The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz
The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz |
| Madonna sells abstract painting to fund girls’ education Posted: 04 Apr 2013 02:28 AM PDT
The singer said she was selling the painting, "Trois Femmes a la table rouge", to raise funds for girls' education projects in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries where female education is rare or non-existent. The move comes as Madonna is in Malawi, southern Africa, home of her two adopted children, where her plans to build 10 schools have sparked controversy over costs and mismanagement and a project for a school for 400 girls collapsed last year. Madonna, 54, said selling the 1921 painting, that she bought at auction in 1990, combines her passions for art and education by raising funds for the Ray of Light Foundation. "I cannot accept a world where women or girls are wounded, shot or killed for either going to school or teaching in girls' schools. We don't have time to be complacent," Madonna said in a statement. "I want to trade something valuable for something invaluable - Educating Girls!" The painting will be auctioned by Sotheby's in New York during an Impressionist and Modern Art sale on May 7. Madonna is not the only star seeking to take a role in boosting girls' education in developing countries. Earlier this week actress Angelina Jolie opened a girls' school in Afghanistan and announced plans to fund more by selling a jewellery line. Oprah has also been involved with building a school in South Africa although that project ran into trouble with a staff member arrested on charges of assault and abuse of students. — Reuters |
| US film critic Roger Ebert says cancer has returned Posted: 04 Apr 2013 02:13 AM PDT
Ebert, 70, known for his rhetorical power and prolific output, said he will undergo radiation treatment that will force him to take time away from his job. "I must slow down now, which is why I'm taking what I like to call 'a leave of presence,'" Ebert said in a blog entry posted late on Tuesday, adding that he would scale back his workload. Ebert, who had lost his ability to speak and eat after surgeries for thyroid and salivary gland cancer in 2002 and 2003, said the cancer was discovered by doctors after he fractured his hip in December. "The 'painful fracture' that made it difficult for me to walk has recently been revealed to be a cancer," Ebert said, giving no further details about the type of cancer or diagnosis. "I am not going away," Ebert said. "My intent is to continue to write selected reviews ... What's more, I'll be able at last to do what I've always fantasized about doing: reviewing only the movies I want to review." The Chicago resident said he also would take time to write about his illness. Ebert, whose reviews are syndicated to more than 200 newspapers, has been reviewing films for the Chicago Sun-Times since 1967. He won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 1975. He gained national prominence with the late Gene Siskel on the television show "At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert," coining the phrase "Two Thumbs Up," until Siskel's death in 1999. He later teamed with critic Richard Roeper but quit for health reasons. Forbes dubbed Ebert the most powerful pundit in America in 2007. — Reuters |
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