Mvelaphanda Deal Collapses – A bid by investment firm Blackstar to acquire SA’s Mvelaphanda Group in a R1,9bn deal collapsed yesterday, after shareholders argued Mvela’s unbundling would create more value than Blackstar’s cash and shares offer. The offer was yesterday described as an attempt to pick up Mvela’s lucrative assets at a “discount”. [businessday]

Piers Morgan Rejects Phone Hacking Claims – A tense and sometimes hostile Piers Morgan refused to disclose details Tuesday about the most damning link between himself and Britain’s phone hacking scandal — his acknowledgment that he once listened to a phone message left by Paul McCartney for his then-wife Heather Mills. [time]

David Beckham To Play For Paris Club – David Beckham has agreed to become Paris Saint-Germain’s new star signing, according to reports in France on Tuesday night. The 36-year-old is said to have approved an 18-month deal that will include an after-tax salary of €800,000 a month. [dailymail]

Murdoch Pays Out Phone Hacking Victims – Rupert Murdoch’s News International has paid out settlements to seven more prominent figures in the wake of the phone hacking scandal at its now-shuttered News of the World tabloid. The company says it has settled claims brought by Princess Diana’s former lover James Hewitt, ex-Liberal Democrat MP Mark Oaten, TV presenter Ukrika Jonsson, model Abi Titmuss and Paul Dadge. [skynews]

China Recognises Kim Jong Il’s Son As New Leader – Kim Jong il’s son Kim Jong Un joined top North Korean officials visiting his father’s glass casket in Pyongyang Tuesday. Stephanie Ho reports from Beijing that as North Koreans mourned the elder Kim, China formally recognized his designated heir as the country’s next leader. [voanews]

Woman At Centre Of Berlusconi Scandal Has Baby – The Moroccan-born woman at the centre of a major sex scandal and trial involving former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had a baby by her nightclub-owner boyfriend. Karima El Mahroug, 19, known widely by her stage name of Ruby the Heart Stealer, gave birth to a girl called Sofia at a clinic in Genoa. [stuff]

Zapiro Amused By Malema’s Shower-Head Vibe – “The irony is that Malema has come from a place so deeply embedded in the Zuma camp and (now) he’s attacking him using the shower device,” Shapiro – more commonly known by his pen-name of ‘Zapiro’ – told The Star newspaper. [timeslive]

Frankie’s And Woolies Clash Continues – Debate is raging on retail store Woolworths’ Facebook page, about the dispute between the company and family run soft drink company Frankie’s. The fallout is around vintage style cool drinks. Frankie’s Olde Soft Drink Company has complained that Woolworths’ products closely resemble its own and their concept has been copied. [eyewitness]

Jon Bon Jovi Disputes Rumours Of His Death – Jon Bon Jovi wants everyone to know that reports of his demise are greatly exaggerated. A random blog post claiming the New Jersey singer suffered from cardiac arrest ignited a fire on Twitter Monday. To assure fans he was perfectly okay, the 49-year-old rocker posted a photo of himself on Facebook holding a hand-written sign stating, “Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey.” [nydailynews]

Russian Billionaire’s Daughter Buys New York Apartment For R729 Million [Photos] – The daughter of a Russian billionaire has broken New York real estate records by paying $US88 million ($89 million) for a huge Manhattan apartment, Forbes magazine reports. Yekaterina Rybolovleva, daughter of former fertiliser magnate Dmitry Rybolovlev, paid full asking price for the multiroom spread at 15 Central Park West, the magazine reported on Monday, saying this was a record for an individual transaction in a city renowned for pricey property. [smh]

Paedophile Wins Appeal – The Western Cape High Court on Tuesday upheld an appeal brought by convicted paedophile Ian Appleton against a five-year jail sentence imposed by the Paarl Regional Court last month for performing oral sex on an 8-year-old boy three years ago. Great. [news24]

30,000 French Women May Have To Remove Breast Implants – French authorities say they will decide this week whether to ask 30,000 women given a potentially defective type of breast implant to have them removed. Earlier reports said a decision to call for removal had already been made. [bbc]

New York Times Sells 16 Newspapers – In the latest round of surprising news from The New York Times, the newspaper company confirmed yesterday it is nearing a sale of 16 regional newspapers spread across the Southeast and California to Halifax Media Holdings. News of the possible sale comes just days after the Times announced the sudden retirement of its chief executive, Janet Robinson, with no clear successor in place. [daily]

Miss Venezuela Dies At Age 28 – Venezuelan beauty queen Eva Ekvall died this week at age 28 after a two-year battle with breast cancer. Ekvall, who was crowned Miss Venezuela at age 17 in 2000, died Saturday to the dismay of thousands of Venezuelans who watched closely her fight against the illness, including a brief remission last year. [abcnews]