While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, May 22
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US President Joe Biden (right) is due to meet US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy on Monday.
PHOTO: AFP
Biden to meet McCarthy for debt ceiling talks, says Republican demands unacceptable
President Joe Biden will meet with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Monday for another round of talks on raising the US debt ceiling less than two weeks before a key deadline to avoid a disastrous default, officials said.
Anxiety was mounting in Washington Sunday ahead of the June 1 deadline, set by the US Treasury, for Congress to authorise more borrowing, as the two sides appeared nowhere near a compromise.
Speaking at a press conference before leaving to return to Washington from the G-7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Biden said Republicans’ latest demands for spending cuts as a condition for raising the US government borrowing authority were “frankly unacceptable.”
“It’s time for the other side to move from their extreme positions,” he said.
Greece’s ruling Conservatives win vote but fall short of majority
REUTERS
Greece’s ruling New Democracy party stormed to a crushing victory in a parliamentary election on Sunday but fell just short of the threshold needed to form a government on its own.
With most votes counted, conservative New Democracy took a commanding lead of 40.8%, trouncing the radical leftist Syriza, which governed from 2015 to 2019, which polled 20.1%.
Greece’s interior ministry projected that New Democracy could win 145 seats in parliament, six short of an absolute majority.
Climate activists turn Rome’s Trevi Fountain black
EPA-EFE
Climate activists in Italy turned Rome’s famous Trevi Fountain black on Sunday, saying floods that have killed 14 people in the country’s northeast were “a warning”.
Activists from the anti-climate change organisation Last Generation climbed into the landmark fountain and poured a vegetable-based carbon liquid into it, before being pulled out and escorted away by police.
The Trevi Fountain’s most iconic moment saw Swedish actress Anita Ekberg go for a dip in Federico Fellini’s film La Dolce Vita.
Man City beat Chelsea to celebrate Premier League title triumph
Action Images via Reuters
Manchester City celebrated their third consecutive Premier League title on Sunday as a much-changed side was still good enough to beat Chelsea 1-0 at the Etihad.
Pep Guardiola’s men clinched a fifth title in six seasons on Saturday when second-placed Arsenal were beaten 1-0 at Nottingham Forest.
That gave Guardiola the luxury of resting most of his star names with one eye on the FA Cup and Champions League finals next month as City go for the treble.
Medvedev wins maiden clay court title at Italian Open
REUTERS
Daniil Medvedev beat Holger Rune 7-5, 7-5 to win the Italian Open on Sunday, his first trophy in a clay court tournament and a major boost ahead of the French Open.
“I don’t love clay, but let’s call it a friendship,” said Medvedev after his one-hour, 41-minute win over the 20-year-old Dane.
Medvedev, who had been 0-3 in Rome prior to this year’s edition, claimed his fifth title of the season and 20th of his career.
