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UK finally bans hunting of animals with dogs
by Mike Lockey

     London: A new law was recently passed in Britain that bans the hunting of animals with dogs. It is a law that has been a long time coming, given that it was promised by the government way back in 1997, when New Labour first came to power. It is a law primarily aimed at the fox hunting fraternity, those who Oscar Wilde so memorably described as "the pursuit of the uneatable by the unspeakable". But the law also covers hare coursing, and it is this that has got up the noses of a certain section of the Pakistani community in Britain. But why should this be so? Well, hare hunting is a prominent sport (sport?) back in Pakistan and many first and second generation Pakistanis now in Britain have, until now, enjoyed playing this barbaric game (game?) in the UK. As Charles Blanning, secretary of the National Coursing club, says,"Many of our members are Asians of Pakistani origin and have been taking part in coursing for well over thirty years. Many Pakistani owners run their dogs here for one season then send them to Pakistan to run for their families". The Ramzan family are typical followers of what is referred to as a sport, a sport which, according to animal rights activists, "traumatises, injures, or kills" hares for fun. As Tariq Ramzal claims: "This bill is unworkable. It is a travesty. Human rights are given less importance than animal rights".

Brits prefer Wills over Charles as next monarch (Go To Top)

     London: Prince William is the hot favourite, amongst Brit women, as the next heir to the throne rather than Prince Charles, according to a poll carried by Britain's Times newspaper. According to Femalefirst, twenty-eight per cent of women questioned in the poll said they would prefer Prince Charles to hand the throne over to his 22-year-old son after the death of Queen Elizabeth. The survey, of more than 700 people carried out earlier this week, suggested that British women remain hostile towards Charles and his new wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, who wed earlier this month after a 30-year affair and seven years after the death of the prince's first wife, Princess Diana. A previous poll, carried out earlier this year after the couple announced their wedding plans, showed that 32 per cent of people questioned "did not care" about the marriage - while latest figures show that this number has almost doubled to 62 per cent. Meanwhile, the royal couple, who have just returned from their honeymoon in the Scottish highlands, attended their first official joint engagement in London yesterday.

The name's Brosnan, Pierce Brosnan (Go To Top)

     London: Actress Judi Dench who is all set to play M in the next 007 movie, spilled the beans during an interview that Pierce Brosnan will reprise his role as James Bond in the forthcoming Bond movies. After a fall-out with makers of the movie 'The Die Another Day' actor was removed and speculations were made regarding his replacement but now it seems that he has made his peace with the production company Eon. "Despite the fact that everyone on the face of the earth has been tested as his possible replacement, Pierce will be doing it again. It will be announced come summer," Dench said. According to the Mirror, Dame Judi made the revelation while speaking to New York gossip columnist Cindy Adams during the promotion of her latest film, Ladies In Lavender. The new Casino Royale will be the 21st Bond movie and is scheduled for a November 2006 release. Ex-Brookside star Jennifer Ellison has been lined up as 007's latest girl, according to recent reports.

Julia Roberts tops list of Most Beautiful People (Go To Top)

     Washington: 'America's Sweetheart' Julia Roberts has once again topped People magazine's list of "50 Most Beautiful People." "Now that she has her babies, she has reached the peak of beauty," Roberts' friend and makeup artist Genevieve tells the magazine. "She is satisfied and content. All of that shows." Others on the list are Oscar winner Halle Berry, "Desperate Housewives" actress Eva Longoria, teen queen Lindsay Lohan, Jennifer Aniston, Oprah Winfrey, "The O.C." actress Mischa Barton and Miami Heat basketball player Dwyane Wade, reports Zap2it. Couples making the list include Jude Law and Sienna Miller, "Sahara" co-stars Penelope Cruz and Matthew McConaughey and model Heidi Klum and singer Seal.

Pairs Hilton strips to her own song (Go To Top)

     London: Hotel heiress and socialite Paris Hilton reportedly insisted on playing her own record while stripping for her new movie 'House of Wax'. Hilton, who recorded her first single Screwed last year, thought listening to her song was the only way to combat her embarrassment. "They were actually playing my single Screwed when I was shooting it. It was a closed set and I only had Jaume, the director, there who I trust," she was quoted by the Sun as saying. "No one else was there because I was embarrassed. I was dancing and taking my clothes off. It felt so cheesy but I was doing it to my song, so it felt really sexy," she added.

Aussie cemetery leaves dead men standing (Go To Top)

     Sydney: The idea of a vertical cemetery, in which bodies will be buried on their feet, has been approved by Victoria's planning minister. According to news.com, after more than 15 years of work, Victorian company Palacom has won the right to establish what is believed to be Australia's first vertical cemetery. The cemetery and a crematorium will be established on land at Derrinallum, about 180 km west of Melbourne. Palacom director Tony Dupleix said the cemetery offered a cheaper, environmentally friendlier burial. Bodies would be held at a morgue in Melbourne and would be transported to the site for burial in batches of 12 to 15, to minimise costs. The bodies would be sealed in bodybags and buried in individual pre-drilled 3m deep holes, Mr Dupleix said. The land would be returned to pasture and would be grazed by animals once it was stable, he said. "When you die, you are returned to the earth with a minimum of fuss and with no paraphernalia that would affect the environment." You're not burning 90kg of gas in a crematorium and there's no ongoing maintenance costs," he added. Darlington Cemetery Trust secretary Anna Jamieson said vertical burials would not replace traditional burials at its existing cemetery, but would provide an attractive new option for some.

