Italian PM Hospitalised After Attack

Italian PM Hospitalised After Attack He received his injuries after being struck in the face by a model of Milan cathedral. The suspect, 42 year old Massimo Tartaglia, has a history of mental illness, according to the BBC. The suspect was arrested at the scene and later charged with assault.

Footage showed a dazed and bloodied Berlusconi being lead away into an official car. He tried to get out of the car several times before being driven away. He was later admitted to the San Raffaele hospital in Milan where he spent Sunday night. Today a statement released by the hospital confirmed that Berlusconi would need to spend further time at the hospital to recover. His injuries are thought to include a broken nose, two broken teeth, a cut lip and bruising. He will require stitches but his injuries are not thought to require surgery. According to reports in The Guardian newspaper, the injuries sustained by Berlusconi are more serious than initial reports suggested, with his personal doctor stating that he had lost up to half a litre of blood.

Berlusconi has been embroiled in controversy for the past year following his alleged relations with an 18 year old model, his subsequent divorce and multiple allegations of fraud and corruption. He is an increasingly divisive figure within Italy and last week up to a quarter of a million people attended an anti-Berlusconi rally in Rome. The attack has, however, been widely condemned, with one of Berlusconi's political allies, Umberto Bossi, calling the attack an "act of terrorism".

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