Kobe Bryant confident in Lakers
Kobe Bryant evidently is confident the Los Angeles Lakers will make the playoffs -- and be a factor when they get there.
Bryant said in an interview with Sports Illustrated that he is certain the struggling Lakers will make the playoffs. The 15-time All-Star also claimed he has "no fear" of any potential postseason opponent in the competitive Western Conference.
"It's not a question of if we make the playoffs. We will," Bryant told Sports Illustrated. "And when we get there, I have no fear of anyone -- Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver ... whoever. I have zero nervousness about that."
The Lakers (26-29) have won six of their last nine games, including Wednesday's 113-99 victory over the Boston Celtics. But despite the recent hot streak, Los Angeles trails the Houston Rockets by 3½ games for the eighth spot in the conference standings.
Bryant, the NBA's fourth-leading scorer at 26.6 points per game, cited a loss earlier this month to the Miami Heat as one of the sources of his confidence.
The Lakers dropped a 107-97 decision in Miami on Feb. 10 to conclude a seven-game road trip. Despite the loss, Bryant told Sports Illustrated the Lakers showed positive signs in the contest.
"We will make the playoffs," he said. "And we will compete. And part of the reason I have that confidence is the Miami game. We had control of the game. That was no fluke. We were playing very, very well. We were reading the defense, making the extra pass.
"OK, they have two great players [LeBron James and Dwyane Wade] who scored eight straight buckets and took control of the game. But we were right there. We can do it."
The Lakers host the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night, opening an eight-game stretch in which five of their opponents have losing records.
Drake’s Closer To Another Chart Record With 30th Top 10 R&B/Hip-Hop Hit
YMCMB rapper-singer Drake edged closer to breaking another Billboard chart record this week when his latest single “Started From The Bottom” jumped from 19-3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. This is Drake’s 30th appearance on the chart’s top ten trailing only Lil Wayne (34) and R. Kelly (32).
Drake already owns the record for the most #1′s on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for a rapper. He took the title from Jay-Z last August as a guest on 2 Chain’z “No Lie.” It was the tenth time Drake topped the chart – 7 as a featured artist. His first single to break into the top ten and reach number one was 2009′s “Best I Ever I Had.”
The Toronto based artist also passed Diddy on the list for most #1 rap songs last February. His collaboration with Nicki Minaj, “Make Me Proud,” became his 11th single to reach number 1 on Billboard’s Rap chart.
“Started From The Bottom” will appear in the number two spot of the March 2 edition of Billboard’s rap chart behind Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “The Heist.”
Drake also appears at #3 on the same chart for A$AP Rocky’s “Fu**in’ Problem” and at #4 along with Lil Wayne and Future for “Love Me.” Psy’s “Gangnam Style” comes in at #5, and “I’m Different,” “Swimming Pools (Drank),” “All Gold Everything,” “Feel This Moment,” and “I Cry” round out the top ten.
The rest of the top ten for the R&B/Hip-Hop chart: ”Thrift Shop” (1), “Suit & Tie” (2), “Girl On Fire” (4), “Fu**in’ Problems” (5), “Love Me” (6), “Diamonds” (7), “Pour It Up” (8), “Adorn” (9), and “I’m Different” (10).
“Started From The Bottom” is the first single off Drake’s upcoming third album Nothing Was The Same.
Who will win an Oscars?
Award-winning set designer Derek McLane tells BBC News about the challenge of creating the Oscars stage set.
The name Derek McLane may not be familiar to many outside Broadway but this award-winning set designer is about to showcase the biggest project of his career in Hollywood on Sunday.
Having worked with Oscar producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron on the Broadway show How to Succeed in Business starring Daniel Radcliffe in 2011 - he got the call from the duo offering him the Oscars job.
"It's quite humbling and terrifying at times as well as completely exciting. It's a show with such an enormous tradition... that I want to honour," he says.
The nominees for the 2013 Academy Awards have been revealed in Los Angeles, with Lincoln, Life Of Pi and Silver Linings Playbook among the main nominees.
Find out who is in the running for an Oscar below.
