Category Archives: News

Ex-Murdoch chief in court

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SHE has tamed that wild mane of red hair. The former chief executive of News International, Rebekah Brooks, yesterday appeared in a London court over charges of perverting the course of justice — with newly reshaped princess-style tresses.
The court was told that Brooks, who faces three counts of conspiring to hide evidence from the Metropolitan Police, would probably learn by the end of August whether she would also face new charges arising from Operation Weeting, the police investigation into phone hacking.
Brooks faces three charges of having conspired to pervert the course of justice by hiding material from the Metropolitan Police Service.
Her barrister, Hugo Keith, QC, said that prosecutors had been passed more Operation Weeting files relating to 11 journalists. “No one is sure whether it will result in charges one way or another,” he said.
He said any further charges would have an impact on this trial and asked that prosecutors say by the end of August whether Brooks could expect more counts. Mr Justice Fulford declined to make an order but said he encouraged the prosecution to do this if possible.
Brooks, who resigned as chief executive of News International last July, is also a former editor of The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World.
She and her husband sat in the dock with four other defendants: Cheryl Carter, Brooks’ former personal assistant; Paul Edwards, Brooks’ former chauffeur; Mark Hanna, the head of security at News International; and Daryl Jorsling, who was a security consultant for Brooks provided by News International. Brooks, 44, is charged on count one that between July 6 and July 19, 2011 she conspired with Charles Brooks, Hanna, Edwards, Jorsling and persons unknown to conceal material from Metropolitan police officers.
On count two she is charged with Carter of conspiring between July 6 and July 9, 2011 to permanently remove seven boxes of material from the archive of News International.
In the third count Brooks is charged with her husband, Hanna, Edwards and Jorsling and persons unknown of conspiring between July 15 and 19 July 19, 2011 to conceal documents, computers and other electronic equipment from Metropolitan officers. The other five defendants face one charge of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice each.
Charlie Brooks faces a charge of conspiring to pervert the course of justice with his wife.
All six defendants will face court again on September 26 for a plea and case management hearing. No trial date was set.

First published in The Age.

Brooks will find out soon about further phone-hacking charges

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LONDON

She has finally tamed that wild mane of red hair. The former chief executive of News International, Rebekah Brooks, yesterday appeared in a London court over charges of perverting the course of justice – wearing her trademark Christian Louboutin spike heels, a slinky black designer dress and newly reshaped princess-style tresses.
The court was told that Brooks, who faces three counts of conspiring to hide evidence from the Metropolitan Police, would probably learn by the end of August whether she would also face new charges arising from Operation Weeting, the police investigation into phone hacking.
Her barrister, Hugo Keith, QC, said that prosecutors had been passed more Operation Weeting files relating to 11 journalists: ‘‘No one is sure whether it will result in charges one way or another.’’ He said any further charges would have an impact on this trial and asked that prosecutors say by the end of August whether Brooks could expect more counts.
Mr Justice Fulford declined to make an order but said he strongly encouraged the prosecution to do this if possible.
Mr Keith had also given the judge a file of press clippings that he said contained evidence of websites and blogs with offensive commentary that could prejudice Brooks’ right to a fair trial: ‘‘I don’t make any application today but I do wish to put down a very gentle marker as to the responsibility of everybody as to the strictures of the Contempt of Court Act.’’ Brooks, who resigned as chief executive of News International last July, is also a former editor of the tabloid Sun and the nowdefunct News of the World.
At times she glanced across the courtroom and studied the reporters taking notes on her case.
She and her husband, Charlie, sat in the glass-caged dock with four other defendants. They are Cheryl Carter, Mrs Brooks’s former personal assistant; Paul Edwards, Mrs Brooks’s former chauffeur; Mark Hanna, the head of security at News International; and Daryl Jorsling, who was a security consultant for Mrs Brooks provided by News International.
Mr Jorsling’s lawyer told the court he had lost his licence to work in the security industry because of the charges and that he could soon lose his home.
James Sturman, QC, said there was no prima facie case against Mr Jorsling and that there would be amove to dismiss the charges.
He asked the judge ‘‘to consider whether it’s in the public interest to render this defendant homeless over the next three months’’.
The judge asked the prosecution to re-examine the case against Mr Jorsling. The prosecutor, Andrew Edis, QC, said they would but that the decision to charge ‘‘had already received very careful consideration and I wouldn’t like anyone to think that it hadn’t’’.
Mrs Brooks, 44, is charged on count one that between July 6 and July 19 last year she conspired with her husband, Mr Hanna, Mr Edwards,Mr Jorsling and persons unknown to conceal material from officers of the Metropolitan Police. On count two she is charged with Ms Carter between July 6 and July 9 last year of conspiring to permanently remove seven boxes of material from the archive of News International.
In the third count Mrs Brooks is charged with her husband, Mr Hanna, Mr Edwards and Mr Jorsling and persons unknown of conspiring together between July 15 and July 19 last year to conceal documents, computers and other electronic equipment from officers of the Metropolitan Police. The other five defendants face one charge of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice each.
Mr Brooks faces a single charge of conspiring to pervert the course of justice with his wife.
All six defendants will face court again on September 26 for a plea and case management hearing. No trial date was set.First published in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Moody’s princess all set for her royal performance

