Prince Harry to join expedition to the South Pole

LONDON (Reuters) - Prince Harry, Britain's third in line to the throne, will take part in a race to the South Pole alongside wounded British servicemen and women, he announced on Friday.

The 208-mile (335-km) trek to the South Pole will see Britain's Royal compete against teams from the United States and Commonwealth countries.

"As a member of the British team, I will have a brew (tea) on ready for you when you join us at the Pole," he said in a speech, referring to participants from other countries.

Harry took part in a 2011 expedition to the North Pole organized by the same charity. Describing qualities he said he admired in his fellow participants, he said: "Physical strength, endurance, a sense of comradeship, absolutely.

"But there's something else, something deeper than that. Something that continues to draw me back to this charity and these people time and again - and always will."

(Reporting By Costas Pitas; Editing by Maria Golovnina)

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Kim Kardashian, Kris Humphries settle divorce, avoid trial

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Reality television star Kim Kardashian and NBA basketball player Kris Humphries have finally settled their divorce, avoiding a trial that was set for next month, a Los Angeles County Superior Court spokeswoman said on Friday.

Judge Hank Goldberg approved the divorce settlement for the couple, who broke up after just 72 days following their made-for-TV wedding in August 2011.

Celebrities usually settle their divorces through negotiation rather than at a trial that can fuel publicity.

Humphries, 28, had been demanding an annulment, alleging that Kardashian, who cited irreconcilable difference when filing for divorce, had no intention of keeping to the marriage, which was filmed as part of her reality show.

Terms of the divorce were not made public. Kardashian, 32, attended the hearing, but Humphries, who plays for the Brooklyn Nets, did not.

Kardashian's publicist declined to comment on the settlement. Humphries' spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The socialite started dating rapper Kanye West in April last year and is now about six months pregnant with her first child.

The divorce will be Kardashian's second. She was married to music producer Damon Thomas for four years, separating in 2004.

Kardashian, who stars with her sisters in reality show "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," also has a clothing line and several product endorsements, and was the most-searched person on the Yahoo! website in 2012.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Mohammad Zargham)

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Gospel singer George Beverly Shea dead at 104

(Reuters) - George Beverly Shea, a gospel singer with a deep baritone voice who teamed with Billy Graham for more than 60 years, died on Tuesday after a brief illness, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association said. He was 104.

Shea, was born in Ontario, Canada, where his father was a Wesleyan Methodist minister. He first sang for Graham in 1943 and joined the first of Graham's city-wide crusades in 1947, the association said.

"Bev was one of the most humble, gracious men I have ever known and one of my closest friends," Billy Graham said in a statement announcing his death. "I loved him as a brother."

Shea recorded more than 70 albums and received 10 Grammy Award nominations, winning one in 1965. He also received a lifetime achievement award from the organization in 2011.

He was a member of the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame and the Religious Broadcasting Hall of Fame and was inducted into the inaugural class of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists' "Hall of Faith" in 2008.

Shea, who lived in North Carolina, is survived by his wife, Karlene, and his children from his first marriage, Ronald and Elaine. His first wife, Erma, died in 1976.

(Reporting by David Bailey in Minneapolis; Editing by Paul Simao)

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A Minute With: Billy Ray Cyrus on Miley and his "Hillbilly Heart"

By Piya Sinha-Roy

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After writing hit song "Achy Breaky Heart," starring in Disney Channel show "Hannah Montana" and raising a famous daughter, country singer and actor Billy Ray Cyrus has found himself at a crossroads.

In his memoir "Hillbilly Heart," published this week, Cyrus writes about his early life in Kentucky, joining his daughter Miley on the 2006-11 TV show that made her a teen idol and how he is still hungry for success despite having moved out of the spotlight.

Cyrus, 51, talked to Reuters about the challenges of raising Miley, his mistakes, and what he wished he had not included in his new book.

Q: Revisiting your life for this book, did you have any revelations about your journey so far?

