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March 8, 2009

Farrah Fawcett’s final farewell

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The cancer-stricken former Charlie’s Angel leaves her home and family to grasp at a miracle.

Farrah Fawcett has all but given up hope she will survive the experimental stem cell therapy she once believed would save her life, saying goodbye to family and friends for a last attempt at treatment in Germany.

The actress, who gained international fame as Charlie’s Angel Jill Munroe in the late ’70s, recently left the US for what she reportedly fears is the final time.

Farrah, 62, was so sure she would not be returning to her Los Angeles home that she even let go her employees before leaving for the radical treatment. “She has told friends it is likely she won’t come back. She is exhausted and very ill,” a friend told Britain’s Sunday Mirror newspaper.

In a desperate effort to defy her LA doctors’ reported prognosis that she has just weeks to live, Farrah has returned to Germany for alternative therapies.

“She’s a hero. She’s fought so hard and so long, but she finds it very hard to go on with so many treatments,” the friend said. “It’s been a few years now since she’s had a normal life where she can just be herself.”

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Celebrity News

March 8, 2009

Katie Holmes: ‘I’m just a normal mum’

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The actress hits back at attacks on her looks, insisting she’s simply a busy working mum.

Katie Holmes has hit out at cruel criticism of her looks, amid mounting concerns about her rail-thin figure and increasingly tired appearance.

Following a string of unflattering US magazine reports, the 30-year-old wife of Tom Cruise has hit back at accusations that she’s too thin and haggard, telling friends she’s just an ordinary working mum struggling to find enough time in the day to take care of herself, as well as rambunctious toddler Suri.

“I feel really, really lucky. I feel the best response [to unflattering reports] is just going about my life: enjoying life, making movies, being a good mom and a good wife, and focusing on that,” she told US magazine Glamour.

In the past two months, Katie has gone straight from performing a gruelling eight-show-a-week stint on Broadway to travelling around the world to help promote Tom’s movie Valkyrie, and is now back on a movie set shooting The Extra Man in New York.

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Celebrity News

March 8, 2009

Bec and Lleyton: It’s over… Why their fairytale life is coming to an end

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Following a string of disappointments on and off the court, Bec and Lleyton’s fairytale existence has come crashing down around them.

The marriage of Bec and Lleyton Hewitt is facing its toughest battle as they cope with a series of disappointments while separated from their family and friends.

Lleyton’s tennis career looks to be on increasingly shaky ground, with some fearing his time as a player on the world circuit is over.

He’s still hurting after his performance at the Australian Open in January, where he was knocked out in the first round. Tennis insiders worry that he may have pushed himself too hard after a hip operation just five months before.

To add to Lleyton’s woes, he now faces a multi-million dollar court case with his former management company, which claims he owes them a larger cut of his earnings, while Bec and Lleyton’s business, eSwap, also appears to be struggling.

To make things harder, the Hewitts don’t even have their friends and family close by, as Lleyton decided to move his wife and children to Dallas in the US just weeks after the birth of baby Cruz.

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Celebrity News

March 8, 2009

Miranda and Orlando’s romantic Aussie break

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Talk of a special announcement builds for the lovebirds, amid a string of passionate clinches.

Aussie supermodel Miranda Kerr and her actor beau Orlando Bloom have added fuel to rumours an engagement is on the cards during their romantic break Down Under. The passionate couple have been showering each other with public displays of affection, as Orlando accompanies his 25-year-old love on her tour for retailer David Jones.

While in Sydney, Orlando couldn’t keep his hands off his girl, taking her in his arms on their hotel room balcony for a long, steamy embrace. Miranda, dressed in a shoulder-baring blue dress, appeared ready to leave for an event, but it was clear her boyfriend had other things on his mind.

“He is gorgeous isn’t he? He really is a sweetheart,” the girl from the NSW country town of Gunnedah has previously enthused.

The loved-up pair have rarely strayed from each other’s side during their visit. Orlando, 32, has become a regular front-row fixture at his girlfriend’s fashion shows. They’ve also had time to sneak away for a string of romantic dates, including a picnic at Victoria’s famous Bells Beach and a cosy lunch at the Stokehouse restaurant in St Kilda.

