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Monday, June 23, 2008

Winehouse has emphysema

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Dad says Winehouse has emphysema

Sunday, Jun 22, 2008 12:16PM UTC

LONDON (Reuters) - Soul singer Amy Winehouse has developed the lung condition emphysema and has been warned by doctors that she will die if she continues smoking drugs, her father said in an interview on Sunday.

Mitch Winehouse said the incurable illness, which leaves sufferers struggling for breath, was diagnosed when his daughter had series of health checks in hospital.

"The doctors have told her if she goes back to smoking drugs it won't just ruin her voice, it will kill her," he was quoted as saying in the Sunday Mirror. "The doctors have said that if she had continued the way she was going she could have ended up an invalid -- she wouldn't have been able to breathe."

He added: "She's got emphysema. It's in its early stages, but had it gone on for another month they painted a very vivid picture of her sitting there like an old person with a mask on her face struggling to breathe.

"With smoking the crack cocaine and the cigarettes, her lungs are all gunked up. There are nodules around the chest and dark marks. She's got 70 percent lung capacity."

He added that a spell in hospital last week and renewed treatment for her well-publicised drug addiction had offered a ray of hope for his 24-year-old daughter.

"If she doesn't go back to drugs, then she can lead this magnificent life," he said. "We are praying that that's what Amy really wants. She seems resolute."

He called on drug dealers to help her recovery by refusing to supply her with crack cocaine.

There is no medical reason why she shouldn't be able to perform at the Glastonbury Festival next weekend, he added. In the past, work has helped to keep her away from drugs.

"If she hadn't done recent shows in Moscow and Portugal she could have been dead by now," he said. "She abstains and regulates her drug use when she has to do a show."

Winehouse won five Grammy Awards in February and enjoyed commercial success with her album "Back to Black".

(Reporting by Peter Griffiths; editing by Kate Kelland)

Reuters - Dad says Winehouse has emphysema

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Dad says Winehouse has emphysema

Sunday, Jun 22, 2008 12:16PM UTC

LONDON (Reuters) - Soul singer Amy Winehouse has developed the lung condition emphysema and has been warned by doctors that she will die if she continues smoking drugs, her father said in an interview on Sunday.

Mitch Winehouse said the incurable illness, which leaves sufferers struggling for breath, was diagnosed when his daughter had series of health checks in hospital.

"The doctors have told her if she goes back to smoking drugs it won't just ruin her voice, it will kill her," he was quoted as saying in the Sunday Mirror. "The doctors have said that if she had continued the way she was going she could have ended up an invalid -- she wouldn't have been able to breathe."

He added: "She's got emphysema. It's in its early stages, but had it gone on for another month they painted a very vivid picture of her sitting there like an old person with a mask on her face struggling to breathe.

"With smoking the crack cocaine and the cigarettes, her lungs are all gunked up. There are nodules around the chest and dark marks. She's got 70 percent lung capacity."

He added that a spell in hospital last week and renewed treatment for her well-publicised drug addiction had offered a ray of hope for his 24-year-old daughter.

"If she doesn't go back to drugs, then she can lead this magnificent life," he said. "We are praying that that's what Amy really wants. She seems resolute."

He called on drug dealers to help her recovery by refusing to supply her with crack cocaine.

There is no medical reason why she shouldn't be able to perform at the Glastonbury Festival next weekend, he added. In the past, work has helped to keep her away from drugs.

"If she hadn't done recent shows in Moscow and Portugal she could have been dead by now," he said. "She abstains and regulates her drug use when she has to do a show."

Winehouse won five Grammy Awards in February and enjoyed commercial success with her album "Back to Black".

(Reporting by Peter Griffiths; editing by Kate Kelland)

Reuters - Campbell says slur sparked air rage

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Campbell says slur sparked air rage

Sunday, Jun 22, 2008 12:35AM UTC

By Kate Kelland

LONDON (Reuters) - British Airways rejected claims of racism on Saturday after supermodel Naomi Campbell, who pleaded guilty to assault in a foul-mouthed "air rage" incident, said she was likened to a black "Golliwog" doll during the flight.

BA said it did not accept the accusation made by Campbell, who was convicted of assault on Friday and sentenced to 200 hours of unpaid community work, that someone on the flight called her a "Golliwog supermodel".

"British Airways does not accept any allegations of racism," the airline said in a statement. "We are proud of our diversity.

"We have strict policies concerning dignity at work and have long-standing training programmes on diversity and inclusion."

Campbell, 38, told Sky News in an interview that her flash of air rage, in which she assaulted two police officers, swore repeatedly and screamed abuse at the captain of the Los Angeles-bound BA flight, was partly prompted by racist comments.

"I was called a racial name on that flight and that was part of my reaction," she said. "I was called a 'Golliwog supermodel' -- I don't think that's really fair, do you?"

Asked who had used the term, which refers to a black rag doll from children's literature, Campbell said: "Someone on the flight, not the passenger."

During Campbell's court case, prosecutors said Campbell ordered the airline captain to find her missing luggage and became violent when police tried to escort her off the aircraft.

