Culture

Following months of rumours, musician Wyclef Jean today confirmed that he is considering standing for the presidency of Haiti in the country's November elections. A statement from his family and verified by his spokeswoman said that the 37-year-old had not yet announced his intention to run, but that media would be informed "if and when a decision is made". Jean, whose full name is Nel Ust Wycliffe Jean, is seen as popular among young Haitians. With current President René Préval unable to stand for re-election, so far no one has emerged as a c

A stampede at the entrance of a German music festival, the Love Parade, today killed nineteen people and injured around a hundred more. The incident apparently took place due to overcrowding at the entrance to the grounds of the event, located in Duisburg, Germany, which more than a million people were reported to have attended. Despite warnings by police of overcrowding, more people tried to enter the grounds. There is speculation that the panic may have begun when people fell after trying to cross a barrier, and subsequently spread. Witness

Singer and song writer Lady Gaga has warned her fans attending concerts about "hateful" protests that are set to take place during a concert she will be having tonight in St. Louis, Missouri. The Westboro Baptist Church will be protesting outside the venue during her concert. Gaga warned of these protests on her Twitter page. "At the risk of drawing attention to a hateful organization, I would like to make my little monster fan [sic] aware of a protest being held outside the Monsterball in St.Louis tonight. Although we have had protesters befo

Singer Robbie Williams has rejoined and recorded a new album with British musical group Take That, having departed from the group in 1995. The four other members of Take That are Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange and Mark Owen. Robbie Williams decided to leave Take That in 1995 to begin a solo music career; the group subsequently disbanded in 1996. In 2005, Take That was reformed as a four-piece band. Williams announced his return to Take That in November 2009. The last album the group released before the disbanding was entitled "Nobod

On Monday, Swiss authorities refused a request from the U.S. to extradite Polish film director Roman Polanski, who has been under house arrest in his chalet in Switzerland since December 2009, on charges stemming from the 1977 accusation that he had sex with an American thirteen-year-old girl, Samantha Geimer, in Los Angeles, California. Though the film director pled guilty to rape and unlawful sexual intercourse, he fled to France before he could be sentenced. A top U.S. Justice Department official, Lanny Breuer, has said that he is "deeply

The Northeastern region of the United States has been blanketed by a severe heat wave since Sunday, with temperatures predicted to reach over a hundred degrees Fahrenheit Tuesday. The US National Weather Service (NWS) issued warnings of severe heat for most of the East Coast as well as some inland states, which are predicted to have temperatures as high as 102 degrees Fahrenheit. Factoring in humidity levels in a measurement called a heat index, temperatures will be even higher; New York City's heat index could reach 107 degrees. An NWS mete

The great-granddaughter of former South Africa President Nelson Mandela has died in a car crash following a concert to open the World Cup. The Nelson Mandela Foundation released a statement which said that thirteen-year-old Zenani Mandela, who celebrated her birthday on June 9, died in a single vehicle accident and that no one else was injured. The statement continued: "The family has asked for privacy as they mourn this tragedy." The driver of the vehicle of which Zenani Mandela was a passenger has been arrested and charged with drunk drivin

Jetstar Airways, a Qantas owned Australian low-cost airline, has announced plans to trial Apple iPads as an in-flight entertainment option. This trial would make Jetstar one of the first airlines in the world to offer the iPad. Starting later this month, Jetstar plans to begin a two-week trial, during which passengers will have the option to rent iPads for AU$10 on domestic flights longer than an hour. Thirty iPads would be available on each test plane. These devices would be preloaded with games, e-books, music and video content. Internet acc

Actor, director, and artist Dennis Hopper has died today at the age of 74. He was known to suffer from prostate cancer since October 2009. He was born Dennis Lee Hopper on May 17, 1936 in Dodge City, Kansas. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1955, and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and Giant (1956). Over the next ten years, Hopper appeared frequently on television in guest roles, and by

US actor Gary Coleman died Friday at the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, Utah, after complications from a brain hemorrhage. Coleman was admitted to the hospital on May 26 after falling and injuring his head. He went into a coma on May 27 and required life support. He was taken off life support and died shortly after noon on Friday. He was 42 years old. Coleman had been suffering multiple medical problems throughout his life, however, it is unknown if these problems affected his death. He suffered from a congenital kidney disease

The British energy company BP will be attempting a "top kill" on the leaking Deepwater Horizon oil well by firing a mud and cement mixture into the blowout preventer on the sea floor later this week. If successful, the oil well will be closed off with cement. A backup plan in case of failure (there is an estimated 30–40% chance of failure) would be another containment apparatus. BP has been using the oil dispersant corexit to disperse the oil film into small droplets which mix with the seawater. A riser insertion tube inserted into the lar

Paul Gray, American musician and bassist of the heavy metal band Slipknot, has been found dead in his hotel room in Iowa. His body was found at around 10:50 Monday morning by a hotel employee. Police investigating the death said that no foul play was suspected. Chris Diebel, the spokesman for the hotel where Gray was found, released a statement. He said “Gray checked into the extended-stay hotel on Saturday and was scheduled to check out today”. He added that Gray had “stayed at the hotel before and was remembered as being a quiet and respe