Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook

Uproar After NC State Agent 'Fixes' Girl's Lunch Preschooler has to eat chicken nuggets instead of mom's meal »

Berlusconi: Trials 'Laughable, Absurd'

Italian PM goes on the attack after losing immunity from prosecution

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 9, 2009 5:36 AM CDT

(Newser) – A defiant Silvio Berlusconi vowed yesterday to rule with "even more grit" despite looming criminal trials on corruption charges. The trials "are false, laughable, absurd,” scoffed the Italian prime minister, who has been stripped of his immunity from prosecution. “I will defend myself in the courtroom and make my accusers look ridiculous.” Berlusconi accused Italy's president, Giorgio Napolitano, of being part of a left-wing plot to unseat him.

Berlusconi told a late-night TV show that the president should have used his influence to persuade the constitutional court not to lift his immunity, and told a female member of parliament who disagreed that she was "more beautiful than intelligent." Berlusconi, who stands 5-foot-5 "is taller than he is well-mannered," her colleague retorted.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (2)]

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi waves as he leaves the Palazzo Grazioli residence in Rome earlier this week. (AP Photo/Sandro Pace)

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi gestures as he speaks to reporters on his way out of the Palazzo Grazioli residence in Rome. (AP Photo/Sandro Pace)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

I will show everyone what stuff my accusers are made of and what stuff I am made of. - Silvio Berlusconi

The government will forge ahead calmly, tranquilly and with even more grit than before because this will be absolutely indispensable for freedom and democracy in this country. - Silvio Berlusconi

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Eurozone Economy Shrinks

Nine of 17 member states post a fall

(NEWSER) - For the first time since 2009, the eurozone economy contracted last quarter. The fourth quarter of 2011 saw the GDP shrink 0.3% compared to the third quarter; the last quarterly contraction occurred during the second quarter of 2009 when the GDP dropped 0.2%. Meanwhile, the GDP grew just 0.7% compared to a year earlier, the smallest gain since the fourth quarter of 2009. Nine of the 17 member states posted a fall, and economists are forecasting more contraction to come, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

Italians Appeal Knox Acquittal

Prosecutors want to put Knox, Sollecito on trial a 3rd time

(NEWSER) - Amanda Knox moved back to Seattle after her murder conviction was overturned last October, but Italian prosecutors hope they haven't seen the last of her. They have, as expected, filed an appeal to reinstate her and Raffalle Sollecito's convictions for the 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher, reports the Guardian . Italy's supreme court can order a third trial if it decides legal procedures were not followed in the pair's retrial. More»

Italy Begins Salvaging Cruise Ship Fuel

Costa Concordia believed to hold 500K gallons of heavy fuel oil

(NEWSER) - Italian officials have begun operations to salvage some 500,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil from the stricken Costa Concordia cruise ship, reports the BBC . Dutch salvage company Smit is performing the operation, which has been delayed by bad weather and the search for survivors; the salvage is expected to take 28 days. "We expect the next five days to be good weather, and we will work 24 hours a day to pump out the fuel," says Smit's salvage master. "Hopefully by the end of the week we will have the majority out." Some 15 tanks are believed to hold 84% of the fuel aboard, notes the AP. More»

Venice: Cruise Ships Are Killing Us

Tourism surging, residents worry about Costa Concordia disaster

(NEWSER) - Fragile, waterlogged Venice has long been unhappy with the onslaught of ever-larger cruise ships that inundate its picturesque port. But the wreck of the Costa Concordia has sent fears soaring, and many in the city are calling for regulations to cut down on the 650 cruise ships that come to Venice each year and keep them further from the venerable city, reports the AP . Cruise ship tourism has increased from 280,000 passengers in 1997 to 1.8 million last year, and with the European cruise industry expected to double by 2020, that number will continue to soar. More»

Death Toll Rises in European Cold Snap

Europeans grapple with worst winter in years

(NEWSER) - While much of the US basks in unseasonably warmish weather, Europe continues to be locked in a deep freeze that's getting even colder. More than 100 people have died in Ukraine, Italy is suffering its coldest winter in 27 years, and conditions are so severe in Serbia that thousands have been stranded in -22 degree cold along with six feet of snow, reports the BBC . Food and medicines are being airlifted in, and helicopters are attempting to move the most fragile Serbians to safety. Authorities are also scrambling to get help to people in Greece, Spain, and Italy. Nearly 600 passengers were stranded this week for seven hours in an Italian mountain train when the brakes and electrical cables froze. Temperatures have plunged as low at -40 degrees in Russia—which is -52 with the wind chill factored in. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Berlusconi: Trials 'Laughable, Absurd'