EMERGENCIES BILL CLEARS HOUSE
Rome, February 19 - The House on Friday passed a so-called 'emergencies' bill without the government calling a confidence vote on the measure revamping the civil protection department and funding national emergencies. The bill, which now goes to the Senate, passed with 282 votes in favor, 246 opposed and one abstention. Because of absenteeism on the government benches, the opposition was able to pass three motions on the bill before the vote. For the final tally even Premier Silvio Berlusconi came to vote

STATE OF EMERGENCY FOR SICILY, CALABRIA MUDSLIDES
Rome, February 19 - The Italian government on Friday declared a state of emergency in areas of Sicily and Calabria hit by mudslides this week.
The order came as thousands of people forced to leave their homes this week by an onslaught of mud and debris that flowed off hillsides in both regions destroying homes and buildings, turned their thoughts to rebuilding. Over 3,000 people in the Nebrodi region of northeastern Sicily, where some 1,500 were evacuated from the town of San Fratello.

RAIN 'DEFUSES' TURIN STREET BOMB
Turin, February 19 - A homemade bomb was prevented from blowing up on a central Turin street on Friday by downpours that soaked through the package containing it. The explosive caught the attention of passersby early Friday morning who reported a suspicious-looking package lying on the ground outside a real estate agency. Authorities cordoned the area off and closed a nearby metro station, while a bomb squad moved in to examine the package. Inside, they found a fuse connected to an explosive jelly filled with bolts and nails

NORTHERN ITALY AGREES SMOG TRAFFIC STOP
Milan, February 19 - Some 80 mayors from across northern Italy on Friday agreed a one-day halt to road traffic on February 28 as a first move in battling a smog emergency in the region. "Everyone backed it to the hilt," said Turin Mayor Sergio Chiamparino, who chaired Friday's meeting as head of the national mayors' association. Among follow-up measures, Chiamparino called for highway tolls to be raised to fund smog-busting moves.

UNDERSECRETARY IN MOB PROBE RESIGNS
Rome, December 18 - A government undersecretary suspected of collusion with a notorious Camorra clan resigned on Thursday. Nicola Cosentino stepped down as undersecretary to Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti, Cosentino's spokesman said. As expected, he also resigned as head of Premier Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PdL) party in Campania, the region around Naples. Cosentino, 50, is suspected of helping the Casalesi clan of the Naples Mob get public works contracts to build up their criminal empire in the 1990s

IMMIGRANTS NOW 7.7% OF ITALIAN POPULATION
Rome, February 18 - Immigrants now account for 7.1% of the Italian population, national statistic bureau Istat reported Thursday. The total population in 2009 rose from 60.04 million to 60.39 million, thanks largely to an influx of foreign nationals who helped to compensate for declining birth rates and the highest death rates in more than 50 years.
Another drain on the native population was the emigration of Italians abroad, Istat said

90-YEAR-OLD SENDS THREATENING LETTER TO BRUNETTA
La Spezia, February 19 - A 90-year-old former Italian soldier and resistance fighter has been questioned by police after he allegedly sent a letter threatening the life of Civil Service Minister Renato Brunetta. Justice officials in Rome opened a probe after Brunetta's office informed them of the letter and asked police in the nearby village of Ameglia to verify whether he had indeed made the threats