No ‘Bunga Bunga’ as Italy marks its birthday
It is supposed to be party time in Italy,?�but apart from the fact the country shares its 150 years of unification?�with?�St Patrick’s Day,?�that’s where the similarities seem to end.?�?�?�That is because there appears?�little thirst among Italians to toast the nation’s special day with a pint of Guinness let alone pop open the champagne.?�?�?�?�Leaving aside?�Italy’s?�long-standing?�economic and geographical divisions, the country remains dogged by?�political scandal and infighting.?�Much of it is focused on Italy’s colourful prime minister,?�Silvio Berlusconi.?�He?�finds himself facing trials over corruption and allegations of having paid for sex with an under-age prostitute?�- a crime in Italy. ?�The defiant 74-year-old billionaire, who has vowed to appear in court in person in the next few weeks to answer the charges,?�has ridiculed the?�accusations against him, claiming the cases are politically motivated.?�?�In an interview with?�left leaning daily La Repubblica this week, Berlusconi said his alleged sexual appetite would be too much even for a man half his age, declaring: ‘‘I’m 75 years old. Even if I am a rascal, 33 girls in two months seems to me to be too many, even for a 30-year-old. It’s too many for anyone.’‘?�What does all this have to do with celebrating Italy’s 150th anniversary? Well, the recent large-scale protests would appear to suggest many in Italy are fed up with Il Cavalieri’s supposed shenanigans – more popularly?�branded as ‘bunga bunga’ parties.?�Many?�accuse him of tarnishing Italy’s image abroad and making the country a global laughing stock. ?�But it is not just the prime minister who is dividing opinion. Even the government’s decision to declare March 17 a public holiday?�caused a bust up. Critics,?�notably the right-wing Northern?�League party, slammed the event for being a complete waste of money. It?�argued that the national day off would harm Italy’s?�already fragile economy.?�?�?�?�Berlusconi’s own political survival and the?�Northern League’s own policy agenda also seem increasingly intertwined. The south-bashing party continues to prop up the Italian premier in parliament and without its support he would surely be finished. Likewise, despite now saying it is not seeking outright independence, the?�NL is still piling the pressure on Berlusconi to give the north greater autonomy from the south of the country.?�Since its birth in 1861 – following the overthrow of the Kingdom of Naples by a nationalist movement led by the revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi – Italy has struggled?�to live with itself. Strong regional identities remain,?�particularly the marked divide between the richer north and poorer south. However, one has the impression that the on-going sleaze scandals surrounding the premier are fuelling Italy’s divisions rather than healing them. Critics say they are distractions from more serious problems: high unemployment,?�a lack of graduate opportunities and fears of mass immigration.?�Reading the above one would think it is all doom and gloom. So a century and a half on, is there anything that unites this seemingly divided country?
Well yes! Its?�heritage, art and culture, architecture, food and, of course,?�Ferrari?�and football are enough to unite this most beautiful of divided nations. Perhaps, it is worth celebrating after all. ?�?�?�By Paul Hackett
Thousands flock to airport to leave Libya
Busloads of people continue to arrive at Libya’s Djerba Airport, in the hope of catching a flight out of the violence-stricken country.
Officials think 15,000 people will leave Djerba during the course of today.
The EU has organised emergency airlifts. Ships are also waiting offshore.
“We are planning to have six planes today, each with 250 seats, leaving Djerba for Cairo, and this will be the case for the next five days.” said Boris Boillon, France’s ambassador to Tunisia.
Aid from the EU now tops 10 million euros, and will pay for food, tents and medical supplies for those displaced by the conflict.
The UN estimates around 180 thousand people have been affected in total.
More than 77 thousand have already crossed east into Egypt, while a similar number have fled west into Tunisia.
Thirty thousand are still waiting at the Tunisian border.
A popcorn seller protests in Bahrain
“This man’s popcorn machine was taken away from him, preventing him from selling his popcorn, during an attack on Pearl Square in Bahrain’s capital. As local TV said that security forces were armed with guns and swords, he stuck a toy sword and gun on his board sign and wrote: ‘Khalifa [the King’s name] this is what your army used; they even stole my popcorn machine. Why?’This video shows the nation of Bahrain and how peaceful the demonstrators are and how they keep on staying pleasant even after the massacre in Pearl square.”
February 21. Video by Hussain
Honda recalls cars worldwide
Honda is recalling nearly 700,000 cars, the Freed, Fit and City models as they are known in Japan.
It has to fix a faulty engine spring which have been found to bend or break over time meaning the car cannot be started.
Honda said it had received over 100 complaints worldwide, mostly from its home market of Japan.
No accidents have been reported from the defect and fixing it will cost Honda 39 million euros in Japan alone, where about a fifth of the affected vehicles were sold.
About the same number are in the US and Canada and the rest throughout Asia.
This is the latest in a series of recalls by Japanese carmakers to correct minor problems.
In the last 12 months Honda alone has recalled more than four million vehicles for various problems including headlights, ignition systems and airbags.
Army tells Egyptians: ‘Get back to work’
Egypt’s military rulers on Monday called upon disgruntled workers to stop striking and return to their jobs.
Employees in a number of key sectors want better pay and conditions.
The country’s economy ground to a halt during demonstrations that toppled former president, Hosni Mubarak.
In a statement on state television, military spokesman General Mohsen el-Fangari said strikes and disputes would threaten Egypt’s security and damage its economy.
He called on all citizens, professionals and labour unions to be responsible at this crucial time.
Egypt’s stock exchange has been shut since January 27 because of the political unrest.
Banks are not expected to reopen until Wednesday.
The tourism sector, which accounts for six percent of GDP, has also been hit by a drop in revenues.
Algeria
Army backed President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been in power since 1999. In recent weeks he has promised to open up state media to opposition parties, create new jobs and lift the state of emergency imposed on the country since 1992. His concessions have failed to prevent protests however. Demonstrators have defied a ban on public gatherings in the capital Algiers although widespread bloodshed has not been reported despite a massive turn out of protesters and a significant police presence on the streets. Pro-democracy demonstrations are planned for Saturdays, last week riot police intervened with batons at one such rally in the capital.
Population (2008 census): 34.4 millionHuman Development Index1: 84thUnemployment: 10.2% (governement statistics)
1 HDI is calculated according to factors such as schooling, life expectancy and gross national income and is used by the UN’s Development Programme for its Human development reports.
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Portugal warns of debt crisis critical moment
With the amount of interest that Portugal is having to offer to get investors to buy its bonds rising to unsustainable levels, Lisbon is appealing for urgent and effective support from the European Union – but not a bailout.
At conference in Lisbon Prime Minister Jose Socrates said the sovereign debt crisis is the EU’s biggest challenge.
Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos said Europe must take swift tough action to protect peripheral economies against attacks from the investment markets. If not, he said, Portugal’s efforts to cut its budget deficit and implement painful reforms would count for nothing.
The Portuguese want action at an EU summit in three weeks time to convince investors of European resolve.
If that does not happen they fear the markets may launch another sell-off of euro zone sovereign debt hitting Portugal hard and forcing it to take a bailout, as Greece and Ireland already have.
Portugal’s pleas may fall on deaf ears, there are growing doubts about Germany’s willingness to support expanding or reconfiguring the bloc’s rescue fund enough to calm investors and reduce the pressure.
Ricardo Espirito Santo Salgado, who heads Portugal’s second largest listed bank, BES, criticised European indecision over how to combat the debt crisis.
He said lack of clarity over decisions to be taken at coming European meetings were behind the recent jump in the euro zone periphery’s bond yields, including Portugal’s.
“After a correction in sovereign spreads and credit at the start of the year, especially on expectations of a reform of financial stabilisation and budget coordination mechanisms, the uncertainty over the decisions by the European Council in March has contributed to a new rise in risk premiums,” he said.
Portugal’s borrowing costs have risen sharply over the last year and are now hovering near Euro-lifetime highs. The benchmark 10-year bond was at almost 7.6 percent on Monday.
Residents killed in Tanzania munitions blasts
At least 20 people are reported killed in Tanzania after a series of explosions at a military munitions dump.
Almost 150 people are known to have been injured in the blasts, in the country’s commercial capital Dar Es Salaam.
Most of the victims lived in nearby residential areas. The explosions caused panic, hurling debris across a wide area.
More than 20 depots housing weapons and ammunition were destroyed, along with a school and two houses.
The explosions happened a few kilometres from the city’s international airport, which was closed as a precaution.
It is not known what caused the blasts.
The prime minister has told parliament that the death toll could rise. Some 4,000 people have sought shelter at the national stadium.
In 2009, another explosion at a military base in Dar Es Salaam killed 26 people and injured more than 700.
Wife of Belgian paedophile could be freed
The ex-wife of Marc Dutroux, the Belgian paedophile who was sentenced to life in prison for a shocking string of murders, rapes and kidnappings in the 1990s, could be free on Tuesday.
Michel Martin received 30 years for her part as an accomplice in the crimes.
Three previous attempts to have her paroled were unsuccessful.
Seeing is believing: DIY glasses bring sight to thousands
These people in Malawi are queuing up to try on glasses that they can adjust themselves to suit their own eyesight. This means there is no need to see an optician.
