In 2002, Victoria's Secret out-did all of their records and created a $15 million bra and underwear titled Red Hot Fantasy. This bra was made of 1,300 gemstones, including rubies and diamonds. Before this, they had launched a one of a kind bra and underwear set made of platinum, sapphires and diamonds.

The Star of Victoria Fantasy Bra is studded with a total of more than 2,500 carats of diamonds, sapphires, and other gemstones stones. The rose and leaf motif alone on the Star of Victora is made up of 320 carats. Its still up for sale for an easy $10 million!

Unseen Monroe photos exhibited in Barcelona

BARCELONA, Sept 17: Almost 30 previously unseen photographs of legendary US actress Marilyn Monroe went on display in a Barcelona gallery on Thursday, taken shortly before her death by photographer Arnold Newmann.

The 29 black and white originals, which will be on display at Barcelona's Hartmann Gallery until October 24 date from January 1962, when Monroe was attending a gathering at the Beverly Hills villa of Hollywood producer Henry Weinstein. Monroe is pictured surrounded by friends, including poet Carl Sandburg, in a series of stylised scenes.

Seven months later Monroe was dead, having taken an overdose of barbiturates according to a controversial official autopsy. Photo-journalist and portrait snapper Newmann, 84, immortalised various personalities from Picasso and Stravinsky to Bill Clinton and Francoise Sagan, for various publications including Life magazine.

Britney Spears gives birth to her first child

LOS ANGELES: The pop star Britney Spears gave birth to a healthy baby boy, entertainment websites have reported. The baby was delivered in a cesarean section shortly after 1 pm in Santa Monica at UCLA medical centre, according to US Weekly magazine's website.

Spears, 23, who rose to fame as a teenager, had said beforehand she was dreading the pain of childbirth and hinted she would opt for a cesarean, the website E!Online reported. A spokeswoman for Spears contacted by this agency however declined to confirm the reports.

It was Spears' first child with husband Kevin Federline, 27, a former backup dancer, who wed the star a year ago. Federline has two other children from a previous relationship with actress Shar Jackson. Since her marriage, Spears has broken with her manager and spoken about settling down to start a family in her lavish mansion on the California coast.

NY Fashion Week

NEW YORK: Model Galit Gutman with an 18K Gold Bra valued at $150,000 poses backstage at the Gottex Spring 2006 fashion show during Olympus Fashion Week at Bryant Park on September 9, 2005 in New York City.

Disney opens theme park in Hong Kong

HONG KONG, Sept 13: Hong Kong Disneyland threw open its gates to the public Monday, marking Mickey Mouse's biggest push into China - a market the U.S. company hopes will flood the theme park with splurging tourists from the world's most populous nation.

With the pink Snow White Castle behind them, Disney executives and a senior Chinese leader celebrated the opening with musicians clanging cymbals, Chinese lion dancers prancing precariously on tall poles and fireworks bursting in the sky.

The ceremony ended with a parade of skipping Disney characters old and new: Mickey, Donald Duck, Mushu the dragon, Lilo and Winnie the Pooh.
Robert Iger, president of the Walt Disney Co., said it was exciting being part of China's future. "As millions discover the wonders of Hong Kong and China - one of the most rapidly growing travel destinations in the world - the future is indeed bright," he said. Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong called the park, "Hong Kongers' eternal carnival."

Hundreds of visitors lined up outside the park's gate, waiting to get in amid muggy, sweltering heat. Michael Kuzma, of Celebration, Fla., began queuing up a day early and was first in line. "I think for over 50 years, the American people have experienced the happiness of Disney theme parks. I hope the people of China can enjoy the happiness," the 36-year-old consultant said.

The attraction and its two resort hotels are surrounded by mountains on lush Lantau Island, just 30 minutes away by subway from bustling central Hong Kong. It looks much like the first Disneyland in California, with a Space Mountain thrill ride, a classic Cinderella Carousel and Sleeping Beauty Castle - which Disney predicts will be one of the most photographed buildings in Asia.

Hong Kong's government - the biggest investor in the $3.5 billion park - says the attraction will help turn this global financial capital into Asia's best family holiday spot. Disney hopes the park, the 11th in its global empire, will be a magnet for increasingly wealthy Chinese tourists, who have a reputation for being big-spenders.

Iger, president of Walt Disney Co., has said the Hong Kong park is a "first big step" in expanding the company's reach into China, where generations have grown up with little or no familiarity with Mickey Mouse.

