Berlusconi urged to resigne as political tensions rise

It has been a most public divorce and it’s had the effect of ratcheting up political tensions in Italy.

Parliamentary speaker Gianfranco Fini’s threat to pull his supporters out of the government if Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi doesn’t resign has stirred up a storm. But there is a question mark over whether Fini would ever vote against the government and not everyone agrees with his tactics. Frattini himself has said:

“This must be done with parliamentary debate, in the parliament and not with urgent appeals from political podium”.

Berlusconi has dismissed the calls to go.
His government’s future has been in the balance since July when he effectively expelled Fini from his party. Fini formed a new one and left Berlusconi without a secure parliamentary majority.

But opposition politicians such as Pierferdinando Casini are now joining the fray and telling the government to wake up because the country is “going down the drain”In the meantime the public fallout may have done Berlusconi a favour and knocked the latest sex scandal involving him from the front pages.

Nuclear energy: The "train of death" halted by protests

Protesters clashed with German police on Sunday as they tried to block a train carrying nuclear waste from France.

Officers used pepper spray and batons to disperse the 1,000 anti-nuclear activists camped on the tracks near Dannenberg, northern Germany.

Demonstrations were held throughout the weekend over the planned return of more than 100 tonnes of reprocessed waste to the northern town of Gorleben from Valognes in France.When it reaches Dannenberg, the shipment will be loaded onto lorries for the final leg of its voyage.

Environmentalists have described it as “the most radioactive shipment in history”.

The protests have at times turned into running battles with numerous injuries on both sides. Opinion polls suggest most Germans oppose the continued use of nuclear energy.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government recently decided to extend the lifespan of the country’s atomic power plants.

Elections: Greek PM drops snap election threat

No snap election for Greece – that was the message from Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou after he put a positive slant on his Socialist Party’s showing in local elections.

The prime minister had threatened to dissolve parliament if the first round of the regional poll failed to give him a mandate to pursue his austerity package.

Prime Minister George Papandreou said:
“ The Greek people brought us to power a year ago for this change to happen, and today they confirmed again that they want this change and are asking for it to happen. As of tomorrow, we continue with our work.”

Official estimates give the Socialists seven out of 13 regions.

Some 40 per cent of voters abstained and about 10 per cent of those who did vote spoiled their paper.

Opposition leader Antonis Samaras said: “Those who voted, the majority of them condemned the policies of Mr. Papandreou. And those that stayed away rejected his election blackmail.”

Observers say the threat of a general election will calm investors who had been worried about political instability in the country.

Greece has embarked upon deep spending cuts as stipulated by a multi-million-euro EU/IMF bailout.

Elections 2: Azerbaijan ruling party says certain of victory

The party of Azerbaijan’s leader Ilham Aliyev says it is certain it has won a parliamentary election, rejecting accusations of fraud.

The opposition has cried foul, saying the poll was a stage-managed charade in favour of the president. But allegations of multiple voting and ballot stuffing have been dismissed, with the ruling party insisting the vote was free and fair.Rights groups accuse President Aliyev of curbing democratic freedoms. But he is cushioned against Western criticism by the former Soviet republic’s strategic importance as an oil and gas exporter and a transit route for the US military in Afghanistan.

Ilham Aliyev has steadily consolidated his grip on power since succeeding his father, long-serving leader Heydar Aliyev, in 2003.

Accident: Leaks found on Qantas superjumbos 

Qantas Airways has reported oil leaks on three Rolls-Royce engines from its grounded fleet of six A380 superjumbos. More extensive tests will follow, which means the Australian carrier won’t get its aircraft back in service by the 48-hour deadline it set last week.

Since Thursday, crash investigators have been looking into why an engine exploded shortly after a Sydney-bound flight took off from Singapore.

Much of the debris from the A380’s engine fell on Indonesia’s Batam Island. No one was injured.

From: Euronews