Actor Maximilian Schell Dies
Maximilian Schell, the Austrian-born actor who won an Academy Award for his performance in Judgment at Nuremberg, has died.
Schell, who was 83, died Saturday in Innsbruck.
The cast of Judgment at Nuremberg featured Spencer Tracy, Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich and Montgomery Clift, but Schell was singled out for the Oscar for his portrayal of a German defense lawyer.
The 1961 film about the Nazi war crimes trials following World War 2 first came to life in 1959 as an episode on the American television anthology series, Playhouse 90, in which Schell also starred.
Nazi Germany also affected Schell's personal life. He was born in Vienna, but fled with his parents to Switzerland following Austria's annexation by the Nazis in 1938.
Much of Schell's career was dominated by Nazi-related film roles, including two other Oscar nominations.
He received a best actor nomination for his role as a Nazi war criminal tried in Israel in the 1975 film The Odessa File. He also received a supporting actor nod for his role as an underground fighter against the Nazis for the 1977 film film Julia, starring Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave.
He was an SS captain in The Odessa File, and Nazi officers in the films A Bridge Too Far and Cross of Iron.
He made his American film debut as a Nazi officer in the 1958 film The Young Lions starring Marlon Brando.
Carmelo Anthony, Knicks will miss Super Bowl XLVIII festivities in
Super Bowl Week finally is in full swing in New York, but the Knicks will be leaving town on Sunday before the big game.
After the Miami Heat come to town for a game Saturday night, the Knicks will depart the next day for a game in Milwaukee on Monday.
“Yeah, we gotta go, man,” Carmelo Anthony said Monday. “I wish we can go to the Super Bowl. Rarely, do we get a chance to participate in the Super Bowl and the events and stuff that’s going on around here.
“It’ll be a good one. Denver is a special team. If I was a betting man, I wouldn’t bet against Peyton (Manning). But on the flip side, you got Seattle, and them young guys got something to prove. So I just want to see a good game.”
The former Nugget added that he “without a doubt” would have attended the Super Bowl if the Knicks were in town.
“I would’ve gone to the hockey game (Sunday), too, if we didn’t play,” Anthony added of the outdoor contest between the Rangers and the Devils at Yankee Stadium.
Source-Daily News
Barcelona president says Lionel Messi is not for sale, says
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is not for sale and the club plan to discuss a new contract with the Argentine, says president Josep Maria Bartomeu.
Four-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi, 26, is reported to be a target for French side Paris St-Germain.
In an interview with radio station RAC1, posted on Barcelona's website, Bartomeu said: "The club will sit down and negotiate a new contract.
"We will do what we have to, to ensure he's the best-paid player."
Messi scored 60 goals in 50 appearances last season but has struggled to match that goalscoring form in 2013-14.
He has scored 18 goals so far but just eight of those have been in the league, although he has provided 36 assists in 20 appearances.
His last league goal came in September, before he was out for five weeks with a hamstring injury.
"He can do everything," said Barca coach Gerardo Martino. "If he succeeds in other facets of his game, it doesn't matter if he scores.
"Nothing surprises me with him. He controls the game well, passes the ball well, he is a good finisher, he can press and recover the ball.
"He sees passes that most people can only see whilst watching the game on TV or in the stands, not ones that you can normally see on the field."
Source-BBC
Gayle a big loss to Jamaica squad
Jamaica senior team cricket coach Junior Bennett says the absence of Christopher Gayle from the 14-member squad for the NAGICO Super50 regional competition is a big blow.
Gayle, still recovering from a hamstring injury sustained on the West Indies tour of India late last year, was recently named Jamaica captain, but a subsequent medical assessment ruled out the star left-handed opener, forcing selectors to turn to David Bernard Jnr to lead the team.
The 34-year-old Gayle led Jamaica to the 50-over title in the 2007-08 season, and again two years ago.
"He's definitely a big loss to us as a batsman and as a captain," said Bennett in reference to Gayle's qualities.
"The last two times we won the 50-over (competition) he was the captain. Everyone knows his quality as a One-Day player, his power and everything. To lose him at this time is a big loss.
"To the younger players in the team he was also a motivational factor. But we just have to go out there and do what we have to do," Bennett told the Jamaica Observer.
Gayle, who has suited up for the West Indies in 99 Test matches and 255 One-Day Internationals, has played a total of 322 50-over games in his career and has notched 24 hundreds and 61 fifties at an average of 38.41.
