Gulf

The cabinet must now pass the second confidence test in the senate on Wednesday in order to become fully operative. Ahead of the vote, Meloni outlined the key points of her government's programme, vowing to lead the country as best she can through what she described as some of the toughest times in decades. She also pledged to follow European Union (EU) rules, Xinhua news agency reported.

The official announcement on Friday came after she met President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Presidential Palace here, reports Xinhua news agency. Meloni, 45, received the mandate to form a new cabinet less than a month after her victory in the country's snap election on September 25.

Under a new government decree, buildings will face an extra fifteen days without central heating, the BBC reported. Italians will also be told to turn their heating down by one degree, and off for an extra hour a day. Some buildings will be exempt, including nurseries and hospitals.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a phone conversation with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio, in which the two sides also discussed the latest international developments, bilateral ties and talks on the revival of a 2015 nuclear deal, according to state news media on Wednesday. He further said the two countries agreed on a new roadmap for developing ties during his recent trip to Rome, Xinhua news agency reported.

His new term begins on July 1, 2023, and ends on December 31, 2025, reports Xinhua news agency. Grandi's re-election was adopted by the General Assembly without a vote. Grandi has been UNHCR since January 1, 2016.

As vote counting concluded in 99 per cent of polling stations across the country, nationalist Brothers of Italy was put at 26 per cent of the vote, according to data provided by the Interior Ministry on Monday evening. As such, its leader Giorgia Meloni would most likely become the country's next Prime Minister.

The nationalist Brothers of Italy, led by Giorgia Meloni, was the most voted party garnering 24.7 per cent of the ballots cast on Sunday, according to projections provided by Consorzio Opinio Italia pollster and published by state TV Rai News 24. If confirmed, Meloni would most likely become the first woman to serve as the country's Prime Minister in the most right-wing government Italy has had in some 70 years, reports Xinhua news agency.

Over 50 million Italy citizens, including some 4.7 million living abroad, are eligible to cast their ballots at 61,566 polling stations, which will remain open from 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) to 11 p.m. (2100 GMT) local time, Xinhua news agency reported. They are set to choose the 400 deputies and 200 senators that will form the two houses of the next assembly.

The alliance is made up of the Brothers of Italy, the populist and anti-immigrant Lega led by Salvini, and Forza Italia, led by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. However, of that grouping, the Brothers of Italy are strongest, meaning party leader Giorgia Meloni would have the best chance of replacing Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who resigned last month, triggering turmoil. If the right-wing alliance wins, such a government would be problematic for migration policy and relations with the EU, among other things, after Draghi was seen abroad as a guarantor of stability.

Such "threadbare" GCC statements fail to have any other function but create regional tensions, and are apparently aimed at "neutralising" the outcomes of the Islamic republic's diplomatic move and interactions with neighbours, friendly states and partners, said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh on Thursday.