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The soprano Anna Netrebko, pregnant and engaged, has withdrawn from this summer’s Salzburg Festival, Agence France-Presse reported. She was scheduled to sing at the festival opposite the tenor Rolando Villazón in Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliet.” Ms. Netrebko, 36, a Russian-born Austrian citizen (right, with her finacé, the Uruguayan-born baritone Erwin Schrott, 35), is in Vienna, filming Puccini’s “Bohème” with Mr. Villazón as her leading man. She also was to sing in Massenet’s “Manon,” opening on April 4 at the Vienna State Opera, The Associated Press reported. Her manager, Jeffrey Vanderveen, said she “will keep her engagements as long as her...

IMAGE: Anna Loginova posed to prove she was a woman as well as a weaponRussia's most famous female bodyguard Anna Loginova has been killed after failing to prevent her own Porsche being carjacked. The glamorous 29-year-old died from head injuries after clinging on to the door handle and being dragged along the street at high speed as the car screeched away. "She suffered serious injuries and died at the scene," said a police spokesman. Police believe that she was killed in a random carjacking and was not the victim of an attack based on her work for wealthy high-profile Russian...

If 2007 was shaped by anything, it was the scuffle to pay for information about Anna Nicole Smith. Before her death on Feb. 8, 2007, I had rarely, if ever, thought about Smith. I certainly had not written much about her. The birth of her baby the previous September was not that interesting. The death of her grown son was, but not that much. He wasn’t a celebrity. She was a Grade D personality, a buffoonish comic strip, a Marilyn Monroe pretender.

Anna Politkovskaya arrests add to Russia row By Duncan Gardham and Helen Womack in Moscow Last Updated: 11:03pm BST 27/08/2007 Russian authorities have hinted that Boris Berezovsky, a leading critic of President Vladimir Putin who lives in London, was behind the murder of an investigative journalist in Moscow. Journalist Anna Politkovskaya was murdered October last year Anna Politkovskaya, who was investigating human rights abuses by the Russians in Chechnya, was shot in the lift of her apartment block on Oct 7 last year. Her death - the 13th murder of a journalist in Russia under Mr Putin's rule - provoked...

Thread Number 3

The two judges who oversaw the Anna Nicole Smith cases in Florida's Broward Circuit Court are swapping jobs -- at least temporarily. Chief Judge Dale Ross ordered the moves Tuesday in the wake of complaints and a newspaper editorial that Circuit Judge Lawrence Korda should be moved out of family court until his misdemeanor drug charge is resolved. Korda, who briefly oversaw the paternity dispute involving Smith's baby daughter, was cited on March 18 for possession of one marijuana cigarette weighing less than 0.1 gram. Police said they caught him smoking pot in a Hollywood, Fla., park. Circuit Judge Larry...

No evidence of illegal drugs. Nothing unusual on video. Nothing to indicate foul play. Accidental overdose with no criminal evidence present.

Joining us now is Dr. Joshua Perper, Broward County medical examiner. Doctor, good evening to you. Thank you for being with us tonight. DR. JOSHUA PERPER, BROWARD COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER: You're welcome. MACCALLUM: Was your report ready to go? Were you ready to release the results? PERPER: Yes, I was. And the reason why I decided not to do so is because I was informed that there was some additional evidence, which I want to review before I have my final report. And that's the reason why my press conference is going to be delayed by a week or two.

"Be careful to exercise responsibility and restraint in discussing local affairs [and] ensuring that we are competently and accurately addressing the issues," Mr. Moree stated. "The information we are disseminating must be correct. This does not mean we cannot engage in robust debate and even criticism of our local institutions or public officials, but the manner of that debate or criticism should be appropriate for an international forum. We must realize that what we say reflects on the Bahamas' impression [to the world]".

You know what really Grrrs me about the whole Anna Nicole Smith death, child custody battle and funeral coverage?How about the number of TV anchors who vocalize their displeasure with covering the story, and then go on to cover it anyway? Over the weekend, I heard one anchor say something like “everyone knows I don’t care for the coverage, but tell me about the funeral.� Huh? Dude, just read the teleprompter. Anyway, Smith got what she deserved on Friday — a tacky, sideshow-style funeral that, like her life, was full of hangers-on, enablers and out-of-the-woodwork relatives wanting handouts. Is it...

