Skip to content
Silvio Berlusconi uses each court appearance to attack the judiciary
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has made his latest appearance in court in Milan on corruption charges.
Outside the court he attacked prosecutors for humiliating him when he had better things to do, on the day when Osama Bin Laden had been killed.
He called the charges against him “pure invention”.
This case, known as Mediatrade, is one of four Mr Berlusconi is currently facing.
The Italian prime minister denies claims he inflated the price paid for TV rights and then skimmed off the difference to fund political and other activities.
His son and a number of others are accused alongside him.
He appeared in court on 28 March 2011 for a preliminary hearing – his first court appearance in more than seven years.
Monday’s appearance, his second in this case, took place behind closed doors and is to help determine whether it goes to full trial.
He has also recently appeared in an open hearing in another case.
Every time he attends court Mr Berlusconi takes the opportunity to attack the magistrates who have put him on trial, says the BBC’s Duncan Kennedy in Rome.
This time was no exception. Before going into the court he proclaimed: “There is something which is not going in the right direction for a democracy to have government leaders humiliated by having to spend hours in court while these important international events are taking place.”
As well as the Mediatrade court case Mr Berlusconi also faces two other corruption trials and a fourth where he is accused of paying an underage prostitute and of an abuse of power.
In that trial Mr Berlusconi faces up to 15 years in jail.
In each case Mr Berlusconi says he is innocent.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Mr Harper has said Conservatives must win a majority in parliament to avoid being challenged by a coalition
Related Stories
Polls in Canada have opened for the fourth federal general election in seven years.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has warned if his Conservatives do not win a majority in parliament, he could be toppled by a leftist coalition.
Recent opinion polls suggest the New Democratic Party (NDP) has made large gains in the past several weeks.
Mr Harper’s minority government was forced into an election after a non-confidence vote in parliament.
The vote came after Mr Harper’s government was found to be in contempt of parliament because of its failure to disclose the full costs of anti-crime programmes, corporate tax cuts and plans to purchase stealth fighter jets from the US.
Mr Harper, who took power in 2006, has seen his advantage in the election dwindle during the past several weeks, with the left-leaning NDP experiencing an unexpected surge in popularity.
The prime minister made a final appeal on Sunday for a “strong, stable, Conservative majority government”, warning the NDP and Liberals could form a coalition blocking economic policies his party wishes to push forward.
Figures released on Sunday by private polling firm Ekos indicated 34% support for the Conservatives, with the NDP, which ran a distant third at the beginning of the campaign, at 31%.
Pollsters at Ekos, who said they questioned 2,876 Canadians in the survey, reported the Liberal Party was trailing at 21%.
Experts suggest a narrow Conservative lead would make it unlikely the party would win a majority of the seats in the House of Commons.
But there is a possibility the left-centre vote could be split between the NDP and Liberals, allowing Mr Harper to squeeze out a majority.
Mr Harper has won two elections but never with a majority in parliament’s 308 seats.
“We can change the government. We’re not just going to oppose Mr Harper, we’re going to replace him,” said NDP leader Jack Layton.
Mr Harper, a 52-year-old career politician, has said a win by the NDP could lead to out-of-control spending and higher taxes.
Mr Layton, who favours high taxes and more social spending, has been a critic of Alberta’s oil sands sector, the world’s second largest oil reserves.
Mr Harper has also said the Liberal Party, the largest opposition party, led by Michael Ignatieff, cannot be trusted to handle the economy.
Mr Ignatieff, a 63-year-old former Harvard University professor, has accused Mr Harper of deceit, and has also said that Canadians have no confidence in his ability to look after the nation’s finances.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Afghan president Hamid Karzai says his people became victims in the hunt for Bin Laden.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Jordanians have rallied in a border town near Deraa as tanks and troops sealed off the area
Syrian security forces killed 10 people and arrested 499 others in house-to-house raids in Deraa on Sunday, an army spokesman has said.
Residents said men aged between 15 and 40 were being arrested, handcuffed and bussed to a detention centre.
Last week the army used tanks to take control of Deraa, the city at the heart of protests against the repressive rule of President Bashar al-Assad.
Rights groups say 560 people have been killed in cities across the country.
On Sunday, British Prime Minister David Cameron denounced the “disgraceful” crackdown against pro-democracy protests which began six weeks ago, inspired by the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt.
