Politics News Event

(ANSA) - Rome, November 20 - Rome prosecutors have opened a murder probe into the death of a transsexual prostitute linked to disgraced Lazio ex-governor Piero Marrazzo, judicial sources said Friday.

Brenda was one of two prostitutes linked to Marrazzo, who resigned last month after it emerged he had been blackmailed over a video showing him with another transsexual sex worker, Natalie.

(ANSA) - Rome, November 20 - A transsexual prostitute linked to an Italian regional governor who resigned in a sex scandal last month was found dead in her burned-out apartment Friday.

A bottle of whisky and packed suitcases were found near the semi-naked and burned body of the Brazilian transsexual, who called herself Brenda.

Brenda was one of two transsexual prostitutes involved in the case of former Lazio governor Piero Marrazzo who resigned on October 27 after it emerged he was being blackmailed by rogue cops.

(ANSA) - Brussels, November 19 - Ex-Italian foreign minister Massimo D'Alema has been replaced by European Foreign Trade Commissioner and British Baron Catherine Ashton as the European Socialists' candidate for the new EU job of High Representative for Foreign Policy, sources close to the Socialist caucus said Thursday.

The news appeared to deal a fatal blow to D'Alema's bid for the post, one of two top jobs created by the Lisbon Treaty.

The other is the first standing president of the European Council.

(ANSA) - Beijing, November 19 - Italian Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti on Thursday gave a lecture to the rising stars of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in which he called for a new 'Global Standard' to govern a now global economy.

Speaking at the PCC's Central School, a post-graduate campus for future party leaders, the Italian minister observed that "the market has become global but the rules which govern it have remained local".

(ANSA) - Rome, November 19 - Doctors without Borders (MSF) are closing their office on Lampedusa because the government's push-back policy has caused a drop in arrivals of illegal immigrants, the organisation said on Thursday.

Referring to the joint Italy-Libya agreement to prevent illegal immigration on Italian shores, MSF said it was "very concerned about plight of migrants being sent back to Libya".

(ANSA) - Naples, November 19 - A mafia hitman caught on camera during a broad-daylight execution in central Naples was arrested on Friday three weeks after police made the video public.

Costanzo Apice, 28, was identified in late October as the shooter in a video showing the murder of Mario Bacioterracino, a convicted bank robber, outside a neighborhood bar last May.

After the video was released last month, Apice fled his home in Naples to the town of Caserta 36 km to the north where he was tracked down by police.

(ANSA) - Rome, November 19 - Some Italian politicians and sectors of society are guilty of "unacceptable" prejudices against immigrants, the influential Jesuit monthly Civilta' Cattolica said on Wednesday.

In a preview of an article which will be published on Saturday, the Catholic magazine said some Italians scorn immigrants and refugees, likening them to delinquents.

(ANSA) - Kabul, November 19 - Newly re-elected Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai's inaugural address on Thursday hit all the right chords, according to Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini.

In Kabul to see the president sworn in for his second term, Frattini said Karzai discussed ''a great many themes close to Italy's heart,'' a pledge to fight corruption foremost among them.

Widespread graft and cronyism in the country has greatly eroded NATO allies' faith in Karzai's ability to guide the country towards a stable democracy.

(ANSA) - Kabul, November 19 - The next international summit on the Afghanistan crisis should be held in the nation's capital, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Thursday.

In Kabul for the inauguration of re-elected President Hamid Karzai, Frattini added that, in order to avoid a "hash up", it was best to "postpone the summit for when we have a clearer idea what its objectives should be".

(ANSA) - Kabul, November 19 - Italy will help Afghanistan's government rid the country of corruption, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Thursday.

In Kabul for the inauguration of re-elected President Hamid Karzai, Frattini told ANSA that Italy would help the country set up a sorely needed corruption watchdog.

"We've trained hundreds of public officials in Iraq and we can do the same thing here," Frattini said.

(ANSA) - Kabul, November 19 - Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai must reconcile with his defeated political rival in order to rebuild the country, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Thursday.

In Kabul for the newly re-elected leader's inauguration, Frattini joined world leaders including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in urging Karzai to strike a truce with his opponent in the elections, ex-foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah.

(ANSA) - Rome, November 19 - Now that Brazil's supreme court has given its green light to the extradition to Italy of convicted terrorist Cesare Battisti, the final decision on his return will be political, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Thursday.

"We await this next move with respect and serenity," he added.

"In the meantime, I wish to congratulate the two ambassadors who handled this painful chapter with competence, resolve and a sense of institutional responsibility," the foreign minister said.

(ANSA) - Istanbul, November 18 - Re-elected Afghan President Hamid Karzai must take "decisive" action to convince the Afghan people he will be able to fight graft, boost the economy and ensure security, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Wednesday.

Speaking at an Italian-Turkish forum ahead of a trip to Kabul Thursday for Karzai's inauguration, Frattini called on Karzai to "take a decisive and transparent step towards the Afghan people, illustrating his government's priorities".

(ANSA) - Perugia, November 18 - An Italian prosecutor on Wednesday asked an appeals court to uphold the 30-year conviction of an Ivory Coast man for the rape and murder of British exchange student Meredith Kercher in 2007 in Perugia.

Prosecutor Pietro Catalani argued Rudy Guede, 22, had taken part in the crime and had raped the victim.

Catalani said Guede's earlier account of the night of the murder had not been credible.

(ANSA) - Rome, November 18 - A United Nations world food summit ended in Rome on Wednesday amid criticism of having made little progress to help the one billion people suffering from chronic hunger.

Organizers at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) were disappointed that the 60 world leaders and 200 national delegations attending the summit could not be persuaded to make the financial commitments that FAO says are necessary to stamp out hunger.