Bono has been awarded an honorary knighthood during a ceremony at the home of the British Ambassador to Ireland today.

The U2 frontman has received the honour from Queen Elizabeth in recognition of his humanitarian and musical achievements.

The singer said he was grateful to receive the award, which he said he was accepting on behalf of U2 and the debt crisis movement.

Anna Nicole Smith’s autopsy report is set to be released on Monday, following weeks of speculation over the star’s death.

Brower County, Florida, medical examiner Joshua Pepper will release his findings at a press conference with Seminole Police chief Charlie Tiger.

Pepper postponed the determination of the cause of the tragic model/actress’ death last month after police provided him with additional evidence, admitting at the time it would take his staff up to five weeks to determine how the star died.

However, Pepper admitted at the February press conference his initial autopsy had ruled out “any kind of physical injuries, such as blunt-forced trauma, gunshot wound, stab wounds or asphyxia” as a cause of death, but added he “saw something that looked a little bit unusual” in Smith’s heart.

The former Playboy model was found dead in her suite at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida on 8 February.

Britney Spears is facing bankruptcy after spending a staggering $21m (€16m) in the past two years, according to a British newspaper.

The troubled pop princess is currently being treated for a substance abuse problem at California’s Promises rehab clinic.

The Daily Star alleges Spears is “scared to death” of the financial situation she faces when she leaves the centre, after spending two thirds of her $32m fortune.

A family friend is quoted by the newspaper, saying: “She has to concentrate on staying sober, but she can’t do that if she has to worry about going broke – which is exactly what she thinks will happen.”

Carol Burnett has decided to sue 20th Century Fox after one of her characters was used in an episode of Family Guy without her permission.

The US comedienne has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit over the episode, which was broadcast in April 2006. Burnett claims that a character in the episode was based on her Charwoman creation.

The show portrayed ‘Charwoman’ as a pornographic character and, according to Burnett, used an “altered version” of The Carol Burnett Show’s theme music.

Burnett is also claiming that 20th Century Fox violated her publicity rights.

Responding to Carol’s claims, the studio’s spokesman Chris Alexander told Access Hollywood: “We are surprised that Ms. Burnett, who has made a career of spoofing others on television, would go so far as to sue Family Guy for a simple bit of comedy.”

Church leaders in Tobago want Elton John banned from headlining a music festival on the Caribbean island amid fears he will turn locals gay.

The openly homosexual singer is due to perform at the Plymouth Jazz Festival in April, but his visit has been condemned by religious groups over his sexual orientation.

Philip Isaac, archdeacon of Trinidad and Tobago, says: “His visit to the island can open the country to be tempted towards pursuing his lifestyle.”

Isaac also criticised John’s marriage to long-term partner David Furnish, citing the union as not conforming to religious teachings because “a man should not lie with a man”, but adds the Rocket Man singer could be saved by God, despite his homosexuality.

He explains: “The artist is one of God’s children and while his lifestyle is questionable, he needs to be ministered onto.”

But festival organiser Anthony Maharaj has spoken out in support of John, and says: “We should be honoured to have him. This is a man who was knighted by the queen, who was highly complimented by (former South African archbishop) Desmond Tutu.”

Rare footage of The Beatles has been made available to the public for the first time.

Fans of the Fab Four will be able to view “new” clips of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Star after download firm Wippit won a battle with record label EMI.

McCartney’s wedding to first wife Linda in 1969, Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “bed-in” during the same year, and McCartney admitting to taking hallucinogenic drug LSD are among the clips available to download.

EMI had asked the firm to remove the rare footage, but as the label does not own the copyright, Wippit was allowed to keep the clips on its website. The footage comes from the ITN, Pathe and Reuters archives.

Former Sex And The City star Sarah Jessica Parker is putting her time playing fashion-obsessed New Yorker Carrie Bradshaw to good use and launching her own fashion line.

The 41-year-old is known for her bold style choices and is creating her own label called Bitten.

The actress will present a private view of her new line at an exclusive lunch for top fashion editors today.

According to FashionWeekDaily.com, details on the collection, including prices, target audience and manufacturing remain tightly under wraps, but many insiders are comparing it to The Row, the fashion line developed by Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen.

Parker is no stranger to the style world and received the Fashion Icon Award at the Council of Fashion Designers of America Fashion Awards in 2004.

She also launched a successful fragrance, Lovely, in 2005.

Former Beatle Paul McCartney will be the first artist signed to coffee chain Starbucks’ new record label since splitting from Capitol Records after a 43-year relationship.

The 64-year-old rocker has recorded for Capitol since the Beatles’ first album in 1964. McCartney took a brief break from the company in the early 1980s – when he moved to Columbia Records – but soon returned to Capitol.

The Beatle also plans to take his entire back catalogue of Wings and solo work with him. The catalogue includes classics like Band on the Run and his most recent hit album, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, which was nominated for four Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, in 2006.

According to Fox News, McCartney will be the first artist to sign with US-based coffee chain Starbucks’ new Hear Music record label, releasing a new album this autumn.

A source claims record executives at Capitol were devastated by the news, saying: “They knew it was coming. They did nothing for the Chaos album, and they were reminded that McCartney’s entire contract was ending.”

Michael Douglas is desperate to star in a movie alongside his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones – so he can kill her.

The Fatal Attraction actor concedes he would have to play the part of a villain in a movie with Zeta-Jones because: “no-one likes older men dating younger women”.

And Douglas admits he would be forced to end one of his co-star’s lives before the end of the film.

He says: “I’d be the villain, because nobody likes older guys with younger women. So we’ll get her a young leading man and I’ll be the bad guy. And I’ll ‘off’ one of them.”

But the 62-year-old star rules out any love scenes with wife Zeta-Jones, insisting married couples are devoid of any on-screen chemistry.

He adds: “As far as doing a romance in a film for a married couple, audiences seem to lack the excitement, knowing in the back of their mind these people are together all the time.”

Police investigating the cause of Anna Nicole Smith’s death last month have uncovered “significant” new evidence – causing the coroner to delay releasing his findings.

The development comes as Smith’s bodyguard Maurice Brighaupt claimed the star’s boyfriend and lawyer Howard K Stern was behaving “highly strange” in the hours leading to her death in a Florida hotel room.

A police spokesman says: “This is not delayed evidence, this is additional evidence that has come to light during the course of the investigation.”

Coroner Dr Joshua Pepper adds: “This was unexpected. But this case has more turns than anything I could have imagined.

Smith was found dead in the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida on 8 February.