Danny Puff

By Sui-Lee Wee

BEIJING (Reuters) - Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei announced plans on Monday to release a heavy-metal album that he said would "express his opinion" just as he does with his art.

The burly and bearded Ai said 81 days in secretive detention in 2011, which sparked an international outcry, triggered his foray into music.

"When I was arrested, they (his guards) would often ask me to sing songs, but because I wasn't familiar with music, I was embarrassed," Ai, 55, said in a telephone interview. "It helped me pass the time very easily.

"All I could sing was Chinese People's Liberation Army songs," Ai said. "After that I thought: when I'm out, I'd like to do something related to music."

A court in September upheld a $2.4 million (1.6 million pounds) fine against Ai for tax evasion, paving the way for jail if he does not pay. Ai maintains the charges were trumped up in retaliation for his criticism of the government.

The world-renowned artist has repeatedly criticised the government for flouting the rule of law and the rights of citizens.

Ai's debut album - "Divina Commedia", after the poem by Italian poet Dante - is a reference to the "Ai God" nickname in Chinese that his supporters call him by. "God" in Chinese is "Shen", while "Divina Commedia" in Chinese is "Shen qu".

Two songs are about blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng, whose escape from house arrest last April and subsequent refuge in the U.S. Embassy embarrassed China and led to a diplomatic tussle.

One song on the album is called "Hotel Americana", a dig at the U.S. Embassy for sheltering Chen. Another is "Climbing over the Wall" - a reference to Chen's scaling of the walls in his village to escape, and Chinese Internet users circumventing the "Great Firewall of China", a colloquial term for China's blocking of websites.

Ai said he was not worried about government persecution for his album, which will be out in about three weeks. But he is gloomy about the prospects of it being sold in China, saying he will distribute the album online "because music is also subject to review" in China.

Ai said his time in the recording studio did not mean that he was moving away from art.

"I think it's all the same," he said. "My art is about expressing opinion and communication."

Ai said he was working on a second album, with pop and rock influences, that he hoped people would sing along with.

"You know, I'm a person that's furthest away from music, I never sing," Ai said. "But you'll be surprised. You'll like it."

(Reporting by Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Read More

By Euan Rocha

TORONTO (Reuters) - BlackBerry shares rose 12 percent on Monday, fueled by takeover speculation and news that AT&T Inc will start selling the new BlackBerry Z10 touchscreen smartphone in the United States on March 22.

The CEO of China's Lenovo Group Ltd told a French newspaper on Monday that the personal computer maker might consider an acquisition of Canada's BlackBerry at some point in the future.

"External growth remains a question of opportunities," Yang Yuanqing told Les chos in an interview.

"As for BlackBerry, the file could eventually make sense, but I must first analyze the market and understand the exact weight of this company," he said in response to a question about whether the company would make a move on BlackBerry.

BlackBerry, a one-time smartphone pioneer, has bled market share to the likes of Apple Inc's iPhone, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's Galaxy line and other devices powered by Google Inc's market-leading Android operating system.

In a make-or-break move to regain market share and return to profit, BlackBerry introduced the new smartphone to much fanfare in January, and said it was abandoning its old name, Research In Motion, and renaming itself BlackBerry.

A spokesman for Lenovo in Canada downplayed the CEO's comment, saying, "in no way was this an indication of activity or strategic direction."

Another Lenovo executive had made a similar comment when asked about BlackBerry in January. That remark also sparked a rally in BlackBerry shares, but Lenovo said at the time that the executive was only speaking broadly about M&A strategy.

BlackBerry shares were up 11.7 percent at $14.59 on the Nasdaq on Monday afternoon, while the Toronto-listed shares were up 11.7 percent at C$14.99.

AT&T LAUNCH

BlackBerry is hoping the new devices, already on sale in Canada, Britain and more than 20 other countries, will help it win back market share in the United States, which was once a stronghold for the smartphone industry pioneer.

The U.S. launch of the new devices has been delayed due to a longer carrier-testing phase in the country. AT&T said pre-sales of the devices will begin on Tuesday.

BlackBerry says sales of its new smartphone have been outpacing its expectations so far, but investors are keen to see how it fares in the United States.

