Danny Puff

SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian mining services company has fired up to 15 workers who performed an underground version of the Harlem Shake and posted it online, in a second incident of the Internet dance craze sparking safety concerns.

The workers were part of an overnight crew working at the Agnew Mine in Western Australia owned by South African miner Gold Fields Ltd. The workers were employed by Barminco, an Australia-based underground services company.

The 30-second video posted on YouTube shows a group of miners, some wielding tools and shirtless, performing the Harlem Shake, which typically begins with a one solo dancer who is quickly joined by others, often in costumes or with props.

Barminco, based in Perth, could not be reached for comment after a dismissal letter sent to the workers was obtained by the local newspaper, the West Australian, saying the stunt breached the company's "core values of safety, integrity and excellence".

But a spokesman for Gold Fields said the decision to fire the workers was taken by Barminco after the video was posted on YouTube last week.

"Underground mining has strict safety standards as there are accidents and fatalities. The Barminco management saw this as a breach of standards," said spokesman Sven Lunsche on Monday.

The report came after the Federal Aviation Administration said it was looking into a mid-air, aisle performance of the convulsive dance by a group of college students on a packed flight due to safety concerns.

Frontier Airlines has defended its decision to allow the dance on the flight from Colorado Springs to San Diego, saying safety measures were followed and the seatbelt sign was off.

The sackings in Australia sparked an online debate with a Facebook page set up to call for the reinstatement of the "sacked WA Harlem Shake Miners".

The workers told The West Australian that they were not endangering safety, pointing out that helmets were worn throughout.

The Harlem Shake is an electronic dance track by DJ Baauer - aka Harry Rodrigues - which was released last year with record label Mad Decent.

But it took off as a YouTube craze after a group of teenagers from Australia posted a video of their version of the dance which was replicated rapidly on the web, with up to 4,000 Harlem Shake video variations uploaded daily.

A YouTube spokeswoman said over 250,000 Harlem Shake videos were uploaded in February and watched more than 700 million times, with a version by the Norwegian army notching up more than 47 million views and an underwater version 30 million.

The craze has driven the song to top of the iTunes U.S. chart and third on the iTunes Australia list.

(Reporting by James Regan and Elaine Lies, editing by Belinda Goldsmith)

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BOSTON (Reuters) - Talk show host, entrepreneur and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey will deliver this year's graduation address at Harvard University, the Ivy League school said on Monday.

"Oprah's journey from her grandmother's Mississippi farm to becoming one of the world's most admired women is one of the great American success stories," Harvard President Drew Faust said in announcing her selection.

Winfrey will join a long list of politicians, policy makers, captains of industry and authors - including George Marshall, Bill Gates and J.K. Rowling - who have offered their wisdom and advice to Harvard's graduating classes.

She will speak at the school's 362nd graduation exercises on May 30.

Long a fixture on Time Magazine's 100 most influential people list, the 59-year-old Winfrey has been popular on the college commencement circuit, speaking at Stanford University, Duke University and Spelman College in recent years.

(Reporting By Svea Herbst-Bayliss; editing by John Wallace)

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AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch police arrested a 19-year-old Romanian woman on Monday in connection with the audacious theft last October of paintings including a Picasso and a Monet from an art gallery in Rotterdam, police said.

The woman was the girlfriend of one of two Romanian men arrested in Romania in January in connection with the heist, one of the most dramatic in years, in which seven paintings were stolen.

"Given the speed with which it was carried out it was clear it must have been well prepared," the police said in the statement in which they unveiled new details about the progress of their investigation, which has yet to locate the paintings.

Police were put on the trail by combing through security camera footage from the period leading up to the robbery, looking for visitors whose behavior suggested they might be making preparations for a robbery.

Security camera footage released at the time showed thieves entering through a back door and disappearing from the camera's field of view. Seconds later they reappeared carrying bulky objects and left the building by the same entrance.

Police singled out two men, Romanians aged 25 and 28, on the basis of their behavior and the frequency of their visits.

Police believe the unnamed woman, the girlfriend of the 28-year-old, was living in the flat where the canvases were stored until they had been removed from their frames and transported to Romania.

The other artworks stolen were by Henri Matisse, Lucian Freud and Meyer de Haan.

