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'Cautious but Reasonable Optimism' over Berlusconi's Health, Doctor Says

Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. (Reuters)
Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. (Reuters)
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'Cautious but Reasonable Optimism' over Berlusconi's Health, Doctor Says

Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. (Reuters)
Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. (Reuters)

Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is in a stable condition two days after being hospitalized with the coronavirus, his doctor said on Saturday.

“This instils cautious but reasonable optimism,” Alberto Zangrillo said in a brief statement.

Berlusconi, 83, tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday and was taken to Milan’s San Raffaele hospital the following day after developing a slight fever. A subsequent x-ray revealed that he had developed mild pneumonia in both lungs.

Zangrillo, who stirred controversy in May when he said coronavirus was losing its potency, told reporters he had decided to hospitalize Berlusconi as a precautionary measure given his age and previous health problems.

The media tycoon underwent major heart surgery in 2016 and has also survived prostrate cancer.

Shares in the media company controlled by the Berlusconi family, Mediaset, rose as much as 11.7% on Friday with traders saying the market was speculating about potential ownership changes at the group if Berlusconi’s health worsens.

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Khamenei: Iran Doesn’t Have Proxies in the Region

Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei meets a group of elegists and eulogists in Tehran
Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei meets a group of elegists and eulogists in Tehran
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Khamenei: Iran Doesn’t Have Proxies in the Region

Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei meets a group of elegists and eulogists in Tehran
Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei meets a group of elegists and eulogists in Tehran

Iran’s supreme leader denied Sunday that militant groups around the region functioned as Tehran’s proxies, warning that if his country chose to “take action,” it would not need them anyway.
Ali Khamenei told a group of elegists and eulogists in Tehran, “They keep saying that the Islamic Republic has lost its proxy forces in the region! This is another mistake. If one day we want to take action, we do not need a proxy force,” according to his website.
Khamenei then attacked the United States and its ally Israel over developments in Syria, and hinted at internal criticism of Iran's regional role.
“Their plans in Syria led to unrest and chaos, and now the United States, the Zionist regime, and their allies, feeling victorious, have resorted to extravagant claims and nonsensical talk, like the followers of devil,” he said.
The Iranian leader then quoted an American official as saying that Washington will “provide assistance and support to anyone causing unrest in Iran.”
Such statements, he said, are an example of the enemies’ boastful rhetoric. “The Iranian nation with their strong steps will trample underfoot any US mercenary who accepts this role,” he added.
Khamenei then addressed the Israelis saying, “You Zionists haven’t won; you’ve been defeated. Yes, you were able to advance a few kilometers in Syria where there wasn't even one soldier with a gun to stop you. That’s not victory. Indeed, the courageous, devout, young people of Syria will definitely expel you from there.”
He added, “You wretched people! Where have you won? Have you won in Gaza? Have you destroyed Hamas? Have you freed your own prisoners? Is this victory to kill over 40,000 people without being able to achieve even one of your goals? Despite killing Hassan Nasrallah, have you managed to eliminate Hezbollah in Lebanon?”
Khamenei also affirmed that Iran has not lost its proxies in the region.
“Iran doesn’t have proxy forces. Yemen fights due to their faith. Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad fight because their beliefs compel them to do so,” he said.
IRGC commander Hossein Salami, five days after Assad's fall, had denied that Iran had lost its regional arms. “Some suggest the Iranian regime has lost its arms, but this is not true. The regime still has its arms,” he said.