In Brief: Israel lets it be over Beatles snub

Israel has apologised to the surviving Beatles for banning them from the country in 1965 as a supposed threat to the morals of the nation's youth, via a letter to Julia Baird, sister of the late John Lennon. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are now expected to join celebrations in May for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel... Thailand has chosen a celebrity TV chef, Samak Sundaravej, 72, to succeed Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a bloodless coup 16 months ago. One of his first acts as PM will be to revive his weekly cooking show Tasting, Grumbling, after it went off air when the army-appointed government took over its host station... French President Nicolas Sarkozy's ex-wife Cecilia has won 30,000 euros in damages from the French magazine Closer which printed photos of her in a black bikini... Meanwhile Sarkozy is threatening to sue Ryanair over a newspaper advertisement featuring a photograph of the French president with girlfriend Carla Bruni, carrying the speech bubble: 'With Ryanair, my whole family can come to my wedding'... Princess Diana's sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, has told the inquest into her death that the Princess believed that Mohammed Fayed was spying on her on his luxury yacht. Lady Sarah said Diana mentioned her suspicions in a phone call two days before her death...