Italy

November 14, 2007 -- ESPN Deportes will offer an exclusive live presentation of the Scotland vs. Italy EURO 2008 qualifier Saturday, November 17 at 11:55 a.m. ET from Hampden Park Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2008, ESPN will provide exclusive coverage of all 31 matches of the quadrennial tournament set to take place Saturday, June 7 – Sunday, June 29, from Austria-Switzerland.

ESPN Deportes lead soccer play-by-play commentator Fernando Palomo will call the match with World Cup legend Mario Kempes as analyst.    » read more »

08 November 2007 -- A U.S. army helicopter has crashed in northern Italy, killing four people on board and injuring seven others. The causes of the crash are still unclear.

The crash occurred in a rural area outside the northern Italian city of Treviso, along the bank of the Piave river. The helicopter had taken off from the U.S. airbase in Aviano on a training mission with 11 American military on board.

Senior Airman Justin Weaver, a spokesman at the U.S. Air Force base in Aviano, provided the initial report of what occurred.    » read more »

Single Company for Amgen Products in New Arrangement

ZUG, Switzerland. (Oct. 4, 2007) -- Amgen, the world's largest biotechnology company and Dompe Biotec, S.p.A., its co-marketing partner in Italy, announced today that they have agreed to combine their current commercial operations with respect to Amgen products under a single company to be called Amgen-Dompe S.p.A.

Based in Milan, Amgen-Dompe will be organised as an Amgen affiliate and comprise current Amgen and Dompe staff plus current Amgen R&D staff in Italy.    » read more »

Washington, 28 September 2007 -- On September 28, Bruce Springsteen kicked off a North American tour in support of his new album Magic. He launched the 23-date outing in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

After wrapping up concerts in Boston, Massachusetts on November 19, the band will head to Europe where 13 concerts are scheduled in Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, the U.K. and France.

Bruce Springsteen's "Magic" hits record stores on October 2.

Source: VOANews.com

6:23 PM ET

IBAF president Schiller pleased with continued growth of international talent pool and player development

09/07/2007, Lausanne, SWITZERLAND -- Major League Baseball (MLB) announced this week that through the close of the third annual MLB International (MLBI) European Baseball Academy on Aug. 30, seven Academy participants have signed professional contracts with six different MLB Organizations.    » read more »

Right-handed pitcher from Italy to join organization in Spring Training

09/05/2007, HOUSTON -- The Houston Astros announced today that the club has signed right-handed pitcher Andrea Lucati from Ponzano Veneto, Italy. The announcement was made by Senior Director of Player Personnel and Scouting Paul Ricciarini.

Houston is one of six MLB teams to sign a participant of the 2007 European Academy. The signing is the first in Houston Astros history from the European market.    » read more »

10 July 2007 -- An Italian judge has adjourned the trial in absentia of a U.S. soldier charged in the 2005 killing of an Italian intelligence agent in Iraq, after the defense questioned Italy's jurisdiction in the case.

The court made a decision Tuesday to postpone the trial of U.S. Army Specialist Mario Lozano to September 27.    » read more »

08 July 2007 -- The new Seven Wonders of the World have been selected after a global poll. The winners were announced Saturday. Sabina Castelfranco reports from Rome.

About 100 million votes were cast by the Internet and cell-phone text messages to choose the new Seven Wonders of the World.

Academy Award-winning British actor Ben Kingsley announced the winners at a glitzy international show at Portugal's largest venue, the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon.

"The Colosseum in Rome," he said.    » read more »

25 June 2007 -- Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly and the Italian energy company, ENI, recently announced plans for a new pipeline under the Black Sea to Bulgaria and on to Italy. The multi-billion-dollar project will further extend Gazprom's reach into western European markets.    » read more »

June 15, 2007 -- At the request of the Minister of Economy and Finance of Italy, a team from the Fiscal Affairs Department of the IMF visited Rome during March 21-April 3, 2007, to advise on reforms of the budget system aimed at improving the quality and efficiency of public spending. The team met with a number of institutions involved in the budget process, and its report Italy: Budget System Reforms was published by the Italian authorities on June 15, 2007 on their website.    » read more »

05 June 2007 -- Leaders of the G8 group of major industrial nations are gathering in Germany's Baltic Sea resort of Heiligendamm for three days of discussions to include climate change, economic issues and debt relief for Africa. But differences were evident before the summit began and security was extremely tight to keep protesters away from the meeting site, as VOA's Sonja Pace reports from Heiligendamm.    » read more »

07 June 2007 -- U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet Thursday in Germany amid renewed tensions between the two sides.

The presidents will hold talks on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit at the German Baltic Sea port of Heiligendamm.

Mr. Putin is angry at U.S. plans to install a missile defense system in Europe, calling it a threat to Russian security, and he vowed to aim his nation's missiles at the region if the system is built.    » read more »

04 June 2007 -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set Wednesday to host the annual summit of the G8 leading industrial democracies plus Russia. VOA's Barry Wood reports a recent sharp deterioration in western relations with Moscow is casting a chill over the meeting that will take place at a Baltic Sea resort in eastern Germany.    » read more »