Ex-showgirl convicted of procuring women for Berlusconi parties

Former councillor and showgirl Nicole Minetti among three convicted for roles in 'bunga bunga' soirées at Berlusconi villa

Nicole Minetti: sentenced to five years in prison.

An Anglo-Italian former regional councillor and erstwhile showgirl was among three people convicted on Friday of procuring prostitutes for "bunga bunga" parties at the villa of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Nicole Minetti, a qualified dental hygienist who treated the then-premier when he was attacked in 2009 by a man wielding a model of Milan cathedral, was ordered by a judge in the northern city to spend five years behind bars and face a five-year ban on public office for her role in the soirées at Berlusconi's villa in Arcore.
Two men – Lele Mora, a former talent scout, and Emilo Fede, who was a newsreader on the media mogul's television channels – were also convicted of bringing young women to the parties for paid-for sex with Berlusconi.
They were ordered to serve prison sentences of seven years each, and banned for life from public office.
All three had denied wrongdoing. Lawyers for Minetti told the Ansa news agency she was "stupefied by the excessive sentence", which is likely to be suspended pending appeal.
Lawyers for Mora and Fede immediately said they would appeal.
The verdict comes almost a month after Berlusconi was found guilty by a Milan court of paying for sex with one of the women brought to Arcore, a Moroccan dancer named Karima el-Mahroug who was 17 at the time and denies ever having sex with Berlusconi. The three-times prime minister was also convicted of abusing his office to cover up the alleged liaison.
He denies the charges and the sentence – seven years in jail and a lifetime ban on holding public office – is suspended pending appeal.
But the judges in the parallel case on Friday opened a potentially troublesome new chapter for the 76-year-old, asking prosecutors to investigate whether there might be further charges to bring against him and others in relation to evidence given during the trial dubbed "Ruby part two" by the Italian media.
In their summing up in May, prosecutors in that trial told the court the three accused had helped to organise "orgies" at the villa and acted like "tasters of fine wine" on the prostitution circuit.
After they met in 2009, Minetti, 28, was plucked by Berlusconi to become a candidate for his centre-right Freedom People (PdL) party in the 2010 elections. Last month she told the court that she had never invited anyone to his dinner parties and that she had felt "a sentiment of true love" for him.
While prostitution is legal in Italy, the minimum age is 18, and exploiting prostitutes is a crime.

Lee Westwood and Tiger Woods square up for Open battle royale

• Westwood leads Woods by two after third round at Muirfield

• Adam Scott and Hunter Mahan in strong contention

Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood shake hands at the end of their Open third round at Muirfield.

