CELEBRITIES DEMAND ACTION IN DARFUR

Celebrities including SIR ELTON JOHN, GEORGE CLOONEY and SIR MICK JAGGER have urged world leaders step up their efforts to remedy the situation in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region.The stars released the statement yesterday to coincide with the Global Day for Darfur Sunday, marking the fourth anniversary of the conflict and organised by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.Endorsed by Bob Geldof, Hugh Grant, and Mia Farrow too, the statement said, "The international community must end its stalling and take decisive action.The perpetrators who carry out these atrocities must be challenged and stopped." Protests will occur in London today including a demonstration at Downing Street and outside the Sudanese embassy. Fighting in Darfur has so far resulted in 200,000 deaths and two million.

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DREW BARRYMORE AND SPIKE JONZE HOT

Drew Barrymore and boyfriend Spike Jonze can't keep their hands off each other in public, it has been reported.The couple were seen canoodling at Los Angeles' Sunset Tower Hotel - a favorite haunt of Spike's ex-wife Sofia Coppola - last Friday. A source told the New York Post newspaper: "Spike came in with his new girlfriend, Drew Barrymore. She looked so pretty and they couldn't keep their hands off each other and made out in a corner booth. Sofia would have been p***ed if she was there."Drew and the 'Being John Malkovich' director were first seen together on Valentine's Day earlier this year. Spike was married to Sofia, daughter of legendary Francis Ford Coppola, for four years before the pair split in 2003 citing "irreconcilable differences".'Charlie's Angels' beauty Barrymore split from The Strokes' drummer Fabrizio Morreti in January. They had dated for almost five years.

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FATE BROUGHT MEG RYAN TO DAUGHTER

Meg Ryan with daughter Daisy

Meg Ryan was destined to adopt her daughter.The 45-year-old actress - who adopted a two-year-old girl, Daisy, from China last January - believes it was fate that brought the two together. She said in an interview with Redbook magazine: "I am convinced, completely and utterly convinced, that there was nothing random about the adoption. She is the daughter I should have."I never felt like I was on a rescue mission or anything like that. I just really wanted a baby. I was on a mission to connect with somebody, and Daisy and I got to meet each other in this way at this time. We are so compatible."Meg originally named her daughter Charlotte, but insists she had to change it because the moniker just didn't suit her. She explained: "I thought she was Charlotte, and she's just not."She's a Daisy. She's got the most open, beautiful, honest face you'll ever see."Meg also has a teenage son, Jack Henry, from her marriage to actor Dennis Quaid.

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THE SPICE GIRLS REUNITED YESTERDAY !

Spice Girls were reunited for one day !

Four of the five Spice Girls were reunited yesterday for the christening of Geri Halliwell's daughter Bluebell Madonna. Emma Bunton, Mel C and Victoria Beckham all attended the service, at North London's Parish Church of St Michael, to see the 11-month-old be christened.The only Spice Girl missing was Mel B, who lives in Los Angeles and recently gave birth to a baby girl, Fortuna Daphne Bay. Geri, 34, dressed in a figure-hugging pale blue dress, beamed as she proudly showed off her daughter to the 100 guests at the Highgate village church. Socialite Lady Victoria Hervey, one of many celebrity guests, said: "It wasa lovely service. Geri looked stunning. It was good to see so many of the Spice Girls back together and getting on so well."'Little Britain' TV star David Walliams also attended. However, there was no sign of Bluebell's father Hollywood scriptwriter Sacha Gervasi.Victoria - who attended without husband David - brought her sons, while Emma showed off her heavily-pregnant frame in a black mini dress. Security guards had been hired to hold back the crowds of onlookers who had gathered outside the church.The service was followed by a private party for VIP guests, believed to have taken place at Geri's London home.

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ROLLING STONES WANT HORSES DRUGGED

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones have sparked outrage over suggestions 300 horses should be drugged when they play their first Serbian concert.The legendary band are to perform at Belgrade's hippodrome race course in July to a crowd of around 100,000 people. However, fears are mounting for the horses who are stabled just a few yards from the venue and it has been suggested that sedative shots be administered to keep them calm during the raucous show. Jovanka Prelic, who cares for the equine residents, said: "Horses differ,the same as people. Some are more nervous, more skittish. If they get toonervous or start to panic during the concert, they'll get sedatives."The sedative could be diazepam, which was commonly used on horses during the 1999 Nato air strikes. Plans to calm the horses down have sparked fury in Serbia, with animal rights group Orca demanding the concert be moved to another venue. Head of Orca Elvir Burazerovic said: "Research has shown that noise and vibrations are the strongest causes of stress to animals. Surely our big city has enough open spaces where even 150,000 people can fit in. We think the hippodrome should be left to horses."Burazerovic also said if the organisers don't change the venue, the group will write directly to the band to ask them to switch. Burazerovic said: "I believe we will succeed, since such a reputable band will not allow such a stain on its record."

