Giorgia Meloni: Italy's far-right wins election and vows to govern for all
Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni has claimed victory in Italy's election, and is on course to become the country's first female prime minister, BBC reported.
Ms Meloni is widely expected to form Italy's most right-wing government since World War Two.
That will alarm much of Europe as Italy is the EU's third-biggest economy.
However, speaking after the vote, Ms Meloni said her Brothers of Italy party would "govern for everyone" and would not betray people's trust.
"Italians have sent a clear message in favour of a right-wing government led by Brothers of Italy," she told reporters in Rome, holding up a sign saying "Thank you Italy".
Ukraine war: Russia admits mobilisation errors, amid growing public opposition
The Kremlin has admitted mistakes were made in its drive to mobilise Russian army reservists to fight in Ukraine, amid growing public opposition, BBC reported.
"There are cases when the decree is violated," Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said, adding that "all the errors will be corrected".
Multiple reports say people with no military experience - or who are too old or disabled - are being called up.
Last week's mobilisation decree has already triggered widespread protests.
President Putin announced what he described as partial mobilisation on 21 September, with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu later saying 300,000 reservists would be called up.
However, reports in opposition Russian media suggested that up to one million people could be called up, pointing out that one paragraph believed to be about the exact number of the required reservists was omitted (classified) in the published version of Mr Putin's decree on the official Kremlin website.
A number of military experts in the West and Ukraine say Mr Putin's decision to call up reservists shows that Russian troops are failing badly on the battlefield in Ukraine - more than seven months after Moscow launched its invasion.
At a briefing on Monday, Mr Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, conceded that mistakes were being made.
He said that in some regions, "governors are actively working to rectify the situation".
Mr Peskov also said he was unaware of any decisions to shut Russia's borders and impose martial law in the country.
Media reports earlier suggested this could be done to stop potential recruits escaping abroad, according to BBC.
Satellite images show lengthy queues of Russian cars on the border with Georgia.
In the latest sign of growing public protest, a man critically injured an army recruitment officer in the Siberian city of Ust-llimsk on Monday.
Footage has emerged on social media apparently showing the attacker approaching the officer and then shooting him. People in the building are then seen screaming and running in panic after the gunman shouted to them to flee.
Over the weekend, people in Russia's Dagestan republic in the North Caucasus clashed with police over the mobilisation drive. More than 100 people were arrested during protests in the regional capital, Makhachkala, said OVD-Info, an independent Russian human rights monitor, BBC reported.
There have also been reports of a number of arson attacks on recruitment centres and other administrative buildings across Russia.
Pound slumps to all-time low against dollar
The pound has fallen to its lowest level against the US dollar since decimalisation in 1971, BBC reported.
In early Asia trade, sterling fell by more than 4% to $1.0327 before regaining some ground to around $1.05.
That came after UK Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled historic tax cuts funded by huge increases in borrowing.
The pound has also been under pressure as the dollar has been boosted by the US central bank continuing to raise interest rates.
The euro also touched a fresh 20-year-low against the dollar in morning Asia trade amid investor concerns about the risk of recession as winter approaches with no sign of an end to the energy crisis or the war in Ukraine.
Giorgia Meloni: Italy's far right set to win election - exit polls
Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni has claimed victory in Italy's election, and is on course to become the country's first female prime minister, BBC reported.
Ms Meloni is widely expected to form Italy's most right-wing government since World War Two.
That will alarm much of Europe as Italy is the EU's third-biggest economy.
However, speaking after the vote, Ms Meloni said her Brothers of Italy party would "govern for everyone" and would not betray people's trust.
"Italians have sent a clear message in favour of a right-wing government led by Brothers of Italy," she told reporters in Rome.
She is predicted to win between 22-26% of the vote, says a Rai exit poll, ahead of her closest rival Enrico Letta from the centre left.
Ms Meloni's right-wing alliance - which also includes Matteo Salvini's far-right League and former PM Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right Forza Italia - now looks to have control of both houses, with a projected 42.2% of the Senate vote.
Although she has worked hard to soften her image, emphasising her support for Ukraine and diluting anti-EU rhetoric, she leads a party rooted in a post-war movement that rose out of dictator Benito Mussolini's fascists.
Earlier this year she outlined her priorities in a raucous speech to Spain's far-right Vox party: "Yes to the natural family, no to the LGBT lobby, yes to sexual identity, no to gender ideology... no to Islamist violence, yes to secure borders, no to mass migration... no to big international finance... no to the bureaucrats of Brussels!"
Exit polls put the centre-left alliance well behind with 25.5%-29.5% and Democratic Party figure Debora Serracchiani said it was a sad evening for Italy. The right "has the majority in parliament, but not in the country", she insisted, according to BBC.
Turnout was dramatically low - 63.82% by the time polls closed - said Italy's interior ministry, almost 10 points down on 2018. Voting levels were especially poor in southern regions including Sicily.
Italy is a founding father of the European Union and a member of Nato, and Ms Meloni's rhetoric on the EU places her close to Hungary's nationalist leader Viktor Orban.
Her allies have both had close ties with Russia. Mr Berlusconi, 85, claimed last week that Vladimir Putin was pushed into invading Ukraine while Mr Salvini has called into question Western sanctions on Moscow.
Ms Meloni wants to revisit Italian reforms agreed with the EU in return for almost €200bn (£178bn) in post-Covid recovery grants and loans, arguing that the energy crisis has changed the situation, BBC reported.
