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The wife of The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan has said he “wasn’t ready to give up” when he died.

Victoria Mary Clarke shared news of her husband’s death at the age of 65 in a post on Instagram on 30 November.

MacGowan, who is best known for the festive hit Fairytale Of New York, had suffered from several health issues in recent years, and earlier in November, was treated in St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin for an infection.

He was sent home weeks before his birthday, where he died of pneumonia, The New York Times cited Clarke, a writer, as saying.

Discussing his last days, she said she had been trying alternative therapists, hypnotists, health drinks and physios to try to help him.

Ian Dickson/Shutterstock/@victoriamary
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Ian Dickson/Shutterstock/@victoriamary

She said after first learning that her husband was coming to the end of his life, she thought she was “going to die”.

“He was putting up a really strong fight. He was trying very hard to breathe,” she told the Brendan O’Connor Show on Ireland’s RTE radio on Saturday.

“He wasn’t ready to give up. He wasn’t ready to stop fighting – but his body did it for him.”

‘Huge, weird contradiction’

In a separate interview on the weekend, Clarke revealed that both she and Kent-born MacGowan – whose songs were influenced by Irish nationalism – loved the Royal Family, something that she said “people wouldn’t expect”.

“We both enjoyed watching programmes about royalty, we watched a lot of documentaries, obviously the funerals,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

FILE PHOTO: Musician Shane MacGowan watches as U2 perform during their U2: The Joshua Tree Tour, at Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland July 22, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo
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The couple in 2017

“He cried when Prince Philip died, he cried when the Queen died, he cried when Diana died, he thought a lot about the Royal Family, but he was an ardent republican.”

She added that he had a “huge love of England and also of Ireland” in what she referred to as a “huge, weird contradiction”.

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“Sometimes we would be sitting there doing the Telegraph crossword puzzle, and I would just be thinking ‘Gosh, there’s people out there who would be horrified if they could see you doing the Telegraph crossword’.”

Clarke then joined in calls to get the beloved Christmas hit her husband was best known for, back to the top of the UK charts.

“It should be the Christmas number one, it absolutely should. I’m very much in favour of that,” she said.

The announcement of MacGowan’s death was met with an outpouring of tributes, including from Bruce Springsteen, who said people would be “singing Shane’s songs 100 years from now”.

Dublin rock band U2 also paid tribute, posting a drawing of the singer on social media, with the caption: “Shane MacGowan’s songs were perfect so he or we his fans didn’t have to be…”

On Friday, Clarke thanked people for their “love and support” after her husband’s death, posting a picture of the two of them appearing to dance.

“Losing Shane has been the thing that I feared most for a very long time, almost since we first got together,” she wrote.

“Some of the messages and gestures of support have been incredibly moving and unexpected, and I really, really hope that Shane can see how much he is loved by so many people of all ages and kinds.”

The post on Instagram gained more than 25,000 likes and over 1,000 comments.

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Saif Ali Khan: ‘Suspect detained’ in Bollywood star stabbing – as doctor reveals how ‘hero’ arrived at hospital

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Saif Ali Khan: 'Suspect detained' in Bollywood star stabbing - as doctor reveals how 'hero' arrived at hospital

A suspect has been detained after one of India’s top Bollywood stars was stabbed multiple times in an attempted robbery, according to Indian media reports.

Saif Ali Khan was stabbed six times in an attack at his home in an upscale neighbourhood in Mumbai, in the early hours of Thursday.

He underwent emergency surgery and is now out of danger, doctors said, after they reportedly had to remove a 2.5in shard of blade from his spine.

Police personnel stand outside Lilavati hospital where Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan underwent surgery for stab injuries after a scuffle with an intruder at his home in Mumbai, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025.(AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
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Police outside the hospital where Saif Ali Khan is recovering. Pic: AP

After a manhunt across the city, one person was detained, TV channels reported on Friday, adding it was not clear if they were the attacker.

Videos circulating online showed officers escorting a man into a police station in Mumbai.

Dikshit Gedam, the police officer investigating the case, did not confirm the detention and told Reuters there was no major development in the case.

Dr Niraj Uttamani, of Lilavati Hospital, reportedly said Khan walked into hospital despite his injuries “like a lion”, accompanied by his son.

“He was soaked in blood when he arrived in the hospital,” he added, according to NDTV.

“But he walked in like a lion. He is a real hero.

“He is very fortunate. If a knife was 2mm deeper, he would have sustained a serious injury.”

The attack on Khan, one of Bollywood’s best-known actors, shocked the film industry and led to many calling for better policing and security.

Mr Gedam said police received reports of an attack around 3am, and the suspected attacker entered the home from a fire escape and got entry to the stairs.

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Police said it appeared the attacker was related to a member of staff who worked at Khan’s home – who allowed them entry into the property.

Khan, the son of former India cricket captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and actress Sharmila Tagore, has starred in more than 70 films and television series, some as a producer.

Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan at Anant Ambani's wedding in March 2024. Pic: Reuters
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Saif Ali Khan is married to fellow Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor Khan. Pic: Reuters

He lives in an apartment in the western suburb of Bandra with his wife, actress Kareena Kapoor Khan, and their children.

Representatives for Ms Khan said in a statement that the rest of the family were uninjured in the incident.

Ariyama Phillips, who works at the home and raised the alarm, was also injured when the actor challenged the intruder.

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Severance star Adam Scott on balancing Hollywood fame with family life: ‘Everything’s a challenge at some point’

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Severance star Adam Scott on balancing Hollywood fame with family life: 'Everything's a challenge at some point'

Adam Scott says achieving a healthy work-life balance can be tricky for actors who spend large chunks of time away from their friends and family.

