Beauty Queen Resigns After Credit Card Fraud

SINGAPORE - Singapore’s Miss World contestant has resigned after her conviction earlier this year for credit card fraud was revealed, a newspaper in the city-state reported. Local media last week reported she was sentenced to two years of probation for stealing credit cards and spending $5,642 on lingerie, cell phones and meals at fancy restaurants....More

Britain's queen orders count of swans

LONDON (Reuters) – Quiet please -- Britain's Queen Elizabeth is preparing to have her swans counted.

Buckingham Palace has announced that the annual Swan Upping, a tradition dating back to the 12th century which involves a census of the swan population on the River Thames, will be conducted by the queen's official Swan Marker from July 20-24.

"With the assistance of the Queen's Swan Warden, Professor Christopher Perrins of the University of Oxford, the swans and young cygnets are also assessed for any signs of injury or disease," Buckingham Palace said in announcing the count.

The process involves the Swan Marker, David Barber, rowing up the Thames for five days with the Swan Warden in traditional skiffs while wearing special scarlet uniforms and counting, weighing and measuring swans and cygnets.

It may seem eccentric, but it is very important to the queen.

According to custom, Britain's sovereign owns all unmarked, mute swans in open water, but the queen now exercises the right only on stretches of the Thames and its nearby tributaries.

In medieval times, the Swan Marker would not only travel up the river counting the swans, but would catch as many as possible as they were sought-after for banquets and feasts.

This year, the Swan Marker and the Swan Warden are particularly keen to discover how much damage is being caused to swans and cygnets by attacks from dogs and from discarded fishing tackle.

It is also an important year because Queen Elizabeth has decided to join her team of Swan Uppers for part of the census.

She will follow them up the river and visit a local school project on the whole subject of swans, cygnets and the Thames.

"Education and conservation are essential to the role of Swan Upping and the involvement of school children is always a rewarding experience," Buckingham Palace said.

(Reporting by Luke Baker)

Striptease queen Dita von Teese back at Paris revue

PARIS (Reuters Life!) – Dita von Teese, the raven-haired reincarnation of striptease artistes from 1940s America, is returning to one of the most famous nude revues in Paris, happy to be back in a city with a respect for her craft.

"I feel that Paris is a place that still appreciates its showgirls," she told Reuters in an interview before a two-week run at the celebrated Crazy Horse theater from February 1.

Von Teese, a familiar figure at the Paris couture shows, has carved a peculiar niche over the years, leading the way as burlesque has grown from simple striptease to becoming an established part of the fashion world.

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Stupid - Paris Hilton in catfight at party !

This is just stupid! This falls under the who cares category! Why do the news outlets fall in to the celebrity media whoring trap? She is not the only media whore!
Here is the story
Los ANGELES: Celebrity socialite Paris Hilton was back in the headlines yesterday after a catfight with a former beauty queen at a Hollywood nightclub, police said.

The party-loving blonde heiress lodged a report at Hollywood police station following the brawl at an exclusive Sunset Boulevard club in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Celebrity news website TMZ.com reported that the other woman was former Miss USA Shanna Moakler, who is alleged to have verbally abused and punched Hilton.

Hilton has been recently photographed while out on the town with Moakler's estranged husband Travis Barker of rock band Blink 182. It was the second time in less than a month that Hilton has had a brush with the law. On September 7 she was arrested and charged with drunk-driving after being stopped by traffic police in Hollywood. Hilton faces a court hearing on December 5.