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GEORGE CLOONEY’s representative has confirmed the actor is completely recovered from a bout of malaria which he contracted during a recent trip to Sudan.
The Oscar-winner revealed during an interview with CNN’s Piers Morgan that he fell ill with the mosquito-borne disease earlier this month (Jan11) while filming an initiative to promote democracy in the country.
During the chat, to be aired in the U.S. on Friday (21Jan11), the star admitted it was the second time he has been struck down with malaria due to his frequent visits to the war-torn African nation as a leading advocate for refugees.
Following the revelation on Morgan’s show, speculation has been rife that Clooney is still fighting to regain his health.
But his publicist insists the actor is 100 per cent well again, and has used the news to highlight the need for anti-malaria drugs to be accessible across Africa.
The rep tells People.com, "George is completely over the Malaria he contracted while in the Sudan during the first week in January. This was his second bout with it. This illustrates how, with proper medication, the most lethal condition in Africa can be reduced to a bad 10 days instead of a death sentence."

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Rocker and hunting enthusiast TED NUGENT will not be charged with violating South Dakota gaming laws after shooting pheasants there last year (10).
Some of the Cat Scratch Fever singer’s hunting privileges were revoked in California in August (10) after he was fined $1,750 (£1,166) for illegally baiting deer on his hunting reality TV show.
Due to a pact between South Dakota and California which allows officials to honour each other’s license revocations, Nugent faced charges after he hunted pheasants in the midwestern state.
However, bosses at South Dakota’s Department of Game, Fish and Parks have now insisted his California deer-hunting didn’t disqualify him from getting a license to hunt pheasants.

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NICKI MINAJ’s plans for a promotion-packed night in London this week (beg17Jan11) were marred when a brawl broke out as she arrived to perform at a club in the U.K. capital.
The hip-hop star is on the British leg of her European promotional tour and thrilled fans by announcing surprise appearances at two nightspots in London on Thursday (20Jan11).
Minaj’s evening got off to a good start as she greeted fans at the Oceana club, but when she arrived at trendy hotspot Runway, a fight broke out in the crowd outside the venue.
According to sources, the star’s car circled the club several times before leaving.
In a post her Twitter.com page, Minaj wrote, "Had a blast @ Oceana! Security issues r now preventing us from entering Runway…" As WENN went to press it was not known whether Minaj managed to return to make her appearance at Runway following the disruption.
Minaj’s trip to London has already been rife with problems - bosses at the posh Dorchester hotel have threatened to throw the star out because of the huge number of fans blocking the entrance in a bid to meet her.

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ALIEN director RIDLEY SCOTT is set to head into outer space again with LOST co-creator DAMON LINDELOF and Swedish star NOOMI RAPACE.
His plans to make a prequel to his Alien trilogy have now become another project altogether, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Prometheus will star The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo actress Rapace, who will have to adopt a British accent to play scientist Elizabeth Shaw.
The actress tells Entertainment Weekly magazine she’s determined to be in tip-top shape for the role in Prometheus.
She explains, "I want to turn my body into something like a cat or a lion. They can be still and relaxed, and then explode." Lindelof is writing the screenplay.

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The life of legendary choreographer and director BOB FOSSE is to be resurrected on the big screen in a biopic directed by X-MEN ’s BRYAN SINGER.
Executives at HBO Films are working on an adaptation of Bye, Bye Life: The Loves and Deaths of Bob Fosse, a forthcoming biography from movie historian Sam Wasson.
Singer has reportedly signed on to direct the film, and will co-executive produce with Neil Meron and Craig Zadan, the duo behind movie musicals Hairspray and Chicago.
Fosse rose to fame performing on and choreographing for the Broadway stage and went on to direct movies starring Shirley MacLaine and Liza Minnelli, including Oscar-winning film Cabaret.
No stars have yet been announced for the biopic.

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CROCODILE HUNTER star STEVE IRWIN’s widow broke down in tears during a recent taping of THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW in Sydney, Australia as her young son revealed he watches videos of his late father every day.
Little Robert, who is the spitting image of his conservationist father, told Oprah and her audience that watching the footage makes him feel that his dad "is actually there".
The six year old added, "He was the best dad." Terri Irwin was touched by her son’s words and started to cry.
She regained her composure to pay tribute to her late husband, who died after he was pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in 2006.
She said, "Living with Steve was like standing in a cyclone… and then when we lost him, it was like the wind stopped. It was really hard." Irwin then broke down as she thanked her husband’s fans and friends for all their support in the past four years - particularly towards the Australia Zoo he founded.
She added, "Everybody here is making sure that Steve’s legacy continues." The show aired in America on Thursday (20Jan11).

