Italy grapples with new Berlusconi crisis

Five cabinet ministers from former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi's party have quit the government. Source: AAP

ITALY is mired in a fresh political quagmire after Silvio Berlusconi pushed his party's ministers to quit the fragile coalition government, a move Prime Minister Enrico Letta has called a "crazy act".

All five ministers from the People of Freedom (PDL) party on Saturday took the decision to step down at Berlusconi's urging, said deputy prime minister Angelino Alfano, the number two in government who was among the resignations.

Italy newspapers put the blame for the new government crisis squarely at the ex-prime minister's feet.

"The convict has made Italy fail," read the headline in the leftist daily Il Fatto Quotidiano, alluding to Berlusconi's conviction for tax fraud.

The centre-right La Stampa and business newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore decried "the madness" of the actions taken by the media mogul who has dominated Italian politics for most of the last two decades.

The flamboyant billionaire, who turns 77 on Sunday, dismissed as "unacceptable" a demand by Letta on Friday for parliament to express support for the government next week, in a bid to end a crisis that has plagued the bickering ruling coalition.

Now President Giorgio Napolitano will have to mediate to find a way out of the latest political impasse. He is expected to meet Letta on Sunday.

Letta's government was cobbled together following a two-month stand-off after an inconclusive general election in February.

The premier of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) had won the confidence of financial markets by managing to keep together the improbable right-left coalition.

Italian media on Sunday speculated that if the crisis deepens there could be a reversal in market confidence, making it harder for Italy to deal with its economic difficulties and enact needed reforms.

The revolt among Berlusconi's backers boiled over on Thursday when they first threatened to resign over the former leader's legal problems.

A Senate committee was preparing to vote on whether to eject Berlusconi from the chamber after he was sentenced to a year in prison for tax fraud, a ruling that was upheld by Italy's top court in August.

Letta on Friday told a cabinet meeting tasked with approving key measures to rein in the recession-hit country's budget deficit that no further legislation would be enacted until the political crisis was resolved.

The cabinet had convened to determine how to delay a controversial planned rise in value-added tax, but the meeting ended in disarray amid the escalating tension over Berlusconi's conviction.

As a result, the VAT hike from 21 per cent to 22 per cent will go ahead, with effect from Tuesday, as economists worry that it will dampen consumption.

In encouraging the PDL ministers to resign, Berlusconi said they should not be "complicit in the latest vexation imposed on Italians by the left".

Letta retorted: "To try to justify his crazy and irresponsible act, aimed fully at protecting his personal interests, Berlusconi is... using the VAT as an alibi."

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UK PM backs veil bans at institutions

THE state should back institutions such as schools and courthouses that require individuals to remove face-coverings worn by some Muslim women, British Prime Minister David Cameron says.

Cameron said he did not believe there should be a ban on wearing the niqab - which conceals the whole face except for the eyes - in the streets.

But he made clear he was "happy" to look at the issue of whether the state needed to do more to back up institutions which choose to implement a ban.

"We are a free country and people should be free to wear whatever clothes they like in public or in private," Cameron told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show.

"But we should support those institutions that need to put in place rules so that those institutions can work properly.

"So for instance in a school, if they want that particular dress code, I believe the government should back them. The same for courts, the same for immigration.

"I think we should back those institutions that want to have sensible policies that actually have a particular purpose."

Asked if he would respond to a judge's suggestion that there should be guidelines for the country on the wearing of the niqab in court, Cameron said: "I'm very happy to look at that.

"Obviously, in court the jury needs to be able to look at someone's face. I've sat on a jury, that's part of what you do.

"When someone is coming into the country, an immigration officer needs to see someone's face.

"In a school, it's very difficult to teach unless you can look at your pupils in the eye.

"It's a free country and I think a free country should have free and independent institutions. No plans for anything on the street, but if the government needs to do more to back up institutions, then I would be happy to look at that."

