Top 13 finalists of American Idol will perform songs by Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder on next week’s milestone 400th episode.
Season 11’s finalists were announced on last night episode following two nights of live performances from the Top 13 boys and Top 12 girls who made it to the semi-final.
Ten contestants were voted through to the next stage by the American public, while judges Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson chose three more acts as their wildcard picks.
Fox has now confirmed that the Top 13 will perform tracks by Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder on Wednesday, March 7. The female contestants will take on the Whitney Houston’s songs, while the men will tackle the Stevie Wonder tracks.
Mary J. Blige will mentor all contestants throughout the week.
Top 13 finalists of American Idol will perform songs by Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder on next week's milestone 400th episode
Whitney Houston passed away at the age of 48 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles on Saturday, February 11.
American Idol’s host Ryan Seacrest had previously hinted that the show planned to honour Whitney Houston’s impact on the music industry, saying: “We are trying to figure out how we can go in and obviously pay tribute [to Whitney Houston] in some way and acknowledge the impact that she had on popular singers, popular music and young singers that are trying to make it.”
The Top 13 contestants are: Hollie Cavanagh, Colton Dixon, Heejun Han, Jermaine Jones, Skylar Laine, Joshua Ledet, Shannon Magraine, Phillip Phillips, Jessica Sanchez, Elise Testone, Erika Van Pelt, Jeremy Rosado and DeAndre Brackensick.
A pair of pearl-drop earrings worn by Whitney Houston in the 1992 film “The Bodyguard” is to be sold in an auction of the late singer’s possessions.
The earrings are among several items that once belonged to Whitney Houston which are to be sold by Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills as part of their “Hollywood Legends” sale.
Other items include a black velvet dress owned by Whitney Houston and 15 other outfits worn by the pop legend.
Julien’s Auctions owner Darren Julien has revealed over 50 friends, family and former colleagues have contacted his office offering to sell items since her tragic death at the age of just 48 in February 11.
Darren Julien said: “This is something that commonly happens after somebody passes … especially someone with the status of Whitney Houston. Her items can increase 10, 20 even 30 times compared to their previous value prior to her death. These items become part of history really.
“Whitney is a legend so it’s definitely an appropriate auction for her. It’s a reason to celebrate her life, not put these items in a box under the bed … Her items are now more sought after.”
Darren Julien believes bids for Whitney Houston’s dresses will reach tens of thousands of dollars because she is someone “that will maintain a collectability” because of her incredible career.
The earrings worn by Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard are among several items that once belonged to the late singer which are to be sold by Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills as part of their “Hollywood Legends” sale
The “Hollywood Legends” auction will also include pieces that once belonged to Princess Diana, Charlie Chaplin and Charlton Heston and will take place on March 31 and April 1 at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, California.
Whitney Houston herself was an avid collector of Hollywood memorabilia and one of her most prize possessions was a pair of Ginger Rogers’ dancing shoes which had been personally signed by the screen icon.
The shoes were given to her as a gift by David Gest for performing at the 10th Annual American Cinema Awards in 1993 on the night where Rogers was honored for Distinguished Achievement In Film.
Ginger Rogers personally signed each shoe with a note which read “to one of the greatest singers of all time, from your friend Ginger Rogers”.
David Gest, who was invited to Whitney Houston’s funeral – believes the unique item would fetch thousands of dollars if Bobbi Kristina – the singer’s child with ex-husband Bobby Brown – decided to sell the shoes.
Carolyn Whigham, the owner of Whitney Houston’s funeral home has said that she knows who leaked the photo of the singer’s body in open casket to the press.
Carolyn Whigham, CEO of the Whigham Funeral Home, told reporters that it was up to the Houston family to name the individual behind the photograph, which showed Whitney Houston in her casket and appeared on the front cover of US tabloid National Enquirer last month.
The business owner insisted that she, her vice president daughter Karalynn and manager Terri Fields were “the only three people who saw Whitney Houston”.
Carolyn Whigham said that none of her staff had come in close contact with Whitney Houston’s body, which “was always on the lower level under lock and key”.
She added that security personnel guarding Whitney Houston’s body, who slept in the building prior to her funeral on February 18, had not been hired by the home.
Carolyn Whigham, the owner of Whitney Houston's funeral home has said that she knows who leaked the photo of the singer's body in open casket to the press
Carolyn Whigham said that she wanted it to be “clearly established” that staff at the Whigham Funeral Home were not responsible for the leak, claiming that she feared her daughter would be attacked over the allegations just as she has.
“It is very obvious that the Houston family has ceased the investigation [into the home]. Why? I want to clear my name, I want to clear my funeral home,” Carolyn Whigham said.
“Unfortunately this went nationwide, worldwide. I could be on vacation laying by a swimming pool and somebody [could] come up and throw something in my face… I want to defend my character and my name. That’s the most important thing that I have.”
Carolyn Whigham previously described Whitney Houston as “a friend” and claimed that she “did everything to protect her”.
Sources close to the Houston family have said they are “heartbroken all over again” by the photo, which is believed to have been taken at a private viewing on February 17.
Cissy Houston is on a mission to eradicate the bad influences from Bobbi Kristina Brown’s life and she’s starting with 22-year-old Nick Gordon who Whitney treated like her very own son.
Sources close to Houston family told TMZ that Whitney Houston invited Nick Gordon to live with her and Bobbi Kristina more than 10 years ago when the late singer learned Nick’s mother could no longer care for him.
Whitney Houston considered Nick Gordon her unofficially adopted son and treated him like family up until the end.
According to TMZ, Cissy Houston believes Nick Gordon is a bad influence on Bobbi Kristina and wants him out of the Houston family home in Atlanta ASAP.