The investigation, which is being carried out in coordination with Romanian police, is ongoing.

(Reporting by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Jon Hemming)

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LOS ANGELES (AP) It wasn't exactly a mighty victory, but "Jack the Giant Slayer" won the weekend at the box office.

The Warner Bros. 3-D action extravaganza, based on the Jack and the Beanstalk legend, made just $28 million to debut at No. 1, according to Sunday studio estimates. It had a reported budget of just under $200 million.

But the studio also hit a milestone on the global front with Peter Jackson's fantasy epic "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" crossing the $1 billion mark worldwide. The first of three films based on the classic J.R.R. Tolkien novel has made $301.1 domestically and $700 million internationally.

"Jack the Giant Slayer" comes from Bryan Singer, director of "The Usual Suspects" and the first two "X-Men" movies. It stars Nicholas Hoult, Ewan McGregor, Ian McShane and Stanley Tucci.

Among other new releases, the college romp "21 & Over" from Relativity Media made only $9 million this weekend to open in third place. And the horror sequel "The Last Exorcism Part II" from CBS Films debuted in fourth place with just over $8 million.

Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.' executive vice president of theatrical distribution, said "Jack the Giant Slayer" opened lower than the studio had hoped, but he's encouraged by its CinemaScore, which was a B-plus overall and an A among viewers under 18. One bit of good news for "Jack" is that it had a 56-percent uptick from Friday to Saturday, suggesting strong word-of-mouth and more family audiences for the PG-13 adventure.

"That tells us that the audiences that are seeing it really do like it," Goldstein said. "The international opening in Asia has been very strong the 3-D component of the special effects works in a big way outside the domestic marketplace."

"Jack the Giant Slayer" made $13.7 million in 11 international territories for a worldwide total of $41.7 million. Internationally, "A Good Day to Die Hard," the fifth film in the blockbuster Bruce Willis franchise, was the big winner of the weekend with $18.3 million for a global total of nearly $222 million.

Domestically, this is the sixth weekend in a row that movie ticket sales are down, said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. He pointed out that many of the action pictures aimed at men this year including "Snitch," ''The Last Stand," ''Bullet to the Head" and "Parker" have been disappointments at the box office.

"Other films have done OK but we need to do better than OK to keep up with last year's pace," he said. "Where is the audience? I don't want to overstate this, but where are the guys?"

Among the few bright spots, the Jason Bateman-Melissa McCarthy comedy "Identity Thief" has become the first film to cross the $100 million mark this year. Now in its fourth week in theaters, the Universal movie has made $107.4 million.

"This is a tough marketplace right now. Everything is underperforming," Dergarabedian said. "There hasn't been a huge breakout hit yet. For every 'Identity Thief' there have probably been 10 other films that have underperformed."

Meanwhile, winners at last weekend's Academy Awards, including "Argo," ''Silver Linings Playbook" and "Life of Pi," are still sticking around in the top 20 after several months in theaters, further underscoring the weakness of recent new releases.

But Dergarabedian was optimistic that things will turn around with the opening next week of Disney's "Oz the Great and Powerful," a much-anticipated prequel to "The Wizard of Oz" starring James Franco and directed by Sam Raimi. It's expected to open in the $75-100 million range.

"We need the cavalry to arrive and we need them soon," he said. "Maybe James Franco is the cavalry."

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday:

1. "Jack the Giant Slayer," $28 million. ($13.7 million international.)

2. "Identity Thief," $9.7 million.

3. "21 & Over," $9 million.

4. "The Last Exorcism Part II," $8 million.

5. "Snitch," $7.7 million.

6. "Escape From Planet Earth," $6.7 million.

7. "Safe Haven," $6.3 million.

8. "Silver Linings Playbook," $5.9 million.

9. "A Good Day to Die Hard," $4.5 million. ($18.3 million international.)

10. "Dark Skies," $3.6 million.

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Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. "A Good Day to Die Hard," $18.3 million.

2. "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters," $15.2 million.

3. "Jack the Giant Slayer," $13.7 million.

4. "Les Miserables," $10.5 million.

5. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," $9.2 million.

6. "Django Unchained," $8 million.

7. "New World," $7.3 million.

8. "Miracle in Cell No. 7," $6.2 million.

9. "Beautiful Creatures," $6 million.

