Queen promotes ‘true’ Islam

New York Hoping to clear up misconceptions about Islam and plug her upcoming memoir, Jordan’s Queen Noor addressed about 500 publishers and booksellers Saturday.

“Part of my mission is to portray the Muslim faith as I understand it,” she told attendees of a national publishers’ fair, adding that Islam is often characterized as a “backward, fanatical religion.”

“This is not the Islam that I know and wholeheartedly embraced just before my marriage,” she said.

Her memoir, “Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life,” is slated for November publication. The book is expected to discuss Noor’s childhood in America as Lisa Halaby, her days at Princeton in its first coeducational graduating class, and her life as Queen Noor al-Hussein, wife of King Hussein, who died in 1999.

Smith stuck with $88 million

Santa Ana, Calif. A federal judge ruled enough was enough for former Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith, refusing to add $30 million to an $88 million award from the estate of her late husband.

Smith attorney Philip W. Boesch asked for the money April 15, telling the court it represents the interest Smith would have earned on the $88 million she was awarded in March from J. Howard Marshall’s estate.

U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter ruled Thursday that Smith will have to get along with the $88 million, saying it was meant to compensate her for the gifts promised her by Marshall.

Carter also said he wanted to punish her stepson, E. Pierce Marshall, for interfering with his father’s plan to give $88 million to the model. The judge said Smith could return to Los Angeles bankruptcy court, where the case was first heard, if she wants to pursue the interest money.

Smith has fought court battles in California and Texas over the fortune of her late husband, who died at age 90 in August 1995, 14 months after they wed.

Paying homage to Hepburn

United Nations A sculpture honoring the late actress Audrey Hepburn will be unveiled Tuesday next to the headquarters of the United Nations Children’s Fund.

Hepburn, star of films such as “Roman Holiday,” “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and “My Fair Lady,” served as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador from 1988 until her death in 1993, raising awareness of children’s issues around the world.

The 7-foot bronze sculpture by artist-sculptor John Kennedy, titled “The Spirit of Audrey,” was commissioned by Hepburn’s longtime companion, Robert Wolders, who donated the work to UNICEF.

“Audrey personified the spirit of UNICEF, and we hope those who see this statue will be inspired by her efforts on behalf of children,” Wolders said in a statement.

Roger Moore, Harry Belafonte, Mia Farrow, Isabella Rossellini and Nane Annan, wife of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, will attend the ceremony, UNICEF said.