Cissy Houston believes Nick Gordon is a bad influence on Bobbi Kristina and wants him out of the Houston family home in Atlanta
TMZ also reported that Cissy Houston has already informed her lawyers about the eviction in case he puts up a fight.
There are reports that Nick Gordon was included in Whitney Houston’s will, but so far, they have not been confirmed by members of the Houston family.
A new book, “The Jesus Discovery: The New Archaeological Find That Reveals the Birth of Christianity,” published this week, reveals that archeologists and authors have literally “unearthed” new information which may provide an unprecedented glimpse into Christianity’s earliest days.
In a “nearly intact” first-century tomb located below a modern condominium building in Jerusalem, a team of archeologists led by Simcha Jacobovici has found ossuaries bearing engravings that could be the earliest evidence of Christian iconography in Jerusalem.
The tomb has been dated to before A.D. 70, so if its engravings are indeed early Christian, they were most likely made by some of Jesus’ earliest followers, according to the excavators.
One of the limestone ossuaries bears an inscription in Greek that includes a reference to “Divine Jehovah raising someone up”, the earliest archeological evidence of “faith in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.”
A second ossuary has an image that appears to be a large fish with a stick figure in its mouth. The excavators believe the image represents the story of Jonah, the biblical prophet who was swallowed by a fish or whale and then released.
“If anyone had claimed to find either a statement about resurrection or a Jonah image in a Jewish tomb of this period I would have said impossible – until now,” James D. Tabor, professor and chairman of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and one of the excavators, said in a news release issued by the university.
In a “nearly intact” first-century tomb located below a modern condominium building in Jerusalem, the archeologists have found ossuaries bearing engravings that could be the earliest evidence of Christian iconography in Jerusalem
The excavators acknowledge the discovery and their interpretation are likely to be controversial.
This tomb was originally uncovered in 1981, but the original excavators were forced to leave by Orthodox Jewish groups who oppose the excavation of Jewish tombs.
The tomb was then resealed and buried beneath the condominium complex in the neighborhood of East Talpiot.
Almost two decades later, James D. Tabor and colleagues got a license to go back into the tomb; however, because of the condos on top of it and the threat of protests from Orthodox Jewish groups, they took an unconventional route into the tomb.
They inserted a robotic arm, developed for this project, carrying high-definition cameras, through holes drilled in the basement floor of the building. The cameras photographed the ossuaries inside from all sides.
This tomb is located adjacent to another one, uncovered in 1980, that contained ossuaries with names some have associated with Jesus and his family. That tomb was thoroughly excavated at the time.
Later this spring, a documentary on the subject will air on the Discovery Channel.
Chinese researchers have unearthed two giant blood-sucking insects at different dig sites that are the largest known flea type creatures of their size.
The largest female discovered flea type creature measured at 20.6 millimeters (.81 inches) while the largest male was a still impressive 14.7 millimeters (.58 inches).
The blood suckers are not only bigger then modern fleas; they also lacked their jumping hind legs.
According to the group that discovered the blood suckers in Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia, one of the fossils dates back to the Middle Jurassic period which occurred nearly 165 million years ago. The other fossil found in the Liaoning Province is”younger” with a Lower Cretaceous period date of nearly 50 million years ago.
Chinese researchers have unearthed two giant blood-sucking insects at different dig sites that are the largest known flea type creatures of their size
The most striking feature of the fleas was their blood-sucking ”siphonate” mouthparts which were both unusually long and sturdy, according to the Telegraph.
This would have been used to pierce the hides of their hosts, said an international team of scientists reporting the finds in the journal Nature.
Why the fleas were so large, and armed with such powerful weaponry, is a puzzle, because only small shrew-like mammals existed during the Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods.
Modern fleas feed on furry and feathered animals which has led researchers to believe that they served the same location in China where several furry and feathered dinosaurs have been discovered.
Twenty five out of 27 EU leaders have signed a new treaty to enforce budget discipline within the bloc.
The “fiscal compact” aims to prevent the 17 eurozone countries again running up huge debts.
It must now be ratified by individual parliaments and, in the case of the Irish Republic, a referendum.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who with the Czechs refused to sign, said his proposals for cutting red tape and promoting business had been ignored.
But the newly re-appointed President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, said British calls to boost the EU economy were being taken seriously and he had sought to re-draft the summit’s conclusions accordingly.
The fiscal compact is what emerged after David Cameron vetoed plans to change the EU treaties to enforce greater budgetary discipline back in December.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel described it as a “great leap”, a first step towards stability and political union.
These new powers may face an early test as both Spain and the Netherlands have admitted they will miss targets for reducing their deficits.
While there has been a change of emphasis at this summit, “from crisis mode to growth mode” in the words of one senior official, it will be difficult to achieve whilst tough spending cuts are being made.
In a speech at the signing ceremony, Herman van Rompuy said: “This stronger self-constraint by each and every one of you as regards debts and deficits is important in itself.
“It helps prevent a repetition of the sovereign debt crisis. It will thus also reinforce trust among member states, which is politically important as well.
“The restoration of confidence in the future of the eurozone will lead to economic growth and jobs. This is our ultimate objective.”
Model Amber Rose and rapper Wiz Khalifa have confirmed they got engaged.
Wiz Khalifa took to Twitter to let his fans know he had proposed to his girlfriend of a year.
The rapper, whose real name is Cameron Jibril Thomaz, tweeted: “She Said Yes!!!”
Amber Rose, 28, also didn’t waste any time in posting a snap of her gorgeous ring to her own page and said she was the “happiest woman in the world”.
Wiz Khalifa and Amber Rose, who got together shortly after Rose split from Kanye West, became serious quickly into their relationship and Wiz got her name etched onto his finger after just a few months of dating.
