Rome  - The Italian government said Wednesday evening it would deport about 500 Tunisian refugees from the southern island of Lampedusa.

The refugees will be repatriated over two months, said Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, according to the ANSA news agency, following an agreement reached with the Tunisian government to curb illegal immigration.

It was a difficult task to identify the refugees, but, as a first step, about 100 Tunisians would get deportation orders and will leave the island in the coming days.

Rome  - AC Milan have confirmed they are interested in turning David Beckham's brief loan contract from Los Angeles Galaxy to full ownership.

Milan vice president Adriano Galliani made the news Wednesday saying that "If Beckham will decide to free himself from the contract (with Galaxy, which expires in 2011) our doors are open. But he belongs to another club and we must thank them because they were very kind to us."

Rome  - AC Milan have not ruled out a permanent place for David Beckham at the club after his loan deal from Los Angeles Galaxy expires, an attorney of the Italian powerhouse indicated Monday.

Leandro Cantamessa told Sky TV that "after March anything can happen."

He added: "Beckham will have first to talk with Los Angeles Galaxy and tell them he felt good here. Only then can we start a new negotiation, which won't be based on a loan anymore."

Beckham, 33, is due back to California on March 9 for the start of the US Major League Soccer.

Rome - AC Milan defender Alessandro Nesta has returned to Italy after a long period spent in the United States to treat a back problem, the Devils web site reported Thursday.

"I'm going to (Milan's camp in) Milanello to start training and when I'm fine I'll play," Nesta said.

The full-back, who turns 33 in March, went to Florida in November to undergo treatment for a lower-back pain that had sidelined him since the summer.

"I suffered for a long time but now I took the problem seriously because there was a way to come out of it," he said.

Rome  - Striker Pablo Daniel Osvaldo Wednesday began training with his new club Bologna after his transfer from Fiorentina.

"My options were (English Premier League side) West Ham (United) or Bologna," the club's web site quoted the 23-year-old as saying. "Both were interesting, but I chose Bologna.

"I know that the club and the fans expect a lot from me. I want to show my worth and possibly score a lot to lend the team a hand. Bologna are a great opportunity for me."

Rome/New York  - Love has little to do with this particular match: it is dire need in a severe crisis in the motor industry that has pushed Italy's Fiat and the US manufacturer Chrysler into each other's arms.

"Survival is important," Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne recently said of his drawn-out search for a partner.

Along this path, he sees the acquisition of a 35 per cent stake in Chrysler as a "milestone."