2017年7月1日 星期六

Olivia de Havilland sues FX over Feud: Bette and Joan

s British US actress Olivia de Havilland (L) arriving for the 36th Cesar awards ceremony held at the Chatelet Theatre in Paris, Franc Image copyright EPA Image caption Olivia de Havilland filed papers on Friday, two days before her 101st birthday

Oscar-winning actress Olivia de Havilland is suing the makers of a television show which she says portrayed her as a "petty gossip".

De Havilland, who turns 101 on Sunday, filed a lawsuit against FX Networks and producer Ryan Murphy over the miniseries Feud: Bette and Joan.

The drama explored the bad blood between the Hollywood screen legends Joan Crawford and Bette Davis.

The actress, who appeared in 50 films, was played by Catherine Zeta-Jones.

But in papers filed at the Los Angeles Superior Court, de Havilland - who was made a dame in the Queen's birthday honours in June - said the show's characterisation of her damaged her "professional reputation for integrity, honesty, generosity, self-sacrifice and dignity".

The Gone With The Wind star is asking a jury to consider the emotional distress, as well as potential financial losses and the profits made from using her identity, caused by the show.

She last appeared on the big screen in 1979's The Fifth Musketeer.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption De Havilland says the show caused her emotional distress

The Paris-based actress' lawyers told The Los Angeles Times: "The FX series puts words in the mouth of Miss de Havilland which are inaccurate and contrary to the reputation she has built over an 80-year professional life, specifically refusing to engage in gossip mongering about other actors in order to generate media attention for herself."

De Havilland - the only person depicted in the series who is still alive - also said she was not consulted.

But in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter earlier this year, Mr Murphy said he did not contact de Havilland because he "didn't want to be disrespectful and ask her, 'Did this happen? Did that happen? What was your take on that?'"

The eight part series, which is a contender for an Emmy nomination next month, is due to air in the UK on BBC Two later this year.



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Arkansas nightclub shooting leaves many wounded

US map

At least 17 people have been shot at a nightclub in the US state of Arkansas, police say.

One person was in a critical condition but other injuries were not life-threatening, they said. The youngest victim was said to be 16 years old.

The exchange of gunfire apparently took place at about 02:30 local time (07:30 GMT) at a concert, but there was no immediate information about a suspect.

Police said the incident did not appear to be terrorism-related.

ABC quoted police as saying more people had been injured while trying to escape from the Power Lounge nightclub.



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Bronx hospital: Ex-employee gunman 'quit after accusation'

Police confirmed this Facebook image to be that of Henry Bello Image caption Police confirmed this Facebook image to be that of Henry Bello

The doctor who attacked his former New York hospital workplace had resigned in 2015 after being accused of sexual harassment, reports said.

Henry Bello had also been convicted of sexual assault a decade earlier, the New York Times reported.

He opened fire with an assault rifle in the Bronx-Lebanon hospital, killing a female doctor and injuring six other people, five of them seriously.

He then shot himself after attempting to set himself on fire, police said.

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Media captionPolice and emergency services personnel enter the hospital

Some New York newspapers quoted a doctor at the hospital as saying Bello had vowed revenge on his colleagues after he left.

"We fired him because he was kind of crazy," Dr Maureen Kwankam told the New York Daily News newspaper. "He promised to come back and kill us then."

In 2004 Bello was charged with sexual abuse and unlawful imprisonment after a 23-year-old woman said he had grabbed her crotch outside a Manhattan building, the New York Times reported.

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Media captionMayor Bill de Blasio said the shooting was isolated and appeared to be "workplace-related"

Bello walked into the 1,000-bed hospital at about 14:55 local time (18:55 GMT) with an assault rifle hidden inside his white medical coat, reports said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said the attack had been a "horrific situation in the middle of a place that people associate with care and comfort".

Several of the injured are "fighting for their lives," he said.

The attack began on the 16th floor and all the victims were shot on the 16th and 17th floors.

An assault rifle was also discovered nearby, which a local politician separately said appeared to be a military-grade M16 rifle.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Doctors were among those injured

Messages on social media spoke of doctors and nurses barricading themselves inside the building in the Mount Hope district.

One patient in the radiology department, Felix Puno, tweeted: "Building is in complete shut down, I was in the middle of getting an X-ray when security alerted us to the active shooter situation."

Garry Trimble, whose fiancée works at the hospital, said security was not good enough.

He said: "I can walk through the back door with an employee. If the employee opens the door, I can walk in. I think every hospital should have one police officer at each entrance. They only ever do something when something happens."

Bronx-Lebanon is a private, not-for-profit hospital that has been operating for 120 years.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption The shootings happened on the 16th and 17th floors

Shootings at hospitals are not common, but there have been several such instances in recent years.

