Top US and European officials today called for an end to the violence in Israel and Lebanon and the establishment of an international force to keep the peace – but they did not unanimously call for an immediate ceasefire or provide details on the proposed force.

US, European and Arab officials held crisis talks on Lebanon today, but failed to agree on an immediate plan to force an end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas.

Italy’s foreign minister today said that all Italian troops would leave Iraq by the end of the year, giving the first official timeframe for a complete pullout by the new centre-left government.

Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema today travelled to Iraq to discuss plans for a complete pull-out of Italian troops.

JUST two days after his election victory was confirmed, Italy’s prime minister-in-waiting, Romano Prodi, struggled yesterday to contain a row within his centre-left coalition that boded ill for his future government.

Centre-left leader Romano Prodi today prepared for his return to power, shrugging off Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s refusal to concede defeat in Italy’s election and facing the first dispute within his wide-ranging coalition.

A leftist leader’s assertion that dictator Benito Mussolini should have been tried instead of summarily executed by partisans in the waning weeks of the Second World War has sparked an outcry in Italy.