Kenar Lewis, a powerful top-order batsman who plays for Hanover CA in local club cricket, will replace Gayle in the squad. Bennett said the usually aggressive Lewis has shown improvement in his shot selection.
"He had a fairly decent (series of) trial (matches) and his cricket has been improving over the years. At the trials he had some good innings and he showed signs of batsmanship. It's a massive opportunity for him and we just hope that he grabs it with both hands," the veteran coach said.
Gayle was named as captain ahead of Tamar Lambert following a recommendation by the national selection panel, chaired by former batsman Wavell Hinds, that was ratified by the JCA.
Lambert, Jamaica's most successful Four-day captain, was 50-over skipper when the team fell to eventual champions the Windward Islands at last season's semi-final stage.
The Super50 tournament, scheduled for Trinidad & Tobago, starts on Thursday with Jamaica facing the Windwards in the Zone A clash at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain.
Source-Jamaica Observer
Quentin Tarantino sues Gawker over Hateful Eight script link
US director Quentin Tarantino has sued gossip website Gawker for contributory copyright infringement after it posted a link to a leaked screenplay.
A link to The Hateful Eight script remained on Gawker's Defamer blog on Monday despite demands from Tarantino's lawyers to take it down.
They argued the site had effectively cost him royalties he might earn from the eventual publication of the script.
But Gawker said posting a link was part of its job to provide information.
"News of the fact that it existed on the internet advanced a story that Tarantino himself had launched, and our publication of the link was a routine and unremarkable component of our job: making people aware of news and information about which they are curious,'' the site's editor-in-chief John Cook said.
In a post, Gawker added it would be fighting the case, adding that, to its knowledge, "no claim of contributory infringement has prevailed in the US over a news story".
The lawsuit seeks damages of $1m (£603,000) against Gawker as well as $1m against the anonymous file-sharing site where the leaked script was hosted.
Tarantino has previously published scripts of his films, a practice in the past has earned him hefty royalties and advances.
Source-BBC
Another Grammy win for Ziggy Marley
Ziggy Marley won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album for his live Ziggy Marley in Concert at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, yesterday.
The 14-track set, produced by Tuff Gong Worldwide, features some of Marley's better known tunes including Tomorrow People, True to Myself, Welcome to the World and Is this Love?, originally done by his father Bob Marley.
Marley, 45, beat four other acts — Beres Hammond, Sizzla, Sly & Robbie and rapper turned reggae artiste Snoop Lion (the former Snoop Dogg) — to claim the award.
Following the win, Marley expressed humility.
"We are honoured and humbled by this award. I'd like to thank the Grammys and all the people out there who support us. Thank you," he said in a statement.
This win is Marley's second as a solo act. He took home the golden gramophone back in 2007 for his Love is My Religion. He has three other Grammys from his work with his siblings, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. The group first won in 1989 with Conscious Party and repeated the following year with One Bright Day. In 1998 Fallen is Babylon also took the Grammy for the 'Melody Markers'.
In 2012 his Wild and Free lost to younger brother Stephen's Revelation Pt 1 — The Root of Life.
The 'Reggae Grammy' was introduced in 1985. The inaugural award went to Black Uhuru.
Source-Jamaica Observer
Court hears more voice notes from Kartel
More voice notes and images taken from a video were played and displayed in court during the Vybz Kartel murder trial Monday morning.
A voice note which was sent on the 16th of August 2011, and attributed to a phone being used by Vybz Kartel stated "Dweet we dweet man, a mad ra** thing”.
Yet another one stated, "Yes, a problem child, if dem cut, a weh dem a go cut go? a dat a di ra** question hombre. Dem deh man deh can’t cut, but if dem ever cut Shawn Storm a go buy dem back".
The court was also shown images of a man with what appeared to a dog bite on his left calf and of another man with 'Wold boss' tattooed on his left and right forearm who was sitting beside Vybz Kartel in a group photo.
When the court resumes its afternoon sitting, more damning blackberry messages are being expected to be read by Detective Sergeant Patrick Lynton who has been on the witness stand since last week.
Popular entertainer Kartel and four co-accused are on trial for the murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams believed to be killed on August 16 the same day of the voice notes.
