Bail for Polanski

Bail for Polanski

GENEVA — A Swiss court has approved Roman Polanski’s bail offer of $4.5 million to be released from prison and kept under house arrest and electronic monitoring at his Swiss chalet. But the Swiss Justice Ministry says it will keep Polanski in jail until it decides whether to appeal his release to the country’s supreme court.

Spokesman Folco Galli says the ministry will make its decision “quickly,” even though it has 10 days to appeal. The Swiss Criminal Court still considers Polanski a high flight risk. Its ruling Wednesday said the new bail offer was significant enough to offset those concerns.

He’s a Rockstar

ROME — He’s Italian premier, media mogul and one of the country’s richest men. Now Silvio Berlusconi can add “Rockstar of the Year” to his caps. The Italian edition of Rolling Stone magazine said it named Berlusconi for a “lifestyle worthy of the greatest rock stars.” The 73-year-old premier has been entangled in a sex scandal this year, with several young women saying they attended parties at his residences.

Today’s birthdays

Impressionist Rich Little is 71. Singer Tina Turner is 70. Country singer Joe Nichols is 33. Natasha Bedingfield is 28.