Vatican City  - A senior Vatican official indicated Tuesday the Roman Catholic Church will not issue a apology to Charles Darwin for the religious controversies around his theory of evolution.

Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi was commenting on an appeal by the Church of England's public affairs head that the church should say sorry for initially misunderstanding the 19th century English scientist's work.

"It is curious and significant, but also indicates the cultural differences between us," Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said of the Anglican initiative.

Rome  - An Italian government-approved plan to save Alitalia was in disarray Friday with the collapse of talks between unions representing employees and a group of Italian investors seeking to take over the troubled state-controlled airline.

Following a week of unsuccessful talks with the unions, the grouping of investors, CAI, said in a statement Friday that "conditions to continue negotiations do not exist."

CAI blamed the unions for not "not recognizing the dramatic nature of Alitalia's situation and of the need for the profound break with the past that the rescue plan calls for."

Rome/London  - A Milan court has thrown out a defamation suit brought by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi against British magazine The Economist, the publication said Friday on its website, citing the judge's ruling.

"We are pleased to announce that the Court in Milan has issued a judgment rejecting all Mr Berlusconi's claims and requiring him to make a payment for costs to The Economist," the magazine said.

The Economist posted on its website what is said was a copy of the Milan Judge Angelo Ricciardi's ruling dated August 26.

Rome  - Italy's Roman Catholic bishops on Friday called on Italian dioceses to set aside a day on which the faithful will fast in solidarity with Christians in India who have been targeted in recent attacks.

The Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI) said it was taking up an appeal launched by Pope Benedict XVI who on August 27 urged an immediate end to acts of violence against Christians in the Indian state of Orissa.

Washington, September 1 : Three lesser-known sites in Rome, are providing the maximum proof of the annihilation of Pompeii, an ancient roman city that was destroyed by the cataclysmic eruption of Mount Vesuvius that began on Aug. 24, 79 A. D.

The sites are the lesser-known Herculaneum, which is closer to Vesuvius, and Oplontis and Stabiae, two sites recently uncovered and still relatively unknown to tourists.

In these places, several of which are still being excavated, the eruption’s consequences are more visible.

Rome - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced on Saturday that his country is to invest five billion dollars over the next 25 years as part of a compensation deal for years of colonial rule over the North African state.

Speaking during a visit to the coastal city of Benghazi, Berlusconi said the accord between Italy and Libya "will provide for 200 million dollars a year over the next 25 years through investment projects in Libya."