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Celebrated Russian folk singer LYUDMILA ZYKINA has died of cardiac arrest after suffering a heart attack. She was 80.
Zykina, often called the ‘Russian Edith Piaf’, died on Wednesday (01Jul09) in Moscow.
Hundreds of people stood in lines to pay their last respects to the singer during a memorial ceremony at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall on Friday (03Jul09).
It was Zykina’s operatic style that assisted her in becoming the symbol for Russian folk singing, after her career took off when she won a pan-Russian singing competition in 1947. Her biggest records have included Russian hits Volga and I Am Flying Over Russia.
Her numerous honours included the Lenin Prize in 1970 and the Order of Lenin in 1979 - the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union. She was also named the People’s Artist of the USSR in 1973.
Zykina will be laid to rest at the Novodevichye cemetery in Moscow on Saturday (04Jul09).

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British rockers ARCTIC MONKEYS’ live comeback was marred when they were forced to abandon the stage for ten minutes after their speakers blew up.
The band has spent much of the last year holed up at a New York recording studio working on their third album, Humbug.
They are set to play a series of European festivals and U.S. clubs throughout the summer (09) - but their return to the live stage on Thursday (02Jul09) was hindered by technical issues.
The Fluorescent Adolescent hitmakers were midway through their set at the Open’er festival in Gydnia, Poland when the speakers failed.
They continued to play on, unaware of any problems, but left the stage when officials announced there would be a short break. After ten minutes, the rockers returned and finished their set.
Frontman Alex Turner told the crowd, "I’m ever so sorry about that everybody. We didnâ��t realise."

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Prosecutors are urging a Los Angeles judge to throw out convicted rapist ANAND JON ALEXANDER’s bid for a retrial, amid allegations of one juror’s inappropriate behaviour during the fashion designer’s 2008 trial.
Alexander, who has reportedly designed outfits for Paris Hilton and Mary J. Blige, was found guilty of 16 charges of sexually assaulting seven girls and young women.
During his two-month trial, a California court heard how the Indian-born couturier lured wannabe models as young as 14 to his apartment in Beverly Hills and abused them in a string of attacks between 2001 and 2007.
The 35 year old’s attorneys claimed his accusers were attempting to ruin his career, but he was convicted of 16 of the 23 charges against him. He was acquitted of four charges and a further three resulted in a hung jury.
But Alexander is now seeking a retrial after it emerged juror Alvin Dymally had contacted the disgraced star’s sister Sanjana and flirted with her. His attorney Leonard Levine claims Dymally’s actions show he could not have been impartial when deliberating over the charges.
Levine says, "I think it’s clear that he was in love with her. He was hardly an impartial juror." However, prosecutors argue the juror did not discuss any details about the trial with Sanjana and only complimented her in taped phone conversations presented to the judge to support their argument.
Deputy District Attorney Frances Young says, "The tape speaks for itself. It appears to capture a conversation in which Dymally wanted to privately tell Sanjana that he thought she was ’sexy’ and that he wanted to see her ‘afterwards’." A court hearing to determine whether Alexander will be granted a new trial is due to take place on Monday (06Jul09).

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Director MICHAEL LEHMANN has dismissed WINONA RYDER’s comments confirming a sequel to their cult comedy HEATHERS is in the works, insisting the actress has got it all wrong.
Ryder starred alongside Christian Slater in the 1989 movie, about four girls who form a clique at a suburban high school, and she recently claimed a follow-up is on its way, with the True Romance actor also on board to return to Westerberg High.
She told film bible Empire magazine of her most iconic role, "Whatever you hear, there is a sequel in the works, I swear to God.
"But for some reason the writer, Dan Waters, and director, Michael Lehman, don’t want to talk about it. I’ve been wanting to do a sequel forever. There is a story, and Christian has agreed to come back." But reports of a sequel is news to both Lehman and Waters - who are adamant there is "no script" and "no plans" for Heathers 2.
Lehman tells Movieline.com, "Winona’s been talking about this for years - she brings it up every once in a while and Dan Waters and I will joke about it, but as far as I know there’s no script and no plans to do the sequel.
"A couple of weeks ago everyone started talking about it and I guess Winona said the movie was gonna get made, and I thought, ‘I don’t know, maybe they did this without me?’ But I got in touch with Dan Waters and he said he didn’t know anything about it. So I don’t think there’s any truth to it."

