By Sam Tonkin

Published: 07:26 EDT, 11 September 2023 | Updated: 07:59 EDT, 11 September 2023

Two Irish tourists, aged 59 and 60, are run over and killed on ‘one of the most dangerous roads in Rome’: Victims were ‘thrown several yards by the impact’

• Two victims were walking in the southern outskirts of Rome when they were hit 

By Rachael Bunyan

Updated: 12:45 EDT, 7 September 2023

Giles Broadbent – the husband of former Blue Peter star Diane-Louise Jordan – has passed away aged 51 following a short illness.

Giles, who was part of the Stringfever quartet and played the violin, had been ‘unwell’ in the months prior to his death, it was confirmed on Thursday.

The statement, released by his band, said: ‘Although Giles had not been well recently, we as a family are still in shock at his passing. The band will be taking a break whilst we make funeral arrangements.’

Diane-Louise, 63, and Giles had been married for 16 years after tying the knot in 2007. They have a daughter, Justine, previously Diane-Louise’s niece, but whom she adopted when her sister died unexpectedly.

Former Songs of Praise presenter Diane has previously gushed over her ‘magnificent’ husband who she called a ‘genius violinist’.

On the band’s website, Giles described himself as ‘young at heart’ and revealed his love for the ‘buzz of performing live shows’.

Speaking to Sheer Luxe last year, she said: ‘We share similar values, even though we’re quite different people – I’m much more of an introvert and Giles loves the house to be busy and full of people. 

‘He’s also a musician, so he’s very expressive too.’

The couple, who met in 2006, enjoyed a whirlwind romance before marrying just a year later.

During his career, Giles led some major orchestras for some much-loved West End shows including Phantom Of The Opera and My Fair Lady.

He formed his band in 2003 alongside his brothers Ralph and Neal, and cousin Graham.

The quartet previously went viral when they uploaded a video playing their version of Ravel’s Bolero, where all four players play on one cello at the same time.

Their music is a mix of classical, film soundtracks and rock’n’roll hits and have proved a huge success worldwide, touring across India and China.

Diane, who is best known for being Blue Peter’s first black presenter in 1990, was a favourite among viewers and shared a close bond with co-star Anthea Turner.

Speaking to the The Sun last year, she said: ‘I was definitely told it was a big thing for me to become the first black presenter. There’ll be media interest and there may be members of the public that aren’t happy about this. At that time Blue Peter was a bit of an institution. It was the nation’s favourite children’s programme. There was a lot that rested on that decision.

‘For any Blue Peter presenter you’re more than a presenter, you’re an ambassador really, and so to be the first black presenter I definitely knew getting that job was much more than representing myself. I knew the spotlight was on me and if I got it wrong that might reflect in a negative way on others like me.

‘When I started the job I was told to prepare for a few dissenting voices, and as expected there were letters that very vocally expressed how much they disliked someone like me, but within not too long a period of time the viewers got to know me, and when you get to know somebody the fear about who you assumed them to be, on the whole, tends to dissipate.’

It was around this time that Diane became a guardian to her niece Justin, following the sudden death of her sister Jay after she contracted a virus. 

•  For those aged 75-90 sex didn’t have to be all that good – just frequent

By Sophie Freeman

Published: 20:28 EDT, 18 August 2023 | Updated: 20:52 EDT, 18 August 2023

British tourist who was blinded in both eyes aged 18 after paint bag was blasted into his face at Mallorca nightclub receives more than £200,000 compensation

• Dillon Connery was shot with a stage-mounted paint gun at a club in Magaluf 

By James Reynolds

Published: 04:00 EDT, 11 August 2023 | Updated: 07:24 EDT, 11 August 2023

Monaco’s French international Ben Yedder is charged with raping two women aged 19 and 20 last month

• Yedder has been placed under judicial supervision and had to pay £776,000 bail, the Nice prosecutor’s office told AFP

By James Callery and Afp

Published: 11:11 EDT, 11 August 2023 | Updated: 04:27 EDT, 12 August 2023

The besotted brother of Southern Charm star Taylor Ann Green had just introduced his new girlfriend to family when he died aged 36. 

Richard Worthington ‘Worth’ Green died aged 36 – the tragic news revealed on his sister Catie King’s Instagram alongside a picture of him beaming while sitting in a boat.

Caroline Evans, wrote a heartbreaking tribute to her ‘greatest love’ just three days after his death saying she’d love him forever.

