The Tribune Online - Branson in Sydney to promote Virgin

SYDNEY, Dec 8: British entrepreneur Richard Branson stands with two models as he disembarks his Virgin Atlantic plane after it arrived in Sydney on Wednesday. Branson is in Sydney to promote Virgin Atlantic's new arrangement for passengers travelling from Hong Kong to Sydney. Virgin passenegers can now fly from London to Australia, where Branson also part-owns low cost domestic carrier Virgin Blue. Atlantic chairman Branson hopes to have up to 300,000 passengers a year flying on the new London-to-Sydney service.

Britney's b'day bash: Sex in the spa

LONDON, Dec 8: Pop sensation Britney Spears reportedly celebrated her 23rd birthday by having a 48-hour marathon sex session with hubby Kevin Federline in a Santa Barbara hotel.

According to The Sun , the Toxic star and Kevin checked into the Bacara Spa and Hotel in Santa Barbara and immediately put up a Do Not Disturb sign on the door.

The lovey-dovey couple reportedly came out of their 2,500 pounds-a-night presidential suite only once to have a quick dinner. They even refused to answer the door to room service staff trying to deliver a birthday cake and flowers.

Harry's girl wants social condom

LONDON, Dec 6: Only after their relationship is out in the open, Prince Harry's girlfriend Chelsy Davey has lifted the lid on their blossoming romance and confessed that the couple wanted it to be a secret. According to The Newsoftheworld , The 19-year-old blonde revealed how the couple tried to keep their relationship under wraps during their trip to Argentina last month. She also revealed that she how she secretly made her way there on a private plane, separate from Harry.

"I sort of got seen at the beginning of the trip when I arrived there, but we weren't seen again after that," Chelsy was quoted by the magazine as saying. "Harry was pretty pleased about that," she added. Now the Zimbabwean beauty is preparing for a holiday with the Prince, in an island off the coast of Mozambique and again she's aiming to keep a low profile. "I hope we'll be able to give everyone the slip. But I doubt we'll be able to pull it off," Chelsy concluded.

Peruvian beauty crowned Miss World

SANYA, (China), Dec 4 Miss Peru, Maria Julia Mantilla Garcia, an aspiring high school teacher, was crowned Miss World 2005 on Saturday night in this southern Chinese beach resort. Miss Dominican Republic, Claudia Julissa Cruz Rodriguez, was the first runner-up and Miss U.S.A., Nancy Randall, was the second runner-up.

Mantilla Garcia (20), wearing a turquoise gown, blew kisses to the crowd as she was crowned. The title carries a $100,000 prize. Organisers said the winner was selected by pageant viewers, who voted by Internet, phone and mobile phone text message. Vote totals and other details of the voting were not immediately released. A total of 107 women from around the world competed for the crown.

"I am very surprised but I am also very happy," Mantilla Garcia told reporters. She said she wanted to do charitable work as Miss World and "help all the people that I can." The pageant included performances by American pop singer Lionel Richie. A panel of celebrity judges was on hand to pick the winner in case the high-tech voting system failed. They included the Australian television star, Kate Ritchie; the West Indian cricket legend, Sir Viv Richards; the Chinese fashion photographer, Li Shaobai and Krish Naidoo, an Ireland-based businessman.

The hosts were the British model, Lisa Snowdon; the Hong Kong television host, Angela Chow and Troy McClain, a former contestant on the U.S. Reality TV series The Apprentice. This was the second straight year the London-based Miss World pageant has been held in Sanya. Organisers announced on Friday that the event would be held in Sanya again next year.

Stage set for Miss World

Stage is set for Miss World pageant on Saturday in China's southern resort island of Hainan. Miss India Sayali Bhagat is one of the contestants for the pagent. A total of 107 contestants will go through selection for the Miss World 2004 crown on December 4. Beauty contests like Miss World have long been ridiculed and attacked in the West as degrading, but in China where anything from the West is synonymous with progress, they represent freedom and openness, and as even before China officially lifted a 54-year ban on beauty contests last year, they were taking place in disguised forms. Miss World contestants united December 2 in defending the pageant's relevance and angrily denied it degraded women.

