A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Berlusconi support at all-time low
ROME – Support for Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and his government have hit record lows, an opinion poll has shown. It also shows that the centre-left has overtaken the centre-right in terms of voting intentions.
The survey by the IPR polling institute for La Repubblica yesterday showed Mr Berlusconi’s approval rating at 31 per cent in April, down from 40 per cent at the start of 2011 and 56 per cent in April 2009.
The survey reflects a steady decline in Mr Berlusconi’s popularity, dented by corruption and underage prostitution trials. – (Reuters)
€110m from EU for Chernobyl shelter
KIEV – The European Commission says it will allocate an extra €110 million towards the cost of building a new shelter over the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, which blew up in 1986.
“Tomorrow I will announce an additional pledge of €110 million,” commission president José Manuel Barroso said yesterday after meeting Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich in Kiev.
“We hope that our key partners will also step up their contributions in order to complete the works of the shelter by 2015,” he said. – (Reuters)
Former ministers join anti-Saleh bloc
SANAA – Members of Yemen’s ruling party, including three former ministers, have formed a new bloc to support protests against the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The new party, the Justice and Development Bloc, opposes the suppression of protests and is demanding an end to Mr Saleh’s 32-year rule. It includes former ministers for tourism, human rights and transport from the ruling party, and a number of members of parliament.
Meanwhile, at least 88 people were wounded yesterday in the Red Sea port of Hudaida as police fired bullets and teargas at protesters. – (Reuters)