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POLITICS

Italy’s Berlusconi leaves hospital after op and vows to fight election

The 82-year-old politician insisted he hasn't yet reached “the end of the line” and will continue campaigning for the European elections.

Italy's Berlusconi leaves hospital after op and vows to fight election
Silvio Berlusconi. Photo: AFP

Italian politician and billionaire media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi was released from hospital on Monday after undergoing an operation for a bowel obstruction.

“I'm fine, I had quite a fright,” the billionaire told journalists as he left the San Raffaele hospital in Milan.

“Many things have happened recently that made me think I had reached the end of the line, but instead I've recovered amazingly well,” he said.

The three-time prime minister, known for being involved in a long string of scandals, was admitted to hopsital last Tuesday with acute abdominal pain, forcing him to miss a rally of his Forza Italia party ahead of this month's European parliamentary elections.

Milan's San Raffaele hospital, where the politician was treated. Photo: AFP

“I promised those who looked after me: I will campaign for the elections,” he said on Monday, though he added that he would limit his appearances to television, radio and newspaper interviews, rather than attending public rallies.

A former cruise ship singer turned property and media magnate, Berlusconi was Italian prime minister for his centre-right Forza Italia on three occasions between 1994 and 2011.

Despite his regular brushes with the law and health concerns – including open heart surgery three years ago — the man known as “the immortal” for his longevity in politics led the Italian right for more than two decades.

Berlusconi has faced a string of charges over the so-called Rubygate scandal linked to his parties and the underaged prostitute Karima El-Mahroug, also known as “Ruby the heart-stealer”.

The businessman is currently on trial accused of paying a witness to give false testimony about his notoriously hedonistic parties.

Berlusconi is also being investigated or prosecuted for alleged witness tampering in Milan, Siena, Rome and Turin, each time accused of paying people to keep quiet about his so-called “bunga-bunga” parties.

READ ALSO: Berlusconi's back: Understanding the enduring popularity of Italy's 'immortal' former PM

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TERRORISM

Italy on maximum terror alert over Easter after Moscow attack

Italy was to increase surveillance in busy areas ahead of the Easter holidays and following the bombing of a Moscow concert hall, ministers agreed on Monday.

Italy on maximum terror alert over Easter after Moscow attack

Italy’s national committee for public security, chaired by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, on Monday said anti-terrorism monitoring in Italy must be strengthened ahead of the Easter holidays, with more surveillance to be carried out at popular tourist spots and at “sensitive sites”.

The committee agreed on “the importance of continuing monitoring activity, including online, by police and intelligence forces for the identification of possible risk situations” in Italy, reported news agency Ansa.

The security meeting was convened following the terrorist attack in Moscow on Friday where armed men opened fire and set the building ablaze, killing at least 133 people.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani had stressed to the public on Sunday that Italy faced “no concrete risk” and said the country’s security and law enforcement services were “always on the alert to prevent any attack.”

“During the Easter holidays you will need to be very careful. We will always do the utmost to ensure the safety of citizens and tourists,” Tajani said, speaking on national broadcaster Rai’s current affairs show Restart.

READ ALSO: Terror alerts: Should I be worried about travelling to Italy?

The fight against terrorism “has nothing to do with the war in Ukraine,” the minister continued.

“We support Ukraine” as an invaded country in which international law has been violated, he said, “but as the Italian government we have expressed our condemnation of the attack [in Moscow] and closeness to the families of the victims and the survivors”.

Cabinet Secretary Alfredo Mantovano said on the same programme that the main terrorist threat Italy faced at the moment was mainly from “lone wolves” and “not so much from organised groups.”

“I believe that a group like the one that acted in the Moscow attack, which must have been trained and had logistical support, would be intercepted sooner in Italy,” he said.

“The most worrying threat” in Italy was online recruitment, he said, noting that propaganda was closely monitored.

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