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The re-election of Italy's president has raised the prospect of an end to the two months of political stalemate that have followed the general election, with a move to form a government foreseen within days.
An Italian court on Monday delayed until at least May 13 the resumption of a trial against former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi for allegedly paying for sex with a then 17-year old prostitute.
In the past week, Italy's parliament tried and failed to elect as President both an old union boss and a former prime minister. Pier Luigi Bersani, the head of the center-left party that supposedly won February's election, stepped down, having proved incapable of forming a government.
Io e te (Me and You), a drama about an introverted teenager from two-time Oscar winning director Bernardo Bertolucci, has been selected as the film of the year by Italy’s Nastri d’Argento (Silver Ribbons) honors.
Hopes of an end to two months of political deadlock in Italy drove its financial markets higher on Monday after the re-election of 87-year-old Giorgio Napolitano suggested parties may be nearer a deal to form a government.
In a bid to quiet growing political chaos, Italian lawmakers on Saturday elected President Giorgio Napolitano for a second term, turning to the 87-year-old statesman as the last best hope to break a profound deadlock in the euro zone’s third-largest economy.
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, , aged 87, has been re-elected following a cross-party appeal to run for office again to resolve a growing political crisis.
One week ago, with his office in the Quirinale Palace already cleared of his books and papers, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said: "They won't convince me to stay". In the end they did.
Italian centre-left leader Bersani told his Democratic Party on Friday he would resign as soon as a new head of state is elected, Italian news agencies reported.
Former Prime Minister Romano Prodi withdrew from the race for the Italian presidency on Friday, deepening the chaos in the center-left after party rebels helped his old enemy Silvio Berlusconi scupper his candidacy.