
Prosecutors have locked away audio tapes made by a woman who alleges she was paid to attend parties at Silvio Berlusconi's Rome home, judicial sources said on Thursday as his lawyer dismissed talk the premier might face legal tangles in the case.

Italy has officially charged two detainees of being leaders of a logistical support team for the Islamic terrorist group al Qaeda.

The Festa di San Nicola, or Feast of Saint Nicholas, is one of the grandest celebrations in southern Italy, lasting for three days, the 7, 8, and 9 May in the port city of Bari in Puglia.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Italian counterpart Giorgio Napolitano will attend a ceremony to return a Russian orthodox church in the city of Bari to Russia on March 1.

A fire broke out at a Peroni beer plant in Bari Friday after two tanks exploded.

A top southern Italian university was hit by a corruption scandal on Thursday, with the arrest of six people including two lecturers accused of selling degree exams and theses.

Police in Bari arrested 24 people on Monday, dismantling one of the oldest and most feared mafia clans that threatened to use a pool of young 'kamikaze' members to protect its interests.