Melbourne, Nov 15 : Australian star Hugh Jackman has reportedly spent 21 million dollars on a Manhattan apartment.

The move clearly indicates that the ‘Kate & Leopold’ star is unaffected by the world economic crisis.

A spokeswoman for the actor confirmed that he had bought the palatial pad in one of New York''s most salubrious buildings, the Meier Towers.

Melbourne, Nov 14 : Lara Bingle has put her modelling career on hold to attend acting and TV presenting classes at renowned star-factory NIDA.

And the blonde admitted that she was so nervous on her first day to the class that she had to ask her mum to drop her off.

"On the first day, my mum dropped me off because I was quite nervous," the Courier Mail quoted Bingle, as telling Confidential.

"I was like: ''You''ve got to drop me off because I don''t want to be by myself, and then can you pick me back up?'' " she added.

Bingle said she took up classes because it was out of her comfort zone.

Melbourne, Nov 14 : Australian minister of youth and sports Kate Ellis has turned down a 30,000-dollar offer to strip for a men’s magazine.

After the member of the Australian Parliament, who is the youngest MP of the country, was voted the sexiest MP, Zoo magazine thought of doing the shoot featuring her.

"She had a chuckle at the idea but has decided against it,'''' her spokesman told Zoo.

Zoo editor Paul Merrill said he was very disappointed.

"It''s easy to see why so many members stand to attention when they catch a glimpse of Kate,'''' News. com. au quoted Zoo editor Merrill, as saying.

Melbourne, Nov 14 : Robbie Williams’ obsession for extraterrestrial life has reached new heights – the singer is trying to contact aliens using his tattoos.

The 34-year-old singer wears an Eye of Horus, or Udjat tattoo, which is also used by Enlightened Contact With Extraterrestrial Intelligence (ECTI), reports the Daily Telegraph

The tattoo represents the cosmos and confers protection from evil forces.

The singer had recently joined a group of teenagers who were on a ghost hunt in a haunted pub.

Melbourne, Nov. 14 : Cricket Australia Chief Executive James Sutherland has called for the introduction of harsher penalties for slow over rates, including docking of championship or rankings points.

According to The Ages, Sutherland said the game lacked the necessary sanctions to prevent teams falling behind in their allocated overs. He suggested a more emphatic system of punishment than the current fines and suspensions in place, citing the Sheffield Shield approach of docking points from slow-going teams.

Melbourne, Nov 14 : Soccer ace David Beckham has topped Entertainment Television’s new list of the ‘Sexiest Men of the World’.

The football player, who has three sons with wife former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, has beaten the likes of Australian country music crooner Keith Urban and actor Johnny Depp.

The channel recruited twenty judges to come up with a list of the world''s 25 hottest blokes, reports News. com. au