Danny Puff

ZURICH (Reuters) - A brown bear dubbed Mike by its fans has been shot and killed by gamekeepers in a mountainous border region in southeastern Switzerland after several run-ins with locals, Swiss officials said on Wednesday.

How to deal with the bear, known as M13 by authorities, had sparked controversy between gamekeepers and environmentalists far outside the Graubuenden canton, which borders on Italy and Austria and where the animal was most often spotted.

Swiss gamekeepers said Mike, given the name by creators of a Twitter account set up to track him and spread his fame, had increasingly pushed into populated areas and shown no fear of people, presenting a major safety risk.

"The bear's behaviour couldn't be changed," wildlife wardens in the canton -- home to famous winter holiday resorts like St Moritz, Klosters and Davos -- said in a statement.

Mike's adventures, such as breaking into beehives belonging to a school in the town of Poschiavo, were closely monitored after he was fitted with a tracking device last June.

Sightings - including when he was hit by a train on the local Rhaetian Railway, a major tourist draw - became a staple in Swiss tabloids, and Mike's popularity grew when the Twitter account was set up.

Last year, the bear unwittingly led Austrian police to a murder victim when he started a fire by knocking a tree onto a power line.

But Swiss federal and local authorities decided he had to be put down after he broke into a Graubuenden home last November. In recent days, he had approached humans again after waking up from hibernation, game officials said.

The Swiss-based World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) condemned the shooting, saying wardens should have instead intensified efforts to frighten the animal away from populated areas.

Several brown bears, including two called M12 and M14 who had been identified as Mike's brothers, have also been known to roam between Switzerland, Austria and Italy. M14 died last year when he was hit by a car.

(Reporting By Katharina Bart, editing by Paul Casciato)

Read More

MIAMI (Reuters) - A mural by famed street artist Banksy is up for sale at a Miami auction house after the work, and a chunk of the North London wall it was spray-painted on, vanished late last week.

Who owns the mural is unclear, and how it ended up in a Miami auction house shortly after going missing is still a mystery.

Frederic Thut, owner of Fine Art Auctions Miami, which is selling the piece, said his firm has done "all necessary due diligence" to establish the ownership of the work.

"Unfortunately we're not able to provide any information by law and contract about the details of this consignment," he said.

The mural was painted on a building occupied by Poundland Stores, a British retailer that sells various items for only a pound. The work, titled "Banksy: Slave Labor," shows a young boy kneeling at a sewing machine with Union Jack bunting.

It appeared in 2012 during Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee, celebrating her 60th year on the throne. The Poundland chain was a focal point of controversy in 2010 when it was alleged that it sold goods made by Indian children as young as seven.

"We lease the premises from a landlord and were as shocked and surprised as anyone at the removal of the Banksy artwork," Kate Gibson, a spokeswoman for Poundland, wrote in an email. "We understand the upset this has caused and in no way do we condone the removal of the artwork without proper consultation with the community."

Gibson didn't say whether Poundland officials have spoken with the landlord and she couldn't provide any details on the property owner.

Meanwhile, the work remains listed on the auction house's website, where it has received three bids and is valued between $500,000 and $700,000. Described as a "unique street work" of "stencil and spray paint on render with additional jubilee bunting," it is due to be auctioned on Saturday.

The elusive artist's trademark spray-paint stencils offering ironic social commentary are never verified, though they are hotly sought after by collectors.

One West Bank mural shows a young girl frisking a soldier who looks to be leaning up against a wall with his arms outstretched. Another is of a man with a bandana wrapped around his face looking as though he's throwing a grenade, though a bouquet of flowers takes the place of the explosive.

"Banksy goes to a property anywhere around the world and he puts something without asking you on your wall," said Stephan Keszler, a New York City gallery owner who specializes in Banksy's work. "People call it vandalism, therefore he's not authenticating the works because this would admit that he made a crime."

