The BBC’s Duncan Kennedy on what the vote means
Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has won a vote of confidence in the lower house of parliament.
He won by a margin of three votes, following a tense session of the house and amid large protests in the capital.
Mr Berlusconi also won an earlier vote in the Senate. He had urged MPs not to jeopardise the country’s stability by ousting him.
His critics argue he is too mired in personal scandal and corruption allegations to remain in office.
Mr Berlusconi, 74, is halfway through a five-year term but his position has been weakened by a series of scandals largely involving his relationships with women.
Analysis
Mr Berlusconi’s endless lobbying and pressure has paid off. But the margin was very thin – not enough to give him the new mandate he had wanted.
That means his immediate political future is secure, but the long-term pressure on him is unlikely to subside, and this crisis will be postponed until the new year.
He has also lost the support of his closest political ally, Gianfranco Fini, along with dozens of his supporters, depriving him of his automatic majority in the lower house.
But in the final vote, two opposition deputies switched sides and he won the vote by 314 votes to 311.
The BBC’s Duncan Kennedy in Rome says although Mr Berlusconi’s lobbying has paid off for now he will still face considerable opposition to his leadership.
Thousands of people have gathered in Rome and Italy’s other major cities to demand a change in government.
Police have fired tear gas on the protesters and several explosions – thought to be fireworks – have been heard.
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The effect of closing a fund for people with severe disabilities
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Bolton and her partner were labelled “neighbours from hell”
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A judge swore and stormed out of court after being convicted of failing to keep her dog under control.
The dog belonging to Judge Beatrice Bolton, 57, who sits at Newcastle Crown Court, attacked a student as he sunbathed in his parents’ garden.
Frederick Becker, 20, was in the garden in Rothbury, Northumberland, in May when the German Shepherd bit his leg.
Bolton, who was asked during the trial to stop chewing gum, denied one charge under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
The judge strode out of Carlisle Magistrates Court when the verdict was announced and swore, calling it a “travesty”.
She was also heard shouting: “I’ll never set foot in a court again” from outside the courtroom.
During the trial, the court heard the student’s parents, David and Anne Malia, had labelled Bolton and her partner “neighbours from hell”.
They shared a garden behind their adjoining property with the pair.
They had been friends but their relationship soured over the rights to the homes’ shared back gardens and the behaviour of Bolton’s pet, the German Shepherd named Georgina.
They described living “in terror” of the dog and kept a “dog log” of incidents when the pedigree animal strayed onto their land.
Their son, Frederick “Fritz” Becker was lying on the lawn at his parents’ home when the then seven-month-old bitch went for him on 31 May.
Mr Becker, from Newcastle, said the dog’s bite tore through his black tracksuit trousers causing a bruise and a cut to his left leg.
His wound was checked at hospital but did not require treatment.
Bolton will be sentenced later today.
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Life may have survived a cataclysmic global freeze some 700 million years ago in pockets of open ocean, say researchers.
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There is growing speculation that Stormont parties could agree on draft budget within the next few hours.
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Julian Assange was photographed inside a prison van on his way to court
The founder of whistle-blowing website Wikileaks is due to appear in court in London in a fresh attempt to secure bail.
Julian Assange, 39, denies sexually assaulting two women in Sweden and is fighting extradition.
Mr Assange was refused bail last week despite the offer of sureties from figures including film director Ken Loach and journalist John Pilger.
His mother said he was “heartened” by the support he had received.
Christine Assange told Australian television station Channel 7 on Tuesday that she had spoken to her son in prison.
“I told him how people all over the world, in all sorts of countries, were standing up with placards and screaming out for his freedom and justice and he was very heartened by that,” she said.
“As a mother, I’m asking the world to stand up for my brave son.”
Ms Assange also read a statement from him, which she had copied down when he spoke to her from Wandsworth Prison. In it, he defended the actions of Wikileaks, adding: “My convictions are unfaltering.”
His lawyer Mark Stephens said he had not been given any of his post – including legal letters – since being remanded in custody.
“He has absolutely no access to any electronic equipment, no access to the outside world, no access to outside media,” he said.
Mr Stephens said the only correspondence his client had received was a note telling him that a copy of Time magazine sent to him had been destroyed because the cover bore his photograph.
Protesters have gathered outside City of Westminster Magistrates
In his first appearance at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court last week, District Judge Howard Riddle refused Mr Assange bail on the grounds he could flee.
He is accused of having unprotected sex with a woman, identified only as Miss A, when she insisted he use a condo
He is also accused of having unprotected sex with another woman, Miss W, while she was asleep.
Mr Assange claims the charges are politically motivated and are designed to discredit him.
In recent weeks, Wikileaks has published a series of US diplomatic cables revealing secret information on topics such as terrorism and international relations.
The latest release, published by the Guardian newspaper, shows that the US had concerns after the 7 July bombings that the UK was not doing enough to tackle home-grown extremists.
Another cable claims British police helped “develop” evidence against Madeleine McCann’s parents after she went missing.
Protesters from the Justice for Assange Campaign gathered outside the court last week carrying banners bearing slogans including “political prisoner” and “gagging the truth”.
Jemima Khan, sister of Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith, was among those to add their support.
Journalist John Pilger, who like Ms Khan had offered to pay a surety to secure Mr Assange’s release on bail, told the BBC. “I spoke to Julian Assange in Wandsworth Prison and he told me they put him in solitary confinement in a punishment block. This is ridiculous.”
Asked about Wikileaks, Mr Pilger added: “This should be the heart of journalism. The really great stories – the ones that tell us how the world works, help us to make sense of the world – invariably come from whistle-blowers.”
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