British science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, who strongly denies allegations of paedophilia in his adopted home, Sri Lanka, yesterday attended a state banquet here in honour of visiting Prince Charles.
Clarke (80), dismissed as "nonsense" an allegation in a British newspaper that he had sex with young Sri Lankan boys, as he arrived at the Presidential Palace for the dinner hosted by President Chandrika Kumaratunga.
"Having always had a particular dislike for paedophiles, few charges could be more revolting to me than to be classed as one," Clarke said in a written statement signed as Sir Arthur C. Clarke.
He reiterated that he was seeking legal advice on the report published in Britain's Sunday Mirror newspaper.
Glenys Kinnock, a member of the European Parliament and the wife of EU Transport Commissioner and former British Labour party leader, Neil Kinnock, was caught driving in a car whose tax disc had expired eight months earlier.
Police stopped her as she was driving on a motorway in western England.
The Kinnocks said in a statement that the disc, which shows that £150 road tax had been paid, was out of date because of a mix-up over registration documents for their new Rover car.
Dustin Hoffman's daughter has been charged with theft, deception and forgery. Karina Hoffman-Birkhead (31) will appear before magistrates in Suffolk next month.
US congressional leaders have paid tribute to exiled Chinese dissident, Wei Jingsheng, who visited Washington to receive an award from the National Endowment for Democracy.
Trent Lott, a Republican from Mississippi, called Wei a "courageous freedom fighter", and Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the House of Representatives, said the Chinese activist was a man he had admired for a long time.
The son-in-law of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco has died in Madrid. Cristobal Martinez-Bordiu, who held the title of Marquis of Villaverde, was aged 75.