Keszler brought more than a half dozen Banksy murals - massive concrete slabs weighing more than 2,000 pounds (907 kg) - to a Miami art fair in December. Two were works he salvaged on behalf of building owners in the West Bank and later bought. The others were owned by collectors whom Keszler was advising on sales.

A group called Pest Control oversees authentication of the artist's works on paper, but the group is almost as elusive as Banksy himself. Keszler said Holly Cushing, a producer of the 2010 documentary about the artist, "Exit Through The Gift Shop," runs the group.

"Did you read one word from Pest Control the work is not a Banksy?" he asked. "The works are not fake, otherwise they would say they're fake."

Pest Control did not respond to a number of emails and calls seeking comment.

Keszler argued that discussion of the issue of who owns the works, their authenticity and whether they should be moved will someday end.

"If a property owner wants to auction this at the auction house, he can do this with his property," Keszler said. "I believe that one day this discussion ... will be over, and then the people who were brave enough to buy those today, yesterday and tomorrow will have made a very good investment."

(Editing by David Adams; and Peter Galloway)

Read More

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - British singer Morrissey has convinced a Los Angeles concert venue to not sell meat at concessions during his performance next month.

The longtime animal rights activist and former singer for 1980s rock group The Smiths urged the Staples Center arena to shutter the concession stands of fast food chain McDonald's and to halt the sale of meat by other outlets at the venue for his March 1 performance.

"I don't look upon it as a victory for me, but a victory for the animals," the "Irish Blood, English Heart" singer said in a statement released on Monday.

Staples Center operator Anschutz Entertainment Group and its promoter subsidiary Goldenvoice will donate a portion of ticket sales from the show to animal rights group PETA, Morrissey said.

Morrissey, 53, who co-wrote The Smiths' 1985 song "Meat Is Murder," postponed a series of concerts on his North America tour last month after being hospitalized for a bleeding ulcer.

He is expected to relaunch the tour with a performance on U.S. late-night talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" next week.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Stacey Joyce)

Read More

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Clive Davis says that he is bisexual and has had two serious relationships with men over the past 20 years. The legendary music producer's admission comes in his new memoir, "The Sound Track of My Life," which also documents his decades as a top music hit-maker and collaborator with everyone from Bob Dylan to Kelly Clarkson.

In it, the 80-year old Davis, currently ensconced as chief creative officer at Sony Music, also discusses his efforts to convince his prot g , Whitney Houston, to get help to deal with her drug addiction.

But it is Davis' frank talk about his own sexual history that is getting the bulk of the attention during the roll out for his new book. Davis writes that his first same-sex sexual encounter came at Studio 54.

After his second marriage dissolved in 1985, Davis writes that he had two serious relationships with male partners, although he does not give their names. He also dated women at that time and does not identify as gay.

"I'm not lying," Davis told ABC's "Nightline." " does exist. For over 50 years I never had sex with a male. It wasn't repressed. I had very good sexual relationships with women."

"The Sound Track of My Life" was published Tuesday by Simon & Schuster.

Read More

BOSTON (AP) A federal jury awarded crime writer Patricia Cornwell nearly $51 million Tuesday in her lawsuit against her former financial management company and a former principal in the firm.

The author best known for her series of novels featuring medical examiner Kay Scarpetta claimed that Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP was negligent in handling her finances and cost her millions in losses or unaccounted for revenue.

Lawyers for the New York firm and former principal Evan Snapper said there was no money missing from Cornwell's accounts. They blamed losses on the economic downturn and what they called Cornwell's extravagant lifestyle, which included Ferraris, helicopters and a temporary apartment in New York City she rented for $40,000 per month.

Cornwell, 56, testified that Anchin moved her from a conservative management strategy to an aggressive one without her permission. She said she fired the firm in 2009 after discovering that her net worth was a little under $13 million, despite having eight-figure earnings in each of the previous four years.

Cornwell said the firm caused her to miss a book deadline for the first time in her career when it failed to find her a suitable place to write after renovation work on her house in Concord went on much longer than expected.

"This was very destabilizing. I really lost my ability to focus and concentrate. I did not know what the book was about anymore," Cornwell said.