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Newmarket

TRAINER Peter Moody was protective of his princess. Champion Australian racehorse Black Caviar would parade for the media for no longer than two minutes, he barked, and she would be wearing her protective suit to shield her against the weather.
People with umbrellas were to keep their distance. “Umbrellas and racehorses don’t mix!” he warned.
So a dozen reporters and cameramen dutifully stood in driving rain at Newmarket – while Black Caviar dutifully went through her paces – for an update on how the wonder from Down Under was doing before her first big international race at Royal Ascot on Saturday.
Moody said the mare was “the fittest I’ve probably had her in the last 24 months”. The track will be heavy but Moody was not convinced the weather would be: “If we got it wrong as often as the weatherman we would be unemployed. She’s got a great record of producing great tracks.”
Black Caviar has never raced on an extremely soft track but Moody said she had both trained and trialled on them in Australia.
“This track is one of the best rated tracks … I’m not worried at this point … the big concern for us was the travelling aspect and we appear to have overcome that.”
Moody said he was very pleased with her condition: “She’s done everything we asked of her.”
He said she was doing so well that he had to give her “a little bit of work” on Tuesday, even though the original plan had been to avoid heavy training in the run-up to the Diamond Jubilee Stakes.
Thousands of Australians are travelling to Britain to see the big moment. “This is our turn on the world stage,” Moody said. “It’s our Olympics.”
He said the owners should be applauded for their decision to bring her out of her comfort zone and to Ascot.
“These owners have had the balls to put this mare on a plane and bring her three-quarters of the way around the world,” he said. “Imagine having something this good and sharing it with the rest of the world.”
He compared this to British champion Frankel, who he said would never leave British shores.
He said Black Caviar was bold enough to take whatever position she wanted in the race.
“I’d love nothing more than to see her come out and win by 10 or 11 lengths,” he said. But such a performance would be saved for an Australian racetrack.
“The Poms have been using us Aussies as cannon fodder for 150 years so we’re not going to put on a show just for them.”
If she won “by an inch” it would do him, he said.First published in the Sydney Morning Herald on 22 June 2012.

Black Caviar ready to shine like a diamond in the mud

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NEWMARKET

TRAINER Peter Moody was protective of his princess. Champion Australian racehorse Black Caviar would parade for the media for no longer than two minutes, he barked, and she would wear her protective suit to shield her from the weather.
People with umbrellas were to keep their distance. “Umbrellas and racehorses don’t mix,” he warned.
So a dozen reporters and cameramen dutifully stood in driving rain at Newmarket — while Black Caviar went through her paces — for an update on how the five-year-old mare was doing before her first international race in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot tomorrow. Moody said she was “the fittest I’ve probably had her in the last 24 months”.
The track tomorrow will be heavy and Black Caviar has never raced on an extremely wet track, but Moody said she had trained and trialled on them in Australia. “This track is one of the best rated tracks … I’m not worried at this point … the big concern for us was the travelling aspect and we appear to have overcome that.”
Moody said Black Caviar was doing so well he had to give her “a little bit of work” on Tuesday, although the plan had been to avoid heavy training.
Thousands of Australians have travelled to Britain to watch the mare. “This is our turn on the world stage,” Moody said. “It’s our Olympics.”
He said the owners should be applauded for their decision to bring her out of her comfort zone to Ascot. “These owners have had the balls to put this mare on a plane and bring her three-quarters of the way around the world.”
Moody said Black Caviar was bold enough to take whatever position she wanted in the field. It would be great if she won by several lengths, but she would not be pushed to do so.
“The Poms have used Australians as cannon fodder for 150 years … We’re not going to let them put her to the sword.” If she won “by an inch” it would do him, he said.
Asked whether he expected the mare to improve her performance, Moody said: “Five years old, 22nd start … I put the question to you: does she need to?”
Asked by a British reporter if Prime Minister Julia Gillard had sent her best wishes, he joked “she’s one of yours” and might be barracking for a British horse.
But Moody said there had been huge interest from American TV and Asian TV and radio. He hoped Black Caviar would meet the Queen.
Black Caviar’s jockey, Luke Nolen, said he had been stunned by the attention she had received in Britain. “It is in another stratosphere,” he said.
Nolen was in the saddle on Black Caviar on Tuesday.
“I rode her in her last gallop before leaving Australia and she was in good nick then and she is better now,” he said.
“It is a bit different over here but we know how good she is and want her to show it. She seems to have settled in all right but we won’t really know until Saturday. I will take a win by any margin. It would be a long way to come to lose.”First published in The Age.

Black Caviar fever heats up as Aussies flock to Ascot

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Black Caviar will race in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot on Sunday.

Peter Moody was in fine spirits when showing off star mare Black Caviar yesterday.
Star Hawk won’t cop out yet – Page 21Champion Australian racehorse Black Caviar was ”the fittest I’ve probably had her in the last 24 months”, trainer Peter Moody said last night.
The five-year-old mare, who will race in the Diamond Jubilee Sprint at Royal Ascot on Sunday morning Australian time, was paraded briefly before the media at her Newmarket stables, wearing her protective suit to shield her from the driving rain of a soggy British summer.
The track will be heavy but Moody was not convinced the weather would be.
”If we got it wrong as often as the weatherman we would be unemployed. She’s got a great record of producing great tracks,” he said. Black Caviar has never raced on an extremely wet track but Mr Moody said she had both trained and trialled on them in Australia.
”This track is one of the best-rated tracks … I’m not worried at this point … the big concern for us was the travelling aspect and we appear to have overcome that,” he said. ”She’s done everything we asked of her.”He said she was doing so well he had to give her ”a little bit of work” on Tuesday, even though the original plan had been to avoid heavy training in the run-up to the race.Thousands of Australians are travelling to Britain to see the mare in her first international race.”This is our turn on the world stage,” Moody said.
”It’s our Olympics.” He said the owners should be applauded for their decision to bring her out of her comfort zone, comparing that to British champion Frankel, who he said would never leave British shores.
Moody said Black Caviar would take whatever position she wanted on the field and would not be pushed to win by several lengths, saying: ”The Poms have used Australians as cannon fodder for 150 years … We’re not going to let them put her to the sword.” Asked whether he expected the mare to improve her performance, he said: ”Five years old, 22nd start, three-quarters of the way around the world … I put the question to you. Does she need to?”Moody also said there had been huge interest from American TV and Asian TV and radio.
”It’s been unbelievable. They’re all rooting for her,” he said.Late last night, Black Caviar drew the outside barrier in a field of 15, with the draw moving the mare into $1.22 with ACTTAB.
Previous years at Royal Ascot has proven the grandstand side is the place to be late in the carnival.
SUNDAY
Black Caviar races at Royal Ascot in the group1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes. TV time: Live on Prime and TVN at 12.45am.First published in The Canberra Times.

