Italy Could Get New Premier This Week

ITALIAN President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro is widely expected to decide on a premier this week.

President Scalfaro summoned caretaker Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who resigned Dec. 22, for talks at the presidential palace Sunday. The premier has pressed the president to rename him, but Mr. Scalfaro's intentions are unclear.

Scalfaro is to resume consultations with other political leaders today before naming a premier.

If he doesn't chose Mr. Berlusconi or a Berlusconi ally, Scalfaro could turn to a center-left combination dominated by former Communists and Christian Democrats.

Or he could ask a political outsider, such as an economist, to put together a government until new elections.

Berlusconi resigned last month after the leader of a former coalition partner, the Northern League, withdrew his support for the embattled premier.

On Sunday, Interior Minister Roberto Maroni openly challenged Umberto Bossi for leadership of the Northern League, further complicating Berlusconi's future.

Prince Charles hurts Britain's monarchy the most, poll says

PRINCE CHARLES has done more damage to the monarchy than any other member of the royal family, according to participants in a poll published Monday.

The poll for The Guardian newspaper also found that two-thirds were opposed to royals having relationships outside marriage, as Charles has admitted doing.

Asked who had most damaged the monarchy, 51 percent named Charles. Twenty percent picked ``Fergie,'' the Duchess of York, while 14 percent named Charles' estranged wife, Princess Diana.

Sixty-six percent said the royal family should set a moral example by not having relationships outside marriage. Charles publicly admitted last year that he had an affair after his marriage had broken down.

However, 63 percent thought that Charles should still become king even if he and Diana divorce. They've been separated since December 1992.