By ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS, Associated Press Writer 8 minutes ago

DAVOS, Switzerland - Microsoft chairman Bill Gates announced Friday at the World Economic Forum that his foundation would give $306 million to use green technology and farming techniques to boost millions out of hunger and poverty.

The announcement by Gates, who is a long-time favorite speaker at the annual meeting of business and government leaders, injected a shot of optimism into the gathering which had been weighed down the first two days by fears of a global economic downturn.

Gates, who is stepping down as Microsoft chair later this year and expected to focus more on philanthropy, received a standing ovation at the suggestion of anti-poverty campaigner and U2 frontman Bono.

“It’s a very special moment in time, I think, for Davos, and people here,” said Bono. “This is Bill Gates’ last trip to Davos as Microsoft leader and I think it is an extraordinary thing that this man has not just changed the world once, but has now set aside the next act of his life to change the world again, and I think we should just mark this moment.”

Gates said the foundation set up by him and his wife, Melinda would give the money to help millions of African farmers feed themselves and others and work their way out of poverty in a new green revolution using targeted technology and training.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has concentrated on improving health in poor parts of the world, has decided it is time to improve agriculture, he told reporters.

“Why do we think agriculture is so important?” said Gates. “Of the billion people who live on less than $1 a day, three-quarters are small farmers. And often it is actually the woman who is doing her best to both create crops for eating and earn some cash to buy other things.”

Gates on Thursday urged business to work with governments and nonprofit groups in a new kind of capitalism to stem global poverty and spur more technological innovation for those left behind.

But despite the optimism, economic turbulence still lingered over the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting.

Indian Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said that the threat of a global slowdown would hurt his country, one of Asia’s biggest economies.

A “slowdown is a precursor to a recession and I think that is worrying,” he said. “It is especially worrying to developing countries like India.”

The first two days of discussions in the five-day annual meeting of 2,500 leaders were devoted largely to what might be done to stave off recession and combat terrorism and conflict in global hotspots like Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Middle East.

On Thursday the forum challenged — and heard challenges from — leaders from the Middle East and South Asia, with Israel’s foreign minister calling directly on global business leaders to pull their money out of Iran, and participants voicing concern that elections under Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf would not be free and fair.

Musharraf, on a European tour to build confidence after months of political turmoil at home, told business and government leaders that the elections would be transparent.

He brushed off complaints about human rights, saying that combating illiteracy and poverty and fostering political stability were far more important if his country was to eliminate terrorism.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni urged the leaders to take a personal stand against Iran’s leadership by divesting from the country.

“Iran exports terrorism, destabilizes the region, denies the Holocaust and threatens to wipe Israel, my home, off the map,” said Livni, referring to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s frequent calls for the elimination of Jewish state.

“If every company here and every country here would decide to divest from Iran, this would stop Iran,” she said. “Iran is a global threat and Iran can be stopped by you.”

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Associated Press writers Matt Moore, Bradley S. Klapper, Edith M. Lederer, Paul Haven, Dan Perry and George Jahn contributed to this report.

8 minutes ago

LONDON (Reuters) - Singer Ali Campbell is leaving the reggae band UB40 after selling tens of millions of records worldwide in a career spanning nearly 30 years, a spokesman for the group said on Friday.

Campbell will quit after performing his last concerts with the band next month in Australia, New Zealand and Uganda.

In separate statements, Campbell blamed "intolerable management difficulties," while the band said the singer was keen to pursue his solo career.

"I have been deeply unhappy with administrative practices and with many decisions that have been made in recent years," Campbell said. "Suffice to say I felt I had no other option but to resign from my band.

"This decision has not been taken lightly and has come as a result of a long, painful and agonizing thought process." The remaining members of the group said they were saddened by Campbell's decision.

A statement said: "They have been together for a long time and their relationship as band members and friends is almost like a marriage."

The band was formed in the English Midlands during the economic slump of the late 1970s, taking their name from an official unemployment benefits form.

With their catchy mix of pop and reggae, the band went on to sell an estimated 70 million records, tour the world six times and top the UK singles chart three times.

In 1983, they enjoyed a number one hit around the world, including the United States, with a version of Neil Diamond's song "Red Red Wine."

