The Italian prime minister appeared to be joking about America's first black president at a news conference following talks with the Russian president.

The Italian prime minister is hoping for a face-saving solution before the aviation authorities decide Monday about grounding Alitalia.

Former Italian prime minister Romano Prodi will head a new joint panel set up to support African Union (AU) peacekeeping missions established under a United Nations mandate, the world body announced today.

Andrew Sparrow: Silvio Berlusconi - hero of the left. That's not the way the bandana-wearing plutocrat is normally perceived, but that's the impression the Italian prime minister created at a slightly surreal press conference with Gordon Brown this afternoon

BENGHAZI, Libya (AFP) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Saturday apologised to Libya for damage inflicted by Italy during the colonial era and signed a five-billion-dollar investment deal by way of compensation.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Rome will invest $5 billion in Libya in an effort to turn the page on colonial-era disputes that have weighed on the countries' relations.

TRIPOLI (AFP) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi heads to Libya on Saturday to sign an accord aimed at resolving colonial era disputes that have long soured relations between Rome and Tripoli.

ROME, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Convicted Mafia bosses spending time in Italian jails will no longer be allowed to sing while incarcerated, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says.

ROME (AFP) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Thursday talks were being held with a "large foreign company" about forming an alliance with Alitalia to save the cash-strapped national airline from bankruptcy.

The government of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced on Saturday a nationwide state of emergency in reaction to a stark increase in illegal immigration to the country's south.