ROME - As many as 80 tonnes of airplane fuel were dumped over a protected marine area off the Ligurian coast by an Alitalia flight, drawing strong criticism nationwide.

 The Alitalia airplane, which was on route to Tokyo from Milan Malpensa, reported mechanical issues affecting its engines mere minutes after taking off.

 Following fuel dumping procedure, the aircraft discarded excess kerosene above the sea as the pilot took measures to avoid possible malfunctions.

ROME - Napoli were knocked out of the Europa League quarter-finals by Arsenal on Thursday night, losing against the English side for a second time in a week following another limp performance.

 Carlo Ancelotti’s men went into the game off the back of a 2-0 first leg defeat. However, given Arsenal’s dismal recent form on the road, Ancelotti and his players knew they were still in with a shot of taking something from the tie.

ROME - Italy’s coalition government have clashed with finance minister Giovanni Tria over possible VAT rises in the coming years, government sources have revealed.

 Italy has come under pressure in recent months for its lack of economic growth, and was chided by EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker in March when it transpired that the nation’s GDP was expected to buck European trends and fall 0.2 per cent this coming year.

 This economic stagnation is, in turn, expected to cause yet further problems for Italy’s coalition government and its population.

ROME - Two goals in three minutes were enough to see Lazio take three points from their tie against Udinese and move to within touching distance of the European qualification spots.

 Simone Inzaghi’s men went into the game off the back of a torrid run of form. Having jumped into fifth spot at the end of March, two losses and a draw in their subsequent three league matches saw them slip well off the pace into eighth.