Ben Whishaw to play Q in new Bond film 'Skyfall'

LOS ANGELES: British actor Ben Whishaw will reprise the character of high-tech weapons specialist "Q" in the upcoming James Bond film "Skyfall," a role previously played by actors Desmond Llewelyn and John Cleese, media outlets reported on Friday.

The BBC said Whishaw's agent confirmed the young actor in the role of Q opposite Daniel Craig's Bond in the upcoming 23rd installment of the franchise, directed by Sam Mendes.

Whishaw was introduced as a cast member in a London press conference announcing production on "Skyfall" last month, but his specific role was not revealed at the time.

Q, who dreams up the super secret weapons that spy Bond uses to track down bad guys, has long been one of the favourite characters in the action-packed movies.

At 31, Whishaw, known for roles in 2008's "Brideshead Revisited" and BBC's drama series "The Hour," is considerably younger than his Q predecessors Llewelyn and Cleese.

Welsh actor Llewelyn played Bond's gadget scientist for 36 years, delivering his trademark reprimands on the hazards of gun play to Bond actors Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan.

After Llewelyn's death in a fatal car collision in 1999 aged 85, "Fawlty Towers" actor John Cleese took over the role of Q for 2002's "Die Another Day." AGENCIES

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Actress Lindsay's father has heart surgery

LOS ANGELES: Actress Lindsay Lohan's father Michael Lohan is undergoing heart surgery on Friday after being rushed to a hospital in Florida with chest pains and high blood pressure, said his spokeswoman.

Lohan was hospitalized on Thursday night after complaining of shortness of breath and chest pains. He registered a high blood pressure reading of 200/110, taken by an ambulance crew.

The 51-year-old Lohan is at the Gulf Coast Hospital in Fort Myers where he is having a stent inserted and a blood clot removed from his lungs. He is expected to recover within a week, his spokeswoman said.

Spokeswoman Gina Rodriguez said in an email to Reuters that Lohan had not received his blood pressure or heart medicine in a week at the treatment center where he is currently staying under a court order.

Lohan was arrested back in October on domestic battery charges in Florida after former girlfriend Kathryn Major filed a report with local police. He was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to spend the first four months at a residential treatment center in Fort Myers, Florida.

He had previously complained of chest pains and been taken to a hospital in October. AGENCIES

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George Michael postpones tour due to pneumonia

LONDON: British singer George Michael has been forced to postpone the rest of his European tour due to ongoing treatment for "severe" pneumonia, his spokeswoman said on Friday. 

But she denied reports that the former Wham! Frontman was suffering from serious heart problems and was "slowly improving" in hospital in Vienna. (Reuters)

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Kareena Kapoor tops sexiest Asian woman list

LONDON: Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor has emerged as the sexiest Asian woman in the world, according to a survey.

Eastern Eye, a weekly, conducted a survey through social networking sites like twitter and Kareena came out on top, edging out last year`s winner Katrina Kaif.

Kareena, who recently gave hits like `Bodyguard` and `Ra.One`, won by one per cent of votes, the narrowest ever margin and beat off tough competition from some of the most stunning women from around the world.

Katrina, who had won the title for the last three years by a large margin, slipped into second place.

Eastern Eye showbiz editor Asjad Nazir said, “This battle between the two beauties is a sign of things to come in Bollywood in the next few years. Although the list contained pop stars, TV personalities, models and film stars from around the world, the voting quite comprehensively showed that Kareena and Katrina have put a distance between themselves and the rest of the contenders in terms of popularity.”

Hrithik Roshan`s wife Sussanne received a massive number of votes and was one of the highest new entries at number 16.

Other notable stars in the list included Priyanka Chopra (3), and Bipasha Basu (4), who both slipped down one place each. 

Frieda Pinto came 5th, followed by Deepika Padukone (7).

New entries included Jacqueline Fernandez (12), Nargis Fakhri (23) and Sonakshi Sinha (38).

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan came 6th and Sonam Kapoor 9th. Lara Dutta stood at number 15 and Malaika Arora Khan at 19.

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