Berlusconi reneges on trial vow
MILAN: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi reneged Monday on a vow to attend his own fraud trial in Milan as the media magnate’s lawyers said he had a scheduling conflict. The presiding judge read out a statement from the defense team saying that the prime minister was prevented from attending by “significant changes” to his program and that, in any case, Monday’s hearing would concern only procedural matters.
Berlusconi, 73, returned to public life last week after recovering from an assault in the northern city in December that left him with a broken nose and two broken teeth.
The prime minister and 11 co-defendants face charges of tax fraud and false accounting involving Berlusconi’s media group Mediaset.
Prosecutors allege that Berlusconi, as Mediaset’s majority shareholder, siphoned off a total of 280 million euros from the firm’s coffers by using two offshore companies to purchase US television and movie rights and then re-sell them to Mediaset at inflated prices. The alleged scam also allowed Mediaset to avoid taxes, prosecutors say. If convicted, Berlusconi faces a prison term ranging from 18 months to six years.
Pope’s failed assassin freed
ANKARA: The Turk who tried to kill pope John Paul II in 1981, Mehmet Ali Agca, was released from prison Monday after almost three decades behind bars, but immediately faced authorities over his status as a draft dodger.
“The release procedure has been completed,” lawyer Yilmaz Abosoglu told an army of reporters outside the high-security prison near Ankara. Wearing a blue sweater, the greying Agca, 52, raised his fist as he drove away in a car, escorted by several other vehicles, journalists reported.
His car closely pursued by the media, Agca was immediately taken to a military hospital in Ankara. His lawyers had said earlier that the military authorities still considered him a draft dodger and required him to undergo a check-up at a military hospital as soon as he was released. Agca was a 23-year-old militant of the notorious far-right Grey Wolves, on the run from Turkish justice facing murder charges, when he resurfaced in the Vatican’s Saint Peter’s Square on May 13, 1981, and opened fire on the pope as he drove by in an open vehicle.
Bellucci preggy again at 45
LONDON: Italian actress Monica Bellucci is expecting her second child with husband Vincent Cassel.
The 45-year-old first became a mother five years ago when her daughter Deva was born, reports imdb.com. Belluci and Cassel have been married since 1999.
She is due at the end of spring, a family friend said.
Reportedly, the “Matrix” star was in the Romanian town of Buftea last week while working on her latest film, “The Whistleblower” when she told some of her colleagues that she was three months pregnant. Monica has starred in “The Private Lives of Pippa Lee” (2009), “Shoot ‘Em Up” (2007), and “The Passion of the Christ” (2005).
Nicolas Cage owes US govt $14m
LONDON: Hollywood star Nicolas Cage has spoken out about his long pending tax woes, revealing he still owes $14 million to the US government.
The “Face/Off” star finds himself at the center of a number of tax claims in recent months, with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) making a $6.2 million demand in August last year in relation to his unpaid taxes in 2007.
TMZ.com reports, Cage is also facing other claims of unpaid taxes related to his earnings between 2002 and 2004, while he was accused of defaulting on a $2 million loan in October 2009. “Over the course of my career I have paid at least $70 million in taxes. Unfortunately, due to a recent legal situation, another approximate $14 million is owed to the IRS. However, I am under new business management and am happy to say that I am current for 2009. All taxes will be paid,” he said.
Fox rekindles romance with ex?
LONDON: Rumors are rife that “Transformers” actress Megan Fox has rekindled her romance with ex Brian Austen Green. The news came in effect after Green said he’s set to make Fox a married woman after telling fans he is engaged, reports contactmusic.com. The on-off couple first announced their engagement in 2006 but Fox confirmed in June last year the romance was officially over. But just three months later, the stars appeared to have revived their relationship after they were photographed during an outing in Canada. Now Green has revealed he plans to settle down with Fox, according to his Twitter message.
— Compiled from agencies
