ROME: Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti resigned yesterday with his political plans still in doubt, paving the way for early elections next year in a lynchpin eurozone state still mired in recession.
Monti “handed in the resignation of his government” at a meeting with President Giorgio Napolitano, and will stay on in a caretaker capacity, the presidency said in a statement.
Napolitano will hold consultations on Saturday with parliamentary leaders before dissolving the two chambers and calling a general election which most observers expected on February 24. In his last speech as premier, Monti said that his stormy 13 months in government had been “difficult but fascinating” and voiced hope that his reform agenda will be continued by any new leader.
Italy was now “more reliable” on the international stage, he said.
The former European commissioner joked to government colleagues earlier in the day that the fall of his government was “not the fault of the Mayas”, referring to the end of a Mayan calendar which many believe foretold the end of the world on Friday.
The 69-year-old has won praise at home and abroad for rescuing Italy from the brink of bankruptcy, launching long-delayed pension and labour market reforms and joining other eurozone leaders in battling the debt crisis. Monti announced he would step down earlier this month after his flamboyant predecessor Silvio Berlusconi withdrew his party’s support for Monti’s government in parliament and announced he would run for a fourth term as prime minister.
Norway top court backs expulsion of child asylum seekers
OSLO: Norway’s supreme court ruled yesterday it was legal to expel two nine-year-old asylum seekers, even though they had spent most or all of their lives in the country, in a case lawyers said could set a precedent for another 540 children.
The court rejected an appeal launched on the children’s behalf by a campaign organisation that had argued the Bosnian girl and the Iranian boy had a right to remain after their parents’ asylum application was turned down.
“The 540 children seeking asylum in Norway have no chance now, regardless how long they waited,” Jan Fougner, a defence lawyer for one of the families said.
2 dead in supermarket looting in Argentina
BUENOS AIRES: Mobs looted supermarkets in Argentina’s third largest city early yesterday, leaving two dead and two seriously injured in the latest in a spate of such outbursts. Besides that city of Rosario, looters had also rampaged in other Argentina cities on Thursday and into the night, officials said.
Matias Drivet, a Rosario city hall official, said one person was stabbed and another shot to death as crowds raided stores, most of them owned by Chinese immigrants, on the outskirts of the northeastern city. Rosario is a hub for industry as well as for farm exports.
Dutch MPs vote not to ban illegal downloads
THE HAGUE: Dutch MPs have voted not to ban illegal Internet downloads of copyrighted films, music and software, preferring to levy a tax on smartphones and computers. “The motion calling on the government to renounce banning illegal downloads was passed,” on Thursday evening, lower house spokesman Leon van Schie said yesterday. Instead, copyright holder losses will be compensated for with a “home copy” tax on new electronic products including smartphones, computers, hard drives and tablets.
Agencies