10. "Flight," $5.2 million.

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Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

http://www.rentrak.com

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Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

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LONDON (Reuters) - A mystery man dressed as Batman demonstrated the same crime-fighting skills as the caped crusader when he handed over a suspect wanted for burglary in Britain.

Closed-circuit television footage showed a portly figure wearing an ill-fitting costume including gloves, cape and mask, bringing a 27-year-old man to a police station in Bradford in northern England.

The suspect was arrested and charged with handling stolen goods and fraud-related offences, said the force. But the costumed crime-fighter disappeared into the night without leaving his name.

"The person who brought the wanted man into the station was dressed in a full Batman outfit," said a spokeswoman for West Yorkshire Police. "His identity, however, remains unknown."

The suspect was handed over in the early hours of February 25, said police who released photos of the footage on Monday.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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(Reuters) - Bobby Rogers, a founding member of the Miracles singing group with Smokey Robinson, died on Sunday at his home in suburban Detroit after a lengthy illness, the Detroit Free Press newspaper said.

Rogers, 73, a member of the Motown group that was formed in the mid-1950s with Robinson, Ronnie White and Pete Moore, was a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and had a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

"He had a sparkling personality that was loved by everyone," Claudette Robinson, Rogers' first cousin, told the newspaper. "People always commented on the tall one with the glasses."

Rogers died at his home in Southfield, Michigan.

The Miracles had a string of hits including "The Tears of a Clown," "Going to a Go-Go," "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" and "Tracks of My Tears."

Ronnie White died in 1995.

Funeral arrangements for Rogers have not been set, according to the newspaper.

(Reporting by Patricia Reaney in New York; Editing by Eric Beech)

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SEFFNER, Florida (Reuters) - A wrecking crew on Sunday partly razed a Florida house where a sinkhole had swallowed up a man as he slept but the demolition team went about its job as carefully as possible to preserve the home's contents for survivors.

Rescue workers had given up the search for Jeff Bush, a 37-year-old landscaper, on Saturday. He was officially declared "presumed dead" by county officials after disappearing into the hole, which opened up under his bedroom on Thursday night.

Sinkholes are common in Florida due to the state's geology and they are virtually impossible to predict.

With a crowd of a few dozen family members and others watching, a boom crane clawed at the one-story home in suburban Tampa for about two hours, demolishing about half of it. The job was due to be completed on Monday.

Jeremy Bush, Jeff's brother, who had jumped into the sinkhole in a futile attempt to save him, said the family was discussing plans for a memorial service and a possible marker at the site.

Asked how he was feeling, Bush, 36, told Reuters: "Just sad, sad that they couldn't get my brother out."

"He was a good guy. He would give you the shirt off his back," Bush said of his brother.

Five other people in the house, which is owned by the family of Jeremy Bush's fianc e, had been preparing for bed Thursday when they heard a loud crash and Jeff Bush screaming.

STABILIZING THE PIT

Once the house is torn down, efforts will begin to stabilize the sinkhole, said William Puz, a spokesman for Hillsborough County. The hole was about 30 feet (9 meters) wide and 60 feet (18 meters) deep and filled with clay and debris. It is unlikely that Bush's body will ever be retrieved, officials said.

The crane's bucket first removed the garage eaves from the house and a U.S. flag there, carrying it to the sidewalk. Hillsborough County Fire Rescue workers folded the flag and handed it to family members.

The crane then probed through the master bedroom and swept family memorabilia, boxes, luggage, dresser drawers, framed photos, a woman's purse and other items out of the house and placed them near the sidewalk.

Crane operator Dan Darnell had an "emotional meeting" with family members after the work was halted, Puz said.

Before the demolition started, Jeremy Bush, a landscaper like his brother, was escorted by a deputy sheriff to the entrance of the driveway where he knelt and put flowers on the ground, bowing his head for a few minutes.

Wanda Carter, 49, who grew up in the house, said she could not watch as it was being torn down.

"We have each other and that's all that matters," Carter told reporters as she clutched a large family Bible, its cover torn off and bearing marks from the crane's bucket.

Sinkholes in Florida are caused by the state's porous geological bedrock, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

As acidic rainwater filters into the ground, it dissolves the rock, causing erosion that can lead to underground caverns, which cause sinkholes when they collapse.

