Singer Britney Spears has had control of her estate and her own welfare taken from her, under order of a court. The pop star and her assets have been placed under the "conservatorship" of her father, James Spears. She was admitted to a psychiatric hospital on Thursday, after a highly publicised descent into drink, drugs and personal problems. A court creates a conservatorship when a person cannot care for himself or herself or handle their own affairs. Court commissioner Reva Goetz said Spears would be under conservatorship until 4 February, when another hearing will be held.

Restraining order

The conservators will have power over the 26-year-old singer's liquid assets and can bar people from visiting her, officials said. The Los Angeles court also placed a restraining order on Spears' manager Sam Lutfi, and gave permission to change the locks on her estate and remove anyone who was there. Spears has been receiving treatment in the UCLA medical centre, where she was taken on Thursday for a psychiatric evaluation. It was the second time she had been taken to hospital in less than a month. In January, Spears was admitted to Cedar-Sinai medical centre after refusing to surrender custody of her two sons in a police stand-off. Following the incident, sole custody of Sean Preston, aged two, and Jayden James, who is one, was awarded to ex-husband Kevin Federline.

Actor Wesley Snipes has been found guilty of failing to file tax returns by a US jury but cleared of more serious charges including fraud. The film star was accused of failing to pay tax on $58m  of income from 1999 to 2004. Snipes and two co-defendants denied eight charges in one of the US tax service's biggest ever cases. He was found guilty on three misdemeanors and could still face up to three years in prison. Snipes, 45, and the two co-defendants had been charged with six counts of failing to file tax returns, two of fraudulently claiming tax refunds and one count of conspiracy to defraud the government. They could have faced up to 16 years in prison. Lawyers for Snipes had admitted he was "dead wrong" and should have to pay the money back. But they had insisted there was no fraud and no need for a trial.

Protest

The trial took place in the rural township of Ocala, 130km (80 miles) north-west of Orlando, Florida, because it was near the celebrity enclave of Isleworth, where prosecutors said Snipes lived at the time of the suspected fraud. The jury heard how Snipes stopped paying federal income tax in 2000, and then allegedly sought $12m (£6m) in illegal refunds. They heard he had come to agree with the two other defendants, Eddie Ray Kahn and Douglas P Rosile, two protesters who do not believe the US government has the right to demand income tax on American wages. The prosecution said Snipes simply wanted to avoid paying tax. He had sent the government a 600-page document in which he called himself a "non-taxpayer". None of the three defendants called witnesses.

A breakthrough has reportedly been reached during informal talks between striking Hollywood writers and production companies.  The two sides bridged the gap over the key issue of payment for projects distributed on the internet, the Associated Press news agency said. A deal would end a three month writers strike that has crippled the entertainment industry. It could also resolve a deadlock over the Oscars ceremony later this month. Organizers and producers have pledged to stage a show but only a deal with the writers guild would allow the ceremony to proceed as usual.

Directors deal

Friday's breakthrough could allow the two sides to bypass formal negotiations, Variety and the New York Times reported. Both sides will now have to agree the language of provisions before putting the deal to the leaders of the Writers Guild of America, the New York Times said. Any deal would then have to be approved by a majority of the more than 10,000 active guild members. The informal talks began in the wake of a tentative contract agreement between studios and the Directors Guild of America, an deal that dealt with many of the same issues that have troubled writers.

 

Nineties pop star Betty Boo is back

Photo: Her new project WigWam sees her collaborate with Alex James.

A dance track which James has described as "seven parts cheese and three parts fireworks", it comes with an eccentric video - directed by TV comedian Dom Joly - featuring musicians dressed in giant cat costumes. "I'm a real cat person and the chorus sounds like a cat mewing, so it's quite fitting really," said Boo, who describes the track as a "wacky tune that breaks all the rules". "It's not really like anything else," she continued. "Everything's a bit boring at the moment, so I thought we should put some fun back in."