Prince Philip denies calling Simon Cowell a sponger
March 26, 2009
Buckingham Palace has denied that Prince Philip has made another of his notorious gaffes by calling pop impresario Simon Cowell a “sponger” who feeds off the stars on his shows.
Cowell, who draws huge ratings for his programmes including American Idol, The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and its US spin-off America’s Got Talent, also alleges that Prince Philip’s wife Queen Elizabeth II ignored him at the same event.
Anger in the streets over Sarkozy reforms
March 21, 2009
Record numbers of people have taken to the streets of France, in the biggest demonstrations since Nicolas Sarkozy’s election to the presidency, to protest about his handling of the economic crisis.
Unions estimated that more than 3 million people took part in demonstrations across the country on Thursday, in the second general strike over the economic crisis in two months. Police put the figure at 1.2 million.
Obama faces an angry nation
March 21, 2009
Stephen Colbert, a comedian who plays a slightly goofy conservative Republican, began his Comedy Central TV show The Colbert Report this week brandishing a pitchfork.
“Nation! I am enraged!” he yelled to his audience.
“AIG announced this week that they are giving executives $US165 million in bonuses. Excuse me? That bail-out money is supposed to be used responsibly – in ways we never see, to prop up businesses we don’t understand,”
Anna Nicole Smith’s psychiatrist surrenders
March 17, 2009
Anna Nicole Smith’s psychiatrist has surrendered to face charges of excessively prescribing drugs to the former model before her overdose death in 2007, Los Angeles police say.
Police spokeswoman Rosario Herrera said Khristine Eroshevich turned herself in about 11am on Monday.
She was released several hours later after posting $US20,000 bail, according to a statement from her attorney Adam Braun’s office.
New start in US – unBush’ing of America
March 15, 2009
If ever the world would have forgiven a man for not being able to walk and chew gum at the same time, it would have been now. No one would blame Barack Obama if he focused exclusively on the economic crisis, pushing the foreign policy in-tray to the back of his desk. After all, there’s only so much even a Messiah can handle.
For all that, the new US President has crammed a slew of foreign policy moves into his first six weeks, any one of which would have made big news in normal times.
Man who wouldn’t talk takes $65b secret to jail
March 13, 2009
While Bernard Madoff sits in his New York cell facing a life behind bars today, the search for any accomplices continues.
By choosing to plead guilty in court, Madoff has robbed the prosecution and victims of the chance to hear details of how he perpetrated the world’s biggest fraud to date. Questions about whether Madoff acted alone or in concert remain unanswered but the victims of Madoff’s fraud will hope that remains a temporary state of affairs.
Obama Wiki fiddler caught red-handed
March 10, 2009
A right-wing pundit has been caught red-handed manufacturing controversy after claiming US President Barack Obama’s Wikipedia page was being whitewashed, in a scandal that fooled big news outlets including Fox News.
Aaron Klein, the Jerusalem bureau chief at online news publication WorldNetDaily (WND), reported that Obama’s Wikipedia entry was far too positive and did not mention his claimed links with controversial pastor Jeremiah Wright and “Weatherman terrorist” Bill Ayers.
Hillary Clinton reveals how she got over Bill’s adultery
March 8, 2009
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, reflecting on her life in the public spotlight, said on Saturday she misses ordinary pleasures but has no regrets about her choice of public service.
“It’s very hard to go out shopping and just enjoy yourself out with your friends; it’s hard to go out to a restaurant and have just a meal with some people you want to talk to without being recognised,” she said during an interview on a popular women’s program on the Turkish channel, NTV.
Gaultier lights up the catwalk, but Mickey Mouse steals the show
March 8, 2009
Sex and money are what makes the world go round, according to Jean-Paul Gaultier, who recreated the cosy warmth of a bordello for his collection for next autumn-winter at Paris Fashion Week.
Heavy crimson velvet drapes and comfy Chesterfield sofas in a smoky fug set the mood for his overtly erotic collection, which included a silk chiffon dress printed with dollar signs.
Obama to reverse Bush limits on stem-cell research
March 7, 2009
US President Barack Obama will on Monday wipe out another contentious aspect of his predecessor George Bush’s legacy by removing curbs on federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research.
The president will sign an executive order reversing a policy that critics say has hampered the fight into finding treatments for grave diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and diabetes, a senior administration official said.
