Italy

Stories 801 - 820 | << Prev   Next >>

Students Take Over Tower of Pisa

Protesters also jump turnstiles, enter Colosseum, hang banner

(Newser) - On the heels of yesterday's protests in London, thousands of Italian students took their complaints about education cuts to the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Colosseum—among other places—today, clogging roads and railways in the process. At the tower, about 20 students managed to breach security and unfurl...

Amanda Knox Appeal Begins
 Amanda Knox Appeal Begins 
Nov 24, 2010 2:02 PM CST

Amanda Knox Appeal Begins

Defense to challenge conviction 'from A to Z'

(Newser) - Round 2 begins: Amanda Knox appeared back in court in Italy yesterday to begin her appeal of a murder conviction in the slaying of Meredith Kercher, the New York Times reports. By the looks of things, attention hasn't waned: “We have to get used to the idea that this...

Berlusconi Replaces Ancient Penis—on Statue

Art experts slam 'plastic surgery' on Roman statue

(Newser) - A penis has, once again, landed Silvio Berlusconi in trouble. The Italian leader is under fire for spending some $100,000 in public funds to replace a missing penis on a 2nd-century Roman statue of Mars and a hand on a statue of Venus, the BBC reports. Art experts complain...

Sorry, Italy, You're Stuck With Berlusconi
Sorry, Italy, You're Stuck
With Berlusconi
analysis
Nov 16, 2010 1:25 PM CST

Sorry, Italy, You're Stuck With Berlusconi

His government may fall, but bet that he'll be back. Again

(Newser) - Stop us if you've heard this before: Silvio Berlusconi is in political crisis. Following the resignation of four top officials yesterday, the prime minister (take your pick of scandals here ) is in real danger of having his government toppled. Italy's president will now meet with the speakers of parliaments...

Marriage Annulled After Wife Thinks of Other Men

Judge denies her alimony, too

(Newser) - An Italian couple has been awarded the legal right to annul their marriage for adultery; not because the wife slept with other men, but simply because she thought about it—then discussed it with her husband. Following a lower court decision and a ruling by the Catholic Church's Ecclesiastical Court,...

Pompeii's 'House of Gladiators' Collapses

Experts blame collapse on mismanagement

(Newser) - Archeologists accused the Italian government of mismanaging the Roman ruins at Pompeii after a 2,000-year-old house once used by gladiators collapsed over the weekend. The "House of the Gladiators"—used by gladiators as a locker room and training area—was known for the frescoes of military adventures...

Berlusconi Flew Pot to Call Girls on Private Jet

Says one of those call girls, an aspiring model

(Newser) - The tawdry allegations against Silvio Berlusconi just keep on coming: Now, a call girl (who claims the Italian premier paid her more than $14,000 for sex) says he used his private jet to supply marijuana to the sex parties at his villa. “There was grass available in all...

'It's Better to Like Beautiful Girls Than Be Gay': Berlusconi

Italian PM offers up an interesting defense

(Newser) - Despite calls for his resignation , Silvio Berlusconi will not step down—or apologize—following reports of his involvement with a 17-year-old belly dancer. His defense: “It’s better to like beautiful girls than to be gay,” Ireland's RTÉ reports. At a motorcycle industry show, he insisted he hadn’...

Teen Belly Dancer Could Be Berlusconi's Downfall

Italian leaders are finally getting sick of his never-ending scandals

(Newser) - Silvio Berlusconi has shrugged off more than his share of sex scandals, but even old allies appear to be finally losing patience with the Italian leader's antics. Parliamentary speaker Gianfranco Fini says Berlusconi should step down if reports that he abused his power and pressured police into releasing a 17-year-old...

Berlusconi Is Sick: Catholic Media

Italian PM accused of intervening in teen girl's theft case

(Newser) - A major Catholic magazine in Italy has blasted Silvio Berlusconi for having what it calls “a disease, something uncontrollable” when it comes to women, the Daily Telegraph reports. The latest accusation in the PM’s never-dull love life: That he stepped in and helped get an underage girl out...

