Britain: An orangutan called Rocky has outperformed Sylvester Stallone in the movie of the same name by displaying an ability to emulate human speech.

An Italian government minister born in Africa watched wordlessly today as soldiers wearing face masks carried body bags containing migrants from her continent who perished when a fishing boat sank within sight of the tiny island of Lampedusa.

Italy’s centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani said yesterday he would seek the backing of parliament for his policies on creating jobs and fighting corruption in the absence of enough support to form a government.

Italian politicians today elected centre-left leaders for both chambers of Parliament, paving the way for difficult talks to form a new government to get started.

A SHIP carrying up to 600 migrants trying to flee Libya has sunk just off the coast of the North African country, the UN Refugee Agency said, citing witness accounts.