ITALY was hit by a news blackout yesterday as journalists went on strike against a bill curbing the use of wiretapping proposed by the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Italy’s Senate was expected to back a government measure today and keep the country’s troops in Afghanistan, despite the opposition of some radical leftists in Premier Romano Prodi’s bloc.

Premier Romano Prodi’s nine-month-old government hangs on a confidence vote this evening in the Italian Senate, where the centre-left leader is pitching for outside support to shore up his shaky coalition.

Romano Prodi prepared to address the Italian senate today, ahead of a confidence vote in the upper house that will decide whether or not his centre-left government survives.

A defeat in parliament for Premier Romano Prodi raised new worries today about the stability of Italy’s centre-left governing coalition and prompted opposition calls for the premier’s resignation.

Centre-left leader Romano Prodi said today he intends to govern Italy for the full five years of Parliament’s term, and said Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s refusal to acknowledge that Prodi won the elections is “not my problem, it is his.”

The Italian senate has ratified the European Union constitution, giving final approval to the treaty meant to bolster the 25 nation bloc’s role on the world stage and streamline its decision making process.

The Italian Senate today gave final approval to the government’s 2005 budget, including spending cuts and revenue-raising measures worth €30bn, and designed to keep Italy’s deficit under European Union limits.

The Italian Senate has given final approval to a bill easing restrictions on media ownership – legislation which critics claim will benefit Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s media empire.