Rome  - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has dismissed criticism of his government's economic policies during protest in Rome involving hundreds of thousands of workers, students and pensioners.

"It is impossible to speak and reason with the deaf," Berlusconi said in Prague late Saturday, where he was attending a US-European Union summit.

Berlusconi also disputed that 2.7 million attended Saturday's protest, a figure claimed by the organizer, Italy's largest labour union confederation, the leftist CGIL.

Rome - Italian police inspecting a manhole at a railway station in Rome have discovered 24 children from Afghanistan living in makeshift shelter of cardboard and blankets.

Officials believe the children whose ages range from 10 to 15 travelled from Afghanistan unaccompanied by their parents, according to news reports Saturday.

It was not immediately clear when the children arrived in Italy, although it appears they may have spent some time in Turkey after leaving their homeland, officials said.

Rome  - Tens of thousands of people gathered in Rome Saturday to protest what they say is the inadequate response to the country's economic woes by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government.

Demonstrators set off through the city's streets on five separate marches organized by the country' largest labour union confederation, CGIL.

Participants included several political leaders including Dario Franceschini who heads the main centre-left opposition Democratic Party.

Rome - An Italian navy ship was set later Friday to bring to Sicily a group of 76 would-be immigrants rescued from a vessel on which the bodies of two dead people were also recovered.

The deaths added to this week's tragic toll involving migrants in the Mediterranean where over 230 people are feared to have drowned.

The Italian ship picked up the group, including 17 women, after Italian coastguard officials on Thursday night received a satellite telephone distress call from the vessel carrying the migrants.

Milan  - It's back to business in tennis for formerly banned Filippo Volandri after the Italian earned moral revenge as his three-month doping sanction was reversed on appeal.

The one-time number 25 clay-courter copped a three-month ban in January for a proscribed substance used in his asthma inhaler. But Volandri's lawyers successfully argued their case and got an overturn of the penalty by the international court of sports (CAS) in Lausanne.

Bari, Italy - Italy had Giampaolo Pazzini sent off after three minutes as they drew 1-1 with visiting Ireland Wednesday in a Group 8 World Cup qualifier.

Vincenzo Iaquinta gave Italy an 11th-minute lead only for Irish captain Robbie Keane to equalize shortly before half-time.

There was much emotion at the rain-drenched San Nicola stadium where Giovanni Trapattoni was widely cheered on as he led the Irish squad against the Azzurri side he coached from 2000 to 2004.