ROME: Italy's Silvio Berlusconi on Saturday said Europe's "lords of austerity" had tried to get rid of him, speaking in apparent breach of rules for candidates to stay silent the day before elections.
"I contradicted the lords of austerity who are now trying to get rid of me," Berlusconi was quoted by the ANSA news agency as saying in Milan in an interview with Greek television.
Leftist candidate Antonio Ingroia asked for sanctions against the billionaire tycoon but Berlusconi's office said the interview had been given only with the explicit agreement that it be released on Monday after polls close.
The comments were then widely quoted by Italian media.
In the interview, the scandal-tainted Berlusconi said outgoing prime minister Mario Monti was "subservient and always on his knees in front of Mrs Merkel (German Chancellor Angela Merkel) and now she does not want to lose him".
"The same thing would happen with (centre left leader and poll favourite Pier Luigi) Bersani. But I would give her a run for her money," he said.
"Austerity increases the public debt and lead to a recessionary spiral that pushes up unemployment and can result in the loss of social calm," he added.
Berlusconi, who is currently a defendant in two trials for tax fraud and for having sex with an underage prostitute, also said prosecutors were "a worse mafia than the Sicilian mafia".
Italians take to the polls on Sunday and Monday, Berlusconi expected to come a close second after Bersani.
The 3.3-pound Google Chromebook Pixel sports a 12.85-inch, 2,560x1,700-pixel display and an Intel Core i5 processor.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)
Thank you, Google. For obsoleting my MacBook.
Question: What two killer hardware features are missing on MacBooks? My answer: a touch screen and 4G.
What a coincidence. Just what Google is offering on the Chromebook Pixel. And in a package that comes close to matching the MacBook's aesthetics. (I'm focusing strictly on the hardware for the moment.)
Google is saying, at least in the case of touch, hey Apple, you don't get it.
Not everyone may agree with that. Take the laptop flat-earthers. They will say touch is stupid (or "pointless" as one columnist said) on a laptop. Yeah right, just like the mouse was a stupid idea.
Then there's Apple's your-arm-wants-to-fall-off on vertical touch surfaces excuse. That will eventually give way to a touch-screen MacBook of some sort. You heard it here first.
The point is, Google knows (they're not stupid) that touch is important on a laptop. As does Microsoft (Windows 8 and Surface). That leaves Apple in Luddite land.
4G: And some might say that a Chromebook needs 4G more than a MacBook because the Chromebook is so immersed in the cloud. Hmm, my MacBook spends lots of time in the cloud too. And the last time I used it on the road, I was constantly hauling out my Verizon MiFi or running down my iPhone's battery with the Personal Hotspot. Come on, LTE belongs in a laptop.
And the operating system? I believe that cool hardware is the first step in luring consumers to a new operating environment.
While Chrome OS is still a work in progress (and lacks key features that many users need), with the success of Android, I do think it's possible that an improved Chrome OS combined with a second-generation Chromebook Pixel could reel in more consumers.
Less than one week before the so-called sequester imposes $120 billion in automatic cuts to federal spending, GOP lawmakers and the president are still juggling blame, with each side slamming the other for the failure to secure a deal.
In his weekly address Saturday, President Obama tried to back Republicans into a corner. "These cuts don't have to happen," he explained. "Congress can turn them off any time with just a little compromise."
"Unfortunately," he continued, "it appears that Republicans in Congress have decided that instead of compromising — instead of asking anything of the wealthiest Americans — they would rather let these cuts fall squarely on the middle class."
"Are Republicans in Congress really willing to let these cuts fall on our kids' schools and mental-health care just to protect tax loopholes for corporate jet owners?" He asked. "Are they seriously prepared to inflict more pain on the middle class because they refuse to ask anything more of those at the very top?
"These are the questions Republicans in Congress need to ask themselves," Mr. Obama said. "And I'm hopeful they'll change their minds."
Not so fast, say Republicans who blame the sequester — and the government's inability to replace it — squarely on the White House.
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., delivering the Republican address this week, argued that "It was President Obama who proposed — and promoted — the sequester."
"The fact is: Republicans in Congress, right now, will provide the flexibility to make the necessary spending reductions and address our deficit and debt, instead of going through the sequester." Hoeven said. "In fact, House Republicans have already passed two bills to replace the president's sequester."
"So the question is: Why won't he work with us? And the answer, quite simply, is because he wants higher taxes."
