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Maria Sharapova admits ahead of Saturday’s Wimbledon final against Petra Kvitova that thoughts of winning a second title at the All England club inspired her as she battled a career-threatening shoulder injury.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Minnelli joked onstage that her award was so heavy that “my new knee is going” Veteran US singer Liza Minnelli has picked up the Icon prize at the Silver Clef awards in central London.
Praising the organisers, music therapy charity Nordoff Robins, she said that when she felt “cranky” she “put some happy music on and it heals me up”.
Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney was named live act of the year while Annie Lennox was recognised for her outstanding contribution to UK music.
Status Quo, meanwhile, picked up the lifetime achievement prize.
“What I wanted to say is I believe in this project more than anything I’ve heard in the last 20 years because I do believe in the healing power of music and even lyrics,” Minnelli, 65, said in her acceptance speech.
“Sometimes a lyric can completely change your mind, which is what this is about.”
Presenting the Icon award to his friend, chat show host Graham Norton said he had been a guest at her fourth wedding, in 2002, to David Gest.
The couple divorced in 2007.
“If God is good I’ll go to the next one and possibly the one after that,” Norton joked.
Best newcomer Tinie Tempah, meanwhile, said winning best newcomer was “a really nice way to start the day” which would end “with a bang” when he performed at the Wireless Festival in Hyde Park later.
Asked backstage where he kept all his gongs, the double Brit Award-winner said: “I’ve got so many on my kitchen table ‘cos I’ve nowhere to put them yet but, the minute I get some space, I’m gonna do it up nice.”
McFly won the digital innovation award for their website Sir Paul, who could not attend the event, said his win – decided by public vote – was “phenomenal news”.
The 69-year-old, who has this year played in countries including Peru, Chile and Brazil, begins a US tour on 15 July at the Yankee Stadium in New York.
Canadian stars Arcade Fire were named Ambassadors of Rock, Alfie Boe won the classical award and McFly picked up the digital innovation award for their website.
DJ trio Swedish House Mafia won the international award and Biffy Clyro won best best British band.
Annie Lennox enjoyed global success with Dave Stewart in the Eurythmics with hits including Sweet Dreams before forging a career as a solo singer with songs including Walking on Broken Glass.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Minnelli joked onstage that her award was so heavy that “my new knee is going” Veteran US singer Liza Minnelli has picked up the Icon prize at the Silver Clef awards in central London.
Praising the organisers, music therapy charity Nordoff Robins, she said that when she felt “cranky” she “put some happy music on and it heals me up”.
Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney was named live act of the year while Annie Lennox was recognised for her outstanding contribution to UK music.
Status Quo, meanwhile, picked up the lifetime achievement prize.
“What I wanted to say is I believe in this project more than anything I’ve heard in the last 20 years because I do believe in the healing power of music and even lyrics,” Minnelli, 65, said in her acceptance speech.
“Sometimes a lyric can completely change your mind, which is what this is about.”
Presenting the Icon award to his friend, chat show host Graham Norton said he had been a guest at her fourth wedding, in 2002, to David Gest.
The couple divorced in 2007.
“If God is good I’ll go to the next one and possibly the one after that,” Norton joked.
Best newcomer Tinie Tempah, meanwhile, said winning best newcomer was “a really nice way to start the day” which would end “with a bang” when he performed at the Wireless Festival in Hyde Park later.
Asked backstage where he kept all his gongs, the double Brit Award-winner said: “I’ve got so many on my kitchen table ‘cos I’ve nowhere to put them yet but, the minute I get some space, I’m gonna do it up nice.”
McFly won the digital innovation award for their website Sir Paul, who could not attend the event, said his win – decided by public vote – was “phenomenal news”.
The 69-year-old, who has this year played in countries including Peru, Chile and Brazil, begins a US tour on 15 July at the Yankee Stadium in New York.
Canadian stars Arcade Fire were named Ambassadors of Rock, Alfie Boe won the classical award and McFly picked up the digital innovation award for their website.
DJ trio Swedish House Mafia won the international award and Biffy Clyro won best best British band.
Annie Lennox enjoyed global success with Dave Stewart in the Eurythmics with hits including Sweet Dreams before forging a career as a solo singer with songs including Walking on Broken Glass.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Minnelli joked onstage that her award was so heavy that “my new knee is going” Veteran US singer Liza Minnelli has picked up the Icon prize at the Silver Clef awards in central London.