Best film
- Amour
- Argo
- Beasts Of The Southern Wild
- Django Unchained
- Les Miserables
- Lincoln
- Life Of Pi
- Silver Linings Playbook
- Zero Dark Thirty
Best actress
- Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty
- Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook
- Emmanuelle Riva - Amour
- Quvenzhane Wallis - Beasts of the Southern Wild
- Naomi Watts - The Impossible
Best actor
- Daniel Day Lewis - Lincoln
- Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook
- Hugh Jackman - Les Miserables
- Joaquin Phoenix - The Master
- Denzel Washington - Flight
Best director
- Michael Haneke - Amour
- Ang Lee - Life of Pi
- David O Russell - Silver Linings Playbook
- Steven Spielberg - Lincoln
- Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild
Best supporting actor
- Alan Arkin - Argo
- Robert De Niro - Silver Linings Playbook
- Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln
- Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained
- Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master
Best supporting actress
- Amy Adams - The Master
- Sally Field - Lincoln
- Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables
- Helen Hunt - The Sessions
- Jacki Weaver - Silver Linings Playbook
Best foreign film
- Amour
- No
- War witch
- A Royal Affair
- Kon-Tiki
Best animated film
- Brave
- Frankenweenie
- Paranorman
- Pirates! Band of Misfits (UK title: Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists)
- Wreck-it Ralph
Best documentary film
- 5 Broken Cameras
- The Gatekeepers
- How To Survive A Plague
- The Invisible War
- Searching For Sugarman
Music (original song)
- Before My Time (Chasing Ice) - Music and Lyric by J. Ralph
- Everybody Needs A Best Friend (Ted) - Music by Walter Murphy, Lyric by Seth MacFarlane
- Pi's lullaby (Life Of Pi) - Music by Mychael Danna, Lyric by Bombay Jayashri
- Skyfall (Skyfall) - Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
- Suddenly (Les Miserables) - Music by Claude-Michel Schonberg, Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil
Music (original score)
- Anna Karenina - Dario Marianelli
- Argo - Alexandre Desplat
- Life Of Pi - Mychael Danna
- Lincoln - John Williams
- Skyfall - Thomas Newman
Adapted screenplay
- Argo - Chris Terrio
- Beasts Of The Southern Wild - Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin
- Life Of Pi - David Magee
- Lincoln - Tony Kushner
- Silver Linings Playbook - David O Russell
Original screenplay
- Amour - Michael Haneke
- Django Unchained - Quentin Tarantino
- Flight - John Gatins
- Moonrise Kingdom - Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola
- Zero Dark Thirty - Mark Boal
Cinematography
- Anna Karenina - Seamus McGarvey
- Django Unchained - Robert Richardson
- Life of Pi - Claudio Miranda
- Lincoln - Janusz Kaminski
- Skyfall - Roger Deakins
Costume Design
- Anna Karenina - Jacqueline Durran
- Les Miserables - Paco Delgado
- Lincoln - Joanna Johnston
- Mirror Mirror - Eiko Ishioka
- Snow White and the Huntsman - Colleen Atwood
Best documentary short subject
- Inocente
- Kings Point
- Mondays at Racine
- Open Heart
- Redemption
Film editing
- Argo - William Goldenberg
- Life of Pi - Tim Squyres
- Lincoln - Michael Kahn
- Silver Linings Playbook - Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers
- Zero Dark Thirty - Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg
Make-up and Hairstyling
- Hitchcock - Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane
- Les Miserables - Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell
Production Design
- Anna Karenina - Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Dan Hennah, Ra Vincent and Simon Bright
- Les Miserables - Eve Stewart and Anna Lynch-Robinson
- Life Of Pi - David Gropman and Anna Pinnock
- Lincoln - Rick Carter and Jim Erickson
Short film (animated)
- Adam and the Dog
- Fresh Guacamole
- Head Over Heels
- Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare
- Paperman
Short film (live action)
- Asad
- Buzkashi Boys
- Curfew
- Death of a Shadow (Dood Van Een Schaduw)
- Henry
Sound editing
- Argo - Erik Aadahl and Ethan van der Ryn
- Django Unchained - Wylie Stateman
- Life Of Pi - Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton
- Skyfall - Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers
- Zero Dark Thirty - Paul NJ Ottosson
Sound mixing
- Argo - John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia
- Les Miserables - Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes
- Life Of Pi - Ron Bartlett, DM Hemphill and Drew Kunin
- Lincoln - Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins
- Skyfall - Scott Millan, Greg P Russell and Stuart Wilson
Visual effects
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R Christopher White
- Life Of Pi - Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R Elliott
- Marvel's The Avengers (UK title: Marvel's Avengers Assemble) - Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick
- Prometheus - Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill
- Snow White and the Huntsman - Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson
Tyler leads 2013 Songwriters Hall of Fame
Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry are among the latest inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Celebrating 70s and 80s rock 'n' roll, the class of 2013 will be enrolled at a ceremony on 13 June in New York.
Mick Jones and Lou Gramm of Foreigner, who wrote hits Jukebox Hero and Cold As Ice, and songwriters for Tina Turner and The Eagles are also on the list.
Established in 1969, the Songwriters Hall of Fame celebrates composers and lyricists and has over 300 inductees.
