Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced a spate of tax hikes and spending cuts on Friday as part of a tough austerity package worth a total 45.5 billion euros in a bid to balance the country’s budget by 2013.
Cartoons cast an ironic but also grim look at the impact of the rollercoaster ride in global markets. The turmoil has made Italy's domestic politics even tenser than usual. And a London mum turns in her "Olympics girl" daughter after seeing TV footage of her taking part in the riots. That's the focus in the international press review for Friday, 12th August 2011.
The Italian government has outlined tough austerity measures in a bid to prevent the country from being engulfed in the debt crisis that has already hit Greece, Portugal and Ireland. Bureaucratic costs are expected to be cut, public services privatised and social welfare reformed.
Only a few months ago Italy's debt mountain, the eurozone's second-highest, did not worry investors. A G8 member and the world's 8th largest economy, Rome's financial backbone was strong. But the US debt crisis and repeated eurozone bailouts have made markets wary of other weak spots.
Plunging share values have raised fears that another roller-coaster ride is underway for the world economy. The papers are full of warnings, with one saying this is the real thing. Don't expect a quiet life, even though it's August. That's the focus for this review of the world papers on Friday August 5th, 2011.
Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Wednesday his government would boost economic growth during a solemn address aimed at calming market fears over the country’s political instability and spiralling debt.
Norway mourns the victims of the twin terror attacks in Oslo and on a nearby island. The man who admitted to the mass killing said he was trying to save Europe. The tragedy puts renewed focus on the far-right elsewhere on the continent. And in Italy, the parlous state of a Roman treasure fuels anger at the Berlusconi government's heritage cuts.
A Milan court has rejected a request to move a sex trial involving Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to a special tribunal for ministers in Rome.
Eleven years into the job, Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has told reporters he has had enough of running the country. His comments follow a string of electoral blows that suggest Italian voters may have had enough of him.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Friday he would not seek re-election when his term ends in 2013, naming Justice Minister Angelino Alfano as his successor. The embattled leader also ruled out a shot at the presidency.