‘Worth Green you are the greatest love I’ve ever known. Although you are not here physically, the love you gave is still felt every single day. I love you forever and always.’

The cause of the 36-year-old’s death remains unclear but its been revealed he’d set up a men’s religious group in Raleigh where Caroline was from prior to his passing.

Taylor Anne and family told DailyMail.com: ‘Worth left this world on top of the world – he had a beautiful passion for life and cared deeply for those around him.

‘We are going to miss his jovial personality and all of the love and laughter that he brought his family, girlfriend and countless friends. 

‘Heartbroken is an understatement, but we are finding so much peace knowing he is in the arms of our Heavenly Father. We kindly ask for privacy at this time.’

An obituary posted on a North Carolina funeral home‘s website revealed Worth had found love with a woman he’d introduced to his family.

‘Worth loved his family dearly. Any excuse to be with them, he truly loved with his whole heart,’ the obituary reads.

‘He was a vivacious and loving son and grandson, and the best big brother to his sisters, always being there as a protector and a cheerleader.’

Taylor Ann and Catie can be seen with their brother in numerous pictures across social media often boasting about their close relationship. 

The pictures span the decades, with Taylor Ann, Catie and their brother posed for photos as kids to when they’re adults – each sibling beaming as they hold one another close. 

The obituary mentions a woman names Caroline, who ‘brought so much joy to his life’ referring to a budding romance that the 36-year-old had been pursuing before his passing.

‘Most recently he met the woman he adored and treasured. Caroline brought so much joy to his life,’ it says. 

‘He loved her enough to bring her home to his family and was beginning to plan a future with her by his side.’

In a post to her Facebook page, Caroline asked friends and family to write tributes on a separate site: ‘For all who knew Worth Green, if there’s one thing you remember it’s probably his incredible stories. 

‘We hope to keep all of his memories and stories alive through the tribute link below.

‘If you have any stories, memories, or just thoughts to share on the impact Worth had, please upload a video using the link below.’

The obituary goes on to add: ‘Friends, too numerous to name, will miss the exuberant love for life that Worth brought to them.’ 

Just days after Worth died, Caroline wrote: ‘You are the greatest love I’ve ever known.’

‘Although you are not here physically, the love you gave is still felt every single day. I love you forever and always.’

Worth’s obituary also described him as an ‘adventurer’ with a ‘love of travel’ who taught English while living in South Korea post-college.

He was hailed a ‘protector and a cheerleader’ to his two younger sisters and ‘a beautiful example of how to live life as fully as possible.’

The obituary noted that the deceased ‘had recently started a small men’s group in Raleigh to reflect on life and challenge each other’s faith in Christ.’

In a comment on Catie’s Instagram post, Taylor Ann’s ex Shep Rose wrote that Worth was ‘Absolutely one of a kind. A pleasure to know and to laugh with.’

Worth’s heartbreaking death came at an already fraught time for his family, as Catie found herself fighting a recurrence of cancer last year.

In May 2022, Green wrote on Instagram: ‘Almost 5 years ago, my older sister was diagnosed with 2 different types of ovarian cancer; she was a damn warrior and kicked its a** after a few months of holistic treatment.’

Taylor Ann continued: ‘We were so excited for her and her husband to hopefully have the chance of starting a family, but here we are 4 and a half years later and it has decided to rear its ugly head again. Truly F you cancer.’

Catie announced in December that she had undergone ‘[h]opefully my last major surgery ever needed, an oophorectomy of my only ovary and tube I had left.’

She wrote wanly: ‘A part of us is gone and will never be what we dreamt of, but we trust God’s greater plan for our little family.’

The devastating news comes five months after another Southern Charm star, Olivia Flowers, lost her 32-year-old brother Conner.

Conner’s death was preceded by a years-long battle with Lyme disease, as well as a turbulent past including arrests for drug offenses and driving under the influence.

His exact cause of death has not been made public, but his sister wrote on Instagram last month that his Lyme disease left him battling ‘debilitating symptoms over the last 17 years.’

Olivia added that he was subjected to ‘several misdiagnoses and unnecessary medicinal treatment at a young age.’

She went on: ‘By the time he was properly tested and given a diagnosis from Dr. Jemsek, a God send, and an infectious disease specialist, the disease had caused severe internal damage, and the consequences from his earlier ‘treatment’ were just as long-lasting and devastating.’

