AFP - Japan's Crown Princess Masako, who suffers from a stress-induced illness, joined an official welcome ceremony for the first time in five years Monday to greet Spanish King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia.

AFP - South African singer Miriam Makeba has died aged 76 after being taken ill near the southern Italian town of Caserta following a concert, ANSA news agency reported Monday.

Reuters - Country singer Merle Haggard, recently diagnosed with lung cancer, had part of a lung removed and is recovering at home, his spokeswoman said on Sunday.

AP - Families herded into movie theaters for another trek with stranded zoo animals as the animated sequel "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" led the weekend with a $63.5 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Reuters - A Hollywood paparazzo famous for being sued by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and getting his teeth knocked out by Marlon Brando is unapologetic about the guerrilla celebrity photography culture he helped pioneer.

Reuters - Chinese actress Gong Li, the glamorous siren who made a successful crossover to Hollywood, has become a Singaporean, a local newspaper reported on Monday.

E! Online - Victoria Beckham, aka Posh Spice, had an airport arrival on Saturday more befitting The Beatles, according to an eyewitness. Crowds of photographers and fans went crazy for a glimpse of the former Spice Girl after she landed at Los Angeles International Airport.

Reuters - Nicole Kidman as the world's first post-op transsexual, married to Charlize Theron? You betcha.

Reuters - French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy says she is glad not to be Italian any more after hearing Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi joke about U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's "suntan."

E! Online - O.J.'s last squeeze came up empty.

AFP - Prince William's bosses in Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) were unaware of full details of training flights which took him to a stag party and a wedding, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

AP - A group of New Yorkers is fighting to save Tin Pan Alley, the half-dozen row houses where iconic American songs were born.

AP - High-tech circus meets grand opera. That's a quick way to sum up the Metropolitan Opera's production of Hector Berlioz's masterpiece, "La Damnation de Faust," which opened Friday at Lincoln Center.

AP - She was a girl quarterback in "The Longshots," a reluctant school spelling champ in "Akeelah and the Bee" and a rope-skipping double Dutch competitor in "Jump In!"

AP - The convicted felon suspected in the killings of the mother, brother and nephew of singer Jennifer Hudson has a parole hearing Monday and could be released if an administrative officer finds no reason to hold him.

AP - It wasn't religion that broke up his marriage to Jane Fonda, Ted Turner declares in a new memoir.