The casino at London's Ritz Hotel yesterday settled out of court its lawsuit against billionaire arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi for gambling debts of £8 million. The judge was told the parties had come to terms, which neither side disclosed. Costs of the case are thought to be up to £1 million.
Between January and April 1986 the 63-year-old Saudi businessman gambled £10 million. His luck ran out and he had to sign 16 cheques for £200,000 each, which his Swiss bank refused to honour.
Israel's transsexual pop star and Eurovision song contest winner Dana International can join men-only Jewish prayers.
Anyone born male is male for life, said Rabbi Eliahu Abergel, but added that Dana would have to "return to religion" to be able to say prayers with observant Jews. Born Yaron Cohen, Dana underwent a sex-change operation in 1993, and has become one of Israel's most popular singers. But her choice as Israel's entry for the Eurovision song contest and subsequent victory sparked outrage among Israel's influential religious circles.
Fans of the infamous womaniser, Giovanni Giacomo Casanova, gathered yesterday in the Czech town of Duchcov to mark the 200th anniversary of his death.
Women and men alike have been pouring by the hundreds into the Duchcov Castle, where the world's most renowned lover spent the last 13 years of his life, to take part in a programme of cultural and social events.