It made Taubitz and Langenhan the only double-gold winners in luge at this year's Olympics, where Germany — again — was the overall best, with three golds and five medals overall. Italy won four medals (two gold, two bronze), as did Austria (three silver, one bronze).

Germany maintained their iron grip on the Olympic luge team relay on Thursday, bouncing back in style from Wednesday's doubles disappointment to take gold for the fourth Games in a row since the event was introduced in 2014.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are deepening cooperation on trade, defence and EU competitiveness, challenging the traditional Franco-German leadership model.

Germany and Italy aim to jointly develop a new cultural route that commemorates German literary giant Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's (1749-1832) famous "Italian Journey. " The plan to trace Goethe's footsteps through Italy was agreed upon by German Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer and Italian Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli during government consultations in Rome on Friday.

Hosts Italy reached the quarter-finals of the Olympic women's ice hockey tournament with a 3-2 victory over Japan on Monday, and reigning champions Canada beat the Czech Republic 5-1 although their captain Marie-Philip Poulin went off injured.

Biathlon fans brush up your Italian -- but also your German, for the events this Winter Olympics will be in South Tyrol in Italy, an autonomous province bordering Austria and