Monti resigns as Italian prime minister.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti handed in his resignation Friday to President Giorgio Napolitano, the Italian government press office said.

The move comes after Parliament approved a budget by a vote of 309-55, with five abstentions, said ANSA, the state-run news agency.

Monti will outline his plans Sunday but will not say until afterward whether he plans to run in elections expected to be held February 24, ANSA said, citing "sources."

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti

An economist and former European commissioner, Monti was appointed by Napolitano to fill former premier Silvio Berlusconi's place after he resigned last year under pressure for failing to control Italy's debt and a series of scandals.

Since then, international investors have displayed confidence in the country's finances. Italy's borrowing costs have fallen this year on Monti's efforts to bring down borrowing and the improved sentiment generated by the European Central Bank's conditional scheme to buy bonds of struggling sovereigns.

Berlusconi has criticized Monti's austerity policies as damaging to the country. Berlusconi's party, the People of Freedom, is the largest in Parliament.

While Monti's economic reforms have been popular with investors, earning him the nickname "Super Mario," the measures have not pleased the Italian public, although protests have been more muted than in Spain or Greece.

Italy is in a recession, and further belt-tightening will be unpopular with its citizens.

The unemployment rate in Italy rose to 11.1% in October, marking a 13-year high, and the Italian economy has contracted for five consecutive quarters. As of the third quarter, its economic growth was down 2.4% from a year earlier.

However, investors have welcomed Monti's effort to cut down on the nation's debt, and Italy's borrowing costs have fallen dramatically since the country made economic changes. After drifting above 7% a year ago, the yield on Italy's 10-year government bond has fallen to about 4.5% recently.

Monti's term was originally set to expire in mid-2013, but his earlier departure is expected to bring elections forward. Elections must be held within 70 days of the dissolution of Parliament.

Berlusconi has announced that he intends to run for re-election in the new year.

Pope Benedict pardons former butler Paolo Gabriele

Pope Benedict XVI has pardoned his former butler, Paolo Gabriele, who is serving an 18-month jail sentence for stealing confidential papers.
The Pope visited Gabriele in prison to personally inform him of the decision, the Vatican said in a statement.

The Pope informed Gabriele of his decision in person

In October the former butler was found guilty of stealing and copying the Pope's documents and leaking them to an Italian journalist.
Gabriele said he acted out of love for the Church.
"This morning the Holy Father Benedict XVI visited Paolo Gabriele in prison in order to confirm his forgiveness and to inform him personally of his acceptance of Mr Gabriele's request for pardon," the Vatican statement said.
Following Gabriele's conviction by a Vatican court, officials said he was likely to be pardoned by the pontiff.
In November the court convicted a computer expert, Claudio Sciarpelletti, of helping leak the papal documents.
Sciarpelletti was given a suspended sentence of two months.
Gabriele's trial heard that he had taken advantage of his access to the pontiff to photocopy thousands of confidential documents.
He later passed some to journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, who this year released a best-selling book detailing scandals and infighting within the Vatican.
Gabriele confessed to taking the papers, but said he believed the Pope was being manipulated and hoped to reveal alleged corruption at the Holy See.

BREAKING NEWS:JTF confirms death of two suicide bombers in Kano Airtel, MTN attack

The Joint Security Task Force, JTF, has confirmed the deaths of two suicide bombers who attacked Airtel and MTN Telecommunications offices in Kano metropolis on Saturday.
The two attacks occurred within 5 minutes indicating a coordinated effort.
The Airtel regional office is located at the popular Mallam Kato Square, near the Main branch of a bank while the MTN office is situated at Maimalari road in Bompai area.
The Force spokesman, Ikedichi Iweha, confirmed the death of the bombers to journalists in Kano on Saturday.
Mr. Iweha said the first bomber who went to Airtel office succeeded in detonating the bomb which led to the destruction of the office.
He said that only the operator of the company’s generator set was injured in the attack which took place at about 8.45 a.m.
“With the exception of the two bombers, nobody else died in the two coordinated incidents,’’ Mr. Iweha said.
The JTF spokesperson said the bomber who went to the MTN office was intercepted by security operatives before he could gain entry into the premises at about 8.50 a.m., adding that he died in the blast instantly.
“The quick response of the troops around the place averted the destruction of the office but the wall fence was touched in the coordinated attack,” he said.
He said that security had been beefed up around the two areas.
Following the incident, traders around the area quickly locked their shops and ran for safety.
Members of the JTF have cordoned off the areas.