23 United States agents convicted, 2 others cleared in Italy

An Italian judge convicted 23 US and two Italian secret agents for the CIA's kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric in 2003, as Washington expressed dismay over the ruling.

The Milan station chief of the Central Intelligence Agency in Milan at the time, Robert Seldon Lady, was sentenced in absentia on Wednesday to eight years in prison and the other Americans to five years, in the landmark trial.

Two Italians were given three-year prison terms following the first trial involving the transfer of a "war on terror" suspect by CIA operatives thought to have sent scores of people to countries known to practice torture.

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G-8 opens door to 5 developing market economies

Leaders of the exclusive club of eight industrialized nations open up their forum yesterday to the five fastest developing market economies - Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa - tacit admission that their leadership alone is not enough to fix the world's major problems.

The so-called Group of Five, making their fifth straight appearance at the annual summit, albeit as invited guests, will discuss climate change, development aid, global economic growth and international trade with their Group of Eight counterparts - all topics touched on by G-8 leaders meeting on their own on Wednesday.

The G-5, along with special guest Egypt, on Wednesday urged a resumption of the stalled Doha trade round, noting that the developing countries were particularly damaged by protectionist trends emerging from the global economic crisis

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Italy's Berlusconi demands public apology from his wife

A peeved Premier Silvio Berlusconi has demanded a public apology from his wife, who announced she was seeking a divorce from the billionaire media magnate because she was fed up with his roving eye for younger women.

Going on the counterattack, the 72-year-old premier, who in recent years has had hair transplants and plastic surgery around the eyes, appeared more intent on saving his wounded pride than his floundering marriage.

"Veronica will have to publicly apologize to me.

And I don't know if that will be enough," the Corriere della Sera daily on Monday quoted Berlusconi as saying.

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