COLUMBIA (South Carolina) - A SOUTH Carolina judge has approved a settlement for the estate of late soul singer James Brown.

The settlement approved on Tuesday gives nearly half of the estate to Brown's charitable trust, about a quarter to his wife and young son, and the rest to Brown's adult children.

BRUSSELS - Wine producers from France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland held firm on Tuesday against European Union plans to allow rose wine to be made by mixing red and white wines.

Their stand in Brussels came a month ahead of an expected EU vote - by experts on either June 19 or June 26 - to allow the mixing practice, which the vintners claimed will usher in the 'industrialisation' of the wine industry.

PARIS - AN OFFICIAL close to a Paris burglary investigation says an apartment belonging to movie star Monica Bellucci and her husband, French actor Vincent Cassel, was the target of a theft.