Italy's election campaign kicked off in earnest on Saturday after Prime Minister Mario Monti's resignation opened the way for a contest dominated by a raging debate over austerity in the recession-hit country.
Italy's indefatigable former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi appeared on television Tuesday for the third time in as many days to vow a return to political life.
European governments argued through the night in a bid to agree a deal on tightening the oversight of eurozone bank, hours before leaders stage on Thursday their final summit of a gruelling third year in debt-crisis mode.
Italy was preparing prepared for early elections Sunday after Prime Minister Mario Monti said he would soon resign and Silvio Berlusconi announced he would run for the top job for the sixth time in two decades.
Italy's highest court has accepted a complaint over the wire-tapping of the president as part of an inquiry into negotiations between state officials and the Mafia.
Democratic Party chief Pier Luigi Bersani won primaries on Sunday to lead Italy's centre-left but now faces the challenge of uniting different currents in his party.
Central Asian state of Uzbekistan has with much fanfare put on display what it says is a lost masterpiece of Western art, a painting by Italian Renaissance master Paolo Veronese.
Milllions of Italian centre-left voters cast their ballots on Sunday to select a nominee for prime minister ahead of a general election next year as the country suffers through a painful recession.
Rating agency Moody's warned Monday that Italy's banks face worsening conditions over the coming year with asset quality declining, low profitability, and poor access to markets for funds.
Italy's former prime minister and media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi was briefly sentenced to four years in prison for tax fraud connected to his Mediaset empire Friday.
US scientists on Tuesday joined global colleagues in expressing outrage at an Italian court's sentencing of six seismologists to jail for underestimating the risks of a 2009 earthquake.
An Indonesian cruise ship crew member died of meningitis on Tuesday, nine days after being hospitalised with three colleagues in the western Italian port city of Livorno.
An Italian court will hold a series of hearings starting on Monday to work out the details of the tragic night of the Costa Concordia disaster, with captain Francesco Schettino expected to attend.