Italy's first lady hit by car

Italy's first lady, Clio Napolitano, was hit by a car as she left the presidential palace late on Thursday, fracturing bones in her leg and arm.

Although not seriously injured, the wife of President Giorgio Napolitano was being treated at a military hospital in Rome and was expected to undergo further checks yesterday.

She was hit while on a pedestrian crossing just outside the Quirinale palace, in the historic centre of Rome. The driver of the car was a 74-year-old woman.

The first lady, 72, and Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, who turned 82 yesterday, had just returned from Austria at the time of the accident.