This Open, this war of attrition, will be handed the finale that befits arguably the finest golf course in the world. Lee Westwood is within touching distance of joining the illustrious names who have held the Claret Jug aloft in East Lothian.
Westwood and Tiger Woods, who have a mutual respect that was so apparent during their third round, may be separated by 14 majors, but the Englishman holds the advantage here. At two shots, on a course where birdies come at such a premium, that edge should not be underestimated.
For Westwood, there is also the knowledge that Woods has been known to try too hard to claim a 15th championship. As has damaged him in the past, Westwood did not, this time, wilt with the aura of Woods alongside him. After a 17-year wait for an Englishman to win a major, could he join Justin Rose in providing two in as many months?
Woods, unlike his adversary, has at least demonstrated the mental capacity to claim majors. History would be created if he wins this one while starting the fourth round in a place other than the lead. Those looking on can bank on Sunday drama. "I have got 14 of these things, and I know what it takes to win it," said Woods. "Lee has won tournaments all over the world. He knows how to win golf tournaments. He is two shots ahead and we're going to go out there and both compete and play. It's not just us two. There's a bunch of guys who have a chance to win this tournament. And all of us need to really play well tomorrow to win it."
A blanket can be thrown over those who wish to upset the leading duo, with Hunter Mahan especially notable on account of a superb 68 on Saturday. Mahan, thereby, matched Sergio García and Richard Sterne in providing the best third-round score.
The man who links Woods, Westwood and Mahan is the swing coach Sean Foley. Which not only means Foley must be doing something right, but that the epitome of split loyalties could be displayed as the year's third major reaches its climax on Sunday.
Mahan, who lies with Woods at one under, was reduced to tears after his role in the United States' Ryder Cup defeat at Celtic Manor in 2010. Three years on, Mahan appears to have turned a mental corner, having finished in a tie for fourth place at last month's US Open. "I don't need any redemption or anything like that," said Mahan of events in Wales. "I don't play golf for revenge or to make up for anything."
This was a day that would require a book the depth of a London telephone directory to detail appropriately. Glorious snippets could be lost in the melee; such as Charl Schwartzel driving a 15th hole that was playing 448 yards. That illustrates the strength of the Muirfield wind rather then any superhuman element to the South African's makeup.
Woods holed a 25-feet putt on the 2nd at precisely 3.33pm to join Miguel Angel Jiménez at the summit of the leaderboard. At that 38-hole juncture, Woods had single-putted 19 times.
Just 12 minutes later, Woods held the lead on his own as Jiménez stumbled. The next slip was from the world No1, who found the bunker to the right of the par-three 4th green. By now, Woods shared the lead with Jiménez and Henrik Stenson. And so this wonderful slugging went on.
Even those players who had seemed knocked out either re-emerged or appeared in prominent places for the first time. Among them were Mahan, Ryan Moore, Adam Scott and Francesco Molinari. In the case of Scott, who is even par after 54 holes, success in this year's Masters means he has the mental capacity to lift the Claret Jug. If he were to do so, the Australian would also erase the pain of Royal Lytham & St Annes 12 months ago when he led by four shots after his third round but finished as runner-up to Ernie Els. This year, Scott will partner Woods in round four.
"It's a good feeling to sit here in this position, absolutely," said Scott. "I go out there tomorrow not carrying the weight of the lead or not having won a major."
Some vanished without trace. Martin Laird, who started the day two shots from the lead, had such a debacle on the 3rd that he emerged with a nine. Laird's 38 holes of sterling work were undone by Muirfield's wild stuff. He later signed for an 81.
Woods pulled out his driver for the first time in this championship on the 5th tee. It was Westwood who was celebrating by the green, after holing out from off the putting surface for an eagle. Westwood held the lead, by a stroke, on his own.
After seven, Westwood suddenly stood three clear of the field. The Englishman played a glorious tee shot into five feet and converted, and Woods went long and bogeyed. At the 8th, as Westwood missed from four feet for par, only four players lay better than even. That number never increased.
Westwood snatched back the initiative on the 14th, where his brilliant approach shot left only three feet for birdie. Woods again found sand, but this time saved par.
Westwood's bogey on 16 was a fine score, given that it arrived by virtue of a 20-feet putt. Woods's birdie attempt slipped past by the narrowest of margins. What looked a potential three-shot swing ended up no worse than Westwood tying with his playing partner.
The final error of the round came from Woods. The 37-year-old erred when finding a fairway bunker on the par-five 17th with his second shot. A careless bogey negatively defined Woods's afternoon; only time will tell if it does likewise for his tournament. "If I hit it flat and flush, it's fine, it carries," said Woods of events on the penultimate hole. "But I spun it. And you spin it against that wind, it's not going to go very far."
Thursday, Friday and Saturday were the prelude; day four will be utterly compelling.

José Mourinho's pursuit of Wayne Rooney puts David Moyes on the spot

Manchester United do not want to lose Rooney to Chelsea but what to do with the striker is the conundrum for manager Moyes

José Mourinho's pursuit of Manchester United's Wayne Rooney has left David Moyes with difficult decisions to make.