Italian Town Pushes for Miniskirt Ban

Because, apparently, people who wear them are 'rowdy'

(Newser) - An Italian seaside resort town seems like the perfect place to do things like sunbathe and frolic in miniskirts—but if the mayor of Castellammare di Stabia has his way, both of those things will be banned. Luigi Bobbio wants to crack down on miniskirts and other revealing clothing, with...

Amanda Knox: I'm Trapped in 'Limbo'

New book dishes on her life behind bars

(Newser) - Excerpts from a new book provide a glimpse into Amanda Knox 's life "in limbo"—otherwise known as an Italian prison. The as-yet released book, Take Me With You, chronicles the convicted killer's life behind bars and her hopes for the future. "I miss my family. I...

EU May Yank Vatican Tax Break
 EU May Yank Vatican Tax Break  
Oct 14, 2010 5:00 AM CDT

EU May Yank Vatican Tax Break

Church could be handed $11B tax bill

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI may soon find himself stuck with an $11 billion tax bill. European officials are probing tax breaks Silvio Berlusconi gave the church on its 100,000 properties in Italy. If they decide the tax exemptions are unfair state subsidies for church run businesses, the Vatican will be...

Italy Ends Search for US Balloonists

'No hope' of finding Americans alive: officials

(Newser) - Italian police canceled the search for two balloonists who went missing six days ago while flying over the Mediterranean, the Telegraph reports, with authorities saying there was "no hope" of finding them alive. The pair, who are American citizens, disappeared while flying through a patch of thunderstorms during a...

Vatican Slams Berlusconi Over Jewish Joke

It was 'just a laugh,' insists premier

(Newser) - The Vatican yesterday lashed Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for making a joke about Jews last week that stunned and infuriated his countrymen. The "deplorable" joke "offended the sentiment of believers and the sacred memory of 6 million Holocaust victims," blasted an editorial in the Vatican's official...

Italy Demands Apple Store Ditch 'Offensive' App

There's more to Italy than the Mafia

(Newser) - Italy is home to many things, but a sense of humor may not be one of them. The country's tourism minister is demanding that Apple bar the "offensive and unacceptable" What Country app from its store, and has instructed lawyers to take legal action against its creators. The app,...

Book: Prison Turns 'Angel Face' Knox Into Tough Con
Prison Turning 'Angel Face' Knox Into Tough Con
new book
Sep 27, 2010 4:24 AM CDT

Prison Turning 'Angel Face' Knox Into Tough Con

Ex-inmate's memoir offers glimpse of world behind bars

(Newser) - Prison has been no party for Amanda Knox , claims a new memoir written by a woman incarcerated with the killer. The book, Passeggiando con Amanda—'Walking with Amanda' —chronicles Knox's transformation from fresh-faced undergraduate to hardened prison vet over the course of her trial for the death of Meredith...

Scientists Will Drill Deep Into Active Volcano

Critics fear move may endanger nearby Naples

(Newser) - Italian scientists plan to drill 13,000 feet into the heart of an active volcanic field outside Naples. The Campi Felagria—believed by the ancient Romans to be the home of Vulcan, the god of fire—last erupted in 1583 but has been showing signs of unrest over the last...

Vatican Bank Probed for Money Laundering

$34M in mystery funds frozen by Italian authorities

(Newser) - Italian authorities have frozen $34 million at the heart of a money-laundering probe of the Vatican Bank. Two officials, including the chairman of the institution, are under investigation for failing to disclose the identity of clients linked to the funds, which is required by Italian law. The bank, whose main...

Berlusconi Cracks Wise About Hitler

Critics say it's time Italian leader saw a shrink

(Newser) - Silvio Berlusconi's critics are demanding an apology after the Italian leader hit a new low with wisecracks about Hitler and his own sexual prowess at a youth rally over the weekend. "A little after Hitler died his supporters discovered he was in fact still alive," Berlusconi told cheering...

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