American actor Brad Renfro has been arrested for attempting to buy heroin. The Jacket star, 23, was caught out by a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) sting operation when he tried to buy the illegal opiate from an undercover officer. LAPD Detective Ron Hodges says, "He was intending to buy real heroin from an undercover officer." Fourteen other people were arrested in the random sting. Renfro was arrested in 1998 for possessing cocaine and cannabis, but made a plea deal which kept him out of prison.

Teen star Lindsay Lohan will see in the New Year in style after winning a lucrative deal as host of a Miami Beach, Florida, party. The Mean Girls star is fronting a $200-per-person extravaganza to celebrate the night, and reps for the 19-year-old star confirm she will be present at the event for the entirety of its 9pm-5am duration. She will be joined on the Miami party scene by her former boyfriend, That 70's Show star Wilmer Valderrama, as well as The Simple Life's Nicole Richie, who are both planning to spend their New Year's Eve in the area.

The magazine which last month boasted topless images of Jennifer Aniston has pulled off another coup by featuring terrorist Osama Bin Laden's niece posing seductively in lingerie. Sexy brunette Wafah Dufour - who hopes to launch a pop career - is depicted in America's GQ magazine reclining on satin sheets wrapped in a feather boa and sporting high heels. The 26-year-old hopes the daring photo shoot will put an end to speculation she condones her uncle's violent crusade against the Western world, including the September 11 World Trade Center attacks. She says, "It's really tough that I always have to explain myself. I was born in the States, and I want people to know I'm American, and I want people here to understand that I'm like anyone in New York. For me, it's home."

Actor/director Mel Brooks made his film company promise not to release his remake of The Producers until after Christmas - to avoid direct competition with this season's blockbuster movies. Brooks, who wrote and directed the original film in 1968 and adapted it for theater in 2001, remains skeptical about how popular the movie remake will be, despite the theatre production's roaring success on Broadway and in London's West End. He says, "Universal were very kind. They wanted to go up against King Kong and Narnia, and I said, 'Come on! Do me a favor! Why don't we open on the 16th in six cities and then on the 27th you can go for broke?' I do think this picture is commercial but it's slightly... different. About a month ago, we had a preview in New Jersey, and the audience would applaud a number. I've never seen that before. I mean, I used to applaud Singin' In The Rain, but..."

A bungalow Courtney Love bought in 1997 is up for public auction because the Hole singer has fallen behind with mortgage payments. The former wife of late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain purchased the gabled property located on the edge of Capitol Forest, Washington State, in 1997 - but she owes $367,000 in unpaid loans and legal fees, according to Los Angeles firm WWC Mortgage Corp. According to documents filed in October 2004, Love ceased paying mortgage installments on the property, which is currently occupied by Cobain's sister Kim, in December 2003. Love can still retain ownership of the property by paying off all her debts before the auction at the Washington State county courthouse on January 6.

Hawaiian singing legend Don Ho is amazed by the impact of the stem cell procedure he underwent on his heart in Thailand - because he was virtually incapacitated before making the trip to Bangkok. The "Tiny Bubbles" singer, 75, could hardly walk before having the revolutionary treatment which involves injecting multiplying stem cells from his blood into his heart in a bid to strengthen the vital organ, let alone sing. But now he is feeling like a new man - even though he feared for his life just months ago. He says, "I'm feeling terrific, 100 per cent better. I'm ready to go, but I've got to listen to the doctors. When they say my heart is strong enough to get excited, I'm on. It was my last hope. I knew that if I didn't take things into my own hand, I would've been a goner."

Funnyman Eric Idle leapt to the rescue of a New York City performance of Spamalot on Wednesday, when traffic congestion held up the play's stars. Idle, who created Broadway hit based on the Monty Python movie The Holy Grail, rushed on stage to deliver an impromptu stand-up performance when he heard two of the show's actors were running late. He joked to the crowd, "I'm Eric Idle, not Billy Idol, and if you're expecting Billy Idol, then f**k off." The tardy actors blamed the New York subway strike for their unpunctuality, according to the New York Daily News.

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow will think twice about renting a romantic getaway home for her and husband Chris Martin after a recent dream break turned into a nightmare. The 33-year-old star decided to treat Martin to a two-week break in East Hampton, New York, after he completed Coldplay's North American summer tour and rented a palatial ocean-side property without checking it out first. She recalls, "The place was filthy when we got here. I went to use the cheese grater and there was still cheese on it."