Italian surgeon Paolo Macchiarini. Photo: AP Photo/Lorenzo GalassiSweden's Karolinska Institute (KI), which awards the Nobel Prize for Medicine, on Wednesday dismissed a Italian transplant surgeon suspected of research fraud and ethical breaches, in an affair that has plunged the renowned institutio...

Rome's former mayor Gianni Alemanno is on trial for corruption. Photo: Gabriel Bouys/AFPFormer Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno appeared in court on Wednesday for the first hearing in his trial for corruption and illegal financing as part of a crackdown on a mafia-style network in the Italian city. Aleman...

The coach crash in Spain killed 13 female students. Photo: Pau BerenaThe driver of a coach that crashed in Spain at the weekend killing 13 foreign students, including seven Italians, who is under investigation for manslaughter, is in critical condition in hospital, officials said on Tuesday. The 62-...

One Italian is thought to have been killed during Monday's terror attacks in Brussels. Photo: Aurora Belot/AFPAn Italian woman is thought to be among the 31 victims of Tuesday's terror attacks in Brussels, according to reports in the Italian media. Citing Foreign Ministry sources, news agency Ansa r...

Armani will stop using animal fur and use fake pelts instead. Photo: Patrick Herzog/AFPSay goodbye to Mink coats: Italian fashion king Giorgio Armani said on Tuesday he would no longer use any real animal fur in his collections, saying there was no excuse to indulge in such "cruel practices". The de...

Mohammed Ali Malek (R) after being pulled from the water. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFPThe man accused of being the captain of a migrant ship which sank in the Mediterranean last year killing over 700 people insists he was no different from the other passengers, his lawyer told AFP on Tuesday. The clos...

Police patrol at Rome's Fiumicino aiport on Tuesday as security measures were reinforced in the wake of attacks in Brussels. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFPAn Iraqi man identified by French and Belgian authorities as having terrorist links to the Isis extremist group was arrested in Sorrento hours after the...

Fabio Capello Capello, who made his name at AS Roma and Juventus before subsequent stints as coach of Real Madrid and England. Johannes EiseleFabio Capello could be set for a sensational first appointment as Italy coach after Bologna put the brakes on Roberto Donadoni leaving the Serie A club to suc...

Italian Prime Minister has called for a common EU defense pact. Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFPItaly's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi called on Tuesday for a "European pact for freedom and security" following the attacks in Brussels claimed by the Isis group that killed around 35 people. "Today they hit Belg...

Emergency staff arrive in the Wetstraat-Rue de la Loi, which was evacuated after a blast at the Maelbeek metro station in Brussels. Photo: Laurie Deiffembacq/Belga/AFPThree Italians were among over 100 people injured in a blast at Maelbeek metro station in Brussels, close to the European Union headq...

Visitors queue to enter the Milan Expo exhibition last year. Photo: Olivier Morin/AFPA decision to accommodate dozens of refugees at the so-called “base camp” for last year’s Milan Expo has sparked controversy in Lombardy. Ninety refugees arrived at the Rho-Pero site, which is capable of accommodati...

Italian MPs are ea ing less than they used to. Photo: Fillipo Monteforte / AFPPoliticians in Italy net an impressive €122 for each hour they spend debating bills in parliament, but that's still much less than they used to make. The hourly rate was calculated by La Stampa, based on gove ment activity...

Television jou alists in Italy have gone to extraordinary lengths to protest poor refereeing in Serie A - by appearing on air with their mouths covered by scarves. The 'silent protest' followed the Torino v Juventus derby on Sunday, whenxa0match referee Nicola Rizzoli made several glaring blunders i...

Italy has recovered crates of stolen artefacts. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFPItalian and Swiss police have recovered priceless archaeological artefacts stolen from Italy and stored by a notorious British antiquities dealer, the culture ministry said on Tuesday. The haul, worth nine million euros ($10 m...

Shows the broken glasses at Brussels Airport in Zaventem after a two explosions targeted the main hall. Photo: Jonas Roosens/Belga/AFPUPDATED: Security was immediately strengthened at airports and train stations in Rome and elsewhere in Italy after at least 23 people were killed in terror attacks in...

A digital graffiti reading "Do not write on walls" on a tablet screen in Florence. Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFPThe days of scribbling "I woz here" on Florence's historic monuments are gone: from now on would-be vandals will be able to graffiti via app instead, with their messages kept for posterity. "W...

There are some 50 European brown bears in Italy. Photo: Paul AppletonThe body of a brown bear, a protected species in Italy, was found on Monday in Trentino, feared poisoned, the north-east province said. The large eight-year old male, a European brown bear spotted lying on thexa0side of a road by a...

An Italian bishop has criticized one parish's decision to allow Muslim refugees to pray in a Catholic church. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty images/AFPThe bishop of Pistoia, Tuscany, has slammed two priests for allowing Muslim refugees to pray inside the parish church of Vicofaro. Fathers Massimo Biancalani...

Some hospitals in Rome are undertaking rodent control at least once a month to rid their premises of rats and cockroaches. The move follows a rise in the rat population in parts of the capital over recent months. Four hospitals - San Camillo-Forlanini, Sant'Andrea, Santo Spirito, Fatabenefratelli an...

Students mou the victims at Barcelona University. Photo: Pau Barrena / AFPThe Italian father of one of the bus crash victims has criticised authorities for not taking due care with the life of his daughter. The grief-stricken father of 22 year old Serena Saracino has spoken out in fury about the dea...