Iger said the park would create a media buzz and word-of-mouth excitement that would ignite interest in Disney films, TV shows and other products. Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television broadcast the Disneyland opening live to viewers across China. Michael Eisner, Disney's chief executive officer, said China and Disneyland will be a perfect match because they both value families.

"You go to the park and you see mothers, daughters and kids and grandparents. The family unit in China is unbelievably strong. It's not just Hong Kong, it's mainland China," Eisner said.

An hour before Monday's opening ceremony, a small crowd of labor, human rights and anti-Disney activists gathered outside the park's front gate, chanting "No Conscience" and "Evil Mickey." They were protesting alleged labor abuses at factories making Disney products in China. Disney has said it's investigating the claims.

Hong Kong and Disney struck a deal to build the park in 1999 - just two years after the former British colony returned to Chinese rule. The city had been battered by the Asian financial crisis, and desperately needed a new project to boost its spirits and troubled economy. Disneyland says it employs 5,000 people and will draw 5.6 million visitors in its first year.

So far, the biggest complaint among some of the thousands who got a sneak peak at the park during a soft opening period has been that Hong Kong Disneyland is too small. It's Disney's smallest park at about 100 acres. The entire attraction - including the two hotels - is 298 acres, and there's room to expand to nearly 500 acres. Chinese tourist Zhang Wei predicted the park would be a big hit with the mainland Chinese.

"Disney has a big name and it will definitely attract people and be a success," said the 38-year-old businessman from Beijing as he finished watching the daily parade of floats carrying a waving Little Mermaid, Alice in Wonderland and Buzz Lightyear.

Hong Kongers have a reputation for being brusque and unsmiling, but the Disneyland staff - including cleaners and guards - have been trying to master the Disney tradition of giving guests a warm smile and hello.

Britney to screen baby birth for Katrina victims!

Pop star Britney Spears is reportedly planning to film the birth of her baby for the next series of her reality TV show Britney and Kevin: Chaotic, and will donate the fund raised to victims of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana.

The US TV networks are locked in a bidding war to raise a sum which could tempt Britney to share her intimate moment, with some offers reportedly hitting 9 million dollars.

Despite previously rejecting the idea, the singer is now reconsidering, as her one move can save the lives of hundreds of victims of the natural disaster.

"Britney has been horrified by what has happened in new Orleans, she's a good Louisiana girl and she loves her home state. She's not particularly keen on filming the birth, but with all this talk of money she had to stop and think about what she could do with it. All she's concerned about is that the programme is tastefully done and she gets her privacy," femalefirst quoted a source as saying to the Daily Star.

Club owner held for threatening Karisma's hubby

New Delhi, Sept 1: Delhi Police have arrested a Mumbai club owner suspected of sending an e-mail demanding Rs 50 crore from Karisma Kapoor's estranged husband Sanjay Kapur.

The threatening e-mail was sent on August 25 and Kapur complained to the police the next day. A case of extortion and criminal intimidation was registered. The sender allegedly posed as Sameer Kulkarni and asked Kapur to get in touch with "gangster" Ravi Bhai Pujari.

Police identified the IP address of the computer from which the e-mail was sent and traced it to suburban Mulund in Mumbai. A team of special cell officers was sent there.

"Our officers were able to track down the cyber cafe in Mulund (West) and the computer through which the e-mail was sent," Karnal Singh, Joint Commissioner, Special Cell, said.

The cyber cafe owner was questioned and records of customers using the cafe on August 25 checked. It appears the computer from which the e-mail was sent was used by Raj Kumar Wazir Chand Vazirani, owner of Royal King Club situated in 2 Sri Niwas Building, Zever Road, Mulund (West). Raj Kumar had used the same computer the previous day and on August 22, Singh said.

A quick check with local police revealed that the club owner has been involved in extortion and impersonation cases. In one instance, Kumar allegedly posed as a customs officer and tried to extort money from air passengers. Police say he has also been caught extorting money from train travellers.

The club owner has allegedly been extorting money from locals, but no one dared complain against him, Delhi Police officers said. "He was also wanted in a CBI case but the details are awaited," the joint commissioner said.

The special cell team questioned regular users of the internet cafe who confirmed that Kumar was at the cafe between 1 pm and 1.35 pm, as the cafe's register shows.

