Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who lost parliamentary immunity when he was expelled from the Senate last month, said on Thursday revolution would break out if he were arrested and thrown in prison. The 77-year-old media magnate was stripped of his Senate seat after he was convicted of tax fraud and sentenced to four years in jail. This was commuted to a year, likely to be spent performing community service.

When it comes to corruption, Venezuela has long languished near the bottom of the international league table. According to the latest index of perceptions of corruption compiled each year by Transparency International, a Berlin-based watchdog, only eight out of the list of 176 countries were seen as more graft-ridden. Even places like Haiti and Zimbabwe ranked higher. The organisation’s Venezuela chapter found that 65% of respondents in a recent survey thought corruption had worsened in the previous two years. Well over half thought government measures to tackle it were ineffective.