27/11/2013 World News Today

His is BBC World News Today with me, Philippa Thomas. Silvio Berlusconi

tells supporters it is a day of mourning for democracy. Britain

risks being seen as "nasty country", so says an EU commissioner, as David

Cameron vows to limit the number of EU migrants working in Britain and

receiving benefits. Also coming up: We will be live in Sao Paulo were at

least two people have been killed at a football stadium. A dinosaur

nicknamed Misty sells at auction. We'll tell you just how much she's

worth. Hello and welcome. He's been kicked out of the Italian Senate but

vows that he's not finished with Italian politics yet. Silvio

Berlusconi, three times a Prime Minister, a multi-billionaire media

tycoon, and convicted tax evader, today faced the humiliation of his

fellow politicians voting him out of parliament with immediate effect.

Silvio Berlusconi's supporters were there - not in the Senate - but

spilling across the streets outside his Roman palazzo, where their hero

told them this is a day of "mourning for democracy."

We must not this further that the leader is no longer the senator.

There are other leaders of parties who are not Members of Parliament.

Even if one is not a Member of Parliament, one can continue to

fight for our freedom. He is saying his career may not be

over yet. Let's take a quick look at Signore Berlusconi's colourful,

controversial political career. Silvio Berlusconi been Prime

Minister three times since 1994 - in fact, Italy's longest serving Prime

Minister since World War II. But the media tycoon has been plagued by sex

scandals, tax fraud cases and gaffes. He was forced to resign as

Prime Minister in 2011 as he struggled to reduce the country's

debt. This year, his conviction for tax fraud was upheld - a conviction

related to deals his company, Mediaset, made to buy the TV rights

to American films. Berlusconi have also received a conviction for sex

with an underage prostitute and for abuse of his power. Another very

dramatic day in Italian politics. Alan, that sounded like a defiant

that he was striking there. It is indeed a defiant Mr Berlusconi we

have seen here. Just worth saying you probably have to live in Italy

to fully appreciate the extent to which this figure has filled the

political landscape here for so long as well. There is a generation of

young Italians who have only ever known this extraordinary,

larger-than-life, deeply controversial figure at the centre

of the political machine. Many of them remember him from all of their

lives. They saw him being ordered out of parliament, ordered not to

take part in any elections for six years. As you say, a defiant

Berlusconi. He called this a black day for Italian democracy. He argues

he is entirely innocent and he was wrongly convicted of tax fraud by

left wing judges bent on trying to end his political career. He insists

that won't happen, that he will continue to lead his party from

outside Parliament. Of course, he has tremendous wealth. He has a

media machine that can pump his message into countless Italian homes

on a nightly basis. Nobody here believe they have had the end of

him. Does he have a great deal of public support? We saw what looked

like thousands in the streets, but in the country at large, dizzy have

a large fan base? Several million Italians voted for his party at the

last election. That was only in February. There are a swathe of

Italians who very much like his economics, is endless talk of the

need to reduce taxes. Many Italians are weary of the crushing tax

burden. They're like the way he talks about reducing the size of

government. His critics, however, would say he was in power for all

those years that you mentioned in the intro there and did so little,

they would say, to resolve this country's economic problems, and why

should he think he might do better if he was to get back into power.

What has happened today will make his entire political project more

difficult to carry on. Thank you very much. With me is Alberto

Nardelli, co-founder of Electionista, a website that

monitors elections and politics around the world. Berlusconi has

filled the political frame in Italy. Do you think we will see the

back of him? I think he has never been as weak as he has tonight, and

not just because he has been expelled from Parliament, but he

would be able to stand office for the next six years, his party has

just split, but I don't think we have seen the end of him. He

referred to the fact you can be a party leader and not be in

Parliament, so clearly that is his ambition. I think we have a good

example with another person who leads a movement. Somebody else

could stand for office but Berlusconi could be pulling the

strings. You could argue he has made his way around Parliament anyway.

