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London's nightclubs out of bounds for Maria Sharapova (Go To Top)

          London: Tennis champion Maria Sharapova has the world at her feet, but she can't visit nightclubs. According to The Sun, Maria went to London's posh 'Kensington Roof Gardens' to celebrate her Wimbledon win, but she was stopped from getting inside the club's bouncers because she is only 17.

The 'Godfather' died painlessly (Go To Top)

         New York: Though it was a sudden death, actor Marlon Brando died painlessly, his sister, Jocelyn Brando told reporters. "It was quick, it was easy - just the way he wanted it," she was quoted as saying by The New York Daily News. However, she did not reveal anything more about the actor's last moments. According to the paper, she had complete faith in her brother's change of executors just 2 weeks before he died. His entire estate will be transferred into a trust that will be run by the executors. The star of "A Streetcar Named Desire" has left a fortune worth 21.6 million dollars, which includes a Beverly Hills house and five islands in Tahiti. However, it is still not clear who the beneficiaries of his estate are and who will control what portion of the estate. According to his lawyer David Seeley, there is no dispute among his heirs regarding his estate.

Marlon Brando's fetish for taping dark secrets of friends (Go To Top)

         Washington: Hollywood legend Marlon Brando had a fetish for recording intimate telephonic conversations that he had with his friends. The rather eccentric actor would persuade his friends to reveal their dark secrets about sex, cheating and extra marital affairs, and secretly tape it. In an exclusive interview, after Brando's death, Peter Manso, his biographer told The National Enquirer, "Marlon had a sophisticated and elaborate tape-recording system in his Mulholland Drive home and all the calls were automatically taped. It was connected to his eight or nine phone extensions all over the house."

Beckham wanted to quit, but Posh changed his mind (Go To Top)

         London: England's football captain David Beckham wanted to quit the game following his disappointing performance in Euro 2004, but his wife Victoria prevailed upon him to reconsider. According to The Sun, Becks told Posh that there was no point in playing after his poor performance that led to England's ouster in the quarter-finals. Fortunately, Victoria convinced him otherwise, and reminded him that he had been through much worse during the 1998 World Cup when England squared up against Argentina and lost after Becks was asked to leave mid-way for a foul. "Thankfully she managed to change his mind. She told him he'd been through worse when he was sent off against Argentina at the World Cup in 1998. She said 'David, you are the England captain and I'm proud of you. You go back out there and show people what you are made of'." an insider was quoted as saying.

Madonna wants another baby at 45 (Go To Top)

         London: Pop icon Madonna has revealed that she wants another child in spite of her biological clock being slightly messed up at 45. According to The New York Daily Times, Madge has reportedly been consulting her doctors and has sought the blessing of her Kabbala counselor, Rabbi Yehuda Berg, in this regard "More kids would be a great thing for her spiritual growth. He said, 'Go for it,'" a source quoted Rabbi Berg, as saying. The "American Life" star had recently admitted in an interview that her cycle was a little messed up, but now her doctors have declared she is in great shape to conceive. "Because of my exercising and this, that and the other, I've kind of screwed up my cycle a bit," the `Material Girl' was quoted as saying. Wanting a third baby may be on the cards, but this hasn't stopped Madonna from pursuing her other interests like launching her own line of children's clothing, writing a best seller third book for kids, besides working on an animated film and a feature documentary.

Britney skips hotel opening to romp with Federline in Hawaii (Go To Top)

         Washington: Pop diva Britney Spears has refused to attend the opening of her suite in the Onyx Hotel in Boston, preferring a romp with her beau and fianci Kevin Federline in Hawaii. According to rate the music, the Kimpton Hotel Restaurant Group LLC executives were initially shocked when they heard that Britney was planning to call her world tour the 'Onyx Hotel Tour' by the same name they had chosen for their new Massachusetts boutique hotel. However, they spoke to Britney and then decided to name a VIP suite after the star's charity 'The Britney Spears Foundation Room', which will donate a percentage of the proceeds to send ill children to a performing arts camp. Now, it has been decided that Britney's mother, Lynne, will cut the ribbon at the official opening of the 'special room' next Tuesday, while Britney and Federline enjoy Hawaii's sun and sands.

Sharon Stone returns to Basic Instinct (Go To Top)

         Sydney: Hollywood beauty Sharon Stone has confirmed that she will star in the sequel to "Basic Instinct," and will also recreate the scene from the first movie in which she appeared nude. According to News.com, the 46-year old actress first shot to fame in 1992 as she seduced Michael Douglas's character with her famous leg crossing scene in "Basic Instinct." Stone also revealed that the long drawn battle between her and the movie's producers, whom she had sued for 19 million dollars, has ended in an out of court settlement. "I'm like, 'Does anybody want to pay 12 dollars to see me naked? I'm like, 'I guess it's OK," she said. However, Michael Douglas will not return to act in the movie and will be replaced by someone younger.

Liz Taylor in a battle for Van Gogh painting (Go To Top)

         New York: Hollywood's legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor may have to hand over a 15 million dollar Van Gogh painting, that her father bought for her at an auction. The painting was allegedly stolen by the Nazi's from one Margarete Mauthner, a German Jewish patron of the arts who is said to have acquired the painting from Van Gogh's family. According to a report in The New York Post, earlier this year Mauthner's grandson asked Taylor to return it, however the actress refused to do so and went to court instead, claiming that the painting was not stolen but had been sold in the market willingly.

Blair opts for Harry Potter style in improving state-run schools (Go To Top)

         London: The Tony Blair government has announced a five-year plan to improve the quality of education in UK's state schools. The move, which involves an additional expenditure of about 47 billion pounds, aims at expanding places in existing schools and encouraging middle class students away from private schools. According to The Mirror, school students will now be seen in uniform and will be part of a school house system similar to the one popularised by J.K Rowling in her Harry Potter series. The government aims to make every school an independent specialist school by 2008 indicating the end of the 50-year all- purpose comprehensive school era in Britain. Students will also have more subjects to choose from as well as better opportunities to change from academic to vocational courses.

          "For many years a quality education was the prerogative of the few. It must now become the entitlement of all. We have made our decision for excellence, for opportunity, for choice for all. We have specifically ruled out any selection based on ability." Education Secretary, Charles Clarke, was quoted as saying. Teachers, however, have given mixed reactions to the proposal. "More autonomy, less red tape and a crackdown on both bad pupil and bad parent behaviour is exactly what heads need." general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, David Hart, was quoted as saying. "The plan to expand city academies is not based on evidence of success. Parents will be faced with a confused and confusing array of schools rather than choice and diversity." National Union of Teachers general secretary, Steve Sinnott was quoted as saying.