Rome - The arrest of "Godfather" Settimino Mineo has dealt Cosa Nostra a crucial blow as it tries to reorganise after the violent leadership of the Corleone family, Italy's top anti-Mafia policeman told AFP.

Rome - Italy's far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini spoke to thousands of supporters in a packed square in Rome on Sunday as his surging League party celebrates six months in power.

Turin - Tens of thousands rallied Saturday in Turin to protest against a high speed train project to the French city of Lyon, fiercely opposed by environmentalists, as a waste of public funds.The scheme involves construction of a 57.5 kilometre (35.

Corinaldo - Six people, including five teenagers, died and 120 were injured in a stampede when panic broke out during a rap concert at a packed Italian nightclub early Saturday.

Rome - Six people died in a stampede at a nightclub near Ancona in central Italy after panic erupted in the early hours of Saturday morning, firefighters said.

Milan - Russia on Friday insisted that Ukrainian sailors it captured after seizing their vessels will go on trial for violating its maritime borders, despite international calls for their release.

Milan - Ukraine's foreign minister on Thursday called for a speedy international response to Russia's "aggression" after it seized three Ukrainian navy ships and 24 sailors in the Sea of Azov.

Rome - A rights group called Wednesday for an international criminal investigation after 15 migrants died following 11 days drifting off the coast of Libya without help.

Rome - An Italian prosecutor on Tuesday took the unusual step of criticising far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini claiming one of his tweets about "Nigerian mafia arrests" was compromising a police operation.

Rome - Italian police on Tuesday arrested new Mafia boss Settimino Mineo and dozens of other suspects in a major swoop against a resurgent Cosa Nostra.

Rome - Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Tuesday that a revised draft budget to avoid penalties from Brussels would be ready "in the coming hours".

Milan - Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Tuesday that a revised draft budget to avoid penalties from Brussels would be ready "in the coming hours".

Turin - Thousands of Father Christmases gathered in Turin on Sunday at a rally to raise money for a children's hospital, with many arriving by scooter or bicycle rather than reindeer-pulled sled.

Pisa - "It's still straightening," said engineer Roberto Cela, gazing at the Leaning Tower of Pisa gleaming in the autumn sunshine of northern Italy. "And many years will have to pass before it stops.

Rome - Italy on Wednesday adopted far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini's tough anti-migrant and security decree, despite fierce criticism from the left.

Rome - Italian anti-terrorism police on Wednesday arrested a Lebanese man suspected of planning a poison attack in the name of the Islamic State jihadist group.

Rome - Italy's parliament will have the last word on the UN migration pact, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Wednesday, so its officials will not attend a conference next month to ratify it.

Rome - The world must help resolve the Israel-Palestinian issue by backing a two-state solution to avoid the creation of an apartheid state, Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki said on Friday.

Rome - Russia does not want any "artificial deadlines" for the Syrian peace process, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday, saying those who do want to sabotage Russian-backed peace efforts.

Rome - A new film is shining an uncomfortable light on the fate of thousands of Italians killed in massacres on the Yugoslav frontier at the end of the Second World War.