Leslie Nielsen Dead At 84 – The funnyman who Roger Ebert once referred to as the “Laurence Olivier of spoofs” passed away after suffering complications from pneumonia. Nielsen’s nephew told CJOB that the actor had been in the hospital in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for 12 days and that with family and friends by his side at 5:30pm Sunday “he just fell asleep and passed away.” [popeater]

Winnie Helped US Officials Access Madiba – The set of US embassy cables released by Wikileaks this weekend that sent shockwaves through the world, has a South African twist. They reveal that senior ANC members gave confidential information about the inner workings of the ANC to the US government before the 1994 elections with ANC stalwart Winnie Madikizela-Mandela seemingly helping US officials gain access to Madiba. No word of Stompie. [mail&guardian]

Celebs Snub Metro FM Opening Bash – This weekend’s Metro FM awards ceremony kicked off with controversy – organisers from the sponsoring radio station were left fuming when celebs skipped their opening bash for another, hosted by Universal Records. Organisers of the awards, which began with a train trip to Nelspruit on Thursday night, were furious that the celebrities attended the rival party on Friday night, even though Metro FM had paid their travelling expenses. [timeslive]

Tony Yengeni Back In The Spotlight – ANC bigwig Tony Yengeni’s ­troubles with flashy cars and the estate of murdered mining magnate Brett Kebble seem to have no end.The trustees, who claim that Yengeni owes the Kebble estate R260 000, are reviving their inquiries into his wealth after recent disclosures in City Press about the politician’s illegally acquired company directorships and his fleet of cars worth several million rands. [news24]

Skype Video Chat Coming To Facebook? – Even before Skype revealed a deep Facebook integration last month, there was speculation that Facebook might add Skype video chat functionality within the social networking site. Although that hasn’t happened yet, Facebook application developer Tal Ater has rekindled speculation around the idea in spotting a “VideoChat” object in Facebook’s code. [mashable]

Prince William Wants Charles To Be King – In an attempt to end the debate over the issue of succession, Prince William has signalled that there is “no question” about whether his father will be the next monarch, despite his surge in popularity following his engagement to Kate Middleton. Royal aides insist that Prince William has “no desire to climb the ladder of kingship” prematurely. [telegraph]

Brazilian Drug Lord Is A Huge Justin Bieber Fan – Some 2,600 police and army operatives swept through a Brazilian slum on Sunday, seizing 11 tons of marijuana and “a small arsenal” of weapons—including a missile—from a notorious drug gang. They also found a Justin Bieber mural.Pezao, whom The Guardian describes as “one of the area’s top traffickers,” is apparently also one of the area’s top Justin Bieber fans. Brazilian news outlet R7 published the following photo.. [gawker]

South Korea-US Military Exercises Stoke Tensions – There is high tension on the Korean peninsula as the US and South Korea carry out military drills, five days after the North shelled an island. Residents of the island – Yeonpyeong – were briefly ordered to shelters on Sunday after new shellfire was heard and Seoul asked journalists to leave. Shortly after the exercises began, North Korea again vowed to hit back if its waters were violated. [bbc]

North Korea Readies Missiles As China Seeks Talks – North Korea has placed surface-to-surface missiles on launch pads in the Yellow Sea, Yonhap news agency said, as the United States and South Korea began military drills and China called for emergency talks.China made clear that the talks would not amount to a resumption of six-party disarmament discussions which North Korea walked out of two years ago and declared dead. [reuters]

Taylor Swift Takes Jake Gyllenhaal Home – Taylor Swift and Jake Gyllenhaal have further fuelled rumors they are a couple after the pair was snapped enjoying a Coffee Shop date in the singer’s adopted hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. The hunky actor and country sweetheart have been romantically linked since they were seen walking hand-in-hand during a walk round Brooklyn, New York in October. Shit, I had no idea. [musicfi]

Madoff Relatives Sued For $69 Million – The trustee seeking to recover money for people who were defrauded by Bernard L. Madoff filed lawsuits Friday against investors, employees and Madoff family members.Irving H. Picard, appointed trustee by a federal bankruptcy court, filed 40 lawsuits seeking $69 million against people who he said had invested with Mr. Madoff and withdrawn more money than they contributed. [nytimes]

Celebrity Twitpics – It’s that time again, when we delve into the celeb world of Twitter and check out some of the private tweets that were sent out into the Twitterverse. This weeks gaggle includes Martha Stewart, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sarah Palin, Ryan Seacrest, Rihanna, Snoop Dogg, Ben Stiller and many more! [dailybeast]

EU Approves $113 Billion Bailout For Ireland – EU nations agreed an euro85 billion ($113 billion) bailout deal for Ireland on Sunday to help the debt-struck country with its banking crisis, and sketched out new rules for future emergencies in an effort to restore faith in the euro currency.According to a statement by the Irish government, the country will take euro10 billion immediately to boost the capital reserves of its banks. Another euro25 billion earmarked for the banks will remain in reserve. [businessweek]

Willie Nelson Arrested For Pot Possession – Willie Nelson was arrested this weekend at a border patrol checkpoint in Sierra Blanca, Texas after agents reportedly found 6 ounces of marijuana on his tour bus. Mickey Raphael, Nelson’s longtime harmonica player, tells Rolling Stone that the singer, who posted a $2,500 bond was freed by 1:30 p.m. yesterday, is in good spirits. “He said he feels great — he lost six ounces.” [rollingstone]

Gaddafi’s ‘Cultural’ Tours To Libya For Italian Models Revealed In Diary – The travel diary of a Roman model has provided a compelling insight into bizarre “cultural visits” arranged by the Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, for scores of attractive young women from Italy. Maria M, aged 28, tells of a lavish trip to the Libyan desert in October after she was recruited by the agency Hostessweb. In her diary Maria tells of an eccentric week-long tour for which she and 19 other young women were reportedly each paid €3,000. [guardian]

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