Italy’s Meloni to leave Japan G7 a day early to tackle floods crisis at home

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is set to leave the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima a day earlier than scheduled to lead the response to flooding which hit the north of her country this week, two sources said on Saturday.

Torrential rains devastated the eastern side of the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, killing 14 people, causing billions of euros worth of damage and hitting agriculture particularly hard.

Italy’s government will hold a cabinet meeting on Tuesday to decide on measures to help people to cope with the emergency.

Earlier in the day, Meloni thanked the G7 leaders and everyone from other countries who had expressed solidarity with Italy and those affected by the flooding.

“Your closeness is a tangible sign of our cohesion in difficult times. Thank you,” she said in a tweet.