A: The one thing that was pretty obvious is that I've had a pretty crazy life. It's colorful ... reliving some of those closets that I had shut, locked and thrown away the key intentionally because it was painful to revisit a lot of those places - especially the loss of my buddy Robbie Tooley, the divorce of my parents, some of the things I went through as a kid, a lot of that stuff was locked up for a reason - it was painful. But at the same time, there was some therapy in revisiting some of those spots.

Q: Was it hard to balance how much you wanted to include in your book about Miley's story?

A: I think it would have been hard to write my life story without touching on (hers) somewhat. But at the same time, I respect her privacy and her life, and her world and her life is examined by everybody and everything. For me, I'm very respectful of her privacy, but yes ... I think it would have been missed a bit if I didn't touch on some aspect of it.

I'm respectful that she's a young human being and just being a young person in today's world is tough enough as it is. That makes it hard on a young person let alone be that famous and to live her life in that spotlight. I kind of walked through it respectfully."

Q: You address the controversies you and your wife Tish faced regarding Miley, be it the Vanity Fair photoshoot (showing her only in a bed sheet at age 15) or the video of her smoking out of a bong. Was it difficult reflecting on those?

A: I didn't point a finger. The first thing I do (in the book) is I'm pointing a finger more at myself and saying, learn by my mistakes. I'm not a perfect person so therefore I'm not in any position to tell anyone how to be perfect.

That's what daddies do - sheltering the storm, to be there, to pick you up when you get knocked down ... I'm not a perfect parent and this book is not about how to be perfect at anything. This book is a documentation about what my journey was, some of the mistakes that I made and some of the things that I did right. And every now and then, I think failure is the most ingredient for success."

Q: Why choose to write your book now?

A: I'm hungry for purpose. I'm looking for still that reason that I bought a guitar and started a band, to fulfill a purpose, to manifest destiny as to who I am and why I am the way I am, and what I do. I think it's still about the music, the song and the story.

Q: You sound like you're at crossroads?

A: Crossroads - that is the most accurate ... I'm hungry, I've got a chance to learn more from this than anybody ... I'm standing at a crossroads. I'm not entirely sure what the future holds ... I'm at a crossroads, but it's a little bit different than the crossroads I've been at before because now I'm doing what I do because I love it, and doing what I do because it's pure passion."

Q: Anything you wish you hadn't included in the book?

A: One of the worst things I did was steal a 3D picture of Jesus for my grandmother for Christmas. That's terrible. I'd give anything if I hadn't have done that, but I did ... that story I think I could have left out.

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy. Editing by Jill Serjeant and Andre Grenon)

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Tweeting Turkish pianist given suspended sentence for blasphemy

By Can Sezer and Ece Toksabay

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A world-renowned concert pianist was given a suspended jail sentence in Turkey on Monday for insulting religious values on Twitter, a case which has become a cause celebre for Turks alarmed about creeping Islamic conservatism.

Fazil Say, also a leading composer, went on trial in October for blasphemy - a crime that can carry an 18-month sentence - for a series of tweets including one citing a 1,000-year-old poem.

"The fact I've been convicted for an offence I didn't commit is less worrying for me personally than it is for freedom of expression and faith in Turkey," Say said in emailed comments.

His case has stirred up passions about the role religion should play in Turkish public life and highlighted how much has changed since Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party, which has roots in Islamist politics, swept to power a decade ago.

A judiciary once renowned for defending the secular republic against Islamist influence - notably jailing Erdogan himself for reciting a religious poem - now finds itself in hock to religious conservatives, government opponents say.

"The verdict is unacceptable, and an indicator of the AK Party's vengeful conception of the law," Ilhan Cihaner, a lawmaker from the main opposition CHP party, told Reuters.

Say retweeted a verse in April last year in which 11th-century Persian poet Omar Khayyam mocks pious hypocrisy. It is in the form of questions to believers: "You say rivers of wine flow in heaven, is heaven a tavern to you? You say two houris await each believer there, is heaven a brothel to you?"

In another tweet, he poked fun at a muezzin, someone who makes the Muslim call to prayer. "The muezzin finished the evening prayers in 22 seconds ... Why are you in such hurry? A lover? A raki table?" he asked, referring to the aniseed-flavored spirit popular in Turkey.

