Italian News (3)

- Roma campaign. A confusing one for non-natives, this. The Roma are Romanians, sometimes referred to as Rom, which sometimes means gypsies, and the city they have chosen to settle in is Roma. Giovanna Reggiani, the wife of an admiral was murdered while out walking in the capital, the culprit seemingly being a Romanian living in one of the many makeshift camps in the area. Prodi reacted to public outrage (there have been 76 murders by Romanians this year) by threatening to deport illegals who are deemed a threat to the state. This unfortunatey comes up against EU law which permits them to travel freely.

- Interview with Prodi: in an interview with the Financial Times Mr Prodi sought to take the heat out of the situation. Yes, there had been a massive influx of Romanians - perhaps half a million - and they made up 75% of the people arrested for serious crimes but that had to be set against the 22,000 Italian companies employing 600,000 Romanians over there. He is in talks with the Romanian foreign minister but in the meantime Veltroni the mayor of Rome is rounding them up.

- Biagi dies: the distinguished journalist Enzo Biagi has died aged 87. He ws a much loved figure in Italy, fiercely critical of governments of all persuasions

- Student murder: the death of a British student in Perugia appears to have been as a result of sex games with an American flatmate, her Italian boyfriend and a Congolese bar owner. Arrests have been made and police say the case is closed.

- MS Breakthrough: another astonishing success for Italian medical research. A team in Rome have established that EBV, a variant of herpes, causes Multiple Sclerosis, making treatment easier.

- 10 commandments: Police have discovered during the arrest of Salvatore Lo Piccolo, the Boss of Bosses, a list of rules governing the deportment of a mobster, which include 'Appointments must absolutely be respected' and 'Wives must be treated with respect' making the Cosa Nostra unique among Italians

- Saudi meets Pope: King Abdullah has a historic meeting with the Pontiff. These heads of small wealthy countries whose very word is law have to stick together

- Divorce in Fermo: a monk in the small Marche town has reportedly been offering, for money, to assist marriage annulment. Paul McCartney has reportedly asked if he will work for less than £20million