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MICHAEL JACKSON was so paranoid his children would fall ill or injure themselves he "child-proofed" hotel rooms with cardboard boxes and inspected every meal before allowing them to eat.
The King of Pop insisted on taking his three kids - Prince Michael Jr., 12, Paris Michael Katherine, 11, and seven-year-old Prince Michael II, known as ‘Blanket’ - with him when he travelled the world.
But he insisted on making every hotel he stayed at ultra-safe before moving in - and was obsessed with making sure they ate healthy food.
Jackson’s former personal photographer, Ian Barkley, tells Eonline.com, "His kids totally love their dad and he was extremely protective over them. Even when we were just around his staff, he was protective.
"We would baby-proof everywhere, like really expensive suites. They would tape up every corner with cardboard and make sure the kids couldn’t hurt themselves, and they were very strict on what the kids would eat to make sure they didn’t have allergies.
"To some it was odd, but under the circumstances it was understandable." And Barkley insists Jackson was a Jekyll and Hyde character because of his prescription drug use, adding: "There were two sides to him. When he wasn’t dosed up on pills, he was extremely mentally sound, very business-like, very smart, but when he was on drugs, he would do some really odd things.
"It was basically flipping a coin and depending on what day it was, was how he was. Some days Michael would show up to an event and we could tell because he had this giggly laughing face on. I am not sure what kind of meds, but I know there were mixtures."

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MICHAEL JACKSON’s family has allegedly scrapped plans to charge fans for attending the King of Pop’s memorial service after outraged devotees expressed their disgust at the proposal.
According to reports, the superstar clan was set to demand $25 (£16) for a ticket to the huge event in Los Angeles on Tuesday morning (07Jul09).
The Staples Center was chosen as a poignant place to hold the service, as Jackson had been rehearsing his This Is It comeback shows there just 24 hours before dying of a cardiac arrest last Thursday (25Jun09).
But fans were reportedly left furious when rumours circulated claiming the Thriller legend’s relatives were planning an admission charge - as 20,000 fans are expected to pack into the venue.
However, the Jacksons decided to scrap the idea after furious discussions on Thursday (02Jul09), in which close advisors warned them not to anger mourning fans, according to RadarOnline.com.
Instead, fans can now enter their name into a random ballot to try and secure one of 11,000 tickets to the memorial.

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Cops searching MICHAEL JACKSON’s home found a bottle of the heroin substitute methadone, according to a new report.
The Thriller hitmaker’s rented property in Holmby Hills, California was awash with prescription drugs - including six other types of super-strength painkillers, a batch of sedatives, and potent sleeping pills.
A total of 20 different kinds of prescription medication were recovered from the property after Jackson died last Thursday (25Jun09) - but the revelation that methadone was among them will stun fans.
The green liquid is used to help wean junkies off heroin by mimicking the effects of the drug and easing withdrawal symptoms.
And in a shocking new development, police in Los Angeles are reportedly considering launching a manslaughter investigation amid fears aides obtained medication for Jackson without any regard for his safety.
A source tells U.K. tabloid The Sun, "The Jackson mansion was more like a drugstore than someone’s home… Powerful narcotic painkillers of all kinds were found. There was no reasonable excuse for them all being there… Police want to know whether the other people named on the medicine labels really needed the drugs prescribed to them and will be speaking to the doctors involved." The unnamed source added: "Officers are looking very seriously at the people surrounding Michael Jackson and whether they behaved responsibly."

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THE GAME has ended his long running feud with his former pal 50 CENT - by publicly apologising to the star.
The rapper, real name Jayceon Taylor, was kicked out of the In Da Club hitmaker’s G-Unit crew in 2005, resulting in a bitter rivalry between the pair.
Earlier this week (begs29Jun09), the hip-hop star revealed Michael Jackson had offered to heal the rift between the pair by acting as peacekeeper.
And the superstar’s death last week (25Jun09) has inspired The Game to publicly apologise to 50 Cent, as well as his former record label Interscope - which he quit after he was kicked out of his G-Unit group.
He says, "For 50, I�m just gonna apologise to him, just as a man. It has nothing to do with music, or beef, or nothing like that. It ain�t about being the bigger man. He can take it and say, �Game is apologising,� �Game�s a sucka, he�s apologising.� I�m apologising for me to him, to (Dr.) Dre, to Jimmy Iovine, to Eminem, to all the fans.
"Because if you think about what Interscope was when we were gellin�, man we were it. We were an unstoppable force.�

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Hollywood actor KEANU REEVES is eyeing a new career - he wants to train to be a chef.
The Speed star was so impressed with a cookbook by famed French chef Herve This - who uses science to perfect his culinary skills - that he credits it as "changing" his life.
Since reading the tome, Reeves has spent his spare time experimenting with recipes and reading Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavour.
He says, "I’m dabbling in it and looking at becoming a chef. He is fantastic. I didn’t really cook before but this book may be changing my life."

