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Pope Francis (R) with Palestinian authority President Mahmud Abbas (L) during a private audience on Saturday. Credit: Alberto Pizzoli / AFP

Abbas 'an angel of peace', claims Pope

Pope Francis met Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Saturday, calling him "an angel of peace," days after the Vatican said it was preparing to sign its first accord with Palestine to the anger of Israel. READ

Photo: Shutterstock

Three killed in shooting from Naples balcony

A 48-year-old man shot dead three people, including a police officer, and injured five others after opening fire from his balcony in Naples, police said. READ

Mediterranean migrant crisis

Migrants wait to disembark from a military ship following a rescue operation at sea as part of the Frontex-coordinated Operation Triton, on May 6th. Photo: Giovanni Isolino/AFP

The prosecutor fighting to hold back trafficking

Traffickers responsible for a migrant shipwreck in which more than 700 people died tried to pack hundreds more onboard, the prosecutor investigating the Mediterranean's worst disaster since World War II has revealed. READ

Smoke is seen over Rome's Fiumicino international airport where a fire broke out overnight on May 7th. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP

Five investigated over Fiumicino airport fire

Five maintenance workers are being investigated over the blaze at Rome’s Fiumicino airport eight days ago. READ

Italy's premier Matteo Renzi said "a portion" of the money owed to retirees would be paid. Photo: Thierry Charler/AFP

Italy to pay 'portion' of billions owed to retirees

Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Friday that “a portion” of what the government owes to retirees would be paid after the country’s top court ruled that the money should not have been withheld. READ

The man's jealous behaviour included reading his wife's messages. Jealous man: Shutterstock

Delusional jealousy is a crime: top Italian court

Partners who manifest extreme jealous behaviour towards their other half are guilty of mistreatment, Italy’s highest court of appeal has said. READ

Palermo striker Paulo Dybala is set to join Juventus on a five-year deal worth €32 million. Photo: Gabriel Buoys/AFP

Paulo Dybala agrees Juventus terms: report

Palermo striker Paulo Dybala is set to join Juventus on a five-year deal worth €32 million ($36.25 million) that will see the Argentinian earn €2.5m euros a season, reports said on Friday. READ

Italy's footballers Lisa Boattin and Carlotta Cartellide celebrate after defeating Venezuela in their Fifa U-17 Women's World Cup Costa Rica 2014. Ezequiel Becerra/AFP

Furore over Italy football chief's lesbian slur

An Italian football chief has sparked furore after allegedly describing female footballers as “a handful of lesbians”. READ

Pope Francs with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, who will attend the canonization in Rome. Photo: Maurizio Brambatti/Pool/AFP

Palestinians' first saints leave mark on Holy Land

In the corner of a pristine Jerusalem church, the tomb of Marie Alphonsine Ghattas looks out over just a small part of her legacy, days ahead of her canonization in Rome. READ

Sobuj Khalifa was given a one-year-residency permit for saving a drowning woman from Rome's River Tiber. Photo: Polizia di Stato/Questura di Roma

Migrant gets permit for saving drowning woman

A 32-year-old homeless illegal migrant who jumped into Rome’s Tiber river to save a drowning woman has been given a year-long permit to stay in the city. READ

Features

The Local List

In Italian a person who is very unattractive is called a "cesso" (toilet). Toilet photo: Shutterstock

Rude Italian terms that just don’t translate

When it comes to insults, Italian is one of the most creative and expressive languages in the world. But some expressions just don’t have the same ring to them when translated word-for-word into English... READ

The Local List

A property in Calabria which is selling for €81,000. Photo: A Place in the Sun

Amazing Italian homes for less than €100,000

Fancy owning a stunning home in Italy for the same price as a shed in London or New York? With the weak euro, now is a good time to scour the country for a dream home. Here's our list of properties going for less than €100,000 (£72,000, US$112,000). READ

The Local List

The restaurant at the top of Hotel Forum overlooks the Roman Forum. Photo: Hotel Forum

Six of the best rooftop restaurants in Rome

With summer just around the corner, there’s no better way to view the Eternal City in all its glory than from a rooftop restaurant. We’ve scouted around for six of the best. READ

Italy in World War II

On the fringes of resistance. Photo: Istituto per la Storia della Resistenza e Storia Contemporanea

Forgotten resistance: Italian freedom fighters

Most people are acquainted with at least the basic facts about the French Resistance. There are copious popular books, plays and films, and of course, the much-loved BBC comedy ‘Allo 'Allo. But few are quite so well versed on another resistance movement that played out in Europe towards the end of World War II. READ

Italian economy

Italy's economy is on the path to growth. Italy economy photo: Shutterstock

Five reasons why Italy is on the up

Italy’s economy is finally showing signs of recovery after falling back into recession last summer. With the help of Christian Shultz, a senior economist at Berenberg Economics, The Local has put together some of the reasons why. READ

More News

Italian Open

Swiss world number two Roger Federer survived a late fightback by Kevin Anderson on Thursday. Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP

Federer sets up possible Nadal clash in Rome

Swiss world number two Roger Federer survived a late fightback by Kevin Anderson on Thursday to book his place in the quarter-finals and a possible last four match-up with Rafael Nadal at the Italian Open. READ

Cannes Film Festival

Italian director Matteo Garrone, Mexican actress Salma Hayek and US actor John C. Reilly. Photo: Bertrand Langlois/AFP

