Today's other stories in brief
Jazz singer Lena Horne dies aged 92
NEW YORK – Lena Horne, an electrifying performer who shattered racial boundaries in Hollywood and who enjoyed a six-decade singing career on stage, television and in films, died on Sunday aged 92 at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
Horne, once considered one of the world’s most beautiful women, was the first black woman to sign a meaningful long-term contract with a major studio, which said she would never have to play a maid.
She appeared alongside white entertainers such as Gene Kelly, Lucille Ball, Mickey Rooney and Red Skelton, but was segregated onscreen so producers could clip out her singing when the movies ran in the South. – (Bloomberg)
Forty killed in Pakistan ambush
KALAYA, Pakistan – Ten soldiers and 30 Taliban militants were killed yesterday after the militants ambushed a military search team in Pakistan’s Orakzai region.
Pakistan has mounted an anti-militant drive in the northwestern region in recent weeks after al-Qaeda-linked militants were largely rooted out from their strongholds in the tribal lands near the Afghan border and Swat over the past year. – (Reuters)
Turkish opposition chief steps down
ANKARA – Deniz Baykal, the leader of Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party, resigned yesterday saying he was the victim of a conspiracy after the release of a videotape on the internet purporting to show him and a woman in a bedroom.
The party has threatened to block reforms proposed by the ruling AK Party. – (Reuters)