The series of more than half a dozen tweets led prosecutors to accuse the 43-year old pianist of "explicitly insulting religious values".

An Istanbul court gave him a 10-month prison sentence but suspended it by five years on condition that he does not commit the same crime again in that period.

"Say did not repeat the words of a poet, but attacked religion and the holy values of religion, completely with his own words," said plaintiff Ali Emre Bukagili, a civil engineer and follower of a prominent Turkish creationist, who has brought a series of such cases against public figures.

DIVIDED OPINION

Say, who has performed with leading orchestras from Tokyo to Berlin, as well as the Israel Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic, denied the charge.

"Fazil Say" became a top trending topic on Twitter immediately after the ruling was announced, with comments reflecting Turks' strong but divided opinions on the role of religion in public life.

"Scandalous and disgraceful," one tweet said of the ruling. "I wouldn't be surprised if a witch hunt for non-believers starts."

Another disagreed: "Finding religious values silly is one thing, provoking people through insults another. The court ruling is not wrong."

Erdogan's AK, its initials spelling out the Turkish word for purity, was elected in 2002 with a landslide. A decade since then of unprecedented prosperity is admired among Western allies keen to portray NATO member Turkey as a beacon of political stability in a troubled region.

But Erdogan's opponents accuse him of posing a threat to the modern, secular republic founded by Kemal Ataturk on the ruins of the Ottoman empire 90 years ago.

The courts have helped silence opposition and emasculate a military which was long the self-appointed guardian of Turkish secularism. It pressured an Islamist-led government from power in 1997 but has since been forced into retreat under AK rule.

Erdogan himself served time in prison in 1998, when military influence still held sway, for reciting a poem that a court ruled was an incitement to religious hatred.

The poem Erdogan had read contained the verses: "The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers."

(Editing by Nick Tattersall and Alison Williams)

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Gospel singer George Beverly Shea dead at 104

(Reuters) - George Beverly Shea, a gospel singer with a deep baritone voice who teamed with Billy Graham for more than 60 years, died on Tuesday after a brief illness, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association said. He was 104.

Shea, was born in Ontario, Canada, where his father was a Wesleyan Methodist minister. He first sang for Graham in 1943 and joined the first of Graham's city-wide crusades in 1947, the association said.

"Bev was one of the most humble, gracious men I have ever known and one of my closest friends," Billy Graham said in a statement announcing his death. "I loved him as a brother."

Shea recorded more than 70 albums and received 10 Grammy Award nominations, winning one in 1965. He also received a lifetime achievement award from the organization in 2011.

He was a member of the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame and the Religious Broadcasting Hall of Fame and was inducted into the inaugural class of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists' "Hall of Faith" in 2008.

Shea, who lived in North Carolina, is survived by his wife, Karlene, and his children from his first marriage, Ronald and Elaine. His first wife, Erma, died in 1976.

(Reporting by David Bailey in Minneapolis; Editing by Paul Simao)

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Tweeting Turkish pianist given suspended sentence for blasphemy

By Can Sezer and Ece Toksabay

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A world-renowned concert pianist was given a suspended jail sentence in Turkey on Monday for insulting religious values on Twitter, a case which has become a cause celebre for Turks alarmed about creeping Islamic conservatism.

Fazil Say, also a leading composer, went on trial in October for blasphemy - a crime that can carry an 18-month sentence - for a series of tweets including one citing a 1,000-year-old poem.

"The fact I've been convicted for an offence I didn't commit is less worrying for me personally than it is for freedom of expression and faith in Turkey," Say said in emailed comments.

His case has stirred up passions about the role religion should play in Turkish public life and highlighted how much has changed since Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party, which has roots in Islamist politics, swept to power a decade ago.

A judiciary once renowned for defending the secular republic against Islamist influence - notably jailing Erdogan himself for reciting a religious poem - now finds itself in hock to religious conservatives, government opponents say.

"The verdict is unacceptable, and an indicator of the AK Party's vengeful conception of the law," Ilhan Cihaner, a lawmaker from the main opposition CHP party, told Reuters.

