MTN In Bed With Iran’s Military – Competing mobile operators MTN and Turkcell were silent this week on the latter’s claims that MTN bribed its way into Iran six years ago. But circumstances surrounding MTN’s audacious entry into Iran, and the South African government’s concurrent diplomatic efforts there, provide a compelling context for the claims. [mail&guardian]

The State Of The Nation Speech: Decoded – President Jacob Zuma on Thursday delivered one of his better State of the Nation speeches since taking office in 2009. The speech, while barren of any poetry or great quotes, was strong on detail and provided a sense of the earnestness and planning being put into efforts to unlock economic potential and create jobs. [mail&guardian]

Zuma Unveils Massive Industrialisation Plan – In a speech designed to appease both business and labour, President Jacob Zuma placed significant emphasis on an infrastructure plan to reindustrialise South Africa. [timeslive]

Naomi Watts To Play Princess Diana – There have been many films about 9/11, but surprisingly few about 8/31, Britain’s own day of trauma – when Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a car crash with her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed. The announcement of a new film, Caught in Flight, directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel (who made Downfall) and starring Naomi Watts in the leading role, is the first serious feature biopic about the princess. It reportedly focuses on the last two years of her life. [guardian]

Karl Lagerfeld Sorry For Calling Adele Fat – Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld has apologised to soul star Adele for calling her “too fat”.
The creative director for French fashion house Chanel wants to make amends with the British singer after he recently criticised her figure in an interview with a European newspaper. Lagerfeld insists his comments were taken out of context, and calls himself a “great admirer” of hers. [contactmusic]

Facebook Starts Turning Listen, Read And Watch Stories Into Ads – When you listen, read, or watch through a Facebook Open Graph app, a few of your friends hear about through the news feed, Ticker, or Timeline. Starting this week, Facebook is allowing advertisers to pay for more exposure of listen, read, or watch stories that mention them by turning the stories into a new form of Sponsored Story social ads. [techcrunch]

Apple Expected To Hold iPad 3 Event In First Week Of March – Those eagerly awaiting the iPad 3 shouldn’t have to wait much longer. By mapping circulating rumors against Apple’s traditional release timeline, it’s becoming easy to divine that the iPad 3 should be unveiled the first week of March. [wired]

FBI Files Reveal Steve Jobs’ Dark Side – Newly released FBI background interviews on Apple founder Steve Jobs have revealed some unfavourable details about the technology tycoon’s character, including drug use and dishonesty. The 191-page file on Jobs includes transcripts of interviews conducted in 1991 as part of background checking procedures before he could join the President’s Export Council during George W. Bush’s administration. [skynews]

Madonna’s ‘Violent’ Stalker Escapes – A man convicted of stalking Madonna and who has “very violent tendencies” has escaped from a psychiatric hospital, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said Thursday. Not ideal. [ninemsn]

Nine Jailed For UK Bomb Plot – Nine men who plotted to bomb the London Stock Exchange and build a terrorist training camp have been jailed. Three of the men – all members of an al-Qaeda inspired terror group – received indeterminate sentences for public protection at London’s Woolwich Crown Court. [bbc]

Rare Ferrari 250 GT Sells For R231 Million – An extremely rare Ferrari 250 GTO which had a £6,000 price tag when it was manufactured in 1963 has been sold for more than £20m ($31m). This 1963 model – number 5095 – is believed to have been sold by British businessman Jon Hunt, who bought it in 2008 for a then world record £15.7million. [luxuo]

Hidden Royal Portraits Revealed – When Kenneth Clayton was invited to photograph the Queen and her young family two months after her accession to the throne, he was sworn to secrecy. The country was in mourning for George VI and Clayton was asked to sign a contract forbidding him from releasing the images for 30 years. Here they are.. [telegraph]

Paul McCartney Finally Gets Star On Walk Of Fame – Paul McCartney finally got his own star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame on Thursday, becoming the last of the four Beatles to get the honor. McCartney’s star was placed outside the Capitol Records building, alongside those of band members John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. [reuters]

British Airways Offers Valentine’s Day Concorde Special – Though the brand name of Concorde may have died down a bit in modern times, British Airways is doing their bit to keep the name alive, by holding an auction of a luxurious Valentine’s Day dinner date in one of the aircrafts. [bornrich]

Maserati To Recall 222 Cars – Italian luxury car maker Maserati will recall 222 vehicles in China due to a defective rear light, China’s quality watchdog said Wednesday. Maserati sold more than 780 cars in China last year, nearly twice as many as in 2010, making the Asian country its second largest market in the world after the United States. [yahoo]

Five Reasons Why Self-Drive Car-Haters Are Wrong – The self-driving cars we’ve been promised since the dawn of the auto age are here. Still, there are doubters, haters and Luddites who say this will never happen. They offer a litany of reasons. Here are the five most common things the haters say, and why they’re wrong. [wired]