MTV VMAs 2013: Lady GaGa, Katy Perry, Rita Ora Rock Red Carpet
Big celebrities stepped out glittering the red carpet at the MTV Video Music Awards Sunday, August 25 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Some of the female guests walking down the red carpet were the likes of Lady GaGa, Katy Perry, Rita Ora, Miley Cyrus, Ciara, Ariana Grande and Ellie Goulding.
The Mother Monster traded her usual outlandish appearance with a more demure look for the VMAs. Set to perform her new song at the event, the "Applause" singer donned a Prabal Gurung leather fishtail dress with a ribbon-styled belt and plunging neckline. She toned down her makeup to minimum and finished off her look with chunky heels and vintage glasses.
Ready to "roar," Katy rocked bejeweled grill. She wore an Emanuel Ungaro Fall 2013 long-sleeved leopard print dress with a sexy side slit and gold embellishments around the neckline and shoulders. She put her long hair in a sleek high ponytail and finished off her appearance for the night with black-and-gold Celine sandals.
Also opting for a long gown was Rita Ora who sported a short bob hairdo. She stole attention with her Alex Vauthier Fall 2013 turquoise dress that had a deep-plunging top with crystal embellishments, a daring slit up her waist and a long flapper train. Her black-and-gold strap-ankle Louboutin sandals matched her belt.
Miley showed off some skin in a vintage Dolce&Gabbana outfit consisting of an off-shoulder cropped top with long bejeweled sleeves and tight long pants with matching stone details around the waist and left thigh. Giuseppe Zanotti shoes, Lorraine Schwartz jewels, sherry red lips and two little hair knots on top of her head completed her look.
Ciara donned a Givenchy sheer long dress with strategically placed crystal embroidery and feathers at the hemline. Ariana kept her youthful look as she opted for a Kenley Collins baby-blue short dress with flower print and finished it off with white pumps. British beauty Ellie Goulding went with a nude spiked dress with a high neck and a sexy slit.
Rapper Iggy Azalea rocked an Emilio Pucci Spring 2013 creation. It's a long column dress with gold-leaf embroidery on sheer nude veiling. Actress Paula Patton donned a Lever Couture strapless black sequined dress with a high slit while her husband, "Blurred Lines" hitmaker Robin Thicke, was in a suit with no tie.
MTV's "Jersey Shore" stars Snooki and JWoww were also spotted among the A-list crowd. Newly-reunited Danity Kane and "Divergent" actress Shailene Woodley attended the prestigious event as well, along with rappers Drake, Wiz Khalifa & A$ap Rocky and rising star Austin Mahone.
Source-AceShow
Broadway star Julie Harris dies aged 87
US actress Julie Harris, a star of stage and screen who won five Tony Awards, has died at the age of 87.
Harris was best known for her roles on Broadway, where she jointly holds the record for the most Tony Award wins.
Her breakthrough came in the hit 1950 play The Member of the Wedding, which led to an Oscar nomination for a big screen adaptation three years later.
Other films included 1955's East of Eden with James Dean, while on TV she was known for the soap Knot's Landing.
Harris died at her home in Massachusetts of congestive heart failure, actress and family friend Francesca James told the Associated Press (AP) news agency.
Born in Michigan, Harris made her Broadway debut in 1945 and made her name five years later in The Member of the Wedding.
Aged 24, she played the lonely 12-year-old Frankie in Carson McCullers' stage version of her novel.
Harris won her first Tony Award in 1952 for playing Sally Bowles in I Am a Camera, adapted from Christopher Isherwood's book Berlin Stories, which was later the basis of the stage and screen musical Cabaret.
Other Tony wins came for playing Joan of Arc in The Lark in 1956, for Forty Carats, a hit comedy about an older woman and a younger man in 1969, and for her role as Abraham Lincoln's wife Mary Todd Lincoln in 1973's The Last of Mrs Lincoln.
Her final competitive Tony win came for portraying poet Emily Dickinson in her one-woman show The Belle of Amherst in 1977. That performance also won a Grammy Award for best spoken word recording.
Angela Lansbury and Audra McDonald are the only other performers to have won five competitive Tonys.
Harris had five other nominations, making her the most nominated performer in the awards' history, and she received a special lifetime achievement Tony in 2002.
On the big screen, Harris appeared in more than 30 films including playing James Dean's love interest in East of Eden.
On television, she won three Emmy Awards between 1959 and 2000 as well as playing country music singer Lilimae Clements in Knot's Landing in the 1980s.
Harris had a stroke in 2001 followed by another in 2010, Francesca James told the AP.
Queen Ifrica removed from Canadian concert
Queen Ifrica's management has denied that the entertainer's Canadian work permit has been withdrawn.
However, a statement from the management team made no mention of a Toronto concert where she was scheduled to perform.
The Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) reported on Friday that the Jamaican entertainer had been pulled from the Rastafest concert following complaints from the Canada-based Jamaica Association of Gays and Lesbians Abroad (JAGLA), which alleged that the dancehall performer was "notorious" for her homophobic lyrics.
