Italy senators vote to expel ex-PM

An Italian Senate committee has approved a motion to expel former prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, from the parliament over a tax fraud conviction.

The senators voted on Friday to strip Berlusconi of his parliamentary seat after debates were held at the Senate Palace in Rome.

The head of the committee, Dario Stefano, said the committee had “decided by a majority to propose to the Senate assembly to debate invalidating the election of Senator Berlusconi.”

The committee’s decision must be also ratified by a full Senate chamber vote, which is planned to be held later in the month.

This was the second blow to Berlusconi in just a few days, as he was forced to abandon his bid to topple Prime Minister Enrico Letta on October 2 after more than 40 of his lawmakers said they would defy him and instead vote in support of the coalition government.

Italy’s Supreme Court convicted Berlusconi on August 1 of tax evasion in a final ruling, and sentenced him to one year of community service or house arrest, making it the first definitive conviction against him after dozens of trials in almost 20 years of political career.

The former prime minister is currently appealing other convictions against him, including solicitation of an underage prostitute, abuse of office and leaking a confidential police wiretap to damage a political rival. Furthermore, Berlusconi is under investigation for bribing a senator to join his PDL party.

Berlusconi, who served as Italy’s prime minister from 1994 to 2011, resigned in November 2011, after coming under fire for mishandling the Italian economy.

CAH/KA/SS

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Italy senators vote to expel ex-PM

UAE aids Egypt violent crackdown: Ex-PM

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has provided Egypt’s army with warfare and military equipment to be used against supporters of the ousted president Mohamed Morsi, a former top official says.

“The (interim) Interior Minister (General Mohamed Ibrahim) had asked me to mediate military support from UAE to the security forces,” Ahmad Shafiq, who served as the last prime minister under ex-Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, said earlier this week.

“I did and the UAE immediately sent arms and equipment to fight terrorism. The UAE has contracted more arms to support the Egyptian Interior Ministry,” he added.

Shafiq also said, “The minute they (UAE officials) felt that the Egyptian Interior Ministry was changing and might be in need of assistance, they called me to affirm they would make every assistance available.”

Shafiq also confirmed that Saudi Arabia assisted Egypt following the ouster of Morsi, the first democratically elected head of state in the July military coup d’état, saying, “Despite all Saudi assistance, the UAE has done more, even more things than people know.”

Meanwhile, on September 9, Shafiq said he would support Army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi — who ousted Morsi — if he runs for president in an election expected to be held in 2014.

On July 5, the Muslim Brotherhood’s supreme guide Mohamed Badie said the move against Morsi was illegal and millions would remain on the streets until the reinstatement of the ousted president.

The army-appointed government has launched a bloody crackdown on Morsi supporters ever since his ouster and arrested more than 2,000 Brotherhood members, including Badie, who was detained on August 20.

About 1,000 people were killed in a week of clashes between Morsi supporters and security forces after police dispersed their protest camps in a fatal crackdown on August 14.

The massacre sparked international condemnation and prompted world bodies to call for an independent investigation into the violence.

MAM/KA

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UAE aids Egypt violent crackdown: Ex-PM