In July, Amber Rose returned the favor by having “Cam” tattooed onto the inside of her index finger.
At the time Amber Rose gushed about her man and tweeted: “I wanted his name tatted on me a million times. He’s a dream come true… He’s my angel.”
Model Amber Rose and rapper Wiz Khalifa have confirmed they got engaged
The newly engaged pair has been working together on Amber Rose’s debut album and her first single entitled Fame featured her beau.
Amber Rose dated Kayne West on and off from 2008 until summer 2010.
The aspiring singer has recently revealed that reality star Kim Kardashian was the reason behind the split.
Amber Rose claimed that while Kim Kardashian was dating Reggie Bush she was also cheating with Rose’s then-boyfriend Kanye West.
New Zealand’s officials have confirmed that Christchurch cathedral will be demolished after the 2011 earthquake rendered it beyond repair.
Anglican Bishop Victoria Matthews said a new cathedral with a different design would be built in its place.
Conservationists, however, have asked for the plan to be reconsidered.
The quake, which struck on 22 February, was New Zealand’s worst natural disaster in 80 years and left 185 people dead.
The cathedral, built in the late 19th Century, is a Christchurch landmark.
But the 6.3-magnitude earthquake, which leveled thousands of buildings in the city, badly damaged its structure and it was further weakened by numerous aftershocks.
New Zealand’s officials have confirmed that Christchurch cathedral will be demolished after the 2011 earthquake rendered it beyond repair
Bishop Victoria Matthews said that no “bulldozers or wrecking balls” would be used, and that the cathedral would be deconstructed “with the utmost care and respect”.
“We acknowledge the high level of community interest and sense of ownership as the cathedral was both an iconic building and a place of regular worship by many,” she said in a statement.
“However, this is now a very dangerous building that needs to be made safe.”
The statement gave no timescale for the demolition and rebuilding. Efforts would be made to retrieved heritage items including stained glass windows and memorial stones, it said.
“We are now looking to the future and creating a beautiful, inspiring, safe new cathedral but we understand it will take some time for any of these decisions to be made,” the bishop said.
Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said the decision to demolish the cathedral was “heartbreaking” and was “not an easy decision for many of us to accept”.
Conservationists, however, are asking the church to reconsider its decision. They say that officials should explore more options to try and keep much of the current structure, New Zealand media reports said.
According to US researchers, the belief that older people tend to suffer worse sleep may be false.
A telephone survey of more than 150,000 adults suggested that, apart from a blip in your 40’s, sleep quality gets better with age.
Those in their 80’s reported the best sleep, says the study in Sleep journal.
While universities have equipment which can measure sleep duration and disturbance in study volunteers, this does not always match the volunteer’s own opinion on their night’s rest.
The research, conducted by the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology at the University of Pennsylvania, instead focused on asking large numbers of randomly selected people about their sleep.
They were also asked about their race, income, education, mood and general health.
While being depressed or having health problems was linked to poor sleep quality, once the researchers had adjusted the results to compensate for this, a distinct pattern emerged.
According to US researchers, the belief that older people tend to suffer worse sleep may be false
Instead, they found that complaints about poor sleep quality fell as age rose, with the lowest number of complaints coming from the over-70s.
The only exception to this trend was middle age, where sleep quality was poorer.
Dr. Michael Grandner said the original reason for setting up the study was to confirm the precise opposite – that sleep quality declined in old age.
He said: “These results force us to re-think what we know about sleep in older people – men and women.”
Dr. Michael Grandner suggested that it was possible that older people were sleeping worse, but simply felt better about it.
“Even if sleep among older Americans is actually worse than in younger adults, feelings about it still improve with age.”
Derk-Jan Dijk, Professor of Sleep and Physiology and Director of the Surrey Sleep Research Centre, said the study was “interesting”.
He said: “We have got to get away from all these myths about ageing – many people are very content with their sleep.”
However, he said that asking people for their subjective opinion about sleep patterns could produce answers that were dependent on their mood at the time.
“If you are angry because your boss didn’t give you a pay rise, your perception of sleep quality may be very different from someone who is feeling generally content.”
A Swedish study suggests that women diagnosed with cervical cancer as a result of a smear test have a far better chance of being cured than women who do not go for tests.
The study shows a 92% cure rate after a smear test diagnosis, compared with 66% for symptoms-based diagnoses.
Published in bmj.com, the study looked at all women diagnosed with cervical cancer in Sweden between 1999 and 2001.
The research, carried out at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, followed 1,230 women for an average of eight years after diagnosis.
To estimate the chances of surviving cervical cancer, the study analyzed cancers detected by an abnormal smear test result and all other cases based on diagnosis using symptoms.
The Swedish study shows a 92 percent cure rate of cervical cancer after a smear test diagnosis, compared with 66 percent for symptoms-based diagnoses
The percentage of women cured after presenting with symptoms within the recommended interval between screenings was 74%.
But for women with symptoms who were overdue for screening, this cure rate decreased to 60%.
Researchers found that the chances of being cured for all women who had a smear test within the recommended three to five years were 11% higher than for women who were overdue or who had never had a smear test.
This is a result of screen-detected cancers generally being found at an earlier stage, the study says.
Three-quarters of the 373 women who died from cervical cancer in the Swedish study had not had a cervical smear in the recommended timeframe.
Dr. Bengt Andrae, study author and senior consultant gynaecologist at Uppsala University, said that screening both reduced the risk of cervical cancer and was linked with improved likelihood of cure.
“Even if you have not gone to cervical screening before, go when you are invited because you have a much better prognosis than waiting for the symptoms to appear.”
The Swedish cervical screening programme invites women aged 23-50 to attend every three years and women aged 51-60 to attend every five years.