At first the club owner tried to duck questions and said he was innocent but he eventually confessed to having sent the e-mail. "Though Raj Kumar had a computer and internet facility, he used the cyber cafe to send the threatening email," a police officer said.

Singh said Kumar would be asked if he knew gangster Ravi Pujari and why he threatened Kapur. Police have seized the hard disk of the computer from which the e-mail was sent as well as the club owner's computer.

Swazi girls end chastity rite meant to fight AIDS

MBABANE (Swaziland), Aug 26: Thousands of girls gathered on Tuesday to burn their tassels of chastity, some celebrating the end of a rite scorned as archaic and ineffective, but others saying they felt vulnerable without the badges donned in hopes of stopping AIDS. Swaziland's King Mswati III, Africa's last absolute monarch, announced last week that he was abandoning the "umchwasho" rite banning sexual relations for girls younger than 18.

Tuesday's bonfire marked the official end. Experts said the ban on teen sex had little impact on slowing the AIDS rate in Swaziland, where 42.6 percent of pregnant women are infected with the virus _ one of the highest rates in the world. The king himself was accused of flouting umchwasho when he chose a 17-year-old as his ninth wife in 2001. His aides, though, argued the ban was designed to discourage casual relationships, not marriage.

Mswati reinstated the ancient rite for five years in 2001. The move was ridiculed as old-fashioned and unfairly focused on girls. With criticism mounting, Mswati decided to end the ban a year early. During the ban, Swazi girls were instructed to wear tasseled scarfs as a symbolic badge of virginity. If an umchwasho girl was approached for sex by a man, she was expected to throw her tassels at his homestead, obliging his family to forfeit a cow. Monday, girls arrived at the queen mother's residence at Ludzidzini singing: "Saphose safa ngumchwasho" _ loosely translated as: "We were sick and tired of umchwasho." They dropped the tassels in a heap for Tuesday's bonfire, and bathed in a river in a ritual intended to purge the bad omens associated with wearing the tassels.

The abandonment of the rite comes days before the annual reed dance ceremony at which Mswati traditionally picks a new bride from thousands of young girls who appear before him dressed in little more than beads and traditional skirts.

Nkonto Dlamini, head of a traditional regiment made of unmarried girls, said Mswati is expected to send them to gather the reeds used to build wind breakers for the queen mother's compound Wednesday. When they return, there will be dancing on Sunday and Monday, which has been declared a public holiday in Swaziland.

Over 20,000 Swazi girls have registered to take part in the reed dance, with more expected to come from the Zulu kingdom in neighboring South Africa.

At 36, Mswati already has 12 wives, one bride-to-be and 27 children. His late father, King Sobhuza II, who led the country to independence from Britain in 1968, had more than 70 wives.

Hilton-Latsis split?

LONDON, Aug 24: Hotel heiress and socialite Paris Hilton has reportedly split from her fiance shipping heir, Paris Latsis because he apparently didn't tell his parents they were getting married.

According to Femalefirst, the sexy reality TV star was incensed, when she threw a lavish party several weeks ago to celebrate their upcoming nuptials, only to discover that her handsome lover hadn't told his wealthy Greek parents about their engagement.

"It was like a bad scene out of Meet The Parents. Two of the world's richest families meet to celebrate their kids' engagement, but one set of parents knows nothing about it," a source was quoted by The News of the World. Friends say Latsis will have to do "a lot of grovelling" if he wants Hilton back.

Earlier this month, Latis's father, Grigoris Kasidokostas, confessed his 22-year-old son hadn't discussed the wedding with him." "If he hasn't discussed this with his own father, how serious could it be? That should tell you the whole story. My son is much too young to even consider a subject like marriage," the source added.

'Bigamous' Britney has another husband!

LONDON, Aug 24: Britney Spears could well be a bigamist if TV presenter Richard Bacon is to be believed. Twenty nine year old Bacon, a DJ on 95.8 Capital FM, has said that he legally wed Britney, while interviewing her in a hotel room for Channel 4's The Big Breakfast, reports The Daily Mail.

He said that the Britney even signed a marriage certificate with his name on it. He said that under such circumstances his marriage to Britney was still legally binding and her later marriage to Kevin was void.

"It was the first time she'd told anyone she'd split with Justin Timberlake and I had a bit of plan, as I had hoped to get the admission out of her about the split. I had a vicar waiting round the corner with a real marriage certificate. I went down on one knee in front of her and said 'would you marry me?' and she said 'hey sure'," the paper quoted Bacon as telling to listerners on the radio programme.

