International Show, Film & Celebrities News
A British student has made a car out of beer cans.
Jack Kirby drank 4,000 tins of lager before using the empties to build a life-size model of a 1965 Ford Mustang.
The 23-year-old student had to consume four cans of Budweiser a day for three years to have enough material to make the car.
He said: "It was hard work! I think I’ll have a couple of cans to celebrate!" Budweiser said: "We would like to congratulate Jack on his efforts."
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A British primary school teacher ruined the new Harry Potter for 400 pupils by reading out the last page of the book.
Carolyn Banfield read the much-anticipated final page from ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ to pupils on their last day of term at St John’s Church of England School in Somerset.
Louie Swift, nine, who had been looking forward to reading the book over the summer holidays, said: "I don’t know why she read it. She’s not usually a spoilsport." Margaret Morrissey, of the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations, described Mrs Banfield’s actions, as "totally unforgivable".
However, a spokesman for the local education authority defended the teacher saying: "A very small passage was carefully chosen to reflect the theme of saying goodbye. The school felt this reading would not spoil the children’s enjoyment of the book."
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The increasingly unpopular monarch will no longer feature in the tune after Nepal’s population voted for a completely new anthem.
The previous national anthem ‘Shree Man Gambhir…’ was written by Chakrapani Chalise and adopted as national anthem in 1899. The wording of this anthem was widely criticised as it praised the monarch for being ‘fierce’ and ‘kind’, as well as described him as the ‘owner of lands’.
However, the new song does not even include the word monarch.
It was selected by the National Anthem Selection Taskforce from more than 1,200 songs. Culture expert Satya Mohan says the national anthem was chosen ‘on the basis of set criteria such as expressing natural beauty, geographic diversity, cultural and national identity and feeling of the people’.
Nepal currently doesn’t have a national anthem, after parliament suspended it in May last year following a mass movement against the king. Last month, it was revealed the king will still be financially supported by the country’s government, despite the royal family being ignored in the latest budget.
The budget had previously revealed there was no money set aside for the royals’ annual allowance and that the king’s palace was to be nationalised.
However, the finance minister later said the money for the royal family will be financed through the prime minister’s office.
The king has seen his popularity drop in recent years and he is no longer the head of state or head of the army.
Due to massive street protests last year, the king was forced to withdraw from politics.
He now pays taxes on his considerable private wealth and the government says it will nationalise his parks and palaces. Protestors want him to abdicate or leave the country before the elections on November 22.
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Peter - the 29-year-old son of Princess Anne and ex-husband Mark Phillips - is currently 10th in line but news of his engagement to Autumn Kelly may change that because she was baptised a Roman Catholic.
The 1701 Act of Settlement bars monarchs and their heirs from becoming or marrying Catholics.
Under the act, Peter - whose grandmother Queen Elizabeth is the head of the Church of England - will either have to renounce his right to the throne or Autumn will have to give up her membership of the Catholic Church.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said no date had been set for the wedding and if a decision about Peter’s renouncement is made, it would be made at the time of the marriage.
Church leaders have repeatedly called for the 1701 act to be abolished as they say it is no longer relevant in the 21st century.
Peter and Autumn, who have been dating for four years after meeting at the Canadian Grand Prix, announced their engagement earlier this week.
It is thought they will wed next year and the ceremony is likely to take place at the queen’s Berkshire residence, Windsor Castle, in the St George’s Chapel.
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The 21-member crew, known as The Sisterhood, only contacted the British coastguards yesterday (02.08.07) about getting permission to row to France in a Chinese dragon boat on August 25.
The process to get advance clearance for their 21-mile journey - officially termed an ‘unorthodox crossing’ - could take up to month and without it the team could face arrest by French authorities.
A spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Mike Toogood, said: ‘This is the most dangerous shipping lane in the world. ‘We have 500 vessels making this crossing every single day. You can’t just turn up and set off - you need permission. ‘Not getting this will put lives in real danger - not just theirs, but everyone in the Channel that day.’ But getting permission to cross the channel is not the team’s only problem. Toogood has also warned that using a glass-fibre boat designed for use on lakes and rivers is ‘highly irresponsible’.
He added to Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper: ‘Also, a dragon boat has a flat bottom so it tends to go through the waves rather than over them, meaning their craft could quickly become swamped with water.’ The Sisterhood hope to race the all-male Brotherhood from Dover to Cap Gris Nez, near Calais, to raise money for charity.
Former Transatlantic rower Richard Pullen, who is helping The Sisterhood, insisted the appropriate paperwork had been submitted.
