Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood accused of plagiarism

Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood has been accused of plagiarism in her self-titled biography which was released earlier this week.

According to the author of The Look: Adventures in Rock and Pop Fashion, Paul Gorman, the Birt-born designer has copied numerous passages almost verbatim from the work in her self-titled biography which was released last week, counting 29 instances of plagiarism altogether, reported The Independent.

The book was written in collaboration with historian and biographer Ian Kelly and is also said to include both grammatical and factual errors, including false claims the fashion legend thought up the idea and title for punk rockers, the Sex Pistols' track Sons of Anarchy.

Both the 73-year-old fashion designer and the publishers Pan MacMillan are yet to respond to the accusations surrounding the work through which Ian claimed he was pleased to have finally told the 'truth' about the 'huge-hearted' designer.

The biography follows the life of the fashion legend from her upbringing in rural Derbyshire, her career and her relationships with her husband and business partner Malcolm McLaren, as well as her second marriage to her former student Andreas Kronthal.

The work also features heartfelt letters from Vivienne's close friends - which throughout her life have included Pamela Anderson, Prince Charles, human rights campaigner Shami Chakrabati, models Naomi Campbell and Jerry Hall, Bob Geldof and Julian Assange

Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi clarifies 'Chopping hands' remark, calls it a Hindi idiom

Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Saturday said that his 'chopping hands off' comment was not literal, and added that he was using an idiom to say that he would restrict the powers of doctors if they treated patients unfairly. "They should have knowledge about Hindi idioms, chopping off hands means restricting rights. I did not mean literally chopping hands off. By cutting hands, I meant restricting their powers," said Manjhi.

Earlier today, Manjhi had said that he will cut off the hands of those found playing with the lives of the poor, referring to doctors who have been treating those injured in the recent Gandhi Maidan stampede. The Bihar Chief Minister's comment garnered criticism from various political parties with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Siddharth Nath asking the leader to apologize.

"It is unfortunate that the chief minister is making such statements. It is not easy to become a doctor and saying that we will chop their hands is very disappointing. He should apologize of such a thing," Singh said. Thirty-three people lost their lives and several injured in the stampede that took place at the Gandhi Maidan in Patna on October 3 during the Dussehra celebrations.

All the patients are provided free of cost treatment at the PMCH. 

Australian professor suspended over racist email

An Australian professor has been suspended by The University of Sydney for sending racist emails. According to the BBC, Prof Barry Spurr referred to Aboriginal people as "human rubbish tips" and used racist terms to refer to Muslims and Asians in Australia.

The professor of poetry, however, maintains that the emails sent were part of a "whimsical" game, but students are calling for termination of his services. The emails procured by Australian magazine New Matilda, were sent to a lot of people at the university, including officials and academics, between September 2012 and late 2014. Prof Spurr, in his emails, referred to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott an "Abo-lover" - an offensive term for Aborigines - and to Nelson Mandela as a "darky", the report says.

The university said in a statement "racist, sexist or offensive language is not tolerated at the University of Sydney." 

Hoax caller threatens to blow up Jaipur police station

An unidentified person made a hoax call threatening to blow up the Gandhi Nagar police station here, police said on Saturday. "The caller on Friday threatened to blow up the police station in 10 minutes. A thorough checking was done, but no suspicious object was found around the police station," SHO of Gandhi Nagar Bhanwar Lal said on Friday.

"The call was made to the landline number of the police station. The number displayed was from Pakistan. The Anti-Terrorist Squad has been informed about the matter and it is probing the incident," he said. 

Angelina Jolie `totally transformed` for `Maleficent`

Costume designer of 'Maleficent', Justin Smith, has revealed that the entire crew had been struck by Angelina Jolie's complete transformation for the role.

Smith said that the 39-year-old star was very involved during the designing of her iconic and fabulous look for the Disney film, Daily Express reported.

The 'Tomb Raider' actress had been no stranger to controversy or bold creative experiments and 'Maleficent's' spectacular horns were famously a passion project for her. The designer also said that Jolie's children had taken a while to get used to their mother's new look. But then Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne, were equally involved and so was hubby Brad Pitt.

Smith added that Jolie was a very loyal artist and her team shall be very much a family from now on. 

Alexander Wang wants to design sportswear

Designer Alexander Wang wants to design more sportswear.

The 30-year-old fashion designer, who recently unveiled his new active wear-inspired collection for high street label H&M, has revealed he is keen to continue his foray into sportswear and wants to make the styles a more permanent feature in his collections, reported Vogue.

"Approaching active wear was exciting for me as I've always wanted to do it, but having that access to the resources - the factories and the garment mills - was a completely different process to what I usually do," Wang said. "It's a whole new skill set. 

You have to do your due diligence and testing, but it is something that I have so much passion and love for, that I'd love to have a future opportunity to do something like this that is more permanent." 

Dia Mirza Puts A Ring On Sahil Sangha

Dia Mirza and Sahil Sangha pose for the photographers at their engagement in Delhi.

Dia Mirza got engaged to her long time beau and business partner Sahil Sangha, in a private ceremony in New Delhi's Chhatarpur Farms on October 17

  Bollywood actress Dia Mirza got engaged to her long time beau and business partner Sahil Sangha, in a private ceremony in New Delhi's Chhatarpur Farms on October 17. The couple will get married on October 18 in the Capital.

 

Dia looked radiant in a blue and gold Anita Dongre lehenga, which she accesorised with matching kundan jewellery, while she interacted with the media joined by her fiance.

 

The ceremony was attended by her family and close friends. Dia is likely to host a lavish reception for her colleagues in Mumbai.

Sahil had proposed to Dia in New York in April this year, after their visit to an award show in Tampa Bay.

 

The duo co-own a production house called Born Free Entertainment, which released its second project Bobby Jasoos earlier this year, featuring actress Vidya Balan in the lead role.