Church: good press for singing at Murdoch wedding. If angelic superstar soprano Charlotte Church is to be believed, Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers may not have just offered favours to politicians for doing the right thing. They offered the service to singers as well.

Church’s extraordinary allegations — which have been denied by News — were made on oath in London’s High Court yesterday as she gave evidence to Lord Leveson’s UK media inquiry. Church claims she was offered £100,000 to sing at the mogul’s wedding to Wendy Deng but was told she could take favourable press coverage from the Murdoch papers instead, if she waived the fee. — Paul Barry (read the full story here)

Tale of two offices: GetUp!, Minerals Council. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, so the saying goes. And two of Australia’s most influential lobbyists have done just that in determining their office locations.

When The Power Index interviewed GetUp! director Simon Sheikh last week, we were surprised to discover the left-leaning advocacy group’s Sydney office is less than two blocks away from News Limited’s imposing Holt Street headquarters. Meanwhile, the Minerals Council of Australia’s building is directly opposite the head office of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Despite the proximity, we doubt that CEO Mitch Hooke Hooke is regularly invited over for cups of tea and Iced Vo Vos with foreign minister Kevin Rudd. — Matthew Knott (read the full story here) 

Gangland figures invested in weight-loss scam. Melbourne underworld identity Mick Gatto and his business partner, John Khoury, allegedly invested in a weight-loss scam run by convicted conman Peter Foster, a Queensland court has heard.

Foster, a former confidante of Cherie Blair, is appearing before the Federal Court over his connections to a diet weight loss oral spray, SensaSlim. The ACCC alleges that Foster’s involvement with SensaSlim puts him in breach of a previous court order preventing him from peddling weight loss solutions. — The Power Index (read the full story here)