As expected, AT&T said it would sell the devices for $199.99 with a two-year contract. T-Mobile USA said on Friday it planned to start selling the BlackBerry Z10 to its business customers in the United States on Monday.

Verizon Inc , the biggest U.S. wireless carrier, has yet to say when it will start selling the Z10. The Z10 and the soon-to-be-launched Q10, which will come with BlackBerry's traditional physical keyboard, are powered by the new BlackBerry 10, or BB10 operating system.

"We believe the Street is pricing in such a weak fiscal 2014 that BB10 does not need to be an outstanding success to surprise," Scotiabank analyst Gus Papageorgiou said in a note to clients on Monday.

Papageorgiou, who has a "sector outperform" rating on the stock, said he expects the company sold about 1 million BlackBerry 10 devices in the quarter ended March 2.

"Gross margins should begin to move higher as more Z10s enter the mix," he said. "Next quarter will be the true test as BB10 launches in the U.S."

($1 = 1.027 Canadian)

(Editing by Lisa Von Ahn, Peter Galloway and Matthew Lewis)

Read More

By Estelle Shirbon

LONDON (Reuters) - Disgraced energy minister Chris Huhne was jailed for eight months on Monday for lying to police about a speeding offence in 2003, in the final chapter of a bizarre tale of adultery and revenge that has gripped the British public.

Huhne's ex-wife Vicky Pryce, a prominent economist, was also jailed for eight months for her role in the deception.

Prior to the scandal, Huhne had been seen as a potential future leader of the Liberal Democrats, junior partners to the Conservatives in Britain's ruling coalition government.

When his car was caught by a speed camera, he and his wife falsely told police she had been driving, so that the minister could avoid a driving ban.

The incident remained a family secret for years but came back to haunt Huhne after he left Pryce for his mistress, Carina Trimingham, in 2010. Pryce told two newspapers about the 2003 deception in an act of revenge that landed both Huhne and herself in the dock.

"Any element of tragedy is entirely your own fault," judge Nigel Sweeney told the pair as he passed sentence on them.

"IMPLACABLE DESIRE FOR REVENGE"

"There is a controlling, manipulative and devious side to your nature," he told Pryce, saying she had been driven by "an implacable desire for revenge".

"Despite your high office, Mr Huhne, you tried to lie your way out of trouble by claiming you were innocent, by repeating that lie again and again," the judge told the disgraced politician.

"You have fallen from a great height."

The estranged pair sat side-by-side in the glass-walled dock during the lengthy sentencing hearing but did not make eye-contact. Trimingham sat in the public gallery in the courtroom packed with journalists.

Dressed in a dark suit and tie, Huhne, 58, stood grim-faced to hear his sentence. Wearing a black jacket, silver-grey roll-neck top and dangly earrings, Pryce, 60, appeared to be fighting back tears throughout the hearing.

The judge told the pair they would serve at least half of their sentences before being released on parole.

Huhne resigned as energy secretary in February 2012, when he and Pryce were both charged with perverting the course of justice. He spent the best part of a year fighting a costly legal battle, trying to get the charge against him thrown out.

That attempt failed when Judge Sweeney ruled at the end of January that he should face trial. Huhne initially pleaded not guilty, but a week later, on the morning the trial was due to start, he stunned Britain by changing his plea to guilty.

"BLOODBATH"

His lawyer, John Kelsey-Fry, told the court Huhne's 11th-hour guilty plea had taken courage and had avoided what would have been "a bloodbath" if Huhne and Pryce had stood trial together.

Instead, Pryce stood trial alone after pleading not guilty. She admitted taking Huhne's speeding penalty but put forward an archaic defense of "marital coercion", arguing that Huhne had bullied her into it.

A first jury failed to agree on a verdict on Pryce, but after a retrial a second jury convicted her on Thursday.

Pryce's trials revealed painful details of the breakdown of her 26-year marriage to Huhne.

He became a minister in May 2010, but within weeks a newspaper found out he was having an affair about which Pryce had been unaware.

The story was widely covered by the national press, with the added spice that Trimingham had previously been in a lesbian relationship.

