An Eritrean man who spent three years in prison in Italy after being mistaken for a top migrant smuggler risks being denied asylum and expelled, a human rights group said Wednesday.

Inspiring people and raising awareness on the most pressing issues of the times, including environment protection and sustainability, have always been at the core of Italian design, an Italian embassy official has said.

Four tigers have mauled to death their tamer in southern Italy, fuelling calls for a ban on the use of animals in circuses as parliament debates the issue.

The German captain of rescue vessel Sea-Watch 3, Carola Rackete, who was temporarily arrested for bringing migrants to Italy, on Friday strongly criticised both Rome and Berlin.

An Italian judge ruled on Tuesday that the German captain of a migrant charity ship had not broken the law when she forced a naval blockade at the weekend, saying she had carried out her duty to protect life.

Germany has agreed to take in about a dozen of the 41 migrants who arrived in Italy last month on board German charity rescue ship Sea-Watch, an Italian government source said on Tuesday.

The German captain of a charity rescue ship appeared before a court in Sicily on Monday after she was arrested for forcing her way into an Italian port carrying migrants she had rescued off the Libyan coast.

Sea-Watch 3 skipper Carola Rackete, who risks jail time for forcing her way into Italy's Lampedusa port with 40 rescued migrants, has defended her act of "disobedience", saying she was compelled to avert a human tragedy.

Sea-Watch 3 skipper Carola Rackete faced jail time Saturday after forcing her way into Italy's Lampedusa port with a shipload of rescued migrants to end a lengthy standoff with authorities.

Italian companies specialising in the field of medicine are keen on investing in Qatar’s hospital sector and advanced health systems, according to Italian ambassador Pasquale Salzano.

The temperature in France surpassed 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time on record on Friday as Europe sweltered in an early summer heatwave that has caused several deaths.

A new temperature record for the month of June was set in Germany on Wednesday, as France and Italy also sweltered in a heatwave affecting large swathes of Europe.