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RUMOR: MADONNA WANTS TO ADOPT GIRL

Madonna is doing great work with children in Africa

Madonna has met the three-year-old Malawian girl she reportedly wants to adopt.The singer is currently in Malawi with adopted son David and daughter Lourdes and the trio visited the orphanage where the child, called Grace, lives earlier this week. Despite her publicist denying she is to adopt again, Madonna has reportedly told friends she is looking for a sister for David and is considering welcoming Grace into her family. A source said: "Madonna was talking with Grace and looked very happy. They were together for about 15 minutes."The 48-year-old star first saw Grace on DVD footage and fell in love with her immediately. She then asked for a 15-minute film to be made of the little girl, who has no relatives and has been living at the orphanage since she was three months old. However, though she had a successful meeting with Grace, Madonna has not made a final decision on the adoption. She has allegedly met with 10 other children, on the request of the Malawian authorities. A source said: "Grace may not be the child Madonna adopts though she certainly is a favourite. Madonna is considering other children."Madonna's representatives have repeatedly denied the star is in Malawi to adopt again, insisting she is only in the country to do charity work. Publicist Liz Rosenberg said: "Madonna is indeed going to Africa to continue her work with the Raising Malawi organisation. She is overseeing the building of a children's health care center."She is absolutely not adopting another baby. I know that has been a rumor ever since she began the adoption process for her son David but it just isn't true."

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RICH LITTLE TO PLAY CORRESPONDENTS

Icon Rich Little will play the Correspondents dinner

Comedian Rich Little says he doesn't plan anything provocative when he performs at this year's White House Correspondents Association dinner in Washington. The veteran impressionist is the headliner at tonight's annual affair, and his routine promises to be considerably tamer than the harder-edged comedy delivered last year by Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert -- who directed some hard-hitting barbs at President George W. Bush and others in the audience. Little told United Press International if he does anything edgy in his performance Saturday night, it won't be by design. "I'm an entertainer. I'm not there to stir it up in any way," he said. "If I happen to, by chance, that's fine." Little has played this gig before -- during the Reagan administration. He said performing for the White House press corps can be challenging. "They're not the easiest audience to perform for because they're professional people and they're wrapped up in their careers and politics so they don't sit home watching TV all the time," he said. On the other hand he said, because they're journalists they know the characters he does better than most audiences.

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SANJAYA MALAKAR TO HIRE BODYGUARD

Sanjaya Malakar : Whats with the painted eyebrows ?

The former “American Idol” contestant Sanjaya Malakar who was finally voted off Wednesday night, believes things, his status in fact, have changed so much that he intends to hire a bodyguard. "I'm definitely ready to hire a bodyguard," he says. "I'm actually looking into that right now."In an interview the morning after his elimination, the one who once threatened the integrity and purpose of the talent show, told reporters that he got an education throughout the competition, and plans to pursue a career in music and acting. Looking tired but relentlessly upbeat about his "Idol" experience, he said the other competitors were like a second family to him. "Everyone [on the show] is a family, we really, truly are very close. The hardest part of leaving was losing this extended part of my family." His time on the show was equivalent to his junior and senior years of high school. He dropped out of high school after his sophomore year and later obtained a GED. "Throughout the competition I grew as a performer and as a person," he said. "I had a lot of things to learn from. I kind of found myself as things progressed. I found myself and got more comfortable in my own skin." "I was just focused on trying to get past each week, I didn't look too far into the future and didn't want to overwhelm myself," said Sanjaya. "I feel like I've grown, and I'm more confident because I have this experience. Practice makes perfect, and I'm ready to get out there and sing some more." However, just like other Idol contestants before him, Sanjaya said he had a hunch about Wednesday’s night boot. "When I saw the show, I had a feeling. I was in the dumps all day on Wednesday and I kind of knew," said Sanjaya. "I'm not a country singer,” he said of his Bonnie Raitt’s “Something To Talk About” performance, “I think that really took a toll on me, and I didn't have enough really strong performances to have people forgive me for that." Idol judge Randy Jackson had thought it was "really just like karaoke... bland and boring;" Paula Abdul had called Malakar a "loveable guy" who "thrives on adversity;" while Simon Cowell slammed his performance as “utterly horrendous" and added it was "as bad as anything we see at the beginning of American Idol." "I'm beginning to sense something here," a grinning Cowell added when Malakar ended up among the last three. When the result was announced, Malakar wiped away tears and got a big hug from LaKisha Jones, the next lowest vote-getter. "I'm fine," he told Ryan Seacrest. "It was an amazing experience." "I can promise you: We won't soon forget you," Seacrest replied. While most people believe it was the “American Idol” haters who kept Sanjaya on the show for so long, the 17-year-old Indian thinks it was his fans alone who voted for him. "I don't think votefortheworst or Howard Stern had enough people voting for me to make a dent in anything. I think the reason why I'm here is the support of my fans." Speaking about the Idol contestants and the outside world, Sanjaya said they are kept busy and isolated. "We're in a bubble . . . . I got inklings every once in a while of something different going on that I guess was a cultural phenomenon, but I don't think it really has hit me yet how big it is."

