Life in Italy

(ANSA) - Rome, March 16 - A self-styled New Age 'guru' was arrested here on Tuesday on charges of sexually abusing girls between the ages of 10 and 12 as well as their mothers, police said.

Danilo Speranza, 62, has also been charged with swindling money from the 1,000 members of the so-called King Maya sect of which he was the undisputed leader.

According to investigators, Speranza sought to have his sect accredited with Muslim associations first in Naples and later in Rome.

(ANSA) - Rome, March 16 -Fiat Group Automobiles (FGA) last month saw both its sales and market share climb in Europe with new car registrations significantly higher than the European average.

FGA new car registrations jumped 5.1% over February of last year, compared to a 3.2% rise for Europe as a whole.

FGA's market share rose from 9% in January to 9.2%, the same as in February 2009.

Within FGA, Fiat marque sales climbed 6.2% over February 2009, Lancia sales jumped 18.7% and those for Alfa Romeo rose 9.1%.

(ANSA) - Rome, March 16 - National statistics bureau Istat on Tuesday confirmed that Italy's year-on-year inflation rate in February dipped slightly last month, falling to 1.2% from 1.3% the previous month.

Istat also confirmed that the variation in the cost of living index from January to February was +0.1%.

The European Union Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) - developed to facilitate inflation comparisons between member states - was unchanged from January to February and climbed by 1.1% over February 2009, Istat said.

(ANSA) - Rome, March 15 - Italians were reminded to slow down and relax on Monday with a host of events marking World Slow Day, the third annual edition of an event celebrating life's simple pleasures.

"Let's take this one day to stop and think about all the things we miss out on while we're rushing through our lives," said Bruno Contigiani, the President of the Art of Living Slowly Association.

A veteran of life in the fast lane as a one-time high-powered executive, Contigiani, 62, has since become an ambassador for the slow life movement around the world.

(ANSA) - Tripoli, March 15 - Italy will proposal its own proposal if Switzerland and Libya are unable to resolve their visa dispute by the time new Schengen regulations take effect April 4, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Monday.

The Italian proposal to its partners in the border-free zone would center on a way to bypass a Swiss black list of Libyan nationals, he explained.