Italy approves massive emergency aid package for flood-hit region

ROME, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Italy's Council of Ministers on Tuesday approved a wide-ranging emergency aid package to help victims of severe floods in the Emilia-Romagna region.

The package, passed a week after unprecedented rainfall in the region, is worth more than 2 billion euros (2.2 billion U.S. dollars). The Council of Ministers said it was aimed at providing "relief and assistance to the populations and compa