(ANSA) - Rome, May 18 - Roughly 300 of Italy's state museums
will be free and open until the wee hours Saturday as part of
Museum Night, a European effort to make culture more accessible
to the public.
Organized in Italy by the culture ministry, the event
starts Saturday at 8:00 PM local time and lasts until 2:00 AM
the following morning, turning some of the world's most
prestigious museums, galleries and cultural sites into
after-hours destinations.
(ANSA) - Rome, May 18 - Crews will need between nine and 12
months to remove the Costa Concordia cruise ship, which capsized
off the Tuscan coast in January claiming 32 lives, a salvage
company said Friday.
"We think we can do it by February," said the
Italian-American consortium Titan Salvage-Micoperi.
Earlier projections from Costa Crociere, which owns the
Costa, said the ship would be out by spring 2013.
(ANSA) - Palermo, May 18 - Sicilian Governor Raffaele
Lombardo, who is facing charges of colluding with the Mafia,
said Friday that he has resigned from the helm of the regional
government.
The decision means Sicily will have new elections for the
governorship and its regional assembly on October 28 and 29.
(ANSA) - Rome, May 18 - Italy has recalled its ambassador
to New Delhi for consultations amid tension with India over the
case of two Italian anti-piracy marines accused of killing two
Indian fishermen in February.
The foreign ministry said on Friday that Giacomo Sanfelice
had been recalled after police filed charges that included
homocide against Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone.
(ANSA) - Washington, May 18 - Italy's economy is under
control and a stronger emphasis is needed on growth, both at the
European and global level, Premier Mario Monti said Friday at
the Group of Eight summit in Camp David.
"I come to represent an Italy with its house in order,"
said Monti. "Italy calls for much more vigorous attention to
European and global growth".
(ANSA) - Rome, May 18 - Italy has recalled its ambassador
to New Delhi for consultations amid tension with India over the
case of two Italian anti-piracy marines accused of killing two
Indian fishermen in February.
The foreign ministry said Giacomo Sanfelice had been
recalled after police filed charges against Massimiliano Latorre
and Salvatore Girone.
(ANSA) - Vatican City, May 18 - Pope Benedict XVI called for
greater Catholic unity in the United States on Friday.
"This commitment is necessary to combat dividing forces
within the Church, which evermore pose a grave obstacle to its
mission in the United States," the pontiff told American bishops
visiting the Holy See.
"Faithfulness to the gospel can be costly, but the
Christian identity is to be defended with joy".
Many American Catholics have been divided over recent
hot-button issues.
(ANSA) - Rome, May 18 - The total number of employed
Italians has fallen by one million over the past five years
while the number of foreigners working in Italy has gone up by
750,000, according to a labor ministry report Friday.
Based on data from national statistics agency Istat, the
report said that a total of 250,000 jobs disappeared from 2007
to 2011.
(ANSA) - Washington, May 18 - The United States will attend
the Milan 2015 Expo, the event's commissioner-general said
Friday.
"(Secretary of State) Hillary Clinton has assured me that
the U.S. will participate," said Roberto Formigoni, who is also
the governor of Lombardy, the region surrounding Milan.
Also known as the World's Fair, the Expo is considered the
world's premier stage for countries to showcase goods, culture
and innovation.
The event lasts six months and is expected to bring in over
20 million visitors.
(ANSA) - Washington, May 18 - The United States will attend
the Milan 2015 Expo, the event's commissioner-general said
Friday.
"(Secretary of State) Hillary Clinton has assured me that
the U.S. will participate," said Roberto Formigoni, who is also
the governor of Lombardy, the region surrounding Milan.
Also known as the World's Fair, the Expo is considered the
world's premier stage for countries to showcase goods, culture
and innovation.
The event lasts six months and is expected to bring in over
30 million visitors.
(ANSA) - Rome, May 18 - President Giorgio Napolitano and
Justice Minister Paola Severino met on Friday to discuss
difficulties in Italy's overcrowded jails and measures for
improving conditions.
On the occasion of the 195th anniversary of the foundation
of Italy's penitentiary police, Napolitano thanked prison guards
for their "dedication and professionalism despite the difficult
conditions" and for their "spirit of sacrifice and innovation".
(ANSA) - Rome, May 18 - Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio
Bertone will be among the VIPs attending Sunday's Italian Cup
final at Rome's Stadio Olimpico between Juventus and Napoli.
Bertone is a supporter of Turin soccer giants Juventus,
who are seeking to complete a domestic double after winning this
season's Serie A title.
Sunday's game will be Juventus captain Alessandro Del
Piero's last for the club, who have not renewed his contract.
The 37-year-old former Italy forward is the club's
all-time top scorer with 290 goals.
(ANSA) - Rome, May 18 - Italian President Giorgio Napolitano
said Friday that both budget consolidation and growth are
necessary to tackle the eurozone crisis.
"That seems rather clear to me, it has been for some time,"
said the Italian head of state.
(ANSA) - Rome, May 18 - Charges against the two Italian
anti-piracy marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen
February were presented in court in the southern Indian province
of Kerala on Friday, according to India media.
(ANSA) - Rome, May 18 - Former Italy coach Marcello Lippi
has ruled out luring Alessandro Del Piero to his new club,
Chinese champions Guangzhou Evergrande.
Del Piero will play his last game for newly crowned Serie
A champions Juventus in Sunday's Italian Cup final against
Napoli and he is looking for a new club as the Turin giants have
decided not to renew his contract after 19 years.
"It's a nice idea, but I don't think so," Lippi told ANSA
via telephone when asked about the possibility of signing the
37-year-old forward.
