Guess who missed his hot dinners?

PEOPLE

Things are a bit more hospitable for the inmates in the Men's Central Jail in Los Angeles, thanks to O J Simpson. The jail's most famous prisoner's perceived special privileges - the result of court orders designed to make things easier on his jailers - have been passed on to other prisoners.

"Individuals' status on the outside of the jail doesn't entitle them to any special treatment when they become a resident of the jail," Sheriff Sherman Block said. But he acknowledged others were getting some of Mr Simpson's treats.

Everyone now has more privacy when talking with his lawyer, and defendants who miss dinner for more than three weeks because of long court sessions are likely to get a hot meal when they return.

Mr Simpson's attorneys complained months ago that he was losing weight because he was given cold sandwiches when he missed the jail's dinner hour. Judge Lance Ito ordered that a warm meal be kept waiting for O J.

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Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean leader, has exchanged marriage vows with the woman he married secretly in a traditional ceremony three years ago.

The Financial Gazette says Mr Mugabe, 72, has two children, aged seven and six, by Grace Marufu, 37, formerly a secretary in his office.

Family members said the President took part in traditional marriage ceremonies with Ms Marufu late in 1992, months after the death of his Ghanaian-born wife, Sally.

The Gazette reported the formal vows were exchanged at a private ceremony conducted by a High Court judge. Mr Mugabe, the paper said, had opted not to marry in the Catholic Church, of which he is a member, because his affair with Ms Marufu began before his first wife died.

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Should Jacques Chirac win the French presidency in the second round of voting, one man expected to have a big role in his government is Alain Juppe.

Mr Juppe's support has been crucial to the Paris mayor's success, despite his current role as Foreign Minister in the government of Mr Chirac's rival, Edouard Balladur. He has not disguised his allegiance to Mr Chirac's Rally for the Republic (RPR) party, of which he is interim leader, but also has the respect of most French political figures.

Mr Juppe is pro-European and a consummate diplomat. Valery Giscard d'Estaing, in announcing he would not seek the presidency again, said if he had run and won he would have appointed Mr Juppe to head his government.

For his part, Mr Juppe is tight-lipped, bearing witness to his nickname, Amstrad - a label he detests but which was bestowed for his precision and efficiency.