Rome - The Association of Italian footballers (AIC) has named Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic best Serie A player of 2008 at a ceremony held in Milan, the AIC web site reported.

Italian media Tuesday showed pictures of the Inter Milan striker smiling as he held the Oscar of football, a golden statue of a footballer.

Ibra, 27, was also voted best foreign player in the league, an award he already secured in 2005, and won a further prize for scoring the best goal of 2008, a spectacular heel flick against Bologna.

Rome - Fiat deputy chairman John Elkann said Tuesday that the Turin-based carmaker is in talks with Chrysler amid reports of a possible purchase by the Italian company of a majority stake in the ailing US producer.

"It is no secret that we are talking. It has been a while that we are in talks," Elkann, a heir of the Agnelli family which controls Fiat, was quoted as saying by the ANSA news agency.

Elkann indicated more details on a possible deal would be available following a Fiat statement later Tuesday and a meeting of the company's board scheduled for Thursday.

Rome - A further 448 would-be immigrants arrived Tuesday morning in southern Italy, with almost half landing on the islet of Lampedusa.

The first group of 220 - including seven women and 28 children - was rescued by a coast guard patrol and taken to Lampedusa shortly before dawn, the ANSA news agency reported.

Another group of 228, including 34 women and one infant child, was also brought to safety after the coast guard found them adrift on a boat some 30 nautical miles from the port of Pozzallo, Sicily, ANSA said.

Rome  - AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani was expected Monday to meet the father of Brazilian star Kaka, who is acting as the player's agent in a possible transfer deal to Manchester City, Italian media reported.

Galliani in the early afternoon discussed the offer made by City, which appears to be of about 100 million euros (131 million dollars), with club owner and Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Rome - Pope Benedict XVI welcomed Sunday Israeli's unilateral ceasefire in the Gaza and called on the parties to take the opportunity to establish a lasting peace.

The pope in his Angelus prayers, said he stood behind all those on both sides of the conflict "who believe that there is room for everyone in the Holy Land."

Rome  - Siena edged and lowly visitors Reggina 1-0 Saturday in the first game of a round that marks the halfway mark of the Italian Serie A.

Mario Frick came on from the bench to give Siena a second-half winner after both sides played most of the game worrying mostly about not losing.

The win ended a bad run of four defeats for Siena and pushed them seven points above the danger zone. The southern-Italy guests remain in trouble lying second-from-last in the three-team relegation zone.