Berlusconi cancels L’Aquila visit for religious service, wants to avoid exploiting situation

October 5th, 2009 Fearing arrest, Israeli cancels Britain visitJERUSALEM — An Israeli Cabinet minister has called off a visit to Britain because of concerns he could be arrested on suspicion of committing war crimes, a spokesman said Monday, becoming the latest Israeli official affected by a Palestinian legal campaign in the U.K. The decision by Moshe Yaalon, a former military chief of staff who is now a vice prime minister, came a week after Palestinian activists tried unsuccessfully to have Israel's defense minister arrested during a visit to Britain.

September 30th, 2009 Berlusconi calls Obama 'tanned' againROME — Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi is poking fun at President Barack Obama again. Berlusconi has told a rally in Milan that he was bringing greetings from the United States from "What's his name? Some tanned guy.

September 26th, 2009 Berlusconi, pope meet 1st time since sex scandalROME — Premier Silvio Berlusconi had his first meeting Saturday with Pope Benedict XVI since the Italian leader was implicated in a sex scandal that broke last spring. Vatican spokesman the Rev.

September 7th, 2009 Berlusconi: Relations with church excellentROME — Silvio Berlusconi says relations between his government and the Catholic Church, which have been strained by a sex scandal involving the Italian premier, remain excellent. Berlusconi said Monday that contacts with the church are kept up "almost daily" by his top aide.

August 28th, 2009 Berlusconi takes part in service to absolve sinsROME — Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who has been embroiled in a sex scandal for months, is planning to attend a religious service Friday for the remission of sins alongside the Vatican No. 2. Berlusconi and Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, head to the earthquake-stricken city of L'Aquila for the annual "Perdonanza" or Pardon observance, instituted by the 13th-century Pope Celestine V.

August 28th, 2009 Berlusconi nixes religious observance for sinsROME — Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who has been embroiled in a sex scandal for months, canceled his planned participation in a Catholic religious service for the remission of sins Friday after his presence was deemed problematic. Berlusconi was supposed to have attended the annual "Perdonanza," or forgiveness observance, in the earthquake-stricken city of L'Aquila alongside the Vatican No.

August 7th, 2009 Berlusconi: I have nothing to hideROME — Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi made one of his strongest denials yet in a scandal over alleged relationships with young women, insisting on Friday he has nothing to hide and nothing to apologize for. Berlusconi responded to apparent criticism from his daughter, Barbara, who said in an interview with a magazine this week that politicians cannot afford to differentiate between their public and private spheres and should work to improve moral values.

July 23rd, 2009 New tapes released in Italian PM sex scandalROME — An Italian magazine released more tapes Thursday of purported conversations between Silvio Berlusconi and a high-class prostitute, keeping up the pressure in the sex scandal engulfing the Italian premier. L'Espresso, a leftist news weekly, has been releasing the recordings of the alleged conversations between Berlusconi and the escort over several days in an apparent effort to embarrass the conservative premier.

June 24th, 2009 Berlusconi seeks to rehabilitate Italy imageROME — Premier Silvio Berlusconi launched a new tourism campaign for Italy on Wednesday in hopes of rehabilitating the country's image which he said had suffered from his recent personal scandals. Berlusconi said Italy's reputation abroad had first been damaged by a garbage crisis in Naples last year that saw tons of trash pile up on city streets.

June 4th, 2009 Berlusconi probed over use of gov't planeROME — Prosecutors are investigating Premier Silvio Berlusconi for alleged improper use of a government plane, a charge the Italian leader dismissed Thursday as politically motivated. Prosecutors in Rome opened an investigation after photos surfaced showing friends, entertainers and starlets flown in with a government plane for parties at Berlusconi's vacation villa in Sardinia.

May 30th, 2009 Reports: Berlusconi moves to block topless photosROME — Italian media say Premier Silvio Berlusconi has moved to block publication of hundreds of photos, including images of young women either topless or wearing bikinis at one of his Sardinian villas. TV and newspaper reports say Berlusconi wrote recently to the Italian watchdog for privacy issues.

May 25th, 2009 ROME - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said there was "nothing remotely wrong" about his relationship with an 18-year-old Neapolitan woman, in a television interview broadcast Monday. Berlusconi, whose wife has recently demanded a divorce, was referring to opposition accusations, repeated in the media, of an inappropriate friendship with Noemi Letizia and her parents.

May 5th, 2009 Berlusconi denies claim he had affair with teenROME — Premier Silvio Berlusconi says the suggestion by his wife and the media that he had a relationship with an 18-year-old girl is a "lie." Berlusconi went on state-run television Tuesday to repeat that his wife Veronica Lario should publicly apologize for embarrassing him and admit that she was wrong. Lario has said she wants a divorce, citing Berlusconi's frequent flirtations with younger women.

May 4th, 2009 Berlusconi: Wife must apologize for divorce threatROME — Facing a divorce threat, Premier Silvio Berlusconi was quoted Monday as saying he doesn't know if he wants to patch up his marriage and demanding a public apology from his wife. The billionaire media magnate's wife, actress Veronica Lario, confirmed Sunday she is seeking a divorce from Berlusconi for his constant flirtations with younger women.

April 23rd, 2009 Italy asks to move G-8 summit to quake-hit cityROME — Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi says he wants to move this summer's Group of Eight summit to earthquake-stricken L'Aquila from Sardinia to both save money and provide the region with an economic boost. Berlusconi told a news conference after a Cabinet meeting in L'Aquila that the security costs of holding the July 8-10 summit in the Sardinian island of La Maddalena would have cost euro220 million ($285 million) alone — money better spent on reconstruction efforts in Italy's central Abruzzo region.