Italy News

(ANSA) - Milan, November 20 - A unique retrospective of work by Steve McCurry, one of the world's best known living photojournalists, has opened in Milan in a show specially designed to pack a punch.

Instead of being hung on the walls, the American photographer's powerful images have been illuminated and suspended in mid-air or set on free-standing screens in the darkened recesses of the Palazzo della Ragione.

(ANSA) - Rome, November 20 - A local scheme to rid a town of illegal immigrants, controversially named ''White Christmas'' continued to spark polemics on Friday.

Sonia Alfano, an EMP with the opposition Italy of Values Party (IDV)said she would bring the scheme by the small Lombardy town of Coccaglio, near the northern city of Brescia, to the attention of the European parliament.

(ANSA) - Rome, November 20 - The personal computer of a dead scandal-linked transsexual prostitute was found in her sink during a search of her burned-out home, police said Friday.

The PC belonging to Brazilian sex-worker Brenda was still wet.

It appeared to have been doused in an attempt to make its contents irretrievable.

The PC has been taken to a police lab where computer experts will try to get what they can from it, police said.

(ANSA) - Vatican City, November 30 - Pope Benedict XVI received a paddle from the president of South American republic Suriname Friday.

"It is for you as successor to Peter the fisherman," said Suriname President Runaldo Ronald Venetiaan as he gave the pontiff the long, painted and hand-carved paddle, used for traditional canoes.

"You need firmness to use it," a smiling Benedict replied.

(ANSA) - Rome, November 20 - Premier Silvio Berlusconi on Friday reaffirmed the government's intention to make constitutional reforms to the Italian judiciary in a letter to the national bar association in Rome.

Berlusconi said that judicial reform was a fundamental part of the program the government came to office with in April 2008 and that ''voters put their faith in us to render the justice system more impartial and more efficient''.

(ANSA) - Rome, November 20 - Italy has held onto fourth position in FIFA's monthly standings, behind Netherlands in third, world soccer's ruling body said Friday.

Spain took over top spot from Brazil.

(ANSA) - Rome, November 20 - Nearly half a million of foreigners settled in Italy over the past year, according to a new report released Friday by national statistics bureau Istat.

The influx of 458,644 foreign residents brings the total number of immigrants in Italy to 3.8 million, amounting to 6.5% of the population.

According to Istat, 29% of foreign residents in Italy are citizens of other European Union countries, while immigrants from non-EU countries in eastern Europe account for 24%.

(ANSA) - Naples, November 20 - Some of pre-war dictator Benito's Mussolini's brains have been stolen from a Milan hospital and put up on eBay, his granddaughter said Friday.

Alessandra Mussolini said she would be reporting the case to police.

The rightwing MP said the brains and blood had been taken from Milan's Policlinico hospital where it was stored.

She described the incident as "very serious".

"You have to be on your guard against things like this".

(ANSA) - Rome, November 20 - Rome prosecutors have opened a murder probe into the death of a transsexual prostitute linked to disgraced Lazio ex-governor Piero Marrazzo, judicial sources said Friday.

Brenda was one of two prostitutes linked to Marrazzo, who resigned last month after it emerged he had been blackmailed over a video showing him with another transsexual sex worker, Natalie.

(ANSA) - Aosta, May 13 - An Italian mountaineer who conquered K2 in 1954 died on Friday, six months after the companion who stepped onto the world's second-highest peak for the first time with him.

Lino Lacedelli, who would have turned 84 on December 4, had a heart operation in the summer from which he never recovered, his family said.

His medical condition prevented him from attending the funeral of Achille Compagnoni, his fellow K2 hero, who died on May 13 aged 94.

(ANSA) - Rome, November 20 - A transsexual prostitute linked to an Italian regional governor who resigned in a sex scandal last month was found dead in her burned-out apartment Friday.

A bottle of whisky and packed suitcases were found near the semi-naked and burned body of the Brazilian transsexual, who called herself Brenda.

Brenda was one of two transsexual prostitutes involved in the case of former Lazio governor Piero Marrazzo who resigned on October 27 after it emerged he was being blackmailed by rogue cops.

(ANSA) - Rome, November 20 - Italian industry in September showed its biggest monthly rise in orders since January 2008, 5.2%, national statistics bureau Istat said.

Orders were down 20.4% year-on-year.

The news came a day after Istat said Italian exports rose by 6.6% in September - also the best monthly result since January 2008.

In year-on-year terms, exports were 18% down.

A week ago, on November 13, the Italian economy officially emerged from recession with the first growth in 15 months.

(ANSA) - Rome, November 19 - Seven people who died with H1N1 flu virus on Thursday brought the pandemic's death toll in Italy to 75.

According to doctors, all of the victims suffered from serious pre-existing health problems aggravated by flu infections.

Three of the victims died in Naples bring the number of flu deaths in the Campania region to 28, the highest in Italy, despite having only the fifth highest estimated rate of infection.

(ANSA) - Brussels, November 19 - Ex-Italian foreign minister Massimo D'Alema has been replaced by European Foreign Trade Commissioner and British Baron Catherine Ashton as the European Socialists' candidate for the new EU job of High Representative for Foreign Policy, sources close to the Socialist caucus said Thursday.

The news appeared to deal a fatal blow to D'Alema's bid for the post, one of two top jobs created by the Lisbon Treaty.

The other is the first standing president of the European Council.

(ANSA) - Rome, November 19 - A dark chocolate developed by a company near Turin has been proven to be effective in protecting the skin from ultra violet(UV) rays, according to recent studies carried out in London.

The chocolate, named Oxicoa, was found to have three times the amount of the natural antioxidant polyphenol found in normal dark chocolate and ten grams of it has the same amount of antioxidants as three full glasses of blueberries, two cups of green tea or a 3kg watermelon.