Australian physicists warn that the reality of faster than light Star Trek’s “warp drive” might be rather different, after simulating what a “real” warp drive might do.
“Any people at the destination would be gamma ray and high energy particle-blasted into oblivion,” claims a new paper by University of Sydney physicists.
However, “boldly” Captain Kirk might go and the TV series would have made considerably less interesting viewing.
The physicists analyzed how matter might behave around a theoretical “warp drive” known as an Alcubierre drive.
The simulating found that particles would cluster lethally around the bubble in space-time used to “jump” through space.
The real problems start when the Enterprise hits the brakes.
“The region of space infront of a ship decelerating from superluminal velocity to subluminal velocity is blasted with a concentrated beam of extremely high energy particles,” say the physicists.
Australian physicists warn that the reality of faster than light Star Trek’s “warp drive” might be rather different, after simulating what a “real” warp drive might do
The Alcubierre drive is a theoretical faster-than-light drive dreamt up by physicist Miguel Alcubierre in 1994, where a bubble of “negative energy” around a craft expands space and time behind it, while compressing space in front of it.
The drive could make faster-than-light travel possible – at least in theory.
But it now seems that it also would be very unwise.
“Interestingly, the energy burst released upon arriving at the destination does not have an upper limit,” the University of Sydney’s Brendan McGonigal told Universe Today.
“You can just keep on traveling for longer and longer distances to increase the energy that will be released as much as you like, one of the odd effects of General Relativity. Unfortunately, even for very short journeys the energy released is so large that you would completely obliterate anything in front of you.”
Since Mankind has yet to unlock the secrets of faster-than-light travel, it might seem odd that “serious” physicists might be researching “warp drives” at all – but the research warns of what could happen.
Creating a bubble of negative energy is also currently completely impossible – so we won’t be hitting “Warp Factor Ten” for some time anyway, regardless of possible consequences.
Ikea, the Swedish furniture company, famous for its cheap but quirky products and its army of fans, has launched its first line of prefabricated houses in the U.S., named the Aktiv.
Ikea collaborated with Oregon architectural firm Ideabox to design the homes which will cost around $86,500 each.
The Swedish-themed dwelling is a one-bedroom home centered around space-saving furniture and products.
The hip and modern house was outfitted taking into consideration the demands from Pacific-Northwest homeowners, and is designed to be eco-friendly.
Ikea collaborated with Oregon architectural firm Ideabox to design the homes which will cost around $86,500 each
The house is equipped with facilities such as a dual-flush toilet and energy-star electronics.
A combination of fiber-cement siding, corrugated metal, and a standing-seam metal roof make up the exterior of this all-in-one home.
According to Jim Russell, president of Ideabox, the complete home “brings all the fun and design of Ideabox houses together with all the function, design, and personality of Ikea”.
The home will be furnished with a complete Ikea package that includes Tundra maple flooring, Pax wardrobes, and Abstrakt cabinets.
Ideabox and Ikea displayed the model house this week at the Portland Home & Garden Show at the Portland Expo Center in Oregon.
The Aktiv, Swedish for active, is being marketed as “your own personal Euro designer flat… only where you want it!”
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been booed by hundreds of angry protesters, forcing him to take shelter in a bar as he campaigned in the Basque country ahead of April’s presidential election.
Some in the crowd then threw eggs at the bar guarded by riot police in the south-western town of Bayonne.
Nicolas Sarkozy described the protesters – Basque nationalists and supporters of his rival Socialist candidate Francois Hollande – as “hooligans”.
The president left the bar after about an hour.
The Basque region straddles south-western France and northern Spain.
Nicolas Sarkozy has been booed by hundreds of angry protesters in Bayonne, as he campaigned in the Basque country ahead of April's presidential election
Nicolas Sarkozy was met in Bayonne by a hostile crowd, who jeered him and shouted insults.
Some chanted “Nicolas kampora”, which in the Basque language meant “Nicolas get out”.
Nicolas Sarkozy was also showered with campaign leaflets calling for greater Basque autonomy.
Riot police had to be deployed around the Bar du Palais, where the president took refuge.
Visibly angry, Nicolas Sarkozy later denounced “the violence of a minority and their unacceptable behavior”.
“Here, we’re in France, on the territory of the French republic, and the president of the republic will go everywhere. And if that doesn’t please a minority of troublemakers, too bad for them,” Nicolas Sarkozy said.
The president also said he was “saddened to see Hollande’s Socialist militants associating with [Basque] separatists in violent protests to terrorise ordinary people who want just one thing: to meet and talk with me”.
A senior member of Francois Hollande’s campaign team later said that while the party leader condemned any violence, no Socialist was involved in the Bayonne incident, the AFP news agency reports.
Opinion polls show that Nicolas Sarkozy is lagging behind Francois Hollande, although the current president is narrowing the gap.
The Italian media reported today that two former Costa Cruises employees have told prosecutors investigating the Costa Concordia disaster that officers “took drugs” while on duty and molested female staff members.
One woman, a nurse identified only as Valentina B. and who worked with under fire Costa Concordia skipper Francesco Schettino, claimed he regularly “used women as goods to be bartered with”.
Valentina described how she had been on the liner Atlantica with Francesco Schettino, 52, who is accused of abandoning the Costa Concordia after he steered it on to rocks and left 32 people dead, for a month between January and February 2010.
The woman’s revelations to investigating prosecutor Francesco Verusio, were published by La Stampa newspaper and she said of her experiences with Genoa based Costa: “I found corruption, prostitution and drugs.
“Do not tell me it’s my word against them – I saw directly with my own eyes senior officers take cocaine.
“To prove it all you need to do is carry out an examination of their hair.”
