David Beckham, more famous now for parading his inky body around in his undercrackers than for booting a ball about, recently took time out from a stopover in Macau to tweet a selfie from his hotel poolside. In the city as part of his deal with casino group Las Vegas Sands, Beckham had just completed a publicity tour of the mainland, where he was unveiled as the 2014 Fifa World Cup ambassador for the CCTV Chinese-language sports channel. During a visit to Hong Kong last year Becks was spotted dining at the China Club, in Central, with Coco Lee …
In 2011, the Hong Kong-born singer-songwriter married Bruce Rockowitz, chief executive of global trading group Li & Fung, in a lavish two-day celebration rumoured to have cost more than HK$150 million. The traditional Jewish ceremony, which took place at Sky 100, the observation deck of the International Commerce Centre, saw Lee escorted down the aisle by her mother, clad in a Vera Wang dress. According to reports, HK$24 million of the wedding budget was spent on private jets to fly in the couple’s superstar guests, including Beyonce and talk-show billionaire Oprah Winfrey …
Born in 1919, Allen began his White House career as a pantry man in 1952, washing dishes for United States president Harry Truman, before rising to become maitre d’ under Jimmy Carter. When asked what he thought of the way George W. Bush had run the country, Allen, who served under eight presidents in his 34-year career, replied, shaking his head, “Oooh no, I don’t go there.” He was close to Ronald Reagan, who, as president, invited a retired Allen and his wife back to the White House for a state dinner in honour of German chancellor Helmut Kohl …
Widely regarded as the architect of German reunification, Kohl, together with French president Francois Mitterrand, was also responsible for establishing the European Union. Now barely able to walk or talk following a stroke in 2008, Kohl was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Bill Clinton in 1999, the highest civilian award in the US. A recipient of the award the following year was Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi …
Having endured nearly 15 years of house arrest, Myanmar’s most famous daughter is expected by some people to just keep on giving. “I think everyone agrees now she has been a disappointment when it comes to human rights promotion,” said David Mathieson, Human Rights Watch’s senior researcher on Myanmar. On June 19, 2009, while in Insein Prison, Suu Kyi celebrated her 64th birthday with her jailors, further igniting global campaigns for her release. Joining the list of celebrities who added their messages of support to a web campaign that collected 64-word dedications for Suu Kyi’s birthday was overexposed Golden Balls, David Beckham.