Culture

Prices for crude oil reached a one-year high on Friday, as increasing industrial production in the United States raised hopes that the economic recession might be easing. US Crude oil futures gained for the seventh straight day, and has increased by 12.9% since October 7, and is now just above US$78 a barrel. The move came after a report released by the US Federal Reserve indicated a 0.7% rise in factory output. Brent crude oil was also up, gaining 76 cents to reach $76.99. Paul Crovo, an oil analyst based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for P

A man has been arrested and charged after the assault of British singer Leona Lewis, which occurred on Wednesday. The attacker turned out to be 29-year-old Peter Kowalczyk, who suffers from a health condition called anaemia, which causes a reduction from the normal number of red blood cells. The condition also causes a decrease in oxygen-binding ability. His parents said that it "affects his state of mind". He had also been suffering from a series of psychological problems, of which he was getting music therapy for from the National Health Serv

Boyzone manager Louis Walsh has paid tribute to the late Stephen Gately, who died unexpectedly on Saturday of "natural causes". Louis, who was a close friend of Stephen, described Gately as a "one-off". He stated: "We're all in shock. Nobody can believe it — the guys, me, nobody. We are in shock. The boys are devastated. It's like they have lost their very, very best friend, and [for me] me too." Walsh, who is a judge on The X Factor, was absent from his seat on the judges panel of the show Sunday. Fellow judge Simon Cowell paid tribute to

British singer Leona Lewis has allegedly been assaulted at an autobiography signing event in the Piccadilly region of London, England. The singer, who rose to fame after winning series 3 of The X Factor UK, was at a Waterstone's book specialist store in the to sign copies of her new autobiography, entitled Dreams, for fans who attended when a fan allegedly "slapped" her on Wednesday. A spokesperson for Scotland Yard had confirmed that police were called to an incident in the area. However, said the spokesperson, "she did not require hospital

American singer and actor Al Martino died yesterday, aged 82. Martino was born as Alfred Cini in Philadelphia, US state of Pennsylvania on October 7, 1927. One of the ways in which he was best known was for his first single, "Here in My Heart", which became the first ever number 1 single in the UK Singles Chart on November 14, 1952. It stayed at the top spot for nine weeks before being succeeded by "You Belong To Me" by Jo Stafford. More recently, Martino was known was for his character Johnny Fontane in the 1972 film The Godfather. He repris

The BBC has received 487 complaints after Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Anton du Beke used a racist remark for his dance partner. Actress contestant Laila Rouass, who is of Morrocan descent, was called a "paki" by her dance partner during rehearsals for the show. British tabloid News of the World revealed the information from the BBC One programme in their newspaper on Sunday. By Monday, it had emerged that there had been 63 complaints to the corporation. Since Thursday, the racist comment by du Beke has caused a total of 487 compl

A recent revelation by American actor John Travolta in court testimony during an ongoing extortion case in The Bahamas that his late son Jett suffered from autism, has stirred debate and controversy over the disease. News media and critics have questioned whether Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston should have acknowledged Jett's illness sooner. In response to comments made Tuesday about the recent events on the ABC television program The View, the National Autism Association issued a press release stating they "very much support the Travolta f

The mayor of Vienna has criticised the cancellation of the original Michael Jackson tribute concert that was due to take place on September 26 in Vienna, Austria. Michael Häupl, the mayor of Vienna, has said: "[The show would have been] very interesting... had it been properly prepared and organised but it was not." The tribute concert, which was due to take place in Austria on September 26, was organised mainly by Jermaine Jackson, Michael Jackson's brother. Funding for the original concert had been cancelled on September 11 due to the fact

Susan Atkins, a former member of the Manson clan and the longest-serving female prisoner of California, US, has died in prison. She was 61. It was Atkins who exposed those responsible for the murders after she bragged of her involvement while imprisoned for an unrelated offence. Two fellow inmates reported her to the authorities. Subsequently, her testimony ensured that she, Charles Manson and several others would be convicted of a string of murders in a 10-month trial, including those of heavily pregnant actress Sharon Tate and of Leno and Ro

A new Michael Jackson single and compilation album is going to be released in October of this year. "This Is It" is the name of what would have been Michael Jackson's tour, the name of his documentary film, and now a new single and compilation album — both titled "This Is It" — which will be released from his record label Sony Music Entertainment. Sony Music confirmed the plans to release the new two-disc compilation album and single. John McClain, who co-produced the album, said: "This song only defines, once again, what the world already

Actor John Travolta testified in an extortion case in The Bahamas on Tuesday, and admitted in court that his late son was autistic. Travolta belongs to the controversial Church of Scientology, an organization which opposes psychiatry and does not recognize autism as an affliction. Prior to the testimony, Travolta had only publicly acknowledged that his son suffered from Kawasaki syndrome. Travolta's son Jett died in January 2009 at the age of 16 after experiencing a seizure. The ongoing extortion trial focuses on charges that attorney and Baha

Michael Jackson's This Is It, a documentary film based on world-famous singer Michael Jackson rehearsing for his last tour before his untimely death, will be premiered in at least 15 cinemas in cities all over the world simultaneously. The film is due to premiere on October 27 and October 28. The world cities may be in different time zones with different dates but they will all be premiering the film at exactly the same time. One such premiere location is Los Angeles, in the US state of California, which will have the film starting at 1800 PT.