SYDNEY, April 2, 2008 (AFP) - A young Australian artist said Wednesday he had turned down lucrative offers for his haunting portrait of the late actor Heath Ledger and would give the painting to the star's mother.

LONDON, April 1, 2008 (AFP) - Paul McCartney's estranged wife Heather Mills is considering trying to get the gagging order lifted on court transcripts from their divorce battle, her lawyer said Tuesday.

'Everyone looks for closure,' said her lawyer David Rosen. 'The question is whether Heather Mills has that closure or not.

PARIS, April 1, 2008 (AFP) - Designer Philippe Starck on Tuesday said he had been named 'artistic director' of France's upcoming EU presidency on the request of Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.

'Bernard Kouchner wants the French presidency to have a very interesting, very creative profile,' Starck told AFP.

FREEPORT, Bahamas, March 31, 2008 (AFP) - A four-month investigation into the death of late Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith's son determined Monday that the 20-year old died from an accidental drug overdose.

KIEV, March 31, 2008 (AFP) - Ukrainian boxer Vitali Klitscho, the former WBC world heavyweight champion, said Monday he would run for the post of mayor of Kiev, Interfax news agency reported Monday.

'I go to the election on behalf of Kievans, I do not represent any political party,' Klitschko was quoted as saying by Interfax.

WASHINGTON, March 31, 2008 (AFP) - On April 4, America marks the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, just as the first black candidate with a viable shot at the White House reinvigorates the late reverend's civil rights 'dream.'

LONDON, March 30, 2008 (AFP) - Mark Thatcher, the son of the former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, has re-married in a low-key ceremony in Gibraltar, the Sunday Telegraph said.

The weekly said the 54-year-old married Sarah Russell, 42, at a register office on the British territory off southern Spain on Thursday with only three friends in attendance.

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2008 (AFP) - Should US President George W. Bush ever tire of his Texas ranch after he leaves office, there's a new place he can call home -- Queensland, Australia.

Thanks to new Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Bush was Friday named an honorary Queenslander as the two men exchanged jokes and warm words during their first White House talks.

PRAGUE, March 28, 2008 (AFP) - British director Alan Parker on Friday attacked a planned remake of his 1980 Oscar-winning blockbuster 'Fame' saying it was almost theft.

Parker, speaking at an appearance at a Prague film festival, complained that he had not been consulted over the plan by Metro Goldwyn Mayer.

TOKYO, March 28, 2008 (AFP) - Takeshi Natsuno, a key brain behind the blockbuster 'i-mode' multimedia function on the phones of Japan's Telecommunication leader NTT DoCoMo Inc., is set to step down, a person in the company said Friday.

'He is going to be leaving the company at the end of April,' an informed source in DoCoMo told AFP.