Hoeven also lit into the president for "preventing economic growth and private sector job creation," singling out the administration's delayed decision on the Keystone XL pipeline as an example.
"Why, Mr. President, are you blocking a project that the American people support overwhelmingly?" Hoeven asked.
"Clearly, it appears to be because of special interest groups," he said, pressuring the president to ignore "Hollywood activists" opposed to the project and approve the Keystone XL to create more jobs.
"It's time to do things differently, Mr. President," Hoeven said.
South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius is spending time his family today after the athlete was freed on $113,000 bail Friday.
"We realise that the law must run its course, and we would not have it any other way," the Olympian's uncle, Arnold Pistorius said in a statement on Saturday.
The Pistorius family expressed their gratitude that the former Olympian was allowed out of jail before the trial.
"This constitutes a moment of relief under these otherwise very grave circumstances" said Arnold Pistorius."We are extremely thankful that Oscar is now home."
Pistorius, 26, is charged with premeditated murder in the Valentine's Day shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
While the prosecution argued that the world-renowned athlete was a flight risk and had a history of violence, South African Magistrate Desmond Nair, who presided over the case, disagreed.
FULL COVERAGE: Oscar Pistorius
"He regards South Africa as his permanent place of abode, he has no intention to relocate to any other country" Nair said during his two hour ruling, before concluding with, "the accused has made the case to be released on bail."
'Blade Runner' Murder Charges: Oscar Pistorius Out on Bail Watch Video
Oscar Pistorius Granted Bail in Murder Case Watch Video
Pistoriuis will have to adhere to strict conditions to stay out of jail before the trial. He must give up all his guns, he cannot drink alcohol or return to the home where the shooting occurred, and he must check in with a police department twice a week.
Oscar Pistorius is believed to be staying at an uncle's house as he awaits trial.
RELATED: Oscar Pistorius Case: Key Elements to the Murder Investigation
During the hearing, the prosecution argued that Pistorius shot Steenkamp after an argument, while the defense laid out an alternate version of events saying Pistorius mistook his girlfriend for an intruder.
Nair took issue with the head detective originally in charge of the case, who he said "blundered" in gathering evidence and was removed from the case after it was revealed he is facing attempted murder charges.
RELATED: Oscar Pistorius Case: Lead Det. Hilton Botha to Be Booted From Investigation Team
After the magistrate's decision, cheers erupted in the courtroom from the Pistorius camp. Pistorius' trial is expected to start in six to eight months, with his next pre-trial court date in June.
Reeva Steenkamp Family Reaction
Steenkamp's father, Barry Steenkamp told the South African Beeld newspaper that the 26-year-old athlete will "suffer" if he is lying about accidentally shooting 29-year-old model.
PHOTOS: Oscar Pistorius Charged with Murder
Barry Steenkamp went on to say that the Pistorius will have to "live with his conscience" if he intentionally shot Reeva.
Katherine Webb, girlfriend of Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron, made headlines when she was spotted by ESPN's Brent Musberger at the National Championship game earlier this year.Now, the 23-year-old model - recently featured in the pages of the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition and a castmember on ABC's upcoming reality diving show, "Splash" -- explains how she's handling her sudden fame.
VATICAN CITY: The pope's official Twitter account, which has more than two million followers in nine languages, will close next week when Benedict XVI leaves office, Vatican Radio said Friday.
After a high-profile launch on December 12 under the name @pontifex, the pontiff's online musings quickly attracted over 1.5 million followers in English. Around a million other users of the site subscribe to his feeds in Italian, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Polish, Arab and even Latin and a Chinese account had been planned.
"It seemed unimaginable one could continue to use a communication tool that is so popular and powerful during the Sede Vacante (Vacant Seat) period," Vatican Radio said.
The leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics is expected to post his final tweet on February 27, when he will bid a farewell to ordinary Catholics at a general audience in St Peter's Square.
The account will then be closed on February 28 when Benedict formally steps down as pope, according to Vatican Radio.
No clear favourite has emerged yet to succeed Benedict but several cardinals tipped as possible candidates, including American Timothy Dolan, Odilo Scherer from Brazil and Gianfranco Ravasi and Angelo Scola from Italy, who are active Twitter users within the Church.
Benedict's bold move to become the first pope to join the Twittersphere sparked heated debate at the Vatican and within the Church. Supporters said it was a useful way to reach a younger generation, but some observers were dismayed to see that his pious posts invited a stream of mockery.
