Hollywood star George Clooney and his girlfriend Sarah Larson have split up after dating for about a year, People magazine reported on its website, citing an unidentified source.

MADRID, April 19, 2008 (AFP) - Boycotting the Beijing Olympic Games to try to pressure China into taking action to stop the violence in Sudan's war-torn region of Darfur would be 'excessive', said US actor George Clooney in an interview published Saturday in Spain.

LOS ANGELES, April 2, 2008 (AFP) - George Clooney may be one of the elite Hollywood stars to have earned Oscar nominations for acting and film-making, but the iconic heart-throb is still getting used to directing himself.

LONDON, March 11, 2008 (AFP) - Box-office favourite George Clooney is stepping up the pressure on one of the main Olympic sponsors to take a stand over China's foreign policy, the BBC reported on Tuesday.

A longtime critic of China's role in the Darfur crisis in Sudan, Clooney advertises Omega Watches, one of the worldwide partners for Beijing 2008.

LOS ANGELES, Feb 21, 2008 (AFP) - Hollywood icon George Clooney has written off his chances of winning the best actor prize at Sunday's Academy Awards, branding himself the 'Hillary Clinton of the Oscars.'

BEVERLY HILLS, California, Feb 4, 2008 (AFP) - Hollywood star George Clooney said he was backing Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama here Monday as Hollywood gathered for a pre-Oscars bash on the eve of 'Super Tuesday.'

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 30, 2008 (AFP) - Oscar-winning actor George Clooney is to visit UN headquarters Thursday for the first time since he was appointed Messenger of Peace of the world body earlier this month, a UN statement said Wednesday.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 30, 2008 (AFP) - Oscar-winning US actor George Clooney, a newly-appointed Messenger of Peace of the United Nations, is to attend a briefing here Thursday on UN peacekeeping missions, including in strife-torn Darfur, a UN statement said Wednesday.

LAGOS, Jan 19, 2008 (AFP) - Nigeria's most prominent armed group Saturday urged George Clooney, the Hollywood actor named the latest UN Messenger of Peace, to work on solving the unrest in the Niger Delta.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 18, 2008 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon has picked Hollywood heart-throb George Clooney, a passionate advocate for an end to war and famine in Sudan's Darfur region, as the world body's latest Messenger of Peace, an official said Friday.

ROME, Dec 13, 2007 (AFP) - Actor George Clooney made a fresh appeal Thursday for action to end the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan, as he and fellow star Don Cheadle received a prize for their work alerting people to the crisis.

DUBAI, Dec 9, 2007 (AFP) - US movie star George Clooney, who has campaigned strongly to end bloodshed in Sudan's Darfur, said on Sunday he hoped the United Arab Emirates could use its influence in the region to help end the conflict.

LOS ANGELES, Nov 20, 2007 (AFP) - George Clooney has spoken out against the tactics of paparazzi 'bounty-hunters,' accusing them of risking the safety of innocent bystanders in their pursuit of celebrity photos.

NEW YORK, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - A US hospital has suspended 27 workers for allegedly leaking news last month that Hollywood star George Clooney had been admitted to the facility after a motorcycle accident, a report said Wednesday.

The Palisades Medical Center in New Jersey suspended the workers without pay for a month, deeming the breach of patient confidentiality as a 'very serious issue,' the New York Post reported.

Oscar-winning Clooney, 46, who broke a rib in the accident on September 21, reportedly said the punishment was unduly harsh.

LONDON, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) - Hollywood actress Michelle Pfeiffer's bet with George Clooney that he will never marry again currently stands at 100,000 dollars (49,000 pounds, 71,000 euros), she said in an interview to be shown Friday.

'I bet him he would get married and he keeps inflating the bet from 100 dollars to 100,000 dollars,' Pfeiffer told the Tonight with Jonathan Ross programme on BBC television.

'I still think he will, he's a handsome devil.'

NEW YORK, Sept 21, 2007 (AFP) - Hollywood heart-throb George Clooney suffered a cracked rib and road rash after a motorcycle accident in New Jersey, his publicist said Friday.

The 46-year-old Oscar-winning actor was travelling with his girlfriend Sarah Larson at the time of the crash in Palisades. Larson, 28, suffered a broken foot in the accident, Clooney's spokesman Stan Rosenfield said.

The couple were treated at the Palisades Medical Center and later released the statement added.

TORONTO, Sept 8, 2007 (AFP) - US movie star George Clooney, who has used his notoriety to call attention to ethnic cleansing in Darfur, said Saturday he was optimistic about upcoming peace talks to end the four-year conflict.

'We're in a position right now where we actually have for the first time a shot at a peace treaty, not only with the government of Khartoum (the capital of Sudan), but with all the warring parties,' said Clooney, following the North American premiere of his film 'Michael Clayton' at the Toronto film festival.

DEAUVILLE, France, Sept 2, 2007 (AFP) - American actor George Clooney thanked France for its efforts in the Darfur crisis Sunday as he accepted a prestigious government award marking his achievements in cinema.

Clooney was presented with the 'Chevalier des Arts et Lettres' medal by French Culture Minister Christine Albanel on the fringes of the American Film Festival in Deauville, France.

Albanel hailed Clooney as the 'quintessence of an American actor,' noting his 'limitless talent' and 'irresistible charm.'

VENICE, Italy, Aug 31, 2007 (AFP) - Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney on Friday showed irritation with a reporter's question how he could reconcile criticizing multinationals with appearing in high-profile ads for Nestle.

Clooney was at the ongoing Venice film festival to present his latest film, the thriller 'Michael Clayton,' in which he plays a 'fixer' for an enormous New York law firm.