Japan’s No. 1 Elvis fan

Tokyo – When Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi tours Graceland later this month with President Bush, he will be representing a big constituency – Japan has droves of Elvis Presley fans and the biggest Elvis fan club in all of East Asia. Koizumi, who shares a Jan. 8 birthday with Elvis, will be in the United States June 28-30. He will visit the White House on June 29 and Graceland the following day.

Namibia rumors denied

New York – Britney Spears, through her press representative, denied a report Friday that she was considering a Namibian birth for her next baby.

“Not true,” Spears’ New York-based publicist, Leslie Sloane Zelnik, said. Zelnik did not elaborate.

Earlier in the day, Deputy Environment and Tourism Minister Leon Jooste said officials had received an inquiry on behalf of the 24-year-old pop star, who has a 9-month-old son, Sean Preston, with husband Kevin Federline.

Spears, who recently announced she is expecting a second child, has taken a beating in the tabloids, which have questioned her parenting skills. She has been photographed driving with Sean Preston in her lap, and nearly dropped him when she tripped outside a New York City hotel.

In an interview with NBC’s “Dateline” on Thursday night, Spears said the criticism has crossed the line and that she feels like a “target.”

“I know I’m a good mom,” she said.

Ambushed by PETA

New York – Beyonce Knowles had several surprise guests at a recent dinner, where members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals peppered her with questions about her fur use.

An eBay auction offered fans a chance to dine with Knowles, and PETA secretly placed the winning bid. At the dinner Wednesday at the chic Nobu 57 restaurant, members of the animal rights group confronted Knowles about wearing fur coats and using fur in her clothing line, House of Dereon.

A video of the encounter, posted on www.tmz.com, shows a stunned Knowles, unresponsive to the allegations and appealing to others in her group to react. The PETA guests, whose tone was conversational but persistent, are eventually kicked out of the restaurant.

A spokesman for the singer said Friday that Knowles, 24, had no comment.