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Real Life

March 8, 2009

I’m a rent-a-gran!

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Patricia Gilchrist discovered a little girl who needed a nanna, so she applied for the job.

As 12-year-old Louise runs around the garden happily calling out to her nanna, the pair look like any other grandmother and granddaughter enjoying an afternoon together.

But Patricia Gilchrist is no ordinary grandma ? she’s Louise’s rent-a-gran.

Patricia has been Louise’s “nanna” for four years, after Louise’s mum Ushi, a single parent with no family nearby for support, decided Louise needed an older maternal figure in her life.

They found each other through a charity called Aunties & Uncles, which matches up caring adults with disadvantaged children. Now, after four years, Pat and Louise can’t imagine their lives without each other.

“Louise is a beautiful girl,” Pat says proudly. “It’s a delight to have her in my life.”

Pat, 60, has three children and four grandchildren of her own, but wanted to open up her life to a child who didn’t have the luxury of coming from a large family.

“I thought it would be lovely to help a child who really needed another adult in their life,” she says. “I approached Aunties & Uncles, who interviewed me and my husband John.”

Aunties & Uncles celebrates its 35th birthday this year. For more information go to www.auntiesanduncles.com.au

For the full story, see this week’s Woman’s Day (on sale March 9).

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Real Life

March 4, 2009

I caught my fiance’s mum having an affair

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I had been with my partner, Dale, for 7 years. We shared everything, told each everything, we trusted each other no matter what. That all changed on one particular weekend.

Dale and I lived with his parents as we were trying to save for our first house deposit. His parents lived in a huge home and we stayed in one of their five spare bedrooms. Even though the house was huge, we always spent most of our time with his parents as Dale was very close to them both.

From the day I met them, I could tell that Dale’s parents had marital problems. Fights and abuse was a regular occurrence in their house. At first I found it really difficult and awkward being around that. I came from a close family and had never witnessed that type of relationship.

Dale was close with both parents but their constant bickering put a lot of strain on his relationship with them. Dale was always trying to mend the rough patches between them and it started to affect our relationship. I know it was wrong of me to think like that, but Dale and I were trying to start our own life without having to worry about his parents.

One weekend, I decided to go out for lunch with friends. I was having a great time and was really enjoying myself. But then I saw something which made my stomach turn and I knew I must have turned totally white with shock. Over at the other restaurant I could see Dale’s mum intimately touching, kissing and holding hands with another man.

She was sneakily tucked away in the back of the restaurant but I could still recognise her. I was dumbfounded. I couldn’t believe my eyes. My mother-in-law was blatantly cheating on Dale’s father and appeared to be having the time of her life.

I excused myself from lunch and told my friends that I was getting a terrible migraine. I rushed home not sure what to do. Dale’s father was home and looked happy for once and felt so terrible about what I just saw.

Dale came home an hour later and I pretended everything was fine. He asked me how lunch was and, at that moment, was about to disclose what I saw when his mum came home and looked so happy. She even gave Dale’s dad a big welcoming cuddle.

I couldn’t bring myself to tell him. As I looked at his parents, actually smiling at each other for once, and then looked at Dale at how relieved he was to see his family happy, I couldn’t do it. I thought that, perhaps, whatever she was doing was taking the pressure off her relationship. Maybe it was doing them some good, and who was I to stick my nose in their business? I told Dale that lunch was OK — apart from my headache.

The next day, Dale’s mum said she had to go to the shops to run some errands and I couldn’t help but wonder what she was really up to. I felt a pang of guilt and started to rethink my decision to hide the truth. But I knew if I mentioned it now, Dale would be so mad at me for not saying anything sooner — not to mention the fact that his parents were finally getting along.

As selfish as it sounds, Dale and I had finally been getting along well again too — there wasn’t the added pressure of his parents fighting all the time with Dale acting as mediator. It was nice to concentrate on our own relationship for once.

