Yevgeny Prigozhin rose from an ex-con hot dog vendor to winning lucrative Kremlin contracts and heading a formidable mercenary army.

When Giorgia Meloni took office a year ago as the first far-right premier in Italy’s post-war history, many in Europe worried about the prospect of the country’s democratic backsliding and resistance to European Union rules.

Silvio Berlusconi has left control of his media empire to his two eldest children.

Italy’s political, business and soccer elite bade farewell to former Premier Silvio Berlusconi with a state funeral inside Milan’s imposing Duomo cathedral.

Silvio Berlusconi’s outsized hold on Italian political life over three decades had greatly diminished in recent years.

Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi drew tributes in death even from his critics.

Silvio Berlusconi cast a spell over Italy — and nearly led it to financial ruin.

Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi dominated Italian soccer for decades just like he commanded the show in Italian politics.

Silvio Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy’s longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption and bribery, has died at age 86.

Silvio Berlusconi's doctors say the former Italian premier was admitted to a Milan hospital for planned medical checks related to his chronic leukemia.

Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has made his first public statements since being hospitalized a month ago, delivering a video address from a Milan hospital to his Forza Italia political party.

Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi is now stable after three weeks in the hospital being treated for a lung infection.

The doctors caring for former Premier Silvio Berlusconi in a Milan hospital, where he is recovering from a lung infection, say his treatment continues now that he is out of intensive care.

Italy’s right-wing government is pressing ahead with plans to crack down on migrants after hundreds arrived in the last few days.

Italian media say former Premier Silvio Berlusconi has been transferred from an intensive care unit to a regular ward at a Milan hospital.

Silvio Berlusconi’s doctor, who is treating him for a lung infection, says the former Italian premier is responding well to treatment in an intensive care unit at a Milan hospital.

Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi says he believes he will overcome a lung infection caused by chronic leukemia that has hospitalized him in intensive care.

Doctors for Italian former Premier Silvio Berlusconi say he is being treated in hospital for a lung infection that is a result of chronic leukemia.

Italy's foreign minister says former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi is in intensive care and is being treated for a problem related to a previous infection.

Italian former Premier Silvio Berlusconi has once again put himself at odds with current Premier Giorgia Meloni by openly criticizing her for meeting with Ukraine’s leader, whom he blamed for the nearly year-old Russian invasion.

New far-right Premier Giorgia Meloni has used her first visit to European Union headquarters to declare that Italy will be a force to reckon with in EU affairs.

Several thousand black-clad fascist sympathizers chanted and sang in praise of Benito Mussolini as they marched to the slain Italian dictator’s crypt Sunday, 100 years after Mussolini entered Rome and completed a bloodless coup that gave rise to two decades of fascist rule.

Italy’s new far-right-led government of Giorgia Meloni has won the first of two required confidence votes in Parliament by a comfortable margin.

Giorgia Meloni has become the first woman installed as Italy's premier.

As Giorgia Meloni becomes Italy’s first female premier, the world is watching closely to see if she will emerge as a firebrand leader of a far-right party with neo-fascist roots or the more moderate right-wing politician who succeded in capturing 26% of the vote.

As a young teen, Italy's Giorgia Meloni embarked on an ideological quest that has propelled her to the height of government power.

Giorgia Meloni has formed Italy’s new ruling coalition, giving the country its first far-right-led government since the end of World War II.

Italy’s presumed next premier, Giorgia Meloni, has issued a stark warning to Silvio Berlusconi that he risked losing influence in any new government over his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Italy’s presumed next premier, Giorgia Meloni, and former Premier Silvio Berlusconi are seeking to put days of acrimony behind them over possible Cabinet picks.

The resounding victory by far-right leader Giorgia Meloni in last month's Italian election isn't sitting well with Silvio Berlusconi.

Forming a new government in Italy involves time and decades-old rituals.

Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni is vowing to put Italy's national interests first in tackling soaring energy costs.

The European Commission has signed off on the next 21-billion-euro ($20.2 billion) tranche of Italy’s pandemic recovery funds.

Italy’s former premier Silvio Berlusconi is making his return to Italy’s parliament nearly a decade after being banned from holding public office over a tax fraud conviction.

The Brothers of Italy party has won the most votes in Italy’s national election.

Near-final results show that a party with neo-fascist roots, the Brothers of Italy, has swept Italy’s national election.

A party with neo-fascist roots has won the most votes in Italy’s national election, setting the stage for talks to form the country’s first far right-led government since World War II, with Giorgia Meloni at the helm as Italy’s first female premier.

A Sunday parliamentary election will determine who next governs major industrial economy and key NATO member Italy.

Italian voters cast ballots on Sunday in an election that has been billed as crucial as Europe reels from the repercussions of war in Ukraine.

The main candidates in Italy's general election on Sunday to elect a new Parliament and determine who next governs the country include both familiar names and lesser-known ones.

With Italy's election looming, the main leader of the Italian center-left alliance says the gains of a Swedish populist party with neo-Nazi roots is one more indication that fear is driving the far-right's growth in Europe.

Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni’s is gathering momentum in her push to become Italy’s first female premier.

The Financial Times reports the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles-based fund that includes LeBron James are investing in AC Milan alongside RedBird Capital Partners.

Italian far-right leader Giorgia Meloni has led her first election campaign rally in the Adriactic port city of Ancona.

The far-right candidate who aspires to be Italy’s first female premier has come under fire from opponents for posting a pixelized video that purports to show a woman being raped by an asylum-seeker.

Giorgia Meloni is riding a wave of popularity that next month could see her become Italy’s first female prime minister and its first far-right leader since World War II.

Italy's far-right leader Giorgia Meloni, who is leading in opinion polls ahead of next month's elections, is insisting she won't be a danger to democracy if she becomes the country's next premier.

Italy's president is urging Italians to reinvigorate their democracy as the country notes the 100th anniversary of an attack that paved Benito Mussolini's path to power.

Italian Premier Mario Draghi's decision to turn in his resignation after his “unity” coalition broke apart dramatically in Parliament was the latest step in a political crisis that could take months before a new government is solidly in place to lead the European Union's third-largest economy.

Italy is headed for an early election after its president accepted Premier Mario Draghi’s resignation and decided there was no possibility for cobbling together another government.

Italy is entering five days of political and financial uncertainty after the 5-Star Movement sparked a government crisis by withholding support on a government-sponsored bill.

Italian journalist Eugenio Scalfari has died at 98.

Italy's president has rebuffed Premier Mario Draghi's offer to resign after a key ally refused to back the government in a Senate vote.

Italy's Premier Mario Draghi is meeting with Italy’s president to discuss the future of his government amid simmering tensions with a coalition member, the 5-Star Movement.

The missile cruiser Moskva, named in honor of the Russian capital, was launched during the Cold War, saw service during conflicts in Georgia, Syria and Ukraine, and helped conduct peacetime scientific research with the United States.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella has been pulled away from his impending retirement and reelected to a second seven-year term as the country’s head of state, ending days of political impasse as party leaders struggled to pick his successor.

Insistence by Italy's center-right bloc that their candidate becomes the nation's president has backfired.

Leaders across Italy's political spectrum continued to struggle to nail down an agreement on who should be the country's next president.

A first round of voting to elect Italy's next president has failed as expected amid a political impasse.

Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has been undergoing a series of medical examinations in a Milan hospital.

Former premier Silvio Berlusconi has bowed out of Italy’s presidential election set for next week.

Italy is poised to elect a new president, a figure who is supposed to serve as the nation’s moral compass and foster unity by being above the political fray.

Italy has set Jan. 24 as the start date to begin voting for a new Italian president.

Italian Premier Mario Draghi says his government has accomplished most of what it set out do in fighting the pandemic and restoring economic growth.

Italian Rai state TV says Raffaella Carra', for decades one of Italy's most popular entertainers, has died at 78.

The immunologist who leads the COVID-19 response in the United States says “the undeniable effects of racism” have led to unacceptable health disparities that especially hurt African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans during the pandemic.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella had tasked the former European Central Bank president with trying to form a government up to managing the the health, economic and social crises of the coronavirus pandemic. AdDraghi’s most-quoted words so far have been those uttered in 2012 when the euro-zone risked collapsing in a crisis of confidence and he vowed the European Central Bank would do “whatever it takes” to rescue the euro. The current head of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, tweeted her congratulations. Italy's health minister through the pandemic, Roberto Speranza, kept his post, the sole minister from a small left-wing party. ___This story has been corrected to show that employees applauded for Conte, not Draghi.

Leader of the Five-Stars Movement Vito Crimi, 2nd from right, addresses the media at the Quirinale presidential palace in Rome Friday, Jan. 29, 2021. Draghi, 73, the former president of the European Central Bank completed a first round of talks with political parties this week. Another round is expected early next week on potential Cabinet ministers and a synthesis from Draghi of his vision for the new government. AdItaly's president tapped Draghi this week to form a government after the resignation of ex-Premier Giuseppe Conte, who lost support of a small but key coalition party. Salvini’s move to support Draghi puts him at odds with the far-right Brothers of Italy party and its leader, Giorgia Meloni.

Outgoing Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte waves as he leaves after meeting journalists outside Chigi palace Premier's office in Rome, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. Draghi must rely on political support to pass measures aimed at helping Italy emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and revive its economy, already stagnant before being pummeled by lockdown measures. “I hope for a political government that is solid and has sufficient cohesion to be able to make political choices, because the urgencies of the country need political choices, they can’t be entrusted to technocrats,” Conte said. Conte also pitched to two other parties from his unraveled coalition, the center-left Democrats and the leftist Free and Equal Party. His call for a political alliance appeared to indicate Conte intended to stay in politics, even while out of office.