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PARIS HILTON’s boyfriend is to be arraigned following his arrest on marijuana possession and DUI charges in Las Vegas last summer (10).
Club boss Cy Waits and Hilton were pulled over by cops on the Las Vegas Strip after they smelled marijuana coming from their car.
Hilton is currently serving a year of probation after pleading guilty to misdemeanour cocaine possession and obstruction of justice, and now a complaint filed on Thursday (20Jan11) charges 35-year-old Waits with a felony of being under the influence of marijuana, and misdemeanour driving under the influence and possession of marijuana.
He faces up to four years in prison on the felony charge if convicted.
Waits will be arraigned on 17 February (11).

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Moviemaker ANTOINE FUQUA is on the hunt for talented unknowns to portray JADA PINKETT and QUINCY JONES’ daughter KIDADA as he attempts to put slain rapper TUPAC SHAKUR’s life on the big screen.
Insiders close to the top secret production claim the two women will feature prominently in the biopic, which is expected to go before cameras in April (11).
Fuqua is also looking to cast newcomers as Shakur and rap mogul Marion ‘Suge’ Knight, who was with the hip-hop superstar when he was shot dead in Las Vegas in 1996.
Shortly after signing on to direct last year (10), Fuqua said he was prepared to "go to the streets" to find his Tupac.
The official synopsis for the much-anticipated film, obtained by MovieHole.net, reads, "The rise and fall of Tupac Shakur is chronicled, from his days attending the Baltimore School of the Arts as a teenager, to his decision to leave his mother’s dead-end life behind and embrace the Thug Life in California, to his wild success as a rapper and his dangerous war against the East Coast scene.
"A true poet who was waylaid by fame’s trappings, his earliest ambition was to change the world and make a difference in people’s lives, and before his tragic murder in Las Vegas in 1996, that’s exactly what 2Pac did." Pinkett and Jones romanced Shakur at the beginning of his career.

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Rockers MEGADETH inadvertently saved a Norwegian teenager’s life when the lad used the band’s music to escape a pack of wolves.
The 13 year old was listening to the heavy rockers on his mobile phone when the four wolves appeared before him while he was walking home from school in Rakkestad, according to website Zvuki.ru.
Thinking quickly, the teen simply turned up the volume and waved his phone at the creatures, which were scared away by the noise.
The boy told local reporters he had been taught not to run from wolves who live in the forests near his home but to scare them off with loud noises.

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Rockers AVENGED SEVENFOLD have hired former CONFIDE star ARIN ILEJAY as their new drummer, after parting ways with MIKE PORTNOY.
Portnoy was drafted in to replace tragic Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan, who died from a drug overdose in December 2009 - but he was never a perfect fit.
The band let the former Dream Theater star go in December (10) after he suggested in press interviews he would be staying in the band for the foreseeable future.
The rockers released a statement saying, "We’re not ready to add a permanent member - and we don’t know if we’ll ever be. If we do, it will be someone who’s not only a brilliant drummer but someone we’ve gotten to know well, and who the fans get to know and hopefully accept. Mike and the band agree it can’t be him." Now the stars have chosen Ilejay as their latest stand-in.
A new statement reads, "We recently asked several friends who knew Jimmy (Sullivan) and his style, and also knew our music and each of our personalities to suggest drummers to tour with us starting this year. Our longtime studio drum tech, Mike Fasano, recommended Arin Ilejay."

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Country icon ALAN JACKSON has parted ways with record label bosses at Sony Music Nashville after more than two decades on their roster.
The singer joined the label in 1989 and went on to release a total of 14 studio albums on the Arista imprint, including hit singles It Must Be Love, Small Town Southern Man, It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere with Jimmy Buffett, and Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning), which earned him a Grammy in 2002.
But the 52 year old has ended his partnership with Sony after delivering his "final recordings" to label heads, according to a company representative.
In a statement, Sony bosses thanked Jackson for "their long association and many hit records achieved as a result of that association", and insisted the parting was "amicable".
No further details were available as WENN went to press.

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KATHERINE JACKSON’s business partner is in big trouble with the King of Pop’s estate bosses - they’ve accused him of illegally cashing in on the superstar’s image and legacy.
Estate administrators are suing Howard Mann, claiming he has made millions from Michael Jackson’s music, photos and drawings without the proper permission.
The plaintiffs allege Mann, the guy behind MichaelJacksonSecretVault.com, has displayed "arrogant disregard" for the estate’s copyrights, wrongfully publishing clips, artwork and trailers from concert rehearsal movie This Is It and segments from the Thriller: 25th Anniversary Edition CD.
They also accuse Mann of posting an "unreleased" Jackson song, titled Opis None, online - the track was in fact a remix of the song Destiny, which The Jacksons released in 1979.
The Estate also claims Mann published a number of copyrighted photographs in Katherine Jackson’s coffee table book, Never Can Say Goodbye.
In total, administrators believe Mann hauled in more than $1.5 million (£1 million) in sales from the book in its first two days - money that rightfully belongs to the Jackson Estate.
The Estate wants to recoup all of the revenues Mann raked in from the sale and publication of the Estate’s property, plus punitive damages, reports TMZ.com.

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Chess masters JENNIFER SHAHADE and JOEL BENJAMIN will be among the celebrities at the Sundance Film Festival this weekend (21-23Jan11), teaching stars how to perfect their game.
The chess champs are at the event to promote Liz Garbus’ new documentary Bobby Fischer Against the World, which debuts at the festival.
Representing the World Chess Hall of Fame and Museum, which will open in St. Louis, Missouri in September (11), Shahade and Benjamin will join fellow grand masters Alexander Shabalov, the four-time U.S. champion, and Iryna Zenyuk to promote the pastime at Sundance.

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Struggling AMERICAN IDOL contestants and their families have a secret saviour in California - a pastor’s wife acted on a message from God to raise cash and counsel the wannabes.
Longtime Idol critic Richard Rushfield has chronicled the history of the TV talent show in his new book American Idol: The Untold Story, and admits one of the most fascinating characters behind the scenes on the show has nothing to do with the programme.
The Los Angeles Times and Daily Beast contributor’s research led him to a Christian ministry that raises funds for Idol contestants and their families.
He tells BlogTalkRadio.com, "This woman Leesa Bellesi from Orange County, California claimed while she was recuperating from a surgery that she got a call from God that she says told her to go backstage to American Idol.
"She had no connection to the show and she was not part of Hollywood, so it seemed to her at the time a bizarre direction. She opened herself up to it and through coincidence wound up backstage at American Idol, and then one of the contestants wandered into her church one day. And she ultimately won tickets (to the show) on a radio show.
"She ended up starting this ministry to work with Idol contestants and their families to give them counselling and sustenance. She provides for their material needs as well for the contestants’ families who find it hard to find the money to come out and be there with their kids. Through the congregation she raised the money to get them plane tickets and let them stay in her house.
"The ministry started during season seven and there were three different families of Idol contestants living with her during the course of the show."

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TV veteran ROBERT WAGNER will replace the late JOHN FORSYTHE as the voice of CHARLIE in a planned CHARLIE’S ANGELS small screen remake.
Ironically, the Hart To Hart star owns 50 per cent of the original Angels series.
Drew Barrymore, who took the franchise to the big screen, will produce the new series. Casting is currently underway, but U.S. soap star Annie Ilonzeh is reportedly leading the race to land an angelic role.
The actress, who plays Maya Ward in General Hospital, is billed to play a martial arts expert.

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Actress PIPER PERABO is recovering from a broken leg after a stunt went awry on the set of her new TV drama COVERT AFFAIRS.
Luckily for the Coyote Ugly star, the accident happened while she was shooting the season finale and she was able to limp around and complete her scenes.
She says, "I broke it in a fight scene in the finale. We were literally one day from wrapping.
"Luckily, I have a great stuntwoman, who was able to get my close-up, and a great editor. It was an accident and I’m fine and I’m not taking any steps back. It was just a freak accident.
"It it went as we’d rehearsed, everything would have been fine but sometimes accidents happen, especially when you really go for it." But now Perabo fears her action scenes will be cut back when the show starts up again: "One of the things I like about the show is they really take the action seriously and let me do it. When it happened, one of the first things I said to our line producer was, ‘Do not take me out of the action of the show’."

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Officials at a leading U.S. family organisation have urged federal agents to investigate reports suggesting a controversial new MTV series features underage actors and actresses in sex scenes.
Parents Television Council bosses are disturbed by child pornography allegations made against racy new series Skins, which has been adapted for the U.S. after becoming a hit in Britain.
In a strongly-worded letter to the the U.S Department of Justice, the PTC writes, "In addition to the sexual content on the show involving cast members as young as 15, PTC counted 42 depictions and references to drugs and alcohol in the premiere episode." TMZ.com reports MTV executives have already met to discuss the issue.

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ROD STEWART is such a huge model train enthusiast he insists on a backstage area where he can set up tracks before concerts.
The Maggie May singer admits he likes to build model buildings and try out new train acquisitions on the road - because it helps to calm his nerves.
But he’s careful not to get too engrossed in his passion.
The avid collector tells Model Railroader magazine, "When I find myself focusing so intently on a model that it ceases to be fun, it’s time to walk away, have a cup of tea and come back to it later." Stewart even offers the publication tips on how to become a great model builder: "An eye for proportion, a sense of what fits naturally, right down to the placement of the advertising signs."

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