Word: gaddafi
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...unprecedented act of contrition by a former European colonial power, Italy has formally apologized for its past injustices during its 30-year reign in Libya early last century, and agreed to pay $5 billion in reparations to Tripoli. Gaddafi promptly declared Aug 30 - the day the deal was inked in - Libyan-Italian Friendship...
...Perhaps it should be called "Silvio Day." Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Gaddafi, who share a certain mix of both durability and unpredictability, signed the deal under one of Gaddafi's trademark desert tents in the coastal city of Benghazi, trading jokes and each sharing pictures of their grandchildren...
...Berlusconi insists that Libya has inched back into the international community, and that the hefty dollar figure includes a large portion in investment projects that will benefit Italian companies, including a long planned major highway to link Algeria to Tunisia and Egypt. Gaddafi also announced that Italy will get preferential deals on his country's oil and gas reserves, and threw in the return of an ancient Venus statue taken to Rome during colonial times as a sign of goodwill...
...Perhaps more crucially for voters at home, Berlusconi received a written assurance from Gaddafi that his country will do more to stem the tide of illegal immigrants crossing the Mediterranean from Libyan shores, most of whom wash up on Italy's shores...
...everyone was impressed. "Gaddafi is a dictator," wrote Romano Bracalini in the L'Opinione daily. "He's strengthened politically and can claim victory. This is not a proud day for the Italian Republic...