It has been six months since I spotted Dale’s mum at lunch and I can’t say that things have improved for his parents. In fact, they are now discussing separation and possibly selling their home. Soon we’ll need to find a place to rent.

I still haven’t mentioned it to Dale and I do feel very guilty about that. I convinced myself that it was better for all of them to withhold the truth, but in fact I was mainly thinking of myself and my situation. The sad thing is, no one knows the actual reason behind the split for Dale’s mum… and me.

Names have been changed. Picture posed by models.

Your say: Have your say about this true confession below…

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Health

March 4, 2009

Two hours of TV per day increases risk of asthma in kids

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Sitting your kids down in front of the television could be more harmful than you think, new research shows.

Children who watch more than two hours of television a day have twice as much chance of developing asthma as those who watch less than this. This new research conducted by the Medical Research Council in Britain doesn’t suggest that watching TV actually causes asthma, but rather that a more sedentary lifestyle like watching TV, makes asthma more likely to develop in young children.

More than 3000 children were assessed from birth to the age of 12 to determine a link between a less active lifestyle and the development of asthma-related symptoms. Researchers say that there has been a recent suggestion that breathing patterns associated with a sedentary behavior, like watching TV, could lead to developmental changes in the lungs and wheezing illnesses in children.

Parents were questioned about their children’s symptoms while the study also looked at how much television these children watched. Researchers added that other types of sedentary behaviour like video and computer games weren’t studied because of their lack of popularity in the 1990’s when these children were growing up.

The study discovered that around 6 per cent of children who had no symptoms of asthma growing up had developed the condition by the age of 12 years and that those who watched more than 2 hours of TV per day had a 50 per cent higher risk of getting asthma.

While studies looking into the connection between physical activity and asthma have produced mixed results, Elaine Vickers of Asthma UK told The Guardian newspaper in the UK that “this study is the first to directly link sedentary behavior at a very young age to a higher risk of asthma later in childhood” and that the study “adds to a wealth of evidence linking a lack of exercise and being overweight with an increased risk of asthma.”

On the other hand, some studies have actually suggested an increased chance of asthma in children who spend a lot of time outdoors doing physical activities inhaling certain polutants. So while as many as 30 per cent of children are developing asthma in some countries, according to the World Health Association, further study is obviously required into these types of lifestyle behaviours and the associated risks in developing this life-threatening inflammatory disease.

Your Say: Does your child lead an active life or watch too much TV? Do you think this has a bearing on the likelihood of them developing asthma? Tell us your thoughts below…

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Celebrity News

March 2, 2009

Pauline Hanson’s TV dummy-spit

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During the interview which aired last night, Pauline stormed out after reporter Laura Sparks quizzed her on election donations, asking Pauline if she was “in it for the money.”

“What has happened to this money? …in ’98 the AEC returns found that you’d received $75,824 in donations but you only declared $8,000 of them?”

Laura continued her line of questioning, but Pauline rose from her seat, ready to storm out.

“Why do you do it?” Pauline retorted. “Why do we not talk about it any other time except at election?…

“That’s why I hate dealing with the bloody media. They treat me totally different to every other bloody candidate that stands and yes wonder why I bother to go through all of this.”

Pauline stood in 2004 and 2007 as an independent and with her own Pauline United Australia party. During these campaigns she received $413,000 tax free. When questioned what she had done with this money, Pauline refused to answer.

When asked about her plans if elected, Pauline suggested that our freedom to choose is being compromised.

“We are having things forced upon us, we are not being asked, it’s like forced fluoride in water, recycled water, forced amalgamation, I would like to see and I will oppose any privatisation in water because I think that’s where it’s going and infrastructure or anything the government control for the people.”

In 1997, Pauline ruffled feathers and rose to notoriety in Australian politics in her controversial maiden address, in which she claimed Australia was at the risk of “being swamped by Asians”.

When Today Tonight asked Pauline if she still feels this way, Pauline responded: “I delivered that speech in 1997; a lot has changed since then. This is a state campaign. I’m dealing with state issues.”