Prince Harry's sex romp in the loo

LONDON, Dec 1: Prince Harry, who has often been in news for his wild ways, reportedly had sex with his new girlfriend in a toilet. According to The Sun, the Prince and his girlfriend Chelsy Davy stunned pals by vanishing into the toilet for 20 minutes at a nightspot. And when they emerged they looked "like a pair of naughty schoolkids", a source at a club in Cape Town, South Africa, was quoted as saying. Harry has been romancing society beauty Chelsy Davy, 19, for eight months.

The Prince had recently invited Chelsy to join him for a week of his stay at the ranch. And he spent most evenings in a cosy guest cottage with the Zimbabwe-born babe. The couple first met when Chelsy was a sixth-former at posh Cheltenham Ladies' College - near Harry's home at Highgrove. The 20-year-old prince has since visited her in Cape Town, South Africa, where she is a university student.

First Pakistani movie released in 8 Indian cities

MUMBAI, Dec 3: `Khamosh Pani', a Pakistani film based on Partition was released in eight cities in India on Friday, making it the first film from the neighbouring country to be screened here. The film has been screened 41 times through mobile screening in both rural and urban Pakistan and was currently being shown in the theatres across US, Europe and Canada, its Director Sabiha Sumar told newsmen after a preview of the film here.

"The response in Europe was overwhelming," Sumar said. This will be the first Pakistani film -- with Indian actress Kiron Kher in the lead role -- shown on Indian silverscreen and in Mumbai alone it would be shown in four theatres, she said. "The story begins in 1979 in Pakistan under president General Zia-ul-Haq's martial law when that country had embarked on a road to Islamization," she said.

The film also goes back to the actual events that took place when the Indian subcontinent was partitioned in 1947 as a flash back story when one of the Sikh pilgrims to Pakistan tried to look for his sister, who was abducted in 1947, the director added.

Paris Hilton in a lesbian stint

Phtographs of Paris Hilton indulging in a bit a lesbian lip-lock are about to be published in US editions of Hustler magazine. New York's Daily News claims to have seen the set of shots, which capture the hotel heiress in a steamy clinch with a "very pretty brunette". Hustler's publisher Larry Flynt was quick to pounce. "(The pictures are) quite erotic, even artistic, certainly compared to her videotape," Flynt told the newspaper. "I think people will see a new Paris Hilton."

The millionaire socialite and her "friend" are fully clothed throughout the shoot, taken about three years ago and set in a nightclub. Of course most fans have already seen Paris in all her glory in the video tape Flynt refers to, co-starring former boyfriend Rick Salomon and cheekily titled 1 Night In Paris.

But the clothes are by no means substantial, Paris wearing a leopard-print halter-neck and low-slung black pants while her companion wears a midriff-baring black halter. The series begins with Paris being caressed about the hips before the pair move into more passionate positioning, ending with the sort of heavy petting seen on the Gold Coast's beaches during this week's schoolies.

Paris, who Flynt says was about 20 years old at the time of the shoot, has indulged her lesbian side more recently, sharing an "intimate" moment with Baywatch babe Carmen Elektra at the MTV Movie Awards in June. At the time, she reportedly said she didn't know what to do, but Hustler's pictures are proof, if anything, that the "coy" blonde may not have been strictly telling the truth.

Any douby cast over the images has been put to rest by David Hans Schmidt, the agent who sold the photos to Flynt. He told the Daily News: "I've had the pictures forensically analysed and there's no question that's Paris." Paris' agent, Gina Hoffman, stopped short of denying the pictures were Paris when contacted by the paper, but did say she seriously doubted the party loving princess was attracted to her own sex

Mariah Carey has come out of the closet to reveal her nickname to her fans. Pop diva Mariah Carey has told her legions of fans that they can now start calling her Mimi. Says Mariah, it is the nickname known only to "those closest to me," but now feels ready to let her "guard down" and reveal it publicly.

