What's the hurry O J?

LA ROMANA. Dominican Republic: Less than a week after being cleared of murder charges, O J Simpson was reportedly headed to the Dominican Republic for a speedy marriage to model Paula Barbieri. But there was no sign of the former football star and his top attorney denied the report, reports AP.

In a front-page report, the Listin Diario newspaper quoted unidentified sources as saying Simpson and Barbieri left Los Angeles on Saturday for Miami and were to fly on a private plane to the Dominican Republic on Sunday.

There was no confirmation of the report. Dominican immigration officials would not say whether Simpson had arrived or planned to arrive. Several Dominican airports and the US Embassy also said they had no information about the reports.

Attorney Johnnie L Cochran denied Sunday that Simpson was on his way to the Dominican Republic, telling KCBS-TV in Los Angeles: "No, there's no truth to that at all." Cochran, who said he spoke to Simpson on Saturday, did not return repeated messages left by The Associated Press.

Listin Diario is the newspaper that broke the news of Michael Jackson's marriage to Lisa Marie Presley in the Dominican Republic last year. The Caribbean nation offers speedy marriages that require only one witness and a brief ceremony in front of a judge.

The marriage rumours surfaced in the Italian media Friday, three days after a jury in Los Angeles acquitted Simpson in the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman on June 12, 1994.

Robbers merely mistaken though journalists did

SINGAPORE: A local bar made famous by a fluke during the Barings debacle this year was robbed Monday of 20.000 Singapore dollars (14,300 dollars), a news report said, reports AP.

Harry's Quayside Pub became famous when hordes of lo-cal and foreign journalists began writing about it In the mistaken belief that rogue Barings trader Nick Leeson used to hang out there.

On Monday, two unidentified men tied and gagged two female staff of the pub. ransacked the office and took 20.000 dollars from a safe. Television Corp of Singapore reported.

It did not elaborate. The owner of Harry's pub and police were not immediately available for comment.

After the Barings collapse, much was written about Harry's Pub and the owner was interviewed by TV crews before it became known that Leeson patronised the bar only rarely.

The rumour began because the bar is frequented by scores of traders from the Singapore International Monetary Exchange where Leeson used to work until he fled in February after piling up 1.3 billion dollar in losses while trading in derivatives.

Now in a Frankfurt Jail. Leeson is fighting extradition to Singapore to face fraud and forgery charges.