Italy's ex-premier Berlusconi undergoes heart surgery

Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is undergoing heart surgery at a Milan hospital.

The 79-year-old media mogul was admitted to San Raffaele hospital on June 5 suffering from what his doctors said was a potentially fatal heart-valve problem.

The operation began on Tuesday morning and was expected to take about four hours.

Mr Berlusconi's personal doctor, Alberto Zangrillo, was attending the operation to replace the aortic valve, which was not closing properly.