When your market cap is north of $263 billion and the company's stock price is hovering around the $800 level, the prevailing question du jour becomes "well, why not?"
So it is that we learn, courtesy of the Financial Times, that Google has been talking with the major music labels about a possible streaming music service. The Times report said that "it is expected that the streaming service will offer a subscription model as well as free unlimited access to songs, supported by advertising, mirroring models adopted by Spotify and Deezer."
What with everyone seemingly talking with the labels these days, this is hardly a surprise. And as the Times correctly notes, Google has operated a music download store in the U.S. which started in 2011. It has since expanded the service to five European countries.
And like Apple, Google can leverage its tablets and smartphones as well as its Android operating system to make a go of it. Actually, file this one under the "nothing new under the sun" category. Indeed, the very same Financial Times reported as far back as 2006 that Google was chatting up music industry executives about "new digital music services that could break Apple's grip on the fast-growing market for legal downloads." Since then, Google's ambitions have grown along with its rivalry with Apple.
It must be fascinating to be a fly on the wall listening to the negotiations as they take place against the background of the music industry's chief lobbying group accusing Google of failing to crack down on pirate music sites. Noting Google's pledge half a year ago to do more, the Recording Industry Association of America said earlier this week that "six months later, we have found no evidence that Google's policy has had a demonstrable impact on demoting sites with large amounts of piracy. These sites consistently appear at the top of Google's search results for popular songs or artists."
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today warned of the "enormous impact" the looming sequester budget cuts will have on air travel in America, given that his department will have to cut nearly $1 billion from its budget, with more than $600 million coming from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
As the one former Republican congressman in President Obama's cabinet, LaHood put the responsibility squarely on Republicans to step up and work with Democrats to find a way to avert the cuts, slated to kick in on March 1.
"What I'm trying to do is to wake up members of the Congress on the Republican side to the idea that they need to come to the table... so we don't have this kind of calamity in air service in America," he said. "So that we're not just taking a meat axe to one part of FAA."
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LaHood: GOP must "step up" on sequester to prevent air traffic "calamity"
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LaHood warns travel delays will anger Americans
Cutting $1 billion from the Transportation Department would affect dozens of programs, LaHood said. For instance, the vast majority of the FAA's nearly 47,000 employees will face furloughs, he said -- and the largest number of FAA employees are air traffic controllers.
The Transportation Department is beginning discussions with unions today to close more than 100 air towers with fewer than 150,000 flight operations a year, such as towers in Hilton Head, S.C., and San Marcos, Texas. It's also discussing eliminating overnight shifts in more than 60 towers.
"We're going to reduce the number of controllers, which will reduce their ability to guide planes in and out of airports," LaHood explained.
Flights to major cities like New York and Chicago could experience delays up to 90 minutes during peak hours, he said. Furthermore, with fewer employees on staff to efficiently deal with issues such as runway repairs, there could be even more delays. Customers would likely see these impacts around April 1 -- 30 days after the cuts go into effect.
"These are harmful cuts with real-world consequences that'll cost jobs and hurt our economy," LaHood said.
Following LaHood's remarks, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association released a statement with even more ominous predictions.
"Once towers are closed, the airports they serve may be next," NATCA president Paul Rinaldi said. "Additionally, we believe the delay estimates provided by the FAA are conservative and the potential for disruptions could be much higher. Every one of these actions by the FAA will have an impact far beyond inconveniencing travelers. Local economies will be diminished, military exercises will be cancelled and jobs will be lost. There's no telling how long these effects will be felt because many of these service reductions may not be reversed."
LaHood stressed today that "obviously, as always safety, is our top priority." That said, he added that he expects customers to be very angry.
"Nobody likes a delay. Nobody likes waiting in line," he said. "If we can't get our hamburger within five minutes... you know what happens. They start calling their member of Congress."
Most members of Congress agree the sequester cuts should be averted, but they've been incapable of agreeing how to do so. Democrats want to replace the cuts with a plan that includes some new tax revenue and spending cuts. Republicans, however, say they refuse to raise any new tax revenue, after agreeing to some new revenues during the "fiscal cliff" debate.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said it's "factually incorrect" to say both parties are unwilling to compromise -- Democrats, he pointed out, are willing to make significant spending cuts while the GOP is obstinately against any new tax revenue.