Football has graciously taken a back seat so far in this marvellous summer of sport but, like the distracting and vaguely annoying murmur of a bluebottle somewhere in the room, the unfathomable Wayne Rooney transfer saga has been creating a low hum that is impossible to ignore.
One presumes it is a transfer saga, because that is what it looks and feels like, even though Manchester United insist the player is not for sale and Rooney has yet to make it clear he wishes to leave. That is part of why the events of the past few weeks are so unfathomable. United say they value the player but behave as if they don't. Every footballer is for sale, particularly a 27-year-old international who is finding it hard to hold down a regular first-team place, and when David Moyes began his United tenure by spelling out that Rooney was not going anywhere he really needed to follow it with an indication that the player was happy to go along with this programme.
He did not, and neither did he promise Rooney more games or suggest that he had a role for him in the team now that he has fallen behind Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa in the pecking order, so most people formed the conclusion this was merely a ploy to keep the eventual price high. A selling club should never be seen to be too keen to get rid of their players, otherwise the bidding starts low, but whatever his intentions Moyes did not appear anxious to hang on to Rooney when he made his now infamous comments about his importance as back-up should Van Persie become injured.
When Chelsea made a bid it was a serious one, despite the early confusion about player exchanges and the club's annoyance about their £20m offer being made public. United turned it down, both to appear consistent and to see if anyone would come back with a better offer. What United would not have been expecting was for José Mourinho to make Rooney his only remaining transfer target of the summer, and to promise personally he would be back with another bid. So the current position is that Mourinho rates Rooney very highly indeed, while United appear not to. What is a chap supposed to do?
There is a school of thought that Rooney is not the player he once was, never will be again, and United would have been better off cashing in when he asked for a transfer two years ago. There is also a reasonable argument that the player himself is to blame for the present state of affairs, having gone off the boil to the extent that Sir Alex Ferguson felt it necessary to bring in Van Persie, and leave Rooney out for the crucial Champions League game against Real Madrid. All fair enough, except that the manager of Real Madrid at the time was one J Mourinho, and it now appears he must have been extremely glad to see Rooney absent from the team-sheet.
Mourinho is not making a bid for Van Persie as his main striker, he is making a bid for the player he displaced, which means that either he or Ferguson has wrongly assessed Rooney's ability and potential contribution.
Ferguson is out of it now, it is Moyes who is feeling the heat from one of the few unresolved issues bequeathed to him by his illustrious predecessor. Ferguson fudged his first falling-out with Rooney, ending up giving the player an enormous pay rise that his form at the time scarcely merited, and dumped his most recent one into Moyes's lap, though few imagine the new United manager is not receiving advice and information on the matter from the old one. The situation by itself may have been hard enough for Moyes to handle, but Mourinho's interest raises the stakes much higher.
United cannot afford to pack Rooney off to Chelsea and see him turn out a success, because that would not only impinge on their own trophy aspirations but make the first big decision Moyes had to take look a bad one. So now when they say Rooney is not for sale it is much easier to believe them.
Chelsea is the last place on earth United would like Rooney to end up, and quite possibly the club they least expected to table a determined bid. Should they succeed in prising Cesc Fábregas away from Barcelona, delivering a snub to Arsenal in the process, it would show United are still seen as the major player in English football, the club most players dream of joining. It would perhaps be unwise for Rooney to turn his back on all that, and some of his friends are advising him not to, yet many of the Old Trafford bridges are already burned. And for a player in Rooney's position, how flattering it must be to know Mourinho is keenly interested. Chelsea have won the Champions League more recently than United, after all, and Mourinho is the sort of manager who can make things happen fairly quickly.
All of which adds up to a headache for Moyes, who needs to act swiftly and decisively to prevent the Rooney camp setting the agenda. That is difficult enough when you are in Australia and news is leaking out of Manchester, but probably not as tricky as being caught in a Ferguson-Mourinho sandwich. It is not the introduction to top-level management Moyes might have wished, although the job description does imply the necessity of outsmarting top-level managers. As if following Ferguson was not a sufficiently tall order, Mourinho's aura is threatening to make Moyes look weedy before a ball has even been kicked.

Football transfer rumours: PSG to trigger Lionel Messi's £215m release?

Today's rumours can taste it already

How do you like them apples, Barça!

It rarely pays to get on the wrong side of a mega-zillionaire. They have so many hired goons and trap doors leading to shark tanks hidden around their office. But it seems that's precisely what Barcelona have gone and done with their pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain's Thiago Silva. PSG are furious and have told Barcelona that if they don't back off, they will go for the nuclear option and meet Lionel Messi's £215m release clause, before moving Sagrada Familia and Las Ramblas to Paris. How do you like them apples, Barça! Probably about as much as news that Cesc Fábregas is edging closer to joining Manchester United for £26m.
Barcelona would probably be better off turning their attention elsewhere, then. Luckily they've already identified a new defensive target: Liverpool's Daniel Agger, who's theirs for £12m. The bad news doesn't end there for Liverpool: Stewart Downing has turned down a move to West Ham and Rafa Benítez wants Pepe Reina to join him at Napoli. Rafa … how could you? Did it all mean nothing to you? Istanbul … Ring of Fire … Antonio Núñez. You think you know someone.
Arsène Wenger has been given the green light to offer £40m for Luis Suárez but when he does, he'll soon discover that Liverpool have been busy moving the goalposts. Turns out that while everyone's been faffing around, they've decided that they'd quite like £55m for Suárez. Not to worry, though, it just means that Arsenal can press ahead with nabbing Gonzalo Higuaín from Real Madrid. But what's this? Chelsea are in for Higuaín as well? Oh Arsène! See, this is why you were right not to bother in the transfer market all those years. It just leads to anger and disappointment.
Manchester City are close to completing deals for Stevan Jovetic and Alvaro Negredo and the spending will continue after a £26m bid for Benfica's Eduardo Salvio. Roberto Martínez will continue to Wiganise Everton by signing James McCarthy. He's also after Porto's Christian Atsu, but faces competition from Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham. Stoke have offered £8m for Hannover's Mame Biram Diouf and Newcastle want Marseille's André-Pierre Gignac. West Ham are in for QPR's Loïc Rémy after missing out on Colombian striker Duvan Zapata and have also made a bid for Sporting Heehon's Oscar Trejo.