Songwriters including Holly Knight, who penned Pat Benatar's Love Is A Battlefield and The Best for Tina Turner, will also be honoured.
Perry and Tyler have been a song-writing team for around 40 years, having penned hits Sweet Emotion, Dream On and Livin' On The Edge.
The American rock band released their 15th studio album last year and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.
JD Souther and Tony Hatch will also be honoured at the event. Souther worked with The Eagles, spawning several of their hits including Heartache Tonight, Victim of Love and New Kid In Town.
While British composer Hatch worked with Petula Clark on the international chart-topping hits Downtown and My Love in 1964 and 1965. He also co-wrote the theme tune to Australian soap Neighbours.
Ja Rule leaves prison but taken back into custody
Ja Rule has left prison in New York, but was taken straight into custody over a tax evasion case, a sentence he was serving at the same time.
The rapper had been doing time for gun possession.
He had been given two years for that offence and had completed most of the sentence before being released.
US authorities escorted the 36-year-old out of jail, although it is not yet clear whether he will have to serve more time in the tax case.
Ja Rule still has to serve some of a 28-month sentence he was carrying out at the same time for not paying his taxes.
He had been in protective custody because of his celebrity status.
According to his lawyer, Stacey Richman, the musician wants to get back to work as soon as possible to start making the £1.1m he has been ordered to pay back in taxes.
"Many people are looking forward to experiencing his talent again," added Richman.
She described him as a "devoted father" who was looking forward to his daughter's graduation.
Ja Rule, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, had a Grammy nomination for his 2002 album Pain is Love and has also starred in films including The Fast and the Furious and Scary Movie 3.
He went to prison in June 2011 and was given the earliest release date possible, said state correction spokeswoman Linda Foglia.
In the gun case, New York City police said they had found a loaded .40-calibre semiautomatic gun in a rear door of Ja Rule's $250,000 (£163,000) luxury car after it was stopped for speeding.
He pleaded guilty to that offence in 2010.
In March 2011 Ja Rule admitted that he had failed to pay taxes on more than $3m (£1.9m) he earned between 2004 and 2006.
"I in no way attempted to deceive the government or do anything illegal," he told the judge at the time.
"I was a young man who made a lot of money. I didn't know how to deal with these finances and I didn't have people to guide me, so I made mistakes."
Nas to headline Glastonbury stage
Nas will headline the newly-named Silver Hayes area at this year's Glastonbury Festival in Somerset.
The US rapper is one of the artists named to perform in the field formerly known as the Dance Village.
It will include the 7,000-capacity Sonic tent for dance-oriented headliners.
Disclosure, Hot Natured, David Rodigan, Sub Focus, Aluna George, Eats Everything, Rudimental and The Congos will also play in the dance area.
Nas, 39, has had five number one albums in the US with his last record, Life Is Good, making it to number eight on the UK album chart in 2012.
Silver Hayes, named after one of the oldest meadows at Worthy Farm, will also feature the Wow Stage for underground artists and the Gully, a new installation featuring an open air stage and a street of sound systems and stalls featuring new DJs, MCs and live music.
Festival organiser Emily Eavis said: "I've always thought that the closest parallel with Glastonbury is Notting Hill Carnival, and the buzz around this rebirth is exactly what we were looking for, both musically and visually.
"There's going to be a lot of incredible music from all around the world."
Festival founder Michael Eavis added: "Malcolm (Haynes, Dance Village co-ordinator) turned up with an after hours rave truck in the 1980s and he's been going hard at it ever since.
"Now he's conjured up a new vision for one of the most beautiful areas of the farm, which will be brilliant."
A full line-up for the other stages and sound systems will be revealed in April.
No headliners have been announced although it's been reported that the Rolling Stones, Mumford & Sons, Rihanna and Arctic Monkeys may be on the bill.
Alt-J confirmed they would be playing the festival at Wednesday's Brit Awards.
The event takes place between 26-30 June after a year off in 2012.
Ukraine ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko 'can return to prison'
Ukraine's former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is well enough to return to prison after spending nine months in hospital, the health ministry has said.
Tymoshenko was being treated for back problems after being jailed in 2011 for abuse of office.
Her supporters regard that conviction as politically motivated.
Last year she claimed to be too ill to attend court proceedings relating to a separate charge of misappropriation of public funds.
The Ukrainian authorities are also investigating allegations against her of tax evasion and involvement in murder.
Her conviction for abuse of office relates to a gas deal she signed with Russia as prime minister in 2009, which critics said paid Russia too high a price.
Her supporters say she was jailed to prevent her being a political threat to Viktor Yanukovych, the current president.
She remains a popular politician despite her imprisonment, after coming second to Mr Yanukovych in the 2010 presidential election.
