Washington/Quebec City - A stretch of Alpine railways that connect Thusis in Switzerland via St Moritz to Tirano in Italy were added to the list of World Heritage sites by UNESCO.

The 128-kilometre rail designation includes the Albula line and the Bernina pass lines operated by Switzerland's Rhaetian Railway. The lines pass through Alpine mountain towns and landscape and through the language divides of German, Romansh and Italian cultures.

Lampedusa, Italy - Italian coast guard patrols intercepted Tuesday over 300 would-be immigrants attempting to reach the country's shores illegally, officials said.

One boat carrying 290 people - including 29 women and a newborn baby - was spotted by the coast guard some 30 nautical miles south of the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa.

The group, whose nationality was not immediately known, was taken to a reception centre for illegal immigrants situated on Lampedusa.

Another group consisting of 29 people was brought to Lampedusa earlier when their vessel was also intercepted by the coast guard.

Rome - Striking Italian public transport workers on Monday brought to a halt most of the country's train, bus, tram and subway services.

Venice - Thirteen refugees - one dead and the others in a state of near exhaustion - were found in the loading area of a Greek ferry in the Italian port city of Venice Friday.

Washington  - After delivering spectacular images of Saturn's rings in recent years, NASA's Cassini spacecraft turned its focus Monday to Saturn's moons and how sunlight affects the surfaces of the

Rome - Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Monday the government would press ahead with plans to fingerprint ethnic Roma, including children - a move branded as discriminatory by European