Joan Rivers's daughter confirmed that the comedian was still on life support yesterday, almost a week after her heart stopped beating during surgery on her vocal cords at a doctor's office in New York. The statement followed reports that suggested the 81-year-old would be taken off life support to evaluate possible damage to her brain. Melissa Rivers said on Tuesday: "At this time she does remain on life support." She added that the family was grateful for the public concern for her mother. Meanwhile, the E! television network has announced that it is putting the show Fashion Police on hold for two weeks. Rivers hosts the show, while her daughter is an executive producer. Rivers was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan last Thursday. – AP
Chris Brown admits to punching man and breaking his nose
The singer Chris Brown has admitted to punching a man in the face outside a Washington hotel. At the time of the incident the singer was on probation for attacking Rihanna, who was his girlfriend when he assaulted her. Brown pleaded guilty to misdemeanour assault and was sentenced to time served. He had spent two days in jail. Brown, 25, admitted to hitting Parker Adams, who suffered a broken nose, after the man tried to get in a picture that the singer was taking with two women last October. As a result, his probation for the 2009 attack on Rihanna was revoked and he was ordered in May to serve an additional 131 days in jail. He was released in June. During the hearing on Tuesday, Brown said: "I would like to say to the court that I'm sorry." He did not comment as he left court. – AP
Justin Bieber faces new charges after car crash
The Canadian pop star Justin Bieber is facing charges of dangerous driving and assault following a collision between two vehicles that led to an argument with a photographer. The Ontario Provincial Police said the singer "engaged in a physical altercation" with an occupant of another vehicle on Friday afternoon near Bieber's hometown of Stratford. "Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez's peaceful retreat in Stratford this weekend was unfortunately disrupted by the unwelcome presence of the paparazzi," said Brian Greenspan, Bieber's lawyer, on Tuesday. Bieber, 20, turned himself in at a police station on Monday and was arrested, then released. He is due to appear in court on September 29. Last month the singer pleaded guilty to careless driving and resisting arrest, seven months after his arrest in Miami Beach following what police initially described as an illegal street drag race. He is also charged in Toronto with assaulting a limousine driver in December and faces a lawsuit in Miami from a photographer who alleges he was roughed up while taking pictures of the singer. In July, Bieber pleaded no contest to a vandalism charge for throwing eggs at a neighbour's house in Los Angeles. – AP
Mary Kom star meets minister in New Delhi
The National Film Award-winning actress Priyanka Chopra has met Nitin Gadkari, the Indian minister for road transport and highways and rural development, ahead of the release of her film Mary Kom, which was inspired by the life of the five-time boxing champion. Chopra was in New Delhi to promote the movie when she took time out to meet the minister on Tuesday. The film has been granted a tax exemption in the states of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh and the actress is hoping that the New Delhi government declares the movie tax-free as well. – IANS
Heart attack kills Survivor singer
Jimi Jamison, the singer with the American rock group Survivor, has died at the age of 63. It is believed that he suffered a heart attack last weekend after returning to his home in Memphis, Tennessee, following a performance in California. Jamison joined Survivor in 1984 after the band's breakout hit Eye of the Tiger, which was chosen as the theme song to the Sylvester Stallone film Rocky III. After Jamison replaced the vocalist Dave Bickler, the band had several more hits, including Burning Heart, from Rocky III, and Is This Love, and remained a popular touring act in recent years. Jamison also co-wrote and sang I'm Always Here, the theme song to the hit television show Baywatch. – AP
Viggo Mortensen invites the Pope to a football match
The Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen, who is a huge fan of the Argentine football club San Lorenzo, wants Pope Francis, who also supports the team, to join him at a match. The actor, who is at the Venice Film Festival for the premiere of Far from Men, took time out from interviews to pose in front of the football team's flag and chat about this year's Fifa Club World Cup. "I want to invite the Pope to see the film and attend the match in Morocco between San Lorenzo and Real Madrid for the Club World Cup," said the 56-year-old. The Danish-American actor was born in New York but moved to Venezuela before settling in Argentina, where his father managed chicken farms. The Pope has been a fan of the Buenos Aires team since he was a boy. – AFP