Two nearby houses have been evacuated because the sinkhole has weakened the ground underneath them, and their residents probably will never be allowed inside again, said Jessica Damico of Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.

They were allowed 20 to 30 minutes in their homes on Saturday to gather belongings.

(Writing by Ian Simpson; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Eric Beech)

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DETROIT (Reuters) - Singer Bobby Rogers, a founding member of the hit-making Motown group the Miracles along with Smokey Robinson, died on Sunday in suburban Detroit after a lengthy illness, family members and associates said. He was 73.

Rogers was a tenor in the original Motown lineup of the group that also included Robinson as the lead singer, bass vocalist Warren "Pete" Moore, baritone Ronnie White and the quintet's lone female vocalist, Claudette Rogers.

Claudette Rogers, who became Claudette Robinson after marrying the group's star in 1963 and left the group a year later, was Bobby Rogers' first cousin. She and Smokey Robinson later divorced.

"My cousin, Robert 'Bobby' Rogers, who was like a brother to me, lost his battle and succumbed," she said in a statement issued through the Detroit-based Motown Alumni Association.

"He had a sparkling personality that was loved by everyone," she told the Detroit Free Press newspaper. "People always commented on the tall one with the glasses."

Smokey Robinson, born hours apart from Rogers in the same Detroit hospital on February 19, 1940, saluted his former compatriot in his own statement, saying: "Another soldier in my life has fallen."

"Bobby Rogers was my brother and a really good friend," he said. "I am really going to miss him. I loved him very much."

Billy Wilson, president of the Motown Alumni Association, said Rogers died at his home in Southfield, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit.

The Miracles grew out of an earlier quintet of high school performers called the Five Chimes that formed in the mid-1950s and changed its name to the Matadors after several roster changes capped by Claudette Rogers' admission to the group.

Introduced to Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr., the group changed its name to the Miracles and became one of the first acts signed to his Tamla Records imprint and went on to record Motown's first million-selling hit single, "Shop Around."

The group, which later changed its name again to Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, ultimately released 30 singles that charted in the Top 40, including such Motown classics as "You've Really Got a Hold on Me," "Going to a Go-Go," "I Second That Emotion," "Tears of a Clown" and "Tracks of My Tears."

One of Rogers' most notable vocal contributions with the group was his two-part harmony with Robinson on "You've Really Got a Hold on Me," which was later covered by the Beatles. Rogers' voice also is heard in the background of the Marvin Gaye track "What's Going On," uttering the phrase: "It's just a groovy party, man, I can dig it."

He shared songwriting credits with Robinson on a number of songs recorded by the Miracles, such as "Going to a Go-Go," and other groups, including the Temptations hit "The Way You Do the Things You Do" and "First I Look at the Purse" by the Contours.

Rogers was inducted with other members of the Miracles into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, about 25 years after the controversial solo induction of Robinson.

Miracles vocalist Ronnie White died in 1995.

(Additional reporting by Patricia Reaney in New York; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Eric Beech)

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FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) Legendary pianist Van Cliburn was remembered Sunday as a gifted musician who transcended the boundaries of politics and art by easing tensions during the Cold War and introducing classical music to millions.

About 1,400 people attended a memorial service for Cliburn, who died Wednesday at 78 after fighting bone cancer. As the service began, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra accompanied a choir while pall bearers carried his flower-covered coffin into a Fort Worth church.

Several speakers referred to what made Cliburn famous: winning the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958, when he was just 23. At the height of the Cold War, the win by the pianist who grew up in Texas helped thaw the icy rivalry between the United States and Soviet Union.

"Over the course of many years, during the most difficult historical times, the art of Van Cliburn brought together people from different countries, different continents and united them," Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a statement that was read during the service. "We shall always remember Van Cliburn as a true and sincere friend of the Russian people."

Former President George W. Bush told mourners that Soviets at the competition didn't find the expected stereotypical Texas cowboy but a gracious, humble young man who was "beloved, even by the enemy." Cliburn continued to spread peace and love through his music, Bush said.

"Members of the presidents' club could have taken a lesson from him in diplomacy," said Bush, who presented Cliburn with the Presidential Medal of Freedom the nation's highest civilian honor in 2003.

