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| 'Magnificent Delusions' of U.S.-Pakistan relations Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 08:51 PM PDT  By Maria Golovnina ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Even as Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani was one of the most eloquent critics of Pakistan's military, the nuclear-armed country's most powerful institution. Haqqani resigned in November 2011 and left Pakistan after becoming involved in a scandal surrounding a secret memo that accused the army of plotting a coup and sought help from the United States to rein in the military. Haqqani, who has denied any connection to the memo, spoke to Reuters by telephone from the United States about his book and his views on U.S.-Pakistan relations. Q: Why do you believe Pakistan supports militant groups? Full Story | Top |
| Marvin Gaye's family sues 'Blurred Lines' composers Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 07:31 PM PDT  Family of late soul singer Marvin Gaye sued R&B recording artists Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams for copyright infringement on Wednesday, accusing them of stealing from the Motown legend's musical composition for the hit single "Blurred Lines." The suit was filed as a counter-claim to a case brought preemptively by Thicke and Williams in August seeking a court ruling to establish that "Blurred Lines" did not infringe on Gaye's rights to his 1977 hit, "Got to Give it Up," as members of his family had said publicly. The suit by three of Gaye's children cited excerpts of magazine interviews given by Thicke to support their contention that he had admitted to drawing on "Got to Give it Up" when producing and recording "Blurred Lines." Thicke sang the raunchy, percussive R&B song, which topped song charts around the world this year and ranked as the biggest U.S. pop hit of the summer, at this year's MTV Video Music Awards in a provocative performance featuring pop singer Miley Cyrus. Full Story | Top |
| Murdoch editors must have known of phone hacking, court hears Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 04:38 PM PDT By Michael Holden and Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - Rebekah Brooks, a former top editor, and Andy Coulson, Prime Minister David Cameron's ex-media chief, oversaw a system of phone-hacking and illegal payments when they ran Rupert Murdoch's British tabloids, a London court heard at the start of their trial on Wednesday. Setting out the prosecution case, Andrew Edis said Brooks was linked to both phone-hacking that ruined the tabloid News of the World and the practice of paying public officials for stories at its sister newspaper, the Sun. Brooks, 45, later ran Murdoch's British newspaper division from 2009 to 2011. Full Story | Top |
| Katy Perry tops Billboard in worst week for album sales since 1991 Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 04:07 PM PDT  By Piya Sinha-Roy LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop singer Katy Perry shot to the top of the weekly Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday with her latest album, "Prism," although overall album sales for the week were the lowest since the publication began charting in 1991. "Prism," Perry's fourth studio album, which features the lead single "Roar," sold 286,000 copies in its first week, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan, making it the biggest sales week by a female artist this year. It came in ahead of Miley Cyrus' "Bangerz," which sold 270,000 copies in its first week earlier this month. The success of Perry's latest album has been aided by the popularity of "Roar," which topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Full Story | Top |
| James Blake wins Mercury music prize for 2013 best UK/Irish album Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 04:01 PM PDT  By Michael Roddy LONDON (Reuters) - Songwriter and singer James Blake won the 2013 Barclaycard Mercury Prize for best album on Wednesday for "Overgrown", with the winner announced at the end of a star-packed concert and awards event in London. The album selected by a panel of music industry experts as the best of the year from British or Irish artists carries a 20,000-pound ($32,200) cash prize but more importantly helps to boost sales. Blake, 25 of London, who is known for his melancholy tunes but also incorporates hip hop and electropop, said as he collected his award on the stage of London's Roundhouse that he wanted to thank his fellow band members for "showing the importance of letting other people help you". Asked if he would give a description of his music, which many critics have had trouble characterizing, Blake said: "No, because that will come right back at me." Pressed on the point, he said that his music "...keeps changing so I keep writing new music." The shortlist in the award's 22nd year included some of the best-known names in the British pop world, including pop and fashion idol David Bowie who at age 66 was in the competition for "The Next Day" which won rave reviews from critics. Full Story | Top |
| Banksy's latest prank on New York art world hangs in thrift shop Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 02:36 PM PDT  By Elizabeth Dilts NEW YORK (Reuters) - The renegade graffiti artist Banksy snubbed the art world again on Tuesday when he dropped off one of his paintings at a New York City thrift store. The Housing Works thrift store, part of a chain that sells donated knickknacks to fund charities for AIDS and the homeless, began auctioning the Banksy original for $74,000 on Tuesday. "It could go for as high as a million dollars or even higher because there's so much buzz about," said Elizabeth von Habsburg, managing director at the art appraisal firm Winston Art Group. The auction ends Thursday night and Von Habsburg, who has a client that collects Banksy works, said she expects the painting to sell for $600,000 to $1 million. Full Story | Top |
