People

Learning from Di
The British royal family acknowledged that the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, spurred a modernisation of the monarchy. Buckingham Palace said in a statement that all members of the household had taken note of the 36-year-old princess8217; public championing of causes and her informality with the public. Queen Elizabeth II now undertook less formal visits and spent more quality time talking to people from every walk of life, said a palace spokeswoman. 8220;Change was already beginning, before the princess8217;s death, but the Paris car crash acted as a catalyst. The princess was good at picking issues and we have to learn from that. We are trying to add more informality it8217;s now more of a blend of the traditional with a little more informality.8221; Greater informality was being achieved by choosing different venues, like shopping centres, a pub and a fast-food restaurant, for example, she said.

Soros8217; loss
Billionaire investor George Soros8217; Quantum Fund has lost about 2 billion through investments in Russia, Soros8217; chief investment strategist said. Stanley Drucken Miller, who manages the 10.6 billion Quantum Fund for Soros, told CNBC that losses from the hedge fund so far this year was about 2 billion. 8220;There was a view in our shop that Russia had turned the corner and had gone the capitalist route,8221; Drucken Miller said. 8220;We thought they had gone to open society and would come out ofthis, and frankly, they8217;ve been caught in the financial meltdown that has affected the rest of the world.8221;

DiCaprio8217;s knee
Hollywood heart-throb Leonardo DiCaprio is hobbling around on crutches after an operation to cure a long-standing knee problem, the British tabloid The Mirror reported. The 23-year-old Titanic star was spotted walking with some difficulty at a shopping centre in Hollywood Hills, the paper said. DiCaprio has suffered from pain in his knee joints since he was an aspiring basketball player as a teenager. He portrayed a talented player side-tracked by drugs and following an artistic career as a writer in The Basketball Diaries. The Mirror said DiCaprio decided to go under the knife after he was plagued by knee problems while shooting The Man the Iron Mask.

Talking his way
In his first open political event since he admitted on August 17 to a sexual affair in the White House, President Bill Clinton urged Americans to 8220;act boldly8221; to meet the challenges of the future. The President, who made no mention of his affair with former intern Monica Lewinsky, drew thunderous applause from a crowd of several hundred spectators and passionate praise from state and local leaders who preceded him at the podium.

In a forward-looking speech clearly aimed at focusing attention away from the presidential sex scandal, Clinton touched on issues of major concern to Americans: education, retirement funding, health care, campaign finance reform, crime, terrorism, and the environment. 8220;We know that the world is changing fast, we must keep up,8221; Clinton told an exuberant crowd in this small northeastern city. It was clearly a safe haven for the Democratic President in this heavily Democratic state.

The Clintons flew to Martha8217;s Vineyard the day after his four-minute televised confession, though the President returned briefly last Thursday to Washington to announce US air strikes against terrorist-linked sites in Afghanistan and Sudan. Apart from that event, Clinton has kept a low profile, opting instead for healing time with his wife and daughter. All are likely bracing for more bombshells to come in Kenneth Starr8217;s report to Congress. Yet the American public, enjoying an extraordinary spell of peace and prosperity, appears unfazed by the revelation that he engaged in a sexual affair in the White House and then sought to conceal it. A poll conducted jointly by CNN and USA Today shows 62 per cent of respondents approving of Clinton8217;s job performance, though 67 per cent said he wasn8217;t honest or trustworthy.