Praising the organisers, music therapy charity Nordoff Robins, she said that when she felt “cranky” she “put some happy music on and it heals me up”.
Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney was named live act of the year while Annie Lennox was recognised for her outstanding contribution to UK music.
Status Quo, meanwhile, picked up the lifetime achievement prize.
“What I wanted to say is I believe in this project more than anything I’ve heard in the last 20 years because I do believe in the healing power of music and even lyrics,” Minnelli, 65, said in her acceptance speech.
“Sometimes a lyric can completely change your mind, which is what this is about.”
Presenting the Icon award to his friend, chat show host Graham Norton said he had been a guest at her fourth wedding, in 2002, to David Gest.
The couple divorced in 2007.
“If God is good I’ll go to the next one and possibly the one after that,” Norton joked.
Best newcomer Tinie Tempah, meanwhile, said winning best newcomer was “a really nice way to start the day” which would end “with a bang” when he performed at the Wireless Festival in Hyde Park later.
Asked backstage where he kept all his gongs, the double Brit Award-winner said: “I’ve got so many on my kitchen table ‘cos I’ve nowhere to put them yet but, the minute I get some space, I’m gonna do it up nice.”
McFly won the digital innovation award for their website Sir Paul, who could not attend the event, said his win – decided by public vote – was “phenomenal news”.
The 69-year-old, who has this year played in countries including Peru, Chile and Brazil, begins a US tour on 15 July at the Yankee Stadium in New York.
Canadian stars Arcade Fire were named Ambassadors of Rock, Alfie Boe won the classical award and McFly picked up the digital innovation award for their website.
DJ trio Swedish House Mafia won the international award and Biffy Clyro won best best British band.
Annie Lennox enjoyed global success with Dave Stewart in the Eurythmics with hits including Sweet Dreams before forging a career as a solo singer with songs including Walking on Broken Glass.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Britain’s David Haye admits all his achievements in boxing would be forgotten if he loses to heavyweight rival Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Britain’s David Haye admits all his achievements in boxing would be forgotten if he loses to heavyweight rival Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Britain’s David Haye admits all his achievements in boxing would be forgotten if he loses to heavyweight rival Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Mr Chavez ended the speech with the revolutionary slogan: “Forever onward toward victory!”
Venezuela’s army has dismissed concerns about political instability in the country after President Hugo Chavez’s admission that he had cancer surgery.
“The country is calm,” the army chief, Gen Henry Rangel Silva, said.
He said Mr Chavez, who remains in Cuba after the operation, was “getting better” and was still in charge.
Speculation about Mr Chavez’s health had been rife since he left Venezuela three weeks ago for what officials said was an operation on a pelvic abscess.
But in a speech on Thursday, the president – who has been in power for 12 years – revealed he had also had surgery to remove a cancerous tumour.
He added that he was determined to overcome his health battle and was now on the road to “full recovery”.
It is not clear how serious Mr Chavez’s condition is, but the opposition has questioned whether he is still able to run Venezuela from abroad.
“We have seen our comandante thinner than usual but still standing,” Gen Gangel Silva said on Friday.
This was a Hugo Chavez clearly weakened by ill health. His desire to speak to the nation was undimmed, but his voice was much weaker than usual and he had visibly lost weight.
The Cuban and Venezuelan authorities have done well to keep this news under wraps for so long. But questions must be asked about whether concealing such information was the right thing to do.
President Chavez addressed the issue by saying he did not want to bring his supporters on what might be an unhappy journey with him.
Venezuelans are still wondering if the president will return to the country in time for bicentennial celebrations scheduled for Tuesday. But in the longer term, his ill health calls into question his chances of being re-elected for another six-year term in 2012.
His time spent recuperating out of the public eye has highlighted how much government is centred on him and how he lacks an obvious successor.
“The truth is he is getting better, he’s fine,” stressing that there was no threat to Venezuela’s constitutional order.
The army chief added that Mr Chavez’s recovery was “satisfactory” and he would be home “soon”.
Looking much thinner than when he last addressed the nation, Mr Chavez on Thursday confirmed what many had suspected – his health problems were more serious than first thought, says the BBC’s Sarah Grainger in Caracas.
