Subject: Artist defiantly draws Prophet Mohammed

From: "Erna Goldberg" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2007 13:24:21 +0200

TOULOUSE, France (AP) -- French rock star Bertrand Cantat, convicted for beating his actress girlfriend to death, left prison Tuesday after spending four years behind bars.Cantat, the 43-year-old lead singer of one of France's most popular bands, Noir Desir (Black Desire), left the Muret prison near the southwest city of Toulouse in a car driven by his group's drummer, Denis Barthe.Her divorce attorney, Laura Wasser, resigned last month as her legal representative after telling reporters the singer "just wants to be a mom."Final official results from September 30 parliamentary elections were released Monday, confirming that Yushchenko's party and that of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko won a majority in parliament, giving them the right to form a cabinet.A court on October 1 ordered Spears to give up custody of her two children to her former husband, Kevin Federline. Last week, a judge set conditions for Spears to gain increased visitation rights.In September, a judge ordered Spears, 25, to submit to random drug tests after finding she engaged in "habitual, frequent, and continuous use of controlled substances and alcohol."Together, the parties won 228 seats in the 450-member legislature, Central Election Commission spokesman Konstantin Khivrenko said -- two clear of a majority. The rival party led by Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych won more votes than any other, but it was only enough for 175 seats.After holding talks with the president, Tymoshenko and the leaders of the pro-Yushchenko party signed an agreement that gives Tymoshenko's party the right to name the prime minister -- virtually assuring she would get the post -- and allows Yushchenko's party to name the parliament speaker.Spears' management company, the Firm, also quit after representing the singer for little more than a month.After her September 9 performance on the MTV Video Music Awards, critics derided her singing and dancing as lackluster and said she appeared overweight for her sequined two-piece costume.