Elizabeth Hurley marries businessman at castle

Winchcombe, England – Elizabeth Hurley married an Indian businessman in a private civil ceremony at a 15-century castle, and photographers and spectators descended Saturday on this quiet town in western England to catch a glimpse of their lavish wedding party.

Gloucestershire County Council confirmed that Hurley and Arun Nayar married Friday at Sudeley Castle in Winchcombe, 125 miles west of London. The pair planned to hold a blessing and party at the castle later Saturday, with guests including Elton John, Kate Moss and Hurley’s ex-husband, Hugh Grant.

Security guards on Saturday patrolled the castle grounds, set amid the Cotswold hills of western England. A large tent had been erected in the grounds, and a covered walkway led from the gardens to the building.

According to reports, the couple will fly to India for celebrations in Mumbai and Rajasthan next week.

Comedy festival names Colbert person of the year

Aspen, Colo. – Stephen Colbert, a faux conservative who often honors himself on his Comedy Central show, was lauded by the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival as their “Person of the Year.”

“What an honor. An honor to receive and an honor for you to give to me,” Colbert said during the ceremony late Friday.

Often appearing to be a combination of Bill O’Reilly and Archie Bunker, Colbert emphasized that his television character is not him.

“He’s not malicious, he’s ill-informed, you know. It’s just a product of his own education. And he thinks he’s saying and doing the right thing, he’s not actually trying to hurt anybody,” said Colbert.

Colbert said he is writing a book.

It will be “what is best and what’s worst about America,” he said. “You know, it’s 20 subjects … all of the important things, the culture war, religion, hygiene, sports.”

Colbert said he envisions his character preparing for each night’s show by singing along with the Cheap Trick song “I Want You to Want Me,” and doing a full-body shave.

“I never in a million years imagined that a character who was essentially based on O’Reilly a year and a half ago” would have this honor, Colbert said, and suggested he’ll get weeks worth of content out of the Aspen honor.

Everett leads parade at Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras

Sydney, Australia – Rupert Everett and 250 men dressed as Kylie Minogue were among 8,000 revelers who marched through Sydney late Saturday for the 29th annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

The yearly parade began as a street demonstration in 1978, but has since morphed into one of the city’s biggest outdoor parties, attracting thousands of spectators from around the world.

New South Wales state police said about 350,000 people packed the sidewalks of Oxford Street – the center of Sydney’s gay scene – to catch a glimpse of the colorful floats bearing messages both political and playful.

Everett, an openly gay actor who has often complained about Hollywood’s homophobia, was the parade chief.

One of the largest displays in the parade featured some 250 Minogue impersonators dubbed the “Impossible Princesses,” while another float titled the Unkultured Klub of Karma Kleaners honored the former Culture Club lead singer Boy George.