Filipino Man Becomes World’s Shortest  

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A Filipino man measuring just under two-feet tall was named as the world’s shortest man by the Guinness Book of World Records on Sunday.

Junrey Balawing officially measures 23.6 inches and weighs only 11 pounds. He lives in the coastal village of Sindangan.

Balawing took the title from Nepal’s Khagendra Thapar Magar who measures 26 inches tall, and held the title for just over eight months.

Born on June 12, Philippine independence day, Balawing's birthday this year sparked an extra celebration in his home town, as he turned 18 and officially became the world’s shortest man.

Balawing stays at home with his mother who care for him, while his younger siblings, all normal size, attend school.

"He needs my care every minute of every day. Junrey can only walk with some help and he can't stand for too long because he's in too much pain," his mother said according to the record holder's entry on the Guinness website. Balawing stopped growing two months after he was born.
His father said that when his son was born, he got a better job, reversing the family's economic fortunes. "Junrey is our lucky charm," Reynaldo said.

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Bill Gates and others pledge $4.3 billion for vaccines for children in poor countries  

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Bill Gates, the Microsoft cofounder who has recently been focusing most of his efforts on philanthropy, joined several world leaders to pledge billions for vaccines for children in poor countries.
"This is absolutely human generosity at its finest," Gates told reporters Monday at the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization conference in London.
"For the first time in history, children in developing countries will receive the same vaccines against diarrhea and pneumonia as children in rich countries," Gates, who founded the alliance, said, according to Reuters.
Gates and several international donors pledged $4.3 billion to buy vaccines to protect children in poor countries against potentially fatal maladies like pneumonia and diarrhea.
British Prime Minister David Cameronpledged $1.3 billion and said despite his nation's budget cuts, this cause is a no-brainer.
"Frankly, the idea of children dying from pneumonia and diarrhea should be absolutely unthinkable in 2011," Cameron said from the conference. "But for many parents in the developing world it is a devastating reality."
The global alliance has already vaccinated 288 million children in 19 countries and hopes to immunize 243 million more by 2015. It wants to broaden its reach in coming years by going to 26 additional countries.
"Today is an important moment in our collective commitment to protecting children in developing countries from disease," Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said. "But every 20 seconds, a child still dies of a vaccine-preventable disease. There's more work to be done."

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Facebook Loses Nearly 6 Million Users in U.S. in May  

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Significant numbers of users in Canada, the U.K., Norway and Russia also "unfriend" the social networking site.


Facebook lost nearly 6 million users in the U.S. last month, according to Inside Facebook, a service that tracks the social networking site co-founded by Mark Zuckerberg.
The news comes as Facebook reached 687 million active users at the beginning of June, even though growth has been lower than normal for a second consecutive month. The site added 11.8 million users in May vs. 13.9 million in April.
In the U.S., total active users fell from 155.2 million at the start of May to 149.4 million at the end of the month.
Canada also saw a drop of 1.52 million, to 16.6 million, while the U.K., Norway and Russia also posted drops of more than 100,000 users.
"By the time Facebook reaches around 50 percent of the total population in a given country (plus or minus, depending on Internet access rates in that country), growth generally slows to a halt,” Inside Facebook’s Eric Eldon told the U.K.'s Telegraph. “So far, Facebook has been able to make up stalls and losses with big gains in heavily populated developing countries like Mexico, Brazil, India and Indonesia."
But Magnus Hoglund, CEO of Law360.com who has worked on digital media companies for several years, told the U.K.'s Guardian that the new numbers don't bode well for the site.
"From my experience, I get the sense that being on Facebook is not cool anymore," Hoglund said. "The early adopters and trend-setters are moving away. [But] these are also exactly the type of people brand advertisers want to reach; if they are leaving, it doesn't look good for Facebook.

  

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Oprah, Media Moguls and Netflix Talk on Tap for Cable Show  

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The 60th annual industry gathering in Chicago kicks off Tuesday.

