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US Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was hospitalised on Monday after feeling unwell during a visit to Rome, Italian news agencies said. Pelosi, in Italy to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Italian nation, was scheduled to meet with Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa and Gianfranco Fini, head of the lower house of parliament, when she felt "slightly unwell." comment.

The Italian Revolution May 1st, 2008 We are in Italy. Sicily, actually. And we are watching something amazing: an Italian revolution. The new Parliament, sworn in yesterday, does not have a single member who calls himself “communist.” That’s the first time since World War II. Gianfranco Fini, the new speaker of the House, announced that the post-war era was over, and he was entirely right. No one knows it better than he, because for most of his adult life he has been called a “fascist,” and scorned by most of the writers, salon hangers-on, and politicians in the country, even...

Romano Prodi, who recently resigned as Italy's prime minister, has been asked by Giorgio Napolitano, the head of state, to remain in office and face a vote of confidence in parliament, a presidential official has said. Prodi resigned on Wednesday after he lost a senate vote on foreign policy, which included keeping troops in Afghanistan. "I will go to parliament as soon as possible, with the support of a cohesive coalition determined to help the country at this difficult stage," said Prodi after Napolitano's request. Prodi's supporters earlier asked that he be given a second chance to show he can...

Gianfranco Fini, the Italian Foreign Minister, increased a diplomatic row with the United States today by demanding that Washington identify and punish those responsible for the shooting of Rome’s top intelligence agent in Iraq. Signor Fini dismissed the American version that a lack of communication was responsible for the death of Nicola Calipari, who died in a hail of gunfire from US troops as he escorted a freed Italian hostage to Baghdad airport on Friday. Signor Calipari had made "all the necessary contacts" with US authorities in Baghdad, the minister said. In his account to parliament of the shooting, which...

Touring Israel's Holocaust memorial, Italian Deputy Premier Gianfranco Fini on Monday condemned his country's fascist past and said lessons must be learned to deal with racism and anti-Semitism today. The Yad Vashem Memorial was the first stop on Fini's two-day official visit, meant to expunge his own neofascist past, including a show of admiration for Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Wearing a purple skullcap and a pin of the Italian and Israeli flags, Fini rekindled a memorial flame at the museum erected in memory of the six million Jews killed in the Nazi genocide during World War II. Speaking under a...

Gianfranco Fini, Italy's deputy prime minister, yesterday defended Israel's right to build a controversial security barrier in the West Bank, in remarks that appeared to put the Italian government at odds with its European Union partners. Asked at a news conference whether he agreed with a United Nations General Assembly resolution that demanded Israel stop building the barrier, Mr Fini said: "It's necessary to put oneself in the shoes of everybody and understand the reasons why Israel thinks that, to defend itself, it should control its territory better." He added: "The government of Israel is an expression of popular sovereignty,...