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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says she has separated from her partner Andrea Giambruno who has faced criticism for alleged sexist comments.

Ms Meloni, 46, took to her social media accounts on Friday to say her near decade-long relationship with television journalist Mr Giambruno “ends here”.

“I thank him for the splendid years we spent together, for the difficulties we went through, and for giving me the most important thing in my life, which is our daughter Ginevra,” the post read.

“Our paths have diverged for some time, and the time has come to acknowledge it.

“I will defend what we were, I will defend our friendship, and I will defend, at all costs, a seven-year-old girl who loves her mother and loves her father, as I was unable to love mine.

“I have nothing else to say about this.”

Husband of the newly appointed Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni Andrea Giambruno holds their daughter Ginevra at a ceremony in Rome
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Mr Giambruno holds his daughter at a ceremony in Rome

The announcement comes after Mr Giambruno, the presenter of an Italian news programme on broadcaster Mediaset, was embroiled in controversy for comments that emerged this week.

Another Mediaset show broadcast off-air excerpts on Wednesday, in which Mr Giambruno allegedly uses explicit language before appearing to make advances towards a female colleague, asking her: “Why didn’t I meet you before?”

A day later, another recording was released in which Mr Giambruno is apparently heard boasting about an affair and telling female colleagues they can work for him if they take part in group sex.

According to Sky TG24, the news channel owned by Sky Italia, the presenter is heard asking one colleague: “Can I touch my package while I’m talking to you?”

He then allegedly asks if a colleague knows that he is having an affair with someone else in the workplace, saying “all of Mediaset” already knows about it.

He adds: “We are looking for a third participant. Let’s do threesomes… even foursomes”, according to Sky TG24.

Release of vulgar remarks suggests deeper political matter at play

Like everyone else, Giorgia Meloni is entitled to a private life. But Meloni’s separation from her partner is bound to raise questions that range from annoying to embarrassing – and even politically awkward.

Andrea Giambruno’s comments would be vulgar and unacceptable in any context.

Coming from his nation’s “first gentleman”, they almost defy belief – it’s as if he’s pretending to be some kind of sitcom Italian stereotype from half a century ago. Except this wasn’t an act.

Meloni has been praised for acting quickly and, so it’s claimed, proving that women don’t have to accept being stuck in a bad relationship.

But this is also the prime minister who has claimed that the traditional family unit must be the bedrock of Italian life, despite never marrying her partner.

Her detractors will inevitably ask why it’s okay for her to be a single mother, while telling everyone else that it’s best if they’re married, heterosexual, and settled.

Then there’s the question of the coverage. Giambruno’s humiliation was down to tapes broadcast by Mediaset, the company set up by the late Silvio Berlusconi and now run by his adult children.

Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party is part of the coalition that keeps Meloni in power so the question is – did Mediaset release these videos simply for their news value, or is there a deeper political matter at play?

With Silvio dead, for instance, are the Berlusconi children considering changing their political allegiances?

As ever in Italian politics, the manoeuvring happens in multiple dimensions. But at least Meloni has learnt one thing from previous political scandals – act fast. Giambruno, her partner for a decade, has very quickly been consigned to history.

Andrea Giambruno, partner of Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni watches her speaking in parliament
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Mr Giambruno watches as Ms Meloni speaks in parliament

The TV journalist had already been widely criticised in August for apparent victim-blaming comments following a gang rape case.

“If you go dancing, you have every right to get drunk – there shouldn’t be any kind of misunderstanding and any kind of problem,” he said during a broadcast.

“But if you avoid getting drunk and losing your senses, you might also avoid running into certain problems and coming across a wolf.”

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Mr Giambruno, whose TV career took off after Ms Meloni’s right-wing party took power in Italy in October 2022, denied victim blaming and said his comments had been taken out of context by critics.

He has yet to comment on the latest controversies publicised this week, nor on Ms Meloni’s update.

Ms Meloni said in August that she should not be judged for comments made by her partner, and that in future she would not answer questions about his behaviour.

She did not address any of the criticism levelled at Mr Giambruno in her most recent social media update.

She ended it with the message: “Ps. All those who hoped to weaken me by hitting me at home should know that however much the drop may hope to dig out the stone, the stone remains stone and the drop is only water.”

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Israel warns Gaza City residents to flee south to ‘humanitarian area’

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Israel warns Gaza City residents to flee south to 'humanitarian area'

Any remaining residents in Gaza’s largest city should leave for a designated area in the south, Israel’s military has warned.

Israeli forces are carrying out an offensive on suburbs of Gaza City, in the territory’s north, as part of plans to capture it – raising concern over an already-devastating humanitarian crisis.

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced pressure to stop the attack and allow more aid in, the military has announced a new humanitarian zone in the south.

Spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Gaza City residents should head to a designated coastal area of Khan Younis.

There, he said they would be able to receive food, medical care and shelter.

On Thursday, Israel said it has control of around 40% of Gaza City and 75% of the entire territory of Gaza.

Many of the city’s residents had already been displaced earlier in the war, only to return later. Some of them have said they will refuse to move again.

That’s despite the military claiming it is within a few kilometres of the city centre, coming after weeks of heavy strikes.

But the war in Gaza has left Israel increasingly isolated in the diplomatic sphere, with some of its closest allies condemning the campaign that’s devastated the territory.

Just two weeks ago, a famine was declared in Gaza City and surrounding areas by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a globally recognised system for classifying the severity of food insecurity.

A resident runs with his belongings in Gaza City. Pic: Reuters
Image:
A resident runs with his belongings in Gaza City. Pic: Reuters

There is also concern within Israel, where calls have grown to stop the war and secure the release of the remaining 48 hostages.

Israel believes 20 of those hostages are still alive.