"So I signalled to the vicar, the vicar walked in with the real marriage certificate. I signed it, she signed it... vicar pronounces us married. Obviously the interview concluded and the cameras packed up. I walked off with the marriage certificate down the corridor when this massive security guard came hurtling after me, took it out of my hand and tore it up as he realised what I'd done and that it was legally binding," he said.

"You can't just get rid of it by tearing it up, which means I actually could still be legally married to Britney Spears, which means her marriage to Kevin doesn't exist and that Britney Spears a bigamist," he added.

Britney's spokesperson has however rubbished the claim. "Sorry to break Richards heart, but Britney Spears is legally married to her husband Kevin Federline and is expecting their first child together very soon. I hope Richard is able to accept this and move on from what must be a confusing time for him," said the spokesman.

A uniquely Singapore sex show

SINGAPORE, Aug 21: SEX in Singapore? A non-event, going by surveys of global sexual habits. But one local company is hoping to change this, by organising Singapore's first sex exhibition.

On display will be adult novelty products and sex-friendly furniture, and there will be demonstrations of intimate dancing and a look at the evolution of undergarment and sensual wear.

To be held in November at the Singapore Expo, it will be called - what else - Sexpo 2005. The company behind the event, also called Sexpo, was set up in March. "We got the idea from the sex exhibitions in Australia which are organised by the adult entertainment industry," said Mr Kenny Goh, a Sexpo director. "But for us in Singapore, we want to do it from a 'health' angle.

"The exhibition will deliver frank, accurate and updated information on sexual education in a family-friendly setting," said Mr Goh, 35. "There is certainly a vacuum in terms of educational information on sex-related issues and we see a lot of potential in the market. The exhibition will be the first in a whole series of events. Just like how we have computer and furniture shows every year, a sex exhibition can be held to de-stigmatise sex."

Soon after the company was formed, Sexpo applied to the police for a licence to hold the exhibition, said Mr Goh, who is also a director at Cherubim Exchange, a medical diagnostics distributor. In May, after he was asked to give more details, he was told that it had to be cleared by "higher authorities".

To his relief, the in-principle approval was granted in July. Sexpo will continue to work closely with the police in screening the programmes and participants at the exhibition.

Paris Hilton to marry in Greece

LONDON, Aug 21: Hotel heiress Paris Hilton, who is dating Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis, has revealed that she will walk down the aisle in Greece.
Hilton made her way to the country last month to find the perfect location for their wedding, and after a long search and weeks of locialising, she returned to the US satisfied with her final decision.

"(Paris and I) are really happy. We had an amazing summer in Europe together. Everything's amazing. We were looking all over Greece and we found some really beautiful places. Right now I'm finishing up work and then we'll do the wedding," the Sun quoted Hilton as saying to Access Hollywood.

Being married to Britney was sh*t, says ex-hubby

LONDON, Aug 17: Britney Spears' first husband Jason Alexander, has confessed that being married to her was "sh*t". The latter claims his shock at the Las Vegas wedding to the pop princess, which lasted just 55 hours, has ruined his life.

He insists he was serious about marrying the sexy singer, and says he didn't receive any money from her - but everyone slates him for cashing in on the marriage, reports Femalefirst.

Jason revealed in the TV documentary Britney's Redneck Roots, which will air on Britain's Channel 4: "People think I was paid off. But I got zero. Nothing. Every time I pull up in my car people say, 'Britney bought you that, huh?' I want to break their face. I never thought the wedding was a joke. I was serious about everything I said. But being married to Britney Spears was sh*t," he added.

Meanwhile, Britney - who is expecting her first child with new husband Kevin Federline - has reportedly donated 18,000 pounds to a Kabbalah kids club.

Jude Law has the sexiest butt in showbiz!

LONDON, Aug 15: Hollywood hunk Jude Law has the sexiest bottom in films, according to a poll. he Alfie star beat rivals Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise in a poll after his nude bath scene in The Talented Mr Ripley, reports the Sun.

Third, and the top-rated female celebrity, was 20-year-old Scarlett Johansson who showed her rear in Lost In Translation. The poll of 1,000 film-goers was carried out by Odeon cinemas. he Top Four with the sexiest bottom in films were: 1 Jude Law 2 Brad Pitt 3 Scarlett Johansson 4 Tom Cruise.

