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By Alvise Armellini and Angelo Amante, Reuters Gennaro Sangiuliano Photo: AFP / ANDREAS SOLARO Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano quit after a controversy over a consultancy role for his former mistress had become an embarrassment for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government. Sangiuliano, a 62-year-old former journalist, had faced a media storm since self-proclaimed fashion entrepreneur Maria Rosaria Boccia said last month she had been nominated "adviser to the minister for major events". The culture ministry initially denied such an appointment, but Sangiuliano later explained he had agreed to take her on as an unpaid consultant before changing his mind due to conflict of interest. "I deem it necessary for the institutions and for myself to hand in my resignation," Sangi...

Donald Trump and Dick Cheney. Photo: AFP By Kanishka Singh and Steve Holland, Reuters Republican former Vice President Dick Cheney says he will vote for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris over Republican former President Donald Trump in the 5 November US elections, following a similar statement made by his daughter Liz Cheney this week. Why it's important Trump and Harris are locked in a tight race for the 5 November vote and face off in a debate next week. Some Republicans upset with Trump's control over their party and his actions have recently thrown support behind Harris, including dozens of former staffers of former Presidents George HW Bush and George W Bush. Context Dick Cheney served as vice president under Republican President George W Bush from 2001 till 2009. He ...

By Minh Nguyen and Thinh Nguyen, Reuters Trees were uprooted in the coastal city of Haiphong. Photo: AFP / Yang Guanyu Super Typhoon Yagi, Asia's most powerful storm this year, made landfall in northern Vietnam on Saturday, the meteorological agency said, after tearing through China's southern island of Hainan where it reportedly killed two people and injured dozens. Yagi, the world's second-most powerful tropical cyclone in 2024, has already killed at least 16 people in the Philippines, having formed east of the archipelago earlier in the week. As it hit island districts of north Vietnam around 1pm local time on Saturday, it generated winds of up to 160km/h near its centre, having lost power from its peak of 234 km/h in Hainan a day earlier. Vietnam's coastal city of Haiphong, an in...

Sergio Mendes Photo: AFP / ROBYN BECK Brazilian musician Sergio Mendes, who brought bossa nova to international audiences in the 1960s, died on Friday at the age of 83 in Los Angeles, his family said. In a statement posted on his website, the family said Mendes, who had been suffering from the effects of long Covid, died peacefully surrounded by his wife and children. One of the most successful Brazilian artists internationally, Mendes recorded more than 35 albums, many of which went gold or platinum. A three-time Grammy award winner and Oscar nominee, Mendes last performed in November 2023 to sold out and wildly enthusiastic houses in Paris, London and Barcelona. Mendes leaves "an incredible musical legacy from more than six decades of a unique sound first showcased by his band Brasil ...

By Ricardo Brito, Luciana Magalhaes and Luana Maria Benedito, Reuters Photo: MIGUEL SCHINCARIOL A preliminary report into the August crash of an airliner in Brazil found signs of ice buildup on the plane but no definite cause for the accident, the country's Centre for Research and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (Cenipa) said. The document pointed out that icing detectors had been activated on airline Voepass' aircraft, and a Cenipa official told a press conference that cockpit recordings showed the copilot said there was "a lot of icing" during the flight. According to investigators, that comment indicates that the plane's de-icing system might have failed, but Cenipa said that information still needed to be confirmed. Three experts interviewed by Reuters suggested that icing ...

By Ali Sawafta, Reuters Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was taking part in a protest against Jewish settlement expansion in the town of Beita, in the occupied West Bank Photo: Supplied / International Solidarity Movement Israeli troops shot and killed a Turkish-American woman who had been taking part in a protest against settlement expansion in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Friday local time, Palestinian and Turkish officials said. The White House said it was deeply disturbed by the death of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi and called on Israel to investigate. Turkey's foreign ministry said she was shot in the head, and blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government for her death. Palestinian officials described her as a 26-year-old activist from Seattle who held US and Turkish citizenship. Eygi had r...

By Ali Sawafta, Reuters Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was taking part in a protest against Jewish settlement expansion in the town of Beita, in the occupied West Bank Photo: Supplied / International Solidarity Movement Israeli troops shot and killed a Turkish-American woman who had been taking part in a protest against settlement expansion in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Friday local time, Palestinian and Turkish officials said. The White House said it was deeply disturbed by the death of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi and called on Israel to investigate. Turkey's foreign ministry said she was shot in the head, and blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government for her death. Palestinian officials described her as a 26-year-old activist from Seattle who held US and Turkish citizenship. Eygi had r...

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 06: Taylor Fritz of the United States celebrates after defeating Frances Tiafoe of the United States in their Men's Singles Semifinal match on Day Twelve of the 2024 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 06, 2024 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Sarah Stier/Getty Images/AFP Photo: SARAH STIER Taylor Fritz survived an epic fight against American compatriot Frances Tiafoe 4-6 7-5 4-6 6-4 6-1 to reach his first major final at the US Open. The home fans packed Arthur Ashe Stadium for the all-American semi-final, where 12th seed Fritz used his monster serve to his advantage, closing out the match with one of 16 aces. Tiafoe got off to a terrific start but gradually ran out of energy and had no...

By Joshua McElwee, Reuters Pope Francis in Papua New Guinea. Photo: PNG Government Pope Francis called for better treatment of workers in Papua New Guinea, a nation of some 600 islands in the Southwestern Pacific that has become a major target of international companies for its gas, gold and other reserves. In a speech to political authorities in the country, which is home to hundreds of tribal groups and more than 800 spoken languages, the 87-year-old Catholic pontiff also made a heartfelt appeal for an end to a spate of ethnic violence that has killed dozens in recent months. The pope, visiting as part of an ambitious 12-day trip to four countries, said PNG's natural resources were "destined by God" for the whole community. "Even if outside experts and large international companies...