Oct 19 2005
Cristiano Ronaldo Arrested Over Rape Claim
Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo was today arrested and is being questioned by detectives on suspicion of rape.

The 20-year-old Portugal international went voluntarily to a police station in London to speak to police investigating an allegation made by a woman.

She claims she was seriously sexually assaulted in a penthouse suite at the Sanderson Hotel in central London on October 2. The player is expected to emphatically deny any wrongdoing.

A spokesman for Manchester United said the club was not releasing a statement about Ronaldo's arrest. Director of communications Phil Townsend said: "We're not commenting at the moment."

Ronaldo was asked to attend a police station today by officers from Scotland Yard's Operation Sapphire team, which investigates sex crime.

A second man in his 30s also kept an appointment at the police station. He is thought to have been with the player on the night but has not been arrested.

After Ronaldo is interviewed, police may pass their findings to the Crown Prosecution Service to decide whether to prosecute.

A spokesman at the office of Ronaldo's agent, Jorge Mendes, said Mr Mendes was not at the office in Oporto. He said the agent was thought to be out of the country but the spokesman could not confirm whether he was visiting the UK.

Oct 14 2005
A blond James Bond

It's official. Daniel Craig, a blue-eyed and blond British actor, is the new James Bond, replacing Pierce Brosnan.

Craig - who would be the first fair-haired Bond - was born in 1968 in Chester and grew up in Liverpool. He's appeared in one of his earliest movies, The Power of One, in 1992. He was a hit man's psychotic son in Road to Perdition, plus had roles in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Sylvia and Layer Cake.

The tabloids say Bond producer Barbara Broccoli will make the Bond casting announcement; Craig has publicly acknowledged that he's spoken to Broccoli about the role.

The six-foot-tall Craig is not a household name in North America, but he's popular in Britain.

Other names that have been bandied about for the role include Jude Law and Ewan McGregor.

The James Bond film Casino Royale is currently in pre-production and expected next year.

Oct 5 2005
Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson to Divorce
They've teased us and teased us, and now it seems that Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson have decided to put us out of our misery. The pop music couple whose marital discord was documented on MTV's "Newlyweds" is reportedly splitting.

Celebrity gossip magazine US Weekly's cover story lays the blame on Simpson's doorstep, with a headline declaring, "Details on Jessica & Nick's last days -- and how her ego, partying and dad drove them apart."

Nick and Jessica's obvious incompatibility has sparked rumors of a split on and off ever since their MTV show aired. If a production assistant at the 2004 Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting ceremony is to be believed, Simpson alternately ignored and yelled at Lachey, who didn't bother to conceal his own bitterness. In an email circulating the Internet, the PA says that when the former 98 Degrees singer was asked for comments that could be used for Simpson's introduction, he replied, "Not too many nice things to say about her ... How about she was the best stocking I ever stuffed? She was the best chimney I've ever come down on." The words were allegedly said angrily, without any indication of humor.

Other rough spots along the way include rumors of Simpson's coziness with "Dukes of Hazzard" co-star Johnny Knoxville and her father Joe Simpson's creepy interest in her career and bosom.

It was Nick's decision, not Jessica's.

The insider reveals that a day before the flight, during a Sept. 27 phone conversation with Nick, she received heart-breaking news: He said he wants out of their marriage! Nick told Jessica that it's obvious their marriage isn't working, and they can no longer sweep things under the rug, says the insider.

He's fed up with not being able to trust her, with her constant partying, how much money she spends and who she spends her time with. Jess, 25, told a friend that she begged Nick, 31, to reconsider and even told him she was willing to start a family right away. You're in no condition to start a family, Nick snapped, according to the insider. It's over.

Sep 30 2005
Jennifer Aniston's New Man
It was bound to happen sometime. After announcing to the public she was ready to date, Jennifer Aniston has apparently had an offer. The National Enquirer reports that the former Friends star and soon to be ex-wife of Brad Pitt is now dating actor Geoff Stults.

Stults co-stars with Aniston in her new film, The Break Up, playing her boyfriend. While the tabloids were busy reporting news of an on-set affair between the actress and Vince Vaughn, Aniston and Stults were free to get friendly.

"During the final weeks of filming in Chicago, she (Aniston) flirted outrageously with Geoff," a tattler told The Enquirer. "Everyone couldn't help noticing the sexual undercurrent between them.... At a buff six foot three (inches), Geoff looks like a super-sized version of Brad."