Valentina’s claims come just days after a cocaine test on strands of Francesco Schettino’s hair tested positive for cocaine but his legal team has asked for a second examination as they dispute the results and he has insisted that he does not drink or take drugs.
The nurse, who worked for Costa Cruises for a total of seven months between October 2009 and May 2010, made her allegations in more than 5,000 pages of prosecution documents.
They form part of the case against Francesco Schettino who is facing charges of multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck, abandoning ship when passengers were still onboard and failing to communicate with maritime authorities.
The nurse went on to claim that “crew members were reduced to virtual slaves by the officers” adding that she left the company after receiving threats and that she was “still owed money”.
Two former Costa Cruises employees have told prosecutors investigating the Costa Concordia disaster that officers “took drugs” while on duty and molested female staff members
Another former employee, identified only as Mary G. said: “The crew and officers are very superficial when it come to dealing with an emergency. I only worked for Costa for two months in 2010 but a lot of the time officers and crew were drunk.
“At parties a lot of the time we would ask ourselves <<If there is an emergency who is going to save the ship?>>
“I was also molested by a crew member at a lunch once after he had taken drugs. They made me sign doctored work sheets and time sheets. I am taking action against them and it will be in court soon.”
On Saturday a preliminary hearing involving Francesco Schettino is due to take place in Grosseto with dozens of passengers from the doomed Costa Concordia expected to attend, forcing the venue to be moved from the town’s court to the theatre which has extra seating capacity.
Francesco Schettino was placed under investigation after it emerged he had recklessly altered the Costa Concordia’s course so that he could carry out a sail by salute of the Italian island of Giglio in January but the ship which was carrying more than 4,000 passengers and crew hit rocks which tore a 70 metre hole in the hull.
The vessel is now currently lying partially submerged on rocks just outside Giglio harbor while salvage experts continue to pump off more than 500,000 gallons of heavy duty diesel from the ship’s tanks.
Costa Cruises issued a statement which did not respond specifically to the allegations made but which said: “On board our ships there are strict safety and surveillance measures concerning drugs possession.
“It is not allowed in any way to bring on board, possess, trade or use narcotics, drugs or psychotropic drugs.
“Whichever crew member who possesses, uses drugs or however make some traffic are submitted to disciplinary provisions and disembarked.
“On board there are checks and preventive actions to discourage such behaviours. Both in navigation and in port.
“It is not allowed to consume alcohol in quantity that can impairs the capacity to perform the on board duties. The crew on guard must abstain from the use of alcoholic beverages at least 4 hours before the start of their shift.”
Celine Dion has cancelled all her Las Vegas shows until June on doctor’s order.
Following an examination last week, Celine Dion’s doctor diagnosed a weakness in her right vocal cord and prescribed up to eight weeks of rest.
“Obviously this is the worst thing for a singer… not being able to do your shows,” the singer wrote on her website.
“I feel worse knowing that I’m disappointing my fans. I’m so sorry… I hope they forgive me.”
Celine Dion, 43, is midway through a three-year residency at Caesars Palace, where tickets to her show sell for as much as $250.
The singer began experiencing discomfort with her vocal cords last week but had initially anticipated returning to work at the weekend.
Celine Dion has cancelled all her Las Vegas shows until June on doctor’s order
However, a doctor in Los Angeles said Celine Dion was suffering from inflammation of the vocal cords caused by a virus and advised her to cancel all shows until 9 June.
Tickets for the cancelled performances will be refunded.
“I tried to sing at my soundcheck last week and I had no control of my voice whatsoever,” said Celine Dion in a statement.
“We thought that after a few days’ rest I would improve but it wasn’t getting any better. I guess it was worse than I thought.
“I’m fortunate that I was able to see Professor Berke. He assured me that with the amount of rest he prescribed, I would be back to 100%.”
Celine Dion’s previous run at Caesars Palace, which began in 2003 and was eventually extended to five years, earned more than $400 million.
Francesca Minerva, a research associate at Oxford University, has claimed that doctors should have the right to kill newborn babies if they are disabled, too expensive or simply unwanted by their mothers.
Francesca Minerva, a philosopher and medical ethicist, argues a young baby is not a real person and so killing it in the first days after birth is little different to aborting it in the womb.
In an article, published by the British Medical Journal group, Francesca Minerva states that even a healthy baby could have its life snuffed out if the mother decides she can’t afford to look after it.
The journal’s editor has defended the piece, saying the publication’s role is to present well-reasoned arguments, rather than promote one particular moral view.
But the article has angered other ethicists, peers and campaigners. They have described the call for legalized infanticide as chilling and an “inhumane defense of child destruction”.
Dr. Francesca Minerva has received death threats and hate calls telling her that she will “burn in hell”, and she said the last few days since publication have been “the worst of my life”.
Writing in the Journal of Medical Ethics, Dr. Francesca Minerva and co-author Alberto Giubilini, a University of Milan bioethicist, argue that “after-birth abortion” should be permissible in all cases in which abortion is.
They state that like an unborn child, a newborn has yet to develop hopes, goals and dreams and so, while clearly human, is not a person – someone with a moral right to life.
In contrast, parents, siblings and society have aims and plans that could be affected by the arrival of the child and their interests should come first.
The article, “After-birth abortion: why should the baby live?”, first addresses scenarios in which parents are unaware their child is disabled until after it is born.
The piece argues that, though the child may be happy, it will not reach the potential of a normal child.
“To bring up such children might be an unbearable burden on the family and on society as a whole…On these grounds, the fact that a foetus has the potential to become a person who will have an (at least) acceptable life is no reason for prohibiting abortion.”
The ethicists are also in favor of the infanticide of a healthy baby when the woman’s circumstances have changed and she no longer has the time, money or energy to care for it.
