Observer Newspaper

The Observer, believed to be the world's oldest Sunday newspaper, was saved from closure Thursday when its owner, the British conglomerate Lonrho PLC, said it has received an acceptable purchase offer from the Guardian, a daily paper. Sale to the Guardian will ensure continued publication of the money-losing Observer, which was founded in 1791 and is considered one of Britain's leading journalistic institutions.

The ongoing negotiations to find a new owner for the New York Observer, a lively and influential but financially troubled weekly newspaper, took a new twist with the disclosure that Jared Kushner -- the 25-year-old son of Charles Kushner, a once prominent but now disgraced New Jersey real estate developer -- has entered into talks to buy the paper.

The ongoing negotiations to find a new owner for the New York Observer, a lively and influential but financially troubled weekly newspaper, took a new twist with the disclosure that Jared Kushner -- the 25-year-old son of Charles Kushner, a once prominent but now disgraced New Jersey real estate developer -- has entered into talks to buy the paper.

The story, as it was reported breathlessly in the New York media, seemed too good to be true: Robert De Niro and his business partners at Tribeca films were going to purchase the New York Observer, the smart, feisty but financially struggling weekly paper that is a must-read for the city's political, media and real estate elites.

The late Gianni Versace's fashion empire accepted substantial though undisclosed damages for newspaper articles that appeared soon after he was shot to death in July. Lawyers for the Observer apologized for stories that implied there had been Mafia infiltration into, and money laundering within, Versace's companies. The Independent said it regretted any suggestion that Versace could not support his lifestyle through legitimate means.

The story, as it was reported breathlessly in the New York media, seemed too good to be true: Robert De Niro and his business partners at Tribeca films were going to purchase the New York Observer, the smart, feisty but financially struggling weekly paper that is a must-read for the city's political, media and real estate elites.

Back on Duty: Arthur Kent, the former NBC foreign correspondent who was fired in the summer in a dispute with the network, is back at work as an independent journalist in Yugoslavia. Kent, whom NBC had said refused to go to the war-torn region, will be reporting on the unrest in the Balkans for the British Broadcasting Corp., the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and the Observer newspaper of London.

Britain's domestic intelligence agency, MI5, regularly provides the British Broadcasting Corp. with background material on "subversives" involved in industrial disputes and radical groups suspected of terrorist activity, the Observer newspaper reported. The London newspaper said BBC executives have acknowledged that the material could have an effect on news coverage, raising more questions about the network's independence.

The late Gianni Versace's fashion empire accepted substantial though undisclosed damages for newspaper articles that appeared soon after he was shot to death in July. Lawyers for the Observer apologized for stories that implied there had been Mafia infiltration into, and money laundering within, Versace's companies. The Independent said it regretted any suggestion that Versace could not support his lifestyle through legitimate means.

The Observer, believed to be the world's oldest Sunday newspaper, was saved from closure Thursday when its owner, the British conglomerate Lonrho PLC, said it has received an acceptable purchase offer from the Guardian, a daily paper. Sale to the Guardian will ensure continued publication of the money-losing Observer, which was founded in 1791 and is considered one of Britain's leading journalistic institutions.