"Euronews": Silvio Berlusconi appeared in court.

A case in which Silvio Berlusconi stands accused of paying for sex with belly-dancer Ruby, who was a minor at the time, may see some celebrity witnesses. She has testified to seeing George Clooney at a party in Berlusconi's Sardinian villa. She also said she spent a night in a hotel room with footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, and both will be among 200 witnesses called in the case.

Berlusconi's defence lawyer made a statement on the inclusions: "The VIP witnesses told the press that they were not present at these parties, but obviously they should come to say that in court. The defence will take the same line as for other trials; when there will be significant witnesses or relevant documents, Mr Berlusconi will certainly attend the hearing," he said.

The former Italian Prime Minister has now gone through more than a dozen trials relating to this case, but has never received a definitive conviction, they were either scuppered by his government changing the law, or were timed out by statute limitations.

And now a string of ongoing court cases, in which he is variously accused of using an underage prostitute, bribery and fraud and embezzlement, mean he will never be far from the headlines.