■ United States
ABC sued over Osama tape
An Egyptian cameraman has sued ABC News for copyright infringement, claiming that rare footage he shot of Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan during the 1980s was used by the network without his permission. In a suit filed last Wednesday in US District Court in Denver and made public this week, Essam Mohamed Aly Deraz seeks US$10 million in damages and to bar ABC from further use of the still photos and video pictures that he took "at great risk to his personal safety." Deraz, who lives in Cairo, claims that in 1998 ABC News paid him a total of US$15,000 to twice air the images on a "limited basis" but continued to use the pictures without his permission.
■ Peru
Giant croc unearthed
Peruvian explorers have discovered the fossilized remains of a giant, 14m-long crocodile deep in the Amazon jungle, lending credence to a theory that the world's largest rainforest was once a huge inland sea, a scientist said on Friday. A French-funded expedition of 12 scientists found the remains of the crocodile's huge skeleton, jaw and teeth under the thick undergrowth of Peru's northern jungle. Once weighing 9 tonnes and with a 1.3m-long head, the crocodile is only the second fossil discovery of its kind in three decades, scientists said.
■ Zimbabwe
Newspaper attacks movie
Harare says a Hollywood blockbuster about an African president fighting to defend himself against charges of crimes against humanity before the UN Security Council is a blatant propaganda attack on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, the state-controlled Herald reported yesterday. The paper said the CIA was behind the release of The Interpreter, which shows the aging president of an imaginary African country, Matobo, forced to defend himself at a UN General Assembly against charges of genocide. The Herald claimed the release of the film had been specially timed to coincide with the opening of the UN General Assembly next week.
■ Brazil
Top economic aide quits
The top aide to the architect of Brazil's market-friendly economic policy resigned after denying he took part in a corruption scandal shaking the government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Finance Ministry said on Friday. Juscelino Dourado, chief of staff to Finance Minister Antonio Palocci, submitted his resignation on Thursday night without giving a specific reason but saying he always acted ethically. The move came a day after Dourado testified in Congress that he never participated in a kickback and illegal campaign finance operation with Palocci when Palocci was the mayor of the city of Ribeirao Preto in Sao Paulo state.
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