Janet Jackson splits with husband three months after birth of son: reports

Pop star Janet Jackson has split up with her Qatari businessman husband just three months after giving birth to her first child, according to media reports.

People magazine, Us Weekly and Entertainment Tonight all said sources had confirmed that Jackson, 50, and Wissam Al Mana had broken up after five years of marriage.

Representatives for the singer declined to confirm the split, which follows the birth in January of Jackson's first child, a boy the couple named Eissa.

Britain's Mail on Sunday publication, which was among the first to report the separation, quoted a source close to the singer as saying it was amicable. It was not known when the couple separated.

"They're both busy people but determined to be good parents, even if they're apart. It's amicable and Eissa will stay with his mother, who is basing herself in London," the source told the Mail on Sunday.

Jackson and Al Mana, 43, married in 2012, and a year ago the singer postponed her "Unbreakable" world tour so they could focus on starting a family.

Jackson, the fiercely private youngest child of the famed Jackson singing family, had two previous marriages: a year-long union with soul singer James DeBarge in the mid 1980s, and to dancer Rene Elizondo Jr from 1991-2000.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Frances Kerry)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Few signs of improvement for NBA star Odom after collapse

LAS VEGAS - Pro basketball and reality TV star Lamar Odom spent a third day hospitalized on Thursday, reportedly on life support following a series of strokes, after collapsing at a Nevada house of prostitution where authorities said he had been using cocaine.

With family and friends at his bedside and fans praying for his recovery, the estranged husband of Khloe Kardashian was reported to be comatose and in critical condition after he was found unresponsive at the Love Ranch brothel on Tuesday.

Celebrity news outlets TMZ.com and "Entertainment Tonight" reported on Thursday that Odom's kidneys were failing and he has been placed on dialysis. Other outlets have said he had suffered several strokes, was breathing with the assistance of a ventilator and had only a 50-50 chance of recovery.

Brothel staff told authorities Odom had used cocaine and as many as 10 tablets of a sexual performance-enhancing supplement during his four-day stay there, the Nye County Sheriff said.


The 6-foot, 10-inch-tall (2 metre) forward has long been rumored to have struggled with substance abuse, and he was suspended during the 2000-2001 season for violating the National Basketball Association's anti-drug policy.

"Entertainment Tonight" said Odom had briefly fluttered open his eyes on Wednesday night and may have squeezed the hand of Khloe Kardashian's sister, Kim Kardashian, who was among those at the hospital.

The Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center in Las Vegas, where Odom, 35, was being treated, has declined to comment on his condition, citing patient confidentiality.

Odom's estranged father, Joe Odom, the athlete's two children from a previous relationship, and his ex-girlfriend were also photographed entering the hospital.

Odom split with Kardashian, 31, in 2013 after a whirlwind romance and marriage that was captured on the television show "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" and its spinoff series "Khloe & Lamar."

Although the couple signed divorce papers in July, a Los Angeles Superior Court spokeswoman said the divorce has yet to be finalized and they remain legally married.

People magazine, citing a source close to the family, said on Thursday that Khloe Kardashian was given the task of making medical decisions about Odom's treatment but was "overwhelmed" by the unexpected responsibility.

"She had been thinking of him as an ex, so to find out that, 'No, you have to do this,' well that's really hard for her," the magazine quoted the source as saying.

Despite Odom's 14 seasons with the NBA, including two championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, U.S. media have largely focused this week on his brief membership in the most famous family on reality television.

ESPN sportscaster Scott Van Pelt took issue with the celebrity-skewed coverage, noting Odom's accomplishments as a multiple NBA champion and beloved teammate.

"I understand not everyone watches sports, but 'Kardashian reality star?' His name is Lamar Odom, and we knew it, long before he got married on a TV show we don't watch," Van Pelt said on his "SportsCenter" show on Wednesday.

Kardashian's mother, Kris Jenner, posted a photo of Odom in his Lakers uniform on her Instagram account, asking fans to "please pray for Lamar #ourfighter."

Currently a free agent, Odom last played for the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2012-2013 season and is no longer attached to any NBA team. (Writing and additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Victoria Cavaliere in Los Angeles and Jill Serjeant in New York; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe, Andrew Hay, Grant McCool)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Cameras roll for 'Bourne Legacy' in Manila on Jan. 11

MANILA, Philippines – Filming for “The Bourne Legacy” will begin tomorrow, Jan. 11, in Malate, Manila.

This is what Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino disclosed on “Mornings@ANC” on Tuesday, as reported by abs-cbnnews.com. He specifically mentioned “tourist district areas” San Andres and Remedios Circle, assuring that the production team “[is] ready to shoot tomorrow.”

This comes shortly after the arrival of Hollywood actress Rachel Weisz in Manila on Sunday evening. Jeremy Renner, Weisz’s co-star and “Bourne Legacy” lead star, arrived on Saturday. The movie’s directors and production crew arrived last week, as disclosed by Tolentino in a separate interview with ABS-CBN News.

More, the chairman mentioned that a group from “Entertainment Tonight” is scheduled to follow soon for a behind-the-scenes shoot.

“I think they [‘Bourne’ team] will only shoot Wednesday to Sunday. Pero ang hours I don't have that right now pero hindi naman po whole day,” Tolentino said, adding that traffic advisories will be issued two days prior to each shoot.

The MMDA has already confirmed the shooting locations to be on Ayala Avenue, in Intramuros, and at Jones Bridge, Marikina City Market, Navotas Fishport, and Pasay Taft Rotonda in Metro Manila, as well as in Palawan.

A report by Manila Bulletin on Jan. 4 specified some of the shooting dates and locations as follows: San Andres street (from Jan. 11 to 15); streets in Remedios (Jan. 18 and 19); San Andres corner Quirino and Taft Avenue (Jan. 14), areas in Intramuros (Jan. 25, Feb. 17 and 18); Jones Bridge (Feb. 5), and Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard (Feb. 8 to 15).

More, “Bourne Legacy” Philippine producer Lope ‘Jun’ Juban Jr. said that the duration of the Philippine shoot is from 40 to 45 days, with the scenes taken in Manila to comprise 20 to 25 minutes of the whole movie.

On the reason the “Bourne Legacy” team included the Philippines in the movie, Juban was quoted as saying in the same abs-cbnnews.com story, “They felt very welcome, and nakita nila 'yung ating pedigree o history of films made in the Philippines. More importantly, it's our attitude, yung welcoming nature ng Pilipino.”

source: mb.com.ph