Italy's Berlusconi says he will run for European Parliament

Italy's scandal-plagued former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi announced Thursday that he will run in May's European Parliament election, in yet another comeback bid for the 82-year-old billionaire. Berlusconi, who lost out in Italy's elections last year to a far-right and populist coalition, said he wanted to inject some "deep thinking" into Europe as he announced his candidacy for the bloc's polls.   The media magnate will be a high-profile candidate to become a member of the European Parliament in the election, in which traditional parties are expected to face major challenges from far-right and eurosceptic populists. "At my grand age, I have decided out of a sense of responsibility to head for Europe, where there is a lack of deep thinking about the future of the world," he said at a meeting of his centre-right Forza Italia (Go Italy) party in Sardinia. Dubbed "the immortal", Berlusconi dominated Italian politics for more than two decades and managed to return to prominence after a series sex scandals, serial gaffes and legal woes. Despite being forced out of parliament in 2013 after a tax fraud conviction, Berlusconi made an astonishing return to lead Forza Italia into...