Rome, April 13 (IANS)) The Italian foreign ministry said four journalists from the country who were kidnapped and taken hostage in Syria earlier this month have been released, Xinhua reported Saturday.
Rome, April 13 (IANS/AKI) Hollywood director Ridley Scott has filmed a TV series "The Vatican" in Rome, starring Bruno Ganz as the fictional present-day Pope Sixtus VI.
Rome, April 13 (IANS/AKI) At least 50 Syrian soldiers have deserted the army and joined rebel forces, Syrian activists said. A colonel was among the deserters who joined the rebels near the city of Qamishli in northeast Syria, amid raging battles in the area, Syria's Local Coordinating Committees opposition group said on its Facebook page. Fighters from the jihadist Al-Nusra Front -- branded a terror group by the US State Department -- are involved in clashes with forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad around Qamlishi, according to Britain-based activist group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
Rome, April 13 (IANS/AKI) Around 100 dehydrated migrants have been rescued by coastguard personnel off southern Italy after an aerial patrol spotted their overladen boat near the island of Lampedusa.
Rome, April 13 (IANS/AKI) Two anarchist outfits have claimed responsibility for a parcel bomb delivered to the offices of the La Stampa newspaper in Italy's Turin city. In a letter sent to the Secolo XIX daily in Genova, the Informal Anarchist Federation (FAI) and the International Revolutionary Front said they had sent the bomb to the newspaper's office. The letter called La Stampa "an organ of the regime" and termed journalists as "hacks".
Milan, April 13 (IANS/AKI) An Egyptian migrant has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in Italy for raping 20 women. The man rode up to the women from behind on his bicycle and then raped them, a court heard. The judge also fined immigrant Sameh El Melegy for stealing some of his victims' handbags and their contents and ordered him to pay 10,000 euros to the city council for damaging Milan's image
Rome, April 10 (IANS/AKI) A court in Italy Wednesday fined Italian cruise operator Costa Crociere one million euros over the shipwreck of one of its liners, the Costa Concordia in January last year, in which 32 people died. Costa Crociere will no longer be investigated for alleged responsibility for the disaster.
Rome, April 10 (IANS/AKI) A medical orderly in Italy was Wednesday found guilty of manslaughter after a woman patient died of head injuries when he dropped her from a stretcher. Italy's Court of Cassation rejected the orderly's defence that he tripped on uneven ground due to poor lighting in the grounds of the Cardarelli hospital in the southern city of Naples.
Turin, April 10 (IANS/AKI) Media outlets in Italy have been put on high alert after a parcel bomb was sent to the offices of leading Italian newspaper La Stampa in the northern city of Turin. The device was live but failed to explode Tuesday due to a defect in the primer, according to bomb disposal experts sent to defuse it.
Maranello (Italy), April 9 (IANS) Brazilian Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa has no doubt that Ferrari is a title contender despite not winning either of the first two races of the season so far. Massa is currently the top Ferrari driver in the drivers' World Championship with 22 points, 18 behind championship-leading Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel. Ferrari finished second and fourth in Australia but after the Fernando Alonso's crash in Malaysia, Massa finished fifth place
