Europe, Italy | featured news

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi tried on Tuesday to calm fears that Italy could be swept into a full-scale financial crisis and the opposition pledged to smooth the passage through parliament of tough debt-cutting measures.

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy has called an emergency meeting of top officials dealing with the euro zone debt crisis for Monday morning, reelecting concern that the crisis could spread to Italy, the region's third largest economy.

American student Amanda Knox's bid to overturn her conviction for the murder of her British roommate in Italy may have been given a boost by fresh DNA analysis, Italian news agency ANSA reported Wednesday.

Amanda Knox arrives at the Perugia court, Italy, Saturday, May 21, 2011. A tearful Amanda Knox said Saturday that being in prison is "very frustrating and mentally exhausting" as the American student convicted of murdering her ...

Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, his popularity plummeting as he faces a string of legal cases, appeared in court for the first time in eight years on Monday.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was hospitalized today in Rome, Italian news agencies said. CNN reports that Pelosi is resting at her hotel after undergoing tests.

The parents of Amanda Knox, an American student convicted of murder in Italy, were ordered Tuesday to stand trial for alleging that Italian police abused their daughter, a lawyer and media reports said....

Across Eastern Europe, Russia, Kazakhstan and the Gobi Desert - it certainly was a long way to go without getting lost... The vehicles, equipped with four solar-powered laser scanners and seven video cameras that work together to detect and avoid obstacles, are part of an experiment aimed at improving road safety and advancing automotive technology.

Anti-mafia prosecutors claimed a major victory over the powerful and growing 'ndrangheta crime syndicate, infiltrating intimate weddings, baptisms and other events to gather information that led to the arrests Tuesday of 305 people, including top bosses, and the seizure of more than euro60 million ($76 million) in cash and property.

Italy's World Cup title defense came to an embarrassing end with a dramatic 3-2 defeat by European footballing minnows Slovakia on Thursday