| Richard Curtis puts happiness through time travel in 'About Time' Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 01:35 PM PDT  By Patricia Reaney NEW YORK (Reuters) - Director Richard Curtis' latest film "About Time," a time-traveling romantic comedy, began with a conversation between old friends about happiness and what would make a perfect final day. After writing hit films such as "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Notting Hill," and directing "Love Actually," the 56-year-old New Zealand-born filmmaker said he was at a time in his life when he realized it would be a normal day with family, friends doing what he usually does. In "About Time" Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson plays Tim Lake, a charming, insecure young lawyer trying to find his way in life and love, who can travel back in time and comes to the same conclusion. "I've tried to really write a film that isn't only just about friends and love but about family and children and about losing members of your family, and about protecting members of your family," Curtis said about the movie that opens in U.S. theaters on Friday. Full Story | Top |
| Bulgaria takes seven of Roma girl's brothers and sisters into care Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:14 PM PDT  Bulgarian authorities said on Wednesday they would take into care most of the brothers and sisters of Maria, the four-year-old whose discovery in neighboring Greece captured global attention. DNA tests have confirmed that Sasha Ruseva, 35, is the biological mother of Maria, whose blue eyes and blonde hair aroused the suspicions of Greek police when they raided a Roma camp this month. Ruseva and her husband, both Bulgarian Roma, have nine other children aged between 2 and 20 and live in deep poverty, occupying one room in a crumbling house in the town of Nikolaevo, 280 km (170 miles) east of Sofia. "We decided to accommodate four of the kids with foster families," Diana Kaneva, head of the agency for social assistance in the area, told Reuters on Wednesday. Full Story | Top |
| 'Ender's Game' explores complexity of youth, isolation and warfare Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 11:02 AM PDT  By Piya Sinha-Roy LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Based on a story written three decades ago and set in a future dystopian Earth where children are manipulated into fighting an enemy race, the film "Ender's Game" could make its young adult and family audience ponder what ails present-day society. Out in theaters on Friday, "Ender's Game" follows the journey of young boy Ender Wiggin, played by Asa Butterfield, who is singled out from childhood for his superior intellect and put through advanced warfare training. Ender is isolated from his comrades and manipulated into commanding war against a hostile alien race by Colonel Graff, played by Harrison Ford. "It's about young people being asked to accept huge responsibilities, being trained for warfare because it's proposed that they have this capacity to absorb information more quickly than older people," Ford told Reuters. Full Story | Top |
| Coffee drinkers treated to more arabica as prices sink Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 10:17 AM PDT  By Sarah McFarlane LONDON (Reuters) - Coffee drinkers in Brazil, America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East are expected to down more arabica beans in their brew in the coming year as cheap prices attract additional demand for the higher spec product. A surplus from top grower Brazil after two successive bumper crops helped drag arabica prices to a four-and-a-half-year low this week, which is likely to prompt roasters to increase the use of the bean in their blends. A Reuters poll of 10 international coffee traders and roasters showed that between 3 and 4 million 60-kilogramme (132 lb) bags of coffee demand - out of a market total of more than 140 million - is forecast to switch out of robusta beans into arabica in 2013/14. Arabica beans are usually found in high quality brands and typically trade at a premium to the hardier, more caffeine-rich robusta beans, which are widely used in instant coffee. Full Story | Top |
| A Minute With: Jared Leto on movies, music and playing a transgender woman Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 10:13 AM PDT  By Piya Sinha-Roy LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After transitioning from a Hollywood heartthrob to a critically acclaimed actor, then fronting a rock band with worldwide success, Jared Leto takes on one of his biggest challenges yet, playing a transgender HIV patient in his return to film. "Dallas Buyers Club," out in U.S. theaters on Friday, is based on a real story. Leto, 41, plays Rayon, a HIV-positive transgender woman who helps homophobic drug addict Ron Woodruff (Matthew McConaughey) smuggle much needed medication not approved in the United States to other AIDS patients. Leto, who rose to fame as a complex teenager on 1990s TV series "My So-Called Life" and has had roles in 1999's "Fight Club," 2000's "Requiem for a Dream" and 2002's "Panic Room," recently focused on being the frontman of the rock band 30 Seconds to Mars. Full Story | Top |
| Vienna museum director quits in Nazi looted art row Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 09:51 AM PDT  By Georgina Prodhan VIENNA (Reuters) - The director of Vienna's Leopold Museum, home to extensive collections of work by Austrian artists such as Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt, has quit in a row over Nazi-looted art. Tobias Natter said he could no longer stay at the museum after some of its most senior staff joined a controversial new foundation associated with Klimt's illegitimate son, film director Gustav Ucicky, whose works included Nazi propaganda. The so-called Klimt Foundation has 14 Klimt works - four oil paintings and 10 drawings. The ownership of at least one, a portrait of Gertrude Loew, has been disputed for years by her heirs, who say it was stolen by the Nazis and want it back. Full Story | Top |
