WORLD/ ITALY'S BERLUSCONI FACES SEX TRIAL: Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has been indicted to stand trial on charges of paying for sex with an under-age prostitute and abuse of power. The Examining judge said the process would start on April 6, after prosecutors in Milan asked for an immediate trial. Berlusconi denies paying for sex with Karima El Mahroug when she was 17. He also rejects claims that he abused his power by seeking her release when she was detained in another case. He has called the accusations "groundless" and dismissed the case as a farce. Berlusconi does, however, acknowledge that he called the police while she was being held on suspicion of theft. He said he was doing a favor for the then-Egyptian leader, Hosni Mubarak, because Berlusconi was told the girl was Mubarak's granddaughter. Mahroug, widely known as Ruby and now aged 18, has denied sleeping with the prime minister but has said she received 7000 euros from him as a gift after one of his parties. It has all the potential to be Italy's trial of the century. But it's not yet clear if the main attraction will be present. Although Silvio Berlusconi, in effect, lost his immunity from prosecution last month, Italian law means he doesn't have to appear in court in person.
The king of Bahrain has gone on television to announce an investigation into the deaths of 2 protesters killed in clashes with security forces. Today, a mourner was shot dead at the funeral of a protester killed yesterday when police fired a barrage of tear gas and rubber bullets in the capital, Manama. Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa offered his condolences to the men's families. But soon after, thousands of protesters gathered in Manama's main square in the 2nd day of protests against the government. The security forces have so far held back. The disturbances in Bahrain, where the Shia majority has been ruled by a Sunni Muslim royal family since the 18th Century, are the latest in the wave of anti-government unrest that has swept the Middle East.
WORLD/ IRAN CALLS FOR EXECUTION OF OPPOSITION LEADERS: Members of Iran's parliament have called for opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi to be tried and executed. State TV showed some 50 conservative MPs marching through parliament's main hall today, chanting "Death to Mousavi, death to Karroubi". Thousands of opposition supporters protested in Iran's capital on Monday. An MP said 2 people were killed in violent clashes between protesters and security forces in central Tehran. The BBC received reports of banned demonstrations in other Iranian cities, including Isfahan, Mashhad and Shiraz. In the capital, dozens were detained, and opposition leaders including Mousavi and Karroubi were placed under house arrest.
WORLD/ ANTI-GAY POSTERS SURFACE IN LONDON: Stickers have been placed around London’s East End, declaring it a “gay-free zone”.The messages, posted on buildings and lampposts close to Shoreditch gay nightspots George & Dragon and the Joiners Inn, say “Arise and warn. Gay free zone. Verily Allah is severe in punishment.” They have also been posted on Whitechapel High Street and outside a school. A local resident suggested that they may have been posted by members of Islam4UK, which has been accused of being a front for the banned Al Mahajaroun Group. However, the co-chair of LGBT forum Rainbow Hamlets, suggested that they could be the work of the groups such as the English Defence League. “We have evidence that they were very likely to have been produced by far-right sources in order to forment community tension,” he said. He added that police were aware of the stickers and urged people to report them if they come across them.
US/ COURT CLEARS WAY FOR BISON SLAUGHTER: A US judge says he will not stop the slaughter of potentially hundreds of wild bison from Yellowstone National Park that had attempted to migrate into Montana. Judge Charles Lovell has issued a 72-page ruling in which he denied a request from wildlife advocates to stop the slaughter. More than 500 bison are being held in corrals along the border of the snowed-in park after trying to leave for food at lower elevations. Park officials plan to send an undetermined number to slaughter under a federal-state agreement meant to protect Montana livestock against the reproductive disease brucellosis. Lovell wrote that while the slaughter of bison may be "distasteful," it is a "time-honoured" method of dealing with the disease. Opponents say they will appeal against the ruling.
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