Source-Jamaica Observer
Global smartphone shipments top one billion 'milestone'
More than one billion smartphones were shipped last year, with Samsung extending its lead as the world's biggest vendor, a new survey has showed.
According to market research firm IDC, 1.004 billion smartphones were shipped last year, marking a 38.4% increase from the previous year.
South Korea's Samsung accounted for the bulk of that figure, followed by Apple and China's Huawei.
Smartphones made up more than half of the 1.8 billion mobile phones sold.
IDC said this was the first time more than one billion smartphone units were shipped in a single year.
"Among the top trends driving smartphone growth are large screen devices and low cost," said Ryan Reith, program director with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.
"Of the two, I have to say that low cost is the key difference-maker."
"Cheap devices are not the attractive segment that normally grabs headlines, but IDC data shows this is the portion of the market that is driving volume," he said.
"Markets like China and India are quickly moving toward a point where sub-$150 smartphones are the majority of shipments, bringing a solid computing experience to the hands of many."
South Korea's Samsung extended its market dominance with 42.9% growth, the IDC survey said.
Apple, however, saw its market share decline, posting slower growth than the overall market with 12.9% growth.
Source-BBC
Apple shares plunge after reporting flat earnings
Shares in tech giant Apple fell close to 9% in after-hours trading after the firm reported flat profits of $13.1bn (£7.9bn) during the October to January quarter.
While the earnings beat expectations, the firm lowered it sales outlook for 2014, worrying investors.
Apple said it sold a record 51 million iPhones and 26 million iPads.
"We are really happy with our record iPhone and iPad sales," said Apple boss Tim Cook in a statement.
Apple said it expected revenue of between $42bn and $44bn for 2014, slightly less than had been forecast.
Crucially for analysts, the firm said revenue rose by 29% in the greater China region, which includes China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, compared to the same period last year.
On a conference call to discuss the earnings, Mr Cook said: "We really turned in a stellar quarter in greater China."
Apple announced a deal with the world's biggest mobile phone network, China Mobile, in December, and many investors had been closely watching the earnings for hints on the company's performance in the region.
Apple's phones have been available on China Mobile since 17 January.
"Last week was the best week for activations we've ever had in China," said Mr Cook, while noting that iPhones are only available on China Mobile in 16 cities at the moment.
By the end of the year, Apple hopes to expand its offerings to more than 300 cities.
However, Apple said sales in the rest of the Asia-Pacific region fell 9%, and that profits were hurt by currency fluctuations, particularly with the Japanese yen.
Apple also reported a sales dip in the Americas as well.
This was partially due to stronger than expected sales of the more expensive iPhone 5S.
Apple executives said on the call that it took the firm some time to change its supply chain to provide the US market with more of those phones compared with the cheaper iPhone 5C, primarily aimed at Chinese consumers.
Sony’s credit rating cut to junk
The Japanese electronic giant, Sony, has had its credit rating cut to junk status by ratings agency Moody’s.
Moody’s said it expected earnings from Sony’s core businesses to continue to face “significant” downward pressure.
It said it was especially concerned about the firm’s TV and personal computer (PC) business, both of which face “intense” global competition.
Sony, which has been struggling for some time now, lowered its full-year profit forecast by 40% in October.
It said at the time that it expected to make a net profit of 30bn yen ($290m; £177m) in the financial year to 31 March 2014. That was down from its earlier projection of 50bn yen.
“The rating actions reflect Moody’s view that, while Sony has made progress in its restructuring and benefits from continued profitability in several of its business segments, it still faces challenges to improve and stabilise its overall profitability,” Moody’s said in a statement.
Moody’s downgraded Sony’s rating to Ba1 from Baa3.
Many of Sony’s key consumer electronic businesses have been affected in recent years by a range of factors.
Its TV division it has been hit by increased competition, slowing demand and falling prices.
Meanwhile, its digital cameras and PC business have fallen back in the face of the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets – a segment where Sony has not been able to make a significant impact.
Moody’s said Sony’s key divisions were likely to remain under pressure in the near term.
“The primary reason is intense competition and the shrinkage in demand, the result in turn of cannibalisation caused by the rapid penetration of smartphones,” Moody’s said in a statement.
The ratings agency said that while Sony had taken steps to cut costs and improve profitability, the benefits of those steps were emerging “slowly” and its key segments “seem unlikely to soon regain the robust profit levels seen historically”.
Source-BBC News