Straits Times Interactive - LIFESTYLE

Sakai gets suspended term

9 Nov 2009 06:20 GMT

TOKYO - JAPANESE pop star Noriko Sakai was handed a suspended jail term of 18 months for illegal drug use as thousands gathered in a bid to witness the court's decision on Monday.

The Tokyo District Court suspended the jail term for Sakai, 38, for three years, after which it will be dropped if she stays crime-free.

Aussie fans upset Britney

9 Nov 2009 03:46 GMT

CANBERRA - BRITNEY Spears has done it again, hitting the headlines during her first Australian tour over a row about lip-synching and a lacklustre performance that her tour promoter said had left her 'extremely upset'.

Church becomes doghouse

9 Nov 2009 02:05 GMT

LOS ANGELES - WHEN the Reverend Tom Eggebeen took over as interim pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church three years ago, he looked around and knew it needed a jump start.

Most of his worshippers, though devoted, were in their 60s, attendance had bottomed out and the once-vibrant church was fading as a community touchstone in its bustling neighbourhood.

JLS tops British charts

9 Nov 2009 00:04 GMT

LONDON - BOYBAND JLS have delivered a third successive British number one by an X Factor performer after topping the pop charts with their second single Everybody in Love on Sunday.

Runners-up on the hit British TV talent show last year, JLS knocked Cheryl Cole, a judge on the show, off pole position to become the first British act since 2006 to have had two number one singles in the same year, the Official Charts Company said.

'Christmas Carol' tops box office

8 Nov 2009 22:55 GMT

LOS ANGELES - WITH more than 40 shopping days left until Christmas, North American theater audiences already had enough holiday cheer to put Disney's A Christmas Carol at the top of the box office this week.

Early estimates on Sunday by box office tracker Exhibitor Relations showed the adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic tale, featuring Jim Carey as Ebenezer Scrooge, earned US$31 million (S$43 million) in first week in theaters.

What's on: Mon's picks

8 Nov 2009 22:00 GMT

What's On: Life! picks for Monday