BREAKING NEWS

Italian court sentences Berlusconi in wiretap trial

By REUTERS

MARCH 7, 2013 14:58

MILAN - An Italian court sentenced ex-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi on Thursday to one year in jail over the publication by his family's newspaper of a transcript of a leaked wiretap connected to a banking scandal in 2006.

Italian justice system rules mean that the 76-year-old media billionaire would not have to serve any jail time until the appeals process has been exhausted, and a higher court may still overturn the ruling.

It came in the middle of a complex political impasse arising from an inconclusive election last week that left no party able to form a government on its own, although Berlusconi's center-right formation emerged as the second strongest in parliament.

Berlusconi is in the middle of a series of trials, with separate cases over charges of tax fraud and paying for sex with an underage prostitute due to wind up this month.

He has denied any wrongdoing in the case and the verdict was immediately criticized by his lawyer Piero Longo, who has frequently criticized Milan judges over the long series of trials Berlusconi has faced over the years.

Turkey accuses US of double standards over Gaza in rights report

By REUTERS

04/24/2024 05:55 PM

Germany charges six suspected ISIS-K members over attack plots

By REUTERS

04/24/2024 03:55 PM

UK police arrest three over migrants' deaths in Channel

By REUTERS

04/24/2024 03:43 PM

Russia says its forces hit Ukrainian drone production facility

By REUTERS

04/24/2024 03:19 PM