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Vatican City, April 12 - Ever since he was named pontiff one month ago and opted to present himself without the traditional papal red cape trimmed with ermine, Pope Francis has had no shortage of admirers drawn to his modest, down-to-earth touch.
Fabrizio Corona, Italy’s self-described “King of Paparazzi” who reportedly made millions by charging famous figures not to publish embarrassing photos, saw his appeal on charges of fraud and tax evasion denied, putting him behind bars for nearly four years.
The striker position has been a thorn in the side of the Italian national team for a long time now. Even during the team's magical run to the 2006 World Cup title, the Azzurri didn't have a top striker—they scored 12 goals through 10 different players.In that tournament, Francesco Totti was still playing with metal plates in his ankle and Alessandro Del Piero was being deployed as a super-sub. The forward line was led by Luca Toni (scorer of 31 goals that season atFiorentina) and Alberto Gilardino (17 goals with AC Milan).
Italy plans to rent out its cultural heritage to the highest bidder in an effort to pay off some of its trillion-euro debt. The government initiative will hand over castles and monasteries to luxury hotel chains for development as niche resorts.
Two task forces appointed by Italy's president to help break the country's political gridlock have proposed a host of government and financial reforms that have long been discussed but never taken up by Italy's squabbling politicians.
Italy's Democratic Party (PD) chief Pier Luigi Bersani on Thursday denied an imminent split of his center-left bloc, the largest in parliament, amid increasing criticism of his leadership during a prolonged political stalemate
The Dalai Lama said Thursday he hoped to meet Pope Francis soon, reiterating he was an admirer of the first Latin American pontiff.
Ridley Scott and his crew were in front of the Vatican on Thursday filming the pilot episode of a thriller TV series. Produced by Showtime, 'Vatican' stars Bruno Ganz as a fictional present-day Pope Sixtus VI - the last pope to take the name Sixtus was Felice Peretti di Montalto, Sixtus V. The series follows the life of a New York archbishop, Cardinal Thomas Duff, played by Kyle Chandler
Telecom Italia on Thursday said it would formally consider an offer to merge with a smaller rival in a deal that would make the Hong Kong industrial group Hutchison Whampoa its largest shareholder.
Markets rose across Europe on Wednesday, with Milan's FTSE-Mib index lifted by banking shares and Italy's largest carmaker Fiat.