Italy's crucial elections appeared to be heading toward gridlock, initial results showed Monday, with the center-left forces of Pier Luigi Bersani moving ahead in the lower house of parliament and the camp of former premier Silvio Berlusconi gaining the upper hand in the equally powerful Senate.
Will Italy stay the course with painful economic reform? Or fall back into the old habit of profligacy and inertia? These are the stakes as Italians vote in a watershed parliamentary election Sunday and Monday that could shape the future of one of Europe's biggest economies.
Italians vote this weekend, and responsible citizens will find nothing much on the menu. As in America, the likely preference will continue stumbling down the tax-and-spend path that has crippled economies on both sides of the Atlantic.
Rita Levi-Montalcini, a biologist who conducted underground research in defiance of Fascist persecution and went on to win a Nobel Prize for helping unlock the mysteries of the cell, died at her home in Rome on Sunday. She was 103 and had worked well into her final years.
Italian Premier Mario Monti has announced he is heading a new campaign coalition made of up centrists, businessmen and pro-Vatican forces, paving the way for his possible return to office if it wins enough seats in February parliamentary elections.
For someone not running for political office, Premier Mario Monti has an awfully detailed plan for how to fix Italy's financial woes and bring the country and the rest of Europe back to economic health. And by Monday, not only had centrist leaders who want him as premier endorsed it, but so did the head of the Catholic Church in Italy.
Caretaker Prime Minister Mario Monti said Sunday he won't run in February elections, but if political parties that back his anti-crisis agenda ask him to head the next government, he would consider the offer.
Israel's prime minister on Monday accused the international community of "deafening silence" in response to recent vows by the head of the Hamas militant group to fight on until the Jewish state is destroyed, appearing unmoved by global condemnation of his government's plans to continue settling the West Bank.
Stocks edged higher Monday on Wall Street after a strong sales report from McDonald's offset concerns about the surprise resignation of Italy's prime minister. Investors also waited for developments in crucial U.S. budget talks.