Bear Grylls admitted he was ‘knocked sideways’ when he unveiled truth about his great-uncle’s death and uncovered a surprising Royal connection in an upcoming episode of Who Do You Think You Are?

Speaking to MailOnline and other press, the adventurer, 48, revealed there was a ‘sadness behind his grandfather’s eyes,’ that he never understood, until now. 

In the episode which airs June 15, Bear sets out to unearth where his ‘love of the wild comes from,’ as he explores his family’s military past, their defining traits and ‘a link to Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland.’

Recalling his experience on the show, the TV presenter described the ’emotional and moving’ discovery when he traced his Grandpa Neville’s ‘journey of loss’ after the passing of his brother Richard. 

He also learns more about his paternal-grandfather, Grandpa Ted, who was part of a ‘clandestine special forces unit.’ 

Speaking about his experience, Bear explained: ‘I never understood what that family went through but standing in that room where my grandfather and all his siblings would have gathered after their brothers death, it really hit me.’ 

Adding of his great-grandfather Rev Lionel Ford, he said how his ‘strength became his biggest weakness’ when he lost his 16-year-old son. 

‘My great grandfather, as a huge family man, I realised that his biggest strength was now his greatest weakness. He held his son’s hand while he was dying, it really whacked me sideways.

‘My grandfather would sometimes mention his brother. That pain and loss stayed with him for all of his life but I could never understand where it came from. 

‘I knew there was a broken bit of his heart whenever he was reminded about his brother. There was a sadness behind his eyes.’

Upon tracing his ancestry, Bear explained how it ‘shed light on his character’ as he drew parallels between himself and his family members.

‘I think I’ve always known the military has been a big part of my family but this took it to a whole another level for me and it answered so many questions about the natural traits that are in my life but I never understood where they came from,’ he said. 

Tracing his father’s side, Bear discovers Grandpa Ted’s role within Target Force, and shared how he wished he ‘could’ve spent time with him.’

‘I just wish I had known more about his role with Target Force whilst he was alive so we could have talked about that more,’ he continued. 

‘I wish I could have smoked a pipe with him and heard some of those stories first hand. And not judged a book by a cover and been so intimidated by him.

‘I realised that sometimes heroes are people who find themselves in the right place at the right time, fulfilling a purpose – a role – and to me he embodied that. 

‘He wasn’t some musclebound traditional type of hero; he was quite geeky but had this incredible knowledge of tanks and was happy to think left field about how to avoid the catastrophe of the first allied attempt to get all these tanks ashore in France where they all just got destroyed. He was in the right place at the right time.’

Speaking his Royal connection, Bear added: ‘If you go all the way back in my family history, you find that link to Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland. 

‘He only started to become effective once he’d gone on his own into the mountains and spent a year living off the land where he came to understand two things. Firstly, never give up. 

‘Secondly, don’t use formal armies that line up to face one another, but instead using the mountains, using the land, using the locals; essentially, guerrilla warfare.’

Bear concluded: ‘What I have learnt is taking the path less trodden is right but it is hard. Every one tells you to do the conversional things, people like to keep you doing conventional stuff – like go to school, go to university. 

‘Faith, family, path left trodden and to never give up. My hope for my children and grandchildren is that if they feel that then to follow it, it’s in their DNA.’

‘I hope they listen to what is going on inside their hearts and they aren’t scared to go for it.’

Who Do You Think You Are? Is on BBC One at 9pm on Thursday 15 June and on BBC iPlayer. 

South Korean actress Park Soo Ryun who starred in Disney+ K-drama Snowdrop dies aged 29 after fall down stairs

• Park Soo Ryun, 29, fell down a set of stairs in South Korea on Sunday afternoon
• Her family has now decided to donate her organs to ‘someone’ who needs them

By Alexander Butler

Published: 11:57 EDT, 13 June 2023 | Updated: 21:18 EDT, 13 June 2023

Italy‘s controversial former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi – famed for his notorious ‘Bunga Bunga’ sex parties – has died aged 86 after being admitted to hospital with leukaemia last week.

The billionaire businessman created Italy’s largest media company before transforming the country’s political landscape – while fending off multiple legal and sex scandals. His spokesman confirmed his death this morning.

The tycoon was admitted to San Raffaele hospital in Milan on Friday for what aides said were pre-planned tests related to his leukaemia. Berlusconi had been suffering from leukaemia ‘for some time’ and had recently developed a lung infection.

