Northern League seeks to secede

ROME - One of the more surreal political acts in modern Italy unfolds next week when the secessionist, Mr Umberto Bossi, gathers his forces on the River Po to declare independence for a "republic" that does not exist. "Padania", the name the Northern League Party gives to its self styled state in the affluent north, will be proclaimed by its leader, Mr Bossi, in Venice on September 15th.