Despite the confirmation of the sentence of one year in prison by the Italian Supreme Court for tax evasion, Silvio Berlusconi has sought today to reassure the public about the fate of the government of left-right coalition led by Enrico Letta.

The former prime minister delivered a speech to nearly a thousand supporters gathered outside his residence in Rome. He said that the government “must go forward,” while trying to defuse the tension. We said clearly and directly that the government should move forward, “he said.”The government must continue to adopt economic measures and we said clearly and directly that Parliament should proceed to vote these economic measures,” he continued.

Members of the party of the People of Freedom (PDL) Berlusconi had threatened to resign following the conviction of their leader, calling for a presidential pardon.  For its part, the left denounced the “threats and blackmail” ensuring prepare for any eventuality. The Prime Minister had said Letta wait statements Cavaliere to draw any consequences. But Silvio Berlusconi has preferred to play the card of appeasement and stand as essential for the protection of the government.  Under the slogan “Sunday in the streets for democracy and freedom,” the gathering was organized hastily by the PDL. Given the holiday and the scorching weather that prevails on the Italian peninsula, the event is considered successful.

Published: 06 August 2013

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Many life insurance companies promise their customers interest they cannot afford. That the first company to say goodbye to warranty policies, financial supervision is great – and warned: it might be tight for the insurance industry.

The Financial Regulator is behind the plans of the insurance industry to offer life insurance without lifetime warranties. “Given the low interest rates the insurer must act,” said the new head of insurance supervision at the Federal Institute for Financial Services Supervision (BaFin), Felix Hufeld, and the “Handelsblatt” on Tuesday. It is good that the industry working on new products and thus enable consumers more choice. The background: The market leader Allianz and Munich Re subsidiary Ergo offer since early July on life insurance policies for which the guaranteed interest rate no longer applies as usual until the contract expires. Instead, they provide – depending on capital market development – a flexible interest rate in view. Consumer advocates criticize the new models: they would the capital market risk pass on to the customer – at reasonable potential returns and high costs.

Published: 02 August 2013

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The U.S. wants to disclose details about the secret NSA wiretapping. A confidential court order that sets rules for the collection of U.S. phone data should be made public in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. The reported several U.S. media, they rely on an unnamed government officials, senior. The Deputy Minister of Justice and the NSA chief, James Cole and John Inglis, will therefore occur in the committee.

The document concerns according to “Washington Post” a secret order to the U.S. telecommunications company Verizon of April, after which the group will deliver a variety of phone data. This was being done on the basis of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The U.S. government had the directive to Verizon now released. The statement was subject to the policy of the intelligence that the former NSA employee Edward Snowden was published in June.

His revelations of extensive American and British surveillance programs had caused worldwide outrage. U.S. intelligence agencies are also under pressure of the U.S. House of Representatives. In the past week the Republican Justin Amash had tried with a small group deputy from the right and left wings of the U.S. House of Representatives, with a legislative initiative to stop the rampant spying the NSA. They failed in the House of Representatives narrowly by twelve votes.

Published: 31 July 2013

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Julian Assange railed against conviction WikiLeaks informant Bradley Manning. The process was unfair and was an example of a national security extremism of the U.S. government. Even Amnesty International and Reporters Network criticized the verdict.

After the guilty verdict for the WikiLeaks informant Bradley Manning by a U.S. military court Julian Assange, the government of President Barack Obama harshly criticized. The short-sighted judgment is an expression of security and extremism creates a dangerous precedent. It must be repealed. Manning, however, is “the most important journalistic source that the world has ever seen,” the founder of the Internet platform unveiling said in London.

On Tuesday, the U.S. military court had convicted 25-year-old Manning in 20 out of 22 counts at Fort Meade. Surprisingly, however, he was acquitted of the most serious point of “aiding the enemy”. Manning was declared partly because of espionage, betrayal of secrets, computer fraud and theft guilty. This Wednesday the sentencing is expected. Manning faces up to 136 years in prison

Assange himself sitting for over a year in the Ecuadorian Embassy in the British capital firm and fears being arrested when leaving the embassy and extradited to the United States. He did not confirm that Manning was actually the supplier of hundreds of thousands of secret diplomatic cables, but consistently spoke of the “alleged” source. WikiLeaks has never revealed his sources, and it is always protected, said Assange.

Published: 31 July 2013

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In Egypt, the violence escalates. Dozens of people have died in clashes between Muslim Brotherhood and the military. The brutal crackdown triggers internationally horror senior U.S. politicians demand that the army moderation. In Germany, however, there is little critical voices.

At least 72 dead and hundreds injured – that is the sad result of the clashes between security forces and supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi on Saturday in Cairo and Alexandria. World grows, given the crackdown by police and military against supporters of former heads of state concern that Egypt is threatening to break at the bloody conflict. Senior U.S. politicians demand that the army reserve. Secretary of State John Kerry called on the Egyptian leadership, “pull away land from the brink” that. He had expressed his deep dismay at the violence in Cairo and Alexandria in talks with Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei and Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmi. “This is a defining moment for Egypt,” Kerry said. The security forces, he called on to respect the right to peaceful protests, including quite a sustained sit. Defense Chuck Hagel speaks to the Egyptian army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whom he urged to “prevent further bloodshed and loss of life.”

Published: 29 July 2013