Whereas the character from Greek mythology relied upon wax and feathers to propel him through the air, Mr Rossy preferred a four-cylinder jet pack and carbon-fibre wings. And to the relief of those watching on 24-hour news channels, his dramatic fall into the Strait of Gibraltar did not result in his death.

The 50-year-old fell into the sea 15 minutes after leaping out of an aircraft above Tangier in Morocco. He had aimed to reach Atlantera in southern Spain 23 miles ( Read more... )
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Ross, 48, one of the best-paid figures in British broadcasting, was treating himself after he was presented with a music industry award for the exposure he has given to new artists.

He was handed his Music Industry Trusts (MITs) gong by pop star George Michael at a ceremony last night in central London.

The artwork was from a series of five self-portraits Bowie produced for his 1995 album Outside.

Earlier in the evening a message of congratulations sent ( Read more... )
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The 34-year-old Oscar-winning actress was not at London's High Court for the settlement of her action against Associated Newspapers.

Her solicitor, Rachel Atkins, told Mr Justice Eady that she had sued over an article entitled "Should Kate Winslet win an Oscar for the world's most irritating actress?", which appeared in the Daily Mail in January.

Ms Atkins said the story, which was accompanied by several naked photographs of the actress in various films, was offensive ( Read more... )
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The French intellectual was regarded as having reshaped the field of anthropology, introducing the concept of structuralism, which seeks the common patterns of behaviour and thought, especially myths, in a wide range of human societies. Defined as the search for underlying patterns in all forms of human activity, structuralism compared the formal relationships among elements in any given system.

During his six-decade career, Levi-Strauss wrote works hailed as literary and anthropological ( Read more... )
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Nicky Byrne Snr died yesterday in Dublin and it is believed he died of a heart attack in his workplace. It's understood he was in his early 60s.

The tragic news came after the Westlife singer paid tribute to Fifth Avenue's Beverly O'Sullivan (28) who was killed in a car crash in India on Monday.

On his Twitter page, Nicky (31) wrote that he was "in shock" about the "horrible news". However, hours later, he himself was grieving the loss of his father. ( Read more... )
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His American record company has had him on the phone to journalists from as far as Finland before TimeOut rings through. Apparently the new album I Told You I Was Freaky is a hit over there.

"That's quite a surprise to me," McKenzie says. He doesn't know a lot about the Finnish music scene but has heard they are more into metal.

"I think in between their death metal songs they are dropping a little bit of, yeah, Too Many Dicks on The Dancefloor," ( Read more... )
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Chidi Benjamin Uzomah Jr. entered the plea through an attorney. A court commissioner ordered Uzomah to stay 500 meters away from Seacrest if he is released from jail on US$150,000 bail.

Los Angeles police arrested Uzomah at the E! Entertainment Television headquarters in Los Angeles on Friday. A request for a civil restraining order stated he was carrying a knife at the time.

Uzomah appeared in street clothes during Tuesday's hearing and agreed to ( Read more... )
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The Old Etonian and ex-SAS soldier was pardoned earlier this week after being jailed over a bungled coup in Equatorial Guinea and returned to the UK on Wednesday in a private jet.

Mr Mann met for the first time his young son who was born after he left the UK. He did not have a chance to see Arthur before being captured on a runway in Harare, Zimbabwe, in March 2004 and jailed for his part in the plot to topple Equatorial Guinea's government and install opposition leader ( Read more... )
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I am at the annual ceremony at St Paul's Cathedral, where the Lord Mayor of London and members of the City of London Corporation and livery companies lay wreaths and plant poppies, as their tribute to the Royal British Legion and the armed forces. The City is one of the armed forces' greatest supporters, so it's a great pleasure to thank them on behalf of the British Legion, of which I am national president. We are also lucky with the weather! Afterwards, I go to see how work was progressing on ( Read more... )
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When brave David, himself no more than a welterweight, stepped out to face Goliath he was already a member of King Saul's court, but it was his nonchalant dispatching of a nine-and-a-half-foot Philistine that marked his arrival in the big time. Women sang about him, he commanded armies and, before long, his irrepressible popularity landed him on the throne of the kingdom of Israel.