Even as relatives of those hostages lead protests, Mr Netanyahu continues to push for an all-or-nothing deal to release all hostages and defeat Hamas.

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On Friday, Donald Trump said Washington is in “very deep” negotiations with Hamas to release the captives.

“We said let them all out, right now let them all out. And much better things will happen for them but if you don’t let them all out, it’s going to be a tough situation, it’s going to be nasty,” he added.

Hamas is “asking for some things that are fine”, he said, without elaborating.

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‘Don’t bite me’: Man heard screaming moments before fatal shark attack in Sydney

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'Don't bite me': Man heard screaming moments before fatal shark attack in Sydney

A man was heard screaming in the water moments before he died after a shark attack in Sydney, witnesses have said.

Emergency services responded to reports that a man in his 50s had suffered critical injuries at Long Reef Beach shortly after 10am (1am in the UK) on Saturday.

The man, whose identity has yet to be confirmed, was brought to shore but died at the scene, authorities have said.

Two sections of a surfboard have been recovered and taken for examination, and beaches near the area are closed as drones search for the animal.

Police are liaising with wildlife experts to determine the species of shark involved.

Pic: Sky News Australia
Image:
Pic: Sky News Australia

Surfer screamed ‘don’t bite me’

Speaking to Sky News Australia, witness Mark Morgenthal said he saw the attack and that the shark was one of the biggest he had ever seen.

“There was a guy screaming, ‘I don’t want to get bitten, I don’t want to get bitten, don’t bite me,’ and I saw the dorsal fin of the shark come up, and it was huge,” Mr Morgenthal said.

“Then I saw the tail fin come up and start kicking, and the distance between the dorsal fin and the tail fin looked to be about four metres, so it actually looked like a six-metre shark.”

Mark Morgenthal said it 'looked like a six metre shark' in the attack. Pic: Sky News Australia
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Mark Morgenthal said it ‘looked like a six metre shark’ in the attack. Pic: Sky News Australia

Victim was a father and experienced surfer

New South Wales Police Superintendent John Duncan said at a press conference that the victim was 57 years old, calling the incident a “terrible tragedy”.

“The gentleman had gone out about 9.30 this morning with some of his friends, about five or six of his mates,” he added. “He’s an experienced surfer that we understand.

“Unfortunately, it would appear that a large, what we believe to be a shark, has attacked him. And as a result of that, he lost a number of limbs.

“His colleagues managed to make it back to the beach safely, and a short time later, his body was found floating in the surf, and a couple of other people went out and recovered it.”

Mr Duncan added that officers “understand he leaves behind a wife and a young daughter… and obviously tomorrow being Father’s Day is particularly critical and particularly tragic”.

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Local surfer and eyewitness Bill Sakula also told reporters at the beach: “It’s going to send shockwaves through the community.

“Everyone is going to be a little bit nervous for a while.”

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Surf Life Saving NSW has deployed a drone to search for further shark activity.

Its chief executive Steve Pearce said: “Our deepest condolences go to the family of the man involved in this terrible tragedy.”

Shark attacks are very rare, with this incident widely thought to be the first in New South Wales this year.

The last time a person in Sydney was killed in a shark attack was in February 2022 – the city’s first fatal shark attack since 1963.

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British couple killed in Lisbon funicular crash named

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British couple killed in Lisbon funicular crash named

Two of the three Britons killed in the Lisbon funicular crash have been named.

Kayleigh Smith, 36, and William Nelson, 44, were a couple and died alongside 14 others in Wednesday’s incident.

Ms Smith graduated from the Arden School of Theatre in Manchester, where Mr Nelson ran the master’s degree in directing.

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Lisbon crash: What happened?

The identity of the third British victim has not yet been confirmed.

MADS theatre in Macclesfield, Cheshire, said Ms Smith was a “valued member of our society” who will be “greatly missed”.

It said she was an award-winning director and actress, who had also done multiple crew and front-of-house roles.

Five Portuguese citizens died when the packed carriage plummeted out of control – four of them workers at a charity on the hill – but most victims were foreigners.

Police said the other fatalities were two Canadians, two South Koreans, one American, one French citizen, one Swiss and one Ukrainian.

All but one were declared dead at the scene – and 21 others in the packed carriage were injured.

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‘We felt no brakes anymore’

The yellow carriages of the Gloria funicular are a big draw for tourists, as well as a proud symbol of the Portuguese capital.

The journey is just 265m (870ft) up a steep hill and takes three minutes, with two carriages travelling in opposite directions on a linked cable.

Read more:
Everything we know about the Lisbon crash

Witnesses reported seeing one of the carriages hurtle down the hill before derailing and crashing 30m from the bottom.

The aftermath shows it crumpled and twisted against the side of a building.

People who were in the bottom carriage said they were a few metres into the climb when it started going backwards.

When they saw the other car speeding towards them, many jumped through the windows to escape.

The crash happened around 6pm on Wednesday. Pic: Reuters
Image:
The crash happened around 6pm on Wednesday. Pic: Reuters

Prime Minister Luis Montenegro called the crash “one of the biggest tragedies of our recent past” and authorities are under intense pressure to quickly identifying the cause.

One witness who was in the lower carriage told Sky’s Europe correspondent Alistair Bunkall that the brakes appeared to fail.

The carriage’s brakeman, Andre Marques, has also been confirmed among the dead.

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‘I screamed, we’re all going to die’

Officials said the streetcar, which has been running since 1914, had a half-hour visual inspection every day and underwent full maintenance last year.

The line links the downtown area near Restauradores Square with Lisbon’s Bairro Alto neighbourhood.

A preliminary technical report due on Friday has now been delayed until Saturday. Another report with a broader scope is expected within 45 days.

Three other funicular lines in Lisbon have been suspended.

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