Centre fights to hold Greece

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POLITICAL horse-trading over the next few days will decide the shape of Greece’s next government, as the pro-bailout New Democracy party tries to form yet another coalition to lead the troubled country.
Greek voters provided a breather in the euro crisis by favouring parties that supported the bailout, warding off an immediate crisis in the eurozone. But they also rewarded parties of the radical left and extreme right, marking a new polarisation in political views.
New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras hailed his win as a victory for Greece and Europe: “We will not have new adventure, we will not doubt the position of Greece in Europe, we will not be cowed by fear.”
But he also promised that “we cannot continue to injure every family with government”.
Greece has been crippled by five years of recession and high unemployment, intensified by severe austerity measures imposed as part of a European deal to help it cope with its debt.
Greece’s lenders had insisted the two bailouts, totalling €240 billion ($300.7 billion), be honoured or funds would be cut off, bankrupting Greece and forcing it out of the eurozone.
But Greeks had protested fiercely against the harshness of the measures and a previously obscure party, the radical left Syriza, has sprung to prominence following promises to tear up the memorandum over the bailout. New Democracy won 29.5 per cent. Syriza came a close second, increasing its share of the vote to more than 27 per cent.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel congratulated Mr Samaras and told him she was confident Athens would abide by its European pledges.
Germany has been a major contributor to Greece’s two rescue packages and a key advocate of highly unpopular austerity and reform measures in exchange.
Meanwhile in France, weekend elections gave the Socialists an easy absolute parliamentary majority, strengthening President Francois Hollande’s position in questioning austerity measures and putting greater focus on growth.
The Greek electoral system gives the party with the highest vote a bonus of 50 extra seats but Mr Samaras will still need several coalition allies. He is likely to seek a partnership with the other traditional ruling party of Greece, the centre-left socialists of Pasok. Between them they could muster 160 seats in the 300-seat parliament, but given their fierce differences the coalition would be volatile. Syriza has declined to join the coalition.
“We have a very polarised election result and I think it is reflecting the anger as well as the fear of the voters,” said Kostas Papaioannou, a candidate for the Democratic Left.
Mr Papaioannou told The Age the strong result for extreme-right, anti-immigrant party Golden Dawn, which won about 7 per cent of the vote and an estimated 19 seats in parliament, showed the party was here to stay.
He said the vote that first catapulted the party into parliament last month was clearly not an aberration. Voters could not claim they did not know what they were voting for because they had seen the consequences of the party’s success in the past six weeks.
These included party spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris slapping a woman MP on national television, several racist attacks and a threat by party MP Ilias Pangiotaros to raid hospitals and kindergartens and throw immigrants and their children onto the street so Greeks could take their places.
Mr Papaioannou said: “In my view the top priority now is that we have to see what we can do with the fact that there will be strong neo-Nazi representation in the next parliament.”

First published in The Age.

Greek bailout back on track as election victor seeks allies

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ATHENS

Political horse-trading over the next few days will decide the shape of Greece’s next government, as the pro-Europe New Democracy Party tries to form yet another coalition to lead the troubled country.
Greek voters provided a breather in the euro crisis by favouring parties that support the bailout deal, warding off an immediate new crisis in the eurozone. But they also rewarded parties of the radical left and extreme right, marking a new polarisation in political views.
Antonis Samaras, leader of the conservative New Democracy, hailed his win as a victory for Greece and for Europe. He said: “We will not have new adventure, we will not doubt the position of Greece in Europe, we will not be cowed by fear.” But he also promised “we cannot continue to injure every family with government”. Greece has been crippled by five years of recession and high unemployment, intensified by severe austerity measures imposed as part of a European deal to help the nation cope with its euro debt.
Greece’s lenders had insisted the two bailouts, totalling €240 billion ($301 billion) , be honoured or funds would be cut off, bankrupting Greece and forcing it out of the eurozone. This could mean the end of the euro and global financial chaos.
But Greeks had protested fiercely against the harshness of the measures and an obscure party, the radical left Syriza, has sprung into prominence on the back of promises to tear up the memorandum over the bailout.
Syriza came a close second, increasing its share of the vote to more than 27 per cent. New Democracy won 29.4 per cent.
The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, congratulated Greek’s pro-bailout conservative leader on his victory and told him she is confident Athens will abide by its European pledges.
Germany – Europe’s biggest economy – has been a large contributor to Greece’s two multibillion-euro rescue packages and a key advocate of demanding tough, and highly unpopular, austerity and reform measures in exchange.
Meanwhile, weekend elections in France gave the socialists an easy absolute parliamentary majority, strengthening the position of the socialist President, Francois Hollande, in debates about the future of Europe.
European leaders had delayed leaving for a G20 summit in Mexico to see the Greek election result. The Greek electoral system gives the party with the highest vote a bonus of 50 extra seats but Mr Samaras will still need several coalition allies. He is likely to seek a partnership with the other traditional ruling party of Greece, the centre-left socialists of PASOK. Between them they could muster 160 seats in the 300-seat parliament but given their fierce differences the coalition would be volatile. Syriza has declined to join the coalition.
“We have a very polarised election result and I think it is reflecting the anger as well as the fear of the voters,” said Kostas Papaioannou, who stood as a candidate for the Democratic Left.
Mr Papaioannou, former chairman of the National Commission for Human Rights, told the Herald the strong result for the anti-immigrant party Golden Dawn, which won about 7 per cent of the vote and an estimated 19 seats in parliament, showed the party was here to stay. He said the vote that first catapulted the party into parliament in May was clearly not an aberration, and voters could not claim they did not know what they were voting for.
These included an incident in which party a spokesman slapped a woman MP on television, racist attacks, and a threat by party MP Ilias Panagiotaros to raid hospitals and kindergartens and throw immigrants and their children onto the street so that Greeks could take their places.
Mr Papaioannou said: “In my view the top priority now is that we have to see what we can do with the fact that there will be strong neo-Nazi representation in the next parliament.”