However, the politician also says that she hasn’t changed from the day she first walked onto parliament in 1996.

Warwick, meanwhile, thinks “politics is fun”.

“I’m doing it for a bit of fun. I think politics is fun,” Warwick told Sunrise, adding that he challenges his opponent Pauline to a cook-off.

“Her fish and chips versus my Warwick Capper-cinos,” he said.

“At least I’m honest,” says Warwick. “I’ll be out there with the leather pants and the Zoo girls.”

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Health

March 2, 2009

Prevent one third of cancer with a healthier lifestyle

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Eating more fruit and vegetables and consuming less red meat and alcohol could prevent thousands of incidences of cancers each year, according to a major new study.

The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) discovered that 12 major types of cancer, including breast, bowel, stomach and pancreatic cancers, could be reduced by 39 per cent simply by adopting a healthier lifestyle.

The report — Policy and Action for Cancer Prevention — was written by 23 leading experts from around the world and found that 43 per cent of bowel cancer, 42 per cent of breast cancer, 67 per cent of cases of mouth, pharynx and larynx cancer, 75 per cent of oesophagus cancer, 19 per cent of kidney cancer, 45 per cent of stomach cancer and 41 per cent of pancreatic cancer could all be reduced by making some simple diet and lifestyle changes.

All of these major types of cancers could benefit from increasing fruit and vegatable intake and some could be avoided by reducing salt (stomach cancer), keeping body weight in check (pancreatic, bowel, kidney and breast cancers), increasing foods that contain folate such as brown rice, green vegetables and fortified cereals (pancreatic cancer), and cutting down on alcohol.

The WCRF suggests that people should eat five portions of fruit and vegetables per day, be active for at least 30 minutes, avoid sugary drinks and cut down on processed foods high in added sugar or fat, or low in fibre. People should also limit red meats (such as beef, pork and lamb) and avoid processed meats (like bacon and hams and some sausages and burgers.). Two standard units of alcohol is the limit for men and women should have no more than one, while everyone should watch their salt intake and supplement their diet with a good multivitamin.

Professor Sir Michael Marmot, chair of the WCRF panel, said: “This report shows that by making relatively straightforward changes, we could significantly reduce the number of cancer cases around the world.” The report suggests that it is on the shoulders of worldwide governments, media, industry, individuals and workplaces to encourage these simple lifestyle changes and healthy eating habits.

Increases in cancer rates seem inevitable within the ageing population with obesity rates hitting all-time highs and people becoming more sedentary and consuming large amounts of junk and processed foods. However Professor Martin Wiseman, project director of the report, said that while estimating the proportion of preventable cancer cases is “complex and challenging”, he added in light of this new research that “the good news is that this is not inevitable and we still have the chance to avert a crisis before it is too late.”

Your Say: Will you be making these simple dietary and lifestyle changes to help keep cancer at bay in light of this new research? Tell us below…

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Celebrity News

March 1, 2009

Prince Harry and Natalie Imbruglia: Shock new romance

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Just weeks after splitting with Chelsy Davy, Prince Harry woos Aussie pop star Natalie Imbruglia.

Prince Harry may not be mending his broken heart alone, with royal circles abuzz with the news that the hard-partying Prince has struck up a “close friendship” with Australian pop singer Natalie Imbruglia.

Just weeks after he was dumped by long-time girlfriend Chelsy Davy, Harry, 24, is in frequent contact with London-based Natalie, after becoming acquainted with the stunning singer early last month.

Insiders say the couple have exchanged a series of flirty text messages since hooking up at Natalie’s 34th birthday party on February 6 — two weeks after his split from Chelsy went public.

While Clarence House has refused to comment on the romance, sources say the pair have become virtually inseparable since Harry was a surprise guest of honour at Natalie’s fancy dress birthday bash, held at London’s fashionable Kensington Roof Gardens nightclub.

Dressed as a surgeon, onlookers say Harry slipped into the A-list event unnoticed before spending the night chatting to Natalie, who he met through mutual friend Sam Branson, 23, the son of multi-millionaire Virgin boss Richard Branson.

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