(ANSA) - Turin, February 8 - Police said on Wednesday that
they had arrested 27 people and busted a ring capable of
smuggling up to 50 kilos of drugs a week from the Netherlands to
Italy.
The people were arrested in raids overnight and early on
Wednesday in the northern Italian region of Piedmont and one
person was detained in the Dutch city of Helmond.
Police suspect many other people were involved in the ring
and a total 54 people have been reported to prosecutors because
they are suspected of wrongdoing.
(ANSA) - Rome, February 8 - Italy's major petrol companies
raised their prices further on Wednesday in a move that is set
to hit motorists and truckers hard.
The price of green petrol was up to 1.80 euros at Tamoil
gas stations, while the price of diesel came close to 1.74 euros
a litre at TotalErg, following increases in prices on the
international market earlier this week.
Italy's lorry drivers were already up in arms about high
gas prices and they staged a week of strikes and protests,
including road blocks, last month demanding the government
reduce fuel duties and tolls.
(ANSA) - Rome, February 8 - The prospect of Italy's
much-criticised electoral system being changed has increased
after the country's two biggest parties, former premier Silvio
Berlusconi's centre-right People of Freedom (PdL) and the
centre-left Democratic Party (PD), found common ground on the
issue.
(ANSA) - Rome, February 8 - Italy is braced for the wave of
cold weather and snow that has gripped the nation for over a
week, claiming at least 40 lives, to intensity this weekend.
Rome and much of central and southern Italy may well be in
for more heavy snow later this week, according to forecasts.
The capital is only just returning to normality after rare
snowfalls on Friday and Saturday caused chaos and virtually
paralysed the city.
Schools reopened Wednesday after three days and government
offices reopened on Tuesday.
(ANSA) - Rome, February 7 - Signs that a Greek bailout
agreement would soon be reached brought down both the yield and
the spread and gave a small boost to the Milan bourse on
Tuesday.
The spread between 10-year Italian and German bonds, a
measure of Italy's credibility on the sovereign-debt market,
dropped to 363 as the yield went down to 5,59%, correcting the
damage caused Monday by fears of a default in Greece.
The Milan Ftse Mib index went up 0.62% to close at 16.491
points.
(ANSA) - Bologna, February 7 - The wave of cold weather and
snow that has gripped Italy for a week claimed another life on
Tuesday, the fourth of the day.
A truck driver, 62, passed out and died after trying to
restart his rig that had stalled in the snow and ice outside
Bologna.
Earlier in the day, an 86-year-old man died after slipping
and hitting his head while clearing ice from in front of his
house in the northern town of Sondalo.
(ANSA) - Rome, February 7 - Soccer star Francesco Totti and
Olympic swimmer Federica Pellegrini were among 60 top Italian
athletes who asked Premier Mario Monti on Tuesday to endorse the
country's 2020 Olympic bid.
"Dear Monti, approve the government's commitment to Rome
2020," said the petition.
Bid organizers are campaigning the premier to sign a motion
to support the games, the final stamp of approval needed before
officially sending off a proposal to the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) by February 15.
(ANSA) - Vatican City, February 7 - A papal visit to
Lebanon this year could be in the works.
Following mass on Tuesday, the top Roman Catholic
representative in the Holy Land, Patriarch Fouad Twal, said that
Pope Benedict XVI was expected to present a document on the
future of the church in the Middle East sometime in September.
Though specifics cannot yet be confirmed, Vatican spokesman
Father Federico Lombardi said that it is "true the Pope would
like to organize a trip in connection with the publication of
the document".
(ANSA) - Naples, February 7 - A Naples singer was under
investigation for allegedly glorifying the mafia and inciting
criminal acts in a music recording, prosecutors said Tuesday.
In 'Clan Boss', a bejewelled Lello Liberti depicts a
Naples-based Camorra boss as someone noble who helps the poor
and is justified for killing turncoats and snitches, according
to prosecutors who were denied an arrest warrant.
(ANSA) - Milan, February 7 - AC Milan are hoping to get
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's three-match ban cut so he can play in the
scudetto showdown with Serie A leaders Juventus on February 25.
"We hope the appeal will be upheld, we really need Ibra,"
Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri said.
The Sweden striker was banned for violent conduct after
being sent off for slapping Napoli defender Salvatore Aronica as
players squared up in Sunday's 0-0 draw at the San Siro.
(ANSA) - Rome, February 7- The United States arm of the
northern Italy-based Massimo Zanetti coffee giant has bought a
gourmet US coffee business that will add more than $150 million
to its annual revenue.
Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA, Inc. bought NJ Coffee Roastery
from the Sara Lee Corporation.
The parent company, the Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group of
Villorba near Treviso, is one of the world's largest coffee
companies.
(ANSA) - Rome, February 7 - The much-discussed Article 18 of
Italy's Workers' Statute is not the nub of labour reforms
envisaged by Mario Monti's government, the head of the
Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development said
Tuesday.
The article, defended as a linchpin of worker protection and
criticised as a damper on growth, "is not the fundamental point"
of the reforms being discussed with unions, OECD
Secretary-General Miguel Angel Gurria told ANSA.
(ANSA) - Naples, February 7 - Despite freezing cold
weather, picketers in Naples gathered Tuesday along the
seafront.
Difficulties caused by public works in preparation for the
America's Cup World Series regatta in the city have sparked
fishermen protests.
The first regatta will be in April 2012, the second in May
2013.
Spokesmen from two fishing cooperatives expressed concerns
over the forced interruption of activities and the financial
impact this will have on their livelihoods.
(ANSA) - Rome, February 7 - A review court in Florence
decided Tuesday to confirm the house arrest of Francesco
Schettino, accused of multiple manslaughter and abandoning the
Costa Concordia cruise liner after it ran aground on the Island
of Giglio.
"Now I feel more at ease," said Schettino, who prosecutors
wanted to see behind bars while awaiting trial. "Now we're
thinking more calmly in our examination of the events".