They argue that while adoption might be an option, it could cause undue psychological distress to the mother.
As the hate calls came in, Dr. Francesca Minerva had not been expecting the overwhelmingly negative reaction.
She said she believes her argument was taken out of its academic and theoretical context, and that: “I wish I could explain to people it is not a policy – and I’m not suggesting that and I’m not encouraging that.”
Dr. Francesca Minerva believes the majority of threats have come from religious or Pro-Life groups.
Some of the hate messages told her that she would be punished by God, while others suggested she should “burn in hell”.
Francesca Minerva, a research associate at Oxford University, has claimed that doctors should have the right to kill newborn babies if they are disabled, too expensive or simply unwanted by their mothers
The article also provoked responses from religious and Pro-Life groups.
Rev. Joanna Jepson came to public attention when she spoke out against a late abortion that had been carried out in 2001.
Doctors are permitted to carry out abortions beyond the 24-week legal limit if they believe a baby’s disability is serious enough, but Rev. Joanna Jepson argued that a cleft palate was a minor physical flaw, not a severe abnormality.
She revealed that, until surgery at the age of 19, her own face was disfigured by a congenital defect. Her upper jaw overhung her lower jaw, which receded into her neck, and posed the question: “Would it have been right to abort me?”
She said: “It’s misleading to call this ‘after birth abortion.” The pregnancy is already over, there is nothing to abort. What is being discussed is infanticide.
“There is a logic to their point – if we consider it acceptable to abort a baby up until birth then why not allow it to die afterwards? It is just a difference in geography – within or outside the mother’s body.
“Of course, I would see this a compelling reason to abolish late-term abortion, if infanticide is morally repulsive then abortion is too.
“If a baby, because of it’s physical disabilities, is seen as being <<incompatible with life>> then we need to let life and death take its course. Becoming agents of death fundamentally changes doctor’s role as healer and physician, and it also has massive repercussions on society’s conscience shifting what is understood to be morally and socially unacceptable to become acceptable.
“Of course motherhood is inconvenient, physically, emotionally, psychologically, financially – but this inconvenience is not allowed to become acceptable grounds for abandoning one’s child.
“If a child or an adult has a life-changing accident or illness, do we suggest we’ll put them down because their goals and dreams now have to change?
“My brother, Alastair, has great and huge goals and he goes after them with great courage. His Downs Syndrome does not stand in the way.
“They are very different dreams and goals to my own but no less valuable or of contribution to society. At what level would Dr. Minerva assign somebody’s meaning and value to be worth a life?”
Trevor Stammers, a lecturer in medical ethics and former chairman of the Christian Medical Fellowship, described the viewpoint as “chilling”.
Gill Duval, of the ProLife Alliance, said every life is precious and added: “Everybody talks about what women want but women wouldn’t want this.”
Julian Savulescu, the journal’s editor, said that the article’s argument has been made before by eminent figures.
He added: “I’m not defending practicing infanticide. I’m defending academic and intellectual freedom.”
Julian Savulescu said that Dr. Francesca Minerva has a “loose relationship” with Oxford and her main position is at the University of Melbourne.
History of infanticide
While infanticide may seem an inhumane concept for many people, there have been periods in history where it has been accepted behavior – and even a legal obligation.
In Roman culture, disabled infants were often abandoned after birth by parents who did not want or could not afford the financial burden.
The child would simply be left outside to die from starvation and the elements in a practice known as “exposure”. It was an established and acceptable procedure.
In 1912, Yewsden Villa was excavated in Hambleden in Buckinghamshire, and researchers were shocked to find the bodies of 97 babies in a mass-grave.
The babies had apparently all been killed shortly after birth, and the prevailing theory is that the site was near a brothel.
With a lack of contraception in Roman times, unwanted pregnancies would likely have been much more common, and the mass grave is another example that infanticide did not pose such an ethical dilemma in that era.
Archaeologists believe Romans did not consider infants to be “full” human beings until about the age of two, and babies who died before that age were not buried in cemeteries, but instead in public or domestic areas.
However a Roman couple was entitled to raise a disabled child. In Sparta, there was little choice in the matter.
Newborns were seen as the property of the state and all babies were inspected by a community leader. If the child showed signs of deformity or ill-health, the parents were ordered to expose it.
Many parents in ancient Greeks would also expose their newborns because of sickness, financial pressure, or simply for being the “wrong” sex in the male-dominated society.
Many religions did not raise moral objects to infanticide, although Christianity and Islam notably rejected it.
Leaving the child to the elements was the preferred method to “dispose” of the child, because it meant the child died of natural causes, which was a more “moral” death than directly killing the child.
The practice generally died out, and was outlawed in the last years of the Roman Empire. However there are references to infanticide in many cultures in every historical era, and is believed to still take place in certain parts of India, Africa, and China.
China’s controversial “one-child” policy leads to many children being abandoned after birth.
Bobbi Kristina, the only child of Whitney Houston and ex-husband Bobby Brown, who turns 19 on March 4, has had troubled teen years, marked by cocaine use and heavy drinking.
After Whitney Houston’s funeral, Bobbi Kristina Brown reportedly disappeared only to be found “getting high”.
“I’m just like my mother,” Whitney Houston’s daughter once told a friend.
And for a while Bobbi Kristina Brown, Krissi, as she’s known to family and friends, appeared to be headed down the same destructive path that her mother walked.
The teenager has even been arrested following a violent incident where a gun was pulled.
The first sign of problems occurred when Bobbi Kristina was only 12 and she was photographed drinking from a wine glass while her parents looked on.
Then, on February 17, 2008, tortured by the divorce of her parents the year before, Krissi tried to stab Whitney Houston during a heated argument over her behavior and then she tried to commit suicide by slashing her wrists.
