Piazzas from Rome to Milan, and small towns in between, erupted in cheers and fireworks yesterday as hundreds of thousands of joyous, flag-waving Italians celebrated their team’s fourth World Cup title, won in a tense penalty shootout victory against France.

Piazzas from Rome to Milan, and small towns in between, erupted in cheers and fireworks tonight as hundreds of thousands of joyous, flag-waving fans celebrated Italy’s fourth World Cup title, won in a tense penalty-shot victory over France.

BRING on the Martians! Maybe it’s not the most catchy football chant for next season, but Il Messaggero captured perfectly the mood of delirium that swept across Italy at around 11.30 on Tuesday night.

Protesters gathered in the cold early today at the start of a general strike called to oppose the Italian government’s 2006 budget and set to snarl transport and shut down offices across the country.

AS the curtain fell on a seven-hour Live 8 extravaganza in Philadelphia, soul legend Stevie Wonder issued the same simple message to the world - unite and end poverty now.

Thousands gathered in Rome’s ancient Circus Maximus today to watch Faith Hill, Duran Duran and a long list of Italian stars, in one of 10 concerts across the globe to help raise awareness about African poverty.

BOB GELDOF yesterday announced plans for five star-studded concerts to take place simultaneously in a bid to pressure world leaders into eradicating African poverty.

Madonna, Robbie Williams and Paul McCartney head the stellar line-up for Live 8 – the biggest music event since Live Aid 20 years ago.

The world’s Catholics are looking to the College of Cardinals to begin the difficult task of choosing a worthy successor to Pope John Paul II today, as hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who filled Rome to bursting for the pontiff’s funeral began their journey home.

THE souvenir sellers were busy enough as the cameras snapped the famous sights in Rome and the normal number of tourists for this time of year wandered around.

A 10-DAY manhunt for the suspected killer of a policeman ended in bloodshed before tourists in Rome where the fugitive, nicknamed The Wolf, grabbed a Frenchwoman at gunpoint before he was fatally wounded in a shootout.

Italian police captured the suspected killer of a policeman in a shoot-out today in which a young woman was briefly held hostage near Rome’s Circus Maximus.

A star-studded cast came together today for a We are the Future concert to benefit children in war zones.