Sylvester Stallone | Sylvester Stallone To Launch 'Rambo' Fashion Line | Contactmusic

Sylvester Stallone | Sylvester Stallone To Launch 'Rambo' Fashion Line | Contactmusic


Elisha Cuthbert: The Heart Truth Fashion Show Photos

Elisha Cuthbert: The Heart Truth Fashion Show Photos

Kelly Lin weds American-Chinese beau Chris Young

MALDIVES: Taiwan actress Kelly Lin married American-Chinese businessman Chris Young in a low-key beach wedding in the Maldives on Monday, reported Taiwan media.

Lin, dressed in a white, low-cut wedding gown and Young, who wore a simple white shirt and pants, exchanged their vows in a 30-minute ceremony on the beach.

"I am really happy, full of love," said the groom after the ceremony.

"So disgusting!" said Lin with an embarrassed laugh as the pair left the venue.

The "Just Call Me Nobody" star, sporting a sparkling 3-carat diamond wedding band, also told reporters that she preferred a low-key wedding, "nothing too complicated as it fits my personality".

And the pair's wedding was as low-key as they come.

They made reservations at their hotel in the Maldives using the pseudonym "Mala Group".

The couple did not hire a band for the ceremony and were married by a local pastor.

Only about 30 guests were invited to the wedding.

There were no grooms-men, with Lin's close friend, Taiwan-born Hong Kong actress Shu Qi the closest thing to a bridesmaid at the wedding.

Lin, 37 started dating Young, 39, who owns a clothing company in the US, a few months after separating from former-F4 member Ken Zhu in June last year.

The couple had actually known each other eight years ago but had maintained a platonic relationship until October last year.

"I hope that she will be happy. We can still be best sisters forever," Shu Qi told reporters.

She also admitted that she was a "very unfashionable person" and had given the newly-weds a pair of traditional 'Dragon Phoenix' gold bracelets as a wedding gift.

While Shu Qi did not say much, her wedding card spoke volumes of her thoughts on her best friend’s nuptials.

"I really can't bear to let you spend the rest of your life with another person.

"You must know that I am holding back tears and putting up with the pain to leave you in the hands of someone who loves you even more," wrote the actress, who took three flights from her filming location just to attend Lin's wedding.

-CNA/ha

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainment/view/1119404/1/.html

Models Walk Intrepid Runway for Charity

Jeffrey Fashion Cares was never a tiny benefit, but during the last couple of years it has evolved into massive planning proportions. That's because the event, which has raised millions of dollars for local AIDS and LGBT charities, now also doubles as one of the world's most lucrative male fashion shows.

more here

Kelly Lin to wed today at the Maldives

The Taiwanese actress is marrying Chinese-American businessman Chris Young


Taiwanese actress Kelly Lin will hold her wedding ceremony with Chinese-American Chris Young today.

It was previously speculated that she will walk down the aisle on Mar 20.

The couple and their family had arrived at the Maldives on Mar 25. The next day, Kelly and Chris mingled with their guests. Chris also helped to hand out drinks to friends and relatives.

Meeting Kelly's relatives for the first time, Chris introduced himself in fluent Mandarin.

"I'm Chris Young. 'Yang' is spelt as 'Young' and my Chinese name is Yang Chen. I own a clothing business -- a small brand, known as Smart Threads -- in America," Chris said.

Kelly and Chris then returned to their room to rest.

In the evening, Kelly appeared at the beach in a white gown, ready for her wedding photo shoot. However, Chris seemed to look nervous under the scrutiny of Kelly's father and relatives.

"Dad, don't look from the sidelines. He's nervous," the actress said.

Kelly later changed into a red, bareback dress, which exuded sexiness and beauty.

http://entertainment.xin.msn.com/en/celebrity/buzz/asia/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4742086

Barbie Hsu says “I do!”

Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu is now Mrs. Wang. Yesterday, the actress got married to Chinese millionaire Wang Xiaofei in front of 300 guests, at Sanya, Hainan Island in China.

Despite the ban on recording devices and handphones, photos from the couple's wedding were still leaked.

Kevin Tsai, who was the host for the wedding, updated his microblog in the afternoon, showing a pair of shoes he designed specially for Barbie.

He also uploaded pictures of the wedding cakes, one of which had the letters "WS" which stood for the newlyweds.

Kevin wrote, "Love is like a magic lamp. It's only when you hold it to your chest and pray to it sincerely, you will know how many wishes it would grant you and how it would grant you these wishes."

The Here Comes Kang Xi host also revealed that the wedding was held at a small white church near the swimming pool and that wedding sweets were given to friends and relatives.

Guests who turned up at the joyous event included bridesmaids Pace Wu, Makiyo and Aya, A-Mei, Christine Fan, Blackie Chen, Na Ying and her husband, Li Yapeng, former Japanese footballer Hidetoshi Nakata and Huang Xiaoming.

Although the skies turned dark and strong winds started blowing, the wedding still began promptly at 5pm.