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EMMA WATSON has a contingency plan if her movie career ever falters - she dreams of becoming a make-up artist.
The Harry Potter star has garnered a mammoth $15 million (£10 million) fortune playing swot Hermione Granger in the wizard franchise.
And despite hauling in the cash as one of Britain’s most promising young actresses, Watson insists she’d be just as happy powdering the noses of movie stars.
She explains to U.K. magazine Elle, "If I hadn’t been an actress I would have happily been a make-up artist. I love make-up. Being around make-up girls all the time you pick up loads of stuff - I’ll go down there at lunch and use some of their products.
"I love doing up my flatmate before she goes out, like a Girl’s World!"

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MICHAEL JACKSON was so heavily in debt his credit card had a limit of just $405 (£270) - and he invented a series of bizarre identities in a failed bid to secure bank loans.
The Thriller legend left $500 million (£333 million) in his will, but it consisted entirely of non-cash and non-liquid assets, including the Sony/ATV music catalogue featuring the songs of The Beatles.
Now it has emerged the superstar was so desperate for money in the months before his death, he conjured up 20 variations on his name - including ‘Michael Jackson Jehovah’, ‘Michael J Jackson ChristJeh’, and ‘President Mr Michael Jackson’ - to con banks into loaning him money.
He hoped the changing identities would hide his poor credit history - but a series of applications were turned down, according to Britain’s The Sun newspaper.
Jackson’s credit rating was calculated at just 447 - among the lowest two per cent across the entire U.S.
A source tells the tabloid, "Michael Jackson’s financial affairs were beyond a mess, with county court judgements and taxes owed all over the place. No bank was prepared to bail him out towards the end. He was rejected for loan after loan. He was getting desperate."

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MICHAEL JACKSON offered to adopt ‘Octomum’ NADYA SULEMAN’s eight babies in exchange for cash just weeks before he died.
The King of Pop contacted Suleman’s publicist Victor Munoz earlier this year (09) and offered to "take care" of her children in return for a payment.
But Munoz considered the proposal "creepy" - and didn’t even inform Suleman as he knew she would refuse to give her babies up for adoption.
Munoz tells the U.K.’s Daily Mirror, "When Michael called I thought it was a joke at first. I was getting hundreds of calls every day and many from celebrities’ agents saying their clients wanted to help.
"But when the person on the end of the line said, ‘Hi, it’s Michael Jackson’ I was a bit taken aback. Michael wanted to know how the babies were, how Nadya was coping.
"He then said he could take care of the children if Nadya couldn’t. It was creepy. He was basically offering to buy the children. I was a bit shocked… Michael clearly thought Nadya was unfit and decided he wanted to help those children… But I just blew it off. I knew Nadya would never want to get rid of her kids so it wasn’t important." Suleman made headlines around the world when she gave birth to eight babies in California in January (09).

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Rapper WILLIE D has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges of wire fraud for allegedly running a scam selling Apple iPhones.
The Geto Boys member, real name William James Dennis, was arrested at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas on 13 May (09), after returning from an overseas trip.
He faces 20 years behind bars for conning money out of buyers interested in purchasing iPhones and other electronic gadgets via auction website eBay.com through a company named Texas One Wireless. The scheme is alleged to have started last September (08).
The 42 year old was indicted on 15 counts of wire fraud by a federal grand jury in a Texas court last month (Jun09) and was freed on bond until his trial began.
According to court papers, he entered a not guilty plea against all charges at his arraignment in June (09).
Dennis will reappear in court on 27 July (09) for a pre-trail hearing, in which jurors will be selected.