NEW YORK - Conversations with Oprah Winfrey and FCC chairman Julius Genachowski, as well as panels with media moguls, such as Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts, Time Warner chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes, News Corp. president, COO and vice chairman Chase Carey, Viacom president and CEO Philippe Dauman, and Time Warner Cable chairman and CEO Glenn Britt, are on the schedule of this week’s Cable Show in Chicago, which runs Tuesday through Thursday.
Technology issues, such as cable operators’ responses to the continued growth of Netflix’s streaming video service and their often controversial iPad apps, are expected to be in the spotlight, among other issues.
"The most important item that we will be exploring is the continuing evolution of the portable, personalized video experience and how that compares to other online video applications that could potentially be competitors to cable," said cable veteran Jerry Kent, one of the co-chairs of the Cable Show and chairman and CEO of small operator Suddenlink Communications.
Heading into the industry gathering, Comcast late Monday unveiled a strategic partnership deal with Skype that will enable Comcast customers to communicate with family and friends through HD video calling on their TV set.
“TV has evolved into a social experience, and Comcast and Skype will be delivering a product that personalizes the TV experience even more, and brings friends and family together through the biggest screen in their homes," said Neil Smit, president, Comcast Cable.
Another theme of the Cable Show will be "that despite the recession, cable has continued to grow revenue and invest in our infrastructure driven by broadband, telephony and other services," Kent said. "We really are transforming from cable companies that used to be video-centric and are now full telecommunications, or really infrastructure, providers as much as media companies."
Even though cord cutting fears have subsided in recent months, Kent said that broader focus on cable operators' portfolio of businesses will be emphasized at the Cable Show.
"What people are starting to realize is that the focus on video losses in the industry is overblown," he said. After all, last year there were over 2 million foreclosures in the U.S., and "it’s hard to sell video to a foreclosed home that is empty."
Hosted by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association and its recently named headMichael Powell, a former FCC chairman who will give a State of the Industry speech, the 60th annual gathering of cable companies, cable network representatives and technology firms this year carries the slogan “Everything Possible.”
Miller Tabak analyst David Joyce also expects cable executives to discuss – on stage and in social settings – such things as embracing the iPad and online video services “as part of the broadening triple play offerings to attract and retain customers,” interactive advertising and the possible introduction of usage-based billing for broadband services, “related to the growth of Netflix."
While Time Warner’s HBO has made its HBO Go service available in cooperation with TV distributors to help retain customers longer-term, Viacom has been among cable network owners that have raised concerns over cable operators’ attempts to make channels available via their iPad apps without additional payments to the network owners.
Netflix may not always be mentioned outright at the Cable Show, but it is likely to shape some of the messages at the event. “Netflix as a competitive VOD provider will face tougher competition from the cable operators who will highlight their amount of VOD content and who will try to get more content availability,” Joyce said.
The Cable Show kicks off Tuesday morning with a welcome from convention co-chairs David Zaslav, president and CEO of Discovery Communications, and Kent, followed by a speech from recently named Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, the brother of WME co-CEO Ari Emanuel.
Fox Business Network’s Liz Claman will then moderate a panel with Bewkes, Dauman, Carey, Britt, Comcast Cable unit boss Neil Smith and Cox Communications head Patrick Esser that will look at the industry’s presence and future under the title “Disruption Central: A Roadmap for Reward in a Shifting Marketplace.”
Later in the day, Comcast CFO Michael Angelakis will moderate a discussion among Wall Street experts about the competitive positioning and growth outlook for cable firms.
After Genachowski’s appearance on Wednesday, Winfrey, who has been working with OWN CEO and Discovery Communications COO Peter Liguori on strengthening the Oprah Winfrey Network, will make her presence known.
And Roberts and Cablevision Communications COO Tom Rutledge will be part of a panel discussion about how cable firms will use their broadband platform in the future to remain competitive.
Several analysts said that heading into the Cable Show, Comcast, the largest U.S. cable provider, remains their favorite sector stock. Its shares have declined since hitting a 52-week high of $27.16 in early May.
Wunderlich Securities analyst Matthew Harrigan likes the stock because of what he expects to be “big upside on NBCUniversal over time.” Plus the company’s “cable operations also have good [subscriber] momentum relative to peers and are undervalued.”
Joyce called Comcast “the cheapest [cable stock] and the thought leader,” even though there is also value in TW Cable, Cablevision and small small firm Knology, he added.
Mergers and acquisition activity could also be a topic of debate in Chicago this week given recent acquisitions of smaller cable operators and Charter Communications' decision to explore a sale of its LA cable system.
“I do expect industry consolidation to continue,” said Kent. Beyond the availability of financing and private equity looking to put money to work, “scale is becoming even more important in business today” to cover programming cost increases and new technology, he said.

