Latest update: 07/10/2009 

- Afghanistan - Barack Obama - China - constitution - Italian politics - Italy - museums - Silvio Berlusconi


International Press Review
No Flash warning
To take advantage of all the features on FRANCE24.COM, please click here to download the latest version of Flash Player.
In today's international press review, we take a look at Berlusconi's immunity law, the US strategy in Afghanistan, and art in Asia.
By Aurore Cloe DUPUIS (text)

The Times Online reports about the hearing at Italy’s highest court.

Judges are deciding on whether the law that grants immunity to Berlusconi violates the constitution.
 
If the court decides the immunity law is unconstitutional, Berlusconi will have to fight a number of cases. He has been accused in the past, of bribery and corruption.
 
The article talks about the Prime Minister’s four lawyers, who have reportedly shocked the court, saying that Berlusconi was a “special case” and that he shouldn’t be regarded as “any” Italian citizen.
 
This has outraged the opposition, who compared the hearing to George Orwell’s “Animal Farm”.
 
The book’s motto is “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.”
 
The pro-government newspaperIl Giornale has a different view on the issue. It reports on a survey, where 7 out of 10 Italians support their Prime Minister.
 
Meanwhile, Corriere Della Sera shows a cartoon of the fifteen judges, wondering whether to put Berlusconi’s portrait on a coin or crucify him.
 
 
 
On other news, we look at a different angle about the war in Afghanistan. The Wall Street Journal compares Obama’s decision on whether to send more troops, to two books on the war in Vietnam.
 
Staying in Afghanistan: the Guardian reports on hundreds of smuggled artifacts that have been restored to the National Museum.
 
Finally, the International Herald Tribune interviewed two Chinese artists who have found a way of braving censorship in their country.
 
Related Content
Close