“Bobbi Kristina has been running around drinking and par¬tying, doing whatever she wants to do,” family member Ann Davis said at the time.
Krissi was admitted to a psychiatric ward at Peachford Hospital in Atlanta and Ann Davis said she refused to have either Whitney Houston or Bobby Brown visit her.
Bobbi Kristina Brown, who turns 19 on March 4, has had troubled teen years, marked by cocaine use and heavy drinking
On March 2011, the National Enquirer published shocking photographs of Bobbi Kristina Brown snorting lines of cocaine at two different parties in Alpharetta, Georgia, just a few miles from where she lived with her mother.
A former boyfriend, who dated Bobbi Kristina Brown for two and half years and took the photos, told the National Enquirer at the time: “Krissi is addicted to cocaine. I’ve tried to stop her, but all she said was, ‘I’m just like my mother!’ If Krissi doesn’t stop soon, cocaine will kill her!”
The boyfriend said booze played a major part in Bobbi Kristina’s life when they first met.
“We had mutual friends. We planned to look out for each other. But when I met Krissi at one party, she was drunk on Everclear [grain alcohol] and she’d already made out with three of my friends.
“Despite that, we began to date, but during the first few months I knew her, I can’t remember a time that she stayed sober all day.
“It was difficult to stop her from buying alcohol and drugs because her mother gave her $1,000 a week. I saw Krissi do an eightball [pieces of cocaine weighing an eighth of an ounce each] in just two days with friends.”
The boyfriend said Whitney Houston originally did nothing to stop Bobbi Kristina from drinking and taking drugs.
“One time Whitney bought a case of beer for Krissi and her friends to drink in front of her. I couldn’t believe it!” the ex-boyfriend said.
“She also had a Xanax prescription and was addicted to that. Once she had a meltdown because she’d run out, and Whitney found a pill to give her.”
All the while, Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown just blamed each other for Krissi’s behavior.
In shame, Whitney Houston shelled out $49,000 to enroll Bobbi Kristina in an outpatient program at Talbott Recovery in Atlanta. The treatment was short-lived.
“Whitney pulled Krissi out of the program after one day because she was afraid of what Krissi would tell the other addicts about her in group sessions,” a source said.
“Krissi had been fighting rehab anyway, saying she’s not addicted to cocaine.”
The National Enquirer also revealed that a boozing Bobbi Kristina was arrested when she got caught up in the middle of a terrifying incident in Roswell, Georgia, on April 1 2011.
The blowup involved her ex-boyfriend Max Lomas and Nicholas Gordon, a teenager known as the Whitney Houston’s “secret son”.
A police report described how Max Lomas and Nick Gordon – who told police he was Krissi’s brother – were angered after seeing Bobbi Kristina driving with three male friends and followed them in Gordon’s car to a Chevron gas station.
At the gas station, Max Lomas allegedly beat up one of Bobbi Kristina’s friends. Nick Gordon admitted to police he waved a gun in the air during the fight.
Police later found a Glock 19 handgun in his glove compartment.
Bobbi Kristina was handcuffed and cited as a minor in possession of alcohol, Nick Gordon was charged with pointing a pistol at a person and Max Lomas was charged with battery.
The incident seems to have scared Bobbi Kristina straight. And in truth, she dearly loved her mom. In the past months, Bobbi Kristina has happily joined her mom on stage at performances and even sang a few duets with her.
Bobbi Kristina was thrilled that Whitney Houston took her along to the Beverly Hilton, where they looked forward to attending the Grammy Awards show together.
Now friends are scared that Whitney Houston’s death will push Bobbi Kristina Brown down the same slippery slope of drug abuse.
After the tabloid National Enquirer shocked the world last week with its open-casket photo of Whitney Houston, now the magazine is setting its sights on her daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown.
The National Enquirer published a series of still images from a video purported to be taken of Bobbi Kristina Brown smoking marijuana from a bong, “partying with college pals at their off-campus apartment in Stateboro, Georgia, in March 2011.”
The tabloid printed pictures of Bobbi Kristina Brown allegedly “taking hits” of marijuana and downing shots of vodka.
The images supposedly show Bobbi Kristina Brown partying with college friends at their off-campus apartment in Statesboro, Georgia in March last year.
A source told the National Enquirer: “Bobbi Kristina is completely out of control. When she starts partying there’s no stopping her.
“Bobbi Kristina was staying with friends at the school and she brought along a big bag of pot for the party.
“The party was underway by the time I got there around 11:00 p.m. When I left at 6:00 a.m. the next day she was still partying hard.”
The National Enquirer published a series of still images from a video purported to be taken of Bobbi Kristina Brown smoking marijuana from a bong
Bobbi Kristina Brown, 18, is seen asking for a lighter, which ignites the substance in the bowl.
Whitney Houston’s daughter then inhales deeply, almost collapses in a coughing fit and then inhales again.
It is not the first time Bobbi Kristina Brown has been disgraced by the publication.
The tabloid also printed photographs if her allegedly snorting cocaine and drinking at parties.
Bobbi Kristina Brown entered rehab along with her mother soon after.
Whitney Houston has been featured in the latest issue of popular music magazine Rolling Stone.
The Rolling Stone’s front cover features an image of Whitney Houston and is emblazoned with the headline: “The Diva and Her Dark Side”
The article pulls no punches, describing the late star as a “diligent professional one moment, wild child the next”.
“Those were the opposing sides of Houston in her last days – and, it turns out, much of her life.”
Whitney Houston has been featured in the latest issue of popular music magazine Rolling Stone
The article features interviews with people who worked with Whitney Houston in the past and who could not understand her Jekyll and Hyde character, especially as it was not immediately apparent.