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Catherine Zeta-Jones Dazzles in First Comeback Appearance  

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 Catherine Zeta-Jones reminded the world why she's a star as a presenter at Sunday's Tony Awards in NYC.


It was the Oscar- and Tony-winning actress' first appearances since mid-April, when she briefly checked into a mental health facility, seeking treatment for Bipolar II disorder.
Handing out two trophies -- for best actor in a leading role in a play (Mark Rylance, Jerusalem) and in a musical (Norbert Leo Butz, Catch Me If You Can) -- the Welsh beauty, 41, dazzled in a curve-hugging red, sequined Elie Saab gown and jewels by van Cleef and Arpels.
The mom of two kids with husband Michael Douglas, Jones' mental health battle came on the heels of Douglas' own fight with stage-four throat cancer.
"She's great!" Douglas, 66, told Us Weekly last Thursday of his wife, who's been shooting rock musical Rock of Ages in Miami with Julianne Hough, Tom Cruise, RussellBrand, Alec Baldwin, Malin Akerman and Mary J. Blige.
"She's doing a great job."

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Rep. Michele Bachmann says she is officially a candidate for GOP nomination for president,Bachmann brings flair, tea party clout to GOP race  

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AP () — — Rep. Michele Bachmann says she is officially a candidate for GOP nomination for president.
Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., answers a question during the first New Hampshire Republican presidential debate at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., Monday, June 13, 2011.




One hand clutches a crisply folded U.S. flag with a concealed weapons certification protruding; the other slides discreetly into a denim coat pocket. Behind the beaming state lawmaker, a silhouette target with bullet holes square in the chest. Next to her nameplate, a "No New Taxes!" sticker.

The photo taken during Minnesota Republican Michele Bachmann's initial run for Congress in 2006 captures her essence.

In Bachmann's quick rise from state lawmaker to unofficial tea party ambassador in Washington, her brazen style has kept Republican leaders on edge and appealed to those in the GOP searching for a fresh, unfettered voice. She relishes the spotlight and seldom cedes ground.

Her unpredictable edge was on display during Monday night's GOP presidential debate in New Hampshire when, out of the blue, she announced that she had filed papers to be an official candidate for the Republican nomination.

"I do what I say and I say what I mean and I don't change what I do based on a political wind or desire to necessarily move up the next ladder," Bachmann told The Associated Press this spring in an interview in which she stressed her eagerness to "take on not only the opposing party but my own party as well to do what I think is right."

Known for piercing and sometimes inaccurate commentary, she regularly aggravates political foes and provides ample fodder to late-night comics. She once falsely claimed taxpayers would be stuck with a $200 million per day tab for Democratic President Barack Obama's trip to India. She mistakenly identified New Hampshire as the site of the Revolutionary War's opening shots. (That key American moment occurred in Massachusetts.)

While some see her as a novelty candidate, she's also regarded as a skilled, resilient politician.

"I know people like to pick at her," said Dan Nygaard, a local Republican official during Bachmann's early days in politics. "But you can never underestimate her."

Her personal evolution is striking.

In college, Bachmann volunteered on Democrat Jimmy Carter's presidential campaign and took her maiden trip to Washington to revel in his inauguration; now she's a congressional megaphone for the conservative tea party. As a young government lawyer, Bachmann helped chase tax dodgers for the Internal Revenue Service; now she stokes worry about a swarm of IRS agents enforcing the new health insurance law she's determined to repeal. In 1999, Bachmann failed to win a local school board seat; now she's a factor in the race for the nation's highest office.

Carter's evangelical Christian beliefs attracted her, she says, while his struggles to rescue the country from a funk turned her away. Bachmann says the tax work gave her a deeper understanding of a tax code she came to regard as flawed.

