ROME (JTA) — Some left-wing officials want to restore the birthplace of wartime fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in the central Italian town of Predappio and turn it into a museum.

Two members of parliament from the Predappio area have presented a motion that would allocate some $11 million for the restoration of the birthplace and other sites.

The funds "would be very welcome for the restoration of the buildings associated with Mussolini," Ivo Marcelli, the ex-Communist mayor of Predappio, told the Rome daily Il Messaggero.

"It would be a godsend for local tourism and thus also for the local economy," Marcelli added.

The parliamentary proposal said the buildings — including the house where Mussolini was born in 1883 — were in very bad condition.

The officials supporting the move said their plan was not aimed primarily at right-wing Italians nostalgic for the fascist era, but at all visitors interested in contemporary history.

Danish court upholds neo-Nazi extradition

COPENHAGEN (JTA) — The Danish Supreme Court last week upheld a German extradition request for American neo-Nazi Gary Lauck.

Lauck, 41, of Lincoln, Neb., faces charges in Germany of incitement, encouraging racial hatred, distributing illegal propaganda and Nazi symbols, and belonging to a criminal group.

The so-called "Farmbelt Fuhrer" is considered the leading exporter to Germany of neo-Nazi material.

The Aug. 24 ruling upheld two lower court decisions ordering the extradition.

As Lauck left the Danish high court to return to jail, he said, "This is a Jewish state."

Lauck was arrested in March by Danish authorities outside Copenhagen on a warrant from the prosecutor of Hamburg, Germany.

Lauck is accused of smuggling banned neo-Nazi literature into Germany for more than two decades, to be copied and distributed among neo-Nazi groups.

Hungary, Israel to build satellite

BUDAPEST (JTA) — The Hungarian government has approved an agreement with Israel to produce a joint communication satellite.

The first satellite, which will not be completed until 1998, will be made by Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd. and by the firm Antenna Hungaria, according to the April 27 pact. The Israeli firm, which will be involved in the technology and building of the satellite, has a 50 percent share in the joint venture, which was based in Hungary.