Italy
Italy's new parliament meets after deadlock elections
Mar 15, 2013 13:21 EDT
Italy's new parliament met on Friday for the first time since a deadlocked election that left no clear winner and saw the astonishing rise of a protest party that wants a referendum on the euro.
Ireland hoping for quick return for injured Sexton
Mar 15, 2013 13:14 EDT
Ireland have not ruled out Jonny Sexton making a quicker return than expected from a foot injury despite being ruled out for up to six weeks.
Pope Francis can lead 'normal life' despite lung op
Mar 15, 2013 13:09 EDT
Pope Francis may be 76 and missing part of a lung, but he appears in good health and ready to launch into a demanding papacy which will include trips across the world to meet with the faithful.
Lo Cicero announces Italy retirement
Mar 15, 2013 12:56 EDT
Italy prop Andrea Lo Cicero said Friday the upcoming final Six Nations game against Ireland will be his last for the Azzurri.
Brown wary of upset and angry French
Mar 15, 2013 12:55 EDT
Scottish captain Kelly Brown said he was expecting something of a French backlash in their final Six Nations clash at the Stade de France on Saturday.
Pope Francis makes mark with tradition-breaking style
Mar 15, 2013 12:50 EDT
The first non-European pontiff in more than 1,200 years, Pope Francis is already making his mark with a homespun style that contrasts sharply with that of his more austere predecessor Benedict XVI.
Taiwan president to visit Vatican as China grumbles
Mar 15, 2013 12:43 EDT
Taiwan's leader plans to visit the Vatican for the new pope's inauguration mass, officials said Friday, prompting China to warn Taipei against doing anything to inflame their delicate relationship.
English trio kept apart in Europa League draw
Mar 15, 2013 10:13 EDT
English trio Chelsea, Tottenham and Newcastle all managed to avoid one another as the Europa League quarter-final draw was held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, on Friday.
Vatican rejects Argentina junta claims against pope
Mar 15, 2013 09:57 EDT
The Vatican on Friday rejected claims that Pope Francis failed to do enough to protect two priests kidnapped and tortured by Argentina's military junta and said he had in fact helped save lives.
Pope Francis urges Church 'not to give into pessimism'
Mar 15, 2013 08:55 EDT
Pope Francis on Friday urged the troubled Catholic Church not to give in to "pessimism" and to find new ways of spreading the faith "to the ends of the earth".
Players must stand up to racists - Wenger
Mar 15, 2013 08:48 EDT
Players who suffer racist abuse during matches should not walk off the pitch, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said on Friday, after Tottenham Hotspur's Europa League game at Inter Milan was marred by abusive chanting.
Barca draw PSG in Champions League
Mar 15, 2013 08:36 EDT
Champions League favourites Barcelona will play big-spending Paris Saint-Germain in the pick of the quarter-final matches after the draw was held in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday.
Italy's parliament meets in bid to form government
Mar 15, 2013 08:30 EDT
Italy's new parliament met on Friday for the first time since a deadlocked election in February, amid increasing pressure to seek a way out of an impasse which has left the eurozone's third largest economy without a government.
City must make inroads quickly - Mancini
Mar 15, 2013 07:55 EDT
Manchester City must reduce the 12-point deficit at the top of the Premier League before the upcoming Manchester derby to have any hope of keeping their title, Roberto Mancini said on Friday.
India 'alerts airports to stop Italian envoy leaving'
Mar 15, 2013 05:29 EDT
India's airports have been put on alert to prevent Italy's ambassador leaving the country amid a dispute over two Italian marines who skipped bail while on trial in Delhi, a home ministry source said Friday.
India 'alerts airports to stop Italy envoy leaving'
Mar 15, 2013 05:20 EDT
India's home ministry has put the country's airports on alert to prevent the Italian ambassador leaving the country amid a dispute over two Italian marines who skipped bail while on trial in New Delhi, a ministry source said Friday.
Spurs survive Inter scare as Torres saves Chelsea
Mar 15, 2013 02:53 EDT
Tottenham suffered a fright before sneaking past Inter Milan to reach the Europa League quarter-finals as they, Chelsea and Newcastle restored national pride following England's Champions League misery.
Taiwan president plans Vatican visit
Mar 15, 2013 02:43 EDT
Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou plans to visit the Vatican to attend the installation of the newly-elected pope, officials said on Friday, in a move bound to upset China.
New Pope warns Church of dangers of inaction
Mar 14, 2013 23:58 EDT
Pope Francis has warned that the troubled Catholic Church risks becoming little more than a charity with no spiritual foundations if it fails to undergo renewal.
Leaders wrestle with austerity as EU jobless fears rise
Mar 14, 2013 21:56 EDT
European Union leaders wrestled with German demands for strict austerity and a French-Italian push for growth-friendly spending at a summit coloured by fears that rampant unemployment is destroying the bloc, and clouded by a bailout for Cyprus.
