President of Italy resigns

Italy’s president has resigned, setting off a scramble for a new head of state that will test premier Matteo Renzi’s ability to unite his own bickering party without alienating opposition support for electoral reform.

Two years ago, President Giorgio Napolitano reluctantly accepted an unprecedented second term because squabbling politicians could not agree on a successor. But citing advanced age, Mr Napolitano, a popular figurehead, said he did not plan to serve all seven years of the second mandate.