Daily News Channel
As the news of Michael Jackson’s death slowly filtered through the crowds at the world’s largest music festival this evening, there was a feeling of confusion and shock among fans. Festival goers at Worthy Farm in Somerset, England could not quite believe the news as it was sent by text message and email from friends and relatives on mobile phones. “It’s totally weird,” Sally Anne Aldous, 29, told CNN over the phone from Glastonbury.
The tragedy of Michael Jackson’s death at age 50, reportedly from cardiac arrest, pales in comparison to the tragedy of his life. To understand all that Jackson had and lost requires wiping away three decades of plastic surgeries that deformed him, erratic behavior that made his name synonymous with the warping powers of fame, and a 2005 trial for sexually abusing a child that, even though he was spared of any finding of wrongdoing, made him a pariah to all but the most brainwashed of fans. But if you can forgive or forget all that, underneath was one of the most talented entertainers of the 20th century.
Michael Jackson had a level of hero worship on a par with Elvis Presley or the Beatles but he was the first black star to inspire such a massive following around the world. Total worldwide sales of more than 350 million records over his 40-year career give just a hint of the adoration there was for the “King of Pop.” The fact that his death came on the eve of a comeback tour in London will leave his devotees feeling even more bereft
One female fan on Twitter said "Off the Wall" was the first cassette tape she owned.
Four Iranian footballers have been "retired" from the national side after protesting against the contested election result in the country during a match against South Korea. The players drew attention to the situation in Iran by wearing green armbands during last week’s World Cup qualifying match in Seoul.
Most days it is easy to think God may have forgotten about Afghanistan, but there can be a day when you feel like you are in heaven. We were invited by the United States Agency for International Development to witness the dedication of Afghanistan’s first national park: The Band-e-Amir National Park, a series of six crystal-blue lakes surrounded by heart-stopping cliffs and natural dams that capture the imagination. “‘If you look at the beauty,’ as we say in our language, ‘it’s poetry for your eyes, for your mind and for your soul,'” said the former Prince of Afghanistan, Mustafa Zahir, who attended the opening ceremony.
Scientists in the United States are developing a "synthetic tree" capable of collecting carbon around 1,000 times faster than the real thing.
President Obama should reach out to Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi as tensions in Iran over the disputed presidential elections continue to heighten, a former Bush administration official told CNN Sunday. “I would certainly find out if he (Moussavi) wants a conversation,” former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “If he doesn’t, I certainly wouldn’t push it.
Iranian state television yesterday broadcast the soap operas and covered the news about Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal from Wimbledon and Pakistani operations against the Taliban as if they were the most important stories in the world. Meanwhile, arriving over the internet transom, rough and insistent and bloody, were the tiny electronic dispatches from protesters forced off the streets of Tehran, shaky videos from a city screaming for help. For outsiders tuned into the blog posts, Facebook updates, Tweets and YouTube videos, the torrent of information was compelling and confusing, emotional and rife with rumors, full of sound and fury signifying …
"RIP NEDA, The World cries seeing your last breath, you didn’t die in vain. We remember you."