Per Fox News

Judge's Wife: People Say He Should Have His Own TV Show Anna Nicole Judge's Wife Tells ABC News: 'I Find Him to Be Brilliant' Feb. 22, 2007 — Not since Judge Ito has a black robe so thoroughly failed to mask the colorful personality of the man beneath it. For more than a week, Florida circuit court Judge Larry Seidlin has run the Anna Nicole Smith court hearing with a jarring combination of comic wisecracks, stunningly personal commentary and naked emotion.

It may still be news to some people, but, indeed, bishops read the news, and watch it, and digest it as much as -- if not more than -- the rest of us do. And for anyone whose daily diet involves even a pinch of CNN, FOX, MSNBC or practically any newspaper here in the States, it's been near-impossible to get away from the news-channels' latest free-for-all: the death at 39 of the model/reality TV star/former Playmate Anna Nicole Smith two weeks back. You shouldn't be shocked to hear that the Anna Nicole story's being watched with more interest by...

On February 19, 2007, Judge Larry Seidlin of the Broward County Circuit Court appointed attorney Richard C. Milstein guardian ad litem to Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern, the five-month-old baby of the late Vickie Lynn Marshall, a.k.a. Anna Nicole Smith. See: http://www.akerman.com/documents/res.asp?id=399 Three days later, while sobbing, the same judge, Larry Seidlin, gave the guardian he appointed, attorney Richard C. Milstein, custody of Anna Nicole's body. See: http://www.breitbart.com/news/2007/02/22/D8NF0DQ81.html The guardian, attorney Richard C. Milstein, is a known gay activist in the Miami area. See: http://www.aegis.com/news/mh/2005/MH051011.html

Did anyone who was watching the hearing today, see Larry Birkhead snag Howard K. Stern's styrofoam cup which he had been drinking out of? Stern had been drinking from water from a cup and left it on the witness stand. Birkhead immediately took the stand and grabbed a new cup from the stack, his attorney went over and poured some bottled water into the cup at which time he placed his cup inside of Stern's used cup and when he left the stand took both of them with him.

In a stunning development in court, Broward County Medical Examiner Joshua Perper telephoned the court to tell the judge that the body of Anna Nicole Smith is deteriorating faster than normal, according to people who did the embalming on Saturday. As such, the body needs to be examined this week, rather than within the two weeks that had been stipulated before. Sitting on the stand, Howard K. Stern started to sob loudly when he heard the news

While the principals involved in the battle for Anna Nicole Smith's body duke it out in a Florida court, a stunning new video has surfaced showing a barely functional Anna Nicole Smith, stammering and stuttering, as Howard K. Stern rhapsodizes about how much money the clip will be worth. The tape, which aired Monday night on Greta Van Susteren's show on FOX News Channel, shows an eight-months pregnant Smith, her face painted like a clown, and clearly stoned out of her mind. As she talks to a doll in a baby carriage as if it's real, Stern repeatedly says,...

Charlize Theron was yesterday tipped to play Anna Nicole Smith in the inevitable Hollywood version of the Playboy Playmate’s tumultuous life, as a legal battle raged over her body.The South African actress emerged as the favourite to be cast in the role of Smith, who died last week. Theron won an Oscar in 2004 for her portrayal of a serial killer in Monster. The race to make a film of Smith’s life began yesterday as a judge gave the go-ahead for Smith’s surgically enhanced 42-26-38 body to be embalmed for a possible open-casket funeral, after her lawyer revealed that she...

Zsa Zsa's Husband: I Might Be Baby's Dad LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The husband of actress Zsa Zsa Gabor said Friday that he had a decade- long affair with Anna Nicole Smith and may be her infant daughter's father. The claim by Prince Frederick von Anhalt comes amid a paternity suit over Smith's 5-month-old daughter, Dannielynn. The birth certificate lists Dannielynn's father as attorney Howard K. Stern, but former Smith boyfriend Larry Birkhead is waging a legal challenge, saying he is the father. "If you go back from September, she wasn't with one of those guys, she was with me,"...

Footage of the final moments of Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith's life sold for more than $500,000 Thursday after a media bidding war, according to Splash News & Picture Agency, the paparazzi outlet that sold the rights to the tape. The video shows paramedics working on the unresponsive reality star as she was wheeled from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla. Splash News screened the videotape to potential media buyers at their Los Angeles headquarters just hours after Smith's death Thursday afternoon. Emergency responders appear to administer CPR on two separate occasions as the TrimSpa spokeswoman...

