Rome - Up to 300 illegal immigrants have landed on the Italian island of Sicily on Saturday, local media reported.

Italian coast guard authorities guided the migrants' vessel into the harbour of Pozzallo, in the south of the island. Among the immigrants are thought to be more than 30 women and children.

The new arrival adds to the 340 migrants that landed on the Italian islet of Lampedusa, south of Sicily, on Thursday.

Treviso, Italy - Food security and efforts to stabilize global food prices were set to dominate the first-ever meeting of agriculture ministers from the Group of Eight (G8) which began Saturday.

But the potentially divisive issue of protectionism was also likely to crop up in the talks which are being held near the northeastern Italian city of Treviso and are scheduled to run until April 20.

Rome - Pope Bened

Lampedusa, Italy  - More than 300 would-be migrants landed Thursday on the Italian islet of Lampedusa when three vessels carrying them were escorted to shore by authorities.

The first and largest group - 239 people including 45 women and two children - arrived at dawn after their vessel was intercepted by a Italian coastguard patrol, officials said.

Authorities are planning to transfer the migrants to a reception centre in Porto Empedocle in Sicily.

Castel Gandolfo, Italy  - Following a week of intense Easter festivities, Pope Benedict XVI was set Thursday to spend his 82nd birthday resting at the papal residence of Castel Gandolfo in the hills south of Rome.

The low-key commemoration contrasted with April 16, 2008 when Benedict, who was on an apostolic visit to the US, was feted in Washington by then US president George W Bush.

On that occasion a choir sang "Happy Birthday" for the pontiff on the White House lawn.

Rome - A 44-year-old Italian man abducted in Nigeria on April 6 has been released, the Italian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

The man, Giuseppe Canova, was "unharmed" a ministry statement said, without adding further details on the release.

The ministry said it "thanks the Nigerian Authorities for their proactive collaboration which resulted in a positive solution of the case."

Canova had been working for an Italian company Marlum Construction in the southeastern Nigerian state of Ebonyi when he was kidnapped by unknown gunmen.