In 2015, a man entered a Boston hospital and asked for a cardiologist by name, shooting him dead when he arrived. During the investigation, it emerged that the man's mother had previously been a patient at the hospital.

In July 2016, another man opened fire in a patient's room at a Florida medical centre, killing an elderly woman and a hospital worker. The suspect was later deemed to suffer from mental health issues, casting doubt over his competency to stand trial.

In July last year, a patient at a Berlin hospital shot a doctor before turning the gun on himself. The city had also seen a shooting outside another hospital earlier in the year, in which no-one was killed.



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Vaquita porpoise: Dolphins deployed to save rare species

vaquitas Image copyright Paula Olson Image caption Vaquita porpoises are rarely seen

Mexico's government says it plans to use dolphins trained by the US Navy to try to save the world's most endangered marine species, the vaquita porpoise.

Environment Minister Rafael Pacchiano said that the dolphins would be deployed to locate and herd vaquitas into a marine refuge.

Mexico also permanently banned fishing nets blamed for the vaquitas' decline.

Scientists estimate that fewer than 40 of the mammals are still alive in their habitat, in the Gulf of California.

Mr Pacchiano said the dolphin project would begin in September.

"We've spent the past year working alongside the US Navy with a group of dolphins they had trained to search for missing scuba divers," he told Formula radio.

"We've been training them to locate the vaquitas.

"We have to guarantee we capture the largest possible number of vaquitas to have an opportunity to save them."

The Mexican government also said on Friday it was imposing a permanent ban on gillnets, used to catch totaba, which are highly valued in Chinese traditional medicine.

Image copyright Flip Nicklin / Minden Pictures Image caption Could the latest ban on gillnets make a difference?

The nets are designed to trap the heads of fish but not their bodies, but are blamed for trapping and killing the porpoises as well.

Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who has campaigned to save the vaquitas, tweeted that the ban was "great news", thanking President Enrique Pena Nieto and environmental group WWF.

A temporary ban which had previously been in place since 2015 was seen as ineffective, leading the WWF to call for it to be extended and properly enforced.



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Singapore LGBT activists hold rally with no foreigners

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Media captionSingapore's gay rights rally has come under increased restrictions

Singapore's gay rights activists are holding an annual rally which foreigners are banned from attending under new laws.

Only Singapore citizens and permanent residents are allowed at the event, which has come under increasing restrictions.

There are fears that the Pink Dot rally will be diminished, although organisers still expect a significant crowd.

Gay sex is illegal in socially conservative Singapore.

Previous Pink Dot rallies have been open to everyone. But because it is illegal for foreigners to take part in political protests in Singapore, they were technically always only there as observers.

Recent changes to Singapore's laws classify anyone attending the event as a participant so organisers announced in May that they had no choice but to bar foreigners altogether.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption In previous rallies, foreign participants could attend but had to stay in an "observation area"

Foreign companies such as Google and Goldman Sachs, which had previously given funding, have also been banned from sponsoring the event this year. This prompted about 100 local firms to step in to provide sponsorship.

Pink Dot, which has been held annually in a small park since 2009, has grown significantly over the years and has sparked a backlash among conservatives.

In 2014, religious groups held a counter-campaign called Wear White.

The gay rights movement has gained significant momentum in some parts of Asia.

In May, a Taiwanese court ruled in favour of gay marriage, paving the way for Taiwan to become the first place in Asia to legalise same-sex unions.



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Helmut Kohl: Leaders gather in Strasbourg to pay tribute to German reunifier

Officials install a portrait of Mr Kohl at the European Parliament Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption It is the first time that the European Parliament has paid such a tribute

World leaders are gathering in Strasbourg for a day of events commemorating the life of former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl - who oversaw German reunification.

Mr Kohl, who died earlier this month, is seen as a driving force behind closer European integration.

His coffin, draped in the EU flag, will lie in the European parliament throughout the ceremony.

He will be buried in the German town of Speyer later in the day.

More than 2,000 police will be on duty to protect the visiting dignitaries.

Speakers will include the current German and French leaders Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron as well as Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, former US president Bill Clinton and former Spanish president Felipe González.

It is the first time that the European Parliament has paid tribute to a leader in such a way.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Mr Kohl (R) addressed crowds in Berlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall

The ceremony was proposed by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who was nicknamed "Junior" by Mr Kohl and who described the German after his death as "my mentor, my friend (and) the very essence of Europe".

However Germany will not hold a state funeral for Mr Kohl in Germany at the request of his widow Maike Kohl-Richter, his second wife.

That decision has been criticised by Mr Kohl's son by his first wife, Walter Kohl, who wanted a farewell ceremony near the Brandenburg Gate in the German capital Berlin, near the site of the former Berlin Wall.

Walter Kohl has described the European Parliament commemoration as "unworthy" in an interview with German newspaper Die Zeit.



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ICYMI: Moss can clean up city air

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