Former Bond girl Gemma Arterton confessed her legs were covered in make-up at the premiere of Clash Of The Titans to hide the "war wounds" she incurred making the movie.
London's Leicester Square yesterday was transformed into ancient Greece for the world premiere of the 3D action epic, filled with stone columns, statues and burning torches, as the stars of the film made their way up the red carpet to the Empire cinema.
Ms Arterton dazzling in a figure-hugging, knee-length black dress, bare legs and towering heels, said: "We all got grazes rolling around in fight scenes which we called Clash Rash. There's make-up on my legs. I was like 'Get rid of the Clash Rash'."
Nicholas Hoult, who also stars in the film, joked on the red carpet: "We all got a bit of Clash Rash from running around and skidding, and we all had competitions of who had the best Clash Rash." (PA)
'Banana' dad
A 75-year-old man is believed to have become Britain's oldest father after his wife gave birth to a baby boy.
Gerry Burks, from Louth, Lincolnshire, reportedly attributed his virility to bananas and "the love of a good woman". His wife Dawn, 41, gave birth to Ryan earlier this month. The couple also have a six-year-old son called Daniel. (PA)
Pharaonic false door for afterlife
Archaeologists in Luxor have uncovered a 3,500-year-old false door belonging to the tomb of a Pharaonic official, the Ministry of Culture said yesterday.
The red granite door was built to provide a passage for the spirit to the afterlife. It belonged to the tomb of User, a high-ranking official of Queen Hatshepsut.
Found near the temple of Karnak, the 1.75-metre-tall, one-metre-wide door is covered with religious text. The ministry quoted Mansour Boraik, who headed the Egyptian excavation mission, as saying the false door was removed from User's tomb during the Roman period and reused in the wall of a structure previously found by the mission.
User took office in the fifth year of the reign of Queen Hatshepsut, who ruled in the 15th century BC and built a mortuary temple at the ancient capital of Thebes. Her nephew, Tuthmosis III (1504-1452 BC), is known as ancient Egypt's greatest conqueror. (Reuters)
Hollywood, Essex
It's nowhere near California and is a stranger to megastardom but Basildon is hoping to inject a touch of Hollywood magic. The Essex town's council has decided to erect a giant white name sign in the style of Tinseltown. But lacking Hollywood's hills, the new "BASILDON" sign will welcome visitors from the side of the A127 which links London and Southend. (PA)
Nasty sheep dogs
Around 70 sheep died when a pair of dogs sent them fleeing into the path of a train in Germany. The animals broke out of their pen in a panic, running towards a railway line and the oncoming train. The driver hit the brakes but could not avoid the sheep. Police said the dogs - a husky and a mongrel - had already attacked sheep in January. Their owners face damages claims. (PA)
Party for the Plants
Freedom for ferns, rights for roses and tolerance for tulips may be on the agenda for a new political group that plans to contest June 9 parliamentary elections in the Netherlands.
The Party for the Plants made its public debut over the weekend with an interview on local radio. Among the founders is Pieter Baas, former director of the National Herbarium.
Mr Baas told the radio programme the party opposes the use of plants for biofuel, while campaign list leader Rolf Rose said the party wants communities to make free trees available and to tax the stone tiles many Dutch use to pave their back gardens.
"The PvdP focuses on topics such as climate, biodiversity and sustainability in general," the party said in an introduction on its Facebook page. Its campaign website is scheduled to launch this coming Thursday. (Reuters)
Britain to ban party drug
Party drug mephedrone will be banned in Britain within a month, the government announced yesterday, after a string of deaths were linked to "miaow-miaow".
Home Secretary Alan Johnson said mephedrone - currently freely available to buy on the internet and in shops selling legal highs - would join amphetamines and cannabis as an outlawed class B drug, the second most dangerous kind.
The drug, also nicknamed Plant Food, has been linked to up to 25 deaths in England and Scotland since its popularity reportedly snowballed at music festivals in the middle of last year.
Its effects are similar to ecstasy and can include increased heart rate, anxiety and a sense of euphoria. (AFP)
Bleak future
A fortune teller in California has been convicted of rape after convincing two teenage girls he could change their dismal futures if they had sex with him.
Cesar Duran was found guilty of charges that included forcible rape and lewd acts with minors. He faces up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced next month.
Prosecutor Lana Kim said the man tricked the girls by telling them bad things would happen and he could help by having sex with them. (PA)