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KATIE HOLMES CALLS POLICE ON PHOTOGRAPHERS

Actress Katie Holmes was forced to call the police during a recent shopping trip in Shreveport, La., after she found herself targeted by paparazzi. Holmes, who is in town to shoot the comedy "Mad Money," spotted the photographers trailing her last Thursday, and asked for local police help. The authorities escorted the actress inside a Target store and then acted as her bodyguards as shopped. A spokesman for Holmes tells Us Weekly magazine, "The (film) production office gave Katie the name of the chief of police and told her to call if she felt she needed it."

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JENNA JAMESON'S BATTLE WITH SKIN CANCER MAKES HER LOSE BABY !

Jenna Jameson has revealed her secret battle with skin cancer caused her to lose her baby. Jenna - the world's most famous adult movie star - was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2004 and was two-months pregnant at the time. But the next day, Jenna suffered a miscarriage - which doctors believe was brought on by the stress of learning she had cancer.The star told Us Weekly magazine: "If the pregnancy would have lasted, I wouldn't have had the surgery. So it was all in God's plan."Jenna, 33, had visited a dermatologist to have some veins on her back treated when, by chance, an abnormal mole was discovered.The star was shocked to discover it was a malignant melanoma.Since having surgery the actress has been cancer-free.Jenna's mother, Judith, died from skin cancer before Jenna was two years old.Judith had worked as a Las Vegas showgirl, which inspired Jenna to work as a dancer before moving into the adult movie industry.

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DEBORAH GIBSON JOINS BEAUTY AND THE BEAST'S 13TH ANNIVERSARY

Deborah Gibson (center) with Beauty And The Beast cast

Original 'American Idol' DEBORAH GIBSON joined in today's 13th Anniversary celebration at the Lunt Fontanne Theatre for Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST'S 13th Anniversary. The Disney show will close after 13 years on July 29, and today's event featured many of the performers from the show over the years, including Gibson; GARY BEACH, ANDREA McARDLE, director ROBERT JESS ROTH, lyricist ALAN MENKEN, and LINDA WOOLVERTON.
A reception followed at Sardi's where a caricature of the Beast was unveiled.
Julianne Cho from The Mayor's Office brought an official proclamation declaring today, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST day.

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CURTAIN CLOSES ON BROADWAY'S LONGEST RUNNING SHOW KITTY CARLISLE HART AT 96

Veteran actress Kitty Carlisle Hart, who visited American homes as a panelist on "What's My Line?" and "To Tell The Truth," has died in New York at 96. The versatile Carlisle Hart, who died Tuesday of heart failure, began her career on Broadway, acted in films and opera, and was singing on stage as recently as last fall.For two of her 10 decades of life in public, Carlisle Hart was an arts advocate, lobbying state and federal legislators for funding to support rural string quartets, theater groups and inner-city dance troupes. She married Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Moss Hart in 1946, and the couple were often at the center of New York's theatrical community until his death in 1961, the Times said. In later years, Carlisle Hart was popular on the lecture circuit. She occasionally performed a one-woman show, "My Life on the Wicked Stage," an anecdotal performance about friends Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Jerome Robbins and George and Ira Gershwin. She was in a Broadway revival of "On Your Toes" and appeared in the films "Six Degrees of Separation" with Will Smith, Woody Allen's "Radio Days" and the Marx Brothers "A Night at the Opera."

Note: Kitty was a gem She came from the old school of Hollywood. The old school had class. Kitty Carlisle Hart had class. I met her in the early 1980's. I was just starting out as a Celebrity Photographer and didn't know what to expect from her. Here I was, talking to Kitty, the woman who I grew up watching on TV in 'To tell The Truth' and in the Marx Brothers movie "A Night At The Opera". She was with her old best friend actress Arlene Francis who was also on TV with her. Kitty posed for photos, talked to me was interested in what I had to say. I sent photos to her and Arlene and they sent thank you notes. This was the way Hollywood used to act. They had class, style and heart. I photographed Kitty for the last time last year. She was with Celeste Holm and Leroy Neiman. Kitty and Celeste had matching canes,they were the best of friends. Seeing Kitty again brought back such wonderful memory's of my start in show business. She was once again classy, full of conversation and alive with excitement. It was like a Broadway show that has been running for a hundred years that you keep going back again and again to feel the love. Today the curtain closed on Broadway's longest running show, Kitty Carlisle Hart !