LaHood, who repeatedly pointed out he served as a Republican in Congress for 14 years, said, "I think Republicans need to step up here... I'm telling them to come to the table and start talking to Democrats to figure out how do we solve this."
He said he's talked to about half a dozen Republican congressional offices about the impact the sequester will have on the Transportation Department, and their response is "not good. They get it."
The secretary said it was "nonsense" to suggest he was exaggerating the impact of the sequester.
"It's going to be very painful for the flying public," he said.
Accused murderer Jodi Arias believes she should be punished, but hopes she will not be sentenced to death, two of her closest friends told ABC News in an exclusive interview.
Ann Campbell and Donavan Bering have been a constant presence for Arias wth at least one of them sitting in the Phoenix, Ariz., courtroom along with Arias' family for almost every day of her murder trial. They befriended Arias after she first arrived in jail and believe in her innocence.
Arias admits killing her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander and lying for nearly two years about it, but insists she killed Alexander in self defense. She could face the death penalty if convicted of murder.
Jodi Arias Testimony: Prosecution's Cross-Examination Watch Video
Jodi Arias Remains Calm Under Cross-Examination Watch Video
Jodi Arias Doesn't Remember Stabbing Ex-Boyfriend Watch Video
Nevertheless, she is aware of the seriousness of her lies and deceitful behavior.
The women told ABC News that they understand that Arias needs to be punished and Arias understands that too.
"She does know that, you know, she does need to pay for the crime," Campbell said. "But I don't want her to die, and I know that she has so much to give back."
Catching Up on the Trial? Check Out ABC News' Jodi Arias Trial Coverage
The lies that Arias admits she told to police and her family have been devastating to her, Bering said.
""She said to me, 'I wish I didn't have to have lied. That destroyed me,'" Donovan said earlier this week. "Because now when it's so important for her to be believed, she has that doubt. But as she told me on the phone yesterday, she goes, 'I have nothing to lose.' So all she can do is go out there and tell the truth."
During Arias' nine days on the stand she has described in detail the oral, anal and phone sex that she and Alexander allegedly engaged in, despite being Mormons and trying to practice chastity. She also spelled out in excruciating detail what she claimed was Alexander's growing demands for sex, loyalty and subservience along with an increasingly violent temper.
Besides her two friends, Arias' mother and sometimes her father have been sitting in the front row of the courtroom during the testimony. It's been humiliating, Bering said.
"She's horrified. There's not one ounce of her life that's not out there, that's not open to the public. She's ashamed," she said.
LONDON: Swansea City coach Michael Laudrup said his side should have no concerns about being branded favourites ahead of their meeting with fourth-tier Bradford City in Sunday's English League Cup final.
Swansea will be appearing in their first major cup final, but their achievement pales in comparison to that of Bradford, who have eliminated three Premier League sides en route to Wembley Stadium.
League Two Bradford are the first team from the English fourth division to reach the League Cup final since Rochdale in 1962 and Laudrup said Swansea must be prepared to shake off their own underdog mindset as a result.
"I would think if you go back, it's very rare to see a major final between a small team in the top flight and a team from the lower leagues," said the Dane.
"When teams from lower down get to the final, it is normally against Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham or Liverpool -- like when Birmingham played Arsenal (in 2011).
"This is different because although we are one of the lower teams, we have to accept we are favourites and we must take the initiative in the game.
"We have no problem with that and we accept the majority of people will want Bradford to win as they are the underdogs.
"We have seen what they have done to Wigan, Arsenal and especially to Aston Villa over two legs.
"It is fantastic. If you say what we have done is a fairytale, then the fact Bradford are there is a huge fairytale."
Laudrup also confirmed that Spanish centre-back Chico Flores will not be available to play at Wembley after he ruptured ankle ligaments in the 4-1 league win over Queens Park Rangers on February 9.
"Chico tried today (Thursday) to go out and train, but it was much too early, we all knew that," said Laudrup.
"It is an injury you would normally estimate to be out for four to eight weeks and this Saturday would be two weeks.
"It is such an important game, but today he realised it is much too soon and he has to accept the fact."
In Flores' absence, Kyle Bartley and club captain Garry Monk will vie for the right to partner Ashley Williams in central defence.
Laudrup also revealed that German second-choice goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel will continue between the posts, having been preferred to first-choice custodian Michel Vorm in Swansea's previous games in the competition.
