Miss USA When a tearful Tara Connor went on TV
alongside Miss
USA 'contest owner' Donald Trump to apologise after she admitted to underage boozing, the
words 'You're fired' were on everybody's lips. However, in a moment of
seasonal goodwill, Trump did not feel it necessary to show Connor the door
and, instead, gave her a second chance at world peace.
Jose Mourinho The great man discovered how good
it makes you feel to say sorry. He apologised to Everton forward Andrew
Johnson, whom he'd accused of diving. We
think, we hope, he's contrite - and not
just had his arm twisted by Chelsea execs - because we worry for his soul.
Democracy Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, no fan, as you know, of the US, Britain, Israel etc, had a set-back when his
rivals romped home
in local elections. Perhaps he and Bush should form a mutual support
group.
Robert Mugabe Not surprisingly - he's run the
show in Zimbabwe since 1980 - Mugabe won the backing of the ruling party
to postpone the next presidential election from 2008 to 2010. Good for
Zimbabwe, too? Hardly.
Gibraltar The colonial outpost received a
Spanish scheduled flight for the first time. The Iberia Airlines' plane
might usher in more
mature relations between the Gibraltarians and their neighbours. Who knows
where it will all end? They might even begin talking to each
other.
France Johnny Hallyday, nonpareil rocker,
has threatened to leave his homeland for Switzerland to escape French
taxes. How will the French cope? As a cultural blow, it would be
comparable to losing Voltaire.
Gavin Henson The rugby union star was locked out of
the house he shares with girlfriend Charlotte Church when he returned at
11.30am after training. Church, it seems, was still in bed and was not
best pleased at being disturbed. Quite right - who wants to be ripped from
sleep at the crack of
dawn?
David Beckham Yes, it's been a bad year and it's not getting
any better. He was finally picked to start a
game for Real Madrid and he and his colleagues were on the receiving end
of a 3-0 defeat to Recreativo Huelva (who?). What's worse, while his illustrious
colleagues were given an early Christmas holiday, he was asked to play
in a meaningless benefit match. It seems only yesterday we were
celebrating every
last metrosexual bit of him and his sarong.
Turkmenistan The good people of the central Asian republic
said farewell to their autocratic leader, Saparmurat Niyazov. His many
vivid acts included abolishing libraries, closing universities and naming
every little artefact after his good self.