Aftershocks Rattle G8 Organizers

(NEWSER) - World leaders have begun arriving in Italy for the G8 summit, which at the last minute Silvio Berlusconi relocated to L'Aquila—the devastated town where 300 died in a massive earthquake. While many praised the Italians for quickly rehousing the victims, rebuilding has been stalled and 15,000 people are still living in tents. "The city's situation is frozen," one man in L'Aquila told the Independent. More»

Berlusconi wants world leaders to meet in L'Aquila in July

(NEWSER) - Silvio Berlusconi pledged today to move this summer's G8 summit to L'Aquila, where an earthquake killed 296 people and destroyed the homes of 65,000, Reuters reports. The meeting is set to take place on a small island off Sardinia, but the Italian PM said he would rather see the money for the summit help rebuild the destroyed region. "What seat would be more appropriate than a land wounded by the earthquake?" Berlusconi said. More»

(NEWSER) - Aftershocks in the Abruzzo region of Italy this morning, including one with a magnitude of 5.2, hampered ongoing rescue efforts and spooked refugees still in the area, Reuters reports. Officials closed off the center of L’Aquila, where the latest tremors continued to damage the hard-hit town. Though rescuers fear there are no more survivors from Monday’s quake, efforts will continue through Sunday. More»

Group met six days before L'Aquila quake, but raised no alarm

(USER SUBMITTED) - Predicting earthquakes is shaky business at best, but that detail isn't stopping Italian officials from prosecuting a group of prominent scientists over their failure to do exactly that. Six scientists and one government official face charges of manslaughter for allegedly failing to provide adequate warning of imminent disaster to locals after the region was struck by more than 400 low-magnitude tremors in the months preceding a major quake. The group of experts met in 2009 to analyze the risk posed by the seismic activity, but didn't find cause to raise alarm. Six days later, a major quake devastated the central Italian city of L'Aquila and killed 309 people, reports the AFP . More»

Italians worry sex scandals will tarnish country's image

(NEWSER) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is playing host to world leaders at the G8 meeting but many Italians fear his penchant for hosting teenage girls and escorts at his villa will overshadow and hurt the summit, the Los Angeles Times reports. Sex scandals have dogged the PM for months, trying the patience of normally tolerant Italians who worry that his antics are beginning to damage the country's image. More»