What does he stand for? If his party is running for election, what does

Berlusconi's Italy mean? I think he will start to repeat the message is

he always repeats before an election. He has started today and

yesterday with the statement to criticise the government for

increasing taxes, putting burdens on hard-working families and companies,

and presenting himself as the any person in Italy who would reduce

taxes and help hard-working people. I think we will see that message

from that up until the election. That goes against the kind of EU

conventional wisdom, which is to tell leaders to tighten up budgets.

Absolutely. Berlusconi is very good at creating enemies. The EU will be

one of those targets. He will blame the EU for lots of the issues which

Italy is facing. He will present himself as the only person and party

who can save Italy. Too thick Italian politics would be better off

without him? In the long-term, absolutely. I think Italian politics

would be better off with the current system. I think Bella Scunny is just

a reflection of one half of that system. His biggest strength has

often been the fact that there are not credible alternatives. -- I

think Berlusconi is just a reflection of one half of that

system. He is a very clever politician. Thank you for speaking

to others. Here in the UK, Prime Minister David Cameron has promised

to make it harder for migrants from the European Union to get access to

Britain's welfare system, which he's suggested many Eastern Europeans see

as "a soft touch". He says the migrants won't qualify for

unemployment benefits until they've been here for three months - nor

will they get instant access to housing benefit. But an EU

commissioner has accused Mr Cameron of an "unfortunate overreaction,"

saying the UK risks being seen as "the nasty country." Nick Robinson

reports. There are just 35 days to go until any citizen of Romania

Bulgaria will be free to work in the UK. The data has been in the diary

for years, but the Prime promised to tighten up that benefit rules in

time for January. To anyone in other EU countries, thinking of coming to

Britain because it is easier to claim benefits, I think it is very

important to send a clear message that that is not the case. Frankly,

some of this work has come about because I have seen other European

countries that do take a tougher approach can pose. Sending a signal

mean tweaking the rules for new arrivals who want to claim to

benefits. They will have to wait three months before claiming

jobseeker's allowance. It will only be payable for six months. Those out

of work in future will not be able to claim housing benefit at the same

time. The images of Rome are sleeping rough have fuelled already

high public concern. The government is promising new powers to remove

beggars, and a new minimum earnings threshold before anyone can claim

income support. Public concern about immigration is forcing all the main

parties to think again. The Prime Minister is even saying he wants to

change the basis of the EU. The idea that anyone from any country can

work anywhere, whether they are a Polish plumber, remaining in

architect or a Brit who fancies working on the Costa Blanca. I think

people can now see if there are radically different pay rates, you

will get mass movement of people. Frankly, it isn't right for our

country those countries. In Brussels, one EU commissioner said

Britain was in danger of being seen as the nasty country. David Cameron

will meet the support of many other European capitals refuse to change

the fundamental European principle. Prime Minister Cameron called me,

informing me about the intentions he has on this. I had occasion to

underline that free movement is a principle that must be withheld.

Many Romanians and Bulgarians have already made the journey here. They

are self employed a half work permits. The announcement today is

about trying to limit the numbers who follow.

Charles Grant joins us now. Do you think Mr Cameron is addressing a

genuine problem for Britain? In one respect, he is, and in one respect,

he is addressing a greatly exaggerated one. If very poor

countries join the EU with very low wage levels, after workers from

those countries are allowed to come to the UK, they can come and work in

the UK, which creates problems and tensions, and that needs to be

addressed. For future countries joining the EU, they would only have

the complete right to work in the UK or any other country when the per

capita income of the new member gets to, say, 50% or 70% of the average.

That is for new members in the future. I think that is a perfectly

respectable idea. Where I have more concern is with his measures to try

to reduce access of people from existing EU members to benefit in

this country. It issues it is a big problem and I do not think it is --

it issues it is a big problem. I think there was a great exaggeration

of this problem. There is this expectation there could be thousands

of tens of thousands possibly very highly qualified immigrants from

bald area and Romania who want to come over here. We don't know how

many will come. Look at the example of what happened in 2004 when about

a million people came to our shores. Most of them came to work hard, play

tax and use much less of the welfare system than the British people. They

pay more tax. They seem to be younger and not a big demand on the

health service. I think people from other places do come, they will work

harder make a contribution. Briefly, if that is possible on this

question, David Cameron talks about the danger of hollowing out the

countries they are coming from if some of the brightest and best come

to Britain. That is a fair point. It could damage the structure of these

countries. It is a question of balance. And his wire think his idea

of saying for the very poorest countries to join the EU, those

people should not be able to come and work in our country. I think

that is a fair point. For countries already in the EU, he can make some

restrictions to the benefits. I would support some changes, for

example, child benefit, if Page two people from EU countries living in

the UK, even if their children are back in a different country, child

benefit can still be paid. The directive could be changed for that.