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Two men in hospital following Sydney fire

TWO men are in hospital following a fire in Sydney's southwest.

Emergency services were called to Australia Road at Barden Ridge at 8pm (AEST) on Sunday after reports a house was on fire.

A garage at the rear of a property was well-alight, police say.

Two men are being treated at Sutherland Hospital for significant injuries.

It's understood the pair drove themselves to the hospital.

The fire has been extinguished but there is extensive damage to the garage.

Police have established a crime scene.

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Siemens to cut up to 15,000 global jobs

GERMANY engineering company Siemens says it will cut up to 15,000 jobs worldwide by the end of 2014.

German news agency dpa reported on Sunday that the company wants to cut 5,000 jobs in Germany and another 10,000 jobs abroad.

A Siemens spokesman, whose name was not given, told dpa the cutbacks will not necessarily mean that all the workers will lose their jobs, since some could be transferred to other departments.

Siemens could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Munich-based company has around 370,000 employees and makes a wide range of industrial machinery, including trains, power generators and transmission equipment, and medical scanners.

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Two die on Vic roads in two hours

TWO women have been killed within two hours in separate Victorian crashes.

The first died after a head-on collision at Brucknell in Victoria's southwest.

Police say the woman's car collided with a van about 45km from Warrnambool, at about 3pm (AEST) on Saturday.

She died at the scene.

Police say another woman died in the Geelong suburb of Leopold, when a utility lost control and struck her car at about 5pm.

The woman, who was the only occupant in the car, died at the scene.

The deaths take Victoria's road toll to 172, compared with 197 at the same time last year.

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Asylum seekers 'abandoned' at sea

The Abbott government has been criticised for its tight-lipped stance on an asylum-seeker tragedy.

SURVIVORS from an asylum-seeker boat that sank off Indonesia claim their desperate pleas to Australian authorities for help were ignored as their vessel foundered in heavy seas.

The death toll from the tragedy was on Saturday expected to surpass 50, with 30 or so people still missing.

Indonesian authorities say that at least 21 people, including seven children, drowned when the boat, which was believed to be carrying about 80 passengers, sank on Friday off the coast of Java.

A decision on whether to resume the search would be made on Sunday morning, Indonesian officials said late Saturday.

Authorities fear for up to 70 asylum seekers still missing after their boat sank off Java.

The Australian government issued a statement on Saturday evening expressing its sympathies and saying that it would provide assistance to Indonesian authorities.

Immigration and Border Protection minister Scott Morrison said Australian authorities received a call about the vessel on Friday morning that placed the stricken boat about 25 nautical miles of Indonesia.

Mr Morrison said Rescue Coordination Centre Australia maintained co-ordination of the search and notified the Indonesian rescue agency.

An all-ships broadcast was issued by Australian authorities, but a merchant ship and a border protection aircraft were both unable to find the vessel.

The dead, wrapped in yellow bodybags, some stacked on top of each other, could be seen on Saturday, exposed to the sun and heat in an open storage room of a clinic in the village of Agrabinta, near where they had washed ashore the previous day.

Many were children.

One of the survivors, Lebanese man Hussein Khodr, had reportedly lost his pregnant wife and eight children in the disaster.

But some of the survivors say that more lives could have been saved, claiming that as many as 10 calls to Australian authorities were either eventually ignored or treated as a low priority.

"We called them and we told them we're sinking, we need anybody to help us," 28-year-old Abdullah al Qisi said, according to The Australian newspaper.

"And they were telling us 'we're coming, we're coming' and they didn't come," he said.

Initial reports suggested the boat first got into trouble about 10 hours into its journey and efforts were made to return to Indonesia before it sank.

There were also claims on Saturday that the crew had abandoned ship shortly after setting off, and that the passengers had been left to fend for themselves for five days, drifting around with no engine, before calamity finally struck on Friday.

