Britney Spears visits sick kids in Miami hospital

AP – In this Dec. 2, 2008 file photo, singer Britney Spears performs on ABC's 'Good Morning America' show …

MIAMI – Just hours before taking the stage, pop singer Britney Spears made a surprise visit to a group of sick children at Miami Children's Hospital.

The 27-year-old Spears posed for photos with the children on Saturday.

She's also donating $100,000 to the Big Apple Circus Clown Care program, which brings clowns to young hospital patients.

Spears played at the American Airlines Arena in Miami as part of her "Circus" tour.

The tour to support her hit album of the same name kicked off last week before a nearly sold-out crowd in New Orleans.

Spears' last toured in 2004.

Dying British reality TV star Goody christened

AFP/Channel Four/File – Jade Goody, the cancer-stricken British reality television star (seen here in 2007) was christened along …

LONDON (AFP) – Jade Goody, the cancer-stricken British reality television star, was christened along with her two children on Saturday in what her publicist called a "final good-bye".

The 27-year-old, who found fame on "Big Brother" in 2002, was "very pale and fragile" during the ceremony at the Royal Marsden Hospital in west London, publicist Max Clifford said.

Sitting in a chair, Goody wore her hospital gown and had her drip still attached during the christenings.

Clifford said it was the last thing that Goody would do publicly. The ceremony, attended by friends and family, was photographed by a magazine.

The star, whose cervical cancer has spread to other parts of her body, has likely only weeks to live.

She wanted the christenings to take place in a church but was too unwell to leave hospital.

"She was saying a final good-bye to some people," Clifford said.

"She finds it very hard to stay awake for more than a few minutes but she stayed awake for the 20 minutes of the service."

Goody is trying to make as much money as she can in her remaining days to pay for the upkeep and education of her sons Bobby, five, and Freddy, four.

She married 21-year-old partner Jack Tweed on February 22 after a nine-day engagement, for which media rights were sold.

Photographs of the christenings will be also published in a magazine.

"I'm no medical expert but I doubt she will leave (the hospital)," Clifford said.

On her first "Big Brother" appearance, the ex-dental nurse from south London shot to fame for for her loud mouth and lack of general knowledge.

On "Celebrity Big Brother" in 2007, she sparked a major row in Britain and India over her treatment of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty after she was accused of racist bullying towards the Indian star.

Kanye West booked with Clarkson on `American Idol'

AP – In this July 25, 2005 file photo, Kelly Clarkson, left, and Kanye West announce the MTV Video Music …

NEW YORK – "American Idol" is about to get a double dose of star power: Kanye West and Kelly Clarkson.

The Grammy winners will share the stage as performers during Wednesday's elimination show.

West, making his first appearance on the top-rated Fox series, will perform his hit song "Heartless" from his latest album "808s & Heartbreak."

Clarkson, the original "American Idol," will sing her chart-topper "My Life Would Suck Without You," off her new album that drops Tuesday.

The show — a ratings juggernaut since it debuted in 2002 — has attracted numerous top artists as mentors and performers in recent seasons. Among them: Mariah Carey, Prince, Gwen Stefani, Dolly Parton and Jennifer Lopez.

British rock group Oasis cancels China tour

AP – Noel Gallagher, right, and Liam Gallagher of British band 'Oasis' perform during the television show …

BEIJING – Concert organizers confirmed Monday that British rock band Oasis has canceled tour dates in Beijing and Shanghai in April.

The shows, scheduled for Beijing's Capital Arena on April 3 and the Shanghai Grand Stage on April 5, would have been the first in mainland China for the group, currently on a world tour promoting its latest release, "Dig Out Your Soul."

No explanation has been given for the cancellation, said a venue manager who refused to give his name.

Ticket sales for the show were halted Feb. 28, according to the official China Daily. Details on ticket refunds would be announced later, according to a statement on the ticketing Web site emma.cn.

Last month, the band had posted on its official Web site that: "Oasis are excited to announce their first-ever shows in China as part of their current world tour." The Web site is temporarily unavailable but the band's MySpace page has no mention of cancellations.

It's unclear whether the band will play a previously announced show in Hong Kong on April 7.

A growing number of Western musical acts have traveled to China in recent years, including the Rolling Stones and Elton John.

However, China closely regulates live performances, especially after Icelandic singer Bjork embarrassed authorities last year by shouting "Tibet!" at the end of her concert in Shanghai.

Iran angered over films 'The Wrestler' and '300'

AP – US actresses Annette Bening, left, and Alfre Woodard, right, pose for photographers along with Iranian …

TEHRAN, Iran – An adviser to Iran's president on Sunday demanded an apology from a team of visiting Hollywood actors and movie industry officials, including Annette Bening, saying films such as "300" and "The Wrestler" were "insulting" to Iranians.

Without an apology, members of Iran's film industry should refuse to meet with representatives from the nine-member team, said Javad Shamaqdari, the art and cinema adviser to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"In my viewpoint, it is a failure to have an official meeting with one who is insulting," Shamaqdari told The Associated Press.

The film "300," portrays the battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C., in which a force of 300 Spartans held off a massive Persian army at a mountain pass in Greece for three days. It angered many Iranians for the way Persians are depicted as decadent, sexually flamboyant and evil in contrast to the noble Greeks.

Iranians also criticized "The Wrestler" starring Mickey Rourke as a rundown professional wrestler who is preparing for a rematch with his old nemesis, "The Ayatollah." During a fight scene, "The Ayatollah" tries to choke Rourke with an Iranian flag before Rourke pulls the flagpole away, breaks it and throws it into the cheering crowd.

Neither movie was shown in Iran.

While American actors such as Sean Penn have traveled to Iran, it is rare for such a large group to visit. In February, Iran denied visas to a U.S. women's badminton team that had been invited to compete in a tournament in Iran.

The group includes the President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Sid Ganis; actors Bening, and Alfre Woodard; producer William Horberg; AMPAS Special Events Programmer and Exhibitions Curator Ellen Harrington; and Tom Pollock, the former Universal Pictures chairman.

According to the Web site of Iran's Cinema Association, the group arrived Friday in Iran. They met a group of Iranian artists on Saturday, and will be holding educational seminars in directing, screenwriting, acting, producing, marketing and film distribution.

Shamaqdari says Iranians will warmly host the visiting Americans "but it will not stop Iranians from demanding an apology."

The visits come as President Barack Obama has indicated a new willingness to open up relations with Iran.

Relations between the two countries have been strained over concerns in the West that Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapons program, something Tehran denies. The U.S. has also alleged that overwhelmingly Shiite Iran supports Shiite militias in Iraq, which Iran says is not true.

The two countries have not had diplomatic relations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the hostage-taking at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.