He said: ‘We’ve submitted all our applications and gone through all the proper approval processes.’
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The Tokyo-based publisher Daisan-Shokan plan to release ‘Princess Masako, The Prisoner of The Chrysanthemum Throne’, by Australian journalist Ben Hills, which was originally published to much criticism by the Japanese government earlier this year.
Hills angered officials with his claims that Masako - a former diplomat now married to Crown Prince Naruhito - is a tragic figure and a victim of bullying by the royal establishment.
Publishing house Kodansha Ltd. was initially planning to publish the Japanese translation but pulled out when the government complained the book contained groundless accusations.
A Daisan-Shokan official told Japan’s Kyodo news agency: ‘We have determined that this book must be published mostly here in Japan.’ Several changes have been made to Hills’ claims in the new Japanese translation.
Japan’s Foreign Ministry originally sought an apology from Hills and his Australian publisher Random House.
However, the author refused to apologise for his comments.
He said: ‘I regard this as an attempt by the Japanese government to suppress and censor my book and I think it is absolutely outrageous.
‘There is nothing to apologise for. In fact, there is only one person in this saga that deserves an apology and that’s Princess Masako.
‘I think the Kunaicho (Imperial Household Agency) should apologise to her for bullying her into a state of nervous breakdown.’
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Ambrose Gauntlett’s picture - taken in Westminster Abbey in 1953 - had been kept secret in his family photo album for years but has now sold at auction for £180.
Included in the lot was Gauntlett’s ticket to get into Westminster Abbey, with his music and rehearsal notes.
A handwritten note on the back of the picture reads: ‘This was taken by me using a camera inside my cello case.’ A spokesman for North Wales auctioneers Rogers Jones in Colwyn Bay said: ‘He obviously knew what he was doing - many a press photographer would be proud of the picture. ‘Mr Gauntlett was clearly perched up quite high, ideally situated for the photograph.’ Consultant Christopher Proudlove added: ‘You could say one of the first paparazzi shots ever taken. ‘But he didn’t sell it or show it to anyone apart from members of his family. It was a treasured memento of an historic day.’ Gauntlett actually took two pictures of the coronation. His grandson David Lea-Wilson, 52, said: ‘They are a fraction of a second apart. We are hanging on to one because it is of great sentimental value.
‘Security was not as tight as today and he smuggled the rather large camera inside a light cello case. ‘During the performance he pretended he needed to change his bow and that was when he took his chance.’ Gauntlett’s career began in 1913 with the London Chamber Orchestra, and he went on to become principal cellist with the BBC orchestra in the 1930s. He later became a professor at the Royal Academy of Music and died in 1978, aged 79.
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Gwen Stefani has agreed to cover up for her Malaysian show. The singer, who is due to perform in Kuala Lumpur’s Stadium Putra on August 21, won’t wear any revealing costumes after Muslim groups branded her "indecent" and "obscene".
Mobile phone company Maxis Communications, who is sponsoring the show, said: "Gwen Stefani will abide by the Malaysian authorities’ guidelines to ensure that her show will not be offensive to local sensitivities." Rozalita Abdul Rahman, Maxis Communications’ general manager of media, research and events, revealed Gwen was warned she must respect Muslim beliefs.
He said: ‘Maxis Communications respects the values and conventions of this country. Whether it concerns the singer’s attire or the security for the concert, we will abide by the rules and guidelines and assure that nothing will go wrong.
‘All foreign artists need to understand our culture and at the same time, as for Malaysians, we also need to have an open mind on such matters.’ Earlier this week, the National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students called for the concert to be scrapped because they claimed Gwen’s image offends Islamic beliefs.
Malaysia’s Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry officers are set to attend the concert to ensure the country’s cultural ethics code is respected.
Female artists must be covered from the top of their chests to their knees and can’t wear clothes featuring offensive messages or images referring to sex or drugs.
They are banned from shouting, hugging or kissing during their performance and must not throw anything into the audience. Last year, a music promoter was reportedly fined $3,200 because a Pussycat Dolls concert was deemed too racy.
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‘The Simple Life star – who is four months pregnant – has been sentenced to four days in jail for DUI (driving under the influence) which she will serve at Lynwood’s Century Regional Detention Facility.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Steve Whitmore said: ‘Richie’s attorney contacted us and indicated she wants to do her time there.
"It is not yet known whether she will be housed in the medical ward because of her condition.