Bachmann, 55, was born Michele Marie Amble in Waterloo, Iowa. Her father's engineering job led the family, including Michele and three brothers, to Minnesota when she was in elementary school. By high school, her parents had divorced. She stayed with her mother, who later remarried.

Michele Amble married college boyfriend Marcus Bachmann, a clinical therapist. The youngest of their five children will soon head off to college.

Religion has always factored heavily into Bachmann's life. She was in the last class to graduate from Oral Roberts University's now-defunct Coburn School of Law, a school dedicated to educating lawyers with Christian values. (Anita Hill, later involved in the scandal that nearly sank Clarence Thomas' Supreme Court nomination, taught a couple of Bachmann's classes.)

Until about two years ago, the Bachmanns were members of the Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church in Stillwater, Minn., part of a conservative denomination that adheres to strict doctrine and excludes women from church leadership roles. The pastor there, the Rev. Marcus Birkholz, told the AP that the family stopped attending regularly when they moved to another Twin Cities suburb.

"Our church body is very pro-life, and that has come out in Michele's position all the way along," Birkholz said. "I would say not everybody would be as outspoken as she is."

A fellow parishioner encouraged the Bachmanns to consider providing foster care. Teenage girls from troubled families _ 23 in all _ cycled through the Bachmann house, some as briefly as a couple of weeks and others as long as a couple of years.

Former neighbor Joanne Hood recalls Bachmann taking the lead in organizing block picnics, Christmas cookie exchanges and kiddie bike parades. Today, it pains Hood to see Bachmann mocked over verbal gaffes or demonized over her stances.

"When I hear negative things about her, I think, `You don't know her,'" Hood said. Critics "make her out to be a ditz, and she's not."

Bachmann needed a couple of tries to make her mark in politics. After the school board loss, she toppled an incumbent Republican on her way to a state Senate win in 2000. She won an open seat in Congress six years later.

Outspoken on fiscal matters, she vaulted to congressional prominence as the tea party did. She co-founded the House Tea Party Caucus.

Some close to Bachmann privately refer to her as a "light switch." She flips on the charm to dazzle audiences or nail TV interviews, they say, then takes on a drill sergeant persona in private, where questioning her decisions draws suspicion of disloyalty. She's described as meticulous and worried about the finer details, such as soundtracks played to pump up rally crowds.

Bachmann has experienced frequent top-level staff changes in her congressional office since 2007. She's had six chiefs of staff in four years, five press secretaries, five legislative directors and three communications directors.

Bachmann discounts the staff churning as "growing pains" in an office that "moves at a fast rate of speed," and she stresses that many left for more influential jobs elsewhere.

A few prominent ex-staff members publicly support a fellow GOP presidential candidate, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Sean Nienow, who ran Bachmann's district office for a year before a split he called mutual, is among those reserving judgment.

"There's no question she's very conservative ideologically," said Nienow, now a state senator who mirrors Bachmann from a philosophical standpoint. "Can she win? If she were elected, how would she lead? These are questions that have yet to be answered."

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Flag Day observances: Stirring memories of Stars and Stripes  

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Korean War veteran Don Moore, 81, joins the ceremony at the Veterans Home in Bristol.


