Anything

27 OCTOBER 2003
Just days after Princess Diana's sons called Paul Burrell's tell-all book about their mother "a cold and overt betrayal", it has been revealed that Prince William aims to meet with the former royal butler face to face to discuss the issue.

"The request is a sincere one," a Clarence House official told The Daily Mail. "He absolutely means to go."

And the Prince apparently has the backing of his grandmother should he go ahead with the meeting. "The Queen fully supports Prince William at this time," said a Buckingham Palace spokesperson.

After a week in which Burrell's A Royal Duty was serialised in a British newspaper, on Friday 21-year-old William and his brother Prince Harry released a statement asking the ex-royal servant to "bring these revelations to an end".

"We cannot believe that Paul, who was entrusted with so much, could abuse his position in such a cold and overt betrayal," read the statement. "It is not only deeply painful for the two of us but also for everyone else affected and it would mortify our mother if she were alive today and, if we might say so, we feel we are more able to speak for our mother than Paul."

The announcement sparked an unprecedented public exchange of words, with Burrell responding: "My only intention in writing this book was to defend the Princess and stand in her corner."

In an interview to be broadcast in BBC One's Real Story on Monday night, he directly addresses Princes William and Harry's reaction, stating: "We have to grow up and get on with it and the boys now are adults. They're not children anymore and their mother will be talked about."

Miss Afghanistan (news - web sites) Vida Samadzai leads other Miss Earth candidates during a press preview in Manila October 23, 2003. Samadzai is among contestants from 60 countries vying for the Miss Earth title in the final next month. REUTERS/Erik de Castro

Sir Peter Mansfield from Britain together with Paul Luterbur from the USA win the Nobel Prize 2003 for medicine.

Alexandre the great charmed the morocco

Princess Lalla Hasna - the sister of the Moroccan king - met Alexander the Great at the weekend, when a troupe of Hollywood heavyweights turned out for the Marrakech film festival. The cast of Oliver Stone's film about the Macedonian king, which is currently filming in Morocco, came along for the event. And the princess seemed charmed by Irishman Colin Farrell, who is playing the title role.

The flick's director was meanwhile honoured with the Golden Star trophy for his contribution to cinema. And his most recent flick Commandante, a documentary about Cuba's Fidel Castro, was shown in the city's Al Badii Palace.

Oliver, who was accompanied by his daughter Tara, said filming in the north African country has proven a success. "Knock on wood, it's going very well," he said. "We're on schedule and on budget. The weather's been a little tricky, with sandstorms and rain that surprised us. But we're pushing on."

Earlier in the year a number of other Hollywood productions pulled out of Morocco amid fears of terrorist attacks. Oliver and his crew decided to stay on, however, and they were warmly applauded by their royal hosts. Also on hand were British actor Jeremy Irons and Gladiator director Ridley Scott.

Edith Piaf: Exhibition

Paris is remembering the chanteuse Edith Piaf 40 years after her death. The city is holding an exhibition which retraces her life, from a poor district of the city, to its glittering nightclubs. Her real name was Edith Gassion, but she was dubbed La Mome Piaf (Little Sparrow) at the start of her career as a singer.

Accordion girl

According to legend, Piaf was born on the street outside the house where her parents - a singer and a contortionist - were living, on the Rue de Belleville. "We know she was actually born in hospital," says exhibition curator, Francois Levy. But it is true that her career began when she was spotted singing on the pavement by a nightclub owner.

New York, New York

Piaf continued to sing in German-occupied Paris during World War II, but international stardom only came after the liberation. In 1947 she arrived in New York on the Queen Elizabeth for her Broadway debut. It was not a great success, and she almost returned to France immediately.

Versailles triumph

She finally conquered Broadway at the Versailles restaurant in January 1948. Here she presented her songs herself, and sang at least two in English - La vie en rose (Take me to your heart) and Je n'en connais pas la fin (My lost melody). The Versailles became her Broadway home. She returned regularly until 1955.

Musical Paris

There were many men in Edith Piaf's life, husbands, lovers and friends. She is pictured here in 1958, with Georges Moustaki (left) who remains a popular French singer today, and the songwriter Michel Rivegauche (right). Moustaki wrote the words for Piaf's hit, Milord, while Marguerite Monnot (centre) wrote the music.

