Debt crisis sets markets in turmoil amid reports of talks about the break up of the eurozone. Reports that Germany and France have begun talks to break up the eurozone amid fears that Italy will be too big to rescue. Fears that Europe’s sovereign debt crisis was spiralling out of control have intensified as political chaos in Athens and Rome, and looming recession, created panic on world markets. Reports... 

Standard and Poor's dropped Italy's credit rating from A+ to A. Standard & Poor’s drops credit rating to A from A+, blaming sluggish economy and ineffective government reforms. Italy has had its sovereign credit rating cut by Standard and Poor’s, with the ratings agency keeping the country’s outlook on negative in a surprise move that may add to contagion fears in the... 

Protesters throw projectiles at riot police in front of the Italian Parliament in Rome, September 15, 2011. Italian riot police have clashed with protesters rallying against the Italian parliament’s final approval for the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s recent austerity package. The violence erupted outside the parliament as lawmakers were on the austerity measures, AP... 

Protestors march on September 6, 2011 during a demonstration organized by the leftist General Confederation of Italian Workers (CGIL) union against the government's economic policy in the center Rome. Tens of thousands of people are stranded. Factories are closed, airports and train stations deserted. An entire nation comes to a standstill as Italy’s largest trade union, the CGIL, calls... 

Students demonstrate and hold a placard reading 'We are making the wealth ourselves' during a general strike on May 6, 2011 in the capital Rome. Millions of Italians are set to go on a general strike in the capital Rome to protest fresh austerity measures adopted by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s government. The day-long strike will be held against a 45.5-billion-euro package of spending... 

Silvio Berlusconi (R) and Nicolas Sarkozy (L) The race for Libya’s vast oil wealth is gathering momentum. States who worked together during the NATO airstrikes are now working against each other in the battle to secure lucrative energy contracts. ­Meanwhile, fears are rising that a new regime in Libya could easily slide into corruption. Half a billion dollars from Italy, and now a whopping $1.5... 

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi Rome has approved a new emergency 45.5-billion-euro austerity plan in response to demands by the European Central Bank (ECB) to balance Italy’s budget by 2013. The Italian government approved the emergency package in line with the ECB request on Friday, despite strong disagreement and resistance from local government officials who maintain that new austerity... 

Italian trade unionists have protested against the government’s planned austerity measures amid budget talks between Premier Silvio Berlusconi and trade union representatives. Trade unions in Italy expressed their worries that the government’s tougher economic measures might heavily cut down on pensions, salaries and social welfare services. “We don’t want to pay for this crisis.... 

European Central Bank's bond buying operation could re3ach €850bn according to analysts at the Royal Bank of Scotland. Letter to Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi demanded detailed list of reforms to timetable set by the bank. The European Central Bank’s decision to start buying up Italian and Spanish bonds has controversially extended its operations into detailed demands for economic restructuring,... 

Sarkozy and Berlusconi are demanding European deportation pacts with the countries of revolutionary north Africa to send migrants home. Sarkozy and Berlusconi want passport-free travel within the EU suspended as north African migrants flee north. France and Italy have thrown down the gauntlet over Europe’s system of passport-free travel, saying a crisis of immigration sparked by the Arab spring... 

Demonstrators fight with police officers during anti-government clashes in Rome today. Protesters set fire to cars, threw paint and smoke bombs at the Italian parliament and clashed with riot police today in Rome’s worst violence for years after prime minister Silvio Berlusconi survived a confidence vote. Via del Corso, the main street stretching through the historic centre, near Mr Berlusconi’s... 

Shutdown: Bologna airport was shut on Tuesday after a cargo plane was held on the runway and searched for a parcel, believed to be a mail bomb, addressed to Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi Greek authorities have halted international postal deliveries for 48 hours in the wake of a militant bombing campaign. At least 11 mail bombs were sent to embassies in Athens yesterday, while devices were also... 

Mr Berlusconi, whose comments in support of Mr Sarkozy follow his stated opposition to a multi-ethnic Italy. Italy’s conservative premier Silvio Berlusconi has given his full support to France’s controversial decision to forcibly repatriate thousands of Roma people to Eastern Europe. And in an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro, he appeared keen to exploit the row by calling... 

World leaders “believe absolutely” that Israel may decide to take military action against Iran to prevent the latter from acquiring nuclear weapons, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Saturday. “Iran is not guaranteeing a peaceful production of nuclear power [so] the members of the G-8 are worried and believe absolutely that Israel will probably react preemptively,”... 

A Crucifix in an Italian school Liberal senators led by Silvio Berlusconi have placed on the agenda of the last meeting of the Italian Senate passed a bill to protect the Holy Cross sign ‘as a universal sign of culture and Christian civilization’ reported ‘Radio Liberty’ – Moldova. According to the definitions set out in the document, the Holy Cross sign is a sacred symbol...