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Ammon News - Former Italian president Giorgio Napolitano has died aged 98 after being treated in a Rome hospital for weeks.

Mr Napolitano served from 2006 to 2015 and was the first person to be elected twice to the seven-year post.

His second term began in 2013 but he stepped down two years later, citing his advancing age when he was then 89.

Although the Italian presidential role is mostly ceremonial, in 2011 he used his powers to help steer the country through a debt crisis.

He also served as Italy's interior minister between 1996 and 1998 under the centre-left government of Romano Prodi.

He was elected to the European parliament in 1989 and remained until 1992, before returning in 1999 when he became president of its committee on constitutional affairs until 2004.

He is survived by his wife, whom he married in 1959, and his two sons, Giovanni and Giulio.

Sky News