Nureyev biography vies for prize
Nureyev biography vies for prize
Biographies of ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev and artist Pablo Picasso have been nominated for BBC Four's Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction.
Julie Kavanagh's story of the rise of "Rudimania" and the third volume of John Richardson's life of Picasso are two of the 20 titles on the longlist.
They are joined by memoirs of life in Stalinist Russia and JG Ballard's recollections of his childhood.
The eventual winner receives £30,000 - the UK's biggest prize for non-fiction.
The shortlist will be announced on 15 May, followed by the final awards ceremony on 15 July.
Full list of nominees
Rosie Boycott, who chaired the judging panel, said the books on the longlist encompassed "everything that is exciting, innovative and brilliant about non-fiction in Britain today".
"The sheer scope and range of the books is extraordinary," she continued. "All life is here."
The list also includes The World Is What It Is: The Authorised Biography of VS Naipaul by Patrick French.
Belfast book
French was given unprecedented access to the private papers of the Nobel Prize winning author while writing his book.
Former Downing Street chief of staff Jonathan Powell is also in the running for his first-hand account of Tony Blair's attempts to broker peace in Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, Mad, Bad and Sad: A History of Women and the Mind Doctors from 1800 by Lisa Appignanesi charts how extreme states of mind have been understood over the last 200 years.
Julian Barnes' Nothing To Be Frightened Of - a musing on life, death and religion - was inspired by a near-death experience when the author fell down a three-storey staircase.
And Finding Moonshine: A Mathematician's Journey through Symmetry sees Marcus du Sautoy trying to find ways to share the excitement of mathematics with a broader audience.
US journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran won the prize last year for Imperial Life In The Emerald City, an account of his time in Baghdad's Green Zone.
Zanu-PF backs Mugabe for run-off
Zanu-PF backs Mugabe for run-off
Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party has given its backing to President Robert Mugabe's participation in a possible run-off vote.
The party's top leaders met to decide how to react to election results that have yet to be announced, six days after the presidential poll.
The opposition MDC claims its leader received enough votes to win outright.
There had been speculation that Mr Mugabe would stand aside rather than face a second poll.
The elections also saw the ruling party lose its majority in parliament for the first time since independence in 1980.
The MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) says it intends to ask the High Court to order the immediate release of results of the presidential poll.
It says its candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, took 50.3% of the vote. An independent projection says Mr Tsvangirai gained 49%, just below the threshold, with Mr Mugabe on 42%.
If indeed Tsvangirai has been elected that's fine and if there is a run-off that's fine. That is a matter we must await
Thabo Mbeki
South African President
Hundreds of Zanu-PF supporters - some of them veterans from the war against white rule that led to independence - marched through the capital, Harare, on Friday, the Associated Press news agency reported.
They said the MDC's victory claim was "a provocation against us freedom fighters".
The MDC said its offices in Harare were ransacked on Thursday. It denied that Mr Tsvangirai had gone into hiding and said he was "safe".
At least two foreign nationals were arrested in a police raid on a hotel in the capital, accused of working as journalists without accreditation.
One has been named as Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist, Barry Bearak. The other is said to be a British citizen.
Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga said the authorities were trying to find out whether they were involved in espionage.
"They were taking pictures obviously of police and they annoyed the police who arrested them and we want to find out whether they are journalists or they are British or American agents - who are posing as journalists," he told the BBC.
The BBC's Grant Ferrett in Johannesburg says the raids mark the start of the campaign for a possible run-off and were intended to have a cooling effect on the opposition and the media.
'Galvanised'
Zanu-PF's secretary for administration, cabinet minister Didymus Mutasa, told the BBC's Network Africa programme: "We know them [results], there is a stalemate."
He said the party was prepared for a run-off and would be "galvanised" by the election results.
Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party has given its backing to President Robert Mugabe's participation in a possible run-off vote.
The party's top leaders met to decide how to react to election results that have yet to be announced, six days after the presidential poll.
The opposition MDC claims its leader received enough votes to win outright.
There had been speculation that Mr Mugabe would stand aside rather than face a second poll.
The elections also saw the ruling party lose its majority in parliament for the first time since independence in 1980.
The MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) says it intends to ask the High Court to order the immediate release of results of the presidential poll.
It says its candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, took 50.3% of the vote. An independent projection says Mr Tsvangirai gained 49%, just below the threshold, with Mr Mugabe on 42%.
If indeed Tsvangirai has been elected that's fine and if there is a run-off that's fine. That is a matter we must await
Thabo Mbeki
South African President
Hundreds of Zanu-PF supporters - some of them veterans from the war against white rule that led to independence - marched through the capital, Harare, on Friday, the Associated Press news agency reported.
They said the MDC's victory claim was "a provocation against us freedom fighters".
The MDC said its offices in Harare were ransacked on Thursday. It denied that Mr Tsvangirai had gone into hiding and said he was "safe".
At least two foreign nationals were arrested in a police raid on a hotel in the capital, accused of working as journalists without accreditation.
One has been named as Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist, Barry Bearak. The other is said to be a British citizen.
Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga said the authorities were trying to find out whether they were involved in espionage.
"They were taking pictures obviously of police and they annoyed the police who arrested them and we want to find out whether they are journalists or they are British or American agents - who are posing as journalists," he told the BBC.
The BBC's Grant Ferrett in Johannesburg says the raids mark the start of the campaign for a possible run-off and were intended to have a cooling effect on the opposition and the media.
'Galvanised'
Zanu-PF's secretary for administration, cabinet minister Didymus Mutasa, told the BBC's Network Africa programme: "We know them [results], there is a stalemate."
He said the party was prepared for a run-off and would be "galvanised" by the election results.
Former Sierra Leone President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah, who headed the AU observer mission, said Mr Mugabe had appeared "relaxed".
Mr Tejan Kabbah said he had also met Mr Tsvangirai, according to AFP, prompting further speculation that some form of African mediation effort is under way.
Mr Mugabe, 84, came to power 28 years ago at independence on a wave of optimism.
But in recent years Zimbabwe has been plagued by the world's highest inflation, as well as acute food and fuel shortages.
Britney gets worst skin award
Troubled and struggling singer Britney Spears has just been given a Lifetime Achievement award - for bad skin.
Britney who is very prone to acne was given a Skinnies gong, which is presented every year by skincare expert Dr. Vail Reese on his Skinema.com website.
Dr. Vail has also suggested that Spears should seek the advice of fellow star Will Smith, who has been given this year's Action-packed Acne Survivor, for the clear skin he sported in the blockbuster I Am Legend.
Well some award is better than none we say. Hope this will help her in some way.
Renee scolded by George Clooney
Actress Renee Zellweger has branded her co-star George Clooney a ‘spoil sport’ — because he would never let her fool around on set.
The pair star together in Leatherheads, a romantic comedy set in the world of 1920s football, but Zellweger was constantly told off by Clooney — who also directs the movie — for playing with the replica pigskin balls.
But the 38-year-old insists she ‘couldn’t help’ herself when it came to throwing the balls in her period costume.
Zellweger said, “I had on my hat with the feather, and my little high heeled buckled shoes and gloves while I was throwing the pigskin, but I couldn’t help myself. When I gave it a toss, the director, that would be Mr Clooney, scolded me and said, ‘You put that thing down. What am I going to do with you when you miss and take one on the nose and we’ve got a close up? Put that ball down.’ I thought he was a spoil sport.”
