Stars gather to celebrate 2005 Nobel peace laureate

Oslo, Norway – Celebrities including Julianne Moore and Salma Hayek praised this year’s Nobel peace laureate on Sunday for his efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons.

The stars gathered in the Norwegian capital to perform in the annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert, which was held this year in honor of Mohamed ElBaradei and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“ElBaradei said the largest threat to world security and all of our futures is (nuclear) terrorism,” Moore, a three-time Oscar nominee, said at a news conference. “There is nothing more pressing right now than a global effort for peace and control of these materials.”

Moore, 44, and Hayek, 39, were joint masters of ceremony for the concert, which also featured Gladys Knight, Duran Duran, Westlife and Sugababes.

“When we can collectively, as a social conscience, dream a dream of peace, this is when peace will become a very tangible reality,” Hayek said.

The show, held the day after the Nobel awards ceremony, was broadcast to about 100 countries. It has become the cornerstone of three days of Nobel peace celebrations in Norway.

ElBaradei and the agency he leads shared the coveted award for their effort to curb the spread of nuclear weapons and keep them out of the hands of terrorists. They were also honored for using diplomacy in efforts to resolve standoffs with Iran and North Korea over their nuclear programs.

Auction of former Reds owner’s estate draws fans

Cincinnati – Antique aficionados and baseball fans attended an auction on items from the estate of former Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott.

Parts of the estate, valued at $123 million, were on the block Friday, including swords, dog dishes, poker tables and punch bowls.

Schott’s Reds memorabilia was not for sale, but that did not stop baseball fan Chris Smith. He bought dog dishes and a dog place mat for $175, even though he doesn’t have a dog.

“I’m a huge baseball fan,” said Smith, 31. “I always liked Marge, and I just wanted a couple of her things.”

The auction drew about 250 bidders and raised $180,700 for the Marge and Charles J. Schott Foundation, which has supported the Cincinnati Zoo and Boy Scouts of America.

Schott was 75 when she died last year.

Italian singer offers taste of upcoming album in Vegas

Henderson, Nev. – Italian pop and classical singer Andrea Bocelli sampled from his forthcoming album at a private concert.

Bocelli was joined by songwriter and producer David Foster on a floating stage Saturday in Lake Las Vegas, a resort community 20 miles south of Las Vegas.

Opening with the Latin bolero “Besame Mucho,” the duo stuck largely to the Spanish and Italian love songs featured on Bocelli’s “Amore,” which is headed for stores in February. But the Tuscan crooner also played to the Las Vegas crowd by delivering his own rendition of Elvis Presley’s classic “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

Dubbed “Amore Under the Desert Stars,” the concert was taped for New York television station WNET’s “Great Performances” series on PBS and is scheduled to air in March.

Greta Garbo letters stolen from Swedish public archive

Stockholm, Sweden – Two letters and two postcards written by Swedish screen legend Greta Garbo appear to have been stolen from a public archive, officials said Friday.

The documents, written by Garbo to her close friend Vera Schmiterlow after the actress moved to Hollywood in the 1920s, were reported stolen from the Military Archives of Sweden last month after a researcher found they were missing, archivist Anders Degerstrom said.

It was unclear what the documents were worth, he said.

Degerstrom said the documents had not been checked out since March 2004, according to archive records. The letters could have been stolen any time since then, he said.

All documents can be checked out by the public and viewed in one of the archive reading rooms, but cannot be taken home, Degerstrom said.

The correspondence was kept in a larger file of documents that originally belonged to Schmiterlow’s brother, a military official. They were donated to the archive in 1975, Degerstrom said.

He said it could not be ruled out that the letters and postcards had simply been misplaced, but that it would be difficult to find them if that were the case.

“We have about 45 miles worth of shelves,” he said.

This year’s 100th anniversary of the film star’s birth was celebrated in Sweden with special screenings of her films and an exhibit at the Swedish National Portrait Gallery.

Brooks, Yearwood married in private Oklahoma ceremony

Country music stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood got hitched Saturday in a private ceremony at their Oklahoma home.

Brooks, 43, an Oklahoma native, and Yearwood, 41, exchanged vows before relatives, a publicist for the couple said.

Yearwood was Brooks’ opening act on his first headlining tour, and he sang backup vocals on her 1991 debut. Yearwood sang backup on most of Brooks’ albums, and they shared a Grammy in 1997 for best country collaboration with vocals for “In Another’s Eyes.”