Drugs, prostitution and arms smuggling may not be legal, but it's all real economic activity, at least in Italy, which will now include illegal enterprises as part of its gross domestic product (a measure of the goods and services a nation produces). Italy has decided to boost the size of its economy by including the value of black market activities.
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says he was forced out of office as a result of a “plot” by European Union officials. Berlusconi made the remarks last week following the publication of a book authored by former US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
Prince Harry will undertake two official overseas visits in May and June this year. He will visit Estonia and Italy in May, followed by a visit to Brazil and Chile in June. Both visits are in support of the UK Government and are being organized by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The head of the Anglican Church Queen Elizabeth II met Pope Francis on Thursday for the first time during a one-day visit to the Italian capital, Rome. The meeting in the Vatican was described as a private one and pomp and protocol were kept to a minimum. Earlier, the Queen and Prince Philip had lunch with the Italian President, Giorgio Napolitano, and his wife Clio at the Quirinal Palace.
Center-left leader Matteo Renzi took office on Saturday as Italy's youngest prime minister, facing pressure to show immediate results after he forced out his predecessor over the slow pace of economic reforms.
Italian Prime Minister-designate Matteo Renzi said he expected his new government to be in place in time for a formal vote of confidence in parliament on Monday, after he wrapped up consultations with the main political parties.
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano summoned Matteo Renzi to a meeting on Monday at which he is expected to ask the centre-left leader to form a government that must overhaul one of the most troubled economies in the Euro zone.
The United States government has approved at least four licenses to export crude oil to Europe, for the first time in years, showing how companies are breaking through the limits of the export ban established in the 1970s, according to Reuters which learned about the fact from a Freedom of Information Act request.
A special commission approved this week a plan to divert cruise ships away from Venice's historic center by 2016, but activists seeking to rid the city of the giant ships expressed reservations about the proposed new route.
Milan court ruled that former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi should be barred from holding public office for two years following a conviction for tax fraud. But, since Berlusconi is a senator, the court's decision will have no immediate effect and his expulsion from the Senate will depend on a separate vote in the upper house of parliament, expected to take place next month.