‘That’s all determined by our medical staff upon her arrival.’ If the 25-year-old is not placed in the medical ward she is likely to be housed in isolation in a special unit for high-profile inmates, just as Paris was when she began her sentence. Nicole’s adopted father Lionel Richie has spoken out about his daughter’s jail sentence.
He said: "My daughter has made some mistakes in her life and has accepted responsibility for her actions. She has not blamed others for her problems and is growing up very quickly, albeit in the heat of the media spotlight.
"My father taught me to stand straight and take whatever punishment or hardships were the result of my actions and I am proud that I was able to hand that philosophy down to my daughter.
"Her pregnancy has given her a new perspective on life in general.
"In spite of what has happened, I continue to love her and cherish our relationship."
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The 24-year-old actress - who stars as the revered British writer in ‘Becoming Jane’ - hardly slept a wink the night before her audition because her chocolate Labrador was so ill after eating the complementary hotel footwear.
When she met director Julian Jarrold, Anne was so grumpy she managed to convince him she had more depth than the happy-go-lucky girl she played in ‘The Princess Dairies’. She recalled to People magazine: ‘My dog decided to eat a hotel slipper, so she was up the whole night vomiting. I slept maybe an hour.
‘When I arrived at the interview, I was tired and wasn’t in a very good mood. I guess Julian Jarrold realised that I wasn’t the bright, happy, smiley, untroubled girl from ‘The Princess Diaries’. He offered me the role after that.’ The star admits she had to beg to get an audition in the first place because she was typecast from her previous roles.
She explained: ‘I was associated with tiara flicks.’ ‘Becoming Jane’ tells the story of a young ambitious Austen whose world is turned upside down when she meets a dashing Irishman, Tom Lefroy, played by James McAvoy.
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The ‘Rehab’ singer was chosen by the fashion bible’s editor Anna Wintour to grace the cover after Wintour fell in love with Amy’s album ‘Back to Black’.
An insider told Britain’s Daily Mirror newspaper: "An order from Anna Wintour is like a royal command and the order was ‘get me Amy.’ "Anna loved Amy’s album so much that she just had to have her. But at the end of the day, it’s not just about her music, it’s about her rawness, her unique style and her outspokenness. She’s very much a one-off – but incredibly talented with it." The pictures were taken by world-renowned photographer Bruce Weber and Amy will be the magazine’s cover girl for the September issue, traditionally the best-selling copy of the year.
A source added to Britain’s Daily Mirror newspaper: "Wintour was instantly delighted with the outcome and thought Amy oozed cool." Meanwhile, Amy wants to open a beauty salon when she decides to take a break from music.
The 23-year-old star has experience in the field, because her late grandmother taught her everything she knows.
She said: ‘I’d love to have a beauty salon! My nan, God rest her soul, pretty much trained me and my brother. ‘He’d give her a pedicure and I’d do her nails and her hair.’
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The couple - who have a 15-month-old daughter, Suri - want to dispel their wholesome image by following in the footsteps of good friends Victoria and David Beckham and doing their own steamy spread for W magazine. A friend told New Weekly magazine: ‘Tom and Katie really have amazing chemistry. They want to show the world how much.’ The 45-year-old ‘Top Gun’ star and his 28-year-old wife plan to make their shoot even hotter than the Beckhams’ by appearing completely naked in one image.
A source close to the pair said: ‘They are already planning the various photos.
‘Tom and Katie want to pose together in the shower, dripping wet and covered by nothing but steam.’ Victoria and David, in their most revealing photo shoot to date, posed semi-naked for their spread for the August issue of the style bible published last month.
David appeared topless and Victoria sizzled in a risky black swimsuit for their front cover shot, while other photographs featured the couple in bed sharing a sensual kiss, with the 32-year-old soccer star dressed only in tight white underwear.
In another image, David is seen unzipping his 33-year-old wife’s corset as she stood naked from the waist down baring her butt.
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The Oscar-winning beauty looked at the small property in Los Angeles’ Laurel Canyon last week and sources claim she was impressed by the house, according to gossip website Radaronline.com.
The home is described on a real estate website as "equally ideal for a small family, single household, or couple".
Angelina and Brad have three adopted children, five-year-old Maddox, three-year-old Pax, two-year-old Zahara and a one-year-old biological daughter, Shiloh.
Earlier this week, it was claimed Angelina and Brad are on the verge of splitting up.
The couple allegedly got into a heated political debate while on holiday in France which culminated in Angelina hurling a glass of wine over her lover.
