Patrizia D'Addario

The trial of Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi on a tax fraud charge reopened Monday after a year, but was immediately adjourned to January. The premier was busy with a global food summit in Rome and did not attend the hearing in a Milan courtroom. His lawyers said Berlusconi is unavailable for the trial due to his engagements as premier until Jan. 18. Judge Edoardo D'Avossa ruled that there will be two technical hearings before that date — one later this month, the other one in December. But he said that trial will start in earnest on Jan. 18. Berlusconi is accused of tax fraud ... Read Full Story

Lawmakers allied with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will introduce a bill within days that could cut short his pending trials on tax fraud and corruption charges, one of the premier's most powerful backers in parliament said Tuesday. The trials were set to resume this month after a law granting Berlusconi immunity from prosecution while in office was overturned in October. Berlusconi denies wrongdoing, saying that he is the victim of left-leaning prosecutors. The premier's lawyers have been scrambling to come up with measures that might shield Berlusconi from the trials. Berlusconi held talks Tuesday with Gianfranco Fini, the speaker of the lower house of ... Read Full Story

Silvio Berlusconi angrily vowed to battle on as Italy's prime minister despite facing corruption trials after the Constitutional Court stripped his immunity from prosecution. Italian newspapers said Thursday there was now political war between Berlusconi, who is also under attack over sex scandal allegations, and President Giorgio Napolitano who has insisted he will defend the country's constitution. After the court's bombshell ruling against him, Berlusconi said the trials he now risks were "real farces." He slammed the Constitutional Court as "left wing" and stood with a clenched fist, declared: "Viva Italy, Viva Berlusconi!" Berlusconi questioned the president's impartiality, said the Italian press was "72 ... Read Full Story

The appeals trial of a British lawyer who has been convicted in a corruption case involving Silvio Berlusconi opened Friday in Milan, with defense lawyers saying they want the Italian premier to testify. David Mills was found guilty of corruption in February and sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison. He has maintained his innocence and sought the appeal. Berlusconi was originally a co-defendant in the trial. He was charged with ordering a payment of at least $600,000 to Mills in 1997 in exchange for the lawyer's false testimony in other corruption cases. An immunity law froze Berlusconi's portion of the trial. But the ... Read Full Story

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi hit back at his critics on Thursday, saying he is far and away the best leader in Italian history and has never considered resigning over scandals concerning his private life. In a spirited performance even by his own standards, the 72-year media tycoon also attacked Spanish daily El Pais for its critical coverage, denied paying for sex and said a prostitute who taped an encounter with him could face 18 years in prison. "I sincerely believe I am by far the best prime minister Italy has had in its 150 year history (since unification in 1861)," ... Read Full Story