Like his namesake, Britain's fourth world heavyweight champion, David Haye (6ft 3in and ( Read more... )
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Widely accomplished in horticulture and needlework, the lighthouse keeper?s daughter's travels in pursuit of rare birds had taken her to the furthest reaches of every continent, often sleeping under canvas in defiance of the advancing years.

So it was with her love of music ? a passion which would see her journey to New York well into old age for performances at her favourite opera house.

She died in her adopted city of Edinburgh in August this year ( Read more... )
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New rules will be introduced to ban rogue agencies from taking upfront fees from aspiring celebrities.

Business Minister Pat McFadden said people with "stars in their eyes" were often exploited under the current system.

"Unfortunately there are some rogue agencies that prey on models and entertainers who have stars in their eyes," he said.

"Last year we introduced a cooling off period for up-front fees, but we are still receiving ( Read more... )
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The former heavyweight boxing champion and the photographer Tony Echevarria, 50, want to press charges against each other.

Echevarria claims Tyson struck him once, said a police spokesman at Los Angeles International Airport. The photographer fell and was treated for a cut to his forehead at a hospital. Police were checking to see if there was surveillance video of the incident.

"I've heard people were following him into the men's room and trying to take his picture there," said Tyson's ( Read more... )
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Cocker was back in his home city of Sheffield to receive an honorary doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University, where he studied when it was known as a polytechnic.

He told the assembled graduates at City Hall, who were also there to collect certificates, that he was honoured to receive the award.

He said: "I'm called a doctor now. Don't worry, I won't open a surgery.

"But I guess if you are a songwriter maybe I could have some kind ( Read more... )
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The supermodel was ordered to pay a ransom of $100,000 [£61,000] to prevent the picture, which had been taken by a former nanny during a game of "cops and robbers", being made public, according to court documents filed in Los Angeles.

Eddie Kayalar, a German male model, was charged on Thursday with repeatedly threatening to sell the image to tabloid news organisations. He stole it during a brief relationship with the couple's ex-employee, who has not been named.

Mr Kayalar allegedly ( Read more... )
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I'm on a promotional tour for my new book and I'm due to give a talk at RAF Lossiemouth, up in the north of Inverness, but it was all a bit Planes, Trains and Automobiles today because we never actually get there. We take a flight from Gatwick but we get stuck in Aberdeen airport as there's too much fog. We end up getting trains and taxis to Edinburgh and we lose the whole day.

Tuesday

We go to Catterick today, which has the biggest military garrison in Europe. I'm giving a ( Read more... )
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Its award-winning author, Julia Donaldson, has gone on to write around 150 books, one of which was inspired by her eldest son Hamish, whose troubled life was tragically cut short at the age of 25 when he took his own life.

This morning on Desert Island Discs Ms Donaldson talks movingly about Hamish, who struggled with the psychiatric illness schizoaffective disorder, and told the show's presenter Kirsty Young she is almost glad he died before she did.

"Hamish was very imaginative," ( Read more... )
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The I'm Not Alone singer, who ran on stage with a pineapple on his head during John And Edward's act on Saturday before being escorted from the television studios, criticised the "frightening stranglehold" of judge Simon Cowell on the UK charts.

Speaking on The Chris Moyles Show, the 25-year-old said: "I was just inspired to make a mockery of the show, because it is a music competition, it is a joke and I think it should be treated as such."

He went on: "It's ( Read more... )
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Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carol Boas Goodson approved Richie's petition for a three-year restraining order against the paparazzi after a court hearing.

Richie, 28, appeared in court, accompanied by rocker Joel Madden. The couple have two children together.

Goodson granted the orders against Eduardo Arrivabene and Ivon Emilio Melo Miguel, who agreed to stay 50 metres away from the television personality. Miguel apologised to Richie on the stand, and said ( Read more... )
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She told ABC News in an interview to air on Wednesday in the US that Murray should no longer be allowed to practice medicine. Murray faces manslaughter charges for the pop star's death this summer.

"He was the one that was administering," she said. "I think he is responsible."

A spokeswoman for the doctor, Miranda Sevcik said he continues to maintain he neither prescribed or administered anything to Jackson that should have killed him.

Jackson told ABC's ( Read more... )
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