Photo sensitivity

Johannesburg, South Africa – Namibian authorities are clamping down on journalists trying to follow Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and her two children, after the couple asked for some privacy, according to a newspaper report.

South Africa’s Sunday Times said the couple’s security chief gave a local journalist a statement asking that they be left alone.

“We love Africa and to be here in Namibia with our family is very special for us,” said the statement, signed by Pitt and Jolie. “To the local people who have been so kind and gracious, thank you for making us feel at home.

“As for the press, we kindly ask for privacy so that we can enjoy this beautiful country with our children.”

The Sunday Times said its own photographer and three French photographers were ordered to leave Namibia or face arrest. Journalists require accreditation to work in the country.

Namibian Prime Minister Nahas Angula said Jolie, who is pregnant, should be left alone. “This lady is expecting,” he told the Sunday Times. “You guys are harassing her. Why don’t you allow her some privacy? Harassment is not allowed in Namibia.”

Despite tight security, photographers have managed to snap images of the couple.

The Sunday Times said that Jolie and Pitt were spotted last week at a Johannesburg Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet with the children, Maddox and Zahara, and then went to a pet store to buy a turtle.

A message on money

New York – LL Cool J is urging fans to be financially responsible.

The platinum-selling rap star spoke over the weekend at the Hip Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment.

The event, organized by multimillionaire entrepreneur Russell Simmons, mixed stars like LL Cool J, Alicia Keys, Nas and T.I. with financial experts to provide advice on home ownership, budgets, credit cards and other financial issues.

“The biggest misconception probably comes from the hip-hop community itself … that the money lasts forever,” LL Cool J said on Saturday. “You have to do the right thing with it.”

He urged people to “give 10 percent to the church, give 10 percent to your house. That’s a good start.”

Fellow chart-topping rapper Nas said it was important to teach young fans about financial responsibility.

“It’s time that we do something to educate our kids,” he said. “We’ve got to think about our future, think about tomorrow. It’s beyond the corner, it’s beyond the jails. We’ve got to think about growing old in this game.”

‘Da Vinci’ follow-up delayed

New York – If you already know what “The Solomon Key,” is you’ll probably be disappointed by this news: Dan Brown’s follow-up to “The Da Vinci Code” won’t hit shelves until at least 2007, more than a year later than originally expected.

The book, tentatively titled “The Solomon Key,” is said to revolve around Robert Langdon, Brown’s hero in “The Da Vinci Code,” and the Masons, a secretive fraternal organization.

Brown’s original thriller has already sold more than 40 million copies worldwide.