The model pleaded guilty to assaulting two police officers and to a public order offence. Neither she nor her lawyers mentioned racist comments during her court case.

As well as the community service sentence, Campbell was ordered to pay 200 pounds compensation to one of the police officers, 150 pounds to the captain and 2,300 pounds in fines.

In the Sky interview, Campbell apologised to London's Metropolitan Police force, but added: "As for British Airways, I just think they are disgusting."

Campbell is famous for her fiery temper and has been in trouble with the law before.

She spent five days mopping floors and cleaning toilets as part of a community service sentence in New York last year after throwing a mobile phone at her housekeeper during an argument over a pair of jeans. She was also ordered to attend anger management classes.

In a previous incident with a telephone in 1998, Campbell assaulted an assistant, Georgina Galanis.

The model agreed in 2000 to plead guilty to the assault in exchange for expressing remorse, paying Galanis an undisclosed amount of money and also attending anger management classes.

(Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Friday, June 13, 2008

Madonna's brother to publish book on life with her

Thursday, Jun 12, 2008

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. pop star Madonna's brother Christopher Ciccone has written a memoir called "Life With My Sister Madonna," to be published next month by Simon and Schuster.

"Ciccone's extraordinary memoir is based on his life and 47 years of growing up with and working with his sister -- the most famous woman in the world," Simon and Schuster imprint Simon Spotlight Entertainment said.

Ciccone, one of Madonna's five siblings, wrote the book with Wendy Leigh. She has also written biographies of John F. Kennedy Jr, Prince Edward, Liza Minelli and ghost-written Zsa Zsa Gabor's autobiography.

Madonna's spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg had no comment.

Madonna, whose original name was Madonna Louise Ciccone, made her debut in 1982. Her first album, "Madonna," which included hits such as "Holiday," "Borderline" and "Lucky Star," helped her become one of the best-selling pop artists, with more than 200 million albums sold worldwide.

The book will be published on July 15, a month before Madonna celebrates her 50th birthday.

Reuters/Nielsen

Sean Connery to unveil autobiography

Thursday, Jun 12, 2008 By Ian MacKenzie

EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Sean Connery is set to shake and stir this year's Edinburgh Book Festival by unveiling an autobiography on his 78th birthday.

The Scottish actor who defined the role of secret agent James Bond and his literary collaborator, film maker Murray Grigor, discuss the book at the festival on August 25, organisers said on Thursday.

Connery, a passionate Scottish nationalist who has sworn not to live in his home country until it is independent, has titled his memoirs "Being a Scot".

As the book festival celebrates its 25th anniversary, director Catherine Lockerbie told Reuters she had been keeping an eye on Connery's autobiography through its various incarnations.

Edinburgh-born, Connery once delivered milk in the city and posed as a model at the College of Art before hitting the big time.

"His book obviously had to be launched with us," Lockerbie said.

BIGGEST IN THE WORLD

The literary feast, with a record 800 authors participating in 750 events from August 9-25, runs alongside the international arts festival, the anarchic fringe and a series of exhibitions in the biggest annual celebration of its kind in the world.

Connery's appearance also coincides with the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ian Fleming, creator of superspy James Bond, otherwise known as agent 007.

Author and comedian Charlie Higson will launch the fifth and final episode of his successful Young Bond series, while the authorised biography of Fleming, "For Your Eyes Only", will feature at the festival.

Lockerbie has sought to attract authors from around the world.

Focus on China brings writers from the world's most populous nation, while themes on the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel and fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq are covered in the festival's "East and West" and "War and Terror" series.

Lockerbie said the international aspect was key to the festival.

"I have been steadily working to increase the number of nations and cultures represented ... I think there's a strange disjunction between a globalised, homogenised, shrinking world, in one respect, and the fact that we still don't understand other cultures, points of view.

"And it seems to me that with the arts in general, and literature in particular, is a key vehicle for understanding, and that's been a mission of mine."

Tickets can be booked online at www.edbookfest.co.uk.

(Editing by Mike Collett-White and Paul Casciato)

Monday, June 02, 2008

FACTBOX-Facts about Yves Saint Laurent

(Reuters) - French fashion king Yves Saint Laurent died on Sunday at the age of 71. Here are some facts about his life.

* Yves Saint Laurent was born on August 1 1936 in Oran, Algeria, which Paris then considered part of France. He came from a wealthy family and moved to Paris when he was 17, immediately entering the world of fashion.

* He met Christian Dior in 1954 and became his assistant. After his mentor's death in 1957 he was named chief stylist for the Dior fashion house, triumphing at his very first show with his "Trapeze collection" that introduced a revolutionary new silhouette -- narrow shoulders falling to wide skirts.

* Called up for French military service in 1960, the homosexual Saint Laurent had a nervous breakdown. By the time he recovered, he had already been relaced at Dior. His friend Pierre Berge stepped in, organising the financial backing for Saint Laurent to set up his own fashion house in 1962.

* The pair built up a multi-million-dollar fashion, perfumes and accessories business which constantly broke the mould, anticipating modern styles. The business was floated on the Paris bourse in 1989 -- a first for a fashion house.

