Tibet trouble stirs up Indian fashion week

MUMBAI (Reuters Life!) - Unrest in Tibet is stirring up the fashion world of neighboring India, with a leading designer dedicating his show at one of India's premier fashion events to peace in the remote Himalayan region.

Sonam Dubal's "Trailing the River Goddess" collection at the Lakme Fashion Week drew inspiration from three rivers -- Mekong, Brahmaputra and Nile -- and their role as cradles of civilization.

Tibet's glaciers and snowy highlands feed the Brahmaputra and Mekong rivers. Since peaceful demonstrations turned into a citywide riot in Lhasa on March 14, anti-Chinese protests have broken out in other parts of China inhabited by ethnic Tibetans.

"Though I'm not at the centre of the violence, reading about it has pained my heart," Dubal said at the show on Sunday. "This is my initiative to spread the word that violence leads us only to destruction.

"I feel we all should do something to propagate the message of peace in this grim hour for Tibet."

Dubal's models walked down the runway in flowing kaftans, hand-printed dresses and short embroidered jackets in shades of blue and brown.

The Olympic flame was welcomed by cheering children in Beijing on Monday, for the symbolic start of a domestic and international relay China's government had hoped would symbolize national unity ahead of the Games in August.

Instead, China finds itself trying to deflect criticism over its policies in Tibet and its response to unrest there, and could face the prospect of weeks of protests as the Olympic flame circles the globe.

"Tibet is bleeding and we should pray for peace even though we may not be affected by their problems," Dubal said. "It is peace we need, not bloody massacres and blame games."

Dubal is among 57 designers showing autumn/winter collections at the five-day Lakme Fashion Week that ends on Wednesday.

(Writing by Tony Tharakan; editing by Sophie Hardach)

Pamela Anderson's marriage nears end

Pamela Anderson's marriage nears end

LOS ANGELES - Pamela Anderson's new husband — apparently a specialist in short relationships with celebrities — agrees that their two-month marriage should be voided, according to court papers filed Friday.Rick Salomon agrees in papers responding to a filing by the "Baywatch" actress that the marriage should be annulled because of fraud, though neither set of documents elaborated.

Salomon did not ask for spousal support and asked that it not be awarded to Anderson.

A phone message left for Anderson's publicist was not immediately returned Friday.

Salomon is known for making a sex videotape with then-girlfriend Paris Hilton and was previously married to actress Shannen Doherty for nine months.

Cameron Diaz Charms ShoWest Convention

When you think of sexy leading ladies, Cameron Diaz is always at the top of the list. And last night the "Shrek" actress worked her magic on the spectators at the ShoWest convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Diaz was in town to promote her new flick "What Happens in Vegas…" to the National Association of Theatre Owners, although she got a little more love than she bargained for.

Fox Filmed Entertainment chairman Tom Rothman seized the moment by grabbing Cameron and kissing her on the cheek during a shared moment onstage- something she didn't look too thrilled about.

And speaking of kisses, one of Cam's past flames has made an appearance in her life again. On Monday, the "Sweetest Thing" actress was spotted talking with Matt Dillon at the Chateau Marmont. We'll let you know if it ends up being more than a friendly encounter.

Pussycat Dolls Lose a Doll, Play For the Troops

They've been topping the charts ever since "Don't Cha" came out, but the Pussycat Dolls may have hit a snag. It seems one of their founding members is calling it quits.

Carmit Bachar, who was the only original member of the Los Angeles-based burlesque dance group from which the band originated, abruptly dropped out earlier this week.

The band's website posted the following message from Bachar:

Dear PCD fans,

I wanted to be the first to tell you that I am no longer in the Pussycat Dolls but we will always be sisters forever! Thanks to all the dedicated fans for your unconditional love and support! Exciting news is coming and I promise to keep you all posted!

Much love,
Carmit

As for the remaining five members, they are reportedly planning on carrying on without replacing Carmit. The gang actually just performed on Monday for the troops in Kuwait City as part of Operation MySpace - to the soldiers tremendous satisfaction, might we add.

More doctors and nurses in NHS

More doctors and nurses in NHS


The number of doctors and nurses in the NHS has increased in the past year, but the number of support staff has fallen, official figures reveal.
The number of professionally qualified clinical staff, such as consultants and midwives, has increased by 6,600 since 2006, the NHS Information Centre said.

But there are 11,000 fewer clinical support staff, which includes nursing assistants and administrators.

The government said they would recruit more staff where they were needed.

Currently more than 1.3m staff are employed by the NHS.

It means more expertise at the frontline

Tim Straughan, NHS Information Centre

Last year, a committee of MPs warned there had been a "disastrous failure" of long-term NHS workforce planning.

It came after leaked Department of Health planning documents showed there would be a shortage of GPs and nurses and too many hospital consultants in four years time.