Coordinator of the Rastafest concert, Masani Montague, confirmed that the singer would not be performing, which he said was "due to circumstances beyond our control".
JAGLA spokesman, Kerron Orlando, said that the "decision has sent a clear message that persons who make comments that jeopardise the well-being of members of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community in Jamaica will not be welcomed in Canada".
He said he hoped that other homophobic persons will remember that performers will be condemned and called on the Jamaican Government to immediately put in place measures to protect members of the LGBT community.
On Thursday, the Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, which had given the festival Can$4,200, said it was "disappointed to hear that an artiste using homophobic language was being featured at this event.
"While it is Rastafest, not the federal government who is responsible for programming decisions, we will ensure that future funding requests from them are very carefully reviewed," the group said.
Rastafest is sponsored in part by the Toronto Public Library and Service Canada.
Earlier this month, the Jamaican Government expressed "regret" at the statements made by Queen Ifrica during the Grand Gala, the main event to mark the nation's 51st Independence.
In a statement, the Ministry of Youth and Culture said the event was used by the singer "as a platform to express her personal opinions and views on matters that may be considered controversial, rather than to perform in the agreed scripted and rehearsed manner consistent with the thematic production.
"Furthermore, the comments by the artiste were inappropriate in the setting of a national, State-funded event with more than 20,000 persons, including children, who were in the National Stadium and thousands more watching on television and online".
During her performance, statements glorifying male straightness, heterosexual marriage and the legalisation of marijuana were among those made on stage.
Yesterday, Queen Ifrica expressed shock and disappointment at what she called the "ensuing brouhaha" arising from certain aspects of her performance at the Grand Gala celebrations on August 6, 2013.
Source— CMC and Observer reports
Ben Affleck to play Batman in 2015 Superman sequel
Ben Affleck has been cast as Batman in a forthcoming Superman sequel, bringing together the two superheroes in one film for the first time.
The 41-year-old will star opposite British actor Henry Cavill, who will reprise his role as Superman from the most recent film, Man of Steel.
Director Zack Snyder revealed the big screen superhero mash-up at a comic convention in San Diego last month.
Production is expected to begin next year for release in the summer of 2015.
"We knew we needed an extraordinary actor to take on one of DC Comics' most enduringly popular super heroes, and Ben Affleck certainly fits that bill and then some," Warner Bros President Greg Silverman said in a statement.
Mr Snyder, who also directed Man of Steel, said in a statement that Mr Affleck will provide an "interesting counter-balance" to 31-year old Cavill's Clark Kent.
"(Affleck) has the acting chops to create a layered portrayal of a man who is older and wiser than Clark Kent and bears the scars of a seasoned crime fighter, but retain the charm that the world sees in billionaire Bruce Wayne," said Snyder. "I can't wait to work with him."
The sequel - which has yet to be given a title - will reunite Man of Steel stars Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Laurence Fishburne (Perry White) and Diane Lane (Martha Kent).
Christian Bale most recently played Batman in director Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy.
Michael Keaton and George Clooney have also donned the black mask and cape in previous Batman films.
Ben Affleck's film Argo, which he starred in and directed, won an Academy Award for best picture earlier this year.
The superhero genre is not new to Mr Affleck, who previously starred as the blind hero in the 2003 Daredevil film based on the Marvel Comics.
Batman and Superman are part of DC Comics universe, which is part of the Warner Bros Entertainment division.
Revenues from the latest films featuring Superman and Batman have exceeded $1bn (£655m) in recent years.
Linda Ronstadt has Parkinson's disease
Singer Linda Ronstadt says she has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
Ronstadt, 67, was a regular in the US charts in the 1970s and '80s, winning 10 Grammy Awards.
She was diagnosed eight months ago, she told AARP magazine, and now "can't sing a note". "No one can sing with Parkinson's disease," she said. "No matter how hard you try."
Parkinson's is a progressive brain condition that can cause shaking, slow movement and stiff muscles.
She initially put her inability to sing and the shaking in her hands down to a tick bite and shoulder surgery, she said.
"I couldn't sing and I couldn't figure out why," she said. "I knew it was mechanical. I knew it had to do with the muscles, but I thought it might have also had something to do with the tick disease that I had.
"It didn't occur to me to go to a neurologist. I think I've had it for seven or eight years already, because of the symptoms that I've had. Then I had a shoulder operation, so I thought that's why my hands were trembling.
"Parkinson's is very hard to diagnose, so when I finally went to a neurologist and he said, 'Oh, you have Parkinson's disease,' I was completely shocked. I wouldn't have suspected that in a million, billion years."
Ronstadt scored 10 hits in the US top 10 including When Will I Be Loved, Somewhere Out There and the 1975 number one You're No Good.
In the UK, her biggest success came when Don't Know Much, her duet with Aaron Neville, reached number two in 1989.
Five dead from 'La Bestia' accident in Mexico train crash
At least five people are dead after a cargo train notorious for transporting Central American migrants hoping to reach the US derailed in southern Mexico, authorities have said.