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LINDSAY LOHAN SAID SHE WOULD DIE BEFORE GOING TO REHAB !

Lindsay Lohan vowed she would die before going to rehab.The actress was disappointed with herself when she realised she needed to be treated for alcoholism. She checked into Los Angeles' Wonderland Center on January 18 after a heavy drinking session following the Golden Globe Awards. Lindsay told Allure magazine: "It's so weird that I went to rehab. I always said I would die before I went to rehab."The 20-year-old star, who is rumored to be in a lesbian relationship with DJ Samantha Ronson, also revealed she acts as her family and friends protector. She explained: "When my friends and family are around me I feel like they're safe. When my friends have left me - I've just seen everything collapse.They're not safe without me."Despite her stint in rehab, Lindsay says she has no plans to stop partying, insisting, "It's my life!"However, the 'Bobby' actress admits she is concerned her fans are getting tired of her wild behaviour. She said: "Everybody's tired of hearing things about me. I think it's just better for me to lie low and get better."

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REPORT: BRITNEY SPEARS FIRES MANAGER

Britney Spears with Larry Randolph

Britney Spears reportedly fired her manager on Friday .The 'Toxic' singer - who only rehired Larry Rudolph after filing for divorce from Kevin Federline in November - allegedly blames him for her recent career mistakes and blunders, according to the New York Post newspaper. The 25-year-old mother-of-two is said to have been suffering from postpartum depression and her heavy partying sparked a mini-breakdown - culminating in her shaving her head before agreeing to enter rehab. It was Rudolph who allegedly introduced Britney to socialite Paris Hilton and encouraged them to party together. Britney could face legal repercussions if she has fired Rudolph as she reportedly signed a lengthy deal with him after rehiring him to help with her pop comeback. Britney recently rehired PR guru Leslie Sloane Zelnik - who also represents Lindsay Lohan - to help restore her battered image.The 'Toxic' singer has been busy working on her comeback album since leaving Malibu's Promises centre last month. She has been in and out of recording studios and been attending regular dance classes.

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DESPERATE EVA LONGORIA ALL TIED UP !

Eva Longoria loves being tied up during sex.The 'Desperate Housewives' beauty - who is engaged to basketball star Tony Parker - enjoys being dominated in the bedroom. She revealed to Live magazine's Louise Gannon: "I'm not averse to being tied up in silk scarves. I like a man to take charge. There's something very sexy about being submissive."The 32-year-old actress also revealed she regularly has Brazilian bikini waxes because she only ever wears Gings. She added: "Every girl should have a Brazilian wax. It's my sexy secret. And I only ever wear thongs. I don't own a pair of knickers with a proper back to them."Although Eva is seven years older then her fiancé, she claims she prefers older men. She revealed: "I like a man with maturity. Wisdom and experience are very sexy to a woman."Eva also hates men being obvious when they flirt with her. She said: "There is such a thing as a bad chat-up line - and they've all been tried out on me. The least sexy thing a man can do is whistle at a girl in the street or cat call at them."It's so unsexy, so uncool. If I see any builders working in a street I'll turn right round and walk in a different direction. I hate all that shouting and whistling."

I know Eva.. The builders always whistle at me !

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LEGEND SINGER DON HO DIES AT 76

The king of Hawaii Don Ho

Legendary crooner Don Ho, known for his raspberry-tinted sunglasses and catchy signature tune "Tiny Bubbles," has died, his publicist said. He was 76.
Publicist Donna Jung said the singer died Saturday morning of heart failure. He had suffered with heart problems for the past several years, and had a pacemaker installed last fall. In 2005, he underwent an experimental stem cell procedure on his ailing heart in Thailand in 2005. Ho entertained Hollywood's biggest stars and thousands of tourists for four decades. For many, no trip to Hawaii was complete without seeing his Waikiki show — a mix of songs, jokes, double entendres, Hawaii history and audience participation. Shows usually started and ended with the same song, "Tiny Bubbles," which Ho mostly hummed as the audience enthusiastically took over. "I hate that song," he often joked to the crowd, adding that he saved it for the end because "people my age can't remember if we did it or not." Donald Tai Loy Ho, who is Hawaiian, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch and German, was born Aug. 13, 1930, in Honolulu and grew up in the then-rural countryside of Kaneohe.

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