Baki, who was born in Ecuador to Lebanese immigrant parents and lived in Lebanon during the 1975-1990 civil war, also pledged to lead a “renewal” of the United Nations

International News via Reuters:

Ecuadorean diplomat Ivonne Baki, one of eight candidates vying to become the next head of the United Nations, drew on her experience of Lebanon’s civil war on Thursday as she pledged to focus on conflict prevention in the role.

Baki, who was born in Ecuador to Lebanese immigrant parents and lived in Lebanon during the 1975-1990 civil war, also pledged to lead a “renewal” of the United Nations.

“More than 40 years ago, in a basement in Beirut, where I lived all through the war, I held my three children as bombs fell around us. In that moment, I made a promise that if they were spared, I would devote my life for peace. I’ve kept that promise ever since,” she said at an informal dialogue with U.N. states and civil society groups to assess candidates seeking to succeed Antonio Guterres. 

Guterres steps down at the end of the year after two five-year terms as the organization’s secretary-general.

His successor faces pressure to reform the United Nations, which critics say has become bloated and costly. The 15-member U.N. Security Council is due to hold a second informal poll on the candidates on Friday.

Baki said the U.N. should prioritize preventing conflicts and pledged personal diplomacy to that end.

“I will be on the ground, not just at the desk in New York … in war zones, in areas of tension, engaging every party directly to stop conflict before they erupt,” said Baki, who is 75 and is the second oldest of the candidates.

Baki also pledged to work to make the Security Council more representative, saying it had remained “frozen in the geopolitical landscapes” of the end of World War Two.

A first straw poll at the end of July showed Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan as a narrow frontrunner, followed by Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and Argentina’s Rafael Grossi.

Baki was only nominated this week so was not included in that poll. She is the second contender from Ecuador.

Other candidates can still join the contest and polling could continue into October or beyond. 

VETO POWER

Avoiding a veto by any of the five permanent members of the Security Council – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – is vital, and the countries have widely differing worldviews.

Baki, who has served as an Ecuadorean government minister and as ambassador to France, Qatar and the United States, has previously told Ecuadorean radio that her candidacy has U.S. support and publicly acknowledged her friendships with President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton.

The United States has not commented on these remarks.

The other candidates are former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, former Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa, former Senegalese President Macky Sall and Ugandan diplomat Olara Otunnu.

By tradition, the role rotates among regions, with Latin America seen as next in line, and there has been support for a first woman in the job.

Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Don Durfee and Sanjeev Miglani

The parliamentary elections in Serbia were originally set for December 2027

International News via Reuters:

Serbia will hold snap parliamentary elections on October 18 or 25, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday, more than a month after he pledged at his party rally to schedule them.

“The parliamentary elections will be held on October 18 or 25. The exact date will be known in the coming days,” Vucic said in a live TV broadcast. 

The parliamentary elections in Serbia were originally set for December 2027. 

“On one list there will be the (ruling) Serbian Progressive Party with its list, on the other all other political options,” he said.

On June 27, Vucic, a populist, said he would resign within weeks and the country would hold early parliamentary and presidential elections, following 18 months of anti-government protests. This is the first time he gave possible dates for the vote.  

The announcement by Vucic, who has been in power as ‌president or prime minister for 12 years, came after more than a year of anti-corruption demonstrations led by students triggered by the collapse of an awning at a railway station in the northern city of Novi Sad in November 2024 in which 16 people died.

In the broadcast, Vucic did not say when he would resign to trigger an early presidential vote.

Analysts say Vucic may become a prime minister if his Serbian Progressive Party wins in parliamentary elections. That would continue a long trend in which the power in Serbia follows Vucic, regardless of his title.

Serbia is a candidate to join the EU, but Belgrade still has strong ties with Russia and China — a line Vucic has had to walk throughout his time in power.

Before joining the EU, ⁠Serbia must improve its rule of law, including conditions for free and fair elections, and root out corruption and organised crime. It also has to align its foreign policies with those of the bloc, the EU has said for years.

Opposition figures accused Vucic and his allies of violence against political opponents, rampant corruption, ties with organised crime and stifling media freedoms. Vucic and his allies deny these allegations.

Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Mark Porter

Strancally Castle was built around 1830 on land overlooking the River Blackwater and underwent extensive renovation in 2003, according to a state architectural archive

International News via Reuters:

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has bought a 19th-century Gothic-style castle overlooking a river in the southeast of Ireland, 200 kilometres (125 miles) from his company’s European headquarters, a spokesman said on Thursday.