Officials said at least 35 people were injured, 16 gravely. It is feared the death toll could rise.
An unknown number of people were also trapped, the Red Cross said.
Soldiers, marines and emergency workers were trying to access the remote crash site, which ambulances could not reach.
Officials were working to establish air or water access to the site.
Cesar Burelo Burelo, the head of civil protection for Mexico's Tabasco state, said the derailment occurred early on Sunday in a remote area with no mobile phone coverage.
Mr Burelo said dozens of people had been on the train, which was moving north from the border of Guatemala.
The train, sometimes called "the beast", often carries hundreds of people on the roof as they undertake the risky journey to the US.
Fitch revises Aruba’s sovereign credit outlook to negative
Fitch Ratings on Thursday revised its sovereign credit outlook on Aruba to negative from stable citing a sluggish economy, large fiscal imbalances, rising government debt and increased vulnerability because of a halt in fuel exports. The Caribbean nation’s investment grade BBB credit rating was affirmed, Fitch said.Valero Energy idled its refinery on the island because of the high cost of running the facility.
“The growth and external forecasts assume that refining operations and fuel exports by Valero will remain suspended during 2013 – 2015. However, the company will continue to be a provider of transshipment services during this period,” Fitch said.
Standard & Poor’s has Aruba one notch higher at BBB-plus with a stable outlook.
The global financial crisis and suspension of operations at the Valero refinery have led to a cumulative 12 percent shrinkage of Aruba’s economy between 2008 and 2012, Fitch said.
“Downside risks to growth remain depending on the tourism sector performance and the execution of large public-private partnerships to transform the infrastructure network and energy matrix of the island,” Fitch said.
“Aruba’s ‘BBB’ ratings are supported by its impeccable debt repayment record, high per capita income, strong rule of law, political and social stability,” Fitch said in its statement.
Source-Aruba Daily
Jamaican woman arrested on US healthcare fraud charges
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency says special agents from the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) have arrested a Jamaican woman for health care fraud, identity theft and unauthorised use of social security numbers.
Georgia Bowen, also known as Georgia Bennett, 38, who resides in Lackawanna near Buffalo in upstate New York, faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a US$250,000 fine if convicted.
Bowen claimed to be a US citizen and used a Social Security number assigned to another person, in January2011, Erie County terminated Bowen’s Medicaid eligibility.
During that time, Medicaid, a federal-state programme was billed for more than US$7,000 for medical services rendered to Bowen.
Previously, in August 2010, ICE said Bowen was sentenced in US federal court to two years in prison for identity theft. Based on that conviction, ICE initiated deportation proceedings against Bowen.
The proceedings are currently being litigated before an immigration court.
Source-CMC
Colombian soldiers killed in ambush in Arauca province
At least 13 Colombian soldiers have been killed in an ambush by Farc left-wing rebels in the east of the country, the army says.
Last month, 15 soldiers were killed by the rebel group in the same region.
Even though Farc rebels and the government are holding peace talks in Cuba, both sides are continuing to target each other militarily.
On Friday the Farc announced a "pause" in the talks and the government later withdrew its team of negotiators.
However, the talks are expected to resume soon.
Saturday's attack occurred in the eastern province of Arauca.
A statement by the Colombian army command said: "After a terrorist action by the Farc, two non-commissioned officers and 11 soldiers were killed and another one injured."
As news of the attack became public, the government's chief negotiator, Humberto de la Calle, said President Juan Manuel Santos had instructed his team to return to the negotiating table.
The Farc announced a "pause" in order to study a proposal that any peace deal must be put to a referendum.
The talks began last November, and the Farc's move was the first time either side had broken off negotiations other than for planned recesses.
The latest round was focusing on the eventual participation of the rebels in Colombian politics.
So far, the two sides have reached agreement on land reform, the first of six points on their agenda.
A recent study by Colombia's National Centre for Historical Memory suggested 220,000 people have died as a result of the five decades of conflict.
Bolivia prison riot death toll rises
The number of people killed as a result of a riot at a prison in eastern Bolivia on Friday has risen to 31.
Another 37 inmates were seriously injured when fighting broke out between rival gangs inside the jail.
Most of the victims burned to death after inmates blew up two propane tanks and used others as flamethrowers.
Among those killed is an 18-month-old toddler, one of the many children living in the prison with its incarcerated parents.
Under Bolivian law, children under six years of age can stay in jail with their parents if there is no other relative to look after them.
The authorities have so far not released a list of those who died in the riot at Palmasola prison outside the city of Santa Cruz. Palmasola is Bolivia's largest jail.
Relatives and friends of inmates have been waiting outside the prison for news. The latest victim died on Saturday of burns sustained during the riot.
Interior Minister Carlos Romero said the violence started when inmates in one cell block knocked a hole in the wall separating them from another block.
They then attacked their rivals with propane gas tanks, machetes, knives and sticks.
The fire spread quickly as straw mattresses were set alight. Guards took several hours to put out the fire and regain control of the prison.
Some prisoners jumped off the roof to escape the flames.
President Evo Morales has ordered an investigation into the incident.