Say retweeted a verse in April last year in which 11th-century Persian poet Omar Khayyam mocks pious hypocrisy. It is in the form of questions to believers: "You say rivers of wine flow in heaven, is heaven a tavern to you? You say two houris await each believer there, is heaven a brothel to you?"

In another tweet, he poked fun at a muezzin, someone who makes the Muslim call to prayer. "The muezzin finished the evening prayers in 22 seconds ... Why are you in such hurry? A lover? A raki table?" he asked, referring to the aniseed-flavored spirit popular in Turkey.

The series of more than half a dozen tweets led prosecutors to accuse the 43-year old pianist of "explicitly insulting religious values".

An Istanbul court gave him a 10-month prison sentence but suspended it by five years on condition that he does not commit the same crime again in that period.

"Say did not repeat the words of a poet, but attacked religion and the holy values of religion, completely with his own words," said plaintiff Ali Emre Bukagili, a civil engineer and follower of a prominent Turkish creationist, who has brought a series of such cases against public figures.

DIVIDED OPINION

Say, who has performed with leading orchestras from Tokyo to Berlin, as well as the Israel Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic, denied the charge.

"Fazil Say" became a top trending topic on Twitter immediately after the ruling was announced, with comments reflecting Turks' strong but divided opinions on the role of religion in public life.

"Scandalous and disgraceful," one tweet said of the ruling. "I wouldn't be surprised if a witch hunt for non-believers starts."

Another disagreed: "Finding religious values silly is one thing, provoking people through insults another. The court ruling is not wrong."

Erdogan's AK, its initials spelling out the Turkish word for purity, was elected in 2002 with a landslide. A decade since then of unprecedented prosperity is admired among Western allies keen to portray NATO member Turkey as a beacon of political stability in a troubled region.

But Erdogan's opponents accuse him of posing a threat to the modern, secular republic founded by Kemal Ataturk on the ruins of the Ottoman empire 90 years ago.

The courts have helped silence opposition and emasculate a military which was long the self-appointed guardian of Turkish secularism. It pressured an Islamist-led government from power in 1997 but has since been forced into retreat under AK rule.

Erdogan himself served time in prison in 1998, when military influence still held sway, for reciting a poem that a court ruled was an incitement to religious hatred.

The poem Erdogan had read contained the verses: "The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers."

(Editing by Nick Tattersall and Alison Williams)

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Gospel singer George Beverly Shea dead at 104

(Reuters) - George Beverly Shea, a gospel singer with a deep baritone voice who teamed with Billy Graham for more than 60 years, died on Tuesday after a brief illness, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association said. He was 104.

Shea, was born in Ontario, Canada, where his father was a Wesleyan Methodist minister. He first sang for Graham in 1943 and joined the first of Graham's city-wide crusades in 1947, the association said.

"Bev was one of the most humble, gracious men I have ever known and one of my closest friends," Billy Graham said in a statement announcing his death. "I loved him as a brother."

Shea recorded more than 70 albums and received 10 Grammy Award nominations, winning one in 1965. He also received a lifetime achievement award from the organization in 2011.

He was a member of the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame and the Religious Broadcasting Hall of Fame and was inducted into the inaugural class of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists' "Hall of Faith" in 2008.

Shea, who lived in North Carolina, is survived by his wife, Karlene, and his children from his first marriage, Ronald and Elaine. His first wife, Erma, died in 1976.

(Reporting by David Bailey in Minneapolis; Editing by Paul Simao)

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French chef Alain Ducasse wins lifetime achievement award

LONDON (Reuters) - French chef Alain Ducasse was given a lifetime achievement award on Monday by The World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards for "pushing the boundaries of excellence in cooking" over a 30-year career.

Ducasse, 56, is one of the world's most decorated chefs who won his first three Michelin star award at the age of 33 with Le Louis XV restaurant in the Hôtel de Paris in Monaco.

He was the first chef to win three Michelin stars in three different cities and his empire now includes more than 20 restaurants around the world, a culinary publishing house, and a culinary institute.

"This is an acknowledgement from the restaurant world itself of chef Ducasse's achievements and positive influence," said William Drew, Editor of Restaurant magazine, organizers of The World's 50 Best Restaurants.