A spokesman for the Indonesian search and rescue agency, BASARNAS, said his office was not advised of an incident involving an asylum-seeker boat until 8am local time on Friday.

He said the Australian Maritime and Safety Authority had contacted BASARNAS about the boat.

However, a police official from the district of Cianjur near where the boat sank said authorities were only alerted to the incident after bodies were discovered floating in an estuary on Friday morning.

Strong waves had limited search and rescue efforts on Saturday, although three more people were found alive, taking the number of confirmed survivors to 28.

It's the first known fatal attempted asylum-seeker crossing under the coalition government, which promised that it would stop boats reaching Australia after it won this month's federal election.

The sinking comes after another group of 44 asylum seekers were rescued by an Australian navy vessel in the Sunda Strait on Thursday.

It also emerged on Saturday that a third group of 31 asylum seekers had been rescued by an Australian navy vessel, and were set to be returned to Indonesia - the second "hand-back" in as many days.

The latest tragedy in waters between Indonesia and Australia comes amid an increase in tensions between Canberra and Jakarta over the asylum-seeker issue, and days ahead of talks in Jakarta between Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Mr Abbott and President Yudhoyno will meet on Monday, with asylum-seeker policy expected to be at the top of the agenda.

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Greek Golden Dawn leader, MPs arrested

GREEK police have arrested the leader and other top officials of the anti-immigrant Golden Dawn party on charges of forming a criminal organisation.

The arrests are an escalation of a government crackdown after a fatal stabbing allegedly committed by a supporter.

It is the first time since 1974 that a party head and sitting members of parliament have been arrested.

Police announced the arrests of 16 Golden Dawn members, including party head Nikos Michaloliakos, spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris and two other MPs.

The arrests included a local Golden Dawn leader in an Athens suburb while the rest were ordinary members.

Two police officials said an operation by the counterterrorism unit was still ongoing on Saturday morning, with a total of about 35 arrest warrants for Golden Dawn members issued.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to speak publicly.

Despite the arrests, the party's MPs retain their parliamentary seats unless they are convicted of a crime.

Golden Dawn holds 18 of parliament's 300 seats, after winning nearly 7 per cent of the vote in general elections last year.

Michaloliakos had earlier threatened to pull the group's deputies out of parliament, a move that would prompt by-elections in 15 regions around the country.

"We will exhaust any means within our legal constitutional rights to defend our political honour," Michaloliakos said on Thursday.

"If the country enters a cycle of instability, it is those who demonise Golden Dawn who will be responsible, not (us)," he said.

The arrests come 11 days after the killing of anti-fascist activist rapper Pavlos Fyssas by an alleged Golden Dawn member.

Though the party has vehemently denied any role in the killing, the case has appeared to dent its appeal among Greeks and the government has worked to crack down on the party.

Golden Dawn expressed outrage at the arrests in a text message to journalists.

"We call upon everyone to support our moral and just struggle against the corrupt system! Everyone come to our offices!," it said.

A later text message called for supporters to head to police headquarters "with calm and order".

A small group of about 30 people initially gathered, standing on the footpath across the street from the building.

Golden Dawn entered the Greek parliament for the first time in May 2012, capitalising on Greece's deep financial crisis, rising crime and anti-immigrant sentiment.

The party's members and supporters have frequently been suspected of carrying out violent attacks, mainly against immigrants.

Despite its reputation for violence, the party had enjoyed growing popularity.

A government spokesman refused to comment on the details of the operation.

"Democracy can protect itself. Justice will do its job," Simos Kedikoglou told reporters.

In addition to Michaloliakos and Kasidiaris, Golden Dawn deputy, Ilias Panayiotaros, gave himself up at police headquarters, telling police they were looking for him at a wrong address.

Another MP, Yannis Lagos, has also been arrested.

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Ex-UK PM Thatcher's ashes laid to rest

The ashes of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher have been laid to rest in London. Source: AAP

BARONESS Thatcher's ashes have been laid interred in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

Members of her family attended a short church service in the chapel of the central London site on Saturday before a solid oak casket containing her ashes was placed in the ground.