A source said: ‘They got into a huge fight about politics. Angie was cursing at him and ended up throwing a glass of wine in his face. ‘Brad was left standing there with wine dripping down his face onto his clothes before storming off to wash up and change. He says he was absolutely disgusted by Angelina’s behaviour.’ Things are said to be so bad they have even talked about who will get custody of their children if they split.
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The singer-and-actress is proud of her shapely figure and admits she chooses outfits she knows will send men’s pulses racing.
She is quoted as saying: "I dress for men, and also for myself. But if I am dressing for men, then I know it’s good for myself.
"Curves are better. Honestly, movie stars should be voluptuous and beautiful, and models should be voluptuous and beautiful." Jessica, 27, has also revealed she is obsessed with high heels.
The ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ star insists she never goes out in a pair of flat shoes and even wears heels when she is home alone.
She explained: "I never, ever wear flats, not even when I’m alone in my bedroom." Earlier this week, Jessica’s manager father revealed he forced her to turn down a potentially Oscar-winning role as a porn star – because he didn’t want her stripping on screen. Former preacher Joe, 49, said: ‘The last script that came to us was for Jessica to be a porn star. We were promised we would win an Oscar with that. ‘I told them, ‘I think we’ll just buy a statue of a little man and keep our clothes on.’ ‘
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The ‘Purple Rain’ singer – who wowed crowds with his spectacular opening show on Wednesday (01.08.07) – has brought an extensive wardrobe with him to ensure he looks his best each night.
A source said: "Prince has always had a passion for fashion and has a vast choice of outfits.
"He doesn’t like wearing the same thing twice." Prince - who has prepared 150 songs for his residency and will be playing a different set list every night - wore his trademark heels and had numerous costume changes on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the ‘Little Red Corvette’ singer is rumoured to be planning to release his next single as a mobile phone download.
Prince sparked controversy last month when he gave away his album ‘Planet Earth’ for free.
The album was given away with Britain’s Mail on Sunday newspaper and is also handed out to everyone who attends his concerts.
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The former Guns N’ Roses guitarist met the British pop star - who comes from Slash’s hometown of Stoke-on-Trent - in a Los Angeles hotel but only realised who he was when the ‘Angels’ singer got up to sing.
Slash told Q magazine: ‘I met him in this hotel. This guy comes up and says, ‘You’re Slash right?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah.’ And he goes, ‘You’re from Stoke - I’m from Stoke!’ ‘I’m thinking, ‘Who the f**k is this guy?’ ‘Later on that evening I went to jam with this covers band Camp Freddy. I got up to do ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and this guy got up to sing and it was Robbie Williams.’ The Velvet Revolver rocker revealed the pair’s friendship came to an end when Robbie checked himself into rehab to be treated for his addiction to prescription drugs earlier this year.
He added: ‘We started hanging after that, but then he got sober and I didn’t see him for a long time.’
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The handsome British singer claims two girls have been following him everywhere he goes and admits he is starting to become concerned with their behaviour.
He told BANG Showbiz: ‘I get a lot of weird fans - some of them are just crazy. I’ve even got a couple of stalkers who follow me around constantly, but I don’t know how to take it. On one hand it’s flattering, but on the other hand it’s scary! There’s a line between a great crazy fan who supports you in everything you do, and someone who is watching your every move - that creeps me out a bit!’ Shayne - who shot to fame after winning TV talent show ‘The X Factor’ - has also revealed he gets lots of fan mail, both good and bad.
The hunky star is keen to read the ‘horrible’ and ‘weird’ letters that get sent to him.
He said: ‘My manager is great and protects me from any weird fan mail. I get loads of positive stuff, which is really nice. But I think I’d like to see the horrible and weird stuff. I want to see what everyone is saying about me. I want to see those nasty ones!’
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The actor-and-singer - who stars with Jennifer in new movie ‘El Cantante’ - insists his wife is the ‘boss’.
Marc, 38, told People magazine: ‘She’s always been the boss! I don’t know what’s changed.
‘That’s the first thing a man has to know. Absolutely, no question about it.’ Jennifer has also revealed she and Marc will have separate buses when they head out on tour together later this year.
She said: ‘I think we’ll travel in the same bus, but we’ll get ready in separate buses. Only because I have hair and make-up and all kinds of people. And then when he starts getting ready, he takes hours.
‘And he naps for up to 15 minutes before he goes onstage, so I can’t make noise when I’m getting ready.’ The couple aren’t worried that the amount of work they are doing together will put a strain on their relationship.
Marc said: ‘We wouldn’t put ourselves in this position if it was going to cost us in any way. We truly enjoy each other.’
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