Other hits include: "I Got You Babe," "Cherry Oh Baby" and "Rat In Mi Kitchen."

The rest of the group will continue to record and perform and no decision has been taken on replacing Campbell.

Reuters

By STACEY PLAISANCE, Associated Press Writer 28 minutes ago

NEW ORLEANS - Stevie Wonder has not performed at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 35 years, and has never headlined the event. Organizers want to change that this year.

Wonder was scheduled to headline the second weekend of the 2008 Jazz Fest along with Billy Joel, Sheryl Crow and Louisiana native and country music star Tim McGraw, festival promoter Quint Davis said Thursday in announcing the lineup. Joel, Crow and McGraw are all festival first-timers.

The last time Wonder took the stage at Jazz Fest was in 1973, when he participated in an impromptu jam session with The Meters, the New Orleans group founded by Art Neville, the eldest of the Neville Brothers.

“Stevie was a Meters fan … he got on stage and started playing the keyboard, then he got on drums. He’s so talented it’s beyond comprehension,” Davis said.

The outdoor festival spans seven days over two weekends — April 25-27 and May 1-4. Wonder is slated to perform May 2. His hits include “My Cherie Amour,” “Superstition,” “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)” and “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life.”

Davis said he could not be more excited that Wonder is one of this year’s main acts.

“Over the past 20 years, he hasn’t really been touring, so we feel really fortunate,” Davis said.

The death of Wonder’s mother in 2006 may have prompted Wonder’s recent return to the touring circuit, he said. “His mother always told him ‘You should get back up there and do what you do,’” Davis said.

Jazz Fest is held at a horse racing track where organizers will set up 11 stages and tents for the more than 1,000 musicians slated to perform, including festival veterans Jimmy Buffett, Santana and Dr. John.

This is the first year since Hurricane Katrina that organizers have restored Thursday to the festival’s second weekend, making the event a total of seven days. Jazz Fest was scaled back to six days the past two years because of the storm and subsequent recovery.

Davis said the extra day will mean an addition of more than 50 acts.

Headliners for April 25, the festival’s opening day, are Crow, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Also performing that weekend are Dr. John, Joel, Al Green, Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint.

The second weekend will highlight performances by Randy Newman and the rock group Widespread Panic, Trombone Shorty, Marcia Ball, Buffett, Aaron Neville, Santana and Maze featuring Frankie Beverly.

The Neville Brothers are scheduled to close the festival on May 4 for the first time since before Katrina struck in August 2005. The group had been the festival’s closing act for more than a decade prior to Katrina.

Davis said this year’s lineup features “one of the greatest collection of jazz singers in one place.” On tap to perform are Patti Austin, Cassandra Wilson, Dianne Reeves, Diana Krall and Ruby Wilson.

The festival also features food, arts and crafts and other cultural exhibits unique to South Louisiana.

___

On the Net:

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, http://www.nojazzfest.com

41 minutes ago

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson's cult-classic 1977 solo album, "Pacific Ocean Blue," will be released May 13 in an expanded edition by Caribou/Epic/Legacy. The project has been out of print for more than 15 years due to copyright disputes.

"Pacific Ocean Blue" was the first solo album from a Beach Boys member, and featured Wilson in songwriting collaborations with his brother Carl as well as Beach Boys frontman Mike Love. Wilson drowned December 28, 1983, in Marina Del Rey, Calif., after struggling with drug addiction for several years.

The expanded version of "Pacific Ocean Blue" will be available in a two-CD edition as well as a vinyl version via Sundazed. Disc 1 of the reissue will include the original 12-track album plus previously unreleased bonus songs, which are still being sorted through by label archivists.

The second disc will make available for the first time songs intended for "Bambu," Wilson's never-released follow-up to "Pacific Ocean Blue."

Liner notes for the album are being penned by Beach Boys scholars such as David Leaf, Jon Stebbins, Ben Edmonds and David Beard, and the package will feature photographs by Wilson's close friend Dean Torrence, of Jan & Dean.

Reuters/Billboard

By Mike Collett-White 44 minutes ago

LONDON (Reuters) - British soul singer Amy Winehouse, who this week appeared in video footage allegedly showing her smoking crack cocaine, has entered a rehab clinic, her record company said on Thursday.

