JK Rowling announces title of first adult novel

Author JK Rowling has announced her first adult novel will be called The Casual Vacancy.

The Harry Potter writer revealed in February that she was working on the book, and said it would be "very different" from her previous material.

London Police Dismantle 'Occupy' Protest

British authorities have evicted dozens of "Occupy London" protesters from the courtyard of St. Paul's Cathedral, where the anti-capitalist activists had held continuous demonstrations since October.

City officials accompanied by riot police dismantled about 50 tents at the makeshift campsite outside the world-famous cathedral early Tuesday.

Pop queen Whitney Houston dies at 48

American singer and actress Whitney Houston has died in Los Angeles at the age of 48.

Police said she died in her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where she had been staying as a guest.

Houston was one of the most celebrated female singers of all time, with hits including I Will Always Love You and Saving All My Love For You.

But her later career was overshadowed by substance abuse and her turbulent marriage to singer Bobby Brown.

Ms Houston died on the eve of the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. She had been due to attend a pre-awards party in the Beverly Hilton Hotel organised by her long-time mentor and record industry executive Clive Davis on Saturday evening.

He went ahead with the party, holding a minute's silence and telling the audience he was "personally devastated by the loss of someone who has meant so much to me for so many years".

The hotel was already teeming with reporters and celebrities when police received an emergency call from hotel security at 15.43 local time (23:43 GMT), Beverly Hills police spokesman Mark Rosen told the BBC.

Police were despatched, but paramedics who were already at the hotel because of the party attempted to resuscitate her, without success. She was pronounced dead at 15:55.

Mr Rosen said Ms Houston's entourage - comprising family members, friends and co-workers - had taken over much of the fourth floor of the hotel.

At the scene

"There were a number of people on scene who were able to positively identify Ms Houston for us," he said, adding that her next of kin have been informed of her death.

Police investigators inspected the scene before Ms Houston's body was moved from the hotel to the coroner's office for an autopsy.

While the cause of death is unclear, Mr Rosen said there were "no obvious signs of criminal intent".

The US celebrity website TMZ.com reported that Ms Houston had been partying heavily on both Thursday and Friday nights.

She briefly took the microphone and performed a song while out in Hollywood on Thursday, and was seen drinking and chatting loudly with friends in the hotel bar on Friday, according to TMZ.

'Finest voice'

Houston's background was steeped in soul and gospel music.

Her mother was gospel singer Cissy Houston, she was cousin to singer Dionne Warwick and goddaughter to Aretha Franklin.

"I just can't talk about it now," Ms Franklin said in a short statement. "It's so stunning and unbelievable. I couldn't believe what I was reading coming across the TV screen."

Having grown up in New Jersey, Houston began singing in church and then in the night clubs of New York, and was a model before being signed by Arista Records.

At the height of her career in the 1980s and 90s she won many awards and enjoyed several number one singles and albums.

Artists from Mariah Carey to Christina Aguilera have tried to emulate her bravura performances, but none of them were as good as the original, music critic Paul Gambaccini told the BBC.

Houston also enjoyed success acting in blockbuster films such as The Bodyguard and Waiting to Exhale.

In recent years drug use took its toll on the star and her voice - once acknowledged as one of the finest in pop music - was badly damaged.

"She did have it all, but the record is there of the decline into drug use and the damage done from drug use," said Gambaccini.

Her marriage to Brown, with whom she had a daughter, Bobbi Kristina, ended in divorce in 2007. The marriage had been a tempestuous one, with allegations of domestic abuse as well as drug addiction.

"The biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy,'' Houston told ABC's Diane Sawyer in a 2002 interview.

Ms Houston was strongly linked to the Grammys - having won six awards herself over the years. Organisers of Sunday's ceremony said she would be remembered in a special tribute by singer Jennifer Hudson.

Civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton said that on the morning of the Grammys, "the world should pause and pray for the memory of a gifted songbird".

Country singer Dolly Parton - who wrote one one of her most memorable hits, I Will Always Love You - said in a statement: "Mine is only one of the millions of hearts broken over the death of Whitney Houston."

"I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song, and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, 'Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed'."

http://www.bbc.co.uk

Bamboo mobile phone to be launched by British student

A 23-year-old design student from Middlesex University is to launch a mobile phone made largely from bamboo. 

The new smartphone, called ‘ADzero’, is expected to launch later this year. Made from four-year-old organically grown bamboo that has been treated to improve its durability, the phone runs Google’s Android operating system.

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee: 60 years in video

On Monday, Queen Elizabeth II marks the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne. A small proportion of Her Majesty’s subjects may recall the reign of her father, or even her uncle and her grandfather. But for the vast majority, the Queen is the only head of state they have known – a constant companion through their entire lives, the still point of an often turbulent world.

British police beat back protesters storming Syrian Embassy

LONDON—Demonstrators have stormed six Syrian embassies in Europe and the Middle East after Syrian forces reportedly killed more than 200 people in the city of Homs.

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Militants plead guilty to terrorist plot to bomb on London Stock Exchange, U.S. Embassy: authorities

Four British nationals inspired by Al Qaeda have plead guilty to plotting an attack on the the U.S. Embassy in London, as well as the London Stock Exchange, authorities said on Wednesday.
The group were also planning to kill the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, The Telegraph reported.
The four men - Mohammed Chowdhury, 21; Shah Rahman, 29; Gurukanth Desai, 30; and Abdul Miah, 25 - were among nine defendants facing trial in London over the alleged terror plot. They were arrested in December 2010.

Kate Middleton, Prince William Adopt Cocker Spaniel Puppy!

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are officially parents -- to a cocker spaniel puppy, that is.