Rome - Italian car m

Rome - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in talks Tuesday with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, relaunched his proposal to expand the Group of Eight (G8) to include emerging nations from Africa, Latin America and Asia.

To date, most members of the G8 - which includes the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Russia - have reacted lukewarmly to the proposal. Berlusconi next year plays host at the group's scheduled summit in Italy.

Milan - It may look like a case of lacking gratitude or just the way things work in football, but a possible transfer of Julio Ricardo Cruz from Inter Milan is something his many fans will have a hard time to digest.

Cruz' 75 goals from 181 games played in five seasons seem to mean nothing to new coach Jose Mourinho, who lately slammed the 34-year-old striker for alleged indiscipline on the pitch and appears set on not renewing the player's contract when it expires next June.

Rome - A wildcat strike by Alitalia employees forced Tuesday the cancellation of at least 20 flights at Rome's Fiumicino airport and further disruptions at airports in Milan, Naples and Venice.

The 24-hour walkout by pilots, flight attendants and ground staff is to protest what they say is a breach in an agreement with labour unions by a private consortium, CAI, which has offered to buy Alitalia's state-owned controlling state.

Italian Transport Minister Altero Matteoli has branded as illegal the strike, which is not supported by most of the unions representing Alitalia's 17,000 employees.

Matteoli warned striking workers could face legal action if they pressed on with threats to stage new stoppages in the coming days.

Frankfurt - Italian author Claudio Magris, 69, on Monday received a top German award for ideas.

The 20,000-euro (26,000-dollar) Walter Hallstein Prize was presented in the city of Frankfurt.

"My dream is of a European state," said Magris. He said the important problems could no longer be solved at national level.

Joschka Fischer, a former German foreign minister, eulogized Magris at the ceremony as "a great European intellectual."