No regrets

"Even towards the end of her career, she said money did not matter to her, that all she cared about was love and singing," says Francois Levy. Her health began to decline in 1959. She died at the age of 47 on 10 October 1963, a year after marrying her last love, Greek singer Theo Sarapo.

Denmark to Return Remains of Princess

The remains of Danish-born Czarina Maria Feodorovna, mother of the assassinated Nicholas II, will be returned to Russia and laid to rest with her family in St. Petersburg, Denmark's government said Wednesday.

Born in 1847 in Copenhagen, Feodorovna, originally Danish Princess Dagmar, married Czar Alexander III in 1866 and had six children, including Nicholas II. When the Bolshevik revolution swept Russia in 1917, she fled St. Petersburg.

``I am happy, very happy,'' said Prince Dmitry Romanov, a descendant who lives in Denmark. ``Finally she can be put to rest next to her husband which was her wish.''

Feodorovna was the sister of King Frederik VIII of Denmark, Britain's Queen Alexandra and King George I of Greece. She returned to Denmark in 1919 and lived there until her death in 1928.

She was buried at the Roskilde Cathedral--25 miles west of the capital where dozens of Danish kings and queens are buried.

In a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Danish Queen Margrethe wrote that she ``would not stand in the way'' of the Romanov's family wishes.

The letter was given to Russian Ambassador Dmitry B. Ryurikov Wednesday by Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller.

In the missive, Denmark asked that the reburial be ``carried out in a dignified and respectful way.''

Moeller said the remains cannot be touched and any DNA analysis is forbidden.

In 1991, the remains of Nicholas II, his wife, Alexandra, and their five children were exhumed and reburied in the gilded, 18th-century cathedral in 1998. They were killed by a firing squad in 1918 in the Siberian city of Yekaterinburg. Their bodies were burned, doused with acid, and thrown into a pit outside the city.

After the 1991 Soviet collapse, Romanov family members had asked Margrethe to repatriate Maria Feodorovna's remains, Romanov told the AP. Romanov is the great-great grandson of Czar Nicholas I who was the great-grandfather of Nicholas II, Russia's last emperor.

Arnie victorious in california

The people of California have decided to put their trust in the Terminator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, by electing him as their new Governor.

In the same ballroom where another movie star, Ronald Reagan, learned that he had become president in 1980, Arnie promised not to let the people of California down. "I will not fail you," he declared to rapturous applause. "I will not disappoint you. The answer is clear. For people to win, 'politics as usual' must lose."

The actor's victory comes after Republican activists triggered a controversial recall vote. It was the first time in California state history that a Governor had been ousted in this manner, but high levels of unemployment and an $8-billion budget deficit had led to widespread disaffection with incumbent Democrat Gray Davis.

At the close of voting, 55 per cent of voters wanted Davis out and Arnie led his nearest rival by two-to-one. The muscle-bound star, who was running on a Republican ticket, promised to work with his opponent, nonetheless. "I know that together we can make this the greatest state in the greatest country in the world," he said.

Davis, meanwhile, also pledged his full cooperation. "We've had a lot of good nights over the last 20 years but tonight the people decided it was time for someone else to serve and I accept their judgement? He will have the full cooperation of my administration in the transition."

The news that America's most populous state will have a Republican governor also comes as a boost for President Bush, as he gears up for his own election campaign. "I'll work with him, absolutely," said the president. "He has obviously waged a spirited campaign and has captured a lot of people's imagination."

Queen Rania has been greeting guests at a new exhibition in New York. The show, entitled Petra: Lost City Of Stone, is the first major cultural collaboration between the United States and Jordan.

The display gives visitors an opportunity to learn about the ancient metropolis of Petra, which was literally carved into the desert cliffs of southern Jordan. From 200BC to 200AD the city was a nexus for the international silk and spice trade linking Asia with Arabia and Europe.

Its inhabitants, the Nabataeans, were renowned for their advanced skills in engineering and architecture. Movie fans would recognise the spectacular metropolis from the film Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade.

While the cream of New York society was turning out to meet Queen Rania at the event, Giorgio Armani was complimenting her on the other side of the pond. Opening an exhibition of his work in London, the Italian designer was asked who he considered to be the most alluring woman in the world.

"There is a certain type of woman and I suppose Queen Rania could embody those qualities," he said. "She is beautiful, she has the body of a model and she holds herself like the queen she is - what more could you want."

An image of Elvis Presley as he might look today has been created by computer experts at a Scottish university.