Soon after the news broke that he had died, it was announced that he will have a state funeral in Milan’s cathedral, while Italy declared Wednesday to be a national day of mourning.

‘Silvio Berlusconi’s state funeral will take place on Wednesday June 14 in the Milan Duomo,’ the diocese in the northern Italian city said on its website. 

Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party is part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition, and although he himself did not have a role in government, his death is likely to destabilise Italian politics in the coming months. 

His business empire also faces an uncertain future. He never publicly indicated who would take full charge of his MFE company following his death, even though his eldest daughter Marina is expected to play a prominent role. 

At least two of his daughters – Barbara and Eleonora – were photographed outside the hospital on Monday.

Two members of the Italian government mourned his passing, with Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini calling him in a statement ‘a great man and a great Italian’.

Defence Minister Guido Crosetto wrote on Twitter that Berlusconi’s death amounted to the end of an era. ‘I loved him very much. Farewell Silvio,’ Crosetto said.

AC Milan, the football club which won a host of domestic and European titles under Berlusconi’s ownership, called him ‘unforgettable’ in a tribute after his death on Monday.

‘Thank you, Mr President. Always with us,’ the club said in a statement, adding it was ‘grieving the passing of the unforgettable Silvio Berlusconi’.

‘Tomorrow, we will dream of new ambitions, create new challenges, and seek new victories which will represent the good, the strong, and the true that lies inside us, in all of us who shared this adventure of binding our lives to a dream called Milan,’ the statement continued.

Carlo Ancelotti, who won two Champions League titles as a player for AC Milan in 1989 and 1990 before then coaching the club to two more European successes in 2003 and 2007, led the tributes to the former club president.

‘Today’s sadness doesn’t erase the happy moments spent together,’ Ancelotti, the current Real Madrid manager, tweeted along with a photo of him standing beside Berlusconi.

‘There remains infinite gratitude to the president, but above all to an ironic, loyal, intelligent, sincere man, fundamental in my adventure as a football player first, and then as a coach. Thanks President.’

As a sign of his stature in Italy, a plan for his coffin to lie in state at the headquarters of his TV empire was on Monday scrapped over public order fears.

It was not immediately clear if this was due to crowd control or some form of protest from political opponents and there was no official comment from other side other than to come it was for public order.

Plans for Berlusconi to lie in state at the Senate in Rome or Milan city hall were also sidelined and instead his funeral will take place on Wednesday afternoon in Milan’s iconic Duomo cathedral.

The state funeral service will be led by the Archbishop of Milan, Mario Delpini and Berlusconi will then buried in a specially constructed masoleum at his villa.

The tomb – built in entirely from marble and opened in 1990 – was designed by architect Pietro Cascella and is called Volta Celeste (Celestial Vault). 

It contains the remains of his parents and also 37 other spaces for other family members and close friends. 

Berlusconi was prime minister for three spells, running from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. 

His health markedly deteriorated in recent years, with open-heart surgery in 2016 and numerous hospital admissions since contracting Covid-19 three years ago.

The former PM – who was in a relationship with 33-year-old Forza Italia MP Marta Fascina – was discharged from hospital last month after treatment for a lung infection linked to a Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukaemia (CML). 

He was admitted to intensive care in April in the cardiac unit of the San Raffaele hospital after suffering from breathing problems. 

While there, Berlusconi, the leader of the Right-wing Forza Italia party, was diagnosed with a lung infection and CML – a rare blood cancer characterised by high numbers of white blood cells.

He was discharged on May 19 after 45 days in hospital. 

Berlusconi had previously overcome prostate cancer, which he described as ‘a nightmare lasting months’.

But it was his battle with Covid in 2020 which he described as the ‘most dangerous challenge’ of his life. 

The three-time prime minister of Italy, who was embroiled in several scandals – most notably around his ‘Bunga Bunga’ parties – was admitted to hospital with a minor heart problem after fainting in 2006, and underwent heart surgery in a US hospital in January 2007.

The former AC Milan owner, who also had major heart surgery in 2016 to replace an aortic valve, has had a pacemaker for several years.

He was hospitalised again for a reported urinary tract infection in January 2022.  

Despite being diagnosed with leukaemia, he was active in politics to the end as a senator and partner in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s rightwing government.

The larger-than-life character, who once compared himself to Jesus, was Italy’s longest serving post-war premier but was also plagued by scandal. 

Berlusconi also wielded huge influence through his television and newspaper interests – he effectively invented commercial TV in Italy – his ownership of AC Milan football club, and his sheer wealth, as Italy’s richest person for a decade.

