| ROME: Italy's cabinet on Friday approved a package of measures to counter the threat of a London-style terrorist attack, including the establishment of a special prosecutor's office to coordinate the investigation of terrorist crimes. The cabinet agreed to establish a so-called "super-prosecutor's" office which will combine probes into terrorist and Mafia-related crime, Equal Opportunities Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo told reporters. The measures include extending preliminary detention from 12 to 24 hours, residence permits for immigrants who help in inquiries, easier access to Internet and mobile phone data and the right to carry out questioning without a lawyer being present. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who acknowledged in the wake of the July 7 London attacks that Italy was in the "firing line" of terrorists, said the measures had been unanimously agreed by ministers. |