Milan warrant claims at least three abductions carried out under cover of charity for parents estranged from German partners.
Journalism
Vatican passes financial transparency test – but with poor grades
Holy See passes financial transparency test but is judged ‘non-compliant’ or ‘partially compliant’ in 23 of 45 areas.
Corigliano d’Otranto thinks it is Italy’s most philosophical town, therefore it is
Town faces criticism after appointing municipal philosopher to offer weekly consultations and questioning residents’ existence.
Two die on Mont Blanc, as avalanche victims are remembered
Discovery of bodies comes hours after town of Chamonix paid tribute to nine mountaineers swept to their deaths on Thursday.
Valentino slips from Italian hands
Sources say Qatari royal family is behind Gulf investment group that has bought the fashion house for a reported €700m.
Fifty refugees drown in Mediterranean
Asylum seekers from Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan die after after boat capsizes en route to Italy. One man survives to tell the tale.
More than 50 asylum seekers die in Mediterranean, says survivor
Eritrean claims to be sole migrant to survive attempted trip from Libya to Italy.
Eurozone crisis live: Clashes in Madrid, after Spain announces €65bn austerity plan – as it happened
Meanwhile, there are reports from Italy that Silvio Berlusconi has decided to make a bid to become prime minister again, when Mario Monti steps aside next year.
Good news for the media, but for Italy? …
John Hooper reports from Rome.
Italian Higgs boson research body bears brunt of government cuts
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, key contributor to discovery of ‘God’s particle’ will see its budget shrink in next three years.
The Vatican’s Woes: God’s Bankers
A beleaguered papacy is embroiled in intrigue. Some scent a succession struggle.