BRISTOL — Paul L. Imbruglia felt a wave of relief and pride wash over him as he drove an Army Jeep toward his bunker in the aftermath of an enemy attack on his unit’s outpost, about 25 miles south of Saigon during the Vietnam War.
Bouncing along the dirt road, it was a good feeling to see his comrades raising the American flag aloft on that day in 1968, says Imbruglia, of Providence.
His memory of that particular flag and its colors — dark blue and red-and-white standing in sharp contrast to the earthy tones of Vietnam — is indelible.
Imbruglia was among about 100 former military personnel who gathered at the Rhode Island Veterans Home on Sunday to pay tribute to the flag. The event was held in advance of Flag Day, which is Tuesday.
A crowd of veterans, many of them in wheelchairs, assembled in a meeting hall at the facility and absorbed a presentation from the Rhode Island State Elks Association.
Officially, Flag Day is on June 14. It falls on the anniversary of June 14, 1777, when the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the United States’ flag.
But, on Sunday, Elks leaders and other Rhode Islanders devoted some of their weekend time to flag ceremonies.
In Charlestown, 12-year-old Cody Clarkin hosted a ceremony to rededicate the flagpole at Ninigret Park, a site that Clarkin has spruced up over the past 18 months.
A rifle team from the Rhode Island National Guard was on hand to fire three volleys of shots to honor the flag and deceased veterans.
At the Veterans Home in Bristol, the ceremony was indoors, with no live firing.
The focal point was an array of banners, from today’s U.S. flag to flags flown during other eras, including the Rattlesnake Flag emblazoned with the words “Don’t Tread on Me” and the Pinetree Flag, also flown prior to the American Revolution.
Of course, such Flag Day activities can trigger emotional memories like the one that has stayed with Imbruglia since the Vietnam War.
James Tracy, 67, of Barrington, is reminded of one of his duties during his time in the Air Force in the 1960s: As a member of a color guard, he was involved with presenting flags to the widows of fallen airmen at the Air Force base in Tampa, Fla.
Bill Reynolds, a Navy veteran and retired Providence firefighter who goes by the name “Fireman Bill,” says he is moved when he sees the flag lowered at sunset and he hears taps playing.
“The sound and the stillness and the quiet,” says Reynolds, who attended the Bristol ceremony. “It reminds you of all the men and women who have died.”
Like Imbruglia, the keynote speaker at the flag ceremony in Bristol has his own unforgettable memory of the flag.
Capt. Neil R. Parrot says he was serving on a destroyer in the Persian Gulf the day terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in 2001.
“We couldn’t comprehend what had just happened in our own country,” says Parrot, referring to the sailors’ early reaction to the first news reports.
Later that day, or the next, they all gathered to salute the flag, says Parrot, who is now the commanding officer of the Navy’s Surface Warfare Officers’ School.
Parrot recalls looking at the banner during that ceremony. At that time, he and the men on his ship knew they were at war.

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Flag Day Ceremony to Be Held Tuesday Evening  

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The adoption of the American flag will be commemorated by the Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council.

Dearborn's annual Flag Day ceremony will be held Tuesday at 7 p.m., hosted by the Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council.
The public ceremony will take place in Ford Field Park off of Cherry Hill. The annual event includes a ceremonial burning of tattered American flags, in keeping with American Legion protocols for the disposal of flags that are no longer fit for public display.
Members of the public may drop off tattered flags for burning at the ceremony site beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
June 14, 2011, will mark the 234th  anniversary of the adoption of the nation’s flag by the Continental Congress in the year 1777.

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How War Horse took on the world  

