A break-in took place at the headquarters of Rome's international gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual contact group, the Circolo di Cultura Omosessuale Mario Mieli, on the night of Sat 8 November. All of the organisation's computers, digital archives and publishing materials were stolen, just as the December issue of the group's magazine "Aut" a special edition for World AIDS Day on 1 December was due to go to press. Preliminary estimates put the cost of the theft and damages at around 30,000.

The organisation is appealing to the public for financial contributions in order to replace the publishing equipment in time to produce the December issue of "Aut". For information on how to help tel. 065413985.