| Comcast could license tech to other U.S. cable operators: executive Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 09:33 AM PDT  A top Comcast Corp executive said on Wednesday that the company is in talks to license its latest technology, called X1, to other cable operators, which would help the industry better compete with telecom and satellite rivals. "Concerning the licensing of the X1 product, we have had interest expressed by a number of MSOs (multi-system operator or cable companies), and we are considering the opportunity," Comcast's cable unit Chief Executive Neil Smit said during a conference call with analysts after the company released its third-quarter results. Comcast unveiled its X1 cloud-based platform last year and has expanded the service which has an advanced interface, a more complete search function, and a better digital video recorder to nearly all of its markets. John Malone, the billionaire chairman of Liberty Media who made his name in the cable industry, has been calling on Comcast to share its technology with smaller players. Full Story | Top |
| Ailing broadcaster CME looks to Time Warner for capital boost Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 09:17 AM PDT By Jason Hovet PRAGUE (Reuters) - Loss-making broadcaster Central European Media Enterprises (CME) said on Wednesday it needed more money to stay afloat and was trying to secure extra financing from its main shareholder, Time Warner. Time Warner has been strengthening its hold on CME, which was founded by billionaire Ronald Lauder in 1994. Full Story | Top |
| Director finds echoes of Egypt in Cairo's traffic chaos Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 09:05 AM PDT  By Maha El Dahan and Regan Doherty ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Someone once told Egyptian filmmaker Sherief Elkatsha that you can tell much about the personality of a nation from the conduct of its drivers. In his 77-minute documentary "Cairo Drive", which had its premiere at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival this week, Elkatsha follows Cairo drivers from all walks of life and sees parallels with the challenges facing Egyptian society more broadly. While Egyptians have rarely been more bitterly divided than now - split between supporters of deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and those who favor the military-backed government - Elkatsha says the capital's inhabitants will always have one thing in common: traffic misery. "Driving just seemed like the grand equalizer for me, it's one of the most egalitarian things in Egypt. Full Story | Top |
| Mediaset denies merger of Publitalia with Mondadori ad unit Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 08:53 AM PDT MILAN (Reuters) - Italian broadcaster Mediaset said on Wednesday there were no plans to merge its advertising unit Publitalia with the advertising arm of sister company Mondadori, denying media reports. Mediaset said it was instead discussing ways to boost synergies from advertising sales at Mediamond, an company it founded jointly with Mondadori in 2009. Mediaset and Mondadori, a books and magazines publisher, are controlled by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. (Reporting by Isla Binnie, editing by Danilo Masoni) Full Story | Top |
| Tedeschi Trucks Band serves London some funky medicine Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 06:13 AM PDT  By Alistair Smout LONDON (Reuters) - When Tedeschi Trucks Band took the stage at a packed Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday night, the rapturous applause they drew was not what might be expected for a U.S. group whose new album peaked at 52 in the British charts. While they are far from a household name in Europe, the band is considered something of a supergroup in blues circles, and interest in their show at London's Bluesfest has been surpassed only by Led Zeppelin legend Robert Plant. "It's hard to travel with a band this big, but when you get the offer to play the Albert Hall... you make it happen," Derek Trucks, the band's founding guitarist, told Reuters in an interview before the gig at the 5,300-seat venue. Trucks is a master of slide guitar, and considered the 16th greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine. Full Story | Top |
| Pearson profits to slip on weak U.S. college demand Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 04:13 AM PDT British publisher Pearson said it expected 2013 adjusted operating profit to be lower than last year due to weaker demand for college textbooks in its North American Education division, sending its shares sliding. "While international education sales have accelerated, as expected, there is a more negative tone on North American education margins and the North American higher education business, which is our chief area of structural concern," analysts at Liberum said in a note. Pearson's shares were down 3.15 percent at 1322 pence by 1105 GMT after they hit a 12-year high in the run-up to the results. Pearson has undergone a raft of management and structural changes in the last year including the merger of its Penguin books division with Random House, designed to increase its focus on emerging markets and digital services. Full Story | Top |
| Malaysia court rules critical news portal can go to print Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 02:38 AM PDT A popular Malaysian news portal that is often heavily critical of the long-ruling government has the right to issue a print edition, a court ruled on Wednesday, dismissing an appeal by the home ministry. The decision in favor of the portal Malaysiakini signals a possible loosening of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition's tight control over print and television media, which has contrasted with its policy of allowing broad freedom of expression on the Internet. A panel of three judges at Malaysia's Court of Appeal unanimously upheld a decision by the Kuala Lumpur High Court in October last year that the home ministry cannot deny the news outlet a permit to print. "This is a landmark decision on the right to go to print," Malaysiakini chief executive Premesh Chandran told Reuters, adding that the portal would now apply to print a national daily. Full Story | Top |
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