After the Moscow win, Cliburn returned to a hero's welcome and a ticker-tape parade the first ever for a classical musician. A Time magazine cover proclaimed him "The Texan Who Conquered Russia." Cliburn's popularity soared, and he sold out concerts and caused riots when he was spotted in public.

As a result, Cliburn introduced Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff to a younger generation those who may never have heard or liked classical music, said Juilliard School President Joseph Polisi.

Cliburn played for every U.S. president since Harry Truman, plus royalty and heads of state worldwide.

"I am confident that the enduring beauty of his art will sustain his legendary status for years to come," President Barack Obama said in a statement that was read during the service.

Cliburn also used his skill and fame to help other young musicians through the Van Cliburn International Music Competition, held every four years. Created in 1962 by a group of Fort Worth teachers and citizens, it remains among the top showcases for the world's best pianists. The next competition, to be held in May and June, is being dedicated to Cliburn's memory.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Cliburn helped keep the state at the center of the arts "and in that way, Van lives on."

Cliburn was born Harvey Lavan Cliburn Jr. on July 12, 1934, in Shreveport, La., the son of oilman Harvey Cliburn Sr. and Rildia Bee O'Bryan Cliburn. At age 3, he began studying piano with his mother, herself an accomplished pianist who had studied with a pupil of the great 19th century Hungarian pianist Franz Liszt.

The family moved back to the east Texas town of Kilgore within a few years of his birth.

Cliburn won his first Texas competition when he was 12, and two years later he played in Carnegie Hall as the winner of the National Music Festival Award. At 17, Cliburn attended the Juilliard School in New York. Between 1952 and 1958, he won all but one competition he entered. By age 20, he had played with the New York Philharmonic and the symphonies of most major cities.

Despite his phenomenal success over five decades, Cliburn remained humble and gracious, friends said.

The Rev. Brent Beasley said Cliburn gave beauty back to God and to the world, "and we are profoundly grateful."

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NEW YORK (AP) Shirley MacLaine will be returning to "Downton Abbey" next season, and opera star Kiri Te Kanawa is joining the cast.

MacLaine will reprise her role as Martha Levinson, Lord Robert Crawley's freewheeling American mother-in-law, Carnival Films and "Masterpiece" on PBS said Saturday. MacLaine appeared in episodes early last season.

New Zealand-born soprano Te Kanawa will play a house guest. She will sing during her visit.

Other new cast members and characters include:

Tom Cullen as Lord Gillingham, described as an old family friend of the Crawleys who visits the family as a guest for a house party (and who might be the one to mend Lady Mary Crawley's broken heart).

Nigel Harman will play a valet named Green.

Harriet Walter plays Lady Shackleton, an old friend of the Dowager Countess.

Joanna David will play a guest role as the Duchess of Yeovil.

Julian Ovenden is cast as aristocrat Charles Blake.

"The addition of these characters can only mean more delicious drama, which is what 'Downton Abbey' is all about," said "Masterpiece" executive producer Rebecca Eaton.

Meanwhile, the producers have confirmed that villainous housemaid Sarah O'Brien won't be back. Siobhan Finneran, who played her, is leaving the show.

These announcements come shortly after the third season's airing in the United States. It concluded with the heartbreaking death of popular Matthew Crawley in a car crash, leaving behind his newborn child and loving wife, Lady Mary Crawley.

Matthew's untimely demise was the result of the departure from the series by actor Dan Stevens, who had starred in that role.

The third season also saw the shocking death of Lady Sybil Branson, who died during childbirth. She was played by the departing Jessica Brown Findlay.

Last season the wildly popular melodrama, set in early 20th century Britain, was the most-watched series on PBS since Ken Burns' epic "The Civil War," which first aired in 1990. The Nielsen Co. said 8.2 million viewers saw the "Downton" season conclusion.

"Downton Abbey," which airs on the "Masterpiece" anthology, won three Emmy awards last fall, including a best supporting actress trophy for Maggie Smith (the Dowager Countess), who also won a Golden Globe in January.

In all, the series has won nine Emmys, two Golden Globes and a Screen Actors Guild Award for the ensemble cast, which is the first time the cast of a British television show has won this award.

Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Jim Carter and Brendan Coyle are among its other returning stars.

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Online:

http://www.pbs.org/downton

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