Barcelona eyeing up Luis Enrique to be Tito Vilanova's successor

• Celta Vigo appointed former Barça B coach six weeks ago

• Gerardo Martino of Newell's Old Boys also a candidate

Luis Enrique, who became manager of Celta Vigo six weeks ago, is the favourite to succeed Tito Vilanova.

The former Barcelona B team coach Luis Enrique has emerged as the favourite to become the Catalan club's new first-team manager after Tito Vilanova's decision to step down, with Gerardo Martino, the coach of the Argentinian side Newell's Old Boy coach, also among those that have been contacted.
Luis Enrique became manager of Celta Vigo less than six weeks ago and Barcelona would be obliged to pay €3m (£2.6m) to release him. They hope to announce their new manager in the next few days and do not intend to promote from within.
Barça's president, Sandro Rosell, said on Friday evening that Vilanova would not be continuing. A routine check revealed that the 44-year-old Vilanova has suffered a further recurrence of the throat cancer that was first diagnosed in 2011, when he was assistant coach to Pep Guardiola. He will undergo a new course of treatment that the president described as "incompatible" with managing the first team.
Vilanova had a tumour removed from his parotid gland in November 2011 and appeared to have beaten the cancer but suffered a first recurrence in December last year, a few months after he succeeded Guardiola as first-team manager. He missed two months of last season while receiving treatment in New York, leaving the team in the temporary hands of his assistant Jordi Roura, and returned to help lead the side to the title.
Rosell described the news as a "terrible blow" but insisted: "Life goes on." He added: "We will present the new coach in the next few days, hopefully by early next week." The speed suggested that Barcelona had a candidate in mind and that some talks had already taken place but the timing complicates matters for the club. Barcelona had a contingency plan in place and had talked to Vilanova about the possibility of him not taking charge of the team this season but, until these latest tests, the coach was adamant that he wished to continue.
The man lined up in case Vilanova did not carry on was Ernesto Valverde, who had been Barcelona's second choice before they opted for Vilanova when Guardiola left at the end of the 2011-12 season. But with Vilanova believing he was well enough to carry on, Valverde eventually joined Athletic Bilbao.
Luis Enrique in his Barcelona playing days.   Given that situation, Vilanova's preference is understood to be Luis Enrique and he had been alerted to the club's interest in him but he returned to Spain to coach Celta Vigo, signing a deal with them in early June. Barcelona are proceeding with discretion but are understood to be optimistic that they can reach an agreement with Celta and Luis Enrique, who declined to comment yesterday from his club's pre‑season training camp in Portugal.
Barcelona have also though spoken to Martino to sound out his availability. The Argentinian had been among the candidates for the job at Real Sociedad earlier in the summer and his profile and philosophy fits the Barcelona model. Leo Messi would also welcome his appointment.
As a player, Luis Enrique joined Barcelona from Real Madrid and went on to play 300 games for the club. His first managerial appointment was as coach of Barcelona B, taking over from Guardiola in 2008 when Guardiola moved up to the first team. Luis Enrique guided Barcelona B to a return to the Spanish Second Division for the first time in more than a decade and then led them to a third-placed finish, although league rules mean that B teams cannot be promoted further. After three years, Luis Enrique left for Roma but he experienced a largely turbulent season. Among his first signings for Celta were the two former Barcelona B team players Rafinha and Nolito.

Ashes 2013: Joe Root ton gives England total control against Australia

Joe Root celebrates his century for England against Australia at Lord's in the second Ashes Test.