The lawsuit said the missed deadline caused Cornwell to lose one year's income: about $15 million in non-recoverable advances and commission.

Cornwell's relationship with Anchin began in 2004. Cornwell said Anchin agreed to manage all her money and the assets of her company, Cornwell Entertainment Inc.

The lawsuit alleged negligence and breach of contract.

Cornwell said she was thrilled with the verdict.

"God bless justice," she said. "It's a huge relief and it's been a huge ordeal." She also thanked the jury for "giving up seven weeks of their lives."

Lawyers for the firm and Snapper portrayed Cornwell as a demanding client who relied on them for everything from bringing her clothes to the tailor to arranging care for her mother.

"I'm very disappointed," Snapper said after the verdict was announced.

On the stand, he strongly denied Cornwell's allegations.

"I did not steal any money from anyone," he said. "The money was there."

Frank Schettino, a managing partner at Anchin, Block & Anchin, said the firm plans to explore its legal options, including appealing the verdict.

"For more than 90 years, the professionals at Anchin have built a reputation for honesty and integrity," Schettino said in a statement. "The firm will endure despite today's outcome."

Snapper pleaded guilty in 2011 to lying about the source of 21 contributions of $2,300 each to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

Snapper acknowledged that he knew that the contributors did not make the donations in 2008, but instead they were reimbursed from an account belonging to Cornwell. He admitted the reimbursements caused Clinton's presidential committee unwittingly to file false reports with the Federal Election Commission identifying the 21 donors as the contributors.

Cornwell has lived in the Boston area for the last six years. She is married to Staci Gruber, a neuroscientist and assistant psychiatry professor at Harvard Medical School. The lawsuit alleged that Anchin also mishandled Gruber's finances.

Read More

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Martin Scorsese has been tapped to deliver the 2013 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities.

The Oscar-winning director of "The Departed" and "Raging Bull" will hold forth on his career as one of the foremost chroniclers of Catholic guilt, violence and criminality in the annual talk sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

Scorsese is the first filmmaker to get the honor, a prestigious forum that in the past has drawn such leading figures in the arts and academia as Toni Morrison, Robert Penn Warren and Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust. It carries with it a $10,000 honorarium.

"Martin Scorsese is a scholar of, advocate for, and icon of American cinema," said NEH Chairman Jim Leach in a statement. "He is the first filmmaker designated as a Jefferson Lecturer, but he follows in the tradition of earlier speakers like John Updike, Barbara Tuchman, and Arthur Miller in revealing a profound understanding and empathy for the human condition."

Scorsese will present the lecture on April 1 at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Scorsese has directed and produced more than 50 films, including such classics as "Goodfellas," "Mean Streets" and "Taxi Driver." He is currently working with Leonardo DiCaprio on "The Wolf of Wall Street," which will tell the true story of a New York stockbroker who becomes embroiled in a securities fraud case.

Read More

(Reuters) - The Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie said on Monday that she and her husband, actor Josh Duhamel, are expecting a baby.

"Josh & Me & BABY makes three!!!," she tweeted. She also posted photos of herself and her husband as toddlers.

It is the first child for the couple married in 2009.

Duhamel, 40, appeared in the "Transformers" movies and stars this year in the film "Safe Haven."

Fergie, 37, whose real name is Stacy Ferguson, joined The Black Eyed Peas in 2002 for their third album, "Elephunk," which proved to be a huge commercial success.

(Reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst in New York; Editing by Barbara Goldberg)

Read More

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - British singer Morrissey has convinced a Los Angeles concert venue to not sell meat at concessions during his performance next month.

The longtime animal rights activist and former singer for 1980s rock group The Smiths urged the Staples Center arena to shutter the concession stands of fast food chain McDonald's and to halt the sale of meat by other outlets at the venue for his March 1 performance.

