Michael Jackson in talks to avoid loan default

LOS ANGELES – Lawyers for Michael Jackson and a key creditor are in talks to keep the pop star from defaulting on US$200 million in loans secured by his prized stake in the Beatles’ song catalog, an attorney for the singer said on Monday.

A default on the loans, which were due yesterday and are held by the Fortress Investment Group, would allow the New York private equity fund to seize Jackson’s 50-percent interest in Beatles publishing rights valued at some US$500 million. Britney Spears sues magazine for libel LOS ANGELES – Pop star Britney Spears sued Us Weekly for libel on Monday, accusing the magazine of fabricating a story that she and her husband made a sexually explicit video together and worried it might be made public.The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by Spears and her spouse, dancer Kevin Federline, seeks US$10 million in damages against the magazine over the story, which ran in the publication’s “HOTstuff” column in October.Iglesias senior, father of crooner Julio, dies at 90 MADRID – Julio Iglesias Puga, father of crooner Julio Iglesias and grandfather of pop heartthrob Enrique Iglesias, died on Monday aged 90, a Spanish hospital said.He was in the news in recent weeks when Hola magazine said his 42-year-old wife Ronna Keith was pregnant with their second child.Likud appoints Netanyahu as new leader JERUSALEM – Support for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s new centrist Kadima party has been unaffected by his recent stroke, according to two opinion polls published yesterday.The polls also make grim reading for Sharon’s old Likud party, which has just elected former premier Benjamin Netanyahu as its new leader, predicting that it will retain barely a third of the seats it won in 2003 when a general election is held on March 28.The survey for the Maariv newspaper forecast that Kadima would win 42 of the 120 seats, against 22 for the centre-left Labour party while Likud should win 13.A similar poll for the the top-selling Yediot Aharonot newspaper said Kadima would win 39 seats, Labour 21 and Likud 13.The figures are largely in line with the results of surveys conducted before Sharon suffered the stroke on Sunday night.Asked in the Yediot survey whether Sharon’s stroke would affect the choice of party, 91 percent said no while the remainder were split on whether it would make them more or less likely to vote Kadima.The party, established by Sharon after he quit Likud on November 21, is widely perceived as a one-man band and commentators believe its support would nosedive if the prime minister were to be incapacitated.Talking John Lennon doll LOS ANGELES – Imagine this: a talking John Lennon doll.The Web site for the National Entertainment Collectibles Association (http://www.necaonline.com) has unveiled pictures of a new John Lennon action figure that is expected to arrive in stores in the spring.- Nampa-Reuters-AFPBritney Spears sues magazine for libel LOS ANGELES – Pop star Britney Spears sued Us Weekly for libel on Monday, accusing the magazine of fabricating a story that she and her husband made a sexually explicit video together and worried it might be made public.The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by Spears and her spouse, dancer Kevin Federline, seeks US$10 million in damages against the magazine over the story, which ran in the publication’s “HOTstuff” column in October.Iglesias senior, father of crooner Julio, dies at 90 MADRID – Julio Iglesias Puga, father of crooner Julio Iglesias and grandfather of pop heartthrob Enrique Iglesias, died on Monday aged 90, a Spanish hospital said.He was in the news in recent weeks when Hola magazine said his 42-year-old wife Ronna Keith was pregnant with their second child.Likud appoints Netanyahu as new leader JERUSALEM – Support for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s new centrist Kadima party has been unaffected by his recent stroke, according to two opinion polls published yesterday.The polls also make grim reading for Sharon’s old Likud party, which has just elected former premier Benjamin Netanyahu as its new leader, predicting that it will retain barely a third of the seats it won in 2003 when a general election is held on March 28.The survey for the Maariv newspaper forecast that Kadima would win 42 of the 120 seats, against 22 for the centre-left Labour party while Likud should win 13.A similar poll for the the top-selling Yediot Aharonot newspaper said Kadima would win 39 seats, Labour 21 and Likud 13.The figures are largely in line with the results of surveys conducted before Sharon suffered the stroke on Sunday night.Asked in the Yediot survey whether Sharon’s stroke would affect the choice of party, 91 percent said no while the remainder were split on whether it would make them more or less likely to vote Kadima.The party, established by Sharon after he quit Likud on November 21, is widely perceived as a one-man band and commentators believe its support would nosedive if the prime minister were to be incapacitated.Talking John Lennon doll LOS ANGELES – Imagine this: a talking John Lennon doll.The Web site for the National Entertainment Collectibles Association (http://www.necaonline.com) has unveiled pictures of a new John Lennon action figure that is expected to arrive in stores in the spring.- Nampa-Reuters-AFP