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                            The Broadway production of War Horse won five Tony awards on Sunday
Is there no stopping War Horse, the hit stage adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's novel that has just five Tony awards in New York?
Britain's War Horse is on a roll. The five Tony awards - including best play - it picked up on Sunday have given a further boost to its growing international profile.
The play is still enjoying an open-ended run in London's West End, where it has sold more than a million tickets.
Its success on Broadway has prompted plans for a 20-city US tour.
The play will next be staged in Canada and Australia - and talks are also under way for a Japanese production.
The War Horse brand will become truly global at the end of the year when a Steven Spielberg movie - inspired by the play - opens in US cinemas.
Neil Patrick Harris at the TonysTony host Neil Patrick Harris arrived on one of its life-sized puppets
The film, which stars British actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Emily Watson, is set for a UK release on 13 January.
The story at the heart of War Horse - the relationship between a young boy from Devon and his horse as they are plunged into the horrors of World War I - continues to exert a strong pull on audiences.
Many consider the play's life-size horse puppets the most striking aspect of the production.
War Horse originated at the National Theatre in London in autumn 2007. Sir Nicholas Hytner, the venue's artistic director, has no doubt why it is gathering steam internationally.
"Much of the narrative and emotional burden is carried by a language that is international," he says.
"The puppetry exists independent of the spoken word, independent of text. It works almost in the way that dance works."
Though there may be slight variations in the stagings of War Horse in Canada and Australia, they are all being planned and masterminded by a creative team in London.
'Forgotten war'
Yet the National has no artistic control over the War Horse movie, which Spielberg shot in England last year.
The director's producing partner, Kathleen Kennedy, sees War Horse as a cultural phenomenon with gravitas.
"In cinema we've told very few stories about World War I and I think that's one of the things that attracted us to this," she explains.
Andrew Cooper in Steven Spielberg's War Horse filmSteven Spielberg's War Horse film will feature real horses, not puppets
"It's a forgotten war in the United States, and that had a very powerful effect on Steven and I."
Spielberg is a master at sentimentalising stories, prompting concerns that an already emotional work will be transformed into a shiny Hollywood melodrama.
Yet Scottish actor Peter Mullan, who has a significant role in the movie, doubts that will be the case.
"As far as I know it's going to look at the truth of what happens in the battlefield," says the My Name is Joe star.
"How much it's going to move towards Hollywood gloss, I have no idea. I'd be surprised if it does, very surprised."
"I think he's held himself in check," says Kennedy of Spielberg, with whom she has worked since 1979.
"I think there's no one better to direct and tell this story. I think it was tailor-made for him."
At a time of significant cuts in UK arts funding, the National has clearly benefited from War Horse's expanding reach.
"It's very good news for the National Theatre," says Sir Nicholas Hytner, "It's helped us enormously.
'A bit of a dream'
"We produce it ourselves in the West End, we co-produce it in New York and we will keep significant financial interest in all future productions. It's been enormously useful to us."
War Horse's success continues to astonish British author Morpurgo, whose 1982 novel provided the inspiration for the theatre production and movie.
"I think it's a bit of a dream to walk down Broadway and see a poster of War Horse," says the former Children's Laureate.
Michael MorpurgoMorpurgo's original War Horse novel was published in 1982
"You can't quite believe it. This is a book, after all, that was written in 1982 which did not do very well."
Morpurgo thinks it poignant that the play's profile in America is rising at a time when the US is involved in military conflicts. "This story is about the universality of suffering in war," he says.
The author acknowledges the War Horse juggernaut is adding to his personal coffers. "I've been really lucky," he admits.
"It makes me richer than I was and there's a danger in that. because it's never good to have too much.
"I don't deserve this, but it's just lovely that it's happened."
War Horse's growing prominence beyond British shores is all the more unexpected given the fact it has no showy song and dance routines and no big name stars.
"It's highly unusual for a show that isn't a musical to have this kind of global appeal," agrees Sir Nicholas.
Nor are this weekend's Tonys likely to be the last accolades showered on this affecting tale of a boy and his steed.
The War Horse movie may still be in post-production, yet it is already being mentioned as a serious contender for next year's film awards.

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Smile! Lily Allen tells friends she's pregnant... on her wedding day  