Overall the NHS workforce dropped by 0.6% between September 2006 and September 2007 the census data showed.

The number of managers fell for the second year running, but by less than 1%.

In 2007, there were more doctors than ever before - 2,000 more than in 2006.

The number of midwives has also risen by 2.6% to more than 25,000.

There were smaller increases in the numbers of nurses and GPs, the figures showed.

But the number of nursing assistants and auxiliary staff dropped by 7.7%.

Frontline

NHS Information Centre chief executive Tim Straughan said the increase in clinical staff was good news.

"It means more expertise at the frontline."

Health Minister Ann Keen said: "What matters to patients is that the right staff are in place to deliver personalised services to the highest standard.

"Of course, where more staff are needed we will recruit them."

Louise Silverton, deputy general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives, welcomed the increase in midwives but said rapidly rising birth rates were swamping staff.

"Our latest figures also show that almost half of all midwives are set to retire over the next decade.

"The government are committed to bringing 4,000 extra midwives into the NHS by 2012, and we want to see recruitment of midwives by trusts treated as a priority, and accelerated and sustained."

A spokesperson from the Royal College of Nursing said it was concerned about falling numbers of nursing support staff and were consulting members on the issue.

Mariah Carey is a Promotional Machine

She has a new fragrance on the market, and pretty soon she will be releasing a new album. Translation: 2008 may be Mariah Carey's biggest year yet.

The "We Belong Together" singer was furiously promoting her new single "Touch My Body" yesterday with trips to two major media outlets - MTV's Total Request Live and BET's 106 & Park.

At the TRL studios, Mimi looked ghetto-chic in a red see-through top over a black bra coupled with some beat up jeans.

Over at BET, she went a more glamorous route, with a shiny black spaghetti strap shirt and some black leather pants.

Her new album "E=MC2" is scheduled to drop on April 15th, following a 5.8-million-selling, 3-Grammy-winning "The Emancipation of Mimi."

RIM to bring Will.i.am's Dipdive to BlackBerry

RIM to bring Will.i.am's Dipdive to BlackBerry
TORONTO (Reuters) - BlackBerry maker Research In Motion is partnering with pop artist Will.i.am to help merge social networking and multimedia, in the company's latest move to gain more traction in the consumer retail market.RIM will make Will.i.am's Dipdive online community and content available wirelessly on the BlackBerry, RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie said in an interview.

"Probably the two hottest trends in wireless are social networking ... and the other one is the multimedia, which is principally portable music," Balsillie said.

Will.i.am is known for his career with the band Black Eyed Peas and his "Yes We Can" Barack Obama video, a huge hit on YouTube.com, where it has garnered millions of hits.

Balsillie said users currently view social networking and downloading music and other multimedia as two separate experiences. Increasingly, he believes, they are merging into one.

Dipdive, he said, is an example of this -- where politics-heavy blogging meets music video content.

"It brings the artist into a direct relationship with the fan," Balsillie said.

Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM has steadily expanded its offering of so-called "lifestyle applications" like games and multimedia in a bid to attract more retail users to the traditionally business-focused BlackBerry.

Last fall, it rolled out Facebook software designed especially for its smartphones to make it easier for users to browse the popular social networking Web site.

As RIM continues to push into the broader consumer market, some analysts have expressed concern it will face increased competition from Apple's iPhone. RIM has repeatedly insisted it has nothing to worry about.

About two-thirds of the total 12 million BlackBerry subscribers at the end of the quarter ended December 1 are still classified as governments or large corporations.

Megan Fox and Fergie: Hot, Hot, Hot

Megan Fox and Fergie: Hot, Hot, Hot

Leaving their Hollywood actor boyfriends at home, Megan Fox and Fergie turned heads at the DSquared after-party during Milan Fashion Week.

The Transformers babe and her new Black Eyed Pea gal pal sipped champagne and flaunted their stuff after a long day that included stops at the Versace and DSquared shows.

Since then, Miss Fox has been spotted arriving back at LAX Airport on Friday - just in time for the 2008 Academy Award festivities.

And there's good news for fans of the stunning model-turned-actress, as she'll be hitting the big screens in How To Lose Friends And Alienate People later this year.

Dakota Fanning landed in Los Angeles on the eve of her 14th birthday

Dakota Fanning landed in Los Angeles on the eve of her 14th birthday
The paparazzi camped out at LAX yesterday got a good look at Dakota Fanning as she arrived at the airport on the eve of her 14th birthday (which she's celebrating today!).

The "I Am Sam" actress is looking more grown up every day and it looks like she's more confident than ever.

Dakota rocked a pink terrycloth track suit and a pair of uber-hip Ugg boots as she waited for her mother and a mystery man to pick her up.

And according to press, Fanning is getting pickier about the roles she'll sign on for. She recently withdrew from the film "My Sister's Keeper" because the role calls for her to shave her head.