Italy honours slain intelligence officer

The state funeral of Nicola Calipari in the Santa Maria degli Angeli church in downtown Rome was expected to draw the country's president, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, and other top officials. US Ambassador Mel Sembler and Mayor Walter Veltroni were among those attending, news reports said.

The funeral came after Calipari's body lay in state at Rome's Vittoriano monument, with tens of thousands of people streaming past the flag-draped coffin since the body returned from Iraq on Saturday night.