Long before Donald Trump parlayed his business success into a White House bid, Berlusconi charmed millions of Italians by presenting himself as a self-made man who enjoyed life and spoke his mind, even to the extent of insulting fellow leaders.

To his critics, however, the right-winger 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.

He spent much of his life embroiled in legal action, and the cases around his notorious ‘Bunga Bunga’ sex parties, attended by young girls including underage escorts, were only wrapped up in February 2023.

Despite remaining president of his Forza Italia party, a junior partner in Meloni’s coalition, he had largely retired from public view in recent months.

His friendship with Russian president Vladimir Putin put him at odds with Ms Meloni, a staunch supporter of Ukraine. 

On his 86th birthday, while the war raged, Putin sent Berlusconi best wishes and vodka, and the Italian boasted he returned the favour by sending back Italian wine.

He suffered increasing health problems – although he maintained his pride in his appearance, always smartly dressed, his slicked-back hair never showing the slightest trace of grey.

But as Berlusconi aged, some derided his perpetual tan, hair transplants and live-in girlfriends who were decades younger. For many years, however, Berlusconi seemed untouchable despite the personal scandals.

Berlusconi burst on to the political scene in the early 1990s, after building up a media and real estate business, where he was viewed as a breath of fresh air after a period of corruption and scandal.

Pitching himself as a modern Italian success story, and backed by his TV stations and newspapers, he secured his first election victory in 1994 with his new movement, Forza Italia (Go Italy!), named after a football chant.

He lasted as prime minister for only nine months, but bounced back with another election win in 2001 after a populist campaign promising 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.

He was forced to quit as debt-laden Italy – the eurozone’s third largest economy – came under intense pressure during the financial crisis.

The tenure of the man dubbed ‘Il Cavaliere’ (The Knight) divided Italians, as much as over his policies – including his controversial decision to join the US-led invasion of Iraq – as his entire approach to life.

To admirers, the three-time premier was a capable and charismatic statesman who sought to elevate Italy on the world stage.

To critics, he was a populist who threatened to undermine democracy by wielding political power as a tool to enrich himself and his businesses.

Throughout his time in office, prosecutors snapped at his heels, even as his supporters in parliament passed laws to shield him and his allies.

Criminal cases were launched but ended in dismissals when statutes of limitations ran out in Italy’s slow-moving justice system, or he was victorious on appeal.

Investigations targeted the tycoon’s steamy so-called ‘Bunga Bunga’ parties involving young women and minors, or his businesses, which included the football team AC Milan, the country’s three biggest private TV networks, magazines and a daily newspaper, and advertising and film companies.

Only one probe led to a conviction – a tax fraud case stemming from a sale of movie rights in his business empire.

The conviction was upheld in 2013 by Italy’s top criminal court, but he was spared prison because of his age, 76, and was ordered to do community service by assisting Alzheimer’s patients.

He still was stripped of his senate seat and banned from running or holding public office for six years, under anti-corruption laws.

He suffered personal humiliations as well. 

Berlusconi lost his standing as Italy’s richest man, although his sprawling media holdings and luxury property still left him a billionaire several times over.

In 2013, guests at one of his parties included an under-age Moroccan dancer whom prosecutors alleged had sex with Berlusconi in exchange for cash and jewellery.

After a trial spiced by lurid details, a Milan court initially convicted Berlusconi of paying for sex with a minor and using his office to try to cover it up. Both denied having sex with each other, and he was eventually acquitted.

The Catholic Church, at times sympathetic to his conservative politics, was scandalised by his antics, and his wife of nearly 20 years divorced him. But  Berlusconi was unapologetic, declaring: ‘I’m no saint.’

Berlusconi insisted that voters were impressed by his brashness.

‘The majority of Italians in their hearts would like to be like me and see themselves in me and in how I behave,’ he said in 2009, during his third and final stint as premier.

He boasted of his libido and entertained friends and world leaders at his villas. At one party, newspapers reported the women were dressed as ‘little Santas’. At another, photos showed topless women and a naked man lounging poolside.

An unrepentant Berlusconi said in 2010: ‘I love life! I love women!’

Despite the multiple court cases – he claimed in 2021 he had gone through 86 trials – he never spent any time behind bars and successfully appealed convictions for fraud and corruption early in his political career.

He was also long suspected of links to the mafia, but strongly denied it.