Former Saturday Night Live cast member Al Franken will run for the US Senate in Minnesota in 2008.

A senior Democratic official from Minnesota confirmed the comedian has decided to run for office, but he has not made an official announcement.

The 55-year-old has been calling members of the Minnesota congressional delegation to get their advice on his candidacy.

Britney Spears is so smitten with new beau Isaac Cohen she is considering converting to his Jewish faith.

The singer, who was raised as a Southern Baptist, briefly flirted with Kabbalah in 2003 at the suggestion of pal Madonna.

In May 2006, she announced she had stopped studying Kabbalah altogether, saying, “My baby is my religion.”

But she was photographed wearing Jewish symbol the star of David around her neck on Monday night and admits she is interested in the faith.

Barbra Streisand has donated $10,000 to a performing arts high school in Minnesota, and her record label has matched the generous offer.

The superstar made the donation to The St Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, and her record label bosses at Sony pledged an additional $10,000 worth of audio-visual equipment.

The school’s executive director, Terry Tofte, revealed the school will create a recording studio with the Sony-donated equipment, and Streisand’s cash will be used for development.

An exhibition featuring the work of painter Robert Lenkiewicz is opening at London’s Halcyon Gallery this month.

Lenkiewicz died in August 2002 aged 60 of heart problems, and the exhibition will mark the fifth anniversary of his death.

He was born in London in 1941, the son of Jewish refugees from Germany and Poland who escaped Nazi persecution.