A headstone bearing the simple inscription "Margaret Thatcher 1925 - 2013" was being erected on top of her final resting place in the leafy hospital grounds.

Britain's first female prime minister died aged 87 on April 8.

Twelve Chelsea Pensioners dressed in their distinctive scarlet coats formed a guard of honour as her ashes were placed alongside those of her husband Sir Denis, who died in 2003.

Prayers were said by hospital chaplain the Reverend Richard Whittington as her family members comforted one another.

Among the small group of mourners was Lady Thatcher's former private secretary Lord Powell and Lord Bell, her former political adviser.

Her children each placed a single red rose alongside the casket.

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Mandela responding to treatment: Zuma

The South African president says former leader Nelson Mandela is responding to treatment at home. Source: AAP

THE South African president says former leader Nelson Mandela is responding to treatment at his home, where a team of doctors is caring for him.

Authorities have previously described Mandela's condition as critical.

The 95-year-old former president and leader of the anti-apartheid movement was discharged from a hospital on September 1, nearly three months after he was admitted for a recurring lung infection.

The South African Press Association quotes President Jacob Zuma as saying in a speech released on Wednesday that Mandela continues to respond to treatment.

The speech was prepared for delivery at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Mandela's grandson Mbuso Mandela told The New Age newspaper his grandfather was "sitting up and looking around" and had spent the Tuesday public holiday surrounded by family.

"I saw him again yesterday (Wednesday) at lunch. He is doing well," he said, adding that "we are keeping him company".

He stressed that Mandela was "much better" and not completely bed-ridden.

Mandela spent 27 years in prison during white minority rule.

He led South Africa through a delicate transition to all-race elections that propelled him to the presidency in 1994.

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Milne loses six senior staff

AUSTRALIAN Greens leader Christine Milne is playing down the resignations of six of her senior staff members and has dismissed claims her leadership is on shaky ground.

Senator Milne was returned to the party's leadership unopposed on Monday, despite a slip in the Greens vote at the September 7 poll.

She confirmed on Wednesday night that six staff members had tendered their resignations including chief of staff Ben Oquist, director of communications Georgie Klug and policy adviser Oliver Woldring, her climate change adviser, her economics adviser and campaign coordinator.

"It's certainly true that people have opted to take redundancies but that's for a range of reasons," she told ABC TV.

"It's quite common in politics after an election for people to consider whether they want to stay on or not."

Some staff had indicated last year they would stay with her until the election, and some had given personal reasons for leaving, Senator Milne said.

She denied the resignations were a vote of no confidence in her leadership.

"There's no panic or nothing to be concerned about," she said.

"This is pretty normal for political offices."

Mr Oquist issued a statement saying he was leaving with good will but cited "fundamental differences of opinion about strategy".

Asked about his reason, Senator Milne said: "interesting that Ben would say that."

She said there had been differences of opinion on how the office would run, she favoured a flat administrative structure while he wanted a more hierarchical structure.

"I wish Ben very well with his endeavours in the future," she said.

Senator Milne said Prime Minister Tony Abbott was likely to offer her office fewer staff than they have had previously.

She said some of the staff had been working in the political arena for six or seven years and wanted a fresh start.

"I wish people who have left my office all the best in the careers they go on with," Senator Milne said.

Greens MP Adam Bandt was re-elected the party's deputy leader on Monday, unopposed.

He extended his margin in the lower house seat of Melbourne.

A spokesman for Senator Milne said after the election there is an automatic spill of the leader's position.

As a result the leader's electorate and personal staff positions are automatically terminated by the Department of Finance and staff are subsequently eligible for a generous redundancy package.

"Following an exhausting election is a natural time for political staff to leave and a natural period for renewal for a political office," the spokesman told AAP.

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