Standing behind a podium, the president said he had made the “fundamental error” of failing to look after himself.
Former Cuban President Fidel Castro had first told him he had looked unwell while he was on a state visit to Havana, he added.
Mr Chavez said he underwent a first operation on a pelvic abscess on 10 June, just as officials had informed the Venezuelan public.
But during his recuperation, tests had “confirmed the existence of a tumour with cancerous cells”, forcing him to undergo another operation. The extraction of the tumour had been “completely successful”, he said.
He added that his condition had been “evolving satisfactorily” while he received a “complementary treatment to combat the different types of cells found, and thereby continue on the path to my full recovery”.
Mr Chavez called it a “new battle that life has placed before us”, and ended the speech with the revolutionary slogan often used by Mr Castro: “Forever onward toward victory! We will be victorious! Until my return!”
The address was aired by the pan-American channel Telesur late on Thursday. It is unclear when it was recorded. Screen captions indicated that he was speaking from Cuba.
Mr Chavez did not say how much longer he expected to remain in Cuba recovering, but our correspondent says everyone hopes he will be back in Venezuela on Tuesday, when it celebrates 200 years of independence.
Send your pictures and videos to [email protected] or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Mr Chavez ended the speech with the revolutionary slogan: “Forever onward toward victory!”
Venezuela’s army has dismissed concerns about political instability in the country after President Hugo Chavez’s admission that he had cancer surgery.
“The country is calm,” the army chief, Gen Henry Rangel Silva, said.
He said Mr Chavez, who remains in Cuba after the operation, was “getting better” and was still in charge.
Speculation about Mr Chavez’s health had been rife since he left Venezuela three weeks ago for what officials said was an operation on a pelvic abscess.
But in a speech on Thursday, the president – who has been in power for 12 years – revealed he had also had surgery to remove a cancerous tumour.
He added that he was determined to overcome his health battle and was now on the road to “full recovery”.
It is not clear how serious Mr Chavez’s condition is, but the opposition has questioned whether he is still able to run Venezuela from abroad.
“We have seen our comandante thinner than usual but still standing,” Gen Gangel Silva said on Friday.
This was a Hugo Chavez clearly weakened by ill health. His desire to speak to the nation was undimmed, but his voice was much weaker than usual and he had visibly lost weight.
The Cuban and Venezuelan authorities have done well to keep this news under wraps for so long. But questions must be asked about whether concealing such information was the right thing to do.
President Chavez addressed the issue by saying he did not want to bring his supporters on what might be an unhappy journey with him.
Venezuelans are still wondering if the president will return to the country in time for bicentennial celebrations scheduled for Tuesday. But in the longer term, his ill health calls into question his chances of being re-elected for another six-year term in 2012.
His time spent recuperating out of the public eye has highlighted how much government is centred on him and how he lacks an obvious successor.
“The truth is he is getting better, he’s fine,” stressing that there was no threat to Venezuela’s constitutional order.
The army chief added that Mr Chavez’s recovery was “satisfactory” and he would be home “soon”.
Looking much thinner than when he last addressed the nation, Mr Chavez on Thursday confirmed what many had suspected – his health problems were more serious than first thought, says the BBC’s Sarah Grainger in Caracas.
Standing behind a podium, the president said he had made the “fundamental error” of failing to look after himself.
Former Cuban President Fidel Castro had first told him he had looked unwell while he was on a state visit to Havana, he added.
Mr Chavez said he underwent a first operation on a pelvic abscess on 10 June, just as officials had informed the Venezuelan public.
But during his recuperation, tests had “confirmed the existence of a tumour with cancerous cells”, forcing him to undergo another operation. The extraction of the tumour had been “completely successful”, he said.
He added that his condition had been “evolving satisfactorily” while he received a “complementary treatment to combat the different types of cells found, and thereby continue on the path to my full recovery”.
Mr Chavez called it a “new battle that life has placed before us”, and ended the speech with the revolutionary slogan often used by Mr Castro: “Forever onward toward victory! We will be victorious! Until my return!”
The address was aired by the pan-American channel Telesur late on Thursday. It is unclear when it was recorded. Screen captions indicated that he was speaking from Cuba.
Mr Chavez did not say how much longer he expected to remain in Cuba recovering, but our correspondent says everyone hopes he will be back in Venezuela on Tuesday, when it celebrates 200 years of independence.
Send your pictures and videos to [email protected] or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Mr Chavez ended the speech with the revolutionary slogan: “Forever onward toward victory!”
Venezuela’s army has dismissed concerns about political instability in the country after President Hugo Chavez’s admission that he had cancer surgery.
“The country is calm,” the army chief, Gen Henry Rangel Silva, said.
He said Mr Chavez, who remains in Cuba after the operation, was “getting better” and was still in charge.
Speculation about Mr Chavez’s health had been rife since he left Venezuela three weeks ago for what officials said was an operation on a pelvic abscess.
But in a speech on Thursday, the president – who has been in power for 12 years – revealed he had also had surgery to remove a cancerous tumour.
He added that he was determined to overcome his health battle and was now on the road to “full recovery”.
It is not clear how serious Mr Chavez’s condition is, but the opposition has questioned whether he is still able to run Venezuela from abroad.
“We have seen our comandante thinner than usual but still standing,” Gen Gangel Silva said on Friday.
This was a Hugo Chavez clearly weakened by ill health. His desire to speak to the nation was undimmed, but his voice was much weaker than usual and he had visibly lost weight.
The Cuban and Venezuelan authorities have done well to keep this news under wraps for so long. But questions must be asked about whether concealing such information was the right thing to do.
President Chavez addressed the issue by saying he did not want to bring his supporters on what might be an unhappy journey with him.
Venezuelans are still wondering if the president will return to the country in time for bicentennial celebrations scheduled for Tuesday. But in the longer term, his ill health calls into question his chances of being re-elected for another six-year term in 2012.
His time spent recuperating out of the public eye has highlighted how much government is centred on him and how he lacks an obvious successor.
“The truth is he is getting better, he’s fine,” stressing that there was no threat to Venezuela’s constitutional order.
The army chief added that Mr Chavez’s recovery was “satisfactory” and he would be home “soon”.
Looking much thinner than when he last addressed the nation, Mr Chavez on Thursday confirmed what many had suspected – his health problems were more serious than first thought, says the BBC’s Sarah Grainger in Caracas.
Standing behind a podium, the president said he had made the “fundamental error” of failing to look after himself.
Former Cuban President Fidel Castro had first told him he had looked unwell while he was on a state visit to Havana, he added.
Mr Chavez said he underwent a first operation on a pelvic abscess on 10 June, just as officials had informed the Venezuelan public.
But during his recuperation, tests had “confirmed the existence of a tumour with cancerous cells”, forcing him to undergo another operation. The extraction of the tumour had been “completely successful”, he said.
He added that his condition had been “evolving satisfactorily” while he received a “complementary treatment to combat the different types of cells found, and thereby continue on the path to my full recovery”.
Mr Chavez called it a “new battle that life has placed before us”, and ended the speech with the revolutionary slogan often used by Mr Castro: “Forever onward toward victory! We will be victorious! Until my return!”
The address was aired by the pan-American channel Telesur late on Thursday. It is unclear when it was recorded. Screen captions indicated that he was speaking from Cuba.
Mr Chavez did not say how much longer he expected to remain in Cuba recovering, but our correspondent says everyone hopes he will be back in Venezuela on Tuesday, when it celebrates 200 years of independence.
Send your pictures and videos to [email protected] or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Richard Taylor looks at the businesses offering to put films in your home on the same day as cinematic release.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Richard Taylor looks at the businesses offering to put films in your home on the same day as cinematic release.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Richard Taylor looks at the businesses offering to put films in your home on the same day as cinematic release.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
There will be more competition for students in the changing system Two English universities are actively considering becoming private institutions, research suggests.
This would mean they would no longer get direct funding for research or teaching from the government.
The government has said it wants to open up the system to private providers of higher education.
The two universities, which have not been named, took part in a survey of vice chancellors by management consultants PA Consulting Group.
The authors of the survey say the institutions are not part of the Russell Group, which represents some of the UK’s leading universities.
They contacted the vice chancellors of 165 universities and received responses from 65.
The authors say a “substantial minority” of institutions (just over 20 of those which responded) want to minimise their dependence on government-controlled activities.
