Lady Gaga is more powerful than the Queen according to Forbes

Lady Gaga was the youngest woman on the list, at age 26, placed #14, and she was 12 places higher than the Queen, despite a high profile year with the Royal Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympics. The Duchess of Cambridge did not feature in the list of 100.

Rihanna cries over Chris Brown

It's been well over three years since Chris Brown left Rihanna bruised and battered on the streets of Los Angeles the night before the Grammy Awards, but she's still fielding questions about the incident. This week, footage from Oprah Winfrey's lengthy interview with the Barbados-born pop star hit the Internet, including a telling moment in which Rihanna tearfully explains how she felt protective of Brown during the fallout from the attack.   "It was a weird, confusing space to be in. Because as angry as I was, as angry and hurt and betrayed, I just felt like he made that mistake because he needed help and who's going to help him?" Rihanna told Winfrey. "Nobody's going to say he needs help. Everybody's going to say he's a monster without looking at the source, and I was more concerned about him."Rihanna admitted that she had trouble dealing with the breakup: "I lost my best friend. Everything I knew switched ... switched in a night and I couldn't control that."   Rihanna did not address rumors that she and Chris are back together on the down low, perhaps because she knows it would be a miserable career move and make the whole affair a lot less fun.

50 cent mocks Kanye west with Kim kardashian

The two rappers, one the lumbering bad boy from Queens, the other the superfly Ivy Leaguer, have been competing for record sales for a number of years, but this time it's personal.  37-year-old Fiddy made the remark when asked by XXL magazine for his opinion on Kardashian and West's new song Perfect Bitch.  "You know how it is? One man's trash is another man's treasure." He quipped. "I mean, if that man feel like she's perfect, then she's perfect. He could mean it and you'll end up singing the words to it because he's Kanye."   He added, "The smartest guys I know have lost being a bad judge of character in that area".  The feud between the pair has been on and off for a number of years, with 50 Cent threatening to quit the music business if West's album Graduation outsold his album Curtis.  West has previously compared being dissed by 50 Cent to like "being spat on by a little kid".

Man United sign Robin Van Persie

Manchester United have confirmed they have agreed a deal to sign Robin van Persie from Arsenal.  The announcement comes after an intense period of negotiations and is subject to Dutch striker Van Persie passing a medical and agreeing personal terms.  "Manchester United is pleased to announce it has reached agreement with Arsenal Football Club for the transfer of Robin van Persie," said a club statement.  "The deal is subject to a medical and the agreement of personal terms. A further announcement will be made in due course."  It is not anticipated there will be any problems with either remaining part of the deal.  And providing it goes through without a hitch, Van Persie could face Everton in United's opening Premier League game at Goodison Park on Monday.  No fee has been confirmed by United, although it is believed to be over the £20million mark, with further payments to Arsenal depending upon success in the future.It has been suggested Van Persie will sign a four-year deal.  The transfer represents the biggest deal United have done since Dimitar Berbatov's club record £30.75m move from Tottenham in 2008.  It comes at a time when further questions are being raised about the finances available to Sir Alex Ferguson.  This will now be of little concern to the United boss, who has consistently stated how much backing he has received from the Glazer family.  Despite the presence of England Euro 2012 star Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez in his squad, in addition to Berbatov, who has been widely tipped to leave Old Trafford, Ferguson made Van Persie one of his main summer targets.  The Red Devils initially lodged a bid for the 29-year-old last month, but this was turned down by the Gunners amid further interest from Manchester City and Juventus.  However, City never followed up an initial inquiry, while Van Persie made it clear he was not interested in a move to Serie A.  Having taken the unusual step of confirming a bid for Van Persie on United's pre-season tour of South Africa, Ferguson is then said to have intervened in a deal that was in danger of stalling by speaking directly with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

