Son of last Italian king acquitted
ROME, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia, son of the last king of Italy, was acquitted Tuesday of illegal gambling.
The acquittal ends a legal ordeal that began with his arrest in June 2006. He was briefly imprisoned and then allowed to remain under house arrest.
It also comes amid a flap over a demand that Italy pay Vittorio Emanuele and his son, Emanuele Filiberto, millions of dollars for their forced exile from Italy, the news agency ANSA reported. The two men also have asked for the return of property seized in 1946 when Italy abolished the monarchy and banned male members of the House of Savoy from entering the country.
Appearing on TV Monday night, Emanuele Filiberto promised that any compensation would be given to charity and that they would make better decisions on its use than the state. But their demand has angered politicians from the Socialist Party to the right-wing Northern League, which issued a statement saying the Savoys "should be thrown out" again.
Vittorio Emanuele was allowed to return to Italy in 2002 after swearing allegiance to the republic. His son announced recently that he plans to move from Switzerland to Italy.
Report: Iran lining up Vatican mediation
TEHRAN, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- The Vatican may be called upon to cool down the simmering dispute over Iran's nuclear program.
Time magazine said Tuesday its sources in Rome reported that Iranian officials have been laying the groundwork for the possible entry of Pope Benedict XVI into the fray as a means of averting a military showdown.
"They'll have an idea of when the 11th hour is coming and they know an intervention of the Vatican is the most open and amenable route to Western public opinion," an unidentified Western diplomat told Time. "It could buy them time."
The pope hasn't said much publicly on the standoff over what the United States says is an Iranian move toward acquiring nuclear weapons. At the same time, Iran maintains diplomatic relations with the Vatican.
Time said diplomats expected any Vatican role in the dispute to come in the form of emissaries dispatched to Washington and Tehran and public appeals for peace from Benedict himself.
Senators vie for GOP leadership posts
WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander is running for the No. 3 leadership post among Senate Republicans.
The Tennessee Republican also announced he will support Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona in his bid for Senate minority whip, The Hill newspaper reported Tuesday.
Although Alexander is the first to announce he is running for Republican Conference chairman, the newspaper reports Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas and Richard Burr of North Carolina also are considering a run.
Alexander reportedly began soliciting support for his run Sunday, the day before Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., announced his resignation, opening up the No. 2 GOP leadership slot for Kyl.
"I have telephoned Jon Kyl to tell him I will vote for him as Trent's successor as whip," Alexander said in a statement Monday. "If Jon is elected, I will be a candidate to succeed him as chairman of the Republican Conference."
Author in Indian safe house
NEW DELHI, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Fearing Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen could be in danger in India, authorities have moved her to a safe house in an undisclosed location.
The move by the Central Government came after hard-line Muslim groups, opposed to some of her feminist writings, mounted protests in New Delhi, Press Trust of India reported Tuesday.
Nasreen, a 45-year-old physician by training, fled Bangladesh fearing backlash for disparaging remarks she made about Islam and how Muslims treat women.
She is author of the novel "Lajja" ("Shame"), banned in Bangladesh for its indications that the country's Hindu minority is treated unfairly.