Mariah left a message at her fan club addressing her fans as "Dear Lambs. Mimi is a very personal nickname only used by those closest to me... just one of those little things that I've kept for myself in an attempt to have some delineation between a public persona and a private life."

"By naming the album 'The Emancipation of Mimi' I am letting my guard down and inviting my fans to be that much closer to me."
Mariah's secret name follows Madonna's revelation that she likes to be called 'Esther' and Janet Jackson naming her latest album 'Damita Jo' - her middle name. Mariah's new single - 'Say Something' featuring Snoop Dogg - will be released next month. 'The Emancipation of Mimi', Mariah's tenth studio album, is her first since 2002's 'Charmbracelet', which failed to charm the audience.

LONDON: Jennifer Lopez's physical assets seem to be causing a lot of trouble it seems, for filming of a new Pepsi commercial had to be halted because her behind was allegedly too big for her outfit. According to Femalefirst , producers of the advert starring Beyonci Knowles and David Beckham were stunned to realise that she couldn't fit into the skin-tight leather costume they had provided her. So shooting had to be stopped while frantic staff stitched an extra piece of material to help cover her bum.

"It was quite comical, really. There were all these people ready to get on with the work when we realised there was a problem. Basically, JLo's bum was just too curvy for the outfit and we had to make sure the costume fitted her before we could start filming," an insider was quoted as saying.

SANTA ANA (California): An 86-year-old man has been found guilty of attempting to travel to the Philippines to sexually molest girls, in violation of a new federal law aimed at fighting sex tourism. A judge on Saturday found John W Seljan guilty of six counts, including attempting to travel for the purpose of having sex with minors and possession of child pornography. Seljan faces a minimum term of 10 years in prison and a maximum of 270 years when he is sentenced in March.

The retired business owner is one of about a dozen men who have been arrested under the Protect Act, which was enacted last year. The law made it easier to prosecute those who molest children overseas and increased penalties. Seljan was the first to go to trial on charges brought under the Protect Act. At least two other men have pleaded guilty.

His defence attorney, Allan Stokke, had argued that the government presented insufficient evidence that Seljan intended to have sex with two girls with whom he exchanged sexually explicit letters. The lawyer said on Friday he had not decided whether to appeal.

Seljan, who sat in a wheelchair during the non-jury trial, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport, where he allegedly attempted to board a flight with child pornography, sexual aids and nearly 100 pounds of chocolate.

LONDON: Baywatch could soon appear on the big screen. But its iconic stars Pamela Anderson, David Hasselhoff and Carmen Electra might not make it to the celluloid version. DreamWorks have confirmed that they have bought the film rights to the show, reported the Guardian.

Neither Hasselhoff, nor Pamela Anderson have been approached for the film, although it will be produced by the show's original creators Michael Berk, Doug Schwartz and Greg Bonnan. In 2003, Hasselhoff, Anderson and many of the cast appeared in TV movie "Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding". It is said DreamWorks will look for fresh faces for their own take on the popular 1990s series.

Put away the cake. Pass the spinach. Popeye celebrates his 75th birthday this year, animated evidence that a steady diet of leafy green vegetables and pipe smoking can guarantee you Hulk Hogan forearms as a septuagenarian. To honour the veteran sailor man, the Museum of Television and Radio unveiled a retrospective featuring rarities and collectibles from the cartoon hero's career.

"There are very few characters that are that old and still in the public consciousness," said Barry Monush, curator of the exhibit. "It's quite impressive to stick around that long and stay recognizable."

