Protests flare as Italians focus on elections

Police take on students opposing a neo-fascist party in Milan, Italy. Photo / AP

Italy: Italians demonstrated against racism, revivals of fascism, labour reforms, mandatory vaccines and other hotly-debated issues, at some points clashing with police, as antagonism flared between far-left and far-right activists in a violence-marred election campaign. It was the last weekend for political rallies ahead of Italy's March 4 national election, and protesters held at least a dozen marches or rallies in several Italian cities.

Lebanon: Lebanese authorities in Beirut are interrogating a man suspected in the death of a Filipina maid whose body was found stuffed in a freezer in Kuwait, security and judicial officials said today. The February 7 discovery of Joanna Demafelis's body in the apartment in Kuwait City, where it had reportedly been kept for more than a year, sparked outrage and refocused attention on the tragic plight of poor Filipinas toiling mostly as maids abroad. A senior official with Lebanon's General Security Directorate refused to provide details other than that the man is being held by the agency and undergoing questioning. Lebanese citizen Nader Essam Assaf was handed over by Syrian authorities to Lebanon.

India: A speeding jeep has ploughed through a group of schoolchildren crossing a road in eastern India, killing nine and injuring 10 of them. The jeep first hit and injured two adult female pedestrians. While trying to escape from the spot, it hit the children, who were leaving their school on the outskirts of Muzzafarpur, a town in Bihar state, said police officer Vivek Kumar. The children range in age from 10 to 14, Kumar said. Police are looking for the jeep driver, who sped away after the accident, he said.

Brazil: Brazilian police say the man considered to be the country's largest arms dealer has been arrested in the United States by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Inspector Fabricio Oliveira of Rio de Janeiro's police department says Frederik Barbieri was arrested at his home in Florida. Oliveira said that police seized 60 AK-47, AR-10 and G3 rifles Barbieri had sent to Rio's international airport last May to supply drug traffickers operating in Rio de Janeiro slums.

Bangladesh: Three female Nobel Peace laureates began a week-long trip to Bangladesh to meet Rohingya Muslim women who were tortured and raped by soldiers in Burma before fleeing the country. During their visit, Iran's Shirin Ebadi, Yemen's Tawakkol Karman and Northern Ireland's Mairead Maguire will assess the violence against the Rohingya women and the refugees' overall situation, according to the Nobel Women's Initiative, a platform of six female peace laureates established in 2006.

Australia: The political fallout from the Barnaby Joyce saga has taken its toll on the Turnbull Government with a new poll showing it has dropped further behind the opposition Labor party. A Sky News/ReachTel poll showed the Coalition's primary vote had slipped one point to 33 per cent, while Labor gained one point to 37 per cent. The Government dropped two points to 46 per cent on a two-party preferred basis against a two points rise to 54 per cent for Labor.

Italy: Rome's ancient Colosseum has been illuminated with red lights in solidarity with persecuted Christians, particularly Asia Bibi, a woman condemned to death under Pakistan's blasphemy laws. Hundreds gathered on a rainy night outside the Roman amphitheatre that is a symbol of the martyrdom of early Christians to hear the husband and daughter of Asia Bibi. The Catholic woman has been living on death row in Pakistan since 2010, when she was condemned for allegedly making derogatory remarks about Islam after neighbours objected to her drinking water from their glass because she was not Muslim.

A view of the Colosseum lit up in red to draw attention to the persecution of Christians around the world, in Rome. Photo / AP

Greece: Greek police say they have arrested two migrant traffickers who were transporting 14 undocumented Syrians, eight of them children. The arrests of a 21-year-old Syrian and a 24-year-old Iraqi took place near Greece's northeastern border with Turkey but were announced today. The traffickers picked up the Syrians once they had crossed into Greece and put them into the cargo space of a small van, police say. They drove along back roads to escape detection, but were apprehended nonetheless.

Egypt: An ancient necropolis has been discovered near the Nile Valley city of Minya, south of Cairo, Egypt's antiquities ministry has announced. It is the latest discovery in an area known to house ancient catacombs from the Pharaonic Late Period and the Ptolemaic dynasty. The large cemetery is located north of Tuna al-Gabal area, a vast archaeological site on the edge of the western desert. It hosts a range of family tombs and graves.

Austria: A man has apparently killed his brother and sister at their farmhouse in southeastern Austria, then himself, authorities say. The victims were found by the suspected perpetrator's nephew at the house in Dollrath, southeast of Graz. Police originally believed that the 51-year-old suspect had fled and they launched a manhunt, but they found his body in a neighbouring building about two hours later, the Austria Press Agency reported. The man's 56-year-old sister and 52-year-old brother were killed. Their mother, aged 75, was taken to a hospital in Graz with serious injuries.

France: France's Emmanuel Macron has been booed by angry farmers during his first visit as president to the country's main agricultural fair, amid rising discontent over producer prices, European Union trade talks and Chinese land purchases. Macron was greeted by jeering farmers and activists soon after his arrival at the southern Paris showground, before stopping to talk policy with a group of hecklers.The President has promised €5 billion in agricultural investment as well as minimum farm prices to prevent producers selling at a loss.

French President Emmanuel Macron stands behind a cow as he visits the 55th International Agriculture Fair at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris, France. Photo / AP

Afghanistan: A series of militant attacks in Afghanistan have killed more than 20 people ahead of an international meeting next week aimed at building diplomatic support for hoped-for peace talks with the Taliban. The attacks came as a high-level Nato delegation visited Afghanistan, pledging support for President Ashraf Ghani's Government.

Mexico: A Flag Day ceremony in Mexico has gone awry, with troops flying the country's red, white and green "tri-colour" upside down. Local media show images of the giant flag fluttering over Mexico City's Campo Marte parade ground with its iconic eagle inverted.

Israel: Thousands of African asylum seekers and their local supporters are protesting against an Israeli plan to deport them. The Israeli Government has given the migrants until April 1 to leave the country for an unnamed African destination in exchange for US$3500 and a plane ticket, or they will be incarcerated indefinitely.

Yemen: Two car bomb explosions killed at least six people and wounded 43 others including civilians in Yemen's southern city of Aden, security officials and witnesses said, in an attack later claimed by Isis.

- agencies