Bungle and Zippy under hammer

Items from the children's TV series Rainbow are to be auctioned this week at a major sale of television memorabilia.

Costumes for Bungle the bear, George the hippo and Zippy will be sold at Christie's in London on Thursday.

The lot is estimated to fetch between £2,000 and £3,000.

Rainbow was made by Thames Television for 20 years until 1992.

---

Let's dance, says Eminem

Controversial rapper Eminem has invited the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, to see his show.

The invitation was made just days after Mr Howard described the singer's lyrics as "sickening".

Eminem is due to tour in Australia later this month but immigration officials are still debating whether to grant him a visa to enter the country.

In an interview with an Australian newspaper, Eminem said: "I just want you to dance, Mr Prime Minister."

---

Tributes to BBC sound pioneer

Tributes have been paid to BBC Radiophonic Workshop pioneer Delia Derbyshire who died last week.

She was perhaps best known for her realisation of Ron Grainer's Doctor Who theme music in 1963.

Doctor Who composer Mark Ayers said: "Her influence on popular and electronic music cannot be overstated. Many individual composers such as myself are indebted to her.

"The Doctor Who theme was just one small part of an extensive catalogue of beautifully crafted work she produced during the 1960's and 1970's. She was unique, and will be sadly missed."

Brian Hodgson, who worked with Derbyshire in the 1960s, wrote in The Guardian: "I was stunned by her beauty, awed by her talent."

---

Mirren appeal on gun control

British actress Helen Mirren is lobbying the United Nations for tighter international control of the gun trade.

The Prime Suspect star is making the call on behalf of the charity Oxfam at a UN conference on guns.

She is calling for measures to stop guns getting into areas where there is conflict or a history of human rights abuses.

"Millions of people around the world have lost their homes, relatives and lives because of guns," she said.

---

Xena sword auctioned online

A sword used by Lucy Lawless in the final episode of TV's Xena the Warrior Princess is up for auction.

There have been 30 bids for the sword on the Yahoo auctions website.

The highest bid so far is for $3,050 (£2,170).

"The Sacred Katana is made with a hard plastic urethane blade," says the auction site, adding that the plastic handle is painted red and orange with gold rubber ends.

---

Portuguese singer honoured

One of Portugal's best-loved artists, singer Amalia Rodrigues, has been laid to rest in the country's Pantheon of national heroes in Lisbon.

Amalia, who died in 1999 aged 79, was the most famous interpreter of the mournful singing style known as "fado".

A military guard of honour accompanied the procession taking her flag-draped coffin to the Pantheon.

President Jorge Sampaio told the ceremony: "Great artists never die."

---

LA lawyer 'shot himself'

A Los Angeles attorney Barry Levin - who represented actor Robert Blake and other celebrities - has died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to a coroner's report.

Friends said Levin was depressed because he had a blood disorder.

Levin's body was found on Saturday slumped over the steering wheel of his car at the Los Angeles National Cemetery.

Levin's most recent high-profile client was Robert Blake, from the Baretta TV series, whose wife's recent murder is unsolved.