Judges in Milan rejected a request by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to halt his sex trial until after a national election next month, but allowed the key witness to avoid giving testimony in open court.

The Moroccan-born nightclub dancer at the centre of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s sex trial told friends he was ready to pay millions for her silence, according to newly published wiretaps.

DOZENS of naked women surround the Italian prime minister vying with each other to arouse him — Silvio Berlusconi’s “bunga bunga” parties as reportedly described to prosecutors by a key participant.