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Italian President Giorgio Napolitano cancelled a dinner with the German opposition's chancellor candidate in Berlin on Wednesday after he described Italy's former premier Silvio Berlusconi and comic-turned-politician Beppe Grillo as "clowns".
Populist leader Beppe Grillo slammed the door on overtures from center-left boss Pier Luigi Bersani with a stream of insults while Nichi Vendola, Bersani's junior coalition partner, ruled out a government alliance with the center-right.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - The Italian-American Women of Staten Island will hold its luncheon to celebrate March as Women in History Month at noon on Sunday, March 3, at the Hilton Garden Inn, Bloomfield. Tickets are $65 each. To reserve, call 718-948-2690.
ROME—Italy's parliamentary elections failed to produce a clear winner, thwarting the chances of forming a stable government and confirming investors' worst fears that political instability in Italy could once again rattle Europe. The inconclusive results mean Italy could be back at the polls within months.
By any standards, and whatever happens, Beppe Grillo and the Five Star Movement (M5S) have emerged from Italy's general election as big winners.Because of the way the electoral system works – favouring alliances Grillo shuns – the M5S will not be the overall victor. But projections suggested it could get more votes than any other party, and could hold the balance of power in the upper house, the Senate.
Stocks turned lower Monday following signs that Italy could be headed for political gridlock, potentially undermining the country's efforts to reform its economy and rekindling the region's debt crisis.
A huge protest vote by Italians enraged by economic hardship and political corruption pushed the country towards deadlock after an election on Monday, with voting projections showing no coalition strong enough to form a government.
Britain's most senior Roman Catholic cleric announced his resignation on Monday, a day after being accused of “inappropriate acts” with priests, saying he would not attend the conclave to elect a new pope.
Will Italy stay the course with painful economic reform? Or fall back into the old habit of profligacy and inertia? These are the stakes as Italians vote in a watershed parliamentary election Sunday and Monday that could shape the future of one of Europe’s biggest economies.
More than 100,000 pilgrims came to St. Peter's Square today to attend Pope Benedict XVI's last Sunday prayer and blessing. The crowd interrupted the pope several times with applause, but Benedict was business as usual. Apparently he is not big on goodbyes. This was the last time the world will see him in the window for his Sunday noon appointment with the faithful.