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Berlusconi plans summer holidays in quake zone
L'Aquila, Italy (AFP) July 10, 2009 Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Friday he planned to spend his summer holidays in the Italian region devastated by an April earthquake after it played host to a summit of G8 leaders. Berlusconi raised eyebrows over his decision to stage the three-day G8 summit at a military barracks on the outskirts of L'Aquila which was at the epicentre of the April 6 quake that left nearly 300 people dead. But after seeing off his guests, the prime minister felt vindicated by his decision to switch the venue from Sardinia as he expressed broad satisfaction at the outcome of the gathering. "I am going to look for a house where I can stay during August in order to see for myself how the reconstruction work is going," Berlusconi told reporters at a post-summit press conference. During the summit, Berlusconi led several leaders -- including US President Barack Obama -- on a tour of some of the worst hit villages. Other star names who saw the devastation included Obama's wife Michelle and the actors George Clooney and Bill Murray. Tens of thousands of people are either camped out in tents or having to stay with friends and relatives in the wake of the quake but Berlusconi wanted the summit to act as a showcase for the picturesque Abruzzo region. Although the summit was marred by disagreements over how to combat climate change, the Italian premier said the enshrining of a goal of limiting global warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in a joint statement with emerging powers such as China and India was a "great success". He also hailed a declaration that long-running world trade talks, known as the Doha round, should be wrapped up next year as "an extraordinary success". The summit has helped shift some of the focus away from Berlusconi's domestic woes at a time when newspapers have been running increasingly lurid stories about the 72-year-old's private life. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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Top Australia firefighter criticised over deadly wildfiresMelbourne (AFP) July 2, 2009 An inquiry into Australia's worst bush blazes Thursday heard that a top firefighter did not warn residents properly as flames bore down on their homes, engulfing entire towns and killing 173. Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA) head Russell Rees failed to perform basic tasks during February's disaster and was "divorced from fundamental aspects" his job, the chief lawyer assisting the ... read more |
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