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Another hit from Beckham: His new pearly whites (Go To Top)

         London: Scandal ridden, Real Madrid star David Beckham is probably grinning from ear to ear. Known as a style icon the world over, this time it is his teeth that have caught everybody's attention. Beckham recently visited a dentist to have his teeth whitened, in order to get a new, dazzling, all-American smile. According to the Sun, Beckham, who recently turned 29, booked in to have his teeth done at the same private surgery where his wife Victoria 'Posh' Beckham had hers fixed. Victoria had her teeth straightened and whitened at the Ware Centre of Dental Excellence, near the couple's Beckingham Palace mansion in Hertfordshire. Becks liked hers so much he booked himself in for a 90-minute whitening procedure and if reports are to be believed, the efforts have really payed off. A source said: "Victoria was so happy with her results that David decided to give it a go too. It cost 500 pounds for the whitening and top-up treatments.

'I don't want Marshall's money ... (but) ': Eminem's mom (Go To Top)

          Washington: Pop star Eminem's mother Debbie Mathers, 49, is losing her battle with breast cancer as she can't afford the cost of the impending surgery. Debbie, who was vilified in her son's hit songs that she sued him, could not afford the 900 dollars required for the operation and now, she has grown so gaunt that doctors feel that she is unsuitable for surgery. Debbie has lost 10 pounds since January. "I know that at the moment I'm not a candidate for surgery. I feel weaker every day and it takes a lot for me to keep it together. A lot of people have said I am dying of a broken heart," ratethemusic quoted a troubled Debbie as saying.

           Facing bankruptcy due to the over 270,000 dollars worth of medical fees accrued through her current condition and a violent carjacking incident, Debbie, however, refuses to ask her famous son for help. "I don't want Marshall's money. It would be wonderful though if he just called me with some honesty and sincerity," said Debbie. Debbie revealed that Eminem had called her to enquire about her condition but his attempts to get her medical insurance came to naught. "It took him a couple of months to call. He asked me how I was, but I had to change the subject because it's a hard thing to talk to your kids about," she added. "He seemed concerned. I told him I didn't want to burden him with my problems. To be honest, I am in denial about it anyway. He wanted me to fax my medical papers to his management to help get me some insurance. But it turned out it wasn't possible because I had a pre-existing medical condition," Debbie said.

          The superstar rapper whose real name is Marshell Mathers had made his name by lyrically berating his mother to the point where Debbie launched a law suit against him. However, Debbie, 49, believes the pair's close relationship before he found fame, as well as her own over-protective instincts, have led to her son's aggressive attitude. "The problem is, Marshall and I were really close and he is embarrassed about that. He lived at home with me until he was almost 26. My happiest memory is the first time I held him. He was tiny - just over five pounds. I'd been in a coma after the birth so when they handed him over, I just said to myself, 'No one's ever going to harm you.' I was like a lioness protecting my cub," Debbie was quoted as saying.

           She further explains, "Growing up, he was spoiled rotten. He was a mama's boy and I indulged him. If he was picked on at school, I'd pull him out, no questions asked. "He has made up this person he describes in his songs. He makes out he was beaten every day and locked in closets and not fed. But it's not true." Debbie also describes her shock when she first heard Eminem rapping about her in his breakthrough hit My Name Is. She says, "I just thought, 'Oh my God.' It was like he was talking about someone else." However, Debbie concludes, "All I want is his respect and I don't think that is asking too much. God knows, if something happened to Marshall, I'd be the first one there." "It hurts a lot but I know deep down inside that he does love me. They say you always hurt the one you love the most and I really believe that."

Gwyneth Paltrow rediscovers joys of gorging (Go To Top)

          London: Film actress Gwyneth Paltrow has added extra pounds to her slim body during her pregnancy after gorging on high calorie junk food. Gwyneth, who is famous for her vegetarian diet and waif-like figure, has said that she now looks like something off the Discovery Channel. The 'Shakespeare In Love' actress tried to stick to her health food regime at the beginning of her pregnancy, but quickly realized that it wasn't going to work. "I hadn't eaten dairy food or white bread for three years. But I was like, 'I have to.' I feel like I'm something off the Discovery Channel," the Sun quoted Gwyneth as saying. Therefore, the Oscar-winner has cast off her healthy diet shackles and has begun pigging out on grilled cheese sandwiches and French Fries. Gwyneth, who is due to give birth next month, is also planning to take time off work once her baby is born. "You just can't do movies back to back and see your child," she said.