Friday Morning Autopsy Expected To Shed More Light (CBS) LOS ANGELES -- CBS 2 has learned that while searching Anna Nicole Smith's hotel room late Thursday afternoon investigators found two key pieces of evidence -- illegal narcotics and prescription medications. Now, a toxicology report will determine whether one of these drugs or a combination of both substances contributed to her death. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday morning in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Smith, 39, collapsed and was unresponsive while staying at the Seminole Hard Rock Cafe Hotel and Casino, said the attorney, Ron Rale. She was rushed to Memorial Regional...

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - Anna Nicole Smith, the former Playboy playmate whose bizarre life careened from marrying an octogenarian billionaire to the untimely death of her son, died Thursday after collapsing at a South Florida hotel, one of her lawyers said. Smith, 39, collapsed and was unresponsive while staying at the Seminole Hard Rock Cafe Hotel and Casino, said the attorney, Ron Rale. She was rushed to a hospital. "She checked in Monday at 8 p.m. as a guest. She was due to check out tomorrow," said Danielle Giordaano, a spokeswoman for the hotel. Smith had been a tabloid staple even...

Anna Nicole Smith collapsed in her hotel room at the Hard Rock Cafe and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., and was rushed to a hospital on Thursday. A Hollywood, Fla., fire department spokesman told MSNBC TV that the actress was unresponsive when the rescue unit arrived on the scene. Sources confirmed to Access Hollywood that Smith was transported to Memorial Regional Hospital shortly after 2 p.m. EST on Thursday. Access Hollywood also is reporting that Smith was intubated at the scene. Officials told the Miami Herald, "it does not look good."

Vyacheslav Zhuravlyov, a militiaman from Nizhnevartovsk, suspected by the State Office of Public Prosecutor of implication in killing journalist Anna Politkovskaya, has stated in his interview to the "Komsomolskaya Pravda" newspaper that he had nothing to do with the murder, and moreover, in no case could have been its executor. Mr. Zhuravlyov told in his interview that he did not leave Nizhnevartovsk on October 7, when the murder was committed, and has numerous witnesses of the fact. Vyacheslav Zhuravlyov appeared in Politkovskaya's publications as the investigator who interrogated Chechen Zelimkhan Murdalov, suspected of storing drugs and arrested by Nizhnevartovsk militiamen,...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Anna Nicole Smith's 20-year-old son died from a lethal combination of a drug that treats heroin addiction -- methadone -- and two antidepressants: Zoloft and Lexapro. That's what the pathologist Smith hired is saying. Cyril Wecht says the level of the drugs taken "point to this being a tragic, accidental, drug-related death." Daniel Smith died in his mother's hospital room in the Bahamas on Sept. 10. He was visiting a few days after she gave birth to his half-sister.

Anna Nicole 'memory loss' over son's sudden death... Anna Nicole Smith frantically tried to revive her stricken son and had to be sedated after he died, her attorney said Wednesday. Authorities termed the death "suspicious" and said criminal charges could be filed. Daniel Smith died Sunday while visiting his mother, a reality TV star and former Playboy playmate, in her hospital room three days after she gave birth to a baby girl. "The devastation and grief over Daniel's sudden death coupled with the sedation has been so extreme that Anna Nicole experienced memory loss of the event," attorney Michael Scott...

NASSAU, Bahamas — Medical personnel applied CPR and other lifesaving measures on Anna Nicole Smith's son Daniel for 22 minutes before he was pronounced dead, the head of the hospital said Tuesday. But there was no official word on what caused the death. Police say the reality TV star and former Playboy playmate found Daniel Smith, 20, unresponsive Sunday morning in a chair in her hospital room, where she was recuperating from giving birth to a baby girl three days earlier, and called for help. Police said they had no evidence that Daniel Smith had suffered a heart attack or...

The "how and why" surrounding 20-year-old Daniel Hogan's mysterious death is being kept under wraps in an autopsy report that should have been completed last night. The only son of American celebrity Anna Nicole Smith died on the maternity ward at Doctors Hospital while visiting his mother and newborn baby sister on Sunday. According to sources close to the case, preliminary investigations revealed that various medications along with drugs were found in his system. "All we know right now is that he was on anti-depressants," the source said. "Some things indicate that he probably overdosed on those drugs." While local...

