Angelina Jolie thanks Italian islanders for hosting refugees (AFP)

ROME (AFP) – Hollywood star Angelina Jolie on Sunday made a surprise visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa, thanking residents for hosting thousands of refugees who have fled unrest in north Africa in recent months.

The US actress travelled from Malta with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres to the Mediterranean island that has been flooded with more than 40,000 asylum-seekers since the start of 2011, the UN refugee agency said.

Jolie, also a goodwill ambassador for UNHCR, attended a small ceremony honouring those who died at sea after packing themselves on overcrowded vessels to escape the violence in North Africa.

The Catholic organisation Sant Egidio says 1,820 migrants fleeing north Africa, most from countries in sub-Saharan Africa, have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea this year while trying to reach Europe.

Jolie noted the horrific decision forced on those who had no choice but to try crossing unpredictable seas on makeshift rafts, risking drowning and starvation.

In Malta, Jolie and Guterres visited detention facilities where some new arrivals are held while their asylum requests are processed.

"We've spoken about our shared concerns about making sure asylum claims are processed as quickly as possible so no one is sitting in a prison-like situation and waiting on a decision about their status," Jolie said.

"They are not asking to go to any particular country, they just want to find safety to work and to have freedom."

Guterres noted that island residents had some difficult moments of late, particularly in March, when a surge of people arrived on the island after fleeing Libya when NATO began bombing targets linked to Moamer Kadhafi's regime.

On Friday, Jolie visited a camp in Turkey where some 9,600 Syrian refugees are camped after fleeing their government's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators.

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Jerry Lewis to quit hosting annual telethon (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Veteran entertainer Jerry Lewis said on Monday he is retiring as host of the annual Labor Day telethon for muscular dystrophy research after 45 years and will make his final appearance on the U.S. show in September.

Lewis, 85, the zany comedian and actor who starred in more than 45 films in a career spanning five decades, made the announcement in a statement posted by the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), on its website.

"As a labor of love, I've hosted the annual telethon since 1966, and I'll be making my final appearance on the show this year by performing my signature song, "You'll Never Walk Alone,'" he said in the statement.

Lewis has turned the ballad from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Carousel" into an anthem for MDA by performing it at the conclusion of each telethon over the years.

Lewis did not say why he was retiring at this stage, but an MDA spokesman said the comedian's departure coincided with a change in the program's format from a 21 1/2-hour telethon to a six-hour broadcast centered around prime time.

"We needed to change the format for our show, and we're creating a new telethon era now," the spokesman, Jim Brown, told Reuters.

"We're very, very thankful that Jerry Lewis is performing 'You'll Never Walk Alone,'" he said. "He is a world-class humanitarian, and no-one rivals him in terms of his commitment to the cause."

Lewis said he would continue to serve as national MDA chairman, adding, "I'll never desert MDA and my kids."

The program has raised in excess of $2 billion for the fight against muscular dystrophy through 900 hours of live broadcasts over the years, and has become an annual Labor Day weekend institution on U.S. television.

(Reporting and writing by Steve Gorman and Dan Whitcomb)

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MSNBC Eyeing Alec Baldwin for Hosting Duties?

Now that MSNBC has said goodbye to its top draw, Keith Olbermann, the news network is looking to find a new marquee star for its growing brand, and sources tell me their ultimate wish list is topped by none other than '30 Rock' star Alec Baldwin.

"He's already part of the NBC family, has a huge fan base and is very respected for his long term passions for politics," a network source tells me, adding that Alec is very high, perhaps even No. 1, on the wish lists of MSNBC bigwigs.

"Yes, it's something that I'm very, very interested in," Alec, 52, answered when the governor-turned-host asked if politics was a "game" he wanted to enter. "To quit (acting) now when it really feels good and doing it feels good would be an enormously difficult thing to do. However, I do believe that people want to believe that someone who deeply cares about the middle class ... would like to seek public office."

A friend of Alec's tells me that if he opts out of politics (and acting, of course), a career as a cable news opinion host would suit him perfectly.

"He's brilliant on camera and honestly cares about news and fighting for the rights of everyday people," my source believes. "Don't count him out. There was a time when everyone said Alec would never do a sitcom, only movies. Those same people are saying he would never run for office or host a political show."

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