Italy

1. f. Russia. 2. h. Sweden. 3. d. Italy. 4. i. Wales. 5. c. India. 6. j. West Indies. 7. g. Spain. 8. b. France. 9. e. Mexico. 10. a. Czech Republic.

SOKOTO, Nigeria - The two hostages from Italy and Britain found dead during a botched rescue operation spent their final days living in bare squalor, watched by their alleged al-Qaeda-linked captors, drinking water drawn from an underground tank, and possibly enduring malaria and other illnesses. The bodies of Chris McManus and Franco Lamolinara were found Thursday during a joint British-Nigerian rescue operation, which has ignited a diplomatic dispute with Italy. The country's president accused Britain of an "inexplicable" failure to consult with Italy before the bungled rescue attempt.

Translated and annotated by Jonathan Galassi Farrar, Straus & Giroux. 640 pp. $30. Translated by William Arrowsmith; edited by Rosanna Warren W.W. Norton. 832 pp. $49.95. Reviewed by John Timpane What a state of affairs! Two excellent translated collections of poetry by Italian poet Eugenio Montale. One is by William Arrowsmith, the other by Jonathan Galassi. Galassi, a fine poet and devoted Montale scholar, concentrates on the three books of Montale's central period: Cuttlefish Bones , The Occasions , and The Storm, Etc. Arrowsmith, also an eminent translator, gives us more Montale, including the later poetic diaries and notebook.

An overpowering smell of fresh leather and the words printed on stacks of cardboard boxes containing Dansko shoes inside the company's West Grove distribution warehouse are jarring to the senses. Made in China , most of the boxes say, or Made in Italy . None say Made in U.S.A. , but that's not to say Dansko, the 22-year-old Chester County company that made stapled clogs popular across the country, hasn't tried. The impressions are all the more striking because just a short stroll away stands a headquarters building that projects a company with a capitalist conscience.

Lucio Dalla, 68, one of Italy's most prolific singer-songwriters, died Thursday in Switzerland during a European concert tour. Mr. Dalla apparently died of a heart attack in a Montreux hotel after eating breakfast, according to his agency, Ph.D srl Music Management, which is based in Mr. Dalla's native city of Bologna, Italy. His musical roots were in jazz, but his songs ranged from folk to pop to classical to opera, creating a soundtrack beloved by generations of Italians.

Ghana has been the bane of the United States far too many times in international soccer play. Wednesday night, it was Chile's turn to feel the wrath. In a steady downpour at PPL Park in Chester, Ghana put on a first-half show en route to taking a surprising lead into the halftime break. Richard Mpong scored off a crisp through ball from Sulley Muntari in the 42d minute, quieting the pro-Chilean crowd and sending the Ghanian contingent - which featured a handful of the nation's dignitaries - into a frenzy.

THE UNITED STATES stunned Italy, 1-0, yesterday in Genoa as Clint Dempsey's second-half goal gave the Americans their first-ever victory over the Azzurri in 11 meetings. Dempsey became only the fourth American to score against Italy when he fired past Gianluigi Buffon in the 55th minute, and the U.S. clung on for a memorable win in the friendly international. It is Jurgen Klinsmann's fifth victory in 10 games as U.S. coach and also will serve as personal revenge for the former Germany great after losing the 2006 World Cup semifinal to eventual champion Italy when in charge of the German national team.

IF YOU HAPPEN to get to the Midwest and flick on a Christian radio station, you might hear the voice of the Rev. Edward E. Menaldino belting out a gospel song. As an Assembly of God preacher, Menaldino pastored Pentecostal churches throughout the country, and spent 30 years in Philadelphia as pastor of Calvary Temple, in South Philadelphia, and another six years as interim pastor at the Llanerch Hills Chapel, in Upper Darby. That his songs are still being sung is a testament not only to his powerful voice, but also to the passion of his faith that his voice projected.

NAIROBI, Kenya - An Italian cruise liner carrying more than 1,000 people was adrift without power in the pirate-infested Indian Ocean on Monday after a fire erupted in its generator room. The blaze, which was extinguished, caused no injuries, officials said. Two tug boats from the island nation of Seychelles were steaming toward the drifting Costa Allegra, which had 636 passengers and 413 crew members on board, but they were not expected to arrive until Tuesday afternoon at the earliest.

Robert E. Hecht, 92, an antiquities dealer who skipped in and out of trouble for much of his career, weathering accusations that he trafficked in illicit artifacts, died Wednesday in Paris. Mr. Hecht began running afoul of the authorities in the early 1960s, when he was accused of dealing in looted art in Italy and smuggling coins out of Turkey. In the case of a 2,500-year-old Greek vase, sold to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for more than $1 million in 1972, an Italian judge - acting on a claim that it had been looted from an excavation site near Rome - issued a warrant for Mr. Hecht's arrest.