In brief: Boy George cancels US tour

Boy George (pictured) has been forced to cancel a north American tour after the US authorities denied him a visa to enter the country; he is currently awaiting trial on a charge of "falsely imprisoning a man"… David Cameron has enlisted the support of the man who dreamt up The X Factor, Simon Cowell, to help him stage his public appearances in the run-up to the next general election. This follows the success of a Cowell-assisted party on Monday to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the NHS, for which the impresario got some of the finalists from Britain's Got Talent to perform... Meanwhile, Jamie Palumbo, owner of the dance record empire Ministry of Sound, has commissioned a sculpture of the Tory leader. The work, which will be cast in bronze, will feature Cameron on his trademark bicycle… Angelina Jolie has checked into a hospital in the south of France where it is expected she will give birth to twins… Gloria Hunniford has criticised BBC presenter Jonathan Ross's interview technique. She says: "If you have a major Hollywood star as a guest, you want to hear about them rather than just talking about sex all the time"…Nancy Dell'Olio, former girlfriend of football coach Sven Goran Eriksson, has angered Lorenzo Berni, owner of the London restaurant San Lorenzo, by claiming he doesn't know how to cook pasta. Says Dell'Olio: "I think they boil it too long." Says Lorenzo: "How you cook your pasta is your own decision"… Sacha Baron Cohen is to play Sherlock Holmes in a new Hollywood movie; Will Ferrell will take on the role of his stooge, Watson... The actor Dennis Haysbert believes his portrayal of the first African-American US president in the TV series 24 may have helped pave the way for Barack Obama: "If anything, my portrayal of David Palmer, I think, may have helped open the eyes of the American people"... Sir Alan Sugar, entrepreneur and star of television show The Apprentice, has stepped down as chairman of Amstrad, the electronics business he founded in 1968. He has described his departure as a "planned move" following the company's acquisition by Rupert Murdoch's Sky in a £125m deal last year, which made him £35m...