Italy's parliament on Saturday gave final approval to measures that would give the state greater powers to combat terrorism as the government renewed warnings that Italy faced a "grave threat" of attacks, according to Reuters. The package makes it easier for police to detain and deport suspects, increases penalties for terrorism-related crimes and gives the green light for greater surveillance of Internet and telephone traffic. "We have before us a grave threat that must be faced with all the means of prevention and opposition that we have, and that we can acquire through this package," Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu told parliament. He was addressing the Chamber of Deputies before a marathon voting session to ensure the laws were approved this weekend before summer recess. Italy, like Britain, is a close ally of Washington and has sent 3,000 troops to Iraq. Officials have boosted security on Italy's transport system, but menacing Internet messages and a series of false threats have left Italians jittery. The new anti-terror measures were drawn up after the London attacks and were approved by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's coalition in a decree last week, but they needed parliament's backing to keep them in force.
