Lucian Freud's portrait for sale

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A self-portrait of artist Lucian Freud sporting a black eye could fetch £4m when it is auctioned next month. The re-discovered 1978 work is described by Sotheby's as the artist's most important self-depiction ever to appear at auction.

Self-Portrait With A Black Eye is one of five works by Freud being offered at the London Evening Sale of Contemporary Art, on 10 February. The auction also features work by Andy Warhol and Gerhard Richter.

Self-Portrait With A Black Eye depicts Freud with a swollen eye which resulted from a fight with a taxi driver in which the artist was punched in the face.

The work, which has never been displayed in public before, has remained in the same private collection for more than 30 years.

Golden Globe awards

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Blockbuster sci-fi epic Avatar has been named best film drama at the Golden Globe awards, boosting its chances of further glory at the Oscars in March.

Its director James Cameron was also honored at the event, held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep won the best actress prizes, with Jeff Bridges and Robert Downey Jr taking home their male equivalents.

Ricky Gervais hosted the event, the first of 2010's major Hollywood awards.

Presented each year by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Globes often indicate who and what will go on to receive Academy Awards.

Belgian beer dispute hits supply

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Disaster may be brewing - or not - in beer-loving Belgium, where supplies of two of the country's most famous beers may be down to the last dregs.

An industrial dispute over planned job cuts means a blockade is threatening supplies of Stella Artois and Leffe.

A week-long blockade has stopped any beer from leaving the Leuven headquarters of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's biggest brewing company.

Belgian supermarkets and bars have warned stocks are running low.

The unions are protesting against the company's plans to cut more than 250 of 2,700 jobs in Belgium, and so far talks aimed at resolving the dispute have got nowhere.

But there is no need for beer-lovers to panic just yet says and there are probably around 125 breweries in Belgium producing around 800 standard beers.

Add in special one-off brews, and some experts believe there could be more than 8,000 beers.

Ancient map with China

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A historic map of the world, with China at its centre, has gone on display at the Library of Congress in Washington. The map was created by Italian missionary Matteo Ricci in 1602. It is one of only two copies in existence in good condition.

Because of its rarity and fragility - the map is printed on rice paper - the map has become known as the Impossible Black Tulip of Cartography.

This is the first time it has been on public show in North America.

Ricci created the map at the request of Emperor Wanli who wanted it to help scholars and explorers.

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