RED TOP REVIEW
Ronnie Wood is acting like a rock star
It is tabloid manna from heaven. The Sun claims a "world exclusive" about Ronnie Wood being allegedly back on the booze and running off with an 18-year-old Russian cocktail waitress. According to the paper, the 61-year-old's wife said the teenager's claims were untrue and that the pair were merely on an art trip: "She is mad - she is a terrible alcoholic." But the paper is insistent that the Rolling Stone is playing up to his rock 'n' roll stereotype and has "whisked her (the teenager) away to his luxury pad in Ireland".
A "source close to the guitarist" told the paper: "He met this girl when he was on a drinking binge and now they are drinking partners. His family just want him to stop drinking and come home. The primary problem is his alcoholism."
Pamela Anderson's not cheap at all
The pneumatic blonde red top favourite Pamela Anderson falls under the scrutiny of The Mirror this morning with the paper finding out just how much it costs to hire the Baywatch star. Following reports that she received more than £200,000 to appear on Australia's Big Brother, the paper checked out how much a one-hour meet and greet with fans would cost.
They found: "We needed resuscitating ourselves when told a minimum £75,000 including first class travel and hotel."
Crazy bird story of the day
The Mirror has also come up with another tabloid favourite - crazy animals. They report on a blackbird which mimics the sound of ambulances all day, starting at 5am. Alison Talbot, who lives with her family near a hospital in Weston-Super-Mare, said: "At first I thought it was a real ambulance. It's only a tiny bird but the sound is so loud, there is no drowning it out."
BUSINESS
By Nathalie Thomas
RBS to offload part of Australian division
Royal Bank of Scotland is in talks with National Australia Bank about selling off the local investment banking division of ABN Amro. National Australia Bank said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange today that it was "participating in a process being conducted by the Royal Bank of Scotland to acquire ABN Amro Holdings Australia".
But it added: "There can be no certainty that a transaction will result." A price was not disclosed but analysts have estimated the value of the Australian business at A$1.3bn (£632m).
Royal Bank of Scotland is keen to sell off several of its assets after it acquired ABN Amro as part of a consortium for £56.7bn last year. It recently sold its train leasing business Angel Trains for £3.6bn and has put its insurance arm, which includes the brands Direct Line and Churchill, up for sale.
TELEVISION
By Fiona Leith
Anyone for T?
Don't fancy standing in the middle of a muddy park, being showered by the great Scottish weather and a monsoon of Tennents lager? But do fancy seeing KT Tunstall, Newton Faulkner, the Wombats and Alphabeat at T in the Park? Dinnae fret, that lovely lass Edith Bowman has stuck on her wellies for you and will be broadcasting the highlights of the opening acts from this year's festival, tonight.
• T in the Park, BBC2, 8pm.
To the bone
Because all good gritty dramas need to have at their core a mystery to be unravelled, the new drama series, Bonekickers, shows promise. Julie Graham, Hugh Bonneville and Adrian Lester star as archaeologists investigating mysteries of the past. In this first episode they encounter a religious extremist after finding what they think is part of Christ's cross in a Somerset field.
• Bonekickers, BBC1, 9pm
SPORT
By Graham Bean
Csaba set to manage Hearts
Hearts are expected to appoint Laszlo Csaba as their new manager next week. Currently in charge of the Ugandan national team, Csaba was in Edinburgh yesterday for final talks with the Tynecastle club. If he accepts the job he will become the eighth manager of the Vladimir Romanov era at Hearts.
Csaba was born in Romania of Hungarian decent and had a successful spell in charge of Ferencváros, leading them to the Hungarian championship. He was coach when they defeated Hearts 1-0 in the Uefa Cup at Murrayfield in 2004 and became involved in a spat after the game with John Robertson, the then Hearts manager.
INTERNET
Website of the day: www.royoftherovers.com
Relive memories of Roy Race and Melchester Rovers at this site. The feast of football nostalgia also features other classic comic strips like Billy's Boots, Hotshot Hamish and Mighty Mouse. Gooooooaaaalll!!
The full article contains 791 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