Bollywood's leading actor Aamir goes mainstream

NEW DELHI, Aug 13: He demands scripts before agreeing to a movie, acts in an unheard-of one film at a time, and his last new project was four years ago. Yes, Aamir Khan is a Bollywood superstar. Now he's taking aim at the rest of the world with "The Rising," an English-language colonial epic that is one of the most expensive Indian films ever made.

"I've been very fortunate that right from my first film, I've really seen huge success and by and large I've been able to maintain it for 17 years now," Khan said. "I don't think (success) mattered. I was more interested in what I was doing and I don't think I'm distracted by the success of it."

You wouldn't believe this from any other actor in movie-mad India, where the poor spend an entire day's wage of 50 rupees (a little more than a dollar) to see the latest film. Bollywood stars are flamboyant, larger than life, just like their towering billboards plastered all over the country. But when Khan says he's not drunk on success, you believe him.

Bollywood actors often straddle more than four films a year, jumping between various sets in a single day, so people snickered when Khan said he wanted to complete one movie before starting another. "I've been advocating it as far back as 1994-95," said Khan, casual in jeans and a gray sweatshirt, sipping tea from a large mug in a producer's office in central Bombay.

"But at that time it was a very alien concept for filmmakers," said Khan. He put it into practice when he acted in and produced "Lagaan" ("Land Tax"), a historical drama which won India's third-ever Oscar nomination.

Long before then, Khan, 40, had a huge following among South Asians living around the world. But the Oscar nomination drew notice from fans unfamiliar with Bollywood's musical spectacles, and Time magazine profiled him as the young standard-bearer for India's movie industry.

"The Rising" aims to break new boundaries by targeting a mainstream international audience. Producer Bobby Bedi said it cost $10 million to make; Khan has said $20 million. Set in 1857, it's about a failed uprising against the British, who ruled India for 200 years before independence in 1947.

Khan, playing the Indian soldier who triggered the rebellion, says the film is about freedom and liberty: "It's completely about today, it's extremely contemporary."

"The Rising" is short by Indian standards - just under 2 1/2 hours. It also includes eight song-and-dance numbers. While Western audiences are often flummoxed when lead actors in Indian movies launch into a coordinated series of gyrations with no link to the plot, Khan compares dance scenes in Indian films with musicals made in the West in the 1940s and '50s.

"This is our form of cinema," says Khan, whose foot-tapping dance moves often draw wolf whistles from audiences. In "The Rising," the dance scenes are also part of an ancient Indian oral traditions, where traveling folk singers told tales - this time the tale of the soldier Khan plays - to villagers.

He grew a scraggly mustache and sported unkempt shoulder-length hair for the movie. "It took me very long - more than a year - to grow my hair," laughed Khan, his brown eyes crinkling. "My mustache took me six months to grow."

Notorious for wanting to be involved until the final cut and peppering a director with questions, Khan has often been criticized for his hands-on approach. And in an industry where stars are commonly handed their scripts on the first day of filming, Khan also demands to see the script before agreeing to a project.

But veteran director Ketan Mehta, who worked with Khan in "The Rising," described him as dedicated and focused. "Which Indian actor would give more than 2 1/2 years to one project?" asked Mehta. "And he's an actor at the peak of his career."

Known for his research, Khan visited libraries and read letters, books and memoirs about the mid-19th century for his latest movie. "Aamir is one of a kind. He is one of the rare guys in the film industry who has a certain credibility attached to him," said Rauf Ahmed, jury member for India's national film awards. "He analyzes and questions everything."

Khan's blockbuster debut came in 1988 when he played a romantic youth who fights his family for the girl of his dreams in "Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak" ("From Doomsday to Doomsday"). But it was in the 1990s that he emerged as a major star in a wide range of roles, from street-smart, Bombay tough guys in "Rangeela" ("Colorful") and "Ghulam" ("The Slave") to a no-nonsense cop in "Sarfarosh" ("Martyr"), to a smooth city slicker who doesn't believe in love in "Dil Chahta Hain" ("What the Heart Wants").

"I enjoy the love I receive from my fans and my audience," said Khan. "But I think I know what is real for me and what is not." His son and daughter are part of his reality check. "My son is a harsh critic," grins Khan. "He's 12 and he's rarely impressed by what I do. The best he has ever said to me was, 'Not bad.'"