Recognizable? Who could forget that face, with its jutting jaw and permanently squinting right eye? Or those arms, with the signature anchor tattoos?
The exhibit at the midtown Manhattan museum features five flat-screen televisions running a loop of classic cartoons, with Popeye proudly proclaiming, "I yam what I yam." He's joined, as always, by the usual cast of sidekicks: love interest Olive Oyl, nemesis Bluto, the ever-indigent Wimpy and baby Swee' Pea. Popeye was launched in 1929, debuting in a minor role in the comic strip "Thimble Theater." The sailor was an immediate hit with readers, and artist EC Segar converted him into the star of the strip within two years.

Several of the "Thimble Theater" strips, including one from the December 12, 1931, New York Evening Journal, are on display. But it was the Max Fleischer short films, 109 in all, that ingrained the spinach-chomping sailor into the national consciousness. The first one debuted in 1933, and Popeye became such an instant icon that spinach consumption in the United States jumped 33 percent during the 1930s.

In the 1950s, the Fleischer cartoons arrived on television and created a whole new generation of Popeye fans. New Popeye cartoons debuted in the 1970s, although that incarnation was more politically correct: He didn't smoke a pipe, and was far less likely to pound Bluto into a pulp.
He was, however, still strong to the finish. And he still ate his spinach -- although no one is really quite sure why. "I've never read anywhere why spinach was chosen," said curator Monush. "Maybe it was something that Segar liked. Or hated. Maybe it was just a big joke."

Segar died in 1938, but that did nothing to slow down the Popeye phenomenon: kids in Denmark knew the character as Skipper Skraek, while Italian children were treated to cartoons with Bracchio Di Ferro (Iron Arm). The retrospective also features a variety of Popeye memorabilia, from comic books to an original 1933 production cell to the "Official Popeye Pipe," still in its original package with the promise "It toots!"
"Well, Blow Me Down!: 75 Years of Popeye" runs through Jan. 30 at the museum.

NEW YORK, Nov 14: J Lo and Beyonce can take another bow. The booty-shaking stars have shaped the newest generation of mannequins, with hundreds of well-rounded plastic backsides appearing in shop windows across New York. Bootylicious figures clad in tight low-rise jeans have spilled from the city's street fashion stores into more established labels. "It's absolutely the trend," said Dwight Critchfield, creative director for mannequin firm Goldsmith. "These mannequins look great, and there is a real sex appeal about them."

The recent pop culture fixation on large bottoms has been around since at least 1992, when rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot scored a hit with "Baby Got Back."
But some credit the recent booty shakin' efforts of shapely stars Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce for the fresh emphasis on bigger and rounder posteriors, coupled with the fashion explosion of the Brazilian-style low-rise jeans.

"J Lo was the first to stress that women shouldn't be afraid to show their curves, and the popularity of rap made that shape more acceptable," said Critchfield. "And it is about these low-riding jeans looking good on a sexy, tight fit."

The company launched a "Sex" mannequin with "a larger booty and body" tailored for fashion label Express and for stores carrying lower-end trend clothing, said Critchfield. On the juniors' floor of Macy's in Manhattan, Guess jeans and streetwear label EckoRed display jeans on a fuller rear-end bottom-half mannequin, known as a pants form, opposite a large poster of J.Lo and her clothing label, while a DJ mixes hip hop and reggae to teen and 20-something shoppers.

EckoRed launched the new mannequin -- called the J.Lo butt form -- at the store almost two years ago and sales have since tripled. "It is a serious sociological trend that is positive for retailers and customers in that the tyranny of the undernourished perfect model is over," said Rich Rollison of Lifestyle Forms and Display, which designed the pants form mannequin.

Other companies also are developing more realistic mannequins with larger posteriors in maternity and plus sizes. US label Lane Bryant, which caters to plus sizes 14 to 28, is launching a more voluptuous full-body mannequin across its 250 stores after a successful test run in New York.

"It originated from urban ethnic street wear, but it has transcended that," Rollison said. "Now you are going to see it projected in more urban markets and it will get bigger."