TO end her opinion in American Civil Liberties Union v. National Security Agency — the case that enjoins President Bush’s warrantless surveillance program — Judge Anna Diggs Taylor quoted Earl Warren (referring to him as “Justice Warren,” not “Chief Justice Warren,” as if she wanted to spotlight her carelessness): “It would indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defense, we would sanction the subversion of ... those liberties ... which makes the defense of the nation worthwhile.”

"Tennis player Anna Kournikova is 25"

ANNA NICOLE SMITH put all those rumors to rest -- revealing on her website that she is definitely pregnant! "I've been hearing a lot of gossip in the papers," Anna Nicole said in a video on her official website, www.annanicole.com. "Let me stop all the rumors. Yes, I am pregnant. I am happy -- very, very happy about it. Everything is going really, really good and I'll be checking in and out periodically on the web. I'll let you see me as I'm growing!" According to several reports, Anna Nicole is said to be five months pregnant and her boyfriend,...

February 2, 2006 Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Psalm: Thursday 8 Reading IMal 3:1-4 Thus says the Lord God:Lo, I am sending my messengerto prepare the way before me;And suddenly there will come to the templethe LORD whom you seek,And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire.Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.But who will endure the day of his coming?And who can stand when he appears?For he is like the refiner’s fire,or like the fuller’s lye.He will sit refining and purifying silver,and he will purify the sons of Levi,Refining them like gold or like...

Loss of Sharapova blow to Gold Coast Organisers of the Australian Women's Hardcourts have conceded Maria Sharapova's withdrawal is a blow for the Gold Coast tournament. The 18-year-old Russian former world number one has pulled out of the tournament with a shoulder strain, an injury she has been nursing since the second half of the 2005 season, and is also in doubt for next month's Australian Open in Melbourne. Tournament director Liz Smylie said while the loss of Sharapova was unfortunate, the return of Martina Hingis would ensure there was still plenty of interest in the event. "I've got media...

The Protoevangelium of JamesThe Birth of Mary the Holy Mother of God,and Very Glorious Mother of Jesus ChristIN THE RECORDS OF THE TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL was Joachim, a man rich exceedingly; and he brought his offerings double, saying: There shall be of my superabundance to all the people, and there shall be the offering for my forgiveness to the Lord for a propitiation for me. For the great day of the Lord was at hand, and the sons of Israel were bringing their offerings. And there stood over against him Rubim, saying: It is not meet for thee first...

Enrique Iglesias has shocked his female admirers - by announcing he wants to release his own range of extra-small condoms. The Latin heartthrob admitted he can't find sheaths to fit the smaller man, and wants to save people who aren't well-endowed any embarrassment. The 30-year-old, who is dating stunning tennis pin-up Anna Kournikova, is quoted in America's Houston Press newspaper as saying: "The next product I'm gonna put my name on is extra-small condoms. "I can never find extra-small condoms, and I know it's really embarrassing for people - you know, from experience. "Hopefully people won't be ashamed when I...

The United Nations world summit... seems to have done no real harm: It has not further extended the authority and reach of the U.N., it has not foisted another "protocol" or "convention" for the Senate to consider... [or] fund. That may be a negative accomplishment, but it is certainly a real one, especially as Secretary General Kofi Annan had envisioned the summit as an opportunity to expand membership in the Security Council, expand his own powers and require rich countries to pony up additional billions in foreign aid, among other brainstorms. It took new U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John...

Will Michelle Wie be the next Anna Kournikova? My fellow bloggers Doug Carey and Jay Flemma have been talking a lot lately about Michelle Wie and her sponsor exemptions. Should she get them? Should she accept them? Is it nothing more than a publicity stunt? Yada yada yada. Well maybe it is nothing more than a publicity stunt. But guys, don’t you get it? Women’s golf needs publicity. Really badly. Annika’s up there breaking every record, winning 59 tournaments and no one’s batting an eyelash. But put a 15 year old on the PGA tour and suddenly everyone sits up...

