contactmusic.com: Irish rockers U2 have blasted conspiracy theories they arranged for their latest album to be stolen in France - but confess even the country's police suspected them.

The VERTIGO band were staying in the south of France when the eagerly awaited album HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOMB was reportedly stolen, sparking fears it would surface on the internet before it hit record store shelves.

But cynics were quick to brand the incident a publicity stunt orchestrated by the band themselves, aimed at creating hype ahead of its release. [ more]

contactmusic.com: U2 frontman Bono is too rich to feel threatened by the damage file-sharers are inflicting on the music industry.

The charismatic Vertigo star's band have been shifting millions of records across the world for over 20 years now and are all millionaires as a result.

However, Bono is delighted the internet didn't exist when they launched to prominence, and sympathises with up-and-coming bands desperate for a breakthrough. [ more]

hotpress.com: Plans have been lodged with Dublin Corporation for the extension of the Clarence Hotel, in which Bono and The Edge are directors, along with Dublin property magnate, Harry Crosbie, who is also involved in ownership of The Point Theatre. [ more]

showbizireland.com: What with it being the Silly Season everyone and their sister is out on the town enjoying a few well-deserved Christmas drinks so why should celebs be any different?

Well they're not! The likes of Bono and Colin Farrell may enjoy the party lifestyle all-year-round but at least at Christmas they have a valid excuse to down their share of the black-stuff. [ more]

contactmusic.com: Canadian U2 fans are campaigning for the Irish supergroup to perform in the country's capital Ottawa during their forthcoming HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOMB world tour next year (05).

The SWEETEST THING stars haven't played in the city since 1985, when frontman BONO lost his voice during an encore rendition of PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE).

This week (begs20DEC04) Ottawa radio station 93.9 BOB FM have started a petition for the band to schedule a concert there, saying, "It's been about 20 years since you rocked our town, and we think it's about time you put us on your tour map." [ more]

contactmusic.com: Rock icon BONO refuses to experiment with heroin, insisting it's ridiculous dabbling with a drug "that's bigger than you".

The U2 frontman has witnessed the destructive toll the deadly narcotic drug has taken on many of his friends, and he values his own existence too much to put it risk.

And the PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) star condemns the thought process behind any human being who's arrogant enough to try it. [ more]

u2.com: The band are on the cover of the Christmas edition of the UK’s NME – and reviewing 2004.

Commenting on a sprawling bunch of disparate topics – from the war in Iraq to music business piracy, from the US election to Big Brother TV show – they also reveal that Interpol, Scissor Sisters and Franz Ferdinand are among their choice cuts from the year in music.

In the first of a two-part interview, stretching over several pages with some great new band shots, here we carry a couple of choice segments. [ more]

ipsnews.net: In the Christmas of 2001, rock icon Bono of the hugely popular Irish band U2 wrote 'Walk On' for Burma's top dissident Aung San Suu Kyi. ''You could have flown away - a singing bird in an open cage who will only fly, only fly for freedom,'' he sang.

Three years later, Suu Kyi is still a prisoner in Burma - under house detention by the junta that ironically calls itself the State Peace and Development Council or SPDC. And this Christmas, which falls on Saturday, will see her still trapped in that not so-gilded cage.

''Suu Kyi, with an idea too big for any jail and a spirit too strong for any army, changes our view - as only real heroes can - of what we believe to be possible,'' said Bono recently. ''She needs unwavering, uncompromising international support - as tough and determined as she herself is.''

But Suu Kyi's strong spirit will be put to the test in 2005 with grave concerns for her safety under house detention that was extended by the Burmese junta, last month, by a year.

Late last week, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said he was ''seriously concerned'' to hear the junta had cut Suu Kyi's personal security and placed restrictions on access to her doctor. [ more]

timesonline.co.uk: U2 IS suing a former stylist for the return of mementoes, including a hat and trousers worn by Bono, and a pair of tour mugs, writes Jan Battles.

The group, whose latest album has gone to No 1 in more than 25 countries, has lodged a case in the Circuit Court in Dublin seeking to retrieve the items valued at £3,500 from Lola Cashman, who worked as the band’s stylist in the late 1980s.

Cashman, who wrote an unauthorised account of her dealings with the band last year, tried to sell the memorabilia at Christie’s in London a few years ago. When the auctioneers contacted the band’s management to authenticate the items, U2 said they were not Cashman’s to sell and threatened legal action. [ more]

canoe.ca: All local U2 fans want for Christmas is an Ottawa concert date, but it looks like 2005 might just prove to be their 20th anniversary of disappointment.

This week radio station 93.9 BOB FM started an online petition pleading with the popular rockers to make a long-awaited return appearance during their just-announced How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb tour. [ more]