Strancally Castle was built around 1830 on land overlooking the River Blackwater and underwent extensive renovation in 2003, according to a state architectural archive.

The transaction is not listed on the Irish state property price register. The Irish Times, which first reported the purchase, estimated the property might be worth between €20 million and €30 million.

A spokesman for Zuckerberg said he and his family were “excited to continue caring for this historic home and look forward to spending time in Ireland.”

Meta employs around 1,500 people in Ireland, where a number of U.S. tech multinationals have their European headquarters, in part due to the country’s favourable tax regime.

Reporting by Conor Humphries; editing by William James

The accident happened near Gorau in Goronyo local government area and rescue efforts are continuing, said Abdulkadir Yusuf, an area manager at the National Inland Waterways Authority

International News via Reuters:

At least 40 bodies, mostly of children, have been recovered after an overloaded boat capsized in Nigeria’s northwest Sokoto state, local officials and residents said on Thursday.

The accident happened near Gorau in Goronyo local government area and rescue efforts are continuing, said Abdulkadir Yusuf, an area manager at the National Inland Waterways Authority.

Yusuf said around 40 children’s bodies had been found, while a lawmaker at the Sokoto state legislature from the area, Nasiru Adamu, said the death toll now stood at 43, with 16 rescued.

One local resident said the boat had been carrying farm owners and labourers hired to harvest rice and that more than 70 people had been onboard when it capsized. Another resident said there were 57 people on board.

Mustapha Umar, director of relief and rehabilitation at the state’s emergency management agency, said officials were heading to the scene and would provide further information later.

Deadly boat accidents are common in Nigeria, where overcrowding, poor maintenance and weak enforcement of safety regulations often contribute to disasters on the country’s rivers and waterways.

In January, at least 25 people died when a leaking boat capsized in Yobe state, northeast Nigeria.

Reporting by Hamza Ibrahim in Kano and Ahmed Kingimi in Maiduguri;Writing by Ben Ezeamalu and Chijioke Ohuocha;Editing by Alexander Winning and Gareth Jones

Canada’s minister responsible for trade with the U.S., Dominic LeBlanc, is due to meet U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Thursday at 12:15 p.m. EDT (1615 GMT)

International News via Reuters:

Top trade negotiators from Canada and the U.S. will meet for the second day running in Washington on Thursday in a bid to finalize a trade deal that could help reduce months of tariffs and counter duties.

Canada’s minister responsible for trade with the U.S., Dominic LeBlanc, is due to meet U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Thursday at 12:15 p.m. EDT (1615 GMT), his office said. Canada’s chief trade negotiator, Janice Charette, will also attend the meeting.

LeBlanc and Greer met on Wednesday and reported significant progress toward a deal that would stave off a U.S. threat to impose extra tariffs starting on Saturday.

Separately, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to meet Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand at the White House later on Thursday.

The meetings come as the U.S. and Canada close in on a deal under which Washington could reduce tariffs on Canadian-built cars and trucks as well as steel and aluminum, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

The proposed deal is expected to cut the top-line tariff on Canadian-built vehicles to 15% from 25% and halve tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum to 25%, the source said.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Washington would make some tariff concessions and suggested that a deal would also remove Canadian tariffs on U.S. goods.

Prime Minister Mark Carney briefed Canada’s provincial premiers after LeBlanc’s meeting with Greer on Wednesday.

Some of the premiers later noted that Carney urged them to end a ban on U.S. alcohol, which is a particular irritant for Washington, if Canada manages to reach a deal with the U.S.

The U.S. and Canada, long-standing trading partners whose economies are deeply integrated, have been embroiled in a trade dispute since Trump imposed tariffs on imports of Canadian steel, aluminum and vehicles last year, prompting countermeasures from Ottawa.

Trump this week postponed until 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) on Saturday a new 50% tariff on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, citing progress in negotiations and a deal subject to finalization of documents.

Reporting by Promit Mukherjee; Editing by David Ljunggren and Mark Porter

The 6.2-magnitude earthquake and aftershocks destroyed much of Amatrice’s historic centre and many outlying areas, leaving several thousand people homeless

International News via Reuters:

In the early hours of August 24, 2016, Giorgio Cortellesi stumbled through the dust and darkness of Amatrice, fearing his children were dead, buried beneath tons of rubble.