Joe Root, pragmatic, plucky and eventually rather perky, cemented his position at the top of England's batting order. His unbeaten 178 was a very fine effort on what may be a tricky batting surface when some fresh bowlers are let loose upon it. Root's innings ensured that England remain in an invincible position. They lead by the small matter of 566 and they may well add a few more on Sunday morning just for good measure. But there were times before tea when it felt as if we were witnessing cement dry.
For seven days this Ashes series has produced a feast of vibrant, unpredictable, riveting entertainment. Even those who must have felt blessed to possess a ticket for the Saturday of the Lord's Test may have been experiencing second thoughts as England crawled through the first two sessions. Their perseverance was rewarded when England were unshackled against a flagging, resigned attack in the evening. But it was a day devoid of tension. It was just a question of how many runs England would score and how quickly.
By the close Root had graduated from dependable to dashing and had registered his second Test century and his first against Australia. He became the youngest Englishman to make an Ashes century here. He celebrated with a glass of water and a handshake from his younger brother, Billy, who was acting as 12th man.
His landmark is a recognisable rite of passage. In truth there has never been any suggestion that Root's place was in jeopardy. They have long since identified that he is made of the right stuff and that he should be given plenty of time to bed in at the top of the order. The only way he was ever going to be jettisoned from the England team was if he thumped some innocent in a bar late at night.
Initially Root's innings was not always a thing of beauty, but given that England were 30 for three on Friday night he was entitled to take his time.
Moreover, until Ian Bell began to play skittishly in the final session he scored faster than his partners. Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of all for the England hierarchy was this: Root did not start his innings in particularly good form and yet he still hit a century. This hints at a ruthlessness that is masked by his angelic looks. After reaching three figures he accelerated impishly with reverse sweeps and inside-out drives that previous Yorkshire openers have generally eschewed.
However, there were moments as the England innings was dribbling along in mid-afternoon when one wished it was still 1899. Until 1900 the follow-on was compulsory but then some bright spark (it was probably a commercial whizzkid, who wanted to maximise the gate takings) decided to make it optional. There were moments on Saturday when this seemed a great shame. For much of the time the game meandered and the batsmen dawdled as if they were guaranteed a share of the takings on the fifth day. The modern cricketer, as opposed to his predecessors, likes a long game.
England's decision not to enforce the follow-on was easy to understand. There was masses of time left in the game; the pitch, another dry one, was likely to deteriorate; the weather forecast was benign. They could grind the Aussies into the St John's Wood dust. Which they duly did for two sessions.
While Root occasionally delighted with the purity of a straight drive or two down to the pavilion, Tim Bresnan, an intelligent choice of nightwatchman, plodded along dutifully. Since England's lead after the first two innings was 233 they were hardly in crisis but this was not immediately obvious given the watchfulness of Bresnan's batting.
Bresnan, selected in place of Steven Finn, has had a good game and given that England are odds-on to leave Lord's with a 2-0 lead the likelihood of him staying in the team is enhanced. His bowling offers more control than his rivals and here he offered a reminder that he can bat for a long time, which is a handy virtue for a team that does not have to play catch‑up cricket.
After a wicketless morning Bresnan was eventually caught at square leg when trying to pull a delivery from James Pattinson. After a partnership of 99 runs, which had occupied 47 overs, the sight of Bell coming to the middle was hardly an uplifting moment for bowlers, who had toiled manfully and accurately.
Soon the Australians thought they had Bell caught in the gully by Steve Smith off the bowling of Ryan Harris when he was on three. So did most experienced onlookers but there was a timid retreat by the on-field umpires to their man in front of the television screen (Tony Hill) and we all know what happens next when such catches are reviewed. A scintilla of doubt is created. To no one's great surprise, but to the dismay of many, who detected a fair catch, Bell was given not out.
Australia have not had the rub of the green with the umpiring decisions in this match. But they have been utterly outplayed.
Bell soon profited from this reprieve with familiar cuts and deft glances that sped to the boundary and the run rate rocketed in the final session.
In the morning England mustered 73 runs; in the afternoon they decelerated, eking out 57 without many varieties, but in the final session they atoned spectacularly, cracking 162 runs. Michael Clarke, maybe mindful of what happened when he took the second new ball at Nottingham, declined to allow his bowlers another new one here.
So Ashton Agar and Smith were put to the sword. Smith had the consolation of a wicket. There was no doubting the validity of the catch this time, an excellent one by Chris Rogers at midwicket, even if it was travelling at the speed of light as Bell middled a long-hop in that direction.