ASU Italian Professor Talks Meloni and Russia's Sham Acquisition
Pacey Smith-Garcia, Kevinjonah Paguio, Mia Osmonbekov, Boi Ngoc Thai, Jeremy Yurow, Fiona Flaherty, Dr. Chiara Dal Martello
Friday, Sept. 30, 2022
In this broadcast, we talked about the elections in the Republic of Italy and the referendums run by the Russian Federation in occupied Ukrainian territory.
Giorgia Meloni, a member of the right-wing Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) party, is on her way to become the country's first female prime minister. In lieu of this, the country will also have its most right-wing government since the Second World War. The panel is joined by Chiara Dal Martello, principal lecturer in Italian at Arizona State University, to give context on the country's political system, what is to be expected from Meloni, and
how this will affect the wider European continent.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has escalated. Moscow held Russian-run referendums in four regions: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. The results show that the four regions heavily voted in favor of being annexed. Internationally, the elections are seen as a sham, with several reports of coercion and were widely viewed as neither free nor fair. Furthermore, the Kremlin has enacted partial mobilization. In response, hundreds of thousands of Russian men are fleeing the country. Ethnic minorities in Russia are also protesting the draft since there are allegations that the Kremlin will heavily draft them.
Unveiling Iran, Taiwan Tensions and Truss' Trust Fall
Pacey Smith-Garcia, Kevinjonah Paguio, Mia Osmonbekov, Boi Ngoc Thai
Friday, Sept. 23, 2022
Today, we talked about the protests in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the tensions between the People's Republic of China and the United States of America over Taiwan, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and North Ireland's new prime minister, Liz Truss.
On Sept. 16, 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in the custody of Iran's morality police. Subsequently, Iranians in dozens of cities protested, even demanding the abandoning theocratic rule. Women have cut their hair; burned their hijabs, which is mandatory to wear; and chanting, "Women, life, freedom!" These protests are the biggest threat to Iran's theocratic government in years.
Tensions between China and the U.S. have
increased since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in early August. U.S. President Joe Biden has reaffirmed his support for Taiwan while his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, has doubled down on his country's claim over the island. Regional players such as Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines are closely watching the situation, too, since many in the region are politically and economically involved with both China and the U.S.
After the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister Liz Truss is taking up the mantle from her conservative predecessor Boris Johnson in implementing the Conservative Party's policies and goals; from energy, the economy and foreign policy, Truss has a steep hill to climb.