Rome - Roman Catholic nuns in Italy under whose care a comatose woman has been surviving on life support for 14 years, have launched an appeal to save her life in the wake of a ruling by Italy's top appeals court allowing her family to halt the treatment.

"Our hope, and that of many like us, is that the death by hunger and thirst of Eluana, and others in her condition, will not be carried out," the nuns of the Misericordine Order said in a letter published Saturday in the Catholic newspaper, Avvenire.

Rome - Italian university students and lecturers staged demonstrations Friday in several cities around the country against government plans to streamline Italy's tertiary education sector.

The protests which have the support of two of the four main labour union confederations, and most of Italy's centre-left opposition, included a march through the streets of Rome.

Police strengthened security around parliament's lower house Chamber of Deputies where some protestors threatened to stage an unauthorized rally.

Rome - Italy's economy has contracted for the second consecutive quarter, marking a recession that comes in the wake of the international credit crunch, the country's central statistics office said Friday.

Gross domestic product in the third quarter in Italy - the eurozone's third largest economy - shrank 0.5 per cent from the second quarter, when it contracted 0.4 per cent, the Rome-based Istat said.

The third quarter fell 0.9 per cent compared to the same period in 2007.

Italy follows Germany, Europe's largest economy, in posting two consecutive quarters of contraction - the technical definition of a recession.

Milan - A ruthless and solid Juventus hammered Genoa 4-1 Thursday to temporarily go top in the Italian Serie A ahead of the weekend games.

The Turin side moved onto 24 points, drawing level with champions Inter Milan, who are away Saturday at Palermo.

Czech defender Zdenek Grygera opened the scoring before Genoa came close on two occasions, but Juve doubled up before the break through a header from Brazilian Amauri.

Rome - A fine by Italy's air traffic authority added Thursday fresh woes to troubled carrie

Rome, Nov 13 : Archaeologists have uncovered what they believe to be the largest Greek necropolis in the city of Himera on the island of Sicily, where the ancient version of babies’ beakers has been found.

According to the new agency ANSA, although experts have long known about the burial ground, they have only recently understood its importance because of building work to extend a local railway track.