Politics News Event

(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.

(ANSA) - Rome, November 18 - Lower House Speaker Gianfranco Fini on Wednesday voiced his support for the people of Tibet and their exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

Fini welcomed the Dalai Lama for a private meeting at his offices in the Chamber of Deputies, which on Wednesday hosted the fifth World Conference of Parliamentarians for Tibet.

(ANSA) - Perugia, November 18 - Rudy Guede, the 'third man' in the Meredith Kercher murder case, on Wednesday appealed his 30-year conviction for the 2007 rape and murder of the British exchange student in this Umbrian town.

The 22-year-old Ivory Coast national claimed he saw Amanda Knox, a US student who is in a high-profile separate trial with her Italian ex-boyfriend, fleeing the murder scene with a man he could not identify.

Earlier, he alleged, he had heard Knox and Kercher arguing about money from the bathroom of the house the two women shared.

(ANSA) - Rome, November 18 - Premier Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday dismissed talk of early elections because of rifts in his centre-right coalition.

"I'm amazed over all these rumours which are spreading making it seem that we are heading towards early elections. I've never given it a thought," said the premier in a statement released by his office.

"We've received an electoral mandate to govern for the entire five years of the legislature and this is the commitment which we are determined to carry through in the country's interest".

(ANSA) - Ankara, November 18 - The European Union's credibility hinges on it concluding accession talks with Turkey, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said here on Wednesday.

Speaking at the University of Ankara, the head of state added that "to retreat now on that formal decision in 2005 to open accession talks would undermine the EU's credibility and not only in the eyes of Turkey and its people".

(ANSA) - Padua, November 18 - Graffiti writers who deface public buildings should be doing amends by being forced to replicate their scribblings on the walls of their homes, the mayor of a town near Padua said on Wednesday.

Vigonza Mayor Nunzio Tacchetto told the local daily Il Gazzettino he is preparing an ordinance which will not only slap hefty fines but will see graffiti writers doing penance by spending a month reprising their creations inside their homes.

(ANSA) - Riace, November 18 - A boat carrying 122 Kurdish immigrants was intercepted on Wednesday by coastal authorities off the southwestern coast of Italy.

Officials said the boat was driven aground after trying to escape a coast guard patrol and that a number of the immigrants aboard leapt into the water in an attempt to escape.

All of the passengers, however, were recovered and brought safely to shore, including ten small children and a pair of two-month-old babies.

(ANSA) - Rome, November 17 - Senate Speaker Renato Schifani said on Tuesday the country should head towards early general elections if the centre-right government is unable to heal rifts and fulfil its electoral pledges.

Schifani made no direct reference to House Speaker Gianfranco Fini, who has increasingly distanced himself from Premier Silvio Berlusconi.

(ANSA) - Brussels, November 17 - Former Italian premier Massimo D'Alema would do a "great job" if chosen to become the European Union's new foreign policy chief, the EU's foreign policy representative Javier Solana told reporters on Tuesday.

"I've worked with him over the years, in his capacity as premier and foreign minister and I really think he'd be excellent," said Solana, who also dismissed reports that D'Alema doesn't know English well enough to do the job.