I N T E R N A T I O N A L
I N T E R N A T I O N A L
16 Pages Number 113 7th year
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Thursday, May 28, 2015
Nielsen survey says Liam Neeson is big ad man
NEW YORK — Ad executives looking for a celebrity to endorse their product can’t do much better than actor Liam Neeson.
en intends to offer marketers detailed information about the personalities and
That’s the conclusion of the Nielsen company, which looked at celebrities who made commercials during the first three months of the year and ranked them with a calculation that takes into account likability, public awareness, influence and other factors. Its first “NScores” were released Tuesday. Neeson and Pierce Brosnan had identical scores of 94, although Neeson was judged to have a greater influence in getting products sold. By looking at the effectiveness of celebrity pitchmen, the company best known for television ratings will now compete with Marketing Evaluations Inc., a company that produces the betterknown Q Score, a measurement of public attitudes toward wellknown figures. Besides attaching scores to celebrity endorsers, Niels-
habits of people who respond well to each celebrity so they can better match pitchmen and products, said Chad Dreas, Nielsen’s managing director of media analytics. “What do they buy? Where do they shop? What do they watch?” said Dreas, describing the details Nielsen intends to sell. Neeson, who has been featured in an ad for Supercell Games, is viewed positively by 78 percent of Americans who know him, Nielsen said. Brosnan and Matthew McConaughey, both featured in car commercials recently, also scored well in Nielsens’ measurement. Jeff Bridges stood out among celebrities for the amount of influence he carried with his fans, Nielsen said. Other celebs with recent ads that scored well in Nielsen’s measurement were Jennifer Garner, Natalie Portman, Sofia Vergara, Jim Parsons, Dennis Haysbert and J.K. Simmons. (ap)
Actor Sam Shepard arrested for drunken driving in Santa Fe
AP Photo/Charles Sykes, File
SANTA FE, N.M. — Actor and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sam Shepard was arrested Monday on suspicion of drunken driving after a Santa Fe restaurant’s security complained about a possibly intoxicated driver. The 71-year-old Shepard told a police officer that he had two tequila drinks and was planning to drive home, Santa Fe police Lt. Andrea Dobyns said Tuesday. “Our officer could smell alcohol on his breath, and he had bloodshot, watery eyes,” she said. Shepard was arrested on a charge of aggravated driving while intoxicated outside La Choza restaurant in downtown. The restaurant’s secu-
rity called police about 7:45 p.m. Monday concerned about an intoxicated driver, Dobyns said. The man was trying to leave in the pickup, but the vehicle’s emergency brake was engaged. Shepherd declined to take a breath test, but he did perform a field sobriety test, which he failed, Dobyns said. It wasn’t immediately clear if Shepard had an attorney. Santa Fe jail records show that Shepard was released Tuesday afternoon after posting bail. The office of Shepard’s agent said Tuesday that it had no comment. Shepard won the Pulitzer Prize in 1979 for his play “Buried Child.” His film credits, among others, include “Country,” ‘’Baby Boom,” ‘’Steel Magnolias,” ‘’Thunderheart,” ‘’Black Hawk Down,” ‘’The Notebook,” and “Walker Payne.” (ap)
Entertainment
Vegas police deny probe into B.B. King poison claims
LOS ANGELES - B.B. King’s estate dismissed as “baseless” Tuesday claims by the late music icon’s daughters that he was poisoned, as police said they were not investigating the charges. Coroners said they have so far found no evidence of foul play in the death of the blues legend at aged 89 earlier this month, although they are looking into the claims. King died on May 14 in Las Vegas, where he lived while he kept up a grueling schedule of tours that ended only last year. King suffered from Type II diabetes for the last two decades of his life. Two of his daughters -- Karen Williams and Patty King -- have alleged he was poisoned by his business manager and estate executor LaVerne Toney and his personal assistant, E! entertainment news website reported. “I believe my father was poisoned and that he was administrated foreign substances to induce his premature death,” the daughters wrote in separate but identical affidavits, E! online said. “(I) request a formal investigation into this matter,” the court documents said, according to the site. But an attorney for King’s estate, Brent Bryson, dismissed the daughters’ accusations as ridiculous and defamatory on Monday, and followed up with a new statement on Tuesday. “The allegations are baseless and unfounded and are unsupported in reality,” he said, citing three independent doctors who evaluated King in the days before his death. Dr Darin Brimhall, described as King’s primary care physician for several years, was quoted as saying in the days before his death: “There is no action being taken to hasten the demise of Mr King.” On the contrary, “every effort is being made to make Mr King comfortable and supply him with his regular medication and nourishment.” The lawyer said: “Unfortunately even music icons die. Ms Toney did everything she could to carry out the wishes of Mr King while he was alive, and continues to carry out Mr King’s wishes after his death. “I hope over these next few days we can focus on Mr King’s musical gifts to the world, and not fictional statements made by those seeking attention at the expense of Mr King,” said the statement. The Clark County Coroner’s Office, which covers Las Vegas, said Monday that it was investigating the claims along with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD). “At this point we don’t have evidence that these allegations of foul play will be substantiated,” said Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg. “However we are taking them very seriously and will be conducting a thorough investigation” in coordination with police, he added. (afp)
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Thursday, May 28, 2015 Buddhists in Myanmar deny boat people are Rohingya
Swiss arrest top global soccer officials in U.S., Swiss corruption cases
UN: Fewer hungry people in the world despite wars, poverty
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A laborer pushes his children on a handcart back towards his workplace during a break, past parched fields on a hot summer day in Ghasera, in the outskirts of New Delhi, India, Wednesday, May 27, 2015.
