Culture

American actor Robert Culp died at the age of 79 after falling outside his Los Angeles home early Wednesday. Culp was best known for his part on the television show I Spy. He was found lying on the ground outside of his home by a jogger passing by who called 9-1-1. Culp was taken to Queen of Angels hospital around 1100 local time (1800 UTC), where he later died. Police Lieutenant Bob Binder said that foul play was not likely involved, but an autopsy will be conducted. Culp was born in Oakland, California in 1930. He was well known for his r

Rick Astley is preparing for a 2010 80's music tour. Astley will be heading a revival concert at the opening of the Open Air Theatre of Scarborough on July 31 with artists such as Boy George, Paul Young and Kid Creole and the Coconut. Other acts are Nik Kershaw, Midge Ure, Heaven 17, T'Pau, Hazel O'Connor and Toyah. All of them have scored a combined total of 70 Top Ten Hits. There will be at least four more tour dates according to Rick Astley's website. Additionally, Rick Astley's website announced last Sunday the re-release of his first two

The Church of Scientology is attempting to block the broadcast of a film on the German television broadcaster ARD, claiming the film is "intolerant" and violates the broadcaster's guidelines. The film titled Until Nothing Remains (Bis Nichts Mehr Bleibt) due to be broadcast during prime-time on March 31 tells the fictionalised story of a German family destroyed by their involvement in Scientology. It is based on the true story of former member Heiner von Rönn who lost thousands of euros and his wife and two children who are still members. Von

According to a leaked United Nations report, up to one-half of all food aid to Somalia from the World Food Programme (WFP) is diverted to local contractors and militants. The United Nations monitoring group in Somalia authored the report, which has not yet been publicly introduced, but was shown by diplomats to the The New York Times, and is to be formally presented on March 16. According to the document, food aid to Somalia is regularly diverted to a complex network of contractors for the United Nations within the country, who in turn have m

Eight teens were shot Friday night outside a Gary, Indiana skating rink during a concert. According to Gary Police Cpl. Gabrielle King, "all chaos broke loose" when security asked patrons to leave after a fight broke out. The wounded ranged from 14 to 18 years of age and were taken to three local hospitals with gunshot wounds to the legs, wrist, stomach, and back. The injuries were not life-threatening. Cpl. King said that the wounded were not clear on the motive for the shooting and that no arrests have been made. The shooting happened at Ska

An investigation by the BBC has revealed that millions of dollars in famine relief aid money, including the money raised from the charity supergroup Band Aid and the Live Aid concert held by Bob Geldof, was "siphoned off" by Ethiopian rebels to buy weapons. One rebel said that at least US$ 95 million (£63 million) from — Western governments and private charities — was diverted into rebel coffers. This was also noted in a declassified Central Intelligence Agency assessment of the famine situation titled Ethiopia: Political and Security Impact

Local government officials have said that at least eleven people were killed on Sunday in southern Afghanistan by a roadside bomb. The governor's spokesman, Daud Ahmadi, said to media that "a civilian car struck a roadside bomb in Nawzad District." According to the spokesman, a family was riding on a tractor with a truck-bed hitched on back, when it hit the explosives on a central road; all of the people aboard died, including two children and two women. Ahmadi blamed the attack on the Taleban. The incident comes several weeks after soldiers

Ten billion songs have been downloaded from the iTunes Store, an online digital media store which is owned by Apple Incorporated. Louie Sulcer, of Woodstock in Georgia, downloaded "Guess Things Happen That Way" by American musician, Johnny Cash, which became the ten billionth song downloaded from iTunes. Sulcer won an iTunes gift card worth US$10,000 (approximately £6,550 or €7,380), after purchasing a song on the iTunes Store to win the prize. Beforehand, Apple had launched a competition entitled "Countdown to 10 Billion Song Downloads", wher

The BBC have broadcast the first ever live episode of television soap-opera EastEnders, a fictional programme set in London, England. The show, celebrating 25 years since the broadcast of the first episode, was aired on BBC One at 8pm UTC on Friday. Over 400 camera shots were taken by thirty-six camera operators, instead of the four usually used in episodes. There were also three golf buggies to relocate actors in the midst of sets. The episode had been prepared for a total of nine months. Three days before the episode, 51 cast members took pa

The 2010 BRIT Awards, presented by the British Phonographic Industry, is an annual award ceremony for music artists. This year, the competition took place in the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London, England. The event started taking place in 1980, with this year's event being the 30th BRIT Awards. This year, the programme was broadcast live - although with a short delay to allow censorship of strong language - on ITV1 from 2000-2200 GMT on Tuesday. 5.8 million viewers watched it, which was an audience share of 21.9%. The main presenter of

A spokesperson stated on Monday that UK television company ITV have been fined A$3000 (about US$2591 or £1663) for cruelty to animals in an incident on programme "I'm a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!", where two celebrities killed and ate a rat. The incident involved actor Stuart Manning and television chef Gino D'Acampo, who went on to win the ninth series of the programme, which was broadcast in 2009. Inside the jungle, having been reduced to rations of beans and rice, the two celebrities caught a rat before killing it and then cooking it, to

British jazz musician Sir John Dankworth, said to be "one of the totemic figures of British jazz" and "the first major jazz musician" by Jazzwise magazine, died at the age of 82 in the King Edward VII Hospital in London, England on Saturday after being hospitalised with an undisclosed illness for the last few months. His family and his agent made the confirmation of the obituary. He was born in Essex on 1927 to a family of musicians. He started playing the clarinet after being musically influenced by Benny Goodman. During the 1950s, he became