Enemies of Cuban President Fidel Castro are accusing US singer Gloria Estefan, a favourite daughter of the Cuban-American community, of betraying them in her quest to defend freedom of speech.
The Cuban-born singer triggered a fierce debate when she sided with Peggi McKinley, a Miami city worker sacked for publicly condemning a local ban on performances by Cuban artists. Estefan was accused of being a communist sympathiser hoping to profit from Cuban musicians by producing their music.
Al Pacino (57) is the latest actor to leave his hand and footprints in cement at Hollywood's Chinese Theatre. The ceremony was held when Pacino and Keanu Reeves came out of the theatre after the opening of their latest movie, The Devil's Advocate.
Harold Robbins's former wife, Grace, is complaining that his widow, Jann, has threatened to call off the author's funeral if she doesn't keep away. Grace was married to Robbins for 28 years before Jann became his wife in 1992. She also has a daughter by Robbins and has just finished a book about her years with the novelist. Robbins died last Tuesday in California.
Van Morrison is writing a book about his childhood and influences, and is looking for a publisher at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Van Morrison, In My Own Words ends his usual reticence about his private life, and has received international interest at the fair.
Kitty Kelley's scandal-filled book on the British royal family has become a runaway best seller in the US and worldwide sales could reach two million, its publisher said yesterday. The Royals has been translated into seven languages but the publishers have had to ensure it does not make its way into Britain, where libel laws are much stricter than in the US.
Gyorgy Habsburg (32), grandson of the late Emperor Charles I, is to wed a German duchess today in a lavish ceremony to be televised live.
The scion of the famous European dynasty will marry Duchess Eilika von Oldenburg in St Stephen's basilica in Budapest, the city he adopted as home only five years ago.