Younger sister Dee Hsu's daughters were the flower girls at the wedding. They walked down the aisle in front of the bride, who was given away by her father. Barbie was then handed over to Xiaofei and Kevin presided over the oath-taking.

When Barbie was asked if she was willing to marry Xiaofei, the actress shouted, "I super do!"

Each guest was also given a balloon with a sunflower seed inside it, prior to the ceremony. When it ended, the guests let go of their balloons, allowing them to soar into the sky, signifying the couple's love for each other.

http://entertainment.xin.msn.com/en/celebrity/buzz/asia/photos.aspx?cp-documentid=4732036

Elizabeth Taylor Dead at 79

Taylor died at 1:28 AM at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles ... where she had been hospitalized for the past couple of weeks. A private funeral will be held later this week.

Taylor's publicist says she was "surrounded by her children -- Michael Wilding, Christopher Wilding, Liza Todd, and Maria Burton."

Taylor's rep says the actress died "peacefully" from congestive heart failure, "a condition with which she had struggled with for many years." The rep adds, "Though she had recently suffered a number of complications, her condition had stabilized and it was hoped that she would be able to return home. Sadly, this was not to be."

Someone at the hospital Tuesday night tells TMZ ... doctors knew at around 6 PM that Taylor was dying.

http://www.tmz.com/

Lady GaGa fends off Katy Perry for US No.1

Lady GaGa has fought off competition from Katy Perry to spend a sixth week atop the Billboard Hot 100 with 'Born This Way'.

The singer continues to lead the tally with the track, while Perry climbs from three to two with the Kayne West-assisted 'E.T'.

Elsewhere, Rihanna's 'S&M' completes the top three, the Black Eyed Peas vault from 22 to five with 'Just Can't Get Enough', and Glee's first original song 'Loser Like Me' lands at six.

Further down the chart, Selena Gomez & The Scene's 'Who Says' debuts at number 24, while Tinie Tempah's 'Written In The Stars' leaps from 45 to 39.

Jessie J advances 58 to 54 with 'Price Tag', and Rebecca Black's 'Friday' lands at 72.

The top ten singles in full (click where possible for our reviews):

1. (1) Lady GaGa: 'Born This Way'
2. (3) Katy Perry ft. Kanye West: 'E.T.'
3. (4) Rihanna: 'S&M'
4. (2) Cee Lo Green: 'F**k You!'
5. (22) Pink: 'F**kin' Perfect'
8. (12) Chris Brown ft. Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes: 'Look At Me Now'
9. (7) Bruno Mars: 'Grenade'
10. (13) Jeremih ft. 50 Cent: 'Down On Me'

Digital Spy

Madonna's Charity Fails in Bid to Finance School

LOS ANGELES — A high-profile charitable foundation set up to build a school for impoverished girls in Malawi, founded by the singer Madonna and fellow devotees of a prominent Jewish mysticism movement, has collapsed after spending $3.8 million on a project that never came to fruition.
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Karel Prinsloo/Associated Press
Madonna in Malawi in 2007. A group she helped found had planned to build a $15 million school there.

The board of directors of the organization, Raising Malawi, has been ousted and replaced by a caretaker board, including Madonna and her manager, officials with the organization said Thursday. Its executive director, who is the boyfriend of Madonna’s former trainer, Tracy Anderson, left in October amid criticism of his management style and cost overruns for the school. These included what auditors described as outlandish expenditures on salaries, cars, office space and a golf course membership, free housing and a car and driver for the school’s director.

Most strikingly, the plans to build a $15 million school for about 400 girls in the poor southeastern African country of 15 million — which had drawn financial support from Hollywood and society circles, as well as the Los Angeles-based Kabbalah Centre International, an organization devoted to Jewish mysticism — have been officially abandoned.

That prospective move set off a fierce backlash when first raised earlier this year, with Malawi officials saying they were stunned and asserting that Madonna was blaming management breakdowns because she had been unable to raise the money she had promised.

“A thoughtful decision has been made to discontinue plans for the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls, as it was originally conceived,” Michael Berg, a co-director of the Kabbalah Centre and the co-founder of Raising Malawi, said Thursday in an e-mail to the center’s members who had contributed to the project. The e-mail announced the replacement of the board of directors.

Madonna has lent her name, reputation and $11 million of her money to the organization that she founded with Mr. Berg. She has been a regular visitor to Malawi, attending at least two ceremonies at what would have been the site of the school in Lilongwe, and has adopted two children from the country.

On Thursday, in conceding the shortcomings of her charity, Madonna issued a statement saying she was still intent on using the organization, which has raised $18 million so far, to advance improvements in the beleaguered nation.

“There’s a real education crisis in Malawi,” she said. “Sixty-seven percent of girls don’t go to secondary school, and this is simply unacceptable. Our team is going to work hard to address this in every way we can.” She and her aides offered no explanation of why, given her high interest in the project, she had not noticed the problems as they began unfolding.