FILE - In this Thursday, July 4, 2013 file photo, President of European Central Bank Mario Draghi smiles during a news conference in Frankfurt, Germany. Because it is Mario Draghi,’’ the deputy manager of the leading Milan Daily Corriere della Sera, Daniele Manca, said on Wednesday. He took a pragmatic approach during the financial crisis. Draghi joined the ECB as its third chief in 2011, just as Italy was engulfed in a debt crisis. The largely ceremonial role proves key in helping manage Italy’s all-too-frequent political crises, which require deft negotiations and unassailable knowledge of Italy’s constitution and institutions.

Former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi speaks to the media after accepting a mandate to form Italy's new government from Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Rome's Quirinale Presidential Palace, Wednesday Feb. 3, 2021. During his tenure at the European Central Bank, Draghi became known as “Super Mario" for using new and sometimes unorthodox policy tools to solve the vexing debt crisis and other problems. “As such, it will not vote in favor of a technical government headed by Mario Draghi,” Crimi said in a statement. “If they (the 5-Stars and the League) are going to somehow support Draghi then the government I think can be born," he said in an interview. “Now everyone of good will must welcome President Mattarella's appeal to support the government of Mario Draghi," he said Wednesday.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte attends the debate at the Senate prior to a confidence vote, in Rome, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. With a reduced majority, Conte will have to cobble together support from outside the current coalition to pass legislation, including aid to help Italy’s pandemic-battered economy. Conte’s government on Tuesday survived what amounted to a confidence vote with a 156-to-140 win, with 16 abstentions. “The numbers speak clearly,” said Giorgia Melloni, head of the small but rising Brothers of Italy party. In the lower Chamber of Deputies, where the 16-month-old government holds a more comfortable margin, Conte won a first confidence vote on Monday.

FILE - In this Monday, Sept. 14, 2020 file photo, Silvio Berlusconi is flanked by his personal physician Alberto Zangrillo, left, as he talks to the media while leaving the San Raffaele hospital in Milan, Italy. Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi is hospitalized in the principality of Monaco for medical tests for heart problems, his press office confirmed on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. The 84-year-old three-time premier is expected to return home in a few days. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)MILAN – Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has been hospitalized in the principality of Monaco to undergo medical tests for heart problems, his press office confirmed on Thursday. The 84-year-old three-time premier is expected to return home in a few days.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)WASHINGTON – Stricken by COVID-19, a feverish and fatigued President Donald Trump was flown to a military hospital Friday night where he was given remdesivir following treatment with an experimental drug at the White House. Also testing positive: Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien. “President Trump remains in good spirts, has mild symptoms, and has been working throughout the day,” said press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. Very early Friday, after returning from the Thursday afternoon New Jersey fundraiser, Trump stunningly tweeted, "Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Friday confirmed that the White House knew Hope Hicks, the aide, had tested positive before Trump attended the fundraiser.

First lady Melania Trump also tested positive, the president said, and several others in the White House have, too, prompting concern that the White House or even Trump himself might have spread the virus further. Also testing positive: Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien. “President Trump remains in good spirts, has mild symptoms, and has been working throughout the day,” said press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Friday confirmed that the White House knew Hope Hicks, the aide, had tested positive before Trump attended the fundraiser. An RNC official confirmed Friday that Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel learned she had tested positive Wednesday afternoon.

ROME Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi is responding optimally to COVID-19 treatment but is the most vulnerable type of patient and is in the most delicate phase of the virus, his personal doctor said Sunday. He checked into the San Raffaele hospital in Milan early Friday after testing positive for the virus earlier in the week. The patient is responding optimally to treatment," Zangrillo told reporters outside the hospital. Zangrillo suggested Berlusconi wouldn't be released anytime soon, recalling that the virus requires adequate treatment and takes its time.Berlusconi spent some of his summer vacation at his seaside villa on Sardinias Emerald Coast. To date, Berlusconi is believed to still be in a VIP ward of the clinic.

(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)BEIJING Beijings main international airport on Thursday began again receiving international flights from a limited number of countries considered at low risk of coronavirus infection. California State university at Chico also halted classes this week. State health officials are wary that festivities over the Labor Day holiday weekend could lead to renewed surges in COVID-19 infections. The number could be higher because some schools, including the states largest Georgia State University are not posting full reports publicly. ___PARIS New daily coronavirus cases in France have tipped above 7,000 for the second time in five days.

Red paint and words in Italian reading racist", above, and "rapist are seen on a statue of late Italian journalist Indro Montanelli, who had acknowledged having had a 12-year-old Eritrean bride while stationed in the Italian colony in the 1930s, in a Milan park that bears his name, northern Italy, late Saturday, June 13, 2020. The statue of Montanelli has been a flashpoint in Italys Black Lives Matters protests, which have put renewed focus on Italys colonial past. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)MILAN Milans mayor on Sunday resisted calls to remove a statue from a public park of a late Italian journalist who had acknowledged having had a 12-year-old Eritrean bride during Italys colonial occupation in the 1930s. He was a great journalist, a journalist who fought for the liberty of the state, an independent journalist. She was a beautiful girl of 12 years, Montanelli told the 1969 talk show appearance, adding a smiling excuse me.