FORMER Beirut hostage John McCarthy is planning to marry a BBC publisher this year, according to friends.
Anna Ottewill (30) and he met while working together on a book. They spent Christmas in Ireland, where they rented a cottage, and met Brian Keenan, another former Lebanon hostage.
McCarthy's romance with Jill Morrell, his girlfriend at the time he was taken hostage in 1986, did not survive his release in 1995. Morrell, who campaigned for his freedom, is said to have given the relationship her blessing.
Former James Bond Roger Moore (69) has ended a year of bitter wrangling with his wife of 27 years by agreeing to pay a divorce settlement of £7.6 million.
His wife Luisa (57), with whom he had three children, had demanded twice that sum, or half of his £27.5 million fortune, after the British actor left her for Christina Tholstrup (55) the Swedish born widow of a Danish industrialist.
The Daily Mail reported that Moore had agreed to up his initial offer to Luisa by £3 million. She was threatening to take the case to California's divorce court which would automatically rule to give her half of Moore's estate.
After 60 years of flying into battle in the same outfit, Superman is due for a revamp in the March issue of DC Comics. The superhero will shed his traditional red and yellow uniform, and even his cape, for streamlined, blue and white tights with jagged stripes resembling lightning bolts.
"The costume is electrical looking," DC Comics executive editor Mike Carlin told the New York Post. "He still wears an S on his chest, but it's not the one we're used to."
Superman's powers also undergo a change. "Bullets don't bounce off him anymore. They go right through him," said Carlin.
The Duke of Edinburgh (75) was the busiest member of the British royal family last year, according to an annual survey of functions attended. He turned up at 619 official functions in 1996, 12 more than Princess Anne, who came second. Queen Elizabeth came third with 585 engagements.
As usual, Prince Andrew came close to bottom, attending 129 events. His younger brother Prince Edward showed up at 219 engagements.
The Queen Mother (96) still managed 58 engagements.