A photographer accused of threatening to sell topless photos of Cameron Diaz testified that he initially thought the signature on her photo release form was authentic and acknowledged he hadn’t personally asked her to sign it. John Rutter (42) testified on Wednesday that his practice during photo shoots was to have an assistant take care of the forms instead.
Michael Schumacher can look forward to noisy support from his loyal home fans at this weekend’s German Grand Prix — and not much else. A victory seems out of reach for the seven-time Formula One champion and his underachieving Ferrari team.
Nasa set Tuesday as the tentative launch date for the shuttle Discovery, after saying it was confident the technical glitch that delayed the original July 13 launch has been overcome. ”Right now we think we have eliminated all possible causes” related to the glitch, said shuttle programme director Bill Parson.
The United Association of South Africa (Uasa) and the management of South African Airways (SAA) will meet on Thursday for informal discussions regarding pay negotiations. Uasa called off Wednesday’s nationwide strike after SAA management agreed to meet the union.
Kenya has its fair share of South Africans and when one has a craving for boerewors, koeksisters and melktert, one can head straight for Gail’s Kitchen on the outskirts of Nairobi. South African-born Gail Unsworth says she has trained a team of Kenyans to make food ”the South African way”.
Witchcraft, sorcery and fortune-telling are no longer illegal in Australia’s second-largest state after the Victorian state Parliament sitting in Melbourne on Thursday updated the statute book. ”It’s almost 200 years old and is steeped in the language and attitudes of Dickensian England,” Attorney General Rob Hulls said when introducing legislation to repeal the Vagrancy Act.
United States film director David Lynch said on Wednesday he is seeking to raise -billion to fund a giant programme of transcendental meditation which he says will foster world peace. The Oscar-nominated movie-maker will on Thursday launch the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-based Education and World Peace.
A report from a United Nations fact-finding mission on Zimbabwe’s demolition campaign was turned over to the Harare government on Wednesday and will be made public on Friday or Monday, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told a press briefing.
An investigation into the deaths of 22 babies from klebsiella bacteria at Durban’s Mahatma Gandhi hospital was ”another cover-up”, an organisation representing the parents said on Wednesday. ”How can the killers investigate the deaths of babies they have killed?” asked Alvin Brijlal, spokesperson for the non-profit organisation Voice.
Thousands of children are starving to death in Niger because the international community has been too slow to respond to the country’s food crisis, UN officials and aid workers said on Wednesday. They warned that the numbers dying could rise to 150Â 000 without urgent aid.