In brief: Confidence vote rouses protesters

Rome – Silvio Berlusconi pulled off another astonishing escape from the political dead, scraping through two confidence votes Tuesday in a dramatic parliamentary showdown.

But the Italian leader’s hold on power remains precarious as his razor-thin victory makes political gridlock a near certainty – and violent street protests show growing unease with his rule.

Masked protesters torched cars and trash bins, smashed shop windows and clashed with police. Clouds of white tear gas and orange flares engulfed streets as shops full of Christmas goods hurriedly closed down.

By sundown, almost 100 people, both protesters and police, were reported injured. About 40 were taken into police custody.

Refugees killed as ship hits rocks

Sydney – A wooden boat packed with dozens of asylum seekers smashed apart on jagged rocks in heavy seas off an Australian island today, flinging screaming people, including children, into churning whitewater and sending many to their deaths.

Christmas Island residents on cliffs above watched in helpless horror as the boat broke apart with a crack, dumping passengers into monstrous waves that pounded them against the rocks. Rescue efforts were under way and officials said it was not immediately clear how many people were dead.

Acting Prime Minister Wayne Swan said the vessel was a people smuggler’s boat, but it was not clear how many people were on board or where they were from.