Although Wenger did not want to sell his star man to a rival club, he realised the Gunners were in a tricky situation, with supporters turning against their former favourite during a pre-season encounter with Cologne on Sunday.  United fans will certainly be thrilled by the potential of Wayne Rooney partnering last season's Golden Boot winner.  Van Persie scored 37 goals in all competitions, enough to land him both the PFA and FWA player of the year awards.  In addition, the Holland international managed 15 assists.  If there is a risk to the transfer it is Van Persie's patchy injury record.  His 48 games last season was by far the most during his time at Arsenal.  In only three of his other seven seasons has he featured on more than 35 occasions.  Ferguson will presumably believe he has the resources that will ensure not too much is demanded of Van Persie, especially as Welbeck is believed to be on the brink of agreeing a new contract.  It also brings to an end one of the summer's most long-running transfer sagas.  Van Persie is expected to fly straight to Manchester to complete his medical tomorrow after he was left out of Holland's friendly with Belgium in Brussels.

Prince philip taken to hospital by ambulance

The Duke of Edinburgh has been taken to hospital after a recurrence of the bladder infection he had in the summer, Buckingham Palace has said.  Prince Philip was taken by ambulance to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary from Balmoral, some 50 miles away, this afternoon.  He is expected to remain in hospital for the next few days while the illness is investigated and treated, the palace said in a statement.  The Duke spent five nights in hospital in June with a bladder infection following the Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the River Thames.  He was discharged from London's King Edward VII just in time for his 91st birthday in June, but his treatment meant the Queen spent some of her jubilee celebrations without him by her side.  At Christmas he was treated for a blocked coronary artery following chest pains.  Some observers have expressed concern about the couple's gruelling schedule during the jubilee year, marking the 60th anniversary of the Queen's ascent to the throne.  Phil Dampier, royal journalist, told Sky News: "I thought the schedule that they had for the jubilee was extraordinary ... it would have had me on my knees or someone half their age on their knees, and yet they carried on with all their duties.  "It has worried me for some time that they have been overdoing it and I'm sure that this is the result."  He said a lift had been installed at Sandringham which the Duke could have used following his heart surgery at Christmas, but he had refused to use it.  "The trouble with the Duke is that he cannot sit still," said Mr Dampier.  Royal photographer Ian Lloyd said: "He's not somebody that you think of as someone in their 90s. He's very much young at heart."Prince Philip was at the Queen's side during the opening ceremony of the London Olympics on July 27 and watched their granddaughter Zara Phillips' Olympic debut.  They are expected at the opening ceremony of the Paralympics later this month.  The Duke has only just returned from two days of engagements in Cowes, on the Isle of Wight, in his role as Admiral and member of the Royal Yacht Squadron.  Last week he made a public appearance at a garden party in the northeast of Scotland, attended by the Queen and around 3,000 guests.

Brad Pitt congratulates Jennifer Aniston on Engagement

Brad Pitt just congratulated Jennifer Aniston on her engagement.  We live in hope. Brad's getting married to Ange, Jen's getting married to Justin - I feel a cheesy rom-com in the making, do you? Now I'm sure Justin Theroux is just lovely and I'm sure Angelina is just... eh nevermind, but wouldn't you just love for the other two to make amends?  Anyhoo, the 48-year-old star spoke with Jen, who he split from in 2005, to say how pleased (or TRAUMATISED?) he was to hear the news that Justin had proposed on his 41st birthday dinner last Friday.  A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: 'Brad gave Jen a quick call to say how pleased he was to hear that she was getting married... He jokingly asked if he should 'save the date', and they both laughed, but told her in all seriousness that he was really happy for her and Justin... He wished her luck and told her he hopes they're very happy together.'  Apparently Jen wished him well too on his forthcoming nuptials. This is all too amicable for my liking, somebody do something dramatic!  The source later added 'Brad and Jen don't get in touch that often as they've both moved on with their lives... Jen does still chat to his mum, Jane, so there are rumours in Hollywood that she will make an appearance at the wedding... But the guest list hasn't even been started yet, so it's too early to say for sure.'