Tymoshenko was a face of Ukraine's pro-democracy Orange Revolution alongside Mr Yanukovych's long-time rival Viktor Yushchenko.
Correspondents say the health ministry's announcement will make it difficult for her to avoid appearing in court.
Previously she has boycotted trial proceedings against her, and has also staged hunger strikes in protest at conditions in prison and alleged election fraud.
Oscar Pistorius granted bail in Reeva Steenkamp case
South African athlete Oscar Pistorius, who faces murder charges over the fatal shooting of his girlfriend, has been granted bail after a four-day hearing.
Magistrate Desmond Nair said the state had not made a case that he would flee, or that he had a violent character.
The Paralympic sprinter denies murder, saying he shot Reeva Steenkamp thinking she was an intruder at his home.
The next hearing in the case has been set for 4 June. Bail was set at 1m rand (£72,000; $113,000).
He was ordered to hand over his passport, avoid his home in Pretoria and report to a police station between 07:00 and 13:00 every Monday and Friday.
Mr Nair took almost two hours to deliver his judgement.
He criticised the testimony of detective Hilton Botha, saying he had not followed up important leads and had changed his testimony.
But the magistrate also said he had difficulty understanding why Mr Pistorius had opened fire in the way he did.
However, he said Mr Pistorius had "reached out to meet the state's case" and had given a full version of events at an early stage.
Mr Pistorius's family and supporters in the court gasped and cheered as the magistrate announced he would be freed on bail.
The hearing began on Tuesday and both prosecution and defence laid out their cases.
Prosecutors allege Mr Pistorius murdered his girlfriend after an argument at his Pretoria home in the early hours of 14 February.
Det Botha told the court that witnesses had heard shouting, screaming and gunfire from about 600m (2,000ft) away.
But later he changed his evidence to suggest the witnesses were much closer.
And on Thursday it emerged that Det Botha faces allegations of attempted murder, and he was removed from the case.
Mr Pistorius says he mistook his girlfriend for an intruder and shot her by accident.
Ms Steenkamp, 29, was a model and law graduate with a burgeoning television career.
Oscar Pistorius won gold medals at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012.
In London he made history by becoming the first double-amputee to run in the Olympics, making the semi-final of the 400m.
Italy election: Bersani, Monti and Berlusconi campaign
Candidates in Italy's general election are completing their final day of campaigning ahead of two days of voting, beginning on Sunday.
The election is being closely watched in the eurozone, with the Italian government's future commitment to austerity measures under scrutiny.
Centre-left candidate Pier Luigi Bersani is currently leading the polls.
Coalitions led by current Prime Minister Mario Monti and ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi are also running.
The polls suggest there will also be a strong turnout for Beppo Grillo, a popular comedian who has campaigned against the political establishment.
The election is taking place amid a deep recession and austerity measures that have caused resentment among Italians.
It is being held two months early, after Mr Berlusconi's party withdrew its support for Mr Monti's technocratic government.
Mr Monti has introduced cuts to public services in an effort to reduce national borrowing and maintain the confidence of financial markets.
Eurozone worries
Mr Bersani, a former Communist, has pledged to continue with Mr Monti's reforms, but suggests current European policy needs to do more to promote growth and jobs.
However, recent weeks have seen a narrowing of his lead over the centre-right coalition of Mr Berlusconi, who is critical of austerity measures.
The election is being closely watched by economists, who are worried about the effect Italy's future policies may have on the eurozone economy.
London-based analysts Capital Economics said an unclear outcome to the election was its biggest concern.
"A hung parliament might plunge Italy and the eurozone back into crisis rather sooner," it said.
North Korea to offer mobile internet access
North Korean mobile phone provider Koryolink is planning to launch a 3G data service for foreign visitors and residents from abroad.
Egyptian telecoms firm Orascom, which is a partner in Koryolink, estimates that more than 1 million North Koreans use mobile phones.
They will not be able to use the new service, according to reports.
Orascom launched a 3G phone network inside North Korea in 2008, but users can only use it to make phone calls.
International calls, including calls to South Korea, are banned.
In January 2013 the government began allowing foreign visitors to bring their own mobile devices into the country with them for the first time.
Following a recent visit to the notoriously closed country, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt wrote in a blog post that North Korea's decision to isolate itself "is very much going to affect their physical world and their economic growth."
He added that it would be "very easy" for 3G internet access to be enabled on the existing service.
Current internet access is extremely limited for locals, with most people only having access to a small number of state-run pages.
North Korea expert Scott Thomas Bruce previously told the BBC this comprises mainly of "message boards, chat functions, and state sponsored media".
"The system they've set up is one that they can control and tear down if necessary," he said.