A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Berlusconi will not be in court for trial opening
MILAN – Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi will not be in court when his trial on charges of paying for sex with an underage teenager opens in Milan tomorrow.
The case, in which the Mr Berlusconi (74) is accused of paying nightclub dancer Karima “Ruby” El Mahroug, for sex when she was under the legal age limit of 18, is one of the most sensational in Italy’s postwar history.
Mr Berlusconi, one of Italy’s richest entrepreneurs as well as its prime minister, denies the charges and says he never had sex with El Mahroug.
He denies a related charge of abuse of office arising from phone calls he made to have the young woman released from a Milan police station. – (Reuters)
At least 12 Yemeni protesters killed
TAIZ – Military forces and police snipers opened fire yesterday on marchers calling for the removal of Yemen’s president, killing at least 12 people.
The bloodshed in the southern city of Taiz – part of an intensifying crackdown on the opposition – underscored the resolve of President Ali Abdullah Saleh to cling to power even as protest crowds resist attacks and former allies call for his 32-year rule to end.
In Taiz, witnesses described troops and gunmen firing wildly on thousands of protesters. – (Reuters)
Battle to control leaks continues
TOKYO – Japanese engineers were forced yesterday to release radioactive water into the sea while resorting to desperate measures such as using bath salts to try to find the source of leaks at a crippled nuclear power complex hit by the March 11th tsunami.
Engineers also planned to build two giant polyester “silt curtains” in the sea to hinder the spread of contamination from the Fukushima Daiichi plant, 240km north of Tokyo. Engineers are still struggling to regain control of damaged reactors at the plant. – (Reuters)