South africa Furious Over Joke Anthem – South Africa’s rugby team has accused France of “disrespecting” their country’s national anthem at the start of Friday’s test match in Toulouse. The vice-captain of the Springboks called the rendition a “joke” after the singer forgot some of the lyrics and struggled to hit the high notes. [bbc]

‘2012’ explodes with $225 million worldwide box office – The 162-minute disaster epic, which got a love-hate reaction from critics (loved the special effects, hated the script), blew away the competition and took in $65 million in North America in its opening weekend and $160 million worldwide. All totaled, the Roland Emmerich movie, which cost $200 million to make (and tens of millions more to market) grossed $225 million. [latimes]

Texan Drives $1 Million Car Into Marshes – A man blamed a low-flying pelican and a dropped cell phone for his veering his million-dollar sports car off a road and into a salt marsh near Galveston. The accident happened about 3 p.m. Wednesday on the frontage road of Interstate 45 northbound in La Marque, about 35 miles southeast of Houston. [story / video]

Lara Stone: Model and Vogue’s Girl of the Year – Lara Stone is proclaimed “the girl of the year” on the cover of December’s Wonderful issue of Vogue. Inside, Mario Testino calls her “the embodiment of beauty”, while writer Vassi Chamberlain says that “not since Corrine Day’s photographs of a young Kate Moss 16 years ago have a model’s face and body been the subject of so much attention. [vogue]

Madoff Auction Brings in $1Million – Items belonging to the disgraced financier Bernard Madoff fetched around $ 1 million at an auction in New York, twice as much as originally thought — and the money earned is going back to some of his victims.
 
Around 200 items — ranging from a half-used sticky pad to expensive jewelry — were auctioned off in the grand ballroom at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers. [nbcny]

Nicole Kidman Shows Off Curves at Country Music Awards – The Australian actress, 42, racheted up the sizzle factor at the country music awards in Nashville in a stand-out look as she proudly accompanied country singer husband Keith Urban, who was one of the nominees. Slender Nicole looked in danger of spilling out of her gorgeous magenta dress which hugged figure, and showcased her stunning rarely seen curves. [dailymail]

Will Twitter be TIME’s Person of the Year? – Once upon a time Time magazine picked a “Man of the Year” to ensure a guaranteed big story in the often lackluster holiday season. That honor became a “Person of the Year” in 1981, when a man won anyway. Anyway, it was a long overdue fix since Time had in 1975 named “American Women” as its “Man of the Year,” there apparently being not a solo woman with sufficient gravitas on the planet that year. [wired]

Brad & Angelina Spend Saturday Night Together at Gala – Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt stepped out together in LA last night to attend the MOCA 30th Anniversary Gala. The couple has been dealing with even more rumors than usual this week after she landed on the cover of a handful of magazines amid reports that she is trying to adopt again. [popsugar]

NASA Finds ‘Significant’ Water on the Moon – NASA said Friday it had discovered water on the moon, opening “a new chapter” that could allow for the development of a lunar space station. The discovery was announced by project scientist Anthony Colaprete at a midday news conference. “I’m here today to tell you that indeed, yes, we found water. And we didn’t find just a little bit; we found a significant amount” [cnn]

Joe Perry: Aerosmith’s Problems are Far From Over – When Steven Tyler joined Joe Perry onstage last night in New York to sing “Walk This Way” — and announced he wasn’t quitting Aerosmith — it seemed like the troubled group’s problems might be over. But Rolling Stone has learned that things are far from settled within the band. [rollingstone]

Russian Crime Gangs Make Millions Selling Fake Swine Flu Drugs – People anxious they may not be able to obtain the drug through the NHS may be lining the pockets of overseas conmen, it is claimed. Research by computer security firm Sophos found that organised criminal networks are driving online shoppers to dodgy virtual pharmacies in return for a share of the profits. [sky]

Elton John to Tour SA in 2010 – The Live Under African Skies picnic concerts will be held in Johannesburg on March 21, March 24 in Durban and March 26 in Port Elizabeth. He will also perform at the Val De Vie Wine and Polo Estate in the picturesque Paarl/Franschhoek valley on March 28 2010. [times]

The 50 Best Inventions of 2009 – From a rocket of the future to a $10 million lightbulb, here are TIME’s picks for the best new gadgets and breakthrough ideas of the year. [time]

[thenks ryan]