* Saint Laurent suffered from bouts of severe depression and was rushed to hospital in 1990, suffering from nervous fatigue.

* In 1992, the heavily-indebted YSL was bought by cosmetics and drugs company Sanofi, a subsidiary of the then state-owned oil firm Elf-Aquitaine. Berge and Saint Laurent retained creative control. French luxury house PPR took control in 1999.

* Saint Laurent presented his last haute couture show in January 2001 and officially retired in 2002. In October 2006 he fell in a Paris street and was filmed lying motionless in the road for several minutes until emergency services arrived to help him. Aides denied he was seriously ill.

* He died on June 1, 2008. (Reporting by Crispian Balmer)

Fashion king Yves Saint Laurent dies

Monday, Jun 02, 2008 By Crispian Balmer

PARIS (Reuters) - French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent has died at the age of 71, hailed as a 20th century cultural innovator who revolutionised the way women dressed.

The couture creations of the reclusive Saint Laurent won global fine art status and he was widely considered to be one of an elite club of designers including Christian Dior and Coco Chanel who made Paris the fashion capital of the world.

His long-time companion, Pierre Berge, told RTL radio the designer had been diagnosed with a brain tumour last year and had died on Sunday in Paris.

From Princess Grace of Monaco to the actress Catherine Deneuve, Saint Laurent's creations adorned many famous women but he was also the first designer to make luxury labels accessible to a wide audience through innovative ready-to-wear collections.

He made his appearance on the world stage at just 21 and built up a clothes, perfumes and accessories empire that resulted in a 1989 stock market flotation -- the first by a fashion house.

But Saint Laurent also suffered from severe depression and underwent treatment for alcohol abuse and became increasingly withdrawn later in life.

The daily Le Figaro gave over its whole front page to the man it called "the world's greatest couturier" and President Nicolas Sarkozy praised Saint Laurent as a creative genius. "He was convinced that beauty was a luxury that every man and woman needed," Sarkozy said.

Berge told France Info radio: "Chanel gave women freedom. Yves Saint Laurent gave them power."

"(But) he was someone who was very shy and introverted, who had only very few friends and hid himself from the world."

A memorial mass will be held on Friday in the church Saint Roch in Paris, the traditional church of artists and musicians.

TUXEDO

Saint Laurent, who retired in 2002, was credited with changing forever what women wore, making the trouser suit a daytime staple and the tuxedo an elegant option.

He also popularised safari jackets and thigh-high boots, and his transparent blouses made near-nudity acceptable in high society.

"He completely revamped a woman's wardrobe," luxury underwear designer Chantal Thomass told French radio. "His fashion was full of colour and inspired by art."

The eldest child of a wealthy French industrialist, Saint Laurent was born and grew up in the then French colony of Algeria and showed a talent for design, making clothes for his younger sisters' dolls.

At 17 he entered a Paris fashion school, and his sketch for a cocktail dress won first prize in an annual contest.

Introduced to Christian Dior, the gangly Saint Laurent was hired on the spot by the creator of the "New Look" and became his chief assistant. On Dior's death in 1957, Saint Laurent became chief designer and swiftly outshone his mentor.

After his first collection introduced the widely copied "trapeze" silhouette with narrow shoulders and flared skirt, the shy 21-year-old was pushed out on to the Dior building balcony and crowds in the avenue below hailed him like royalty.

Saint Laurent directed Dior for three years, until drafted for military service during the Algerian war.

For a sensitive person whose homosexuality had made his school years a torture, army life was an ordeal. He had a nervous breakdown and spent nearly three months in hospital.

Berge arranged financial backing, and Saint Laurent presented his first collection under his own name in 1962.

The "YSL" empire grew steadily and Saint Laurent showed an instinctive ability to sense what the mood on the streets was and turn it into high fashion.

But by the late 1980s his health problems were an issue.

Insiders said Saint Laurent, who never read newspapers or listened to the radio, became increasingly cut off from reality and lost touch with all but a tiny group of friends.

"Fame has destroyed him," Berge once said.

Despite the personal demons, his business empire thrived. The 1989 flotation was a runaway success.

But when the Gulf War erupted and the world economy slumped in the early 1990s, Berge and Saint Laurent sank into debt.

In 1992, YSL was absorbed by cosmetics and drugs company Sanofi, with Saint Laurent retaining creative control. Then in 1999 it was bought by the Gucci group, itself controlled by French luxury giant PPR.

(Additional reporting by Astrid Wendlandt, Gwenaelle Barzic and James Mackenzie; Editing by Giles Elgood)

Tatum O'Neal arrested on drug charge

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Tatum O'Neal arrested on drug charge

Monday, Jun 02, 2008 10:43AM UTC

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Academy Award-winning actress Tatum O'Neal was arrested in New York on Sunday for buying crack cocaine, CNN reported on Monday.

O'Neal, 44, was arrested after she was seen making a purchase from a drug dealer, CNN reported on its Web site, citing New York police.

O'Neal won an Academy Award at age 10 for Best Supporting Actress in the movie "Paper Moon." Her book "A Paper Life," published in 2004, dealt with abuse and neglect in her childhood and her struggles with addiction.