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WARREN BEATTY was terrified when the notorious CHARLES MANSON murders swept California in the 1960s - he compares the killing spree to a nuclear bomb attack.
Beatty was one of the A-listers who stumped up cash in a bid to try and hunt down the killers of his pal Roman Polanski’s pregnant wife Sharon Tate, who was slaughtered at her Los Angeles home by members of the Manson clan in 1969.
The cult-like group, led by Manson, was also responsible for killing six other L.A. high-flyers, and Manson was later jailed for life.
And Beatty recalls how Hollywood went into meltdown as the murders mounted - comparing the killing spree to a "nuclear device" going off.
Speaking just weeks ahead of the grisly event’s 40th anniversary next month (Aug09), he tells Los Angeles magazine, "This hit the movie community very deeply. On the 10-point scale, it disturbed me at around a 27.
"They were friends of mine. It was something that happened, and no one knew why. Everybody was trying to come up with a reason.
"The collective response to these killings was what you might expect if a small nuclear device had gone off." And Beatty believes some media handled the story badly by putting the blame on Polanski’s controversial movies.
He adds, "In their rush to assess what had happened, some of the mainstream press brought the nature of Roman Polanski’s movies into the nature of the crime and held the movies responsible.
"Roman was a total innocent. Neither his life nor his movies had anything to do with this. But because he’d made Repulsion and Rosemary’s Baby, he was made to seem responsible."

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Sottish actor GERARD BUTLER won’t have to face up to his criminal battery charge just yet - his lawyer successfully persuaded a judge to delay the arraignment until next month (Aug09).
The 300 hunk was charged in May (09) with attacking a paparazzo outside the Los Angeles premiere of Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla in 2008.
Despite the snapper insisting the actor lashed out at him and punched him the mouth, Butler’s lawyers claim he was forced to act because the photographer was stalking the star, almost killing a pedestrian as he chased him through Hollywood.
Butler was due at an L.A. court on 10 June (09) but put in a request to delay the case.
And the judge agreed - moving the date back until 18 August (09), according to Access Hollywood. It is not known why Butler made the request for a delay as WENN went to press.

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RYAN O’NEAL’s estranged son GRIFFIN has launched a bitter attack on his father after he was banned from attending FARRAH FAWCETT’s funeral on Tuesday (30Jun09).
Father and son fell out in 2007 following a fight at the family home, which ended with Ryan firing a shotgun into the stairwell.
O’Neal banned his reformed drug-addict offspring from his partner’s memorial service, insisting: "He’s a bad guy." But Griffin was left fuming because he wanted to be able to pay his last respects to his dad’s partner.
He says, "I think he’s afraid of me because I know the truth about what happened in the later days. He’s a dark man and he needs to be put in his place. The reason why I’m not there is because I represent the truth and God forbid the truth coming out." Speaking outside the funeral, Griffin told reporters, "She’s mad I’m not in there." The Charlie’s Angels star’s own troubled son with O’Neal, Redmond, gave a reading at the ceremony after he was granted a three-hour release from prison, where he’s serving time on drug charges.
Fawcett died last month (Jun09) after a three-year battle with cancer.

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MICHAEL JACKSON’s official photographer KEVIN MAZUR has dismissed reports the King of Pop was frail and struggling in the days before his death, insisting the singer was "full of energy" during dress rehearsals he shot at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Mazur was hired by the promoters behind Jackson’s planned This Is It comeback shows in London to document the rehearsals, and the snapper claims his old friend was in fine form.
The celebrity photographer says, "He looked like the same old Michael Jackson I’d photographed through the years. He was full of energy, having fun, very upbeat, totally into it. He was going toe-to-toe with 20-year-old dancers.
"He ran through 12 songs (and) the only time he stopped… was to tweak the music or work on the choreography.
"I was so excited and I couldn’t wait to see this full production in the 02 Arena (in London) with the fans." Mazur left the rehearsals two days before Jackson’s death last week (25Jun09) so he could cover Sir Elton John’s White Tie and Tiara Charity Ball in England.
It was while he was there that Elton told him the King of Pop had died.
The snapper adds, "I was shocked… I just got done telling Elton how great he (Jackson) was." A minute’s worth of footage from the rehearsals has been released to news agencies by promoters AEG Live. The video shows Jackson performing with his dancers and singing They Don’t Care About Us live. He appears thin but in fine form and good voice. There’s no indication the star was days away from death.

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BRIAN MAY is furious after "music thieves" exploited MICHAEL JACKSON’s death by releasing previously unheard tracks by the King Of Pop and QUEEN’s late frontman FREDDIE MERCURY on the Internet.
Jackson, who passed away last week (25Jun09), and Mercury worked together in the 1980s on a number of tracks that have never been heard by the public.
May revealed the existence of the songs earlier this week (begs29Jun09), saying, �He (Jackson) used to come and see us when we were on tour in the States. He and Freddie became close friends, close enough to record a couple of tracks together at Michael�s house, tracks which have never seen the light of day.� But the rocker has been left incensed after two tunes by the pair, State Of Shock and There Must Be More To Life Than This, ended up on video sharing website YouTube.com.
He fumes, "The music thieves at work as usual."

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