New York, 1 July (AKI) - UN secretary general Kofi Annan has urged Islamic nations to play their full role in tackling issues from terrorism and human rights abuse to UN reform, in a message to foreign ministers of Islamic countries meeting in Sanaa, Yemen. "The international community has reached a fork in the road. One path leads to a more anarchic, conflict-ridden world of entrenched poverty. The other leads to increased global cooperation and solidarity," he said in a message delayed by his envoy Ali Alatas to Foreign ministers of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) which ended...

Former tennis player Anna Kournikova, movie actresses Michelle Phillips and Gabrielle Union, and pop singer Vanessa Carlton are all set to shed their clothes for the upcoming issue of American magazine Jane. The four will bare it to the minimum for the summer issue of the magazine with their private parts carefully covered. While Carlton admitted that she loves getting nude, Phillips said that she feels lucky to see herself naked. "I like the area where my butt meets my thigh and I like the size of my boobs - they're small and I don't have to wear a bra,"...

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a surprise news conference this evening, announced the appointment of former U.S. Senator John F. Kerry, as Special Envoy of the United Nations to France

US and Britain in UN secretary general's sights Jonathan Steele Friday March 11, 2005 The Guardian The UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, launched a fierce attack on Britain and the US yesterday for weakening human rights in the name of the war on terror. "We cannot compromise on core values," he said in Madrid on the first anniversary of the train bombings that killed 191 people in the Spanish capital. "Human rights and the rule of law must always be respected." Addressing a three-day conference which included about 20 heads of state and government as well as terrorism experts, lawyers...

Associated Press MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- A homeless man was charged with stalking and burglary after swimming nude across Biscayne Bay in search of tennis star Anna Kournikova's waterfront residence and getting caught near her neighbor's home. Police said William Lepeska screamed, "Anna! Save me!" as he was taken away Jan. 30. He is scheduled to make a court appearance Wednesday. Lepeska, 40, who sports an "Anna" tattoo on his right biceps, was found near the swimming pool of a house three doors from Kournikova's $5 million home.

February 2, 2005Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Psalm: Wednesday 8 Reading IMal 3:1-4 Thus says the Lord GOD:Lo, I am sending my messengerto prepare the way before me;And suddenly there will come to the templethe LORD whom you seek,And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire.Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.But who will endure the day of his coming?And who can stand when he appears?For he is like the refiner's fire,or like the fuller's lye.He will sit refining and purifying silver,and he will purify the sons of Levi,Refining them like gold or like silverthat...

December 30, 2004The Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas Reading I1 Jn 2:12-17 I am writing to you, children,because your sins have been forgiven for his name's sake. I am writing to you, fathers,because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men,because you have conquered the Evil One. I write to you, children,because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers,because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men,because you are strong and the word of God remains in you,and you have conquered the Evil...

As we argued last week, one of America's most urgent foreign policy needs is to retool international organizations and traditional alliances to provide collective security against the global threat of jihadist terrorism. The United Nations can and should be a central part of this new collective security system, but only if the organization is systematically reformed to serve that purpose. Unfortunately, the United Nations' credibility has been steadily eroded by its own misdeeds, with a burgeoning scandal over its incompetent and sometimes corrupt management of the Iraq oil-for-food program being the most damaging example. Last week it was reported that...

Not one to talk Lorne Gunter National Post October 18, 2004 Kofi Annan, the United Nations Secretary-General, thinks the invasion of Iraq has made the world a more dangerous place. Mr. Annan told a British television audience yesterday, "I cannot say the world is safer when you consider the violence around us ... and see the terrorist attacks around the world and you see what is going on in Iraq. " Last month, Mr. Annan told another British television interviewer the invasion was "illegal," that "it violated the UN Charter." He's a great one to talk. Mr. Annan, personally, probably...

With the Astros and Giants doing battle down at Minute Maid Park the previous three nights, media coverage of the River Oaks International had been bare bones at best. But the TV tower and photographers' row were going to be standing-room-only in the sold-out stadium Thursday night, and the shutterbugs weren't pouring in to shoot Vince Spadea's gams. Like the spring flowers on the leafy River Oaks Country Club grounds, Annamania was bursting forth. Alas, the buzz died quickly when the discouraging word trickled out that Anna Kournikova was laid up in her Galleria-area hotel room, too ill and/or exhausted...

Issue will hit newsstands tomorrow--sneak peek pix: