Court rejects Berlusconi's objections

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/189717.html

An Italian court has rejected submissions by the defense team of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, charged with abuse of power and sex-related crimes.

The court rejected the claims by the lawyers of the 74-year-old Italian premier, who challenged the Milan court's right to hear the case, AFP reported.

Berlusconi's defense team presented 16 preliminary complaints, and argued that the abuse of power charge against Berlusconi, which carries a sentence of up to 12 years in prison, should be considered by a special court for ministers, and sex-related charges should be heard by a court outside Milan.

Judge Giulia Turri dismissed the defense motions one by one in the hearing session attended by neither Berlusconi nor the woman at the center of the accusations.

The Italian premier is accused of paying for sex with a Moroccan-born teenager, nicknamed Ruby, at a series of wild dinner parties held at his private villa in the north of Italy.

He is also accused of abusing his power to let the girl get out of police custody in 2010.

"The court considers itself to be competent," the ruling said.

The court set the date for the next hearing for sex crime case on September 19, and the next hearing for the power charge case has been set for October 3.

The Italian prime minister has not made any court appearances since May 16.

Berlusconi told a local newspaper on July 8 that he would not run again when his term finishes in 2013 and named the country's justice minister as his successor.

Italian cabinet approves austerity plan

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/186991.html

The Italian cabinet has adopted an austerity plan aimed at protecting the country from Greek debt crisis and avoiding the budget deficit in 2014.

The measure approved on Thursday, which includes a tax hike on financial transactions, a cut in ministers' pay and an extension of the current freeze on public sector salaries and hiring, aims to save EUR 47 billion and reassure investors, the Press TV correspondent in Rome reports.

The budget cuts of EUR 47 billion will be implemented over 4 years, EUR 1.5 billion this year, EUR 5.5 billion next year, EUR 20 billion in 2013, and another EUR 20.5 billion in 2014, the government spokesman announced in a press conference on Thursday.

The government is also expected to reduce income tax and crack down on tax exemptions and evasion.

Parliament approval is needed before the austerity plan takes effect.

Moody's and Standard & Poor's rating agencies have warned the country's credit rating could be downgraded because of its inability to pass reforms to bring down its debt mountain and the country's low growth rate, unless Rome takes proper measures to cut its public deficit.

By 2013, there will probably be a new government which will face the EUR 40 billion budget cuts in 2013 and 2014, which will certainly harm a lot of families in Italy.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government has said that it is going to reduce the budget of government ministries and local authorities plus a reduction in tax breaks for companies and families, but there will be no cuts on education, research and culture.

The budget is the latest test for Berlusconi, who suffered heavy defeats in local elections and four referendums over the last month. His approval ratings have been sinking over a series of corruption and sex scandals, and a stagnant economy.

'Berlusconi government may collapse'

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (L) and Northern League leader Umberto Bossi

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/186800.html

Italy's Northern League political party leader says Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government risked collapsing over an austerity budget worth nearly EUR 40 billion (USD 57.6 billion).

Umberto Bossi, whose political party is Berlusconi's main coalition ally, says the Northern League may not support the 2012 budget.

Italian Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti has reportedly come under pressure by the ruling coalition to resign over his budget measures.

Berlusconi met with coalition leaders on Tuesday to gain political agreement on the country's annual budget, which includes cuts to ministry budgets, funding for town councils and healthcare, Reuters reported.

Italy, which has found itself in a similar situation as Greece, must come up with EUR 40 billion in budget cuts by 2014 in order to comply with eurozone regulations.

The country's debt burden is currently at 120 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is twice the eurozone limit but still better than other members like Greece.

Analysts believe Berlusconi's unpopularity will trigger fierce protests in the face of the austerity measures and can undermine the premier's government entirely.

MPs give Berlusconi lift after losses

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/185723.html

The government of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has won a confidence vote on a bill widely seen as a test of the stability of his coalition।

The bill, adopted by 317 votes to 293 in the lower house of parliament on Tuesday, includes tax breaks and investment incentives।

"These are the numbers of an absolute majority," said Justice Minister Angelino Alfano, who has just been named the new secretary of Berlusconi's People of Freedom Party.

"We are satisfied with the umpteenth indication of our consistency that shows our strength," he added.

Berlusconi told lawmakers after winning the confidence vote that his government should remain in power until its five-year term ends in 2013 to "avoid ending up like other European countries which are bleeding."

The victory in the confidence vote will give Berlusconi's People of Freedom Party a slight boost after the embattled premier suffered defeats in crucial local elections and a round of referendums in less than a month.

Among other things, the referendums would have approved a legal immunity law designed to keep Berlusconi out of court.

Over the years, the 74-year-old has faced a plethora of allegations of criminal activity, including mafia involvement, corruption, and bribery of police officers, lawyers, and judges

Berlusconi entangled in political rift

Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/185060.html

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is facing a political rift in his coalition government days after he suffered a referendum humiliation.

The Italian premier's outspoken ally, the Northern League, has withdrawn earlier support for Berlusconi by pressing him to cut tax and relocate two ministries from Rome to Milan, a Press TV correspondent reported.

The tax cut proposal is aimed at restoring popularity for Berlusconi's government, which according to a recent survey conducted by Ipr Marketing firm and published by Italy's Left-leaning daily, La Repubblica, has hit a low of 29 percent.

Experts believe the risk of a split between the Northern League and the ruling People of Freedom party could lead to early elections in the country.

“At the moment Berlusconi needs the League, because without the League we don't have a majority; we go to elections, and going to elections now for Berlusconi would be a disaster,” Giovanni Orsina, a professor of political sciences at LUISS University in Rome said.

Berlusconi needs the support of the Northern League more than the League is in need of the premier's backing, Orsina added.

The Northern League will hold a meeting in Pontida this weekend to discuss the funding details for the government's upcoming fiscal reform which is aimed at winning back public support.

Berlusconi faced another embarrassment earlier this week, following the local election defeat, after 57 percent of voters turned out in a referendum to reject four government's proposals.

The voters were opposed to the government's plans to return to nuclear power as well as a law that would give legal immunity to the premier who is already a defendant in three trials involving allegations of bribery, fraud and paying for sex with a 17-year-old girl.

Berlusconi, who narrowly survived a confidence vote in December, will face another parliament vote on June 21.

Berlusconi ordered to stand trial

Judge says Italian PM will face fast-track trial over claims he paid for underage sex and abused power to cover it up



Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2011/02/201121510218280935.html

Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, has been ordered to stand trial on charges he paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl and then used his political position to try and cover it up.

Cristina Di Censo, a Milan judge, handed down the indictment on Tuesday. The trial is set to begin on April 6.

The 74-year-old billionaire has denied the charges against him, saying they are politically motivated. However, his lawyers on Tuesday said they "didn't expect anything else," in response to the news.

Prosecutors bringing the case against Berlusconi allege he paid for sex with a "significant number" of young women including a Moroccan dancer nicknamed Ruby the Heart Stealer, who was 17 at the time.

The premier is also accused of using his influence to free her from custody after being arrested on suspicion of an unrelated theft.

A group of Milan judges, who conducted an investigation into the claims before seeking trial, say the premier acted in fear that her detention would have revealed her relationship to him.

But Berlusconi and Ruby, whose real name is Karima El Mahroug, have both denied having sex, and the premier's supporters say he helped release her from jail because he believed she was a relative of Hosni Mubarak, the recently ousted Egyptian president.

Biggest blow

Tuesday's development is the biggest blow yet to the embattled prime minister, who is resisting calls to step down amid a growing number of scandals and political problems.

Earlier this week, thousands of women rallied around the country against the prime minister, saying the alleged scandals were humiliating.

The prime minister has also come under pressure from the Vatican and Confindustria, Italy's main business lobby.

Tim Friend, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Rome, said many people in Italy "are starting to ask if this is the beginning of the end for their prime minister".

"This [impending court case] is the worst possible news for Berlusconi, Italy's longest-serving post-war leader. He has a long history of accusations against him including sex scandals and corruption," he said.

Berlusconi has also been made politically vulnerable following a split with a former ally, and last month a court partially removed his right to political immunity.

Tuesday's decision suggests that Di Censo believes that there is sufficient evidence to subject Berlusconi to an immediate trial, which skips the preliminary hearing stage.

But his lawyers have previously accused the Milan court of "violating the constitution", saying Berlusconi could only be tried in a special court for members of parliament.

Our correspondent said in theory the Italian leader could face up to 15 years in jail if found guilty.

"This looks as though the judge has decided on a fast-track trial.

"Berlusconi will be marshalling his defences, I think he will say some of this evidence against him was acquired through phone taps, through interceptions and he might challenge it in that way," he said.

Berlusconi refuses to step down

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi

Source: press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/165188.html

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has announced he will not step down and slammed the demonstrations against him over his sex scandals.

On Sunday, thousands of Italian women took to the streets across the country to call on Berlusconi to resign over his sex scandals, specifically the underage prostitution scandal.

The 74-year-old told his Canale 5 network on Monday that he has never disrespected women, Reuters reported.

“All women who have had the opportunity to get to know me, know how much I respect them. I have always behaved and I always behave with great care and great respect, both in my companies and in my government,” he said.

The prime minister has denied the allegations against him, but his manner of defending himself has offended many.

In an interview last year, Berlusconi stated, "I have never paid a woman. I have never seen the satisfaction that there could be in it without the pleasure of conquest."

The Sunday protest organizers -- actresses Francesca and Cristina Comencini -- say that Berlusconi has damaged women's dignity.

"Berlusconi has long shown a violent contempt for women with his misogynist remarks," Francesca Comencini said.

The demonstration is one of many that have taken place over the weekend and in previous months, as Italians continue their call for Berlusconi to resign.

Berlusconi said the government would not resign over the affair, potentially opening the way for new elections.

“The Milan prosecutors' office and the media in contrast has trampled on the dignity of my guests, exposing them to public scorn without any reason or regard for them and trampling on the truth," Berlusconi said.

Reports revealed that he had been using a bank account in Milan to make payments to showgirls and models that attended parties at his mansion on the outskirts of the city.

The Italian prime minister has resisted calls to quit over the latest scandal, in which he is accused of having sexual relations with an underage Moroccan girl, Karima El Mahroug, also known in the media as "Ruby the Heart-Stealer,”

Jordan's new PM urged to step down

Demonstrators hold signs asking for a representative parliament and reforms outside the prime minister's office in Amman, February 2, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/163326.html

Jordanian opposition parties say Marouf Bakhit, who has been newly appointed as prime minister, is not the right person for the job and must step down.

Jordan's King Abdullah II bowed to public pressure inspired by the revolt in Tunisia and Egypt and sacked Prime Minister Samir Rifai on Tuesday, appointing former ambassador to Israel, Marouf Bakhit, as the Arab country's new premier.

But the move was rejected by demonstrators who gathered on Wednesday outside the prime minister's office in Amman and vowed to continue demonstrations until their demands for fair parliamentary elections and other democratic and economic reforms are met.

"We think he is not the right man for conducting the required political reforms," the head of the Islamic Action Front (IAF) Political Department, Zaki Bani Ersheid, said.

"Bakhit is a security man, a former army general and ex-intelligence official. He doesn't believe in democracy and is not the right person for the job," the Associated Press quoted leader of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, Hamza Mansour, as saying.

Mansour said Jordan needs a person who can tackle the country's serious “economic and political crisis.”

Bakhit is the wrong person who cannot introduce democratic reforms and tackle deepening poverty and unemployment, he noted.

The ongoing political crisis in Jordan comes as the Persian Gulf state is grappling with a soaring foreign debt estimated at $15 billion, an inflation rate that swelled by 1.5 percent to 6.1 percent in December and high unemployment and poverty rates, estimated at 12 and 25 percent respectively.

Jordan PM resigns but protests continue

Jordanian protesters hold an anti-government protest in capital Amman, January 28, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/163098.html

Jordan's King Abdullah II has sacked the government and asked ex-premier Marouf Bakhit to name a new cabinet, a choice that equally drew criticism from the opposition.

On Tuesday, King Abdullah II accepted the resignation of the government led by Prime Minister Samir Rifai, who formed the first government in December 2009 and reshuffled it after parliamentary elections in November 2010, AFP reported.

"King Abdullah II designated Marouf Bakhit to form a new government to replace the government of Samir Rifai," a palace statement said.

"Bakhit's mission is to take practical, quick and tangible steps to launch true political reforms, enhance Jordan's democratic drive and ensure safe and decent living for all Jordanians."

The decision comes amid massive demonstrations sweeping the Persian Gulf kingdom over the past three weeks.

Jordanian protesters, inspired by the revolution in Tunisia and the massive uprising in Egypt, have been criticizing the government for its failure to carry out necessary political and economic reforms.

The opposition demands "the resignation of the government, the amendment of the electoral law and the formation of a national salvation government headed by an elected prime minister," said Zaki Bani Rsheid, a member of the Islamic Action Front (IAF) executive council.

They also call for constitutional changes to limit the king's power in naming prime ministers, arguing that the premiership should go to the leader of the parliamentary majority.

Meanwhile, the king's appointment of Bakhit, the country's prime minister from 2005 to 2007, has been met with criticism from IAF leaders who argue that the one-time premier "is a not a man of reforms."

"He carried out the worst parliamentary elections in Jordan in 2007," Bani Rsheid said, referring to the disputed general polls on November 20, 2007, which was shrouded in fraud and rigging allegations.

"We need a man who is well respected by the people, a man who does not have a history of corruption and oppression. How can he (Bakhit) lead political reform?" the opposition leaders questioned.