Straits Times Interactive - LIFESTYLE

Paul McCartney '2012 Person of the Year' at Grammy event

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:27:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES (REUTERS) - Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney racked up yet another honour on Friday when he received the MusiCares' 2012 Person of the Year award at a star-studded ceremony hosted by Grammy organisers ahead of this weekend's major music awards.

Jolie shows directorial debut, says Afghanistan is next

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:10:00 GMT

BERLIN (AFP) - Angelina Jolie says it was only natural that her directorial debut should tackle some of the toughest issues facing humanity and after wartime Bosnia, Afghanistan is likely to be her next subject.

Love is just a click away in Indonesia's Twitter Republic

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 06:30:00 GMT

JAKARTA (AFP) - He was a geeky kid from Yogyakarta, she a glamorous city girl in Jakarta. In a country with one of the world's most vibrant social networking scenes they fell in love on Twitter.

Cutting-edge cocktails light up New York bars

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 05:37:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AFP) - You're not allowed to light a cigarette in New York bars, but there's nothing to stop a bartender from setting your cocktail on fire with a 815 deg C poker.

US author Jeffrey Zaslow killed in car accident

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 02:19:00 GMT

WARNER TOWNSHIP, Michigan (AP) - Best-selling author Jeffrey Zaslow has died after he lost control of his car on a snowy road in the state of Michigan. He was 53.

Dutchman to sell rare 250-year-old liquor collection

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 02:07:00 GMT

THE HAGUE (AFP) - Thousands of bottles of rare cognac and other drink, some dating back to the French Revolution, went up for sale on Friday, with its Dutch collector expected to reap several million dollars.

Belgian court refuses to ban Tintin In The Congo

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:40:00 GMT

BRUSSELS (AFP) - A Belgian court refused Friday to ban the sale of Tintin In The Congo, rejecting arguments by a Congolese man that the iconic comic book was filled with racist stereotypes about Africans.

Madonna stalker caught after hospital escape

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:08:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - A man convicted of stalking Madonna and who has 'very violent tendencies' was recaptured on Friday, a week after escaping from a psychiatric hospital, police said.

Imperial China stirs Jason Wu at New York fashion week

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:48:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AFP) - Designer Jason Wu brought the mystery of the Forbidden City to New York fashion week on Friday with a fall-winter collection inspired by his Chinese heritage and 1930s Hollywood glamour.

Conductor Shui Lan brings strong narrative sense to bloated work

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

This concert was a first official collaboration between the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music. Chinese-Australian cellist Qin Li-Wei was the soloist in Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B minor, where he eased a sumptuous tone from his 1780 Guadagnini cello while displaying delicious repartee with the orchestra.

French Revolution drama kicks off all-star Berlin film fest

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

BERLIN (AFP) - Diane Kruger opened the 62nd Berlin film festival on Thursday with Farewell My Queen, an erotically and politically charged drama about a lovelorn Marie Antoinette on the eve of the French Revolution.

After diabetes diagnosis, US celebrity chef feels heat

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 04:39:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AFP) - American cooking star Paula Deen, self-proclaimed 'Queen of Southern Cuisine' famous for her dishes smothered in butter, has met a storm of outrage after revealing she has diabetes and is hawking a drug to treat the disease.

Naomi Watts to play Princess Diana in biopic

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:25:00 GMT

LONDON (AFP) - British-Australian actress Naomi Watts is to play Britain's Princess Diana in a movie about the late royal's final two years, filmmakers have announced.

McCartney gets Hollywood star, recalls Beatles

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:21:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - A little piece of Beatlemania came to Hollywood on Thursday as Paul McCartney was honoured with a walk on Tinseltown's storied Walk of Fame, watched by hundreds of screaming and jostling fans.

Bollywood legend Bachchan to undergo surgery

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

MUMBAI (AFP) - Veteran Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan will undergo surgery later this week after suffering a bout of 'abdominal pain', the actor revealed on his blog on Thursday.

The Artist dog goes commercial with Nintendo gig

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Uggie, the trick-performing Jack Russell from silent film hit The Artist, is cashing in on his stardom by becoming the furry new face of Nintendo, the company said.

US city clears Jersey Shore spinoff

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:21:00 GMT

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (AP) - New Jersey's second largest city is welcoming the women of Jersey Shore.

McCartney's calls were hacked: Heather Mills

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:48:00 GMT

LONDON (AP) - Heather Mills is describing her experiences of phone hacking to a British inquiry into media ethics.

Elanne Kwong maintains she did not have plastic surgery

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:58:00 GMT

Once an average-looking girl with no special talent to speak of, Elanne Kwong is now one of Hong Kong's most recognisable actress-singers.

The Vaccines seek shot in the arm for rock music

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:09:00 GMT

HONG KONG (AFP) - Some say these are bad times to be in a rock band. Pressure for instant success has never been greater as illegal downloads hammer industry profits and manufactured pop talent shows reign supreme.

Adele uses phone app to curse during vocal rest

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:16:00 GMT

(REUTERS) - British singer Adele has broken her silence after vocal cord surgery, revealing one of the hardest aspects of being unable to speak while recuperating was not cursing. Her solution: resort to a smartphone voice app.

Creator of Lemonheads candy dies at age 93

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 03:50:00 GMT

RIVER FOREST, Illinois (AP) - Candy company executive Nello Ferrara lived a sweet life. The man who brought the world Lemonheads and Atomic Fire Balls routinely serenaded the restaurants where he dined and held mandatory family dinners every Sunday, said his son, Salvatore Ferrara.

Katy Perry, Russell Brand finalise divorce

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:41:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A judge has finalised Katy Perry and Russell Brand's divorce, although the pair won't legally legally split up until July. Perry indicated in a court filing on Tuesday that she and Brand had reached a settlement of all issues in the case.

TV medical drama House to end after 8 years

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:06:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES (REUTERS) - Hospital drama House will end in April after eight seasons, producers said on Wednesday, bringing to a close one of the most popular shows on TV.

Schwarzenegger joins Stallone in prison-break adventure 'The Tomb'

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:06:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) - It's an action superstar reunion: Arnold Schwarzenegger is joining Sylvester Stallone for the thriller The Tomb. The filmmakers announced on Wednesday that Schwarzenegger signed on to star alongside Stallone in the prison-break adventure.