Rome, March 20 - Italian police and the FBI onWednesday arrested 26 suspects in an operation against apowerful Cosa Nostra clan in Palermo and US affiliates includingthree Gambino family 'capi' in New York.Agents said the two-year operation showed how the Italianand US branches of the Sicilian Mafia were still working closely together.In New York, the FBI took into custody Gambino commandersGaet
Rome, March 10 - The Colosseum is to be restored,protected and lit up permanently in a project starting laterthis year.The 2,000-year-old symbol of Rome will be cleared of decadesof grime, said Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno.The grungy and precarious state of the monument has been a daily worry , Alemanno said.The complete restoration of the almost 13,000 square metersof exterior walls will take some
Rome, March 10 - The approval ratings for PremierSilvio Berlusconi, his government and his People of Freedom(PdL) party all fell to record lows in March, according to amonthly poll from the IPR research group released on Wednesday.IPR added that Italy's other parties, both in governmentand on the opposition, failed to benefit from the PdL's decline.The March poll came after the mix-up up by the P
Rome, March 9 - Thermometers plummeted around Italyon Tuesday as a late winter storm brought sub-zero temperaturesto the Alps, snow to Tuscany and high waters in Venice just afew weeks ahead of the first day of Spring.Residents in Siena awoke to find Piazza del Campo,celebrated site of the annual Palio horse race, under a bed ofsnow that thickened as flakes continued falling throughout themorning
Vatican City, March 9 - The Catholic Church actedquickly on child sex abuse in Germany and elsewhere, the Vaticansaid Tuesday.The Church dealt with the manifestation of the problempromptly and decisively, Vatican spokesman Father FedericoLombardi said a day after German Justice Minister SabineLeutheusser-Schnarrenberger said a 2001 Vatican directive forcases to be first handled internally had h
Rome, March 9 - A 'supertomato' created by Italianscientists is the perfect food for helping keep cancer at bay,the head of the World Foundation of Urology said on Tuesday.Launching Prostate Cancer Week in Italy, Mauro Dimitri saidthe 'supertomato' created by the Biomolecular Institute at theNaples National Research Centre offered a unique blend ofnutritional qualities. This tomato has nutritiona
Milan, March 9 - Lombardy's highest administrativecourt on Tuesday confirmed a ruling reinstating incumbentregional president Roberto Formigoni's slate in elections laterthis month.The TAR court said its decision was not linked to acontroversial government decree approved late Friday which setguidelines on how courts should interpret election-filingprocedures.Formigoni's slate, linked to Premier
Moscow, March 9 - The Russian army may get Italy'sLince (Lynx) armoured car, an anonymous source told the Interfaxnews agency Tuesday.Talks on buying a large shipment of the highly ratedvehicle are under way, according to the source, said to be inthe Russian military-industrial complex . This model has already been tested in Russia and got apositive rating from Russian military sources, the s
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