Italy

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2 American NATO Troops Missing in Afghanistan

Western region has seen a recent uptick in violence

(Newser) - Two NATO soldiers have been missing in Western Afghanistan since Wednesday after a routine supply mission went awry. “We continue exhaustive search and rescue operations to locate our missing service members,” a NATO spokesperson tells the BBC . “We are doing everything we can to find them.”...

CIA Officer: We 'Broke the Law' With Kidnapping

She's one of 23 Americans convicted in Italy for 2003 rendition

(Newser) - One of the CIA agents convicted in Italy today of kidnapping a Muslim cleric in 2003 says the mission "broke the law" and that she feels "abandoned and betrayed" by the US government. The case involving ex-officer Sabrina DeSousa and 22 other Americans is the first challenge to...

Italy Convicts CIA Agents of Kidnapping

2003 case is first to challenge practice of extraordinary rendition

(Newser) - An Italian judge today convicted 23 Americans of the 2003 kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric on a Milan street, in a landmark case involving the CIA's extraordinary rendition program in the war on terrorism. Judge Oscar Magi acquitted three other Americans, citing diplomatic immunity. Former Milan CIA station chief Robert...

Court Bans Crucifixes in Italian Classrooms

Government plans to appeal European decision

(Newser) - A European court has ruled that the presence of crucifixes in Italian classrooms violates religious freedom. In a decision denounced by Italian politicians, the court said the compulsory display of the crucifix prevents parents from raising kids with the religion of their choice and restricts the "right of children...

Italy Probes 'Kill Berlusconi' Facebook Gang

'Assassination gang' boasts 20K members

(Newser) - Italian authorities have vowed to close down a Facebook group called "Let's Kill Berlusconi," even though its creators say it's harmless fun. Some 20,000 people from all over the world have joined the group, many offering their services to dispatch the embattled Italian leader in a variety...

Berlusconi Sexist Dig Sparks Fury

100K sign petition after jab against female politician

(Newser) - Silvio Berlusconi may soon have a lot more than corruption charges to worry about. Italian women—who stayed largely silent during his recent sex scandals—are joining a rising feminist backlash against the Italian leader after he made sexist remarks to a female politician on live TV. "You are...

Fresco Clue Launches Hunt for Lost Da Vinci

Artist's greatest work may be hidden behind palace fresco

(Newser) - Like a mystery straight from the Da Vinci Code, an Italian palace fresco harbors a clue pointing to the existence of a hidden masterpiece, claims an art expert. Now Italian professor Maurizio Seracini has been granted permission to seek the painting considered Leonardo da Vinci's greatest work. Seracini believes the...

'Mini Coliseum' Unearthed Near Rome

Find at Roman Empire port hailed as world wonder

(Newser) - Archaelogists excavating the ancient port that served Rome in the days of the Roman Empire have found the remains of a smaller-scale version of the Coliseum next to an imperial palace. Statues and many other archeological treasures have been found at Portus, which lies a mile from Rome's airport. The...

Taliban: Italy Paid Us Protection Money

Italian government denies bribing insurgents to leave its troops alone

(Newser) - The Italian secret services bribed the Taliban not to attack Italian forces in Afghanistan, according to both a Taliban commander and senior officials in the Afghan government. The accusations have sparked fury in France, which lost 10 soldiers in an ambush after taking over a district east of Kabul from...

British Intelligence Had Mussolini on WWI Payroll

Dictator-in-training got $9,500 a week to help convince Italians to keep fighting

(Newser) - Britain’s overseas intelligence service helped Benito Mussolini finance his first forays into Italian politics, newly uncovered documents show. Hoping to keep Italy on its side in 1917, during World War I, MI5 gave Mussolini, then 34 and editor of a right-wing newspaper, the equivalent of what’s now $9,...

Knox's Family Has Spent $1M on Defense

Father 'mortgaged everything' for Italian murder trial

(Newser) - Amanda Knox’s trial has taken more than an emotional toll on her family—it’s all but bankrupted them. “Between Amanda’s mother and myself, we have spent over a million dollars so far,” her father tells ABC News. “We have literally mortgaged everything and used...

Berlusconi: Trials 'Laughable, Absurd'

Italian PM goes on the attack after losing immunity from prosecution

(Newser) - A defiant Silvio Berlusconi vowed yesterday to rule with "even more grit" despite looming criminal trials on corruption charges. The trials "are false, laughable, absurd,” scoffed the Italian prime minister, who has been stripped of his immunity from prosecution. “I will defend myself in the courtroom...

Berlusconi: I'm Not Going Anywhere

Italian PM defiant as multiple criminal cases reopen

(Newser) - Silvio Berlusconi, fighting for his political life after a court ruled he was not immune from criminal prosecution, called the ruling politically motivated and vowed to stay on as Italy's prime minister. Already weakened by sex scandals, Berlusconi will now face at least two trials, one concerning witness tampering and...

Court Rejects Law Giving Berlusconi Immunity

Italian PM will have to stand trial for corruption

(Newser) - An Italian court struck down the law designed to protect Silvio Berlusconi from corruption charges, ruling that it would take a constitutional amendment, not a mere act of parliament, to save the Italian prime minister. Courts can now resume the two corruption trials against Berlusconi that have been on hold...

Berlusconi Uses Animal Farm Defense

Lawyers argue 'more equal' PM shouldn't be prosecuted

(Newser) - All Italians are equal but some are more equal than others, according to lawyers seeking to prevent Silvio Berlusconi from standing trial on corruption charges. A constitutional court examining the legitimacy of a law shielding prime ministers from prosecution—which was introduced by Berlusconi himself—was told the leader is...

Scientist Reproduces 'Fake' Turin Shroud

Nothing miraculous about his creation, says Italian researcher

(Newser) - The Shroud of Turin is definitely a medieval forgery, according to an Italian scientist who made one himself to prove the point. The chemistry professor made the reproduction of the shroud—believed by many to represent a miraculous image of Christ after crucifixion—using materials and techniques available during the...

Berlusconi Adds Michelle to His 'Tan Obama' Dig

'Even his wife is suntanned,' Italian leader chuckles

(Newser) - Daffy Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi thought his first joke about President Obama being "tan" was so funny he repeated it —and this time included Michelle in the fun.  "I bring greetings from a man, what's his name? Some tanned guy—Barack Obama," Berlusconi said...

Knox Lied About Sex Murder Under Stress: Witness

Forty-hour interrogation disoriented suspect, neurologist testifies

(Newser) - Amanda Knox was telling the truth when she said she was lying, a neurologist testified today. Professor Carlo Caltagirone, the final witness in Knox's 8-month trial, backed up the suspect's claim that she had confessed to overhearing Meredith Kercher's murder because of stress, the Daily Mail reports. "Situations of...

Cops Seize Mafia Don's 'Croc Weapon'

Mobster accused of threatening to feed extortion victims to 6-foot beast

(Newser) - Italian police have confiscated a crocodile they suspect was used by a Mafia boss to persuade people to cough up protection money. The gangster invited extortion victims to his home and threatened to set the crocodile on them if they didn't pay up, investigators say. He has has been charged...

Venice Struggles to Stay Afloat
 Venice Struggles to Stay Afloat 

Sep 20, 2009 4:26 PM CDT

Venice Struggles to Stay Afloat

Billion-dollar floodgates may fail to stave off rising tides

(Newser) - Not only is Venice sinking, but the $6-billion floodgates designed to protect it may not do the job, NPR reports. Critics say that the 78 half-built mobile gates, designed to block off seawater when it rises, may fail to fend off sea levels heightened by climate change. And even if...

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