ALEX ADAM'S

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI told priests Saturday to do a better job counseling would-be spouses to ensure their marriages last and said no one has an absolute right to a wedding.

Benedict made the comments in his annual speech to the Roman Rota, the Vatican tribunal that decides marriage annulments. An annulment is the process by which the church effectively declares that a marriage never took place.

Benedict acknowledged that the problems that would allow for a marriage to be annulled cannot always be identified beforehand. But he said better pre-marriage counseling, which the Catholic Church requires of the faithful, could help avoid a "vicious circle" of invalid marriages.

He said the right to a church wedding requires that the bride and groom intend to celebrate and live the marriage truthfully and authentically.

"No one can make a claim to the right to a nuptial ceremony," he said.

Benedict has used his annual speech to the Rota to impress on its members the indissolubility of marriage and that they should avoid the temptation of granting annulments on a whim. Last year, he urged the tribunal to work harder to encourage couples to stay together and not confuse "pastoral charity" with the need to uphold church law.

On Saturday, Benedict said priests had an important pastoral job to discern whether would-be spouses are prepared and able to enter into a valid marriage.

"The church and society at large place too much importance on the good of marriage and the family founded on it to not make a profound commitment to it pastorally," Benedict said.

The Vatican's concern about marriage annulments is largely directed at the United States, which in 2006 had more annulment cases launched than the rest of the world combined.



source:yahoo.com

Bollywood star Aamir Khan will bring some Indian spice to the jury at the 61st Berlin film festival next month, organisers said Friday.



Bollywood star on Berlin film fest jury
The seven-person jury, headed by Italian-American actress Isabella Rossellini, is tasked with picking the winner of the coveted Golden and Silver Bear prizes in the February 10 to 20 festival in the German capital.

Australian film producer Jan Chapman, German actress Nina Hoss, Canadian film-maker Guy Maddin, British costume designer Sandy Powell and Iranian director Jafar Panahi complete the line-up.

However, Panahi's place on the jury will be left symbolically empty, as he was handed six years in jail in December and banned from making films or leaving Iran for 20 years.

"There has been worldwide protest against this verdict that violates the right to freedom of opinion and expression," said the festival in a statement.

"The Berlinale is holding a place open in the Jury for Jafar Panahi and in doing so wants to signal its support for his struggle for freedom."

The festival features a financial crisis thriller starring Kevin Spacey and Demi Moore and a French 3D animated feature, amongst others.

In all, it features 22 films in its main programme including 16 in the running for the festival's prizes.

Khan, 44, has made a name for himself as one of the most bankable Bollywood stars on and off screen, shunning the conveyor belt of song and dance-laden films for more contemporary themes and unconventional subject matter.

As a producer, he is hoping it will be third time lucky at this year's Oscars, after his latest movie was chosen as India's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category.

Two other films he produced have previously been selected as India's official Oscar entry.

The Berlinale, one of the world's top film festivals, will open with a remake of the classic Western "True Grit" by the Oscar-winning brothers Joel and Ethan Coen.



source:Agence France-Presse/msn.com

Winona Ryder says she would give up acting if she got pregnant because having children is so much work.


Winona Ryder would give up acting to have a baby.

The 39-year-old actress believes having children takes a lot of 'work' so she would rather step out of the spotlight to raise a family.

She said: 'I think if I had a child, I would. I think I'd just want to be a mum. And I've seen from my brother and sister-in-law how much work children are so I think I'd want it to be my priority.'

However, if she did have children, Winona would worry about being able to return to acting, admitting last month that she wonders if it would end her career.

She said: 'If I wanted to have a family now, would I be able to come back to work in a couple of years?'

The 'Black Swan' actress recently admitted she has delayed getting married for so long because she only ever wants to walk down the aisle once.

She said: 'I very much believe in marriage. I hope to only be married once, which is why I've never been married. But I am a strong believer. My parents have been together for 40 years and are still very much in love so I think I have very high standards.'




source:by Bang/msn.com

Third Round----Julia Goerges------- W----4-6, 6-4, 6-4

Second Round-- Virginie Razzano---- W----7-6 (7-3), 6-3

First Round----Tamarine Tanasugarn--W----6-1, 6-3








source:yahoo.com

Denmark's top seeded Caroline Wozniacki moved into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-4 win over unseeded Latvian Anastasija Sevastova.


It is the first time the 20-year-old world number one has progressed past the fourth round in Melbourne and keeps alive her hopes of winning a maiden Grand Slam title.

Wozniacki failed to dominate her unheralded opponent and struggled to hold serve throughout their Sunday's 80-minute encounter.

However she prayed on Sevastova's mistakes while hardly making any of her own, committing just 14 unforced errors to the Latvian's 36 over the two sets.

"Anastasija's a tough opponent -- she mixes her game up so well," Wozniacki said.

"She can play hard and then slows the ball down and it makes it hard to play against her."

Wozniacki has had to answer questions all week about the legitimacy of her world number one ranking after she reached the pinnacle without having won a Grand Slam.

But she has now won all four matches in Melbourne without dropping a set.

She next takes on either dual Grand Slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova or reigning French Open champion Francesca Schiavone in the quarter-finals.





source:Agence France-Presse/msn.com

Did you hear that Rafael Nadal is stripping off for a Emporio Armani ad campaign? The better news is that the campaign also includes Transformers hottie Megan Fox in lingerie in separate ads.

Pics of her inspired a few things ... the stuff we can talk about is the conversation of which tennis hottie you would most want to see in her underwear?

Personally? I'd pick Ana Ivanovic. Although the 2008 French Open champ already flamed out at this year's Australian Open, I still think she is a beauty! I'd like to see her in her undies or at least in a bikini like in this Sports Illustrated photo above.

Who would you pick?
Ana Ivanovic?
Maria Sharpova?
Jelena Jankovic?
Tatiana Golovin?
Jelena Dokic?
Gisela Dulko?
Sania Mirza?
Serena Williams?
Ashley Harkleroad (we have seen her in much less)?
Maria Kirilenko?
Or someone else? (We left off Anna Kournikova, as she is kind of retired and would likely win in a landslide!!!)

The debate continues to rage as to whether Swiss superstar Roger Federer or Spanish sensation Rafael Nadal is the best tennis player of all-time (with Pistol Pete Sampras also getting some much deserved attention). However, we certainly have never seen Nadal or Sampras posing like this.

Nadal is the new male body for the Emporio Armani jeans, lingerie and underwear brand. The female body? For the second season, Transformers, Jennifer's Body, Whore and Jonah Hex hottie Megan Fox. I certainly prefer to see her in her undies than Nadal! I wonder how she is with a racket?