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Robin Hood opens 63rd Cannes Film Festival

Thousands of film industry experts, celebrities and press have descended on the French Riviera for the Cannes Film Festival.

Among them are actors Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett, both starring in Robin Hood, which is set to open the 12-day event. The film once again unites Gladiator director Ridley Scott with 41-year-old Crowe.

The film, dubbed 'Gladiator in Sherwood Forest' by Crowe's hometown newspaper, is reported to have cost over $200 million to make.

"No preconceptions"

Tim Burton, the American film director, will head the Palme d'Or jury and has said he is "sensitive" about his role. The 51 year-old director of Alice in Wonderland will sit alongside eight other judges, including actors Benicio del Toro and Kate Beckinsale, who have until May 23rd to decide the winner of the prestigious prize. Among the 19 films which are in competition for the prize are Another Year by Mike Leigh, starring Jim Broadbent, and Ken Loach's film Route Irish.

Burton said that he will judge with no preconceptions: "I think we've all been judged, so I think we're coming into this with a certain spirit and openness and hopefully compassion for any filmmaker.

"We've all been involved in it [film-making] and we all know what that's all about. We all like to be surprised, so there are no preconceptions; we don't want to have a 'certain kind of thing' that we're looking for."

The festival opens following last week's freak storms in the Côte d’Azur area which left the Croisette badly damaged.

Comment: Breaking the news, not making the news

After an embarrassing argument with one another on Sky News on Monday, former Labour head of communications Alastair Campbell has added fuel to the fire and labelled Sky News political editor Adam Boulton as "pathetic".

The not-exactly diplomatic Campbell, speaking at a charity football match, said: "I think the way the media covered this campaign was a joke" and that Boulton "needs a rest".

Click below to watch the slanging match between Boulton and Campbell:


This is the latest in several humiliating incidents involving Sky presenters. Kay Burley was heckled by protesters chanting "sack Kay Burley" during an interview on Monday, and she was later criticised on Twitter for her aggressive interviewing style. It is widely known that media mogul Rupert Murdoch's newspaper The Sun has sided with the Tories in this election. However as with all broadcasters in the UK, Sky News is obliged to follow Ofcom's rules concerning impartiality. Sky News has long been regarded as the news channel of choice, often first with breaking news and exclusives, but these recent events have prompted internet campaigns accusing Sky News of a pro-Tory, anti-Labour bias. Ofcom has received nearly 1500 complaints in total about Burley and Boulton's behaviour.

Obviously bosses at Sky will be unhappy that the people who are supposed to be reporting the news have become the news. The unprofessional behaviour of Boulton makes for amusing viewing, while the aggression that Burley shows towards her interviewee is difficult to watch. Both videos combined already have over 700,000 views on YouTube, thanks to the power of social media giants Twitter and facebook. These incidents have highlighted the importance of impartial broadcast media and the public dislike of political bias. With this is mind, employees of Sky News will no doubt be careful to avoid attracting attention to themselves in future.

Click below to see protesters heckle Kay Burley:

Gordon Brown resigns as prime minister

Gordon Brown has announced his resignation as prime minister. David Cameron is expected to arrive at Buckingham Palace shortly to accept an invitation by the Queen to form a government, with him taking over as PM.

Mr Brown had decided to resign following days of talks between the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives, who are set to form a coalition government.
 
Mr Brown spoke outside No 10 Downing Street with wife Sarah by his side and said he had "loved the job" and it had been "a privilege to serve". He wished "the next prime minister well" before leaving with Sarah and his two sons to meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
 
Read Gordon Brown's resignation speech in full

Party leaders prepare for second TV debate

The leaders of the three main political parties are preparing to take part in the second leaders' TV debate tonight in Bristol, at 8pm on Sky News.

Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg will answer questions about global affairs, including Trident and the Iraq war.

This follows last week's debate after which the Liberal Democrats experienced a huge boost in poll ratings.

Sky's Political Editor Adam Boulton will host proceedings.

Sky.com has a list of channels on which you can watch the debate

Budget 2010: How it affects you

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling has delivered his last Budget before the general election in May. He announced measures to cut spending and boost the economy following the recession.

But what does it mean for students?

There are several key points affecting students in this year’s budget:

• Tax rises on alcohol: From midnight on Sunday, cider duty will rise by 10% above inflation. This means the price of a bottle of cider will increase by 9p and a litre by 5p. The price of a pint of beer will go up by 2p, a bottle of wine will cost 10p more, while the cost of a bottle of spirits will rise by 36p.

• Smokers are not so badly affected. Tax on tobacco will increase to 1%, increasing by 2% each year until 2014.

• Universities are set to benefit. £270 million will be made available to universities to fund 20,000 extra places and improve other services.

• By January 2011, the price of fuel will have increased by 3%. It was thought previously the increase would be introduced next month.

• Darling “guaranteed” that any 18-24 year olds that are out of work would be offered work or training within six months of becoming unemployed.

Reaction

Darling says the price hike on alcohol will help to reduce binge drinking, but industry experts predict devastating effects for cider producers. Henry Chevallier, chair of the National Association of Cider Makers, said: ”This dramatic increase could well reverse the growth we have generated in recent years.”

