Milan, Italy  - Italian police were out in force Friday at a Milan stadium converted into a makeshift mosque by Muslims who were forced to abandon their previous place of worship, a downtown garage

Milan, Italy  - A Milan court threw out Thursday a request by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's lawyers for the removal of the presiding judge in a corruption trial against the premier.

Rome  - Italian parliamentarians approved Wednesday a provision to include on all

Berlin - Italy's domestic car market shrank by 19.5 per cent year-on-year in June, data released Wednesday showed, as the economic mood in the nation continue to darken.

New car registrations in Italy dropped to 184,275 last month compared with 228,924 in June 2007, the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers' Association
(ACEA).

Last month's slump brought the overall drop in the Italian car market for the first six months to the year to 11.5 per cent.

Moscow - Italian President Giorgio Napolitano met with Russia's ruling duo president Dmitry Medvedev and Premier Vladimir Putin in Moscow Wednesday for talks a Kremlin spokesman said would focus on

Lampedusa, Italy - Three vessels carrying around 450 would-be immigrants were heading Monday for the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, navy officials said.

The Italian navy picked up SOS signals transmitted from two of the vessels, both drifting some 70 nautical miles south-east of Lampedusa, Captain Cosimo Nicastro said.

A coastguard patrol boat has been dispatched to rescue the would-be immigrants whose nationality has yet to be established, Nicastro said.

Another coastguard rescue mission was under way for the over 50 occupants of the third vessel, which was spotted by an Italian trawler some 55 nautical miles south of Lampedusa, Nicastro said.