timesofmalta.com

Amphibious bus sinks in Liverpool

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 15:25:00 +0200

A popular tourist boat sank in Liverpool yesterday, local media reported. The amphibious Yellow Duckmarine vessel carrying more than 30 people, including children, went under at Liverpool's Albert Dock. Passengers were thrown into the water and either had to be rescued or swim to safety, according to local reports. No one was seriously hurt, and an investigation has been launched into the incident. It is the second sinking incident in three months for the yellow vehicles.

Black Sabbath top British album chart again - after 43 years

Reuters — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 20:42:00 +0200

The British rock band Black Sabbath's album "13!" has given them a first British Number One album in nearly 43 years, a record interval between chart-toppers, the Official Charts Company said. Black Sabbath were last at the top of the UK chart with their second album, "Paranoid". "I'm in shock!" Black Sabbath front man Ozzy Osbourne told the Official Charts Company. "The success of this album has blown me off my feet. We've never had a record climb the charts so fast." The band saw off competition from Liam Gallagher's band Beady Eye, in second place with "BE". In the singles chart, American R&B singer Robin Thicke made it three weeks on top with "Blurred Lines". The song, featuring rapper TI and Pharrell Williams, has sold over 580,000 copies, making it the fifth-best selling single of 2013. "La La La" by the British rapper Naughty Boy, featuring singer Sam Smith, remained in the number two spot.

'Happy Birthday to You' belongs to us all, lawsuit says

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:53:00 +0200

"Happy Birthday to You," the ditty sung around the world in tribute to everyone from toddlers to centenarians, belongs to the public, according to a lawsuit filed on Thursday. The proposed class action asks a federal court to declare the song to be in the public domain and that Warner/Chappel Music Inc, the music publishing arm of Warner Music Group, return "millions of dollars of unlawful licensing fees" it has collected for reproductions and public performances of the song. "More than 120 years after the melody to which the simple lyrics of 'Happy Birthday to You' is set was first published, defendant Warner/Chappell boldly, but wrongfully and unlawfully, insists that it owns the copyright to 'Happy Birthday to You,'" the lawsuit said. A representative of Warner/Chappell was not immediately available to comment on the lawsuit. The plaintiff is Good Morning To You Productions Corp, a New York company that says it is making a documentary about the song. Facing a penalty of $150,000 if it used "Happy Birthday" without permission, the company said it paid a $1,500 licensing fee in March. Warner/Chappell has collected at least $2 million annually in licensing fees for the song,...