Facebook groups protesting about the tax added to cider have already been set up. ‘The Wurzels – I am a Cider Drinker for UK no.1 Cider tax protest song’ has 397 members. James Maclean said: “Spread the word people, invite everyone and anyone. To paraphase Anne Boleyn, ‘let them drink booze!’”

Professor Stephen Glaister of the RAC Foundation said of the fuel duty increase: “at least there is some relief for cash-strapped motorists.” AA president Edmund King added: “Perhaps the thought of 32 million fuming drivers and voters influenced Government thinking.”

NUS President Wes Streeting said of the university funding: “We await the full costings of these proposals and will scrutinise them carefully to ensure promises are kept and that the money is provided to deliver additional places.”

The Budget has attracted criticism from Shadow chancellor George Osborne, labelling it “empty”, while the Lib Dems say both Labour and the Tories are ‘in denial” about the amount of spending cuts required for the country.

To see how the 2010 Budget will affect your lifestyle, go to the BBC Budget Calculator.

Q&A: The student loans fiasco

The recent student loans debacle has caused thousands of students to struggle to get through university life. The Student Loans Company could not cope with the huge increase in loan and grant applications, and as a result many first year students have had to scrimp and save in order to survive. I spoke to History student Lianne, who is still without her maintenance grant 5 months into the academic year, to gain an insight into the problems caused by the SLC's failings.

So, Lianne, how badly would you say you've been affected by this?

Well, it's definitely affected my university life. I was late with my application, but I still can't understand how it's taken so long to get my grant through. The SLC asked for my mum's divorce papers, and it took them nearly two months to process that. I've had to accept handouts from my family; I really don't know what I'd do if it wasn't for them.

How much are you owed?

About £2000. Two grants; one from the first term and one from the start of this term. The amount of money I've spent on phone calls to the SLC though is ridiculous; I think they owe me at least £200 extra!

Has your university helped you out at all?

I applied for the Access to Learning Fund, but even that took a while to come through. That helped me out with my rent, but didn't cover it.

So you've had problems paying rent, how understanding has your landlord been about all this?

Well, I've been lucky in that respect because he was fairly understanding to start with. But then he started emailing my housemates and it caused tension between us. I got the money to him eventually but only after a lot of stress and upset.

The last time Lianne spoke to the SLC they told her it would be about a week until her money came through. After 5 months of waiting, another week is nothing to her. She just feels it is a shame that she has had to spend the past 5 months without the financial help she was entitled to.

Profile: From Newcastle to New York

By Maria Soleil and Melissa Green

It’s 14^th December 2007. At her humble council house in Tyne and Wear, a visibly nervous Lauren is filming a make-up tutorial inspired by Leona Lewis’ ‘Bleeding Love’ video. She posts it to YouTube, and awaits a response from the masses of people that requested the look.

Fast forward two years, and that same video has been viewed over 3,200,000 times. Lauren has launched her own make-up line in the States, been featured in countless magazines and newspapers, and has appeared on This Morning and Paul O’Grady demonstrating her talent. She has had unimaginable success in America. Her products are stocked in over 130 retailers, and during the summer of last year, her face was plastered over billboards in Times Square at the Sephora launch of her product line. Advertising campaigns featuring global superstars such as David Beckham have appeared on the very same spot, so Lauren is already in esteemed company.

Lauren lives in a sleepy suburb of Newcastle-upon-Tyne with her boyfriend Ken, who is 12 years her senior, and her son Jordan, 11. Before finding fame and later fortune through YouTube, Lauren worked as a taxi dispatcher. As a single parent raising a son from a teenage pregnancy, Lauren looked to other ways to raise funds. She looked to her passion in life – make-up. She began by selling masses of it on eBay. Lauren took photos of herself wearing the make-up to give ideas to her customers, however she was inundated with requests and it was not long after this she realised the potential of YouTube in providing tutorials.

Under the alias Panacea81 (named after the Greek goddess and her year of birth) Lauren started accepting requests for make-up looks copied from celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Lady Gaga and Rihanna. Her tutorials are diverse and to date she has uploaded over 200 videos to the site. The process is simple: she films all her videos using a standard camcorder set up in the corner of her bedroom. Sometimes she uses her bathroom as the lighting is better.

Lauren’s tutorials on YouTube differ from others, she has no professional training, and as she has admitted herself she doesn’t edit her videos: “I don’t know how to.” She buys her own make-up; she won’t accept companies paying her to promote their products in her videos. The development of her own products, named bylaurenluke, means that Lauren often uses them in her tutorials but she does suggest alternatives.

Nine million channel views later and Lauren has built her own business empire. She has published a book, had a Nintendo DS game named after her and writes a weekly column for the Guardian beauty section. Include the lucrative deal with Sephora and TV appearances on both sides of the Atlantic and it is obvious that Lauren has come a million miles from her taxi dispatcher past.

On her YouTube channel, Lauren says “Let’s show the world together that everyone is just as beautiful if not more with just the confidence we hold.” That may be a cheesy line, but Lauren is a true inspiration to those out there who don’t conform to modern-day standards of beauty. She is an example of a talented person who has found well deserved success. And all she started with was a camera, a computer and a make-up kit.