Bits & Pieces

Hopefully the last news piece about Anna Nicole

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Anna Nicole Smith will be buried in the Bahamas, alongside her son, it was announced Thursday after a tearful judge left the decision up to the attorney for the model’s baby daughter.

Richard Milstein, the court-appointed lawyer for 5-month-old Dannielynn, announced the plans not long after a judge gave him control of Smith’s final resting place. He gave no timeframe for the burial.

Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin steered a surprise middle course in a dispute that became more urgent by the day when the medical examiner warned that Smith’s body was rapidly decomposing.

“Who is entitled to custody of the remains of Anna Nicole Smith?” Seidlin wrote in his ruling. “There can be only one proper and equitable answer to that question: Dannielynn, Anna Nicole Smith’s only child, heir and next of kin.”

The ruling came a full two weeks after Smith died at a Florida hotel at age 39 of still-undetermined causes.

Smith’s estranged mother wanted her buried in her native Texas, while Smith’s boyfriend wanted her laid to rest in the Bahamas.

The judge, who choked up frequently and sometimes blubbered as he explained his decision, compromised and gave custody to Milstein. And the judge made it abundantly clear what he felt should be done.

“I want her buried with her son in the Bahamas,” he said through tears. “I want them to be together.”

Prince Harry goes off to war, may kill everyone

LONDON (AP) – He’s the redheaded son of the late Princess Diana, the rowdy royal known more for dancing until dawn than waking for battle. But Britain’s party prince, Harry, is getting his wish and is being deployed to Iraq this spring with his Blues and Royals regiment.

Royal officials announced Thursday that the 22-year-old prince would fight for his country, confirming feverish tabloid speculation about the future of the best-recognized tank commander in Britain. His regiment is expected to set out in May or June for a six-month tour.

Harry, a second lieutenant, has been trained to lead a team of 12 men in four armored reconnaissance vehicles and could become the first British royal to see combat since his uncle, Prince Andrew, flew as a Royal Navy pilot in the Falklands War against Argentina in 1982.

Word of the deployment comes one day after Prime Minister Tony Blair said British troop numbers in Iraq will be cut by 1,600 in coming months. The tabloid newspaper, the Sun, opined, “1,600 out…One in.”

Britain will hand over much of its security responsibilities to Iraqi forces, concentrating its troops at Basra Palace and Basra Air Base in southern Iraq.

Iraqi insurgents might seek to target Cornet Wales–as Harry is known in the Blues and Royals. That has led to some concern that his presence could bring an extra risk to fellow soldiers.

“In a sense, his celebrity might be a factor in making the security situation for his troop more dangerous,” said Michael Clarke, a professor of war studies at London’s King’s College.

Britain’s Ministry of Defense has previously said Harry could be kept out of situations where his presence could jeopardize his comrades.