First published in the Sydney Morning Herald 19 June 2012.

Greek bailout back on track as election victor seeks allies

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ATHENS

Political horse-trading over the next few days will decide the shape of Greece’s next government, as the pro-Europe New Democracy Party tries to form yet another coalition to lead the troubled country.
Greek voters provided a breather in the euro crisis by favouring parties that support the bailout deal, warding off an immediate new crisis in the eurozone. But they also rewarded parties of the radical left and extreme right, marking a new polarisation in political views.
Antonis Samaras, leader of the conservative New Democracy, hailed his win as a victory for Greece and for Europe. He said: “We will not have new adventure, we will not doubt the position of Greece in Europe, we will not be cowed by fear.” But he also promised “we cannot continue to injure every family with government”. Greece has been crippled by five years of recession and high unemployment, intensified by severe austerity measures imposed as part of a European deal to help the nation cope with its euro debt.
Greece’s lenders had insisted the two bailouts, totalling €240 billion ($301 billion) , be honoured or funds would be cut off, bankrupting Greece and forcing it out of the eurozone. This could mean the end of the euro and global financial chaos.
But Greeks had protested fiercely against the harshness of the measures and an obscure party, the radical left Syriza, has sprung into prominence on the back of promises to tear up the memorandum over the bailout.
Syriza came a close second, increasing its share of the vote to more than 27 per cent. New Democracy won 29.4 per cent.
The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, congratulated Greek’s pro-bailout conservative leader on his victory and told him she is confident Athens will abide by its European pledges.
Germany – Europe’s biggest economy – has been a large contributor to Greece’s two multibillion-euro rescue packages and a key advocate of demanding tough, and highly unpopular, austerity and reform measures in exchange.
Meanwhile, weekend elections in France gave the socialists an easy absolute parliamentary majority, strengthening the position of the socialist President, Francois Hollande, in debates about the future of Europe.
European leaders had delayed leaving for a G20 summit in Mexico to see the Greek election result. The Greek electoral system gives the party with the highest vote a bonus of 50 extra seats but Mr Samaras will still need several coalition allies. He is likely to seek a partnership with the other traditional ruling party of Greece, the centre-left socialists of PASOK. Between them they could muster 160 seats in the 300-seat parliament but given their fierce differences the coalition would be volatile. Syriza has declined to join the coalition.
“We have a very polarised election result and I think it is reflecting the anger as well as the fear of the voters,” said Kostas Papaioannou, who stood as a candidate for the Democratic Left.
Mr Papaioannou, former chairman of the National Commission for Human Rights, told the Herald the strong result for the anti-immigrant party Golden Dawn, which won about 7 per cent of the vote and an estimated 19 seats in parliament, showed the party was here to stay. He said the vote that first catapulted the party into parliament in May was clearly not an aberration, and voters could not claim they did not know what they were voting for.
These included an incident in which party a spokesman slapped a woman MP on television, racist attacks, and a threat by party MP Ilias Panagiotaros to raid hospitals and kindergartens and throw immigrants and their children onto the street so that Greeks could take their places.
Mr Papaioannou said: “In my view the top priority now is that we have to see what we can do with the fact that there will be strong neo-Nazi representation in the next parliament.”First published in The Sydney Morning Herald.

