Pick of the week’s Gossip

Michael Heseltine found himself at the centre of a Twitter storm this week, when it was reported that he had strangled a dog with his bare hands. The Tory grandee, nicknamed Tarzan, had told Tatler he was once bitten by his mother’s pet Alsatian, Kim. “So I took Kim’s collar… and pulled it tight. Suddenly he went limp. I was devoted to Kim, but he’d obviously had some sort of mental breakdown. There was no choice.” Lord Heseltine later insisted he only meant that the dog “went limp” as it calmed down; it was put down by a vet the next day. But he did recently admit to having shot 350 squirrels on his country estate. Mariah Carey has been dumped by one of the world’s richest men – reportedly because she is too extravagant. The diva (pictured), whose backstage demands have included 20 fluffy kittens and a special assistant to dispose of used chewing gum, was supposed to be marrying the Australian casino tycoon James Packer. The wedding was called off last week, but Carey is hanging onto her $10m engagement ring. “James is very generous,” said an insider, “but Mariah takes it to the next level.”

President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines has been ordered to stop swearing – by God. The foul-mouthed statesman, who described Barack Obama as a “son of a whore”, says he spoke to the Almighty while on a plane to Japan. “Everyone was sound asleep, snoring, but a voice said: ‘If you don’t stop these epithets, I will bring this plane down now.’ And I said: ‘Who is this?’ So of course, it’s God.”