Pompeii collapse row hits Berlusconi ally

A close ally of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is under pressure to resign after a building collapsed at the 2,000-year-old Pompeii site.

Culture Minister Sandro Bondi faces a vote of no confidence in parliament over the collapse of the "House of the Gladiators" on Saturday in heavy rain.

The opposition accuses the government of letting Pompeii fall into neglect.

Staff at museums, libraries and other institutions plan to strike on Friday over budget cuts to culture.

Mr Bondi, one of three national co-ordinators of Mr Berlusconi's People of Freedom party, has admitted that more buildings at Pompeii are in danger.

But he added that it would be wrong for him to quit over what he said were long-standing problems at the site.

Mr Berlusconi no longer has a majority in the lower house of the Italian parliament since his former ally Gianfranco Fini formed his own party, Freedom and Future for Italy.

While Mr Fini's bloc is unlikely to vote against Mr Bondi, it could use the occasion to send a message to Mr Berlusconi, possibly by abstaining....