Cynthia Nixon bares all for 'Allure' (Go To Top)

     Washington: Former 'Sex and the City' star Cynthia Nixon, 'Sideways' actress Sandra Oh, and 'Destiny's Child' singer Kelly Rowland are set to bare all for the US fashion magazine 'Allure'. The three have agreed to appear in nude photos while carefully covering their chests and private parts, and are exercising more to get into perfect shape. "I exercise more than I ever have, my body has more tone than it ever did," Contactmusic.com quoted Nixon as saying. Rowland said that she took her parents' permission before agreeing to get nude for the shoot. "Finally they said, 'Well, you look good, go for it,'" she was quoted as saying.

Is Tom Cruise dating Katie Holmes? (Go To Top)

     Washington: Tom Cruise's sister and publicist Lee Anne Devette has reportedly confirmed rumours of a romance between the Hollywood heartthrob and actress Kate Holmes. According to Contactmusic.com, Cruise, who was earlier linked to Latina model Sofia Vergara, was spotted dating the former 'Dawson's Creek' star in Italy, where he is scheduled to receive a national award for his contribution to cinema. Holmes, who announced split from fiance Chris Klein in February this year, was earlier romancing Josh Hartnett.

Banderas joins J Lo in 'Bordertown' (Go To Top)

     Washington: Antonio Banderas is reportedly all set to star in thriller movie 'Bordertown' alongside Jennifer Lopez. According to Zap2It, the film, to be directed by Gregory Nava, will focus on US-owned factories on the Mexican border and a series of murders that draw a journalist to the region. Banderas, who will next be seen in 'The Legend of Zorro', was supposed to work with Nava in 2001 on 'Zapata', but the biopic never materialized.

Paris Hilton and her beau are now a live-in couple (Go To Top)

    London: Hotel heiress and socialite Paris Hilton has reportedly asked her boyfriend Paris Latsis to move in with her to her Hollywood pad. The couple has now been dating for over three months and Hilton says that she is looking forward to living as couple as she likes the idea of her boyfriend waiting for her when she's back from work. "I love the fact that when I go off to work he will be waiting at home for me. And he's a great cook", Female First quoted Paris Hilton as saying. Hilton has previously dated Backstreet boys star Nick Carter and Fred Durst and was left broken hearted in 2003 when ex- boyfriend Rick Soloman sold a video of them having sex.

Madonna's movies have no takers (Go To Top)

     London: She has made her mark in the music world , but movie making skills don't seem to come easy for Madonna. Her new documentary, which was to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival in France has reportedly failed to impress the organisers who felt that it was too poor to be screened at the prestigious event. According to the Mirror, though Swedish director Jonas Akerlund spent hours re-editing her film Re-Invented Process, it still failed to make the grade. "There is a huge amount of competition at the festival. Madonna's was just one of thousands. We felt the documentary had a lot of merit, but in the end there were other more suitable submission that pushed it out of the running," the paper quoted an insider from the Cannes Film Festival as saying.

People prefer nursing pets to partners (Go To Top)

     London: A new research has revealed that Brits prefer to take a day off in order to nurse their pets rather than their spouses. The study revealed that dog owners took 2.7 million working days off over the past two years to care for poorly animals. Of the UK's estimated 5.4 million dog owners, 10 per cent have missed at least five days of work and 5 per cent have taken two weeks. But the same compassion is not applied to sick partners or relatives - the same owners took only 1.08 million days off in the same period to care for them. More than half - 55 per cent - said they paid more attention to their ill dog than a partner in the same straits, while 49 per cent confessed they worried more when their dog was sick than when their partner was. The survey by Direct Line Pet Insurance also revealed that just over half of owners, 53 per cent, have bought presents to "cheer up" their animal when it seemed depressed. More than one in nine have bought their pet a new bed as a treat to make them feel better and 8 per cent have given them the full run of the house to raise their spirits. A spokeswoman for the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said pets have a "very important" role in the family. "These figures do seem very high, but we have to also put into context how important a family pet is within the structure of the family," she said. "Given that our animals are dependent on us as owners for care we can see why it does happen. Our partners can talk and tell us how good or bad they feel, but with our animals it is very much a guessing game. "Any pet owner has to be sensible because they have to consider the needs of their employer, but it is also the legal requirement for an owner to provide veterinary treatment to a sick animal." The report also points out to critics who do not own a dog and think it is "odd" to stay off work to look after a pet, that remedies may be a lot cheaper than medical treatment.

Nandita Das on Cannes 2005 jury (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: Actress Nandita Das has been invited to be a part of the jury at the prestigious 58th Cannes film festival to be held in France next month. Das, who is currently in the United States, will return home on May 3 and will leave for Cannes on May 8 or 9, her husband Soumya Sen said. Das has been invited to serve as member of the jury for feature films. She is the second Indian actress to be invited as a jury member. In 2003, Aishwarya Rai was ajury member. Some of Das's well known films include 'Aks', Fire and 'Earth'. The Cannes festival will be held from May 11 to 22.

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