspected attempt to crash the plane has told UAE interrogators he planned the attack before he was hired by the Dubai state-owned airline, according to two Israeli officials with knowledge of the probe.

A third source briefed on the UAE probe said the co-pilot, an Omani national, had planned to crash last Wednesday's flight into Ben-Gurion airport near Tel Aviv. He had also operated a flight to Tel Aviv earlier this year and intended to hijack and crash the plane then, but opted not to, the source added.

It was not immediately clear why the co-pilot changed his mind on that previous flight, although the co-pilot ‌is thought to have ‌known someone onboard, the source said.

All of the sources spoke on condition of ‌anonymity ⁠to discuss the investigation.

The co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073, which had been bound for Israel from Dubai, attacked the pilot with an emergency crash axe, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general has said, calling the incident a "terrorist attack".

Two sources have said the co-pilot is an Omani national named Hamam al-Hammami. Israeli officials have not named the co-pilot but have said he is from Oman. UAE authorities and flydubai have not publicly disclosed the co-pilot's identity.

The UAE has ⁠not announced any formal charges against him and it is not known if he ‌has appointed legal counsel. Oman has not commented on the incident.

The two Israeli officials said the co-pilot told interrogators that he had applied for ‌a job at Dubai state-owned flydubai after searching for airlines that fly to Tel Aviv.

A multi-agency Australian counterterrorism unit is also investigating links to Australia of the co-pilot, who was once enrolled at RMIT University in Melbourne, Victoria. A fourth source said the co-pilot had studied there around a decade ago.

Disaster on board flight FZ1073 was averted after passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot. The pilot, Indian national Smit Machchhar, survived the attack and has been hailed as a hero for managing to open the cockpit door. The plane was carrying more than 170 passengers and crew, most of them Israeli.

A reserve flydubai pilot travelling on the ‌flight took control of the aircraft and landed it at a regional airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where the co-pilot was detained by Saudi authorities and later transferred ⁠to the UAE on Thursday.