London, Nov. 28 : Tens of thousands of British criminals sentenced to community punishment are to be forced from next week to wear high visibility orange bibs identifying them as offenders.

According to The Times, the fluorescent orange clothing will bear the words “community payback” on the back and front so that the public knows they are offenders doing physical work as part of their community sentence.

At any one time 35,000 offenders are doing community payback, which involves projects ranging from clearing derelict land to restoring buildings and decorating community centres.

London, Nov 28 : Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves has revealed that he will portray a friendly alien called ‘Klatu’ in his upcoming flick, which will be a remake of 1951 sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still.

In both the original movie and the remake, Klaatu arrives on Earth with a warning, but here Klaatu is a friend of the planet but not of mankind, and if he kills the latter, the former will survive.

The flick will also be featuring Jennifer Connelly, John Cleese and Will Smith''s 10-year-old son, Jaden.

London, Nov 28 : Hip-hop star Kid Rock, 37, says that his divorce with Pamela Anderson has helped him reassess his life.

The singer admitted that his marriage to the former Baywatch babe was a “nightmare”.

He said that the divorce had helped him look at his life again, and determine what he cared about.

“My divorce made me look at my life and think of what I cared about,” the Mirror quoted him as saying.

“Well, I love music and rather than go off the deep end with girls and drugs, I locked myself in the studio and made the best record I could.

“Success is the best revenge,” he added.

London, Nov 28 : Deputy mayor of Wimborne, Dorset, has banned the 400-year-old Christmas ritual of firing muskets as the noise may scare children.

The ritual involves volunteers dressed in full 17th-century militia garb and fire blanks to mark the festival.

Deputy mayor John Burden, 62 — in charge while the mayor is away — has now banned them.

“Last year there were kids who were very upset and crying,” the Sun quoted him as saying.

“Loud shots make you jump but we give plenty of notice,” Town crier and militia volunteer Chris Brown, 53, said.

London, November 28 : Oscar-winning actress/scriptwriter Emma Thompson has added one more vocational skill to her list of abilities—she is qualified to serve wine.

The 48-year-old star participated in the Call My Wine Bluff celebrity wine tasting event and auction in Lincoln’s Inn, London, in aid of the development charity ActionAid recently.

“I’ve done a course at Berry Bros and Rudd as a sommelier. So I’m now qualified to serve wine,” the Daily Express quoted her as proudly saying.

London, November 28 : Reese Witherspoon has revealed that she had never held a baby in her life before the birth of her first child, and that she was afraid that she would not be “a good mum”.

The ‘Legally Blonde’ star, who shares custody of her kids Ava, 9, and Deacon, 5, with her ex-hubby Ryan Phillipe, said that she had taken time to get used to being a mother.

“The first time I held Ava was the first time I’d ever held a baby in my life. I’d never babysat for anyone and I didn’t have any cousins,” the Mirror quoted her as telling the Ticket.