England's Poet Laureate, Ted Hughes, who last week stunned the literary world with a series of previously unknown impassioned poems to his tragic poet wife Sylvia Plath, has won the £21,000 Whitbread Book Award.
But the prize was not for his new book, Birthday Letters - it went to last year's collection, Tales from Ovid.
Illness prevented 67-yearold Hughes, who is in any case reclusive, from collecting his award at last night's Whitbread dinner in London, and it was accepted on his behalf by arts presenter Melvyn Bragg.
Prince Albert of Monaco, a veteran of international bobsleigh events, is to pilot the principality's bobsleigh team at the Winter Olympics in Japan next month.
Berlin authorities said yesterday they had found the bunker of Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda chief, near where a Holocaust memorial is to be built.
The bunker was found by geo-physical soundings to check out an "anomaly" during construction for the new German upper house of parliament. The bunker is near Goebbels' residence, not far from the Brandenburg Gate.
The Spice Girls have won awards at the 25th annual American Music Awards. The girls won favourite band, favourite album and favourite new artist in the pop/rock category.
Julio Iglesias became the first person to capture the best Latin artist award.
Luciano Pavarotti has recovered from a dizzy spell he suffered while singing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He "went to the doctor [on Monday], and had a complete physical. The doctor said he is completely fine," his manager said.