The troubled 24-year-old, who has been dogged by frequent suggestions of drug taking in recent months, also cancelled a scheduled performance at an awards ceremony in France this Saturday, record company Universal Music Group said.

"Amy Winehouse's planned appearance at the NRJ Awards in France on Saturday has been cancelled as the artist has entered a rehabilitation clinic," the company said in a statement.

"Amy decided to enter the facility today after talks with her record label, management, family and doctors.

"She has come to understand that she requires specialist treatment to continue her ongoing recovery from drug addiction and prepare for her planned appearance at the Grammy Awards."

Winehouse is one of Britain's top-selling singers, winning critical and commercial success with her album "Back to Black," which garnered six Grammy nominations in December.

The 2006 album has sold nearly 5 million copies worldwide, including 1.3 million in the United States.

The Grammy awards take place in the United States on February 10, but Winehouse's involvement has been in doubt because of her arrest for possession of marijuana in Norway last year.

Winehouse, summoned to appear in a Norwegian court on February 29, has denied having anything to do with the marijuana and said she unwittingly signed a document accepting a fine.

British police also plan to investigate the video of Winehouse allegedly smoking crack cocaine, which came to light in the Sun tabloid this week.

The footage was taken early on Friday morning. Hours later, a disheveled-looking Winehouse appeared in court to support husband Blake Fielder-Civil, who is fighting charges related to a pub brawl.

Universal called her "the most talented and important musical artist of her generation" who had already "made huge strides on her road to recovery."

One of her most famous songs is called "Rehab," which opens with the lyrics: "They tried to make me go to rehab, I said 'no, no, no'."

She attended rehab clinics at least twice in 2007, according to British media, but checked out on both occasions before her treatment was completed.

Reuters/Nielsen

By Stefanie Kranjec 34 minutes ago

TORONTO (Reuters) - Thousands of actresses throughout Canada will be vying for a chance at stardom when auditions begin on Friday to select who will play Maria von Trapp in a new production of "The Sound of Music," which will debut in Toronto in September.

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Mirvish Productions are teaming with CBC television, which will broadcast the rehearsals in an eight-part television series, "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?"

The show will document the process, and the public will select the star of the musical from actresses chosen during auditions held across the country.

Auditions are open only to amateur actresses who think they have what it takes to follow in the footsteps of Mary Martin, who created the role on stage, and Julie Andrews, who starred in the film.

"It's a highly specific thing that we're looking for. We're looking for a woman of a certain age, who has a pure soprano voice, who has a huge amount of stage presence and who can act," Sheila Hockin, the executive producer of the show, said in a telephone interview.

The show will be based on the original BBC program of the same name, which became one of the highest-rated shows of its kind, according to the producers.

It will feature a panel of judges, but ultimately Canadian TV viewers will determine who will win the coveted role.

About 400 women have already pre-registered on the show's Web site for the Toronto audition, and many more are expected to turn up at the first audition.

The winner of the reality show will join the ensemble professional cast in August to begin rehearsals, Hockin said.

"Such a large part of the English-speaking population of the world has such a strong association with that movie," she added.

"It's viral. You can't resist 'The Sound of Music,' I don't think."

Reuters/Nielsen

By MICHAEL CIDONI, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 47 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Officially, he’s retired, but Garth Brooks admits you might not know it by watching him. On Friday, Brooks takes the stage for a nationally televised concert at the Staples Center to benefit victims of last year’s Southern California wildfires and firefighters. He’ll perform a second show there about an hour later, and three more on Saturday.

“I’m from Oklahoma,” the country music superstar said Thursday. “I know a lot about grass fires. I know a lot about wind and fire. I’ve never, ever seen wind and fire like I saw on the television.”

All proceeds from the “Garth Brooks Live In L.A!” concerts will be donated to the “Southern California 2008 Fire Intervention Relief Effort (F.I.R.E.).” The money will go to agencies helping victims and first responders and provide financial assistance to state firefighting departments.

The tickets, which cost $41, sold out in less than an hour, organizers said. The first hour of the first concert will be broadcast live on CBS, with viewers encouraged to call in and make pledges to F.I.R.E.

Brooks, 45, announced his retirement in 2001, saying he would not return to work until his youngest child, Allie, turned 18. She is now 8. He has two other daughters, Taylor, 12, and August, 10.

