
-
Saka 'ready to go' for Arsenal after long injury lay-off: Arteta
-
Aston Martin to sell stake in Formula One team
-
Three talking points ahead of clay-court season
-
French court hands Le Pen five-year election ban
-
Probe accuses ex J-pop star Nakai of sexual assault
-
Japan leads hefty global stock market losses on tariff woes
-
Saka 'ready to go' after long injury lay-off: Arteta
-
Ingebrigtsen Sr, on trial for abusing Olympic champion, says he was 'overly protective'
-
Tourists and locals enjoy 'ephemeral' Tokyo cherry blossoms
-
Khamenei warns of 'strong' response if Iran attacked
-
France fines Apple 150 million euros over privacy feature
-
UK PM urges nations to smash migrant smuggling gangs 'once and for all'
-
Thai authorities probe collapse at quake-hit construction site
-
France's Le Pen convicted in fake jobs trial
-
Chinese tech giant Huawei says profits fell 28% last year
-
Trump says confident of TikTok deal before deadline
-
Myanmar declares week of mourning as hopes fade for quake survivors
-
Japan's Nikkei leads hefty market losses, gold hits record
-
Tears in Taiwan for relatives hit by Myanmar quake
-
Venezuela says US revoked transnational oil, gas company licenses
-
'Devastated': Relatives await news from Bangkok building collapse
-
Arsenal, Tottenham to play pre-season North London derby in Hong Kong
-
Japan's Nikkei leads hefty equity market losses; gold hits record
-
Israel's Netanyahu picks new security chief, defying legal challenge
-
Trump says US tariffs to hit 'all countries'
-
Prayers and tears for Eid in quake-hit Mandalay
-
After flops, movie industry targets fresh start at CinemaCon
-
Tsunoda targets podium finish in Japan after 'unreal' Red Bull move
-
French chefs await new Michelin guide
-
UK imposes travel permit on Europeans from Wednesday
-
At his academy, Romanian legend Hagi shapes future champions
-
Referee's lunch break saved Miami winner Mensik from early exit
-
Djokovic refuses to discuss eye ailment after shock Miami loss
-
Mitchell magic as Cavs bag 60th win, Pistons and T'Wolves brawl
-
Mensik shocks Djokovic to win Miami Open
-
Duterte lawyer: 'compelling' grounds to throw case out
-
What happens on Trump's 'Liberation Day' and beyond?
-
Clock ticks on Trump's reciprocal tariffs as countries seek reprieve
-
Japan-Australia flagship hydrogen project stumbles
-
Musk deploys wealth in bid to swing Wisconsin court vote
-
Mensik upsets Djokovic to win Miami Open
-
China manufacturing activity grows at highest rate in a year
-
'Waited for death': Ex-detainees recount horrors of Sudan's RSF prisons
-
Japan's Nikkei leads big losses in Asian markets as gold hits record
-
Rescue hopes fading three days after deadly Myanmar quake
-
'Basketbrawl' as seven ejected in Pistons-Wolves clash
-
Four men loom large in Microsoft history
-
Computer pioneer Microsoft turns 50 in the age of AI
-
Trump calls out both Putin and Zelensky over ceasefire talks
-
Kim Hyo-joo tops Vu in playoff to win LPGA Ford Championship

Berlusconi: Italy's scandal-plagued 'knight'
Silvio Berlusconi's bid for Italy's presidency was always a long shot, an audacious last throw of the dice by the scandal-plagued former premier who has dominated public life for decades.
The billionaire media mogul, who pulled out of the race Saturday, remains divisive in Italy and derided abroad, and is still embroiled in legal action over his infamous "Bunga Bunga" sex parties.
Berlusconi, 85, has also suffered a string of health issues, not least his hospitalisation with coronavirus in September 2020. His lawyers have cited illness as reasons to delay legal proceedings.
For many, he was an entirely unsuitable candidate for unifying head of state, with one politician calling his bid a "tragic joke", and few analysts believed he had the numbers.
The man dubbed "Il Cavaliere" (The Knight) insisted he had enough support but was pulling out in the interests of "national responsibility", adding: "I will continue to serve my country in other ways."
- Talent for self promotion -
Berlusconi's blending of politics, business and TV, his outspoken and often offensive views and talent for self-promotion have sparked comparisons with former US president Donald Trump.
Born in Milan in 1936, he started in the construction sector in his 20s, building up a huge media and real estate business, which included AC Milan football club.
In the early 1990s, poor investments saw his debts spiral and he entered politics, bursting onto the scene with a new party, Forza Italy ("Go Italy"), named after a football chant.
After his first election victory in 1994 he was premier for only nine months, but won again in 2001 after a US-style campaign in which he promised jobs and economic growth, signing a "Contract with Italians" live on television.
He served until 2006, and returned again as prime minister between 2008 and 2011, making him the longest-serving premier in Italy's post-war history.
Key to his charm was his glamorous lifestyle, bravado and promises of a low-tax, deregulated economy in which Italians might emulate his financial success.
For a decade, he was Italy's richest person.
To his critics, he was a tax-evading playboy who used his vast media empire to further his political career, and then exploited his power to protect his business interests.
On the international stage, he dallied with Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi and was close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
With a typical lack of humility, Berlusconi has compared himself with Napoleon and Jesus Christ.
- Legal woes -
Prosecutors snapped at his heels throughout his time in office, even as his supporters in parliament passed laws to shield him and his allies.
Despite multiple court cases -- he claimed last year to have gone through 86 trials -- he never spent time behind bars and successfully appealed convictions for fraud and corruption early in his political career.
In 2013, Berlusconi faced his first definitive conviction for tax fraud, which saw him carry out community service in a care home for sufferers of Alzheimer's.
But he continues to face the fall-out of his parties at his villa near Milan, which had a private nightclub.
Berlusconi was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2013 for paying for sex with then 17-year-old Karima El-Mahroug, but this was later overturned after the judge said there was reasonable doubt that he knew she was underage.
In October last year, a court in Tuscany acquitted him of bribing a witness to lie about the parties, although related proceedings continue elsewhere.
P.Santos--AMWN