Tag Archives: minister-silvio

Berlusconi ‘pained’ amid divorce reports

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi refused to deny reports Sunday that his wife plans to file for divorce after finally running out of patience over his roving eye. Hours after newspapers said Veronica Lario had contacted a divorce lawyer and was seeking a quick separation after nearly 30 years of marriage, Berlusconi, 72, issued a terse statement Sunday that appeared to give credence to the reports. “It is a personal affair that pains me.

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Apparent sign of life, four days after Italy quake

Rescue workers believe they may have located an earthquake survivor on Friday, four days after the quake struck the region and killed 287 people, representatives of the L’Aquila fire department said Friday. They are trying to extract the person — who has shown signs of breathing — from underneath the rubble, and that will take some time, they said

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Berlusconi praised despite quake gaffe

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s energetic response to Monday’s earthquake has been generally praised despite his comparison of the ordeal of survivors staying in emergency tents to a camping weekend. Berlusconi has visited the town of L’Aquila, the epicenter of the 6.3-magnitude quake, every day this week, talking to survivors and pledging government help to rebuild houses. He scrapped a visit to Russia that was planned for this week.

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Aftershocks rattle quake rescue efforts

The arduous work of combing through rubble and treating the wounded of this medieval city continued into the early hours of Wednesday morning, even as the death toll from the powerful earthquake that rocked the area continued to climb. By late Tuesday night, 235 people had been confirmed dead, according to the Italian Civil Protection Agency, which was helping with recovery efforts in L’Aquila, about 120 km (75 miles) northeast of Rome.

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Quake survivor: I feel a deep sadness

Survivors of Monday’s deadly earthquake in Italy’s Abruzzo region face the prospect of rebuilding their shattered lives after thousands of homes were demolished. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday pledged to build a new town to house the thousands of people left homeless in the medieval city of L’Aquila, about 120 km (75 miles) northeast of Rome but for many the problems lie in the more immediate future

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Queen Elizabeth’s anger at Berlusconi a YouTube hit

Queen Elizabeth II has become a YouTube hit after apparently losing her temper with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi during a photocall for G-20 leaders. The queen joined the G-20 leaders for an official photo to mark the summit. After the photo is taken, Berlusconi can be heard yelling: “Mr Obama,” at the U.S

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Brown: G-20 will rise to challenge

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Monday he believed world leaders would "rise to the challenge" at this week’s G-20 summit by agreeing firm measures to set about tackling the global financial crisis. Brown, who hosts Thursday’s meeting in London, has spent the past few weeks courting a succession of world leaders in a bid to persuade them to sign up to a package of proposals he has described as a “global new deal,” including tighter financial regulations and further government stimulus measures. But other leaders have distanced themselves from Brown’s agenda, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel apparently speaking for other European leaders when she expressed skepticism this weekend about the wisdom of pouring further public money into economies already in recession

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