Posted 7-18-08

NewsRoom Entertainment Shorts

NewsRoom
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Arrest Warrant Out For Doherty

An arrest warrant has been issued for Pete Doherty after he failed to attend a magistrates court hearing.

The Babyshambles frontman dodged his criminal damage hearing for a second time on Thursday, forcing authorities to issue the warrant.

Bench chair Nick Bernard said: "I assume that this is the correct address we have for Mr. Doherty."

Bernard added: "He should have, therefore, received the letters stating when he should attend court."

Doherty stands accused of causing 200 pounds worth of damage to a camera after photographer Cath Mead took a picture of his, then, girlfriend Irina Lazareanu.

Earlier this year, the singer was jailed for breaching the terms of his probation. He spent seven weeks at Wormwood Scrubs before being released.

Yusuf Islam Wins Damages Over Muslim Sexist Claims

Yusuf Islam, the musician formerly known as Cat Stevens, has won money for his charity after being awarded damages over articles that he had a sexist attitude to treating women due to his Muslim faith.

The article by the World Entertainment News Network was called "Yusuf Islam ignores bare-headed women" and was sent out to its subscribers including Contactmusic.com, which is read by over two million people every month

The article suggested the singer refused to talk to women not wearing a veil and also claimed that the Muslim convert would only speak to women other than his wife through a third party.

Laywer Adam Tudor told the High Court in London that the articles caused Mr. Islam "considerable embarrassment and distress" as he "has never had difficulties working with women".

To the contrary he said "women feature among some of the most influential people in Mr. Islam's team".

Mr. Islam also decided to pursue the case as the story "cast serious aspersions, quite wrongly, on his religious faith, which is of the utmost importance to him". Mr. Islam has been a Muslim for over 30 years.

The World Entertainment News Network agency and Contactmusic.com have both apologized and agreed to pay the singer's legal costs, while the undisclosed damages have been donated to his charity, Small Kindness.