The Ladyboys of Bangkok have taken center stage in Belfast as part of their 2009 Mile High Tour. The transvestites are performing in the Speilgeltent in Custom House Square and will perform two shows a night as part of their two week residency, which runs until November 21.

News from the 32: Antrim, Armagh, Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Derry, Donegal, Down, Dublin, Fermanagh, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Tyrone, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow

As the much-loved Irish boyband star Stephen Gately, 33, was laid to rest by his friends and family on Saturday, a major controversy erupted in England over an article about the late Irish singer that some are calling homophobic.

How scary is Robert Pattinson the pretty boy 'vampire' this Halloween? Not scary at all it seems if we go by sales of horror masks. In fact, he doesn't make it to the top ten.

Lindsay Lohan's father Michael is set on doing a Sopranos-type intervention on his troubled daughter for her alleged addiction to prescription drugs. The Sopranos series from Michael Lohan says Lindsay’s prescription drug addiction is destroying her

Michael Lohan has revealed that he fears prescription drugs are killing his daughter. Lindsay Lohan’s semi-estranged father blames her downward spiral – professionally and personally – is due to the drugs she’s on.

Michael Jackson’s older brother Jermaine made a pit stop in Dublin on Friday en route from Vienna to appear on the “Late Late Show,” where he revealed to host Ryan Tubridy that Ireland was Michael’s “getaway” place to escape from all the madness in his ultimately tragic life.

An 18th century mansion and 14 holiday homes set on 47 acres have gone on sale in Ireland for a bargain basement €1m ($1.43m). Duninga House in County Kilkenny - the former family home of the Mullins racing dynasty - looks set to become the poster child for the massive Irish property

Irish actress Evanna Lynch, who plays the role of Luna Lovegood in the “Harry Potter” film series, has revealed that when it comes to music, all she listens to is Michael Jackson.

So Jimmy Fallon is getting great reviews and numbers for attacking Robert Pattinson on his nightly show. Good for him.

The best off-beat stories in the world of sport are the ones you can’t make up, and this is one of them. On Sunday afternoon the Mayo footballer Conor Mortimer scored a crucial goal in his team’s Connacht football final win over Galway in Salthill.

Soledad O'Brien talks to Cahir O'Doherty about growing up on Long Island with Irish and Afro-Cuban roots, and her highly anticipated new follow-up series "Black in America 2" debuting on CNN this week.

Studio bosses have cut the rudest, crudest scenes from Sacha Baron Cohen's new movie "Bruno" so Irish 15-year-olds can get past the ticket booth.

Sarah Jessica Parker and Irish-American husband Matthew Broderick will be taking their newborn twin daughters Marion Loretta Elwell and Tabitha Hodge Broderick to their holiday home in Donegal this summer. Donegal mayor Brendan Byrne has said that he would work with locals to allow the couple to expand their cottage for the twins.

Republican N.Y. Congressman Peter King appeared on “The O’Reilly Factor” Wednesday night to defend his controversial “pedophile” remarks about Michael Jackson. King is sticking to his word, stating that he was simply saying “what millions of Americans really felt.”

One race Peter King will not be undertaking is a Senate challenge to Kirsten Gillibrand. Like many others, he has been frightened away by the $40 million or so that Gillibrand is alleged to be raising for her election campaign next year.

Irish American congressman Peter King today slammed the late Michael Jackson as a “pervert” and has called on the media to stop “glorifying” him. The New York congressman said Jackson was a "low life." "He was a pervert, a child molester; he was a pedophile," storms King in a two-minute video he made outside an American Legion Hall near his office on Long Island.

U2 kicked off their new 360 Tour in front of 90,000 screaming fans in Barcelona last night from a spaceship. Well, it's not really a spaceship but it sure looks like one! The band walked on to the stage at 10 p.m. to the sounds of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” It was a fitting choice for an intro, being that the band’s stage, The Claw, resembles a spaceship on legs.

Irish-American superstar George Clooney is alive and well, despite false reports that the actor died on June 29. Clooney is just the latest celebrity to be declared dead in an internet hoax, which forced his representatives to release a statement confirming that the actor lives on.

WITH VIDEO: Tragic superstar Michael Jackson's final TV interview was filmed in Ireland. In the interview, which was filmed at Grouse Lodge recording studio with Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, Jackson is clearly uncomfortable with the media.

UPDATE! Check out our coverage and video of Susan Boyle at the O2 Center in Dublin... Click here

Michael Jackson wanted to build a leprechaun theme park in Ireland. Jackson, who was drawn to Ireland because of his fascination with fairies and leprechauns, visited Ireland several times, saying Ireland "inspired" him to make music.

Martin Nolan, 46, is an auctioneer to the stars. He is in the business of getting the best price possible for umbrellas, dresses, pictures and the like. However, these are not just anyone’s umbrellas, dresses and pictures. If Nolan's name is attached to them then you can be guaranteed they once belonged to a superstar.

Michael Jackson’s personal treasure chest of loot was showcased at the Newbridge Silverware factory in County Kildare earlier this year – before he went wacko and demanded its return -- and now it’s Marilyn Monroe’s turn to have her stuff on display at Newbridge’s Museum of Style.

What started as an incredible performance on “Britain’s Got Talent” has turned into a 100 million-hit YouTube video, a tabloid frenzy and most recently, a “South Park” shout-out and a Corrigan Brothers song. Singing sensation Susan Boyle continues to shoot to stardom on television and the World Wide Web – though perhaps not in the way she hoped.

Wassup with Michael Jackson? Okay, we know there are lots of things amiss in Wacko’s World, but now he’s freaked out over the auction of all the loot at his Neverland ranch in

The Tribeca Film Festival in downtown Manhattan goes from strength to strength each year, and 2008 is no exception. A stellar line-up of new Irish films will also be offered to entertain film buffs. CAHIR O'DOHERTY reports.

THOUGH he spent a good chunk of time in Ireland in the past year living a relatively low-key existence, breathless reports last week that Michael Jackson had plunked down $20 million for a castle in Co. Wicklow are false. Irish music magazine Hot Press proudly touted its "world exclusive," that Jackson had purchased Luggala Estate in Round-wood, Co.

Fallen pop king Michael Jackson has resorted to auctioning off the contents of his Neverland ranch in California to raise needed cash, and he's turned to an Irish auctioneer to help him do it. Martin Nolan, originally from Athlone, Co. Westmeath, is the executive director of the California-based Julien's Auctions, which specializes in entertainment related sales.

AS the February 15 ceremony draws nearer, details on this year's Meteor Awards show are leaking out. This is the equivalent of the Grammys on the Emerald Isle. The Blizzards, Cathy Davey and Future Kings of Spain are among the nominees for this year's Meteor Ireland Music Awards, which will take place in the RDS on Friday, February 15.

In the spirit of honesty in journalism, let me come clean. The Rye are my peeps!

They hail from Athenry, Co. Galway, birthplace of my father's tribe.

Jackie Hayden is a titan in the Irish music journalism business, with a career on both sides of the fence. He got his start in the record industry with Polydor Records in the 1960s and for most of the '70s was marketing manager with CBS Ireland, where he signed a little known band called U2 to their first record contract.

He left in 1983 to start a career as director and general manager of Irish music magazine Hot Press, and ran his own music consultancy company.

Why in God's name are you taking her to Cleveland for her birthday?!? That was a recurring question when I told people of my plans to celebrate my wife's milestone birthday (a husband's code of conduct forbids me from printing her age) this past weekend. I was just following orders; the missus always wanted to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Did I marry the right woman or what?

Walking up to the hall is an experience guaranteed to raise more than a goose bump or two.