The Malaysian Insider

NEW YORK, Nov 7 — No one knows better than Yoko Ono how far celebrity activism has come in the last 40 years.

With late husband John Lennon she sparked a generation of celebrity cause campaigning with their 1969 "Bed-In" honeymoon to demonstrate for world peace as the Vietnam War raged.

From Live Aid, Band Aid and even Farm Aid in the 1980s to Bono's tour of Africa with US Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill earlier this decade, pop-star involvement in everything from politics to poverty reduction is ubiquitous.

LOS ANGELES, Nov 7 — R&B singer Rihanna broke her silence yesterday about the night her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown attacked her, saying he had bitten her, put her in a headlock and left her bleeding and swollen.

"It wasn't the same person that says 'I love you.' It was not those... eyes," Rihanna, 21, told Diane Sawyer in an interview on ABC television's "Good Morning America" show.

"He had... no soul in his eyes. Just blank... He was clearly blacked out. There was no person when I looked at him," she said.

LOS ANGELES, Nov 7 — Joe Jackson, the elderly father of late pop star Michael Jackson, yesterday filed a court petition seeking an allowance from the singer's estate, saying his son had supported him for many years.

The legal filing in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims Michael Jackson's estate has earned an estimated US$100 million (RM350 million) since the singer's sudden death on June 25, and administrators expect it to earn US$100 million more by the end of the year.

LONDON, Nov 6 — Beauty pageant winner Miss England gave up her title today after reports she had been involved in a nightclub brawl with another beauty queen.

Rachel Christie, niece of former British Olympic gold medal sprinter Linford Christie, was arrested earlier this week after allegedly getting into a fight with Miss Manchester, Sara Jones, at a club in the northern English city, newspapers reported.

LOS ANGELES, Nov 6 — Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. And judging by what’s in theatres this holiday movie season, his name is George Clooney.

Disney’s release of the animated “A Christmas Carol” today begins eight weeks of holiday moviegoing that brings a bag full of movies to theatres, from family friendly fare to Oscar hopefuls and this year, a lot of Clooney thrown in.