Terrorists planned to attack the Vatican with a hijacked plane on Christmas Day, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi said in a newspaper interview published Saturday.
Berlusconi told Milan’s Libero newspaper of a “precise and verified news of an attack on Rome on Christmas Day.”
“A hijacked plane into the Vatican,” Berlusconi is quoted as saying. “An attack from the sky, is that clear? The threat of terrorism is very high in this instant. I passed Christmas Eve in Rome to deal with the situation. Now I feel calm. It will pass.”
He added, “It isn’t fatalism, but the knowledge of having our guard up. If they organized this, they will not pull it off.”
Berlusconi gave no further details in the interview about who the intended hijackers were, where the information came from and how the attack was thwarted.
Security has been tightened around the Vatican in recent weeks amid reports that churches could become terrorist targets. During Christmas celebrations, Italian police guarded the perimeter of the vast St. Peter’s Square and pilgrims entering the basilica passed through metal detectors.
The Vatican refused Saturday to respond to questions about a possible Christmas threat.
Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in a statement, “As in every case of suspected or valid information regarding security themes, I have no comment to make.”
Berlusconi’s office issued its own statement Saturday, saying the premier’s remarks did not amount to official declarations.
“Premier Silvio Berlusconi gave no interview. One cannot confuse a quick exchange of Christmas greetings with political declarations,” it said.
The premier also was quoted by Libero as saying he received information in November of another planned attack, on the subways of Milan and Rome.
“There were those who insisted that the stations be closed,” Berlusconi is quoted as saying. “I took on myself the responsibility for avoiding certain measures. They would had the same effect on the minds of people as an attack, they would have killed us inside, with dramatic social and economic consequences.
“Terrorism wants to make us close up. I preferred to double up the safety checks.”
LONDON (AP) — The Northern Lights have lit up the skies above Scotland, northern England and northern parts of Ireland after the biggest solar storm in more than six years bombarded Earth with radiation.
The Canadian Space Agency posted a geomagnetic storm warning on Tuesday after residents were also treated to a spectacular show in the night sky.
Ken Kennedy, director of the Aurora section of the British Astronomical Association, said that the lights, also known as the aurora borealis, may be visible for a few more days.
The Northern Lights are sometimes seen from northern parts of Scotland but the unusual solar activity this week means the lights have also been visible from northeast England and Ireland, a rarity.
Geomagnetic storms cause awesome sights, but they can also bring trouble.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, problems can include current surges in power lines, and interference in the broadcast of radio, TV and telephone signals.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Advisers to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney are acknowledging that he once had a Swiss bank account but that it was closed in 2010 as prepared to enter the race for the White House.
The Swiss account is listed on Romney’s newly released 2010 federal income tax return. It had been opened by a Boston lawyer who oversees the Romney family investments and a blind trust containing millions of dollars in assets.
Romney’s net worth is estimated at as much as $250 million.
R. Bradlford Malt, the trustee, said Tuesday that he closed the account in early 2010 because “it just wasn’t worth it.” He acknowledged that the account might be inconsistent with Romney’s political views. Malt has dropped other investments that conflict with Republican Party views.
BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — Moammar Gadhafi loyalists have seized control of a Libyan town and raised the ousted regime’s green flag, an official and commander said Tuesday.
The retaking of Bani Walid comes as Libya’s new leaders have struggled to unify the oil-rich North African nation three months after Gadhafi was captured and killed.
Hundreds of well-equipped and highly trained remnants of Gadhafi’s forces raised the green flag over buildings in the western city late Monday after hours of clashes, said Mubarak al-Fatamni, the head of Bani Walid local council.
Al-Fatamni, who fled to the nearby city of Misrata following the attack, said four revolutionary fighters were killed and 25 others were wounded. He said the Libyan Defense Ministry has not sent any forces to the area.
A top commander of a revolutionary brigade in Bani Walid, Ali al-Fatamni, who was present in Benghazi during the attack, says he has lost contact with other fighters in the town.
The bold attacks, which have led authorities to declare states of emergency in several areas, are the latest breakdown in security, three months after Gadhafi’s capture and killing. Protests have surged in recent weeks, with people demanding that the interim leaders deliver on promises of transparency and compensation for those injured in the fighting.
Bani Walid, 90 miles (140 kilometers) southeast of Tripoli, was one of the last Gadhafi strongholds to fall to revolutionary forces amid a monthslong civil war. Gadhafi’s son and longtime heir apparent, Seif al-Islam, was long believed to have been hiding in the town.
Seif al-Islam, who has been charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, was captured in November by fighters from the town of Zintan in Libya’s western mountains, who continue to hold him.
State media announced the dictator's passing, from heart failure, early on Monday
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — Kim Jong Il, North Korea’s mercurial and enigmatic longtime leader, has died of heart failure. He was 69.
In a “special broadcast” Monday from the North Korean capital, state media said Kim died of a heart ailment on a train due to a “great mental and physical strain” on Dec. 17 during a “high intensity field inspection.” It said an autopsy was done on Dec. 18 and “fully confirmed” the diagnosis.
Kim is believed to have suffered a stroke in 2008, but he had appeared relatively vigorous in photos and video from recent trips to China and Russia and in numerous trips around the country carefully documented by state media. The communist country’s “Dear Leader” — reputed to have had a taste for cigars, cognac and gourmet cuisine — was believed to have had diabetes and heart disease.
“It is the biggest loss for the party … and it is our people and nation’s biggest sadness,” an anchorwoman clad in black Korean traditional dress said in a voice choked with tears. She said the nation must “change our sadness to strength and overcome our difficulties.”
South Korean media, including Yonhap news agency, said South Korea put its military on “high alert” and President Lee Myung-bak convened a national security council meeting after the news of Kim’s death. Officials couldn’t immediately confirm the reports.
The news came as North Korea prepared for a hereditary succession. Kim Jong Il inherited power after his father, revered North Korean founder Kim Il Sung, died in 1994.
In September 2010, Kim Jong Il unveiled his third son, the twenty-something Kim Jong Un, as his successor, putting him in high-ranking posts.
Traffic in the North Korean capital was moving as usual Monday, but people in the streets were in tears as they learned the news of Kim’s death. A foreigner contacted at Pyongyang’s Koryo Hotel said hotel staff were in tears.
Asian stock markets moved lower amid the news, which raises the possibility of increased instability on the divided Korean peninsula.
South Korea’s Kospi index was down 3.9 percent at 1,767.89 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.8 percent to 8,331.00. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 2 percent to 17,929.66 and the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 2 percent to 2,178.75.
Magazine honors Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street with its annual accolade
NEW YORK (AP) — “The Protester” has been named Time’s “Person of the Year” for 2011.
The selection was announced Wednesday on NBC’s “Today” show.
The magazine cited dissent across the Middle East that has spread to Europe and the United States, and says these protesters are reshaping global politics.
Last year, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg got the honor.
Time’s “Person of the Year” is the person or thing that has most influenced the culture and the news during the past year for good or for ill. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke received the honor in 2009. The 2008 winner was then-President-elect Barack Obama. Other previous winners have included Bono, President George W. Bush, and Amazon.com CEO and founder Jeff Bezos.
Time said it is recognizing protesters because they are “redefining people power” around the world.
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