He added in a statement that the award acknowledged not only Ducasse's reputation for innovative French cuisine but also his influence over a generation of chefs and restaurateurs.

The lifetime achievement award is voted for by a 936-strong international voting panel who comprise the World's 50 Best Restaurants Academy.

Past winners include Americans Thomas Keller and Alice Waters, Spain's Juan Mari Arzak, French chefs Joël Robuchon, Paul Bocuse, Albert and Michel Roux, Italy's Gualtiero Marchesi, and Austrian Eckart Witzigmann.

(Reporting by Paul Casciato, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)

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Tweeting Turkish pianist given suspended sentence for blasphemy

By Can Sezer and Ece Toksabay

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A world-renowned concert pianist was given a suspended jail sentence in Turkey on Monday for insulting religious values on Twitter, a case which has become a cause celebre for Turks alarmed about creeping Islamic conservatism.

Fazil Say, also a leading composer, went on trial in October for blasphemy - a crime that can carry an 18-month sentence - for a series of tweets including one citing a 1,000-year-old poem.

"The fact I've been convicted for an offence I didn't commit is less worrying for me personally than it is for freedom of expression and faith in Turkey," Say said in emailed comments.

His case has stirred up passions about the role religion should play in Turkish public life and highlighted how much has changed since Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party, which has roots in Islamist politics, swept to power a decade ago.

A judiciary once renowned for defending the secular republic against Islamist influence - notably jailing Erdogan himself for reciting a religious poem - now finds itself in hock to religious conservatives, government opponents say.

"The verdict is unacceptable, and an indicator of the AK Party's vengeful conception of the law," Ilhan Cihaner, a lawmaker from the main opposition CHP party, told Reuters.

Say retweeted a verse in April last year in which 11th-century Persian poet Omar Khayyam mocks pious hypocrisy. It is in the form of questions to believers: "You say rivers of wine flow in heaven, is heaven a tavern to you? You say two houris await each believer there, is heaven a brothel to you?"

In another tweet, he poked fun at a muezzin, someone who makes the Muslim call to prayer. "The muezzin finished the evening prayers in 22 seconds ... Why are you in such hurry? A lover? A raki table?" he asked, referring to the aniseed-flavored spirit popular in Turkey.

The series of more than half a dozen tweets led prosecutors to accuse the 43-year old pianist of "explicitly insulting religious values".

An Istanbul court gave him a 10-month prison sentence but suspended it by five years on condition that he does not commit the same crime again in that period.

"Say did not repeat the words of a poet, but attacked religion and the holy values of religion, completely with his own words," said plaintiff Ali Emre Bukagili, a civil engineer and follower of a prominent Turkish creationist, who has brought a series of such cases against public figures.

DIVIDED OPINION

Say, who has performed with leading orchestras from Tokyo to Berlin, as well as the Israel Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic, denied the charge.

"Fazil Say" became a top trending topic on Twitter immediately after the ruling was announced, with comments reflecting Turks' strong but divided opinions on the role of religion in public life.

"Scandalous and disgraceful," one tweet said of the ruling. "I wouldn't be surprised if a witch hunt for non-believers starts."

Another disagreed: "Finding religious values silly is one thing, provoking people through insults another. The court ruling is not wrong."

Erdogan's AK, its initials spelling out the Turkish word for purity, was elected in 2002 with a landslide. A decade since then of unprecedented prosperity is admired among Western allies keen to portray NATO member Turkey as a beacon of political stability in a troubled region.

But Erdogan's opponents accuse him of posing a threat to the modern, secular republic founded by Kemal Ataturk on the ruins of the Ottoman empire 90 years ago.

The courts have helped silence opposition and emasculate a military which was long the self-appointed guardian of Turkish secularism. It pressured an Islamist-led government from power in 1997 but has since been forced into retreat under AK rule.

Erdogan himself served time in prison in 1998, when military influence still held sway, for reciting a poem that a court ruled was an incitement to religious hatred.

The poem Erdogan had read contained the verses: "The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers."

(Editing by Nick Tattersall and Alison Williams)

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