Dara many fewer claimants among the EU immigrants than from ordinary

British people living in the country.

In The To Latvia now, where the Prime Minister has resigned

following the collapse of a supermarket roof in the capital Riga

last week, which will now bring his government down too.

At least 54 people died in the incident, and Valdis Dombrovskis

says he's taking full political responsibility. The Latvian

president earlier described the disaster as "murder". Nick Childs

has more. Repercussions from this catastrophic

collapse continued. Latvia is a country still reeling from its

deadliest disaster since it declared its independence from the Soviet

Union 22 years ago. There has been much national grief and mourning on

display since the tragedy, but also anger. And so, a grim faced Prime

Minister has emerged before cameras to announce his resignation. His

departure also means a new government must be formed. This is

just weeks before the government is due to join the Eurozone. The

wrecked shell of the supermarket is being demolished. Emergency workers

are also sifting through the debris for clues. A police investigation is

taking place into whether building regulations were violated. Many have

pointed tonnes of soil from a new roof garden as a key factor. The

Minister has blamed a lack of government oversight from

construction projects, results of austerity measures to prepare the

Eurozone membership. At the same time, they insist the resignation of

Latvia's longest serving Prime Minister won't create political

economic instability. In similar situations, politicians have made

similar decisions, because this is really the biggest ever catastrophe

in our history. Politicians have agreed to start negotiations, to

start consultations about a new government, already next week. But

Latvians are now having to come to terms with a period of political

uncertainty, even as they continue to digester scale of last week's

tragedy. In Brazil, part of the stadium that

will host the World Cup opener in Brazil next year has collapsed,

killing at least two people. The Fire Service says it was called to

the area after reports of a collapsed crane. Let's get an update

now on that stadium collapse in Sao Paulo. The BBC's Gary Duffy is

there. What is the latest? The Fire Service in Sao Paulo are now

confirming that two people died. They initially said three. It is

believed one was a truck driver who was involved in the actual project

that was ongoing at the time of the accident. The other was a worker who

was taking a break. It was lunchtime, and the company say he

was in an area he wasn't authorised to be in. What appears to have

happened is that the final bit of the roof structure was being lowered

into place. This stadium is roughly 94% complete. Most of the work is

done. The deadline was for the end of December. They are clearly under

pressure to get the work done, and the accident happened. The

construction company involved in the works say that the weight of the

structure being lifted was within the limits of the crane that was

being used, so clearly, a lot of questions to be answered by

investigators. And there had been a lot of pressure had now from the

International football Association for the stadium to be finished at

least this year? Yes, there has been tension right across the board

between thief and the Brazilian authorities about repeated delays in

the stadiums. There are problems not just in Sao Paulo, but in other

Brazilian cities, such as Amazonas in the heart of the Amazon

rainforest. There was a deadline set by the end of December, and I think

the Fifa authorities were hoping that would be the end of the matter,

that they would look forward to next year's World Cup tournament and say

that all the stadiums were now ready. Undoubtedly, as well as being

a terrible tragedy for the families involved, this is a big setback for

the World Cup. Sao Paulo is Brazil's biggest city, and I think

they would have been an expectation that organisationally and with

construction companies behind it, this is a project that could have

been completed to make this latest deadline. So, undoubtedly an

organisational blow to the World Cup will stop thank you for that update.

Protests have also continued in Ukraine - where the government's

decision NOT to sign a trade agreement with the European Union

has been welcomed by some, and bitterly opposed by others.