Italian fantasy film wins Cannes hearts

The Cannes Film Festival competition saw its first hit on Thursday with the Italian-made, English-language "Tale of Tales", a bloody Gothic fable that drew comparisons with the best of Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton. READ

A Chinese communications manager at the Expo 2015 world fair in Milan allegedly bit an Italian police officer when she was asked to show her passport. Photo: Giuseppe Cacace/AFP

Chinese woman bites Italian policeman at Expo

A Chinese communications manager at the Expo 2015 world fair in Milan allegedly bit an Italian police officer when she was asked to show her passport during an inspection, Italian media reported. READ

Italian Open

Britain's world number three Andy Murray announced his withdrawal from the Rome Masters on Thursday, citing fatigue. Photo: Gerrard Julien/AFP

'Tired' Murray announces Rome withdrawal

Britain's world number three Andy Murray announced his withdrawal from the Rome Masters on Thursday, citing fatigue following his unbeaten start to the claycourt season. READ

Three Algerians forced open the emergency exit of an Alitalia passenger plane while it was heading for take-off at Rome’s Fiumicino airport. Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP

Three Algerians escape from Alitalia jet in Rome

Three Algerians forced open the emergency exit of an Alitalia passenger plane while it was heading for take-off at Rome’s Fiumicino airport, slid down the safety slides that were activated and escaped from the airport late on Wednesday night, an Alitalia spokesman said. READ

Photo: Shutterstock

Italian nun’s beatification draws sex workers

Hundreds of prostitutes have flocked to a Kenyan town ahead of the beatification ceremony of an Italian nun, a key step towards sainthood, a report said on Thursday. READ

The South Stream gas project was shelved last year. Photo: Andrej Isakovic/AFP

Saipem resumes work on Black Sea gas pipeline

Saipem, the Italian oil services company, has resumed work on a gas pipeline project in the Black Sea after a suspension was lifted by Russia’s Gazprom. READ

Afghan policemen stand guard at the entrance of the Park Palace guesthouse in Kabul on May 14th. Photo: Shah Marai/AFP

Italian among victims in Kabul hotel attack

UPDATED: A 48-year-old Italian from Lombardy was among those killed in an overnight attack at a Kabul hotel, Italy's Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday. READ

Italian Open

Swiss tennis player Roger Federer celebrates after scoring a point against Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas. Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP

Federer and Murray roll on in Rome

Roger Federer defeated Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas for the second time this month as the Swiss legend began his campaign at the Italian Open with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 win on Wednesday. READ

Venice Biennale 2015

Pino Pascali, Cannone Semovente (Gun), 1965. Photo: Alessandra Chemollo, courtesy of la Biennale di Venezia

The Arsenale stuffed with guns, stripped of hope

The Venice Biennale is a kind of two-yearly Great Pacific garbage patch of art: a slick of official exhibits, national representations, collateral shows, non-accredited pop-ups, the old and the new, the brilliant and the dire, that sprawls over the city and spreads to nearby islands. READ

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From our other editions:

Photo: MA 33

Vienna gets gay-themed traffic lights

Hundreds of gay-couple traffic lights have been introduced in Vienna in time for the annual Eurovision Song Contest, which this year is being hosted by the Austrian capital. READ

All victims are believed to be adults. Photo: Michael Buholzer/ AFP

Shooting in Switzerland leaves five dead

UPDATED: A Swiss man killed three in-laws and a neighbour in a town near Zurich before turning his gun on himself, police said on Sunday, sending shockwaves through the normally tranquil nation. READ

Quedlingburg, Saxony Anhalt. Photo: Shutterstock

Germany's top ten towns you've never heard of

Going beyond the big cities like Berlin, Munich and Hamburg, we delve deeper into the German hinterland to find some of its undiscovered gems. From quaint medieval towns to breathtaking natural beauty, Germany's got it all. READ

Gordon's obituary (right) as published in Politiken.

Dane's obituary becomes viral sensation

A Dane’s self-penned obituary declaring she was leaving the world "under protest" has been shared far and wide on Danish social media this week. READ

The photo, uploaded to Instagram, has provoked anger in Spain. Photo: lapelirrojah_delbarriooh/Instagram

Fury over Instagram smoking baby photo

A photograph of a baby smoking a cigarette uploaded to a popular social networking site has caused controversy in Spain. READ

The Local Video

Can you say this French word?

Video: The hardest word to pronounce in French

What is the most difficult French word to pronounce? Our readers responded, and we hit the streets of Paris to put tourists to the test in what we agree is the crème de la crème of tricky French words. READ

Line Jansrud demonstrating the science behind love bites. Photo: Screen Grab/NRK

Norway kids' show teaches sex in style

“It’s quite slow to start, but after a while, it get a bit quicker." A Norwegian kids show has shown how to do sex education properly, with the aid of a tomato, a vacuum cleaner and life-like rubber genitals. READ

Presented by ConnectSweden

Hans Rosling combats global ignorance by bringing data to life. Photo: Jörgen Hildebrandt/Gapminder

Hans Rosling: ‘No such thing as Swedish values’

Hans Rosling, Sweden's own globetrotting celebrity statistician, offers his thoughts on ignorance, connectivity and why there's no such thing as Swedish values. READ

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