Prince Will's goes public with his passion (Go To Top)

          London: Britain's Prince William, 21, publicly demonstrated his love for his girlfriend, Kate Middleton, by passionately kissing her inside a crowded pub. The dashing heir to the throne has refused to comment on his relationship with Kate, a fellow student at Scotland's St Andrews University. They were snapped holidaying together in March and the photos were splashed all over on newspapers and magazines. However, onlookers at the Golf Hotel said that the pair was inseparable during celebrations following a university Rugby tournament recently. "Wills and Kate couldn't keep their hands off each other. They were up dancing and were kissing," TeenHollywood quoted an onlooker as disclosing. "They are clearly very much together. After that, neither William or Kate can deny they are boyfriend and girlfriend," he added.

German woman fined 25 euros for laughing too loudly (Go To Top)

         London: You would think twice before laughing if you are in Germany, for you may never know how hefty the cost might be. A German woman received the surprise of her life when the police fined her for laughing too loudly. Officials in Berlin took action against the 47-year old, named only as Barbara M in court papers, when her neighbour complained she was disturbing the peace through her giggling. According to Ananova, the 52-year old neighbour said that she frequently invited people round where they would laugh the night away. "It is against the law in Germany to make too much noise after 10 p.m.," he complained. However, Barbara, who works for an architectural firm in the German capital, said her neighbour was exaggerating. She said: "I invited some of my colleagues to dinner on one occassion and after a couple of glasses of wine we all started to enjoy ourselves." A couple of days later she received a fine for 25 euros in the post."It was laughable," she said.

Sterilization by daughters worries parents in UK (Go To Top)

          London: Parents in London are reportedly a worried lot these days, as their young daughters are getting themselves sterilized for up to three years without permission. According to the Mirror, a row has broken out after government figures revealed that 400 girls under the age of 16 have been fitted with the contraceptive implants without their parents' consent. This is done by putting a one-and-a-half inch rod in their arms by doctors under local anaesthesia. The rods release synthetic hormones that stop the girls from producing eggs. Another 500 girls under 15 have also had injections of contraceptives to make them infertile for three months. Doctors are concerned about the consequences of giving a dose of synthetic hormones to girls whose bodies are still developing. The rods need to be taken out if the girl wants to have a baby. This has also raised the question of how men will take advantage of young girls and how these girls, who are still to young, will engage in promiscuous sex. "I do not believe a doctor who does this to an under-16-year old girl without her parents' knowledge is acting in an ethically acceptable way. Doctors are giving carte blanche to men to have sex with under-age girls," said Dr Trevor Stammers of the Family Education Trust. Shadow children's minister Tom Loughton, who obtained the figures, said he was concerned it would encourage promiscuity. Immature pregnancies in London have become a matter of great concern after statistics revealed that last year the number of under-18s getting pregnant in England rose by 800 on 2002 to 40,086. The Government had hoped to halve the number of underage pregnancies by 2010.

'Ancient Chinese were world's first astronomers' (Go To Top)

          London: The Chinese were one of the earliest to explore the heavens much before Galileo and other European astronomers. This is proved by the Dunhuang chart, which according to a research conducted by the British Library is the most accurate star chart. The chart forms part of an exhibition "The Silk Road: Trade, Travel, War and Faith" to be staged at the British library from May 7. It will be displayed alongside a modern sky map to illustrate the accuracy of early Chinese astronomy. According to Ananova, the chart possibly dating back to 7th century AD is the oldest manuscript star map in the world and one of the most valuable treasures in astronomy. The fine paper scroll, measures 210 by 25 centimetres, (82 by 10 inches) and displays 1,345 stars grouped in 257 non-constellation patterns. It includes very faint stars indiscernible with the naked eye and represents the sky as a sphere projected on a cylinder, a modern technique first adopted in Europe in the 15th century.

          According to Dr Francoise Praderie, from the Paris Observatory, who studied the map with fellow French astronomer Dr Jean-Marc Bonnet-Bidaud, "The origin of the star chart's manufacture and real use remains unknown. "One can conjecture that it was used for military and travellers' needs and probably also for uranomancy - divination by consulting the heavens, as suggested by the cloud divination texts preceding the charts. The long tradition in China of searching the sky for celestial omens has therefore led to an early and unsurpassed precision in star catalogues, " he added.

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