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By Charlotte Hope @charlottehope VMAs Special The MTV Video Music Awards happened this weekend. Did you know? Of course you did. The annual ceremony is the focal point for many pop stars the world over. It is, after all, the forum in which Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake decided to wear matching patchwork denim outfits (2001) and in with Beyoncé Knowles-Carter announced her pregnancy (2011). These two events alone give the VMAs a huge amount of significance, so I thought...

By Robert Sun America is in danger of becoming the world’s first “derivative economy.” Once renowned around the world for our prodigious ability to manufacture, invent, and revolutionize, the U.S. is becoming a place where pastimes take precedence, image is king, and quick money is the goal. Eighty years ago, banking profits accounted for less than 5% of all U.S. corporate profit. In recent years they peaked at around 40%. College graduates are lured with the promise of making big...

By Charlotte Hope Celebrities Throwing Water on Themselves Remember ‘necknominate’? Remember how terrible that was, and how people kept getting put in hospital and disowned by their friends for being the worst? Yes. So do I. So it’s time to welcome the new craze - the ‘ice bucket challenge’! I think you’ll agree that it’s come at an ideal time given the swelteringly hot Summer we’re experiencing in the UK, with temperatures in the North soaring to 17 degrees celsius....

By Charlotte Hope - Celebrity Writer Kim Kardashian: Selfish Do you follow Kim Kardashian on Instagram? Don’t answer that. I’ve taken the mantle and followed her for you. I can confirm here and now, exclusively, that Kim Kardashian’s Instagram is mostly pictures of Kim Kardashian. I know this will come as a shock to you, so please feel free to take a moment. For those of you who don’t follow her on Instagram - or indeed have Instagram on your...

By Robert Sun Last March, 34 years after its predecessor program became the most viewed series in PBS history, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson, began its mission to introduce a new generation of viewers to the wonders of the universe. No less a fan than President Obama opened the first episode, saying that "there are new frontiers to explore, and we need Americans eager to explore them". President Obama has long been a proponent of education,...

By Charlotte Hope – Celebrity Writer Russell Brand v Sean Hannity Russell Brand has never been known for his reticence when it comes to political issues so it should come as no surprise that he has some feelings about the current conflict going on in Gaza. Brand posted a 12 and a half minute video on July 29th as part of his YouTube ‘Trews’ series which, at time of writing, has garnered 12.5 million views. In it, he picks apart...

Randgold have been digging up profits and a fruitful reward for staff of BT. Last week saw British American Tobacco’s share price decline due to the strength of the pound, which affected their profit margins whilst market analysts are still calling for investors to hold shares for a long-term yield. The share dividend paid 47.6p, a six per cent increase compared to last year, but there was a drop in cigarette sales that was relatively small compared to last year...

By Jo Loft, Co-Founder & Client Services Director, Fanatica Social media. Online word of mouth. Web 2.0. Web 3.0. It enabled Cancer Research UK to raise an unprecedented £8m in less than a week. It allowed 3,000 people share the mug shot of a violent criminal in California in two days – because they thought he was good-looking. But, if you’re a business-to-business organisation, so what? Brands need to be top of mind when decision-makers come to make their purchase....

By Charlotte Hope – Celebrity Writer Tulisa Contostavlos There really isn’t more I can add to this title. There’s just so much to SAY. I understand that Tulisa’s drug bust trial fell apart last week in court when it was decided that the ‘fake Sheikh’ was actually not telling the truth. The actual facts of this case seem to have been shrouded in the fame that Tulisa brought to the court room, but it seems she was set up for...