World Vignettes

The French are enjoying a good laugh at the expense of Sarkozy,particularly after it emerged that a photo of him chipping at the Berlin...

After Sarkozy posts Berlin snap,spoofs keep France in splits

LONDON: The French are enjoying a good laugh at the expense of Sarkozy,particularly after it emerged that a photo of him chipping at the Berlin Wall on November 9,1989,which the President posted on his Facebook site last week,was taken at least one day later,The Sunday Times reported. Sarkozys desire to be at the centre of events has now been parodied in a series of spoof photographs,showing him leading the French to victory in the 1998 Football World Cup and storming the Bastille in 1789. He has been shown seated next to Winston Churchill at the Yalta summit in 1945 and walking on the moon as well. In one of the snaps,he is recast as a member of Beatles.

Revealed: Scientist says she was call girl,wrote bestseller

LONDON: One of the best kept literary secrets of the decade has finally been revealed,after a 34-year-old scientist claimed she was the writer masquerading as call girl Belle de Jour. Magnanti,the author behind the bestselling books detailing her secret life as a prostitute,has revealed her identity to The Sunday Times,claiming that anonymity had become no fun. Magnanti is a respected specialist in developmental neurotoxicology and cancer epidemiology in a hospital research group in Bristol. Six years ago,she ran out of money and turned to prostitution through a London escort agency,charging some 300 pounds an hour.

Early Oscars go to Lauren Bacall,Roger Corman

LOS ANGELES: The first Oscar statuettes were handed over to four honourees on Sunday,including screen legend Lauren Bacall and director Roger Corman. In a shift from its tradition,the The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have handed out the Oscars even before the main ceremony to be held in March,reported Los Angeles Times. The four recipients also included cinematographer Gordon Willis,famous for The Godfather trilogy,and producer John Calley. The academy bestowed its awards at a private star-studded dinner,attended by actors like Alec Baldwin,Warren Beatty and directors like Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino.