The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum dedicated a time capsule in honour of John Lennon containing several CDs, DVDs and books and two notes written by widow Yoko Ono.
The stainless steel capsule dedicated last Friday, the eve of what would have been Lennon’s 70th birthday, will be kept in the Cleveland museum’s archives at a nearby college campus.
Assistant curator Meredith Rutledge told The Plain Dealer that the goal of the capsule was to preserve the “legacy of peace and love” of the former Beatles member.
About 100 people attended the dedication, which marks the start of a weekend of events in honour of Lennon’s birthday.
The capsule is scheduled to be opened in 2040, on what would have been Lennon’s 100th birthday.
Lennon was killed in 1980 outside the New York City apartment building where he lived. (PA)
Ninth plane victim found
A ninth victim has been found in a lake in the Bahamas where a small plane crashed earlier last week, according to authorities who say they believe a 10th passenger is also missing.
Police initially said only eight people were aboard the twin-engine Cessna, but the pilot did not report that anyone was aboard when he took off last Tuesday, making it hard to determine how many people died.
Police said yesterday they were searching for another victim after finding a passport from a Jamaican man. indict Linhart on graffiti charges.
He pleaded not guilty to resisting arrest and weapons possession. Authorities said he had a knife and ice pick. (PA)
Lovelorn Madonna fan ordered to stay 10 blocks away
A fan who was arrested while proclaiming his love for Madonna near her New York City apartment was told to stay at least 10 blocks away.
A judge made that condition as he set bail at $20,000 for Robert Linhart.
The 59-year-old retired firefighter was arrested last month.
Authorities said he scrawled messages of adoration for the Crazy for You and Material Girl singer outside her apartment building near Manhattan’s Central Park.
Linhart’s lawyer said the messages weren’t threatening – just signs of being a fan.
A grand jury declined to indict Linhart on graffiti charges.
He pleaded not guilty to resisting arrest and weapons possession. Authorities said he had a knife and ice pick. (PA)
Taiwan President congratules Nobel Peace Prize winner
Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou called on China to improve its human rights record while congratulating Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo for winning the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.
But in a message, Mr Ma stopped short of calling for Liu’s release from prison, presumably to avoid irking China and hurt his own efforts to improve relations with the communist government.
Mr Liu was sentenced last year to 11 years in prison on subversion charges after he co-authored a document calling for greater freedom, among other activism.
Under Mr Ma’s two-year efforts for rapprochement, tensions between Taiwan and China have dropped to their lowest level since the two sides split amid civil war in 1949. (PA)
Death toll rises after floods
Devastating floods continued to plague central Vietnam with the death toll rising to 62 and an estimated 100,000 people facing food shortages.
The floods and storms control committee said on its website that 14 bodies were recovered over the past two days, and the search continues for 20 others still missing.
Disaster official Nguyen Ngoc Giai said that in the worst-hit province of Quang Binh, where 42 people died and another 17 remain missing, authorities were scurrying to deliver aid to victims.
The website said the flood has caused an estimated damage of 2.2 trillion dong ($110 million) in infrastructure and agricultural crops.
No rains were reported in the region yesterday. (PA)
Pacino to play Phil Spector
Al Pacino is set to star as legendary record producer Phil Spector in a TV film to be written and directed by David Mamet, TV channel HBO said.
The film will tell the story of Spector, who long ago recorded such acts as the Beatles, Cher and the Ramones.
Now, at age 70, he is serving a prison sentence of 19 years to life for murder. He was convicted for the 2003 shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson.
The 70-year-old Pacino starred in the HBO film You Don’t Know Jack earlier this year as Jack Kevorkian, who served time in prison for assisting in the suicide of a terminally ill man.
The as-yet-untitled Spector film is in the early stages of development, HBO said. The project was first reported by The New York Times. (PA)