News Makers

Nation's founder leaves hospital

Lee Kuan Yew, 84-year-old founder of modern Singapore, left hospital yesterday after undergoing successful treatment for an abnormal heart rhythm, state media reported.

Doctors advised Lee to resume his official schedule gradually, said in a statement from his office.

Lee still holds the advisory post of minister mentor in the cabinet of his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and remains involved in politics. His party has dominated Singapore life for more than 40 years.

Lee had been admitted to hospital on Saturday and treated for "atrial flutter", his press secretary said.

TV host hits out immigration

TV game show host Noel Edmonds has made controversial comments about immigration, saying there are too many migrants to Britain and they are draining national resources.

"We can all go down the pub and go, 'Oh it's terrible, all these immigrants.' But what are we going to do in Britain to change this toxic culture if we don't say, 'Enough is enough,'" the popular presenter said yesterday.

"I'm very straightforward on immigration. The bus is full," he said. "We haven't got enough energy, we haven't got enough electricity, we haven't got enough of a health service."

The comments by one of the country's most widely watched entertainers are likely to spark debate.

Britain has welcomed millions of new migrants to its shores in recent years, especially those from east European countries that are now members of the European Union.

Wax Hitler back to Berlin museum

A restored waxwork of Adolf Hitler has returned to Berlin's Madame Tussauds after a demonstrator ripped off its head when it went on show two months ago, the museum said yesterday.

Minutes after the museum opened in July, a former Berlin police officer scuffled with guards and leapt over a rope before tearing off the head of the wax model of the Nazi leader.

Madame Tussauds said the figure had been returned to a room featuring a mock bunker, where visitors could see the figure from behind glass windows but not touch it.

The waxwork shows a despondent-looking Hitler staring in front of him, his hair slightly dishevelled.

The wax Hitler had sparked a heated debate in Germany even before it went on display in July. Critics argued it was tasteless to display the replica of the man who unleashed World War II and ordered the extermination of Europe's Jews.

Madame Tussauds said the museum avoided politics.

"As we've explained from the start, Adolf Hitler stands for a significant part of German history and his waxwork therefore is a legitimate part of our exhibition, which we had confirmed through local polls," the museum said in a statement.

The 41-year-old who beheaded Hitler had shouted "No more war!" as he tore off the head.

Screen idols Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have moved to the top of the Hollywood power league toppling Tom Cruise and Jennifer Aniston, Guinness World Records said yesterday.

The power couple, collectively dubbed Brangelina, were judged to have hit the pinnacle of power by a combination of Internet searches, press stories and earnings, the lexicon of the world's superlatives said in its latest edition.

But while Pitt and Jolie bask in their fame and power, they are not the most searched people on the Internet.

That dubious distinction goes to fallen pop princess Britney Spears whose erratic behavior helped her take back the crown from Paris Hilton.

It is a far cry from Spears' early record-grabbing career which included best-selling teenage artist and best-selling album in the United States by a female artist, although the three MTV awards she picked up last week may mark a turnaround.

Agencies

(China Daily 09/15/2008 page7)