A bag of presents stolen from a Father Christmas in Rome has been returned with an apologetic note from the thieves after the victim made an impassioned appeal, Il Messaggero daily reported on Thursday.

"We're sorry. We made a mistake. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!" read the scrawled note left by the bag with 1,000 euros ($1,300) worth of presents that were stolen on Christmas Eve but were found still in their wrapping.

The Colosseum lost another piece on Tuesday as Rome's most famous monument deteriorates further ahead of a long-delayed restoration funded by an Italian billionaire now scheduled to start in March.

The chunk of volcanic tuff fell from one of the iconic arches of the nearly 2,000-year-old structure -- just two days after a similar incident reported by a group of concerned tourists on Christmas Day put local staff on alert.

Thousands of Italian women rallied on Sunday, demanding greater rights and an end to discrimination and blaming the country's "macho culture" for its current crisis.

Their demonstration follows on from mass protests in February when women said "basta" to then-president Silvio Berlusconi, known for his playboy antics and now on trial for paying for sex with a 17-year-old escort.

Eurozone finance ministers turned to the IMF for more help to keep the monetary union together late Tuesday after they missed their goal of boosting their own bailout fund to one trillion Euros.

With fears rising that Italy will need a bailout after its borrowing costs soared to record heights, ministers scrambled to tame a debt crisis threatening to break apart the 17-nation Eurozone.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati stated on Sunday that Lebanon is part of the international community and it therefore “cannot be selective in implementing its resolutions.”

He told Vatican radio during his ongoing trip to the European state: “We are committed to justice because it is a central way to find out the truth in the assassinations and crimes that have taken place in Lebanon.”

Premier Najib Miqati reiterated from Rome that he would resign if the cabinet failed to approve the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

“No one should meddle in the jurisdictions of the premier,” Miqati’s sources told state run Tele Liban TV station.

Italian record stores are not exactly rushing to stock up on a new album of love songs written by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, but the irrepressible lyricist apparently has no plans to stop.

"This is a hobby for him and he is not giving it up. He is a passionate, romantic person. He writes love songs and he's good at it," Mariano Apicella, the Neapolitan crooner who sings the billionaire's lyrics, told Agence France Presse.

Seven vinyl banners draped this month along one of Chicago's most iconic bridges — advertisements some have dubbed "a visual crime" and "commercial graffiti" — are reviving a debate about how governments raise money in tough economic times.

In the aftermath of the recession, a public school district in Colorado is selling ads on report cards and Utah has a new law allowing ads on school buses. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration, straining to fill a $600 million budget hole, is looking to raise $25 million from ads on city property — including bridges, electrical storage boxes and garbage cans.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati is scheduled to travel to the Vatican on November 28 where he is expected to meet with Pope Benedict XVI, reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.

It noted that the visit is significant as it is part of efforts to keep Lebanon away from the political changes in the region given the division the developments in Syria have created among the government forces and opposition in Lebanon.

The Vatican said Thursday that it was taking legal action to prevent the publication of a photo montage showing the pope kissing a leading imam as part of a Benetton advertising campaign.

The White House slammed the campaign, which also showed U.S. President Barack Obama kissing Chinese President Hu Jintao and Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez in photoshopped pictures.