Lee Brown explains how Ecuador’s election wasn’t free — and its people will pay the price under President Noboa
Italy: far-right government has no answer to deepening poverty
Unable to stand up to the banks, Giorgia Meloni’s administration cannot agree to a minimum wage and has already cut essential benefits programmes, plunging thousands into turmoil, reports NICK WRIGHT

HERE in Italy, when our good neighbour Carlo invited us to a feast in the village square, it seemed a good idea to accept.
Carlo, a retired bus engineer, is “assessore” to the commune and was elected on the non-partisan citizens’ list organised by our mayor Simone.
Carlo had organised a table, and from our little borgata of half a dozen houses down the hill from the village centre, there would be seven of us.
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