Veronica Lario, the wife of Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, has broken her silence over their acrimonious public divorce, saying that nobody knows the "true story" behind the break-up and that she and her marriage have been "brutally besmirched".

In her first public statement since she asked for a divorce at the end of April, Ms Lario said in a brief letter to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, published on its front page, that "during these last weeks I have watched in silence without reacting in the media to the brutal besmirching of myself, my dignity and the story of my marriage".

She added "What is certain is that the truth of the relationship between myself and my husband has not even been touched on, nor has the reason for which I had to turn to the press to communicate with him. It is also certain that I have always loved him, and that I have lived my life at the service of my marriage and my family."

Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has been raising eyebrows by telling one of the country's most famous artists how to paint better.

Visiting 79-year-old artist Ilya Glazunov, Mr Putin stopped in front of a large painting of a medieval knight.

"The sword is too short," he is reputed to have said. "It's only good enough for cutting sausage."

Not wishing to displease his powerful guest, Mr Glazunov immediately agreed to correct his mistake.

An article by Rupert, too!  Where has he been recently?  Seems like he disappeared for a while.

"Pretending that you already know the answer when you don't is not actually very helpful." ~Migeru.