Evidence shown at Pryce's trial revealed how, starting in November 2010, she spent six months plotting with journalists to try to get the story about the 2003 speeding deception into the papers in a way that would damage Huhne but not expose her.

"I definitely want to nail him," Pryce wrote to one journalist in a March 2011 email that was read out in court.

(Editing by Michael Holden and Andrew Roche)

Read More

By Chris Michaud

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Actress Valerie Harper, star of the 1970s television comedy "Rhoda," says she is determined to "live each day's moments fully" despite a brain cancer diagnosis that doctors told her could bring death in a matter of days or in several years.

Harper, 73, who won four Emmy Awards for her signature sitcom role, said on NBC's "Today" show on Monday that the reality of her illness hit home "when I heard the word 'incurable.'"

"'Incurable' is a tough word, so is 'terminal,'" she said with a laugh. The interview, taped from her home in Los Angeles, marked Harper's first appearance on network television since she disclosed her cancer diagnosis in a People magazine cover story last Wednesday.

In that article, Harper said she learned in mid-January that she was suffering from leptomeningeal carcinomatosis -- cancer in the membrane of her brain -- and was given as little as three months to live.

In her televised interview with Savannah Guthrie of the "Today" show, Harper said her doctor told her she could live anywhere from a week, if for example she suffered a seizure, to a few months or even for several years, and that he had patients who had lived much longer than the prognosis.

Harper was a prime-time staple on U.S. television through most of the 1970s, first as the brassy but insecure neighbor Rhoda Morgenstern on the hit CBS sitcom "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." The character proved so popular that Harper was given her own spinoff series, "Rhoda," which ran for several more seasons on CBS.

"A lot of folks are calling (asking), 'Can I come by the house?' 'Are you in a wheelchair?', because they hear it as a death sentence, which it may be," Harper said on "Today." "But I'm not dying until I do. I promise I won't."

As to holding out hope against a seemingly grim fate, Harper, her voice hoarse due to a bout of laryngitis, said that beyond being hopeful, "I have an intention to live each day's moments, fully."

Harper recently completed a tour promoting her new autobiography "I, Rhoda" and starred on Broadway as Tallulah Bankhead in "Looped," for which she earned a Tony Award nomination.

Harper, who underwent surgery for lung cancer in 2009, said on "Today" that the disease she is currently battling is "very rare" and was "hard to detect because it was diffuse. It's all around. It's not in one lump."

She recounted feeling odd symptoms when she was working to take her "Looped" show on tour, noticing "this weird feeling in my jaw," adding, "I vomited for no reason and wasn't sick. And I thought, 'That's weird.'"

Despite the dire nature of her condition, Harper said she clings to hope.

"The thing I have is ... very rare and it's serious and it's incurable ... so far. So I'm holding on to the 'so far.'"

(Writing by Chris Michaud; Editing by Steve Gorman, Patricia Reaney, Bill Trott and David Gregorio)

Read More

LONDON (Reuters) - Canadian singer Justin Bieber has canceled one of two planned concerts in Portugal this week, the venue in Lisbon said on its website on Monday.

A source close to the singer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the cancellation was not linked to Bieber's collapse on-stage in London last week, which forced the teen sensation to take a 20-minute break for oxygen and later to visit a hospital.

"Due to unforeseen circumstances, Justin Bieber was forced to cancel the second performance in Portugal, March 12," a statement said on the website of the Pavilhao Atlantico.

"The Canadian singer is eager to play for the Portuguese fans on March 11," it added. Ticket holders for the canceled gig were entitled to a refund if they claimed it within a month.

The Bieber source did not give a reason for the cancellation, but local media in Portugal reported that tickets sales for the March 12 gig, which was added to his itinerary in February, were lower than organizers had hoped.

Bieber described his visit to London as a "rough week".

As well as the collapse, the 19-year-old was caught on film in an expletive-filled altercation with a photographer, showed up nearly two hours late for a show leading to widespread anger and was labeled a "pop brat" by a leading tabloid.

