Posh kidnap case collapses The trial of five men accused of plotting to kidnap soccer star David Beckham's pop star wife collapsed yesterday after prosecutors ruled the evidence of a key witness was unreliable. The men, four Romanians and one Kosovo Albanian, were accused of conspiring to kidnap Victoria (Posh Spice) Beckham on or before Nov. 2, 2002.
They were charged after a story about the alleged plot appeared in the News of the World tabloid newspaper. The Crown Prosecution Service said yesterday that it had decided not to pursue the case after deciding that evidence from a 27-year-old parking attendant from Kosovo, Florim Gashi, who was paid about $22,000 Cdn by the newspaper, was unreliable.
Jewel still fond of her folk roots
For her latest album, Jewel just wanted to hit the dance floor.
"Things are hard enough in life that you don't always want to be brought down with everything on the news," the singer siad. "I just want to have fun." Jewel's fifth album, 0304, was produced with Lester Mendez, who helped singer Shakira break through on American radio. The result is a far cry from Jewel's folk roots, including her first single Who Will Save Your Soul. Nevertheless, Jewel insists she hasn't abandoned her more profound side. "If you want to take it deeper and listen to the record 30 times, hopefully you'll get something different out of the lyrics each time. But if you just want to have fun and dance, you can do that with this record."
Chicks delay show due to SARS
The Dixie Chicks announced they were postponing the Toronto stop on their current tour. The show, originally scheduled for June 12, will now take place on Aug. 6. "The show is being postponed due to concerns about the risk of tour personnel facing quarantine as a result of Toronto's current SARS situation," a statement said. On the weekend, the Dixie Chicks cancelled a sold-out concert in Cleveland because lead singer Natalie Maines had a sore throat. Fans were not permitted to go to their seats at Gund Arena on Sunday and the show was cancelled about 15 minutes before its 7:30 p.m start time. The concert was rescheduled for June 11. The Dixie Chicks' tour is selling out despite backlash from Maines' comment to a London audience on March 10 that "we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."
Stones concert still a possibility
Mick Jagger says you can't always get what you want, but Liberal MP Dennis Mills says he's extremely close to giving Toronto an event that it needs. Mills said that he and Liberal Senator Jerry Grafstein are about $1 million short of raising the $7 million in private-sector money needed to bring the band to Toronto for a concert aimed at repairing some of the damage done by the SARS outbreak.
Wahlberg urged to play nice
Mark Wahlberg was ready to be nasty in The Italian Job when the director told him to play nice.
Wahlberg, 31, planned to bring a low-key, bristling intensity to the role of Charlie Croker, the ringleader of a bunch of thieves aiming to avenge the murder of their mentor. Director F. Gary Gray had other ideas.
"I've played likable characters before," Wahlberg said, "but I've never been asked by a director to concentrate on being likable and being charming. It was a challenge to keep that in the back of my mind; I like playing things small, but this time I had to ham it up a little bit."
Wahlberg, 31, has played leading roles in many films, including Boogie Nights, Three Kings, The Perfect Storm and Planet of the Apes. His relationship with Gray was cemented when the two worked on a music video in Wahlberg's rapping days.