The 52-year-old star, who is about to return to our screens for the second season of Severance tells Sky News: “It’s hard because we live in Los Angeles, and we make the show in New York. So, it’s months and months away from home.”

Pic: Apple TV+
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Pic: Apple TV+

It’s been three years since the first season of the Emmy-award-winning workplace thriller, which was met with widespread critical acclaim.

Scott plays Mark Scout, a microdata refinement team leader who catalogues numbers for shadowy corporate entity, Lumon Industries.

Part sci-fi experiment, part chilling workplace parable, the show imagines a world in which workers can opt to undergo a surgical procedure called severance to divide their consciousness into separate professional and personal entities, dubbed “innie” and “outie”.

While Scott’s character has undergone the procedure to help him divide his time more effectively, he has come up with a less extreme solution to achieve work-life balance.

Best known for his role in Parks And Recreation, and with numerous other credits including Big Little Lies and Party Down, Scott and his wife, TV and film producer Naomi Sablan, set up their own production company Gettin’ Rad Productions in 2012.

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He explains: “My wife and I work together when I’m not making the show. We have a company, and we make indie movies and TV, so it’s great. We have an office that we can go to, and that’s a great way to spend time together.”

They also have two children, a son Graham, 18, and daughter Frankie,16.

Scott goes on: “My kids are teenagers now, so they can just fly out on their own, which is great. But it’s hard. We figure it out, you know. Everything’s a challenge at some point. We make do.”

Pic: Apple TV+
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Pic: Apple TV+

Getting the second season in the can was clearly a big relief for him, and fans will be pleased to hear a third is rumoured to be in the works.

Scott says: “We finished making the show almost a year ago now, so I’ve been home for a while and it’s always great to be home.”

‘Just a little oppressive’

So, how did it feel to work in such an oppressive office space of Luman Industries, even though it was all make-believe?

Scott admits production designer Jeremy Hindle had done a big chunk of the work on his behalf.

Describing the “incredible experience” of entering the set, he says: “In our office, there are those green carpets and then the fluorescent lights, and the ceiling is just a bit low.

“It’s not crazy low. It’s just low enough to feel like something’s off, that it’s just a little oppressive. Little decisions like that by Ben [Stiller] and Jeremy [Hindle] make this whole world feel active and alive when you’re there.

“So, as far as a kind of nightmarish feeling, after you’re there for 12, 14 hours, it’s not difficult to summon those feelings.”

Pic: Apple TV+
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Pic: Apple TV+

‘I like trying different stuff’

And what about Severance’s star director, Ben Stiller?

A far cry from his screen appearances in comedies like Zoolander and Tropic Thunder, Stiller is both executive producer and lead director of the show.

Scott says Stiller is his favourite director to work with.

“He’s someone who obviously understands actors, so is able to talk to them, work with them and understand that language.”

Scott also says he trusts Stiller “completely and implicitly”.

He says: “With a director, it’s really important that you trust them, that they know when something is working, that they’re not going to move on until they feel they’ve gotten a scene.”

A perfectionist, Scott adds: “I’m always ready to do more and more takes. I like doing a lot and trying different stuff. But if Ben says, ‘We’ve got it’, then I trust that we’ve got it and I’m ready to move on.

“I love his filmmaking. He’s a great guy, and also just the best person to work with.”

The 10-episode second season of Severance will debut globally on Apple TV+ with the first episode on Friday 17 January followed by one episode every Friday.

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Jessica Alba splits from husband Cash Warren after 16 years

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Jessica Alba splits from husband Cash Warren after 16 years

Jessica Alba has split from her husband of 16 years, film producer Cash Warren.

The Fantastic Four actress shared the news in an Instagram post, telling her 20.6 million followers she had been on a “journey of self-realisation”.

She said their three children remained a priority as they “embark on a new chapter of growth and evolution as individuals”.

Alba married the film producer in 2008 after getting together on the set of the superhero movie Fantastic Four.

The US actress wrote: “I’ve been on a journey of self-realisation and transformation for years – both as an individual and in partnership with Cash.

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“I’m proud of how we’ve grown as a couple in our marriage over the last 20 years and it’s now time for us to embark on a new chapter of growth and evolution as individuals.

“We are moving forward with love and kindness and respect for each other and will forever be family.”

Alba concluded her statement saying that their three children – Honor, 16, Haven, 13, and Hayes, seven – “remain our highest priority”.

‘I really, really like you’

Alba first met Warren in 2004, when she was starring as invisible superhero Susan Storm in Fantastic Four and he held the position as assistant to director Tim Story.

She previously said Warren slipped her a note on the set, signed with a dollar sign – to match his name – that said: “I really, really like you.”

The couple eloped while she was nine months pregnant with their first child, Honor Marie, Alba told Glamour magazine in 2022.

They later welcomed a second daughter named Haven Garner in 2011 and son Hayes in 2017.

‘New endeavours’

Alba had early starring roles in Nickelodeon’s series The Secret World Of Alex Mack, as well as the revival of the 1960s television series Flipper.

Aged 19, she received a Golden Globe nod for her break-out role as Max Guevara in James Cameron’s TV series Dark Angel.

She went on to star in hit film Honey playing an aspiring dancer-choreographer, and action crime thriller Sin City, opposite Bruce Willis and Mickey Rourke.

Alba has also made a name for herself as an entrepreneur, having co-founded ethical consumer goods brand The Honest Company in 2012.

Last year, she stepped down as the company’s chief creative. She kept a seat on the board, saying she would be focusing on “new endeavours”.

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