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Smile singer Lily Allen had two reasons to beam from ear to ear today – as her new husband told guests at their wedding reception that she is at least 12 weeks pregnant.
Overjoyed Sam Cooper revealed the news in front of friends and family after the 26-year-old bride showed off a small bump in a vintage-inspired lace wedding gown by French designer Delphine Manivet.
Friends who witnessed Lily marry builder Sam, 33, say she is ‘ecstatic’ to be expecting again, following two devastating miscarriages. 
So beautiful: Lily couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she prepared to enter the church to marry Sam Cooper
So beautiful: Lily couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she prepared to enter the church to marry Sam Cooper
So beautiful: Lily couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she prepared to enter the church to marry Sam Cooper
Radiant: Pregnant Lily beams as she leaves church as the new Mrs Cooper
Radiant: Pregnant Lily beams as she leaves church as the new Mrs Cooper
Lily, whose son was stillborn in November, six months into her pregnancy, has made no secret of her desire to settle down and start a family.
‘Lily is pregnant and she is marrying the man of her dreams. She is truly over the moon and so ecstatically happy she has shed tears of joy,’ a source revealed. ‘We have all been hoping and praying for good news and this is the best news ever.’
Ms Manivet, who is based in Paris, said: ‘It’s beautiful that she is pregnant, and I am very happy for her.’
She added: ‘You can see, of course, the little stomach – it looked very cute with the dress.’
The singer is said to be taking things slowly, given her medical history.
Father of the bride: Lily with Keith Allen, before the ceremony
Father of the bride: Lily with Keith Allen, before the ceremony
Final touches: Befor Lily entered the church a small entourage made sure she was looking her best
Final touches: Befor Lily entered the church a small entourage made sure she was looking her best 
Guests at St James the Great Church in the picturesque Cotswolds village of Cranham included comedian Harry Enfield and television presenter Angus Deayton and his partner, scriptwriter Lise Mayer, who cheered and sprayed the newlyweds with champagne as they emerged arm-in-arm as man and wife.
Mr Enfield, 50, is a former partner of Lily’s mother, film producer Alison Owen, and helped to raise the Smile singer and her siblings. Afterwards, he said: ‘It was very emotional.’
The bride arrived just before midday in a dark-green chauffeur-driven Bentley accompanied by her father, actor Keith Allen, 58, who gave her away.
Pretty in peach: The bridesmaids wore long peach dresses and Lily's long-time friend Miquita Oliver was part of the wedding party
Pretty in peach: The bridesmaids wore long peach dresses and Lily's long-time friend Miquita Oliver was part of the wedding party
Pretty in peach: The bridesmaids wore long peach dresses and Lily's long-time friend Miquita Oliver was part of the wedding party
Little angels: The child bridesmaids had dresses similar to Lily's and the girls looked adorable in lace
Little angels: The child bridesmaids had dresses similar to Lily's and the girls looked adorable in lace 
Sister support: Lily's sister Sarah who she works with in her fashion business Lucy In Disguise was also in attendance
Sister support: Lily's sister Sarah who she works with in her fashion business Lucy In Disguise was also in attendance
Sister support: Lily's sister Sarah who she works with in her fashion business Lucy In Disguise was also in attendance 
The bridesmaids included the singer’s best friend, TV presenter Miquita Oliver, 27.
As she made her way towards the church, Lily showed no sign of nerves, smiling broadly and only stopping for a last-minute make-up touch-up. Meanwhile, her younger brother, actor Alfie Allen, 24, was seen puffing heavily on a cigarette before the ceremony.
Inside the church, the 105 invited guests, seated on wooden pews, were treated to music by the church choir and a local organist.
Joy: Lily with her new husband Sam Cooper... displaying a hint of a baby bump through her wedding dress
Joy: Lily with her new husband Sam Cooper... displaying a hint of a baby bump through her wedding dress
Quirky: Lily accessorised with cricket-themed puppets
Quirky: Lily accessorised with platform heels
Quirky: Lily accessorised with platform heels, left, and cricket-themed puppets, right

The service was led by Canon Michael Irving, who has revealed the couple chose not to write their own vows and Lily did not agree to ‘obey’ her husband. Canon Irving carried out the funeral of the couple’s stillborn son last year.
Lily and Mr Cooper have not signed a pre-nuptial agreement, despite her estimated £6million fortune. The singer told friends she had no intention of signing an ‘unromantic agreement’ with her husband-to-be.
Happy couple: The couple emerged to the waiting crowds as husband and wife for the first time
Happy couple: The couple emerged to the waiting crowds as husband and wife for the first time
Protective arm: Sam led his new wife out of the church and placed a hand around her waist
Protective arm: Sam led his new wife out of the church and placed a hand around her waist

After yesterday’s service, the newlyweds were driven back to their £3million 17th Century country home for a ‘cricket tea’ wedding reception with 300 guests.
They will honeymoon at Glastonbury, where they met in 2009. They are understood to have arranged two luxury £1,000 tepees, in which they will camp with family and friends.
Last night, a spokesman for the singer declined to comment.
* Additional reporting: George Arbuthnott
Snap happy: Lily beamed as she posed for pictures for fans after leaving the church with Sam before driving away in their vintage Bentley
Snap happy: Lily beamed as she posed for pictures  for fans after leaving the church with Sam before driving away in their vintage Bentley
Picturesque: The couple will tie the knot in the stunning church of St James the Great
Picturesque: The couple will tie the knot in the stunning church of St James the Great

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