Italy: Flags flew at half mast across Italy today as the country observed a day of mourning for the victims of an earthquake that killed nearly 300 people. President Sergio Mattarella paid tribute to the "extraordinary effort" of more than 4,000 rescue experts and volunteers as he began what was set to be an emotionally charged day with a brief visit to Amatrice, around 100 kilometres northeast of Rome.

People attend a mass funeral service for victims of the earthquake, at a gymnasium arranged in a chapel in Ascoli Piceno. Pic/AFP