His two young sons had been staying overnight with their grandparents when an earthquake levelled much of the central Italian hilltown.

Rushing over from a nearby hamlet, Cortellesi found the streets in ruins, muffled cries rising from collapsed homes. Then he caught the sound of one of his sons calling for help.

“I didn’t think I would find them alive, but when I heard his voice, it was as if I started breathing again,” said Cortellesi.

He promised himself that if his boys survived he would help rebuild Amatrice, which bore the brunt of the calamity, with 237 people dying in the town out of a total death toll of 303.

Elected town mayor in 2021, Cortellesi is trying to make good on his pledge, but it isn’t easy.

LIFE ON HOLD

The 6.2-magnitude earthquake and aftershocks destroyed much of Amatrice’s historic centre and many outlying areas, leaving several thousand people homeless.

The state has promised to pay for the vast bulk of the reconstruction and has so far approved private and public sector projects worth €22.7 billion ($26.3 billion) across the disaster zone. Around €10 billion has been paid out to date.

In Amatrice, 38% of the damaged properties have been restored, with the pace of building picking up markedly over the past 12 months. Cranes dot the town and clusters of pristine new homes have sprouted amidst the desolation.

Even so, only a small proportion of the structures flattened in 2016 have been rebuilt. Much of the historic centre remains behind barriers, where two lone towers that survived the earthquake gaze over the blasted wasteland.

Around 1,000 people, roughly 60% of the population, still live in small, prefabricated shelters, while each year a few families drift away, seeking a brighter future elsewhere.

“After 10 years many people have lost faith,” said Cortellesi. “We need to keep on encouraging them, but we can’t do more than we are already doing.”

LONG ROAD BACK

As with other major Italian earthquakes, such as L’Aquila in 2009, Amatrice’s reconstruction got bogged down in bureaucracy, legal disputes and shifting priorities.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted rebuilding efforts, while Italy’s generous “Superbonus” renovation scheme, intended to revive the virus-hit economy, pushed up the cost of building materials and siphoned off labour to more lucrative projects across Italy.

“The Superbonus led to an almost total stop that lasted two years. It was a disaster,” said Cortellesi.

Rebuilding densely packed medieval neighbourhoods was complicated by multiple owners, inheritance disputes and unresolved property claims that made every planning application a legal minefield.

Officials say fears of mafia interference in the adjudication of multi-million-euro contracts added further layers of scrutiny that snarled some projects for years.

Yet for some survivors, the slow pace of reconstruction has been only one part of a much deeper struggle to remain.

Daniele Bonanni lost his mother, sister and nephew in the earthquake, leaving just him, his niece and her baby daughter alive. A sought-after chef, Bonanni could easily have moved on. Instead he stayed put.

“It seemed wrong to abandon the place where I grew up and where my family built a life,” he said. “Perhaps it was a mistake. Even today I cannot say for certain.”

For years, descendants of Amatrice families returned each August to homes inherited from parents and grandparents, but many of those properties were lost.

“People once came for the summer, now they come for lunch,” said Bonanni, who runs a chic restaurant in a food village established for chefs who had lost their businesses.

“If you create a generational break of 10 or 15 years, the bond dies,” he said.

FINANCIAL TRAP

Few embody the frustrations of reconstruction more than brother and sister Alfredo and Elisabetta Perilli.

They lost many relatives and their respective homes in the centre of Amatrice. Alfredo still has to pay the mortgage on his old house, trapping him financially.

“The building no longer exists, but the bank wants its money every month,” he said.

The Perillis also lost their family-run restaurant and hotel, with the land it once occupied now serving as a temporary access route for the reconstruction of a hospital. Building work was scheduled to finish in 2022.

Until they get their site back, they cannot submit reconstruction plans for approval. “If they go on much longer I won’t have the strength to start rebuilding,” said Elisabetta.

Such delays have left Cortellesi wondering whether some of the choices made after the earthquake were the right ones, including the core decision to recreate much of the town on its original site and largely in its former image.

“What we will have is a facsimile,” he said, acknowledging that much of the medieval masonry had gone.

“Personally, I would have redesigned the town in a modern way. Once everything had been wiped away, I think something new could have been created, but it is too late to turn back.”

Editing by Janet Lawrence