Discovered on YouTube in 2008, Bieber has built an online following of tens of millions of fans and is one of the pop world's biggest stars. In February, he became the youngest artist to land five chart-topping albums in the key U.S. market.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Additional reporting by Andrei Khalip in Lisbon; Editing by Jon Hemming)

Read More

NEW CITY, N.Y. (AP) Stephen Baldwin will avoid jail and will have up to five years to pay $350,000 in back taxes and penalties, his lawyer said Monday.

Attorney Russell Yankwitt said he and prosecutors tentatively agreed that Baldwin, youngest of the four acting Baldwin brothers, will admit in court this month that he repeatedly failed to file his New York state income tax returns.

Baldwin, who starred in 1995's "The Usual Suspects," is accused of skipping his 2008, 2009 and 2010 returns. When he was arrested in December, the district attorney said Baldwin could face up to four years in prison if convicted.

But at Monday's closed-door conference at the Rockland County Courthouse, "The district attorney's office and the judge made it very clear that Mr. Baldwin will not be going to prison," Yankwitt said. "If Mr. Baldwin can't work, he can't pay back his back taxes."

Baldwin, 46, of Upper Grandview, was not at the conference.

Prosecutor Anthony Dellicarri confirmed that a tentative agreement had been reached on a plea deal but would not detail the specifics. A message left with the district attorney's office was not immediately returned.

Yankwitt said that if Baldwin pays back the money within a year, the case will be discharged on the condition he stay out of trouble. If Baldwin doesn't meet the one-year deadline, he will be sentenced to probation and given five years to pay back the money.

The lawyer said the exact amount to be paid was still being negotiated but was "in the ballpark" of $350,000.

Yankwitt, asked how Baldwin would get the money, replied, "He's doing commercials, he's acting, he's out in the public." Baldwin has been heard on New York radio in recent days in a commercial for a teeth-whitening system.

"The economy is not what it was, and Mr. Baldwin is a faith-based actor, which makes it harder to get roles," said Yankwitt, describing Baldwin as a born-again Christian. "In the past, he did movies that portrayed violence and drugs. He no longer does those types of movies."

Baldwin's brother Alec was a star of TV's "30 Rock," and brothers William and Daniel also are actors. When Yankwitt was asked if they were helping Stephen, he said only, "Mr. Baldwin is thankful for the love and support of his family."

Yankwitt said Baldwin got in trouble because he "relied on others," including an accountant and a lawyer.

"He never intended to defraud the government," the attorney said. "The government understands that."

Read More

By John Tilak

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index was little changed on Monday as declines in mining shares following weak economic data from China were offset by a jump in BlackBerry and gains in financials.

BlackBerry shares gained nearly 10 percent after U.S. wireless carrier AT&T Inc said it would start selling the highly anticipated BlackBerry Z10 touchscreen smartphone to customers by March 22, with early sales of the long-delayed devices to begin on Tuesday.

"Given what we've seen with the product's acceptance in other parts of the world, the U.S. should probably follow suit," said Philip Petursson, managing director, portfolio advisory group, at Manulife Asset Management. "They (BlackBerry) might be able to steal some market share back."

BlackBerry's stock climbed to C$14.71.

By late morning, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 11.70 points, or 0.09 percent, at 12,847.31 after opening lower. Six of the 10 main sectors on the index were in the red.

Investors also tracked data from China that showed inflation at a 10-month high in February, and that factory output and consumer spending were weaker than forecast. Imports were also surprisingly weak, falling 15.2 percent from a year earlier to 13-month lows and highlighting vulnerability in the economy.

"With weaker imports, that's a reflection that perhaps they're entering into a stage of destocking, or the economic activity continues to moderate," Petursson said.

"The marginal demand for commodities comes from China," he added. "If we start to see that demand slow down, that will have a negative impact on commodity prices and, as such, a negative impact on commodity producers."

The materials sector, which includes mining stocks, was the biggest drag on the index, down 0.3 percent. Barrick Gold Corp fell 1.2 percent to $C29.42.

The energy sector slipped 0.1 percent, with Encana Corp losing 1.1 percent to C$19.70.

Financials, the index's weightiest sector, added 0.3 percent, with Royal Bank of Canada up 0.5 percent at C$62.74.

(Editing by Peter Galloway)

Read More

Sheryl Sandberg is not backing down.

