World brief
AUSTRALIA
In a record defamation payout, Kerry Stokes' Seven Network has been ordered to pay nearly A$1 million ($640,000) in damages to Australia's largest bridal wear company.
The case stemmed from two 1994 reports on the now defunct "Real Life" public affairs program, which alleged that Abbey Bridal "took brides' dreams and turned them into nightmares" through poor service and inferior dresses.
Supreme Court Justice Ken Crispin found Seven's use of listening devices and secret cameras amounted to trespass and intimidation and ruled the web knew some of its allegations were false or at least made with reckless indifference to the truth.
