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Journalism of Courage
Promise Keepers
The conservative Christian men8217;s group Promise Keepers has severe financial problems and will idle its workers next month, officials said. A spokesman for the group said that 345 people would lose their jobs and that in April, Promise Keepers 8212; which staged a one-day spiritual rally of 500,000 men in Washington last October 8212; would become an all-volunteer organisation. Last year, Promise Keepers had a budget of nearly 90 million. The group decided to drop admission fees to the group8217;s stadium events in 1998 to bring in low-income men but the move dried up revenues.
Not at large now
Colombian police on Thursday nabbed the man believed to be the last major drug lord still at large in the country, police Chief Rosso Jose Serrano said. Jose Urrego Cardenas, 43, who was wanted on charges of drug trafficking and criminal conspiracy, was captured at his luxury country home on the outskirts of the north-eastern city of Medellin, said Serrano. He is accused of being a major moneylaunderer and the leader of a faction of the Cali cocaine cartel. Serrano said at a press conference that his agents had been searching for Urrego since October 1996. President Ernesto Samper welcomed Urrego8217;s capture and called on the US to 8220;certify8221; Colombia8217;s anti-drug efforts.
BBC8217;s blind man
The British Broadcasting Corporation BBC has hired a blind man as a television director. Damon Rose, 27, beat 350 applicants to win a place on a two-year production training course, a spokeswoman said. 8220;The BBC aims to reflect all sections of society and we are delighted to be able to offer Damon the opportunity to work in such a competitive industry,8221; the spokeswoman said. The spokeswoman said Rose receives help from another person describing the scene and then instructs a camera operator. Rose told The Sun: 8220;I was an avid TV viewer until I lost my sight at 13. I remember how it works.8221;
Windsors8217; wedding
A small ribbon-wrapped box supposedly holding a piece of wedding cake fromthe Duke and Duchess of Windsor8217;s nuptials fetched 29,900 on Thursday at the Sotheby8217;s auction house in New York. 8220;We haven8217;t opened the box,8221; said Diana Brooks, Sotheby8217;s President and the auctioneer. 8220;You have to trust us on that.8221; The souvenir, enclosed in a white cardboard box tied with a white silk ribbon, had been estimated at between 500 and 1,000. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor thwarted British royal destiny when then King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936 for the love of Wallis Warfield Simpson.
Top hero
According to a UNESCO study Terminator8217;, the killer robot played by American actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, is the most popular character among the world8217;s children. The survey, billed as the first ever worldwide study of violence in the media, said a stunning 88 per cent of children around the world know terminator8217; who has become 8220;a global icon8221;. More than half the children brought up in environments of violence, such as countries at war or crime-plagued areas, wanted tobe like Terminator8217;, who turned good in a follow-on film Terminator 2: Judgement Day and helped save the world. The survey said television was the strongest single factor creating a global culture of violence. Asia had the highest ranking for action heroes 34 per cent 8212; while Africa had the lowest 8212; 18 per cent.
Third time lucky
Burt Reynolds is planning a wedding, his third one. Reynolds, 62, told Entertainment Tonight he will marry Pam Seals, a former cocktail lounge manager and he doesn8217;t take marriage lightly. 8220;I8217;m terrified of marriage. I8217;m terrified of not doing something so important, well8230;And at the same time I think you shouldn8217;t rush into these things. We8217;ve only known each other nine years,8221; Reynolds said in the interview. Asked if he was engaged, Reynolds said, 8220;Yeah, I guess so8221;. Pressed again, he said: 8220;We are then. And I8217;m happy about it.8221; The wedding date hasn8217;t been set. Reynolds8217; previous wives were Judy Carne and Loni Anderson.
Hounded out
US film starRaquel Welch left Vienna8217;s glamorous Opera Ball early on Friday after being hounded by paparazzi with few other celebrities to chase. The 58-year-old actress, invited to the ball by a Vienna businessman, left shortly after midnight after cameramen persistently followed her at the 210-a-ticket event. Vienna businessman Richard Lugner, a publicity-friendly tycoon who is running for the Austrian presidency in April, said Welch was 8220;more than super,8221; but admitted the press interest was a little over the top. 8220;She said she was enjoying it, but the media interest was simply too much,8221; said Lugner. The ball8217;s guest-list was the subject of frenzied speculation for weeks. Topping the hoped-for list were US actor Richard Gere and Priscilla Presley. Neither turned up.