The US last week blocked the assets of a number of top Syrian officials as well as Mr Assad’s brother, Maher, who commands the Syrian army’s feared Fourth Division.
Residents of Deraa told Reuters news agency they had seen packed busloads of handcuffed and hooded young men being taken in the direction of a large detention centre in the city run by the security services.
“They are arresting all males above 15 years [old]. They only have old security tactics and they are acting on revenge,” said a prominent lawyer in Deraa who did not want to be identified further.
The raids come after the army seized control of Deraa’s Omari mosque, which had become a centre for anti-government protests in the city.
The government says nearly 80 security personnel have died in clashes with protesters
State news agency Sana said on Monday that army units had tracked down “terrorist groups”, killing 10 members and arresting 499 of them. Two members of the security forces were killed in the raids, Sana said.
More than 70 people have been killed in Deraa since Friday, according to reports from residents and rights groups.
Despite the use of force Syrians have kept up protests in several cities, including the central city of Homs, where thousands marched on Sunday, and in Rastan, to the north, where funerals were held for 17 men killed during Friday protests.
In the Kurdish village of Karbawi, near Qamishli in the country’s north, some 2,000 people attended the funeral of 20-year-old conscript Ahmad Fanar Mustafa. His father has accused security forces of killing him for refusing to take part in the repression.
Last week hundreds of members of Mr Assad’s ruling Baath Party resigned over the crackdown.
Mr Assad’s government blames militants and “external forces” for the unrest, which it says have left nearly 80 security personnel dead.
On Monday authorities set a deadline of 15 May for people who had committed “unlawful acts” to give themselves up, the AFP news agency reported.
The protests, which began on 15 March, pose the most serious challenge to four decades of rule by the Assad family in one of the Arab world’s most repressive and tightly-controlled countries.
Foreign journalists are not being allowed into the country, and the exact picture of what is happening remains unclear.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The British government currently has no diplomatic staff based in Tripoli
The Foreign Office is investigating reports that the residence of the British ambassador in Tripoli has been “destroyed”.
It said in a statement that it believed other foreign residences had also been attacked.
“Such actions, if confirmed, would be deplorable as the Gaddafi regime has a duty to protect diplomatic missions,” said the Foreign Office.
It added that the UK currently had no diplomats in the Libyan capital.
Instead the UK has a diplomatic presence in Benghazi, the largest city in the rebel-held east of the country.
Meanwhile, the BBC’s Kate Peters in Tripoli said the United Nations was pulling out all its international staff from the city.
The reports of the attack on the British residence – which the BBC understands come from sources on the ground – come after the Libyan government said a Nato air strike on Tripoli had killed a son of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
Saif al-Arab and three of Col Gaddafi’s grandchildren are reported to have died at their villa in the Bab al-Aziziya compound.
A spokesman for the regime said the Libyan leader himself was in the villa at the time but was unharmed.
Nato said it had hit a “known command-and-control building” in the area, adding it did not “target individuals”.
Prime Minister David Cameron also defended Nato’s operations in Libya.
“The targeting policy of Nato and the alliance is absolutely clear,” he told the BBC.
“It is in line with UN resolution 1973, and it is about preventing a loss of civilian life by targeting Gaddafi’s war-making machine.”
Mr Cameron did not comment on whether British aircraft were involved in the attack that reportedly killed Col Gaddafi’s son.
The UK has taken a lead role in military action against Libyan government forces since the UN Security Council voted on 17 March to use all means necessary – short of foreign occupation – to protect civilians in the country.
This has taken the form of attacks by RAF Typhoon and Tornado jets, and missiles fired from Royal Navy submarines.
The RAF is also continuing to enforce the no-fly zone over Libya.
In addition, the UK has sent British military advisors to the rebels.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Related Stories
An exceptionally well-preserved Stradivarius violin, the Lady Blunt, which fetched $10m at its last sale in 2008, is to be auctioned for charity.
The 1721 violin is being sold by the Nippon Music Foundation, with the entire proceeds going to their Northeastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund.
The Lady Blunt set a record price every time it was sold last century.
Auctioneers Tarisio said they will sell the instrument online on 20 June.