Among them is Gerry Griffith, the A&R man who in 1982 brought Whitney Houston to the attention of her future mentor, music producer Clive Davis.
Gerry Griffith said: “A lot of us talked about that, and no one could come up with an answer.
“Where is that rebellion coming from? It didn’t come out for a while.”
It was especially shocking, as Whitney Houston had initially been a shy girl, who had developed her impressive vocal chops from her time as a church choir singer.
U.S. retail giant Target has been forced to pull a greetings card from the shelves that poked fun Whitney Houston’s relationship with her ex-husband Bobby Brown after a public outcry.
Target offended their customer’s by stocking the light-hearted product, which read: “Next time you think of dating the bad boy consider Whitney Houston.”
Target decided to pull the card after receiving angry complaints from customers.
A Target spokesman insisted it had been available long before Whitney Houston’s body was discovered on February 11 in the bathtub of Beverly Hilton hotel room in Los Angeles.
Target has been forced to pull this greetings card from its shelves that poked fun Whitney Houston's relationship with Bobby Brown after a public outcry
Target’s representative added: “As soon as this was brought to our attention, we began the process of removing the card from all applicable stores.
“It is never our intent to offend guests with the products we offer, and we take feedback from guests very seriously.”
Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown were married for nearly 15 years before divorcing in 2007, and he has been blamed by many for getting the singer involved in drugs.
The news comes after Whitney Houston was being featured in the latest issue of popular music magazine Rolling Stone.
A woman from Davy Jones’ staff desperately tried to get help for music icon, the 911 call recording revealed.
The woman is heard calling 911 where she pleads for an ambulance to “hurry” – The Monkees singer had suffered a heart attack at his home.
The unidentified female then suggests it might be quicker to put the singer into a truck and drive to the hospital.
The tape plays the tragic moments before Davy Jones, the lead singer of The Monkees, was pronounced dead.
The woman asks: “Ambulance please,” before highlighting the urgency adding: “Hurry!”
She is then heard suggesting it might be quicker to take the 66-year-old singer in a car to the hospital which was 27 miles away from his home.
Davy Jones, the lead singer of the 1960’s group The Monkees, died on Wednesday after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 66.
Davy Jones complained of breathing troubles early in the morning and was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Rhonda Irons, spokeswoman for the Martin County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the singer’s death.
An official from the medical examiner’s office for Martin County, Florida, said they received a phone call from the Martin Memorial Hospital informing them that Davy Jones had died.
A spokesman for the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said Davy Jones was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital in the town of Stuart.
The spokesman said they are investigating Davy Jones’s death but said there do not appear to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.
Davy Jones, the lead singer of the 1960’s group The Monkees, died on Wednesday after suffering a massive heart attack
A statement released by the Sherriff’s Office said: “A witness has stated that earlier this morning he was at 9955 SW Fox Brown Road in Indiantown, Florida, with David Jones. He stated Mr. Jones began to complain of not feeling well and having trouble breathing.
“Martin County Fire Rescue responded and transported Mr. Jones to Martin Health System Stuart, where he was pronounced deceased. At this time there do not appear to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death. Family has been notified.”
Davy Jones’ bandmate, drummer Micky Dolenz, released a statement to TMZ saying he had “bad dreams all night long” before learning of his friend’s death this morning.
“Can’t believe it…Still in shock…had bad dreams all night long,” Micky Dolenz said.
He added: “My love and prayers go out to Davy’s girls and family right now.”
Bassist Peter Tork released a statement saying: “It is with great sadness that I reflect on the sudden passing of my long-time friend and fellow-adventurer, David Jones.
“His talent will be much missed; his gifts will be with us always. My deepest sympathy to Jessica and the rest of his family.
“Adios, to the Manchester Cowboy.”
Michael Nesmith who didn’t join the original members of the group, Davy, Micky and Peter – in reuniting for a 45th anniversary tour last year – also revealed he will “miss” the pop icon.
Michael Nesmith wrote: “I will miss him, but I won’t abandon him to mortality. I will think of him as existing within the animating life that insures existence.”
Davy Jones leaves behind four daughters, Talia Elizabeth, 43, and Sarah Lee, 40 from his marriage to Linda Haines, and Jessica Lillian, 30, and 23-year-old Annabel Charlotte from his marriage to Anita Pollinger.
Ten people have been wounded in an explosion that badly damaged a police bus in Istanbul, Turkey, police say.
The blast, reportedly a bomb, happened near the offices of the ruling Justice and Development party.
Five of the wounded were police officers who had been on duty at a nearby business association building.
Istanbul police chief Huseyin Capkin said the explosion had been detonated by remote control.
“It appears that it [the bomb] went off as a police vehicle with 21 officers inside passed by,” Huseyin Capkin said.
None of the injuries was said to be serious.
Witnesses told Turkish TV that the explosives may have been carried on a motorcycle.
Forensic teams began searching the scene shortly afterwards. No group has admitted carrying out the attack although TV reports linked the blast to an attack on a bus stop last year in which eight people were hurt.
Two NATO soldiers have been shot dead in southern Afghanistan.
NATO said the attack was carried out by “two individuals, one believed to be an Afghan National Army service member and the other in civilian clothing”.
Hours earlier the head of NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen John Allen, said the recent violence over the burning of the Koran by US soldiers was a “setback” that would be overcome.
Six NATO personnel have been killed since protests erupted last week.
Gen Allen said he would be willing to walk, unarmed, into the Afghan Interior Ministry in Kabul, where two NATO military advisers were shot dead last Saturday.
Two US soldiers were shot and killed by a man wearing Afghan army uniform during protests at a NATO base in eastern Nangarhar province last Thursday.
