MARVEL To create "Female Thor"

He is famed as the God of Thunder, but Thor is to change sex, launching an "all-new era" for the comic book icon, its publishers said Tuesday.

 

Marvel Comics will introduce the female Thor in its latest comic series in October, it announced, stressing that the new Thor is not "She-Thor" or "Thorita."

 

It was not immediately clear if the sex change will be taken over in the movie version of "Thor," a huge box office hit in recent years.

 

"The inscription on Thor's hammer reads 'Whosoever holds this hammer, if HE be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor'," said Marvel editor Wil Moss.

 

"Well it's time to update that inscription."

 

He added: "The new Thor continues Marvel's proud tradition of strong female characters like Captain Marvel, Storm, Black Widow and more. And this new Thor isn't a temporary female substitute -- she's now the one and only Thor, and she is worthy!"

 

"This is not She-Thor. This is not Lady Thor. This is not Thorita. This is THOR. This is the THOR of the Marvel Universe. But it's unlike any Thor we've ever seen before," added series writer Jason Aaron.

 

The change of gender is not unprecedented for Marvel, which was bought by entertainment giant The Walt Disney Company in 2009. Captain Marvel used to be male, but is now female, a spokesman said.

 

On the big screen Thor has been portrayed by Australian actor Chris Hemsworth in two "Thor" films as well as 2012's record-breaking "The Avengers." He will reprise the role in "Avengers: Age of Ultron," due out next year.

 

It is unclear whether the hunk actor will have to hang up his hammer, to be replaced by a female version.

 

"This is a publishing-only initiative," Marvel Entertainment spokesman Joe Taraborrelli told AFP.

 

A Disney spokeswoman, Megan Wasserman, added: "The announcement... was about the comics, and as normal Marvel policy we cannot (comment) on film activities, rumors or related speculation."

US blues legend Johnny Winter dies at 70

US blues legend Johnny Winter has died aged 70 in a hotel room in Switzerland, according to a statement on his official Facebook page.

 

"His wife, family and bandmates are all saddened by the loss of their loved one and one of the world´s finest guitarists," the statement read, adding Winter passed away in Zurich on Wednesday.

 

Born in Texas in 1944, Winter began playing the clarinet aged five, and switched to the ukelele and then the guitar a few years later.

 

According to his official website, he formed his first band when he was 14 years old, and his big breakthrough eventually came in 1968 when Rolling Stone magazine dubbed him the hottest item after Janis Joplin in an article about the Texas music scene.

 

It is as yet unclear how the blues guitarist and singer died, but he had been due to release his new album in September. 

Serena Williams heads women´s field for U.S. Open

World number one Serena Williams, coming off a surprise third round loss at Wimbledon, heads the women´s field for the US Open, which starts in New York in late August.

 

Players from 36 countries are represented, the US Tennis Association announced on Wednesday, with two-time defending champion Williams heading an 11-strong American contingent for the Aug. 25-Sept. 8 event.

 

Williams has five US Open crowns, just one shy of the modern era record held by compatriot Chris Evert.

 

Joining Williams in the top four are Li Na of China, Simona Halep of Romania and this month´s Wimbledon champion, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic.

 

The field also includes French Open champion Maria Sharapova, two-time U.S. Open champion Venus Williams and former US Open champions Samantha Stosur and Svetlana Kuznetsova.

 

The latest WTA rankings were used to determine the main draw entry list for the final Grand Slam event of 2014 but seeds will be announced closer to the event.

Ukraine separatist leader blames Kiev for downing plane

Separatist leader Aleksander Borodai blamed the downing of a Malaysian passenger airliner in eastern Ukraine on the country´s government forces.

 

"Apparently, it´s a passenger airliner indeed, truly shot down by the Ukrainian Air Force," Borodai told Russia´s state-run Rossiya 24 TV broadcaster.

 

Kiev denied the involvement of Ukraine´s armed forces. (Reuters)

 

Obama calls leaders of Ukraine, Malaysia about downed plane

US President Barack Obama called the leaders of Ukraine and Malaysia on Thursday to discuss the shooting down of an airliner carrying 298 people over rebel-held eastern Ukraine.

 

Obama spoke to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak as he flew to New York on Air Force One, amid a crisis over the downing of the Boeing 777 plane operated by Malaysia Airlines.

 

White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters further details of the call would be released later.

World celebrates 1st Mandela Day since icon´s death

People around the world celebrating "Mandela Day" Friday for the first time since the iconic South African leader´s death by doing good deeds on what would have been his 96th birthday.

 

For the past five years millions have volunteered 67 minutes of their time on July 18 for the common good to mark Nelson Mandela´s 67 years of activism for South Africa´s freedom.

 

Mandela died on December 5 last year aged 95 after a lengthy illness. Tens of thousands of mourners, including world leaders, attended memorial services leading up to his funeral. The call to do good deeds in his name started in Johannesburg and New York in 2009, and has expanded to 126 countries this year.

 

For the first Mandela Day after his passing, events are planned in Paris, New York, Dallas, London, Edinburgh and Glasgow, while a film portraying his life will premiere in China.

 

Meanwhile President Jacob Zuma has called on South Africans to bring out their brooms and mops and help spruce up their country. "This year, we have decided to honour Madiba´s memory through a massive ´Operation Clean Up for Madiba´ campaign," he said, using a respectful tribal name to refer to the country´s first black president.

 

"We should demonstrate our love for our beautiful country by cleaning our surroundings, together. "In this way, we will be promoting working together to build our beautiful country, which is what Madiba taught us as South Africans," he added.

 

Authorities have encouraged citizens to clear litter from clinics and schools, though some taxpayers grumble that that is the government´s job.

 

Mandela spent 27 years in prison during his struggle against white-minority rule, but forgave his former oppressors when the apartheid regime ended with free elections in 1994. His actions to reconcile his country´s divided people earned him global respect and the Nobel Peace prize."

 

His extraordinary compassion after 27 years in prison showed that human rights and equality are stronger than discrimination and hate," said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon earlier this week.

 

In the days leading up to Mandela Day on July 18, people have been urged to ask friends and colleagues to post pictures of their good deeds on social media.

 

Politicians have also capitalised on the event to polish their own image, announcing where they will be rolling up their sleeves in the hope of media coverage.

 

President Zuma will clean up a school in Mvezo, the village in the eastern Cape where Mandela was born. Another theme for this year is food security in a nation where a quarter of the population goes hungry. Citizen activist group LeadSA encouraged South Africans to plant vegetable gardens and donate food to feeding schemes " in the true spirit of active citizenship".

 

Newspapers have also weighed in with suggestions to volunteer in orphanages, donate books to schools or blankets to the homeless, or even to sterilise stray cats.In a country notorious for high crime rates, one person even offered a 67-minute course in self-defence.

Some 100 on board crashed Malaysia flight were AIDS workers: Reports

As many as 100 of those killed on a Malaysia Airlines plane that crashed in Ukraine were delegates heading to Australia for a global AIDS conference, reports said Friday.

 

The Australian broadsheet and the Sydney Morning Herald both said that more than one-third of the nearly 300 who died were AIDS researchers, health workers and activists. The reports could not be confirmed.