The Facebook chief operating officer's book "Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead" goes on sale Monday amid criticism that she's too successful and rich to lead a movement. But Sandberg says her focus remains on spurring action and progress among women.

"The conversation, the debate is all good, because where we were before was stagnation and stagnation is bad," she said in an interview with The Associated Press. "And sometimes it takes real heated debate to wake people up and find a solution."

With "Lean In," Sandberg aims to arm women with the tools and guidance they need to keep moving forward in the workforce. The book's release is coupled with the launch of Sandberg's LeanIn.org a nonprofit that will receive all of the book's proceeds.

The book isn't just for women. It calls on men to lend support, both at home and in the office.

"This is about who we are as people," Sandberg says. "Who we can be as individuals and as a society."

In the book, Sandberg illuminates facts about the dearth of women in positions of power and offers real-world solutions. Women, Sandberg writes, make up only 14 percent of executive officers, 18 percent of elected congressional officials and 22 of 197 heads of state. What's worse, Sandberg says, is that women have not made true progress in corporate America over the past decade. Boardrooms are still as overwhelmingly male as they were 10 years ago.

"While women continue to outpace men in educational achievement, we have ceased making real progress at the top of any industry," she writes in "Lean In." ''This means that when it comes to making the decisions that most affect our world, the voices of women are not heard equally."

Sandberg, 43, has worked at Facebook as its No. 2 executive since 2008. CEO Mark Zuckerberg lured her away from Google to help run what has since become a social networking powerhouse and formidable Google rival. Sandberg says it's only been in the last few years that she's started thinking seriously about the issues affecting working women. As recently as three years ago, Sandberg says, she would not have spoken the words "women in the workforce."

"You never say the word 'woman' as a working woman because if you do, the person on the other side of the table is going to say you are asking for special treatment," she says.

But seeing women stall in their quest for corporate success bothered her more and more. In 2010, she was asked to speak at the newly minted TEDWomen, an arm of the annual TED conference which showcases "ideas worth spreading."

Her speech was titled "Why we have too few women leaders." The video became wildly popular. It has been viewed more than 2 million times on TED's website. Yet before she gave speech, Sandberg says "a whole bunch of people told me not to." And although she'd given hundreds of talks on Facebook and social media and exactly one on women, after her speech people would ask her "is this your thing now?'"

"That was really the first time I spoke up," she says. Since then, Sandberg has come to call herself "a proud feminist."

Sandberg says it was the flood of responses that she received following the speech that got her thinking about writing a book. Some women wrote to her and said the speech encouraged them to ask for a raise. Others said it motivated them to ask for more family-friendly work hours.

LeanIn.org grew out of the book with the help of co-founder Gina Bianchini, who was inspired by a course she took at Stanford University's Clayman Institute for Gender Research called "Voice & Influence." Its mission "to empower women and men to be as effective as possible and to create organizations where all people can thrive" is at the core of LeanIn.org. LEanIn.org hopes to reach as many people as possible by offering materials and easy-to-replicate guidelines online, for free. Sandberg calls it a platform, which, in the technology world means something that others can take, change and make their own.

"We are a startup," Sandberg says. "We are going to see what happens, and what companies do with our platform."

___

Online:

www.leanin.org

Read More

By Dorene Internicola

NEW YORK (Reuters) - From spinning birthday celebrations to pole dancing bachelorette bashes, U.S. gyms are offering fitness parties as new way to mark life's milestones - with a few friends and a good sweat.

Gyms and fitness studios are often eager to host the festivities, which light up darkened rooms after hours and expose potential new members to their services.

"We've created bachelorette parties, birthday parties, college reunions and divorce parties," said Donna Cyrus, senior vice president of programming at Crunch, a national chain.

Pole dancing parties are among the most-requested fitness parties, and the merrymakers are overwhelmingly young women in their 20s and 30s.

"The class is a reason for friends to get together and shed inhibitions for an hour," Cyrus explained, "as well as a great marketing tool and clever use of idle space for the gym."

Fitness and yoga instructor Magen Banwart has led workout get-togethers from South Carolina to the Hamptons in New York.