Christopher Reuning, of Reuning & Son Violins in Boston, which sells and certifies instruments, said: “Rarely does a Stradivarius of this quality in such pristine condition and with such significant historical provenance come up for sale.
“It still shows the tool-marks and brushstrokes of Stradivari. The Lady Blunt is perhaps the best-preserved Stradivarius to be offered for sale in the past century.”
Tarisio described the foundation’s decision to sell “what is considered the finest violin of their collection” as “a gesture of profound generosity”.
Japan’s latest police figures stated that 14,704 people are known to have died and another 10,969 remain missing following the earthquake and tsunami in March.
The violin was named after one of its owners, Lady Anne Blunt, the granddaughter of the poet Lord Byron.
It has also been owned by several well-known collectors and experts including WE Hill & Son, Jean Baptiste Vuillaume, the Baron Johann Knoop and Sam Bloomfield.
The Nippon Music Foundation owns some of the world’s finest Stradivari and Guarneri instruments.
Its president, Kazuko Shiomi, said: “Each of the instruments in our collection is very dear to us.
“However, the extent of the devastation facing Japan is very serious and we feel that everyone and every organisation should make some sacrifice for those affected by this tragedy.”
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
By Ross Hawkins
The coalition partners must continue to work together whatever the result
No one likes being labelled a loser.
Politicians fear it more than most.
Come the referendum result, at least one Westminster party leader will be stuck with the tag.
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg and Labour leader Ed Miliband back the alternative vote. Conservative leader David Cameron opposes it.
It was Mr Clegg’s party that demanded the referendum during the talks with the Conservatives to establish the coalition government.
Should the referendum they wanted reject the voting system they prefer, Lib Dem anger will flare, not least among those who expected the prime minister to maintain a lower profile during the campaign
Some Lib Dems, like Energy Secretary Chris Huhne, have already been attacking leading Tories for the way they have argued for a No vote.
Both the prime minister and his deputy insist the work of government will continue whatever the result.
But a No vote would leave enthusiasm for the coalition among doubters among the Lib Dem rank and file shaken.
Should the Yes campaign confound the opinion polls and triumph, the Lib Dems will have something they have long craved – electoral change.
Many of them will hope it will be a step towards adopting a very different voting system: Full proportional representation, which would deliver the party many more MPs.
“If the Liberal Democrats lose the AV vote there should be no renegotiation of the coalition agreement”
Mark Pritchard Conservative MP
There is danger too for Mr Cameron.
A Yes vote would be, in the understated words of one of his MPs, a “big problem”, not least because as another Conservative backbencher puts it, some on the Tory side think the PM “came out of traps very reluctantly and very late” for the No campaign.
Having failed to win outright at the general election, failure in another national vote would be damaging.
Those Conservative MPs who believe they would lose their seats under the alternative vote would blame Mr Cameron.
But many Tory MPs are quietly confident of a No vote. That result, coupled with coming changes to Parliamentary boundaries that are expected to favour the Conservatives over Labour, would bolster Mr Cameron’s party and his own standing.
The concern of some on the Conservative side is not defeat, but how far Mr Cameron will go in shoring up Mr Clegg in the event of a No vote.
Tory MP Mark Pritchard, secretary of the backbench 1922 Committee, said: “If the Liberal Democrats lose the AV vote there should be no renegotiation of the coalition agreement or any retrospective insertion of new policies that were not agreed at the inception of the coalition government.”
Whatever the result, Ed Miliband knows some of his Labour MPs will be unhappy. Many have publicly taken a different view from their leader by backing a No vote.
He will not want to be associated with a losing campaign, but the main focus for many in his rank and file will not be the referendum, but the party’s performance in the English local, Scottish and Welsh elections.
In his memoir of the post general election coalition talks, the Lib Dem negotiator and later cabinet minister David Laws recounts the Lib Dems’ demands for a referendum on electoral reform.
He recalls the Conservative MP, and negotiator, Oliver Letwin saying: “We will be absolutely straightforward with you on this. Then we will beat you in the actual referendum!”
Then, according to Mr Laws, “he chuckled away in a very Oliver-ish way”.
Should that forecast prove accurate, many Conservatives will struggle to stifle a laugh at Nick Clegg’s expense.
But they will know Tories and Lib Dems have to carry on working together in the coalition, and Lib Dem troops will have to be kept relatively content.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