Trevor Neilson, a founder of the Global Philanthropy Group, which Madonna recruited last November amid signs of upheaval at her charity, said he told her that building an expensive school in Malawi was an ineffective form of philanthropy, and suggested instead using resources to finance education programs though existing and proven nongovernmental organizations.

Mr. Neilson said that an examination found that $3.8 million had been spent on the school that will now not be built, with much of the money going to architects, design and salaries and, in one case, two cars for employees who had not even been hired yet.

“Despite $3.8 million having been spent by the previous management team, the project has not broken ground, there was no title to the land and there was, over all, a startling lack of accountability on the part of the management team in Malawi and the management team in the United States,” he said. “We have yet to determine exactly what happened to all of that $3.8 million. We have not accounted for all the funds that were used.”

A written report by the Global Philanthropy Group, a copy of which was provided Thursday by the Kabbalah Centre, was critical of two former officials of the organization: Philippe van den Bossche, who has worked for Madonna since 2004 and was the executive director of Raising Malawi from 2005 until October, and Anjimile Oponyo, who worked at the United Nations Development Program when she was chosen last year to head the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls.

Ms. Oponyo said that she was barred from talking about her association with the foundation, and that she could not comment on the allegations in the report of mismanagement — including whether she benefited from an extravagant compensation package that included that car and driver and golf club membership.

In an e-mail, Mr. van den Bossche said he, too, was prohibited from commenting; Madonna has a history of confidentiality agreements with employees.

“I am strictly bound by the confidentiality agreements and I am forced by those agreements to be silent on any of these questions,” Mr. van den Bossche said.

Mr. Neilson said that Madonna was involved in a film project — she is directing a movie about King Edward VIII — and was not available for an interview. But in a statement, Madonna said she was pleased with other work that Raising Malawi had done in helping children in Malawi, even as she acknowledged its problems. “While I’m proud of these accomplishments, I’m frustrated that our education work has not moved forward in a faster way,” she said.

Raising Malawi will not disband and will instead use its money in different ways to help the poor in a country where Madonna has sought to become a major philanthropic presence, foundation officials said.

Madonna attended a fund-raiser hosted by Gucci in New York in 2008, whose guests also included Tom Cruise and Gwyneth Paltrow, and was on hand for what turned out to be a purely ceremonial groundbreaking and the laying off the first brick at the school. Other donors to the project include the Yankee Alex Rodriguez.

The report faulted Mr. van den Bossche for his roles both in overseeing the planning of the building and in creating the educational curriculum. “Philippe’s level of mismanagement and lack of oversight was extreme in both aspects of the project,” it said, “and the lack of success of the players on the ground is in large part a result of his inability to effectively manage project plans, people and finances.”

The report was similarly critical of Ms. Oponyo. “Her charisma masks a lack of substantive knowledge of the practical application of educational development,” it said, “and her weak management skills are a major contributor to the current financial and programmatic chaos.”

nytimes.com

Marie Digby is newest 'ASAP' member

MANILA, Philippines – International acoustic singer Marie Digby is joining the local music scene.

Digby, who was linked to hunk actor-singer Sam Milby, is the newest member of musical variety show “ASAP Rocks.” She will also do a recording under ABS-CBN Star Records.

In her interview with ABS-CBN News, Digby disclosed that she would love to do a duet with KC Concepcion and Milby.

Digby is also open to doing hosting job, citing her experience as an emcee of beauty pageant Miss Earth 2010 in Vietnam. She, however, said that her top priority is her music.

As for acting, she said: “I don’t know if I can act.”

Digby on Wednesday night performed during the welcome reception held for the 40 Binibining Pilipinas candidates. The event was attended by ABS-CBN bosses led by chairman and chief executive officer Eugenio Lopez III and president Charo Santos-Concio.

When asked about her impression of the candidates, Digby said: “The girls are lovely. They’re not only beautiful but they have so much personality and I’ve gotten the chance to speak with some of them. And I think this year, it would be tough to pick a winner.”

Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. president Stella Marquez-Araneta, designer Pitoy Moreno and beauty queens Miriam Quiambao, Venus Raj and Krista Kleiner were also present during the welcome reception.

The coronation night of Binibining Pilipinas 2011 will be held on April 10 at the Araneta Coliseum, and it will be aired live on ABS-CBN.

Japan aid

From Japan, Digby is moving here to grab the opportunity "to work and then give back" to the quake and tsunami-hit country. Although she is miles away from Japan, the singer, who became popular on YouTube via her own version of Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” vowed to help through her music.

“My goal in coming here in Manila is not just to make music and meet my friends, it’s about what I can do to help Japan,” she said.

Her parents are also coming here from Tokyo to “visit me and make sure I’m okay and I’m settled. And also they want to get out of Japan as well.”

“I’ll be honest I’m concerned about my friends and family in Japan because they’re scared of radiation and nuclear plant. My parents are still in Japan so they’ll be coming here in Manila,” she added.

Digby and her mom were inside an elevator when a 9-magnitude earthquake struck Japan. She said they were lucky to be in a secure building when it happened.

ABS-CBN News