Rome mayor to face Berlusconi’s party in local electionsMay 26, 2013 - 17:11 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Italians are going to the polls in two days of local elections seen as a test for the new coalition government, BBC News reported. The focus is on the Rome mayoral vote, where PM Enrico Letta's centre-left is fighting ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PfL) party. The PfL incumbent, Gianni Alemanno, is trailing Democratic Party (PD) candidate Ignazio Marino in the polls. Elsewhere, 565 local authorities, including Ancona, Brescia, Pisa and Siena, are also holding elections. The results are expected to show the relative popularities of the PfL and PD after they decided to form a grand coalition government to end two months of post-general election deadlock. Beppe Grillo's anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) which attracted a quarter of the vote in February's general election, did not back the coalition. He is hoping to consolidate his claim to be Italy's biggest political force. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. €3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms. Yerevan reacts to Baku’s proposal to see Minsk Group abolition Alen Simonyan has declared that Armenia is taking steps aimed at concluding a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. |