Court orders Diana photos damages

The photographs were taken off the Italian Riviera in 1997

A British photographer who took pictures of Princess Diana on Mohamed Al Fayed’s yacht has been ordered to pay damages to the Harrods owner.

Jason Fraser, 41, was cleared two years ago of breaking French criminal privacy laws by taking the photos in 1997.

But a court in Paris overturned the verdict and ordered Fraser to pay Mr Al Fayed 5,000 euros (£3,900). He was also fined a total of 3,000 euros (£2,400).

Fraser, of London, said he hoped the latest ruling would be overturned.

Car crash

“I remain confident and would expect a French supreme court to now confirm my continuing faith in the common sense of the French legal system,” he said.

The publishers of France Dimanche, which printed the pictures, were fined the same amount.

The photographs, which show the princess kissing her boyfriend, Mr Al Fayed’s son Dodi, were taken just days before the couple were killed in a Paris car crash in August 1997.

The yacht was off Portofino on the Italian Riviera but proceedings were able to take place in France because the photos were printed in British tabloids on sale in the country and featured in local publications.

Le Pen sells party HQ to Chinese

The National Front party headquarters was dubbed The Cruiseliner

France’s anti-immigrant party, the National Front, is selling its  headquarters to a Chinese university, according to the party leader.

Jean-Marie Le Pen has confirmed that the party base has been purchased by a Shanghai university.

Mr Le Pen, 79, has campaigned to become president several times under the slogan “Keep France for the French”.

But his party faces growing financial difficulties. It has already sold its bullet-proof car on Ebay.

The party has a total debt of some 9m euros ($13.4m; £7m), according to French newspaper Le Monde, partly due to a poor showing in the 2007 legislative elections which meant it had to cover its own campaign costs.

Language school

“A formal sale offer has been signed with a university in Shanghai,” the National Front’s press service said, quoted by AFP.

The unnamed Chinese higher education institution has reportedly paid between 12 and 15m euros ($18 – 22m; £9.4m – 11.7m) for the sprawling mansion in the western Paris suburb of Saint Cloud, known as The Cruiseliner.

The university is reportedly considering turning the building into a French language school.

The building, thought to be the party’s biggest asset, was inherited from a millionaire supporter in the 1970s.

The organization has already had some bank accounts frozen after disagreements with creditors.

Right-wing firebrand Mr Le Pen startled Europe by reaching the second round of the 2002 presidential election. In 2007, he achieved some 10% of votes in the presidential race.

Top Italian car designer killed

Andrea’s firm has been hit recently by the economic downturn

Andrea Pininfarina, head of a world-famous Italian car designgroup, has been killed in a road accident.

Mr Pininfarina was riding a scooter which was hit by a car on the outskirts of Turin early on Thursday. He was 51.

He was chief executive officer of the family firm Pininfarina, which has designed sports cars for Ferrari, Maserati, Volvo and Fiat.

He was the grandson of Battista Pininfarina, who founded the firm in Turin in 1930.

Andrea’s father Sergio Pininfarina, 81, is the company’s honorary chairman.

The family currently controls 55% of Pininfarina’s shares, but under a restructuring plan it aims to cut its stake to about 30%.

The firm recorded a net loss of 114.9m euros (£91m; $178m) last year.