Last November, his compilation set, “The Ultimate Hits,” was released. It’s been certified five-times platinum.

Brooks said now that that project is complete, “we’re getting ready to now drop off the face of the earth musically. Charity-wise, it never stops.”

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP Music Writer 28 minutes ago

Natasha Bedingfield, “Pocketful of Sunshine” (Epic)

Natasha Bedingfield’s second U.S. disc is called “Pocketful of Sunshine,” and it is filled with enough cheer to fill a week’s worth of “Rachael Ray” episodes.

There’s “Happy,” which speaks to keeping your head up even when life is falling down around you; “Freckles,” an India.Arie-type song about embracing ones perceived flaws; “Angel,” on which she vows to stand by her wonderful man; and the first single, “Love Like This,” featuring Sean Kingston, on which she revels in finding a perfect love.

The songs, with their breezy, melodic tone, soaring choruses and layered vocals, recall her breakout hit “Unwritten,” the title track to her 2005 U.S. debut. The joyous anthem about embracing dreams and realizing the hope of the future became a feel-good musical mantra and a ubiquitous hit; it’s understandable that she is trying to recapture that magic on “Pocketful of Sunshine.”

The problem is, the magic that made “Unwritten” so wonderful was not just its message but its great melody and arrangement. Too often on “Pocketful,” neither the message nor the music match the high standard that “Unwritten” set.

A few come close, like the sweet, bouncy “Love Like This,” or the sexy groove “Who Knows,” and “Put Your Arms Around Me,” a rousing, — and yes, anthemic — song about enduring love. But others sound like a generic mix of pop and R&B, such as the unremarkable “Angel,” or the disappointing title track.

“Unwritten” established Bedingfield as a strong musical voice with her own identity. Unfortunately, on “Pocket Full of Sunshine,” she loses it — and becomes just another in the crowd.

___

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: “Put Your Arms Around Me” is a great album kickoff, and may be the album’s best track — an effervescent, irresistible ode to love.

By Justin Kroll 15 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Country music star Garth Brooks knows he has his work cut out for him as he prepares to play five concerts in two days, starting on Friday, to benefit California firefighters and wildfire victims.

But with at least $5 million in ticket sales and donations collected before he sings a single note — and roughly $5 million more to go to reach his fund-raising goal — Brooks, 45, insists he's up for the challenge.

"I think it comes down to turning it on," Brooks said at a news conference at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, where he will perform all five shows. "I haven't done this since the old days, so we'll see how it goes."

The first concert opens at 6 p.m. on Friday, followed by a second performance starting at 10 p.m. the same night, with three more shows on Saturday, said Staples Center general manager Lee Zeidman. Brooks will have only about an hour break between each show.

The first hour of Friday's opening concert will be broadcast live on CBS, with viewers encouraged to call in pledges for Brooks' latest charity, the Southern California 2008 Fire Intervention Relief Effort.

As usual, Brooks charged a modest ticket price — just $41 a seat — and all five shows sold out in less than an hour, organizers said.

Brooks said he got the idea for the benefit watching TV news coverage of the devastating wildfires that swept through Southern California last fall and felt moved to lend a hand.

"I have much respect (for the firefighters) and these guys need all the help they can get," he said.

SINGING FOR CHARITY

Proceeds go to the McCormick Tribune Foundation, which will distribute the funds to various agencies supporting victims of the wildfires as well as fire departments around the state.

Brooks, an Oklahoma native who achieved superstardom as he brought country music to mass audiences in the 1990s, was certified by the Recording Industry Association of America in November as the top-selling U.S. solo artist of all time. He then had 123 million album sales to his credit.

He announced his official retirement seven years ago to devote more time to family but has occasionally performed for various charities, including a nine-concert series in Kansas City in October 2007.

A recent greatest-hits collection, the three-disc set "Garth Brooks: The Ultimate Hits," has sold 2.5 million copies in the United States since its November 2007 release, he said.

Asked whether he has considered going back on tour commercially, Brooks was emphatic.

"No," he said. "After this concert, I will hopefully drop off the face of the music industry, but the charity work will continue. My youngest child is 11, and I would like to be around for her and the rest of my kids before they graduate high school."

Reuters/Nielsen