It's thought economic pressure from Russia was instrumental in derailing

the deal. Our correspondent Steve Rosenberg has travelled across

Ukraine and sent us this report. It's a town that looks Russian,

speaks Russian, and even has its own Russian revolutionary. But this is

done yet in eastern Ukraine, the country's eastern heartland. The

local fridge factory relies on the Russian market. They don't sell many

of these to Europe. So here, they are rather call to the idea of EU

integration. The factory fears a free-trade deal with Brussels would

mean trade barriers to the east. These fridges would suddenly become

35% more expensive in Russia. They would be priced out of the market.

Russia's much more important to us right now, says this man. We don't

want those links broken. It is a similar story across this part of

Ukraine. For the factories here, good relations with Moscow are

vital. Too many people in eastern Ukraine, the European Union is

something that is so far away, and although there is some support here

for closer ties with Europe, there is also great concern about damaging

relations with Russia. It is a different story here.

This is Lviv in western Ukraine, once under Polish rule and part of

Austria -hungry. It feels like Europe. At the Catholic cathedral in

ten macro three, this baby is being baptised. He is named after the

Pope. They want Ukraine to be closer to the EU and less dependent on

Russia here. TRANSLATION: If we keep taking the bread which Russia hands

out to us, we will just keep coming back for more. We will never be our

own masters. This fruit juice manufacturer near Lviv has moved

closer to Europe. It has opened two factories in

Poland, and there are more on the way. TRANSLATION: We can benefit

from Europe if we bring European laws into line with our

legislation, that will help others destroy corruption. In Lviv, they

know exactly which path they want Ukraine to take. But this country is

divided, torn between East and West. Now a look at some of the day's

other news. A coalition government has been

agreed in Germany after long negotiations between Chancellor

Angela Merkel's conservatives and the centre-left SPD. Mrs Merkel said

the agreement was based on mutual trust, while the SPD leader

described it as fair. Mrs Merkel could be sworn in for a new term in

office by Christmas if SPD members vote to approve the new partnership.

Russian police have arrested 15 radical Islamists during early

morning raids in Moscow. They also recovered homemade bombs, hand

grenades and guns. Police said those arrested were members of an Islamist

group believed to have links with Al-Qaeda. Security in Russia is

tight two months ahead of the Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort of

Sochi. A tiny book of psalms has been sold

at auction in New York for more than ?8.5 million, making it the most

expensive printed book in the world. The translation of Biblical psalms

is thought to be the first book to have been printed in what is now the

United States. It was produced by Puritan settlers in Cambridge,

Massachusetts in1640. Let's take you now to another

extraordinary auction. This one was the sale of a 15 million -year-old

fossil, which measured 17 metres. It went under the hammer in England,

although knowledgeably, fetching ?400,000. Our correspondent Duncan

Kennedy takes at the tail. Proof that age and beauty do mix.

150 million years old, and not a drop of Botox in sight. Just be

elegant feminine lines of aid deploy dockets, who has been named Misty.

Dash-macro declared Douglas. She is thought to be the first large-scale

dinosaur skeleton ever to be auctioned in Britain. We will start

the bidding with me at ?280,000. Whitney at ?280,000. And antique of

such extreme vintage soon attracted bidders through around the world,

all keen to lay claim to what was a docile, 56 but long giant. Have

?400,000. I am selling against all of the rest of you at ?400,000. Sold

for ?400,000. Thank you very much indeed. With tax and commission, the

total rises to nearly half ?1 million. Bought by an unnamed

institution who will put it on public display. Why do you think

they were prepared to pay the best part of half ?1 million? Because it

is a true, tremendous object. There are only a handful of complete dip

the dockers skeleton that there ever been discovered, so the chance to

buy one simply does not happen very often. This is what Misty would have

looked like as she roamed during the late Jurassic period. Found in the

United States, diplodocus animals like Misty are perhaps the largest

and heaviest dinosaur still never existed. She has travelled along way

since then, but has lost none of the unique value. At nearly half ?1

million, she has not only wowed audiences here in Sussex, but

dinosaur devotees the world over. Her new owners will be guaranteed an

epic presence. This most feminine of fossils for collectors, a dinosaur

to die for. You can tell he enjoyed reporting on

that story ! Thanks very much for being with us. You are watching

world News today.