Co-author Mike Boxall said there were probably more than two institutions which were actively looking at whether to go private.
“It’s probably on the top of the agenda for a number of universities,” he said.
“It’s in the public domain that the LSE has actively considered it. There are probably more than [the two universities] for whom it will be an active thing.
“It’s more about universities looking at widening their base and thinking about where to build their business.
“The publicly-regulated area is not offering a lot of growth for universities.”
The Universities Minister David Willetts has talked of wanting to “open up the system” and the higher education White Paper, published earlier this week, sets out ways the government aims to do that.
Private institutions are being encouraged to compete with publicly-funded institutions to offer places.
In total, a quarter of all undergraduate university places will be up for grabs – unlike the present system where individual institutions are given funding for a set allocation of places.
New legislation will allow students to borrow the maximum annual undergraduate tuition fee of £9,000 as long as the institution (publicly-funded or private) agrees to abide by regulations on fair access, quality and student complaints.
Changes to university funding mean teaching grants are being largely cut. Funding is expected to come more directly from students and their increased tuition fees.
Critics say this will mean departments – and even universities – closing, and ministers have said that they accept some institutions might fail.
Two universities which took part in the survey said they feared they might not exist in ten years’ time.
The researchers at the PA Consulting Group said some universities were “still distinctly nervous”, with 11 out of the 65 which took part in the survey saying they were concerned about shortages of investment funds and staff.
And about 20 of the universities said they expected the increase in tuition fees to lead to a “significant reduction in student demand”.
Overall, Mr Boxall said that after a period of anger and upheaval over the changes in higher education, many universities were now “feeling quite bullish”.
“After a lot of change in the cost structure, a number are feeling that they have come out the other side. A lot of institutions have a lot of cash and a big chunk of the sector is in good shape.”
He said institutions were looking at various growth strategies, particularly further expansion into the international market.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
There will be more competition for students in the changing system Two English universities are actively considering becoming private institutions, research suggests.
This would mean they would no longer get direct funding for research or teaching from the government.
The government has said it wants to open up the system to private providers of higher education.
The two universities, which have not been named, took part in a survey of vice chancellors by management consultants PA Consulting Group.
The authors of the survey say the institutions are not part of the Russell Group, which represents some of the UK’s leading universities.
They contacted the vice chancellors of 165 universities and received responses from 65.
The authors say a “substantial minority” of institutions (just over 20 of those which responded) want to minimise their dependence on government-controlled activities.
Co-author Mike Boxall said there were probably more than two institutions which were actively looking at whether to go private.
“It’s probably on the top of the agenda for a number of universities,” he said.
“It’s in the public domain that the LSE has actively considered it. There are probably more than [the two universities] for whom it will be an active thing.
“It’s more about universities looking at widening their base and thinking about where to build their business.
“The publicly-regulated area is not offering a lot of growth for universities.”
The Universities Minister David Willetts has talked of wanting to “open up the system” and the higher education White Paper, published earlier this week, sets out ways the government aims to do that.
Private institutions are being encouraged to compete with publicly-funded institutions to offer places.
In total, a quarter of all undergraduate university places will be up for grabs – unlike the present system where individual institutions are given funding for a set allocation of places.
New legislation will allow students to borrow the maximum annual undergraduate tuition fee of £9,000 as long as the institution (publicly-funded or private) agrees to abide by regulations on fair access, quality and student complaints.
Changes to university funding mean teaching grants are being largely cut. Funding is expected to come more directly from students and their increased tuition fees.
Critics say this will mean departments – and even universities – closing, and ministers have said that they accept some institutions might fail.
Two universities which took part in the survey said they feared they might not exist in ten years’ time.
The researchers at the PA Consulting Group said some universities were “still distinctly nervous”, with 11 out of the 65 which took part in the survey saying they were concerned about shortages of investment funds and staff.
And about 20 of the universities said they expected the increase in tuition fees to lead to a “significant reduction in student demand”.
Overall, Mr Boxall said that after a period of anger and upheaval over the changes in higher education, many universities were now “feeling quite bullish”.
“After a lot of change in the cost structure, a number are feeling that they have come out the other side. A lot of institutions have a lot of cash and a big chunk of the sector is in good shape.”
He said institutions were looking at various growth strategies, particularly further expansion into the international market.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.