She said it's a way to distinguish herself from other teachers in a very competitive market.

"For the right price you can get anyone to go anywhere and teach anything," said New York-based Banwart, who has led classes in yoga, core, barre and walk workouts during gatherings and retreats.

SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT

Having a fitness class instead of drinks is a growing trend for women in work-related situations, Banwart said. And at business conferences, historically driven by parties, dinners and cocktail hours, more time and money is being spent on healthy events.

"They're not only offering a class or two. Organizers are taking the time to create a whole mind/body commitment," she said. "You're seeing a strong trend for conferences to include stress management and people are identifying yoga and movement with stress management."

Community is the key for Jason Capili, who recently celebrated his 36th birthday at a Soul Cycle indoor cycling studio in New York City.

"I had people block out a bunch of bikes," said Capili, who works in human resources risk management. "We brought in cupcakes and sparkling wine and at the end, during the stretches, I made a wish."

Capili enjoys attending fitness celebrations for friends and friends of friends.

"I think it's a really supportive environment," he said. "When you have people really supportive and committed there's a sense of cooperative energy that you can't replicate with a one-on-one trainer."

Crunch fitness instructor Courtney Alexander said her private pole dancing parties are much like her group fitness pole dancing classes, except with more giggling.

While the pole dancing class is very athletic, private parties offer a bit more leeway.

"I teach for the full hour, much as I would in class," said Alexander. "But if it's a private party I'm open to requests. Rather than going upside down we might do more forward dips or spins or a sexier flow."

Alexander said the classes are as intense as need, and mood, dictate. After the class it's not unusual for revelers to continue the party elsewhere.

"Usually right after the class they'll change in the locker room, get dressed up and go out for drinks," she said. "This is the party before the party gets started."

(Editing by Patricia Reaney and Doina Chiacu)

Read More

By Gopal Sharma

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Ringed by an endless stream of pilgrims at an ancient temple in Kathmandu, Hindu holy man Mahant Ramnaresh Giri sat naked and puffed on a pipe filled with cannabis, his body smeared with ash as he took part in Nepal's biggest annual religious event.

Giri was one of more than a hundred such naked ascetics at the ancient Shivaratri festival, which brings an estimated one million devout Hindus flocking to Kathmandu's Pashupatinath temple each year for rituals to cleanse them of sin and earn a place in heaven.

Holy men such as Giri, 35, bless them and smoke cone-shaped pipes of cannabis as part of the annual festival dedicated to Shiva, the god of destruction.

"After I smoke I get a feeling that I have overcome worldly pleasure and dissolved myself in the universe," said Giri, smoke billowing around his head.

After Shiva's consort died, legend has it, he came to the forests near the temple, his body smeared with ash. Smoking cannabis, which grows wild in the forests of Nepal, he wore a serpent and draped his waist with a tiger skin as he wandered.

Cannabis is illegal in Nepal, but permitted as a religious ritual for ascetics during the festival, which took place at the weekend. The only explanation for this is that the ascetics are imitating Shiva.

The ban is ignored during the festival for the ascetics, who are allowed to smoke inside the temple complex but not sell or distribute it to pilgrims.

Authorities supplied the drug to holy men in the past but the practice was discontinued in the 1990s after critics said it amounted to promoting its consumption.

For pilgrims, the rituals are more mundane and involve pouring milk on a stone phallus and making offerings of fruit, sandalwood paste and incense sticks. Holy men such as Giri press ash-covered thumbs onto their foreheads and bless them.

"I became an ascetic for the protection of our religion, the welfare of the world and myself," said Giri, his dreadlocked hair and beard not combed or cut for 17 years.

This year's festival included modern touches such as 65 CCTV cameras to help guard crowds estimated to have topped one million devotees. Some of the holy men also played music on their mobile phones.

But for most, the festival remains deeply spiritual.

Krishna Nanda, a Romanian holy man wrapped in white cloth who came to India to study Sanskrit, said his desire to know more about life was behind his renunciation of physical and worldly pleasure two years ago.

"I love everything in society and god ... I am always happy," said the 23-year-old.

(Reporting by Gopal Sharma, editing by Elaine Lies)

Read More