"We respect Morrissey's lifestyle and his concern for the wishes of so many of his fans and are happy that we are able to honor his requests in this manner," Lee Zeidman, the arena's general manager, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Staples Center operator Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) said the arena will also roll out a special line of meatless food concessions, including vegan sloppy Joes, vegan sushi, and hummus and pita bread.

"I don't look upon it as a victory for me, but a victory for the animals," the "Irish Blood, English Heart" singer said earlier this week.

AEG and its promoter subsidiary Goldenvoice will donate a portion of ticket sales from the show to the animal rights group PETA, Morrissey said.

Morrissey, 53, who co-wrote The Smiths' 1985 song "Meat Is Murder," postponed a series of concerts on his North America tour last month after being hospitalized for a bleeding ulcer.

He is expected to relaunch the tour with a performance on U.S. late-night talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" next week.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Stacey Joyce)

Read More

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Two players have been fined in Mexico for making obscene gestures while celebrating goals they scored in first division matches at the weekend.

Panamanian Luis Tejeda of Toluca and Efrain Velarde of UNAM Pumas grabbed their genitals and shouted at the crowd as they stood facing the stands.

"Luis Carlos Tejada and Efrain Velarde are sanctioned with a fine of 2,000 days' minimum salary for making signs, gestures and showing obscene attitudes towards the public at the Azteca and (Olimpico) Universitario stadiums respectively," the Mexican league's disciplinary committee said in a statement.

The two players must therefore pay 129,000 Mexican pesos ($10,200) each given that the national minimum daily salary in the country is 64.50 pesos.

Toluca drew 2-2 away to America at the Azteca on Saturday while Pumas beat Morelia 1-0 at the Olimpico on Sunday.

UANL Tigres are top of the Clausura championship with 17 points from seven matches.

America and Atlas, who beat Monterrey 2-1, are joint second a point behind while title holders Tijuana have lost ground after two successive defeats and are fourth with 13 points.

Pumas are in mid-table with nine points and Toluca are fourth from bottom with six.

Bottom club San Luis and Morelia have appointed new coaches after sacking Eduardo Fontanes and Argentine Ruben Romano respectively on Monday.

Uruguayan Carlos Morales has taken charge of San Luis and Argentine Carlos Bustos is the new coach at Morelia, who have eight points, having played for them between 1997-99.

($1 = 12.6925 Mexican pesos)

(Reporting by Carlos Calvo, writing by Rex Gowar in London, editing by Tony Jimenez)

Read More

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oscar nominees who don't end up with a coveted gold statuette at the Academy Awards on Sunday won't go home empty handed after all.

Los Angeles-based marketing firm Distinctive Assets will be handing out its annual "Everyone Wins at the Oscars Nominee Gift Bag", valued at more than $45,000, to the talented and well-dressed "losers," the company said on Tuesday.

Among the items in the gift bags, known as swag bags, are trips to Australia, Hawaii and Mexico, personal training sessions, condoms, a bottle of tequila, hand-illustrated tennis shoes, appointments for injectable fillers and 'portion-controlled' dinnerware for those watching their figure, Distinctive Assets said in a statement.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hands out the Oscars, stopped its practice of giving gift baskets to presenters and performers in 2007 after the practice came under closer scrutiny from U.S. tax authorities.

Celebrities who receive gifts and free trips at awards shows are expected to declare them to the Inland Revenue Service as income and pay the appropriate taxes.

The Distinctive Assets gift bag is not endorsed by the Academy but has been creating consolation goodie bags for 11 years now. The bags are delivered to the losing nominees to their homes directly or through their agents or publicists.

This year's "Not Everyone Wins...." swag bag also includes an under-the-counter water filtration system, acupuncture and aromatherapy sessions, a one-week stay at a fitness and weight-loss retreat, and a one-year membership to London's Heathrow Airport's private VIP service.

Nominees' children also benefit: they get to enroll in professional all-kid circus classes.

The Academy Awards, the highest honors in the movie business, will be handed out a ceremony on Sunday in Hollywood.

(Reporting by Zorianna Kit, editing by Jill Serjeant and Philip Barbara)

Read More