New PM vows to save Italy from austerity

ITALY'S new Prime Minister Enrico Letta says his coalition government will act fast to reverse an austerity policy he argues is killing Italy and has called on Europe to become a motor for growth.

"Italy is dying from austerity alone. Growth policies cannot wait," Letta said during his inaugural speech to parliament on Monday, under the watchful gaze of European partners.

The recession-hit country, effectively rudderless since an inconclusive election in February, is under pressure to act fast to tackle social, economic and institutional ills.

The leftist moderate, who was sworn in with his cabinet on Sunday, promised to have results in 18 months or "take the consequences".

He said the economic situation in Italy - one of the first countries to fall prey to the eurozone debt crisis - "is still serious" and its two trillion euro ($A2.5 trillion) debt "weighs heavily" on ordinary Italians.

But he also looked to Europe, saying it was suffering from "a crisis of legitimacy and ... must become once more a motor of sustainable growth" - a reference to his aim to persuade Europe to reverse its disputed austerity policy.

The 46-year-old moderate from the centre-left Democratic Party said he wants to deal quickly with the social fallout of the longest economic slump in 20 years.

Investors appeared buoyed by the new leadership, with Italy performing well at its first market test, paying significantly lower rates to raise 6.0 billion euros at a five- and ten-year bond auction

Letta said the political class had to react to the growing anti-establishment voice in Italy, which was driven by anger over politicians' perks at a time of widespread financial difficulties.

The government's first act would be to cut the salaries of ministers who are also members of parliament, and are therefore currently eligible for two salaries, he said.

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Google pushes personal assistant on Apple

GOOGLE has announced it will offer its personal assistant app Google Now to users of Apple devices, stepping up its challenge to its rival's Siri program.

"Google Now is about giving you just the right information at just the right time," Google's Andrea Huey said in a blog announcement.

"It can show you the day's weather as you get dressed in the morning, or alert you that there's heavy traffic between you and your butterfly-inducing date - so you'd better leave now!

"It can also share news updates on a story you've been following, remind you to leave for the airport so you can make your flight and much more."

Google Now, which like Siri is a voice-activated software program - will be available to users of Apple iPhones and iPads, which use the iOS operating system.

"Today, with the launch of Google Now on iPhone and iPad, your smartphone will become even smarter," Huey said.

The move comes with the two California tech giants in a fierce battle for domination of mobile operating platforms. Google's Android has taken the lead in smartphones and is gaining rapidly in the tablet market.

Google meanwhile has argued that Apple's Siri is a potential threat to its core search engine by allowing smartphone users to bypass Google for many searches, which can generate ad revenue.

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UN appeals for Syria chemical arms inquiry

UN leader Ban Ki-moon has made a new plea to Syria to stop blocking an international inquiry into the alleged use of chemical weapons in the country's conflict.

Ban met the head of the investigation team, Ake Sellstrom, as international suspicions about the use of the weapons grow and on the day designated to remember the victims of chemical weapons attacks.

Ban told reporters he "takes seriously" US reports about the weapons and said "I again urge the Syrian authorities to allow the investigation to proceed without delay and without any conditions".

Sellstrom and an advanced team now in Cyprus can deploy to Syria "within 24 to 48 hours", the UN secretary-general said on Monday.

President Bashar al-Assad's government asked for a UN inquiry but has refused to let investigators into the country, demanding they be limited to its claims that opposition rebels used chemical weapons near Aleppo on March 19.

Britain and France have asked that the inquiry also look at opposition claims that chemical arms also had been used in Homs and near Damascus.

Ban wrote a new letter to Assad on Thursday seeking access as the United States revealed its suspicions that chemical arms have been used. Diplomats said the Syrian government is barely communicating with UN and other international bodies.

"I take seriously the recent intelligence report of the United States about the use of chemical weapons in Syria," Ban said. "On-site activities are essential if the United Nations is to be able to establish the facts and clear up all the doubts surrounding this issue.

"A credible and comprehensive inquiry requires full access to the sites where chemical weapons are alleged to have been used," he added.

"I encourage all involved to uphold their responsibilities in enabling us to properly police these heinous weapons of massive destruction."

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Santander bank chief resigns: company

THE Spanish banking giant Santander has announced the resignation of chief executive Alfredo Saenz, who was convicted in 2011 for irregularities in a debt-recovery case.

He will be replaced by Javier Marin, Santander's current head of insurance, asset management and private banking, said the bank, which is the eurozone's biggest by capitalisation.