Assange loses his final appeal … bar one

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LONDON

THE WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, has lost his final appeal in a British court and faces extradition to Sweden where he is accused of rape and sexual assault.
But the Supreme Court gave Mr Assange a stay of 14 days on the extradition order so his lawyer, Dinah Rose, QC, could apply to have the proceedings reopened. She said the judgment was partly based on a legal question that had not been raised during the hearing and which she had not had a chance to argue. She said this related to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.
Mr Assange did not appear in court. Supporters later said he had been stuck in traffic.
In a majority decision of five to two, the judges decided that the European Arrest Warrant issued by Sweden asking for Mr Assange’s extradition was legal and should be enforced.
If the court does not allow its proceedings to be re-opened, his only other legal avenue would be the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. If that court should agree to take his case, he would be allowed to remain in Britain until the hearing.
The sex allegations relate to a visit to Stockholm that Mr Assange made in August 2010 when he had encounters with two women. One later complained to police that he had not used a condom, despite her insistence, and another that he had had sex with her while she was asleep. Mr Assange strongly denies the claims and says the encounters were fully consensual.
Outside the court, one of his solicitors, Gareth Peirce, said: “The judgment speaks for itself. The judges were clearly divided.”
The legal situation over European extradition warrants was “chaotic” and the British Parliament had implemented the law without understanding its implications. The journalist and lawyer John Pilger said: “I think the judgment was quite extraordinary in that it appears that the British Parliament has been misled by ministers and put forward this legislation based on English law, whereas most of Europe had looked at it in terms of European law. There is massive confusion.”
Mr Pilger said, “If it can happen to Julian Assange it can happen to any journalist.”
The Australian-born Mr Assange has been on bail with an electronic security monitor on his leg for more than a year after having been detained in December 2010 on a European Arrest Warrant. His legal team had argued that the warrant was not valid because it had been issued by a prosecutor and not a judge. A prosecutor was not a “judicial authority” as required by English law, they said.
The president of the court, Lord Justice Phillips, said the question had been difficult but the majority decided Britain’s Extradition Act was based on a European framework in which “judicial authority” was intended to include prosecutors such as the one who issued Mr Assange’s warrant. The European Arrest Warrant was introduced after the September 11 attacks in the US. Critics say it allows people to be moved from one European country to another without any requirement to show evidence.
One of Mr Assange’s lawyers had argued he was being persecuted, not prosecuted, because governments had been embarrassed by an avalanche of secret documents released by WikiLeaks. But a Swedish lawyer rejected the claim and said the women were victims.
Mr Assange’s team fears that if he goes to Sweden he could then be extradited to the US, where authorities are considering a range of charges against him over WikiLeaks including espionage and conspiracy.
American authorities link him to the US Army Private Bradley Manning, who faces court martial over 22 alleged offences, including “aiding the enemy” by leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks.
US prosecutors reportedly believe Private Manning dealt directly with Mr Assange and “data-mined” secret databases “guided by WikiLeaks’ list of ‘Most Wanted’ leaks”.
Mr Pilger said Mr Assange should be protected by the first amendment to the US Constitution guaranteeing free speech. He accused the Obama Administration of “concocting” the case.First published in the Sydney Morning Herald.

At least 10 killed as Italy rocked by second earthquake in 10 days

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TEN people were reported dead and others were missing under rubble following a 5.8-magnitude earthquake in northern Italy last night, just 10 days after a similar quake killed seven and left thousands homeless.

The quake struck at 9.03am local time about 40 kilometres north-west of Bologna at a depth of 9.6 kilometres. The epicentre was the town of Medolla near the city of Modena but the quake was felt as far away as Venice, Florence and Genoa, and as far north as Austria.

People fled into the streets and shops and businesses were evacuated in Bologna, Corriere della Sera reported, and in Pisa. The tremor hit after most people had left home for work.

Buildings collapsed in several towns that were badly hit by the first quake – Mirandola, Finale Emilia, San Felice and Cavezzo. The mayor of San Felice, Alberto Silvestri, told Sky TV he feared further victims would be found under rubble. There were reports a tower had collapsed in the town.

Chris Brewerton, who lives in Mantua, 36 kilometres north of Modena, told the BBC that when the quake struck, “the chair starts shaking and there’s a feeling of waves below me. I rush out into the garden; the shutters and garage door are banging, the ground below me swaying. It lasted about 15 seconds – it was frightening.”

The Prime Minister, Mario Monti – who had been in a meeting with emergency officials in Rome discussing the earlier quake when this one hit – said the government would do “all that it must and all that is possible in the briefest period to guarantee the resumption of normal life in this area that is so special, so important and so productive for Italy”.

The first quake, on May 20, with a magnitude of 6, caused at least ?250 million ($318 million) of damage to farms in the Po valley area, a local farmers’ organisation estimated. As farm buildings, homes, sheds and machinery collapsed, ?100 million worth of Parmesan cheese was destroyed.

Italian officials said it was the worst earthquake to hit the area since the 1300s. It was the worst to hit Italy since the devastation at L’Aquila in 2009, where 300 people died.

Last night calls to emergency services overloaded the phone system in some areas, and train services were halted in parts of northern Italy so that tracks could be checked.

About 7000 people who fled their homes after the first quake are living in about 100 tent camps set up in fields, sports grounds, car parks and schools. The region has been hit by more than 200 aftershocks since May 20.

First published on smh.com.au