AP Photo/Saurabh Das
Deaths from major heatwave sweeping India top 1,100 HYDERABAD - More than 1,100 people have died in a blistering heatwave sweeping India, authorities said Wednesday, as forecasters warned searing temperatures would continue. Southern India has borne the brunt of the hot, dry conditions and many of the victims are construction workers, elderly or homeless people unable to heed official advice to stay indoors. In the worst-hit state of Andhra Pradesh nearly 900 people have died since May 18 -- double the total number of heat-related deaths last summer, authorities said. In neighbouring Telangana, where temperatures hit 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) over the weekend, more than 200 people have died in the last week compared to 31 in the whole of last year. In New Delhi, forecasters said they expected the high temperatures to continue into next week -- adding
to the misery of the thousands of poor living on the capital’s streets with little shelter from the hot sun. Residents of Gurgaon -- a high-rise satellite city that is home to many of the capital’s workers -- suffered power cuts of up to 10 hours a day as the electricity grid struggled to cope with the demand from millions of air conditioners. “Nothing is working -- even after taking half a dozen baths a day, you can’t beat the heat,” 34-year-old shop owner Manish Singh told AFP in Gurgaon. “We try to spend more time indoors to avoid heatstroke. It’s worse than previous years -- we hardly get any electricity and the air conditioners become useless.”
India’s power industry has long struggled to meet rapidly rising demand in Asia’s third-largest economy, which is plagued by poorly maintained transmission lines and overloaded grids. The streets of Gurgaon were largely deserted on Wednesday, while the few people brave enough to venture outdoors covered their heads to protect them from the strong sun. Sugarcane juice stalls were doing a brisk trade as construction workers and rickshaw pullers desperately tried to quench their thirst. Elsewhere volunteers were giving out cold drinks to motorists stuck in traffic. Brahma Prakash Yadav, director of the Indian Meteorological Department, said top temperatures in the capital would remain around 45 degrees Celsius -- the national benchmark for a heatwave.
“Maximum temperatures won’t fall substantially. However, major relief can be expected from June 2 as there are indications of good showers,” he said. Hospitals in the worst-affected states were on alert to treat victims of heatstroke and authorities advised people to stay indoors and drink plenty of water. Hundreds of people -- mainly from the poorest sections of society -- die at the height of summer every year across India, while tens of thousands suffer power cuts from an overburdened electricity grid. Eleven people were confirmed to have died in the eastern state of Orissa and another 13 succumbed to the heat in neighbouring West Bengal, where unions urged drivers to stay off the roads during the day. One person was killed in the western state of Maharashtra, where
authorities said they did not expect conditions to improve until the arrival of monsoon rains in June. The Hindustan Times warned that some of the hot, dry conditions could plunge the worst-affected states into drought before monsoon rains arrive. The monsoon is forecast to hit the southern state of Kerala towards the end of this month before sweeping across the country, but it will be weeks before the rains reach the arid plains. (afp) News can also be heard in “Bali Image” at Global Radio FM 96.5 from 9.30 until 10.00 am. Listen to Global Radio FM at http:// globalfmbali.listen2myradio.com or live video streaming at http://radioglobalfmbali.com and http:// ustream.tv/channel/global-fm-bali.