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Journalism of Courage
Boris is sick
Any political initiative that exists to correct the Russian economy seems to lie with the alarmingly silent Boris Yeltsin, still sequestered in his country residence outside Moscow officially on holiday during one of the greatest crises of his presidency. The president is due to fly to the Arctic to attend a naval exercise by 15 ships of the Northern Fleet, during which every weapon in the naval arsenal, will be fired for his delight.
Another Di
Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell 8212; once known as Ginger Spice8217; 8212; is to sell her old stage outfits in a Princess Diana style8217; auction for charity, it was reported. The Sun newspaper said Halliwell, 26, who quit the group in May, hoped to raise around Aring;ldquo; 1 million for charity. Diana, Princess of Wales, raised 6.3 million for her favourite charities when she sold 79 of her gowns at Christie8217;s auctioneers shortly before her death on August 31 last year.
Land at last
US Balloonist Steve Fossett arrived back on dry land happy to be alive after his failed attempt to circle the globe but refused to rule out another bid at aviation history. The millionaire Chicago stockbroker arrived in the Australian Port city of Townsville, three days after his balloon ran into a fierce storm andplummetted to Earth. He said the way now appeared to be clear for British tycoon Richard Branson and others to attempt to become the first to go around the world in a balloon. 8220;It leaves an open field for the competitors, Branson is one,8221; he said at a press conference aboard the New Zealand navy tanker that helped rescue him from the shark-infested Coral Sea. The 54-year-old called the disaster 8220;a sobering experience. The closest I8217;ve ever come to being killed8221;, but, like a true adventurer, he is refusing to give up.
Czech memories
Thirty years on, the Soviet officer who arrested Alexander Dubcek after the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops recalls confronting the reform communist leader with the words: 8220;We have come to your assistance to protect you from counter-revolution.8221; Speaking for the first time of his part in the invasion at dawn on August 21, 1968, Sarip Minigulov admitted that the Soviet-led invasion had been a mistake. Minigulov, a former Soviet paratroop colonel nowaged 72, said in an interview with the Czech news agency CTK: 8220;We had no right to interfere in your country.8221; After leading his troops in a parachute landing at Prague airport, Minigulov recalled, he had had the task of personally arresting Dubcek, then Czech communist party leader. Soviet and other Warsaw Pact forces intervened in Czechoslovakia to crush the so-called Prague Spring in which Dubcek had attempted to reform Czechoslovak communism along more democratic lines. 8220;I was only a soldier who had to obey orders,8221; said the former officer, now in retirement. He said his impression of Dubcek had been of 8220;a man of mediocre will8221;.
Princess business
The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, set up four days after the People8217;s Princess died in a Paris car crash last August to manage the flow of cash donations, has received about 133 million but the Diana business in total has generated 320 million since her death, according to some estimates. A staggering aray of memorabilia from guidedtours of the crash scene to musicalplates bearing her image and chiming to the strains of Candle in the Wind continue to find buyers. Worldwide sales of official recordings of the musical tribute written by the popstar friend of Diana, Elton John, generated 48 million for the fund.
The fund has also reaped royalties of about 20 million from the sale of seven official Diana souvenirs. 8220;We expect to authorise a lot more products,8221; said Vanessa Corringham, a spokeswoman for the trust. A wide range of authorised products, including Diana margarine and Diana scratchcards, have whipped up a storm of protest from the media and calls from her brother, Lord Spencer, for the fund to distribute its cash and shut up shop.
But business is booming outside the official Diana estate. One Parisian hotel is charging 25 for a tour tracing Diana8217;s last, fateful journey in a black Mercedes car, similar to the vehicle in which the princess was killed with her lover Dodi Fayed and their driver Henri Paul.
