Italian PM Meloni pays surprise visit to Trump at Mar-a-Lago
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni paid an unofficial visit to Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence on Saturday, the latest foreign leader hosted by the US president-elect as he prepares to take office.
Photos sent by the Italian premier's office early on Sunday showed Meloni and Trump posing at the entrance to Mar-a-Lago and chatting in a reception room, with a Christmas tree in the background.
According to US journalists present at the event, Trump called Meloni "a fantastic woman."
"She's really taken Europe by storm, and everyone else, and we're just having dinner tonight," Trump said.
According to US media, the two dined and watched the film The Eastman Dilemma: Lawfare or Justice – a documentary about a lawyer who was charged with trying to overturn the 2020 election results in favour of Trump.
Photos of the two conservative leaders side by side were on the front pages of many Italian newspapers on Sunday.
Meloni is one of several foreign leaders, including Canada's Justin Trudeau and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who have paid visits to Trump before he takes office.
The visit by Meloni, who heads the hard-right Brothers of Italy party, comes ahead of a four-day visit to Rome by US President Joe Biden, where he is expected to meet with Meloni and, separately, Pope Francis.
Also in attendance were Trump's incoming national security advisor Mike Waltz and Senator Marco Rubio, tapped for secretary of state, according to US news reports from the event.
Both Trump and Meloni's offices did not respond to requests for comment about the visit.
Rome's Termini station to become 'red zone'
Rome's Termini train station will be declared a 'red zone' along with the surrounding Esquilino neighbourhood in the coming days.
The measure is intended to increase security in these areas as part of efforts to crack down on criminal activity.
The declaration of a 'red zone' would follow an already increased police presence in the area and in other stations, which has been successful, says the Ministry of Interior.
Similar measures were taken in Milan, Bologna and Florence last year.
Italy in talks for €1.5-billion SpaceX deal
Discussions are ongoing between Italy and Elon Musk's SpaceX company to forge a deal for secure telecommunications services for the Italian government, Bloomberg reports
Although the project has been approved by Italy's Intelligence Services and Defence Ministry, the discussions have yet to reach a final agreement on the five-year contract.
The deal would involve SpaceX supplying Italy with a full range of encryption for telephone and Internet services used by the government, communications services for Italy's military in the Mediterranean, and the rollout of satellite services for use in emergencies, such as terrorist attacks or natural disasters.
Plans to begin testing satellite-based connectivity with Musk's Starlink could begin as early as January to see if it could boost the rollout of high-speed internet in the country.
The reports came after Meloni, who has become a close friend of the SpaceX owner, made a surprise visit to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, saying that she was ready to work with the president-elect.
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