Reykjavík, Iceland
Someone to blame: Iceland intends to prosecute its former prime minister for the country’s spectacular 2008 financial implosion. Geir Haarde was one of four former ministers blamed in a parliamentary report for contributing to the collapse of all the country’s major banks, the biggest financial catastrophe for any country in decades. He was found to have withheld crucial financial information from other government officials. Parliament, now controlled by Haarde’s left-leaning opponents, has ordered that he be charged with “gross neglect” and tried before a special court. Haarde is seeking to get the case thrown out, saying that it is “a political farce motivated by some old political enemies.”
Nice, France
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Husbandly duties: A Frenchwoman has successfully sued her ex-husband for not providing her with sufficient sex over 21 years of marriage. The woman was granted a divorce two years ago on the grounds of a lack of physical intimacy, and she then sued for damages. A judge has now awarded her $14,000, ruling that, “by getting married, couples agree to share their lives, and this clearly implies they will have sex with each other.” The ex-husband, 51, had pleaded fatigue and health problems. The French press did not publish the names of the couple.
Rome
Berlusconi disses Italy: Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has appalled his fellow citizens once again, this time by cursing Italy. In a tapped phone call, Berlusconi complained about all the investigations against him, saying, “I’m getting out to mind my own f---ing business, and so I’m leaving this s--ty country, which sickens me.” The call was recorded, and the tape made public, as part of an investigation of a man charged with blackmailing the prime minister. The accused blackmailer, Giampaolo Tarantini, is said to have arranged prostitutes for Berlusconi and then asked for hush money. Berlusconi shrugged off widespread criticism of his slam against Italy, saying it was just “one of those things that you say on the phone late at night, when you are relaxed.”
