Taylor Swift America's favourite sweetheart

Taylor Swift's personal pop songs are loved by millions of fans but it's her positive attitude and generosity that make her a real star. 

From the moment the 14-year-old singer arrived in the city of Nashville, USA, it was clear she was destined for success. Taylor Swift moved to the American country music capital from her home in Pennsylvania for just one reason... she wanted to be famous country singer. Her songs soon made an impression on music bosses... and her dream beame a reality. 

EARLY SUCCESS
In 2006, at age 16, Taylor released her first single "Tim McGraw" about one of her ex-boyfriends. Love has been at theme of her music ever since. Taylor's public appreciated her intimate, autobiographical songs and in 2008 she was nominated for her first Grammy award. Then at the 2010 Grammy awards, she became the youngest singer to win Album of the Year at the age of 20.

INTERNATIONAL STAR
The talented singer now has an international reputation. Taylor's third album, Speak Now, was Number One in the USA, and Taylor has also toured Norht America, Europe and Australia. Taylor loves playing live shows and speaking with her fans. "Fans are my favourite thing in the world", she says. "I'll hang out with them after the show. I'll hang out with them before the show".

LOVE LIFE
Recently, Taylor has been the subject of speculation about her relationship with One Direction's Harry Styles. She says she is embarrrassed that people talk about her love life. In the past, Taylor has had lots of famous boyfriends such as Joe Jonas, Taylor Lauthner and Jake Gyllenhaal.

TAYLOR THE ACTRESS
Taylor Swift isn't just a country singer she is an actress too! Taylor has had roles in Valentine's Day, the Lorax and teh TV series CSI. She also played herself in the film Hannah Montana: The Movie. With a successful music career and all her Grammy awards, perhaps the next step for Taylor Swift is to win an Oscar?

POSITIVE INFLUENCE
Like other pop artist such as Shakira, Taylor Swift likes to help others. She gives money to schools and recorded the Hope for Haiti Now album for the victims of the disaster there.  she also has a good influence on young people: Taylor avoids alcohol and cigarettes. "I don't drink to get drunk because that's just not cute.. and I don't want to smoke anything because I sing" she says. 

name: Taylor Alison Swift
date of birth: 13 December 1989
age: 23
star sing: Sagittarius
place of birht: Wyomisssing, Pennsylvania, USA

London Marathon

Many big cities have a marathon. But London's marathon is special... most people run it for charity. It's the largest annual fundraising event in the world: since 1981 it has raised more than 525 million euros. But it isn't easy to run 42km dressed like a dragon... even if it's for a good cause. 

Water art

American photographer Tim Tadder has produced a great series of futuristic pictures showing bald people with water instead of hair. 

It's not a digital trick- the water is in ballons that are dropped on the model's head. Tadder takes the photo at the exact moment the balloon explodes.

Baby suit

FASHION! 
Yes, it's a onesie -a baby romper suit for adults. It's also the number one fashion item in the UK right now, widely adopted by celebrities from Rihanna to One Direction. Opinion is divided about whether they should be worn i public, but they are so successful that they were the most popular Christmas gift last year. They're all over Britain, the USA and Japan, but will the style-concuscious French also sccumb to the onesie?

Hyde Park on Hudson

The story of how King George VI convinced the USA to join the war

A few month before the Second World War, Britain knew it needed America's help to fight the Germans. But most Americans didn't want their country to get involved in the war. 

At this crucial moment, King George VI (recently played by Colin Firth in The King's Speech) was invited to President Franklin D.Roosevelt's country home for a picnic. Not to say too much, the film suggests that the Allied victory over Germany started with a hot-dog!

Bill Murray is charming as Roosevelt, and Samuel West has the difficult job of following Colin Firth as George VI, but he does it his own way and is good in the role. The hod-dog episode is real enough, but most of the scenes are imagined -so it may not be the entire turht, but it makes a good story. RM Week-End Royal.

OUT: FEBRUARY 27

director: Roger Michell

Stars: Bill Murray, Laura Linney, Samuel West

Story: King George VI meets President Roosevelt  

Surgical games

Austin, Texas

Students who play computer games are better than professional surgeons at perfoming virtual operations, say scientists. Researchers from the University of Texas found that the more time people spent on computer games, the better they were at perfoming simulated tasks such as putting in sutures. Although the difference was small, the improvements in hand-to-eye coordination may give an advantage to the next generation of surgeons.

Botox for players

A doctor from New York's East Side is offering to help card players get the perfect "poker face" with botox. "Very few people can maintain a real poker face. They have some expression that gives aqay that they have a good hand or a baad hand to an opponent," says Dr Jack Berdy. The doctor wants to ask players what signals reveal their emotions and then use botox to freeze these areas. Professional poker players are sceptical, however. They say the modern game is more about statistics than reading players' expressions.

BASEBALL WORLD SERIES

Baseball is the national sport in the USA and attracts millions of fans. Every October, the champions of the National League and the American League play in the World Series tournament. If they win, they are officially the best team in the country. 

