Rome - Prince Emmanuel Filiberto of Savoy, a descendant of Italy's erstwhile royal family, announced Tuesday he is to stand as a candidate in June's European Parliament elections. The 36-year-old grandson of Italy's last king, Umberto II, will run for the centrist, Catholic, Union of Christian Democrats (UDC) party.

"I commit myself... to the service of my country, the thing that I love most," Emmanuel Filiberto said.

L'Aquila, Italy - In a visit Tuesday to Italy's earthquake-stricken Abruzzo region, Pope Benedict XVI brought words of comfort and appealed for the construction of safer homes and churches. Benedict arrived from Rome by car, with his first stop in the village of Onna, situated near the epicenter of the 6.3-magnitude earthquake that struck on April 6, killing nearly 300 people.

Rome - Rafael Nadal waited out steady rain Tuesday at the Rome Masters along with the rest of the field, his thoughts filled with fears that events on his clay-court surface of choice are in decline. "Every year for last years we have less tournaments on clay," said the top seed who lifted a fifth title at the weekend in Barcelona.

Forte dei Marmi  - At the turn of the century, the Tuscan coastal town of Forte dei Marmi became hugely popular with artists, aristocrats and intellectuals from all over Europe.

Rome - Stanislas Wawrinka saved energy with an efficient effort to post a win into the second round of the Rome Masters 6-3, 6-4 over Russian Igor Kunitsyn on Monday.

The Swiss, who lost the title match a year ago to Novak Djokovic but earned a Top 10 place for his efforts on the clay of the Foro Italico, said he did what he needed to win.

"It was enough today to win, I'm very happy to play around an hour for two sets."

Rome - Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko would be told during his meeting with Italian leaders Monday to respect human rights, Italy's foreign minister has said ahead of the meeting. Lukashenko's visit to Rome which includes a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI, is seen as a diplomatic breakthrough for the former Soviet republic which for years has been isolated because of government persecution of political opposition and independent media.