The record breakers in the news today

Italy's former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has had his prison sentence for tax fraud was upheld by the country's highest court.

The ruling by Rome's Court of Cassation, against which he cannot appeal, came after a three-day hearing

The 76-year-old is however unlikely to go to jail because of his age.

According to Forbes, in 2004, the media tycoon had amassed a personal wealth of $10 billion (£5 billion), making him the world’s richest prime minister.

The BBC has announced that the new star of Doctor Who will be revealed in a special live TV programme on Sunday.

The half-hour show will feature an interview with the new lead, as well as their predecessor, 11th Doctor Matt Smith and executive producer Steven Moffat.

"The decision is made and the time has come to reveal who's taking over the Tardis," Moffat said.

Smith, born on 28 October 1982, who was 26 when he filmed his first scenes as the Time Lord, making him the youngest Doctor Who.

Staying with science fiction, it’s been confirmed that three sequels to James Cameron’s Avatar will hit cinemas between 2016 and 2018.

Two further films featuring the alien planet of Pandora had originally been planned, however announcing the news yesterday, director Cameron explained that this would have proved insufficient for his vision.

"In writing the new films, I've come to realize that Avatar's world, story and characters have become even richer than I anticipated," Cameron said in a statement.

"It became apparent that two films would not be enough to capture everything I wanted to put on screen," he continued.

Footage from the deepest reaches of the Earth’s ocean gathered in March 2012 by the Canadian film maker, when he made the first solo exploration of the Challenger Deep valley in the floor of the Mariana Trench, in the Western Pacific, hold the record for deepest underwater video footage.

Finally, to the world of sport. Well sort of.

It’s unsurprisingly been revealed that One Direction's Louis Tomlinson career with English soccer team Doncaster Rovers is set to be a brief one.

The singer made the news yesterday after “signing” for the club for which he once worked as a match-day waiter.

However, to the relief of his millions of fans, and no doubt Rovers supporters, the club today clarified the terms of the “deal”, revealing that Louis is set to only appear in one game for Rovers’ second-string development squad in a bid to raise funds and awareness for the local Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice.

As of 16 May 2013, One Direction’s massive fanbase helped them earn the record for most popular band on Twitter, with 12,130,152 followers.