ARTHUR CHRISTMAS

Fans of 3D animation will love this film by the creators of Wallace and Gromit. It's Christmas Eve, and Father Christmas's son, Arthur, must deliver a present to a little girl before Christmas morning. You'll also learn how Father Christmas delivers so many presents in just one night!

This is the trailer from the film;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tk-WZSqIGQ

It's a funny film!

IN TIME

Imagine a future where you pay for things with time, not money. That's what happens in this action-thriller. To live beyond the age of 25, people must work to earn time. A poor man, Will Salas (Justin Timberlake), is accused of murdering a rich man to steal his time. Can Will scape form the police?

FILM TRAILER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mjs9VWkdKD0

I saw this film and it's really emocionant!

UNION J

You know One Direction, but do you know the group Union J? Like One Direction, they became famous on the British TV talent show Xfactor. They didn't win-they were eliminated in the semi -final. But One Direction didn't win either... and now they're superstars!

ONE DIRECTION

UNION J

GREASE

One of the most famous American musicals is back in cinemas to celebrate its 35th anniversary. It's the story of two teenagers, Sandy and Danny, who fall in love during the summer holidays. The soon discover they are at the same High School. But how can a cool guy like Danny date a nice, sensible girl like Sandy? 


Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzWmxjYNfz4

SPORTY PIGS

Splash! A Chinese farmer has made a diving board for his pigs. Each day the pig dive into a pond. People come to see the pigs dive and the farmer says the animals are healthier because of the aquatic exercise. The farmer is happy. But are the pigs happy? When they don't want to dive, the farmer has to push them in!

MUSIC

ALICIA KEYS

Alicia Keys is famous for her pop songs, but did you know she is also an excellent classical pianist? Her first album was a big success and made her the best-selling R&B artist of 2001. Her new album is doing well too. Alicia says she wants it to inspire her female fans. You might know the songs "Girl on Fire" and "Brand New Me". Do they inspire you?

BRUNO MARS

2012 was a busy year for Bruno Mars. The singer from Hawaii became an international star and played concerts around the world. Bruno released his first album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans, in 2010. Bruno is a talented musican: he grew up in a musical family and plays drums, guitar, keyboard, bass, piano and harmonica. His second album, Unorthodox Jukebox, is sure to be a hit!

STEVE JOBS!

APPLE: Steve Jobs (1955-2011) Personal fortune: $8,3 billion University: Dropped out of Reed College, Orgeon Steve Jobs co-founded the Apple Computer Company in his adoptive parents' garage in 1976. Although Apples were always seen as easier to use than other computers, PCs were much cheaper and by 1985 he was fired from his own company. Apple continued to decline, but Jobs did well thanks to his possession of Pixar Studios, the makers of Toy Story. In 1996, Jobs returned to Apple, beginning its remarkable recovery. Guided by his obsession with good design, the company produced a series of hit consumer products from 2000 onwards. By the time of his death it had become the most valuable company in the world. the company is now led by Tim Cook, and design remains under the control of Sir Jonathan Ive, the British designer responsible for the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad.

36 HOURS AT OXFORD UNIVERSITY

Today's Ben Grafton Joins students at Britain's elite university fo a formal dinner, water sports and a game of croquet... how very British! First a word of advice: shen visiting Oxford don't ask anyone where Oxford Universtity is. No, really. Although it is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious universities, with some 20,000 students, in a sense, "Oxford University" doesn't exist. It is in fact a collection of 38 independent colleges, the oldest of which date back to the 13th century. The colleges are situated all over the city - so when you visit Oxford, the university is all around you. Each college has its own character, style traditions. The most famous is Christ Church. Founded in 1525, it has produced 13 British prime ministers, but is now more familiar to people around the world for providing some of the key locations for the Harry Potter films. A CHARMING COLLEGE I, however, have a date with Worcester College, a pretty college founded in 1714 and one of Oxford's "best-kep secrets". Media mogul Rupert Murdoch studied here in 1970's, so it is a nice irony that I'd read about Worcester's most famous current student in one of his newspapers, The Sun. Yes, for the next 36 hours, I will be staying at the same college where atress Emma Watson is now studying. I'm greeted at the entrance to Worcester College, not by Emma, but by Worcester student president Sam Barker (right), who shows me around its beautiful gardens. Author Lewis Carroll, a former Christ Church student, was a frequent visitor here, Indeed the gardens inspired some of the most famous scenes in his cult book Alice in Wonderland. Sadly, Emma Watson is nowhere to be seen; she's filming her laster movie. SUMMER SPORT Sam takes me to the river to watch the annual boat racer between Oxford and Cambridge. Today, however, is the Summer Eights regatta: a four-day series of races involving 158 boats and 1,400 rowers. They row on the River Thames, or "Isis" as the river is known locally. Walking along its banks, dodging Oxford's many cyclists, I'm impressed to see that each college has its own boathouse. With some oxford colleges earning 300 million pounds in endowments, investment in sports facilities is expected. But his seems too good to be true! On the balcony of the Worcester College boathouse, I meet members of the boat club. Will, a third-year English student who has just finished his exams, is in particularly high spirits. What's the best thing about Oxford, I ask him? " Being at the river with nothing to do, in 25 degrees (Celsius). But I'm going to have to join the real world soon."