It gave no reason in its statement for the "voluntary resignation" of Saenz, 70, who had been chief executive since 2002 and had looked likely to succeed Emilio Botin as executive chairman.

Saenz was convicted in 2011 of lodging false charges against certain creditors in order to reclaim debts from them, but no final sentence has been pronounced against him.

In November 2011 the outgoing Socialist government commuted his initial sentence, a suspended jail term and a banking ban, to a fine.

But Spain's Supreme Court partially quashed that decision this month.

The offences date to 1994 when Saenz was chairman of Banesto, a bank that was bought that year by Santander.

Saenz is eligible for a pension of 88.2 million euros ($A112.8 million) and was paid 8.2 million euros by the bank last year, according to its annual report.

The bank said it had nearly quadrupled in size during his tenure, with assets growing from 358 billion euros to 1.25 trillion euros.

"The board of directors expressed its recognition of and gratitude for Alfredo Saenz's extraordinary achievements since joining the group," it said in a statement.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government this month passed a decree allowing bankers with penal convictions to continue working in the sector if the Spanish central bank gave its authorisation.

That was seen as a positive step for Saenz on his way towards replacing Botin at the top of Santander.

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Botswana president clawed by cheetah

BOTSWANA'S President Ian Khama has received two stitches in his face after being clawed by a cheetah, a government spokesman says.

The incident occurred last week at a Botswana Defence Force facility where soldiers enlisted in the battle against poaching learn about the animals they help to protect.

"He was scratched by a cheetah last week but not really attacked per se," spokesman Jeff Ramsay told AFP.

The cheetah was being fed in an enclosure near to where Khama was standing, became excited and somehow managed to swipe a claw across the president's face.

Khama, 60, was not admitted to hospital, but did receive treatment.

He was seen last week with a plaster on his face.

Ramsay said there were no security implications and added that because of the minor nature of the injury the government had initially decided not to issue a public statement.

Cheetahs, the fastest land mammals, are one of the few large cats not to have fully retractable claws. Far from being razor sharp, the claws are more like a dog's than a lion's.

Khama, a former lieutenant general who was trained at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, England, and has been in power for five years, is known as something of outdoorsman.

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S Africa TV shows new images of Mandela

THE first images of Nelson Mandela in almost nine months show the South African icon looking thin but sitting upright after his latest hospitalisation.

The 94-year-old appeared slightly gaunt and showing little expression in brief images captured at his Johannesburg home by South Africa's state broadcaster SABC.

Wearing flamboyant black and white patterned shirt, Mandela sat in a beige armchair with his legs up and covered with a white blanket.

He was flanked by President Jacob Zuma, who visited along with a delegation from the ruling ANC on Monday.

They were the first public images of Mandela since then US secretary of state Hillary Clinton visited in August.

The footage was broadcast after the visit by Zuma and a delegation of ANC leaders who said the elder statesman was in "good shape".

"They found president Mandela in good shape and in good spirits," the party said in a statement.

Zuma and the top brass of the African National Congress dropped in on the ailing Nobel Peace Prize winner at his home, where he has been recuperating under high-care since his hospital release earlier this month.

Mandela returned home on April 6 after spending 10 days in hospital being treated for a recurrent lung infection.

The ANC visitors were briefed by Mandela's medical team and "are satisfied that president Mandela is in good health and is receiving the very best medical care".

The ANC said Mandela was "keenly aware of the goodwill that has been outpouring from the peoples of the globe as befitting his status as our icon".

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Ex-pope set to return to Vatican this week

POPE emeritus Benedict XVI will "probably" return to the Vatican on Thursday, a spokesman for the Holy See says, two months after the German pontiff's resignation stunned the world.

For the first time in history, a retired pope and a serving pope will both be resident in Vatican City, the world's smallest state.

Benedict will move into the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, a two-storey brick building on a hilltop inside Vatican walls overlooking St Peter's that has been renovated especially for him.

Spokesman Federico Lombardi declined to be drawn on the practicalities of the move or whether he would be greeted by Pope Francis, saying only: "There is no fixed program at this stage."

Since Benedict dramatically stepped down as pontiff on February 28, he has been living in the Castel Gandolfo, a luxurious 55-hectare property, which is larger than the Vatican City itself, located 25 kilometres southeast of Rome.

As he had promised, Joseph Ratzinger has led an extremely discreet life since he stepped down and has not made any comment on Vatican affairs.

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