VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Benedict on Friday promoted his German priest-secretary to a job that significantly increases his influence and power in the Vatican.

Monsignor Georg Ganswein, who has been the closest person to Benedict since his election in 2005, will be elevated to the rank of archbishop in the new job, whose official title is Prefect of the Pontifical Household.

ROME (Reuters) – Restorers believe they may have found the initials of Giotto in a fresco attributed to the early Renaissance master in the lower basilica of St Francis in Assisi.

The discovery, unveiled on Thursday, was made in the Chapel of St. Nicholas, one of the last parts of the basilica-convent complex to be restored since it was damaged in by an earthquake in 1997.

ROME (Reuters) – Lovers of exquisite wine wherever you are, if you have tears, prepare to shed them now.

Vandals have destroyed more than 62,000 bottles worth of choice Brunello di Montalcino of the exclusive Soldera label at the Case Basse vineyard and estate in Tuscany.

ROME, Dec 5 (Reuters) – Lovers of exquisite wine wherever
you are, if you have tears, prepare to shed them now.

Vandals have destroyed more than 62,000 bottles worth of
choice Brunello di Montalcino of the exclusive Soldera label at
the Case Basse vineyard and estate in Tuscany.

VATICAN CITY, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Even though he hasn’t sent a
single tweet yet, Pope Benedict had more than half a million
Twitter followers in eight languages on Tuesday, the day after
the Vatican unveiled his handle: @Pontifex.

They included people ranging from the simple Roman Catholic
faithful to a Jewish head of state.

VATICAN CITY, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Even though he hasn’t sent a
single tweet yet, Pope Benedict had some 370,000 followers on
Twitter on Tuesday, a mere 24 hours after the Vatican unveiled
his handle: @pontifex.

They included people ranging from simple Roman Catholic
faithful to a Jewish head of state.

ROME (Reuters) – Widespread publicity around primary elections helped lift Italy’s centre-left Democratic Party to its highest approval rating in nearly two years, putting it in an even stronger position ahead of a national vote, a poll showed on Tuesday.

The Democratic Party (PD), the dominant movement in a centre-left bloc, now looks set to lead the next government after the national vote expected in March.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – It’s official. Pope Benedict’s handle on Twitter will be @pontifex.

He already has 1.2 billion “followers” in the standard sense of the word but next week he will have another type when he enters what for any 85-year old is the brave new world of Twitter.

ROME (Reuters) – Pier Luigi Bersani won a run-off primary election by a huge margin on Sunday to become the Italian centre-left candidate for prime minister in national elections early next year.

In his victory speech, Bersani promised to tackle Italy’s economic crisis and high unemployment if elected and said his Democratic Party would have to win by telling Italians “the truth, not fairy tales” about the grave situation.