Dionne Warwick celebrates her 50 musical years

                                    Dionne Warwick celebrates her 50 musical years

Dionne Warwick has sold more than 100 million records and had more charts hits than almost any other female singer in history.

This year, Warwick is celebrating five decades in the music industry.

To mark the anniversary she is releasing an album featuring new versions of some of her most famous songs, which were written and produced by Burt Bacharah and Hal David, who died at the weekend.

Dionne Warwick has been talking to Rebecca Jones about her long career.

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U.S. car sales rose 13.4% to hit 5-year high

                                       U.S. car sales rose 13.4% to hit 5-year high

U.S. car sales rose by 13.4% in 2012, making it the best year for the industry since 2007, industry figures showed. General Motors sold the largest number of cars and light trucks, 2.5 million for the year. Total revenue for the industry amounted to 14.5 million.

Japanese automakers recovering from supply chain disruptions in 2011 taking more market share.

Higher sales in the U.S. in 2012 were driven by the improving economy and the increased availability of credit.

Volkswagen saw the biggest jump in sales, an increase of 35%. Toyota Motor sales increased by 27%, while Honda posted a 24% increase.

General Motors (GM) predicted more modest turnover of 15 to 15.5 million in the coming year.

"Strong finish of GM in 2012, the industry momentum and overall health of the U.S. economy us optimistic about 2013," says sales chief at GM Kurt McNeil.

Sales of GM rose by 3.7% in 2012. But that level of growth meant GM lost market share to 17.9% compared to 19.6% in 2011.

In contrast, Toyota and Honda saw its market share rise sharply from last year, when they suffer major supply chain disruptions after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Toyota said in 2012 had a turnover of nearly 2.1 million and its market share rose by 1.5 percentage points to 14.4%.

"If we are in 2013 and the market sees further growth, we expect the industry to outperform again with another nine product launches on the horizon," said Jim Lentz, head of Toyota Motor Sales in the U.S..

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Richardson: New leadership a chance in North Korea

                                      Richardson: New leadership a chance in North Korea

Former Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson, who travel to North Korea with Google CEO Eric Schmidt on a humanitarian mission, said on CNN Saturday that he hoped to speak with Kenneth Bae, an American who is held in the communist nation.

Mr. Richardson, who helped broker the release of Americans in North Korea on previous missions, the new leadership in North Korea and South Korea is an opportunity for both countries.

"I get mixed messages. This is why we wanted to go and an on-hand evaluation to get. On the one hand, this New Year's Eve speech talks about a dialogue with South Korea. That's good, because the new South Korean president is ready to take part. "

But Mr. Richardson noted that recent missile launches in North Korea "are not conducive to ... negotiations, the international community feel comfortable in discussing issues with North Korea."

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Platinum, gold-plated MacBook Pro for sale

                                               Platinum, gold-plated Mac Book Pro for sale

If you think the MacBook Pro provides an expensive purchase in itself, how about a 24 carat gold-plated version? A company called Computer Choppers has just finalized a gilded MacBook with an Apple logo inlaid with multi-color diamonds, you can claim it for only $ 30,000.

The company also offers to cover your Apple product in white, pink and yellow gold, and copper, silver and black chrome, reports the Huffington Post. Although it seems that the company specializes in the adaptation of Apple products, it mentions in his Services section, which will also work "on most any computer or electronic mail." Some of the other platings are available in silver, old English gold, champagne gold, gold almond, honey gold, rose copper, bronze and pewter.

This is not the first time we have seen Apple products sporting bling. Stuart Hughes' version of the iPad 2 is the snazzier brother of the regular iPad 2, you would want if you possess five million pounds to spare. For the rest of us, the iPad 2 Gold History Edition is as beautiful as it could get. The Apple logo, which lies at the back of the iPad 2 is set to 12.5 carat flawless diamonds, 53 of them inlaid to the signatory Apple shapes. This is set on a back made of 24-carat gold, with a total weight of 2 kg. The front frame has a touch of history, it's made from the oldest surviving rock, Ammolite.

This 75 million year old rock, from Canada, is not the only historical influence on the iPad 2. Apparently on the front frame of this device are actual pieces of a Tyrannosaurus Rex thigh bone used, according to Hughes, were splintered and shaved into the rock, which was then given a jewel finish. Adding some bling is a single-cut, 8.5 carat flawless diamond beautifully situated in the center, surrounded by 12 other flawless diamonds.

An excerpt from the website of Hughes' reads, "This beautiful unit took weeks of detailed intricate work to re-create the original chassis of the iPhone in solid gold, everything was started and finished by hand, also a full gold dressing for the rear section with the logo in solid gold with 53 flawless diamonds amounting to 1ct. This masterpiece has a huge approximately 128 grams of 18ct gold. The result was excellent, even down to the precise polishing to the most beautiful harmonious appearance to reveal . The handset is 64GB and is available as a Limited Edition of only 100. "

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China close website of leading reformist magazine

                                    China close website of leading reformist magazine

China closed the website of a leading reformist newspaper on Friday, apparently because it ran an article calling for political reforms and constitutional government, sensitive issues for the ruling Communist Party brooks no dissent.

In a message posted on the official Sina Weibo microblog, the magazine said it was informed on Thursday that the site registration had been canceled and that it was not a reason.

"The magazine tries to find out details," he said.

Wu Si, the magazine editor, did not answer calls for comment.

Attempts to open the website (www.yhcqw.com) bring a cartoon illustration of a police badge and holds a message that the site is closed.

However, the article seems to have offended the censors, written in the form of the message of a new year, is still on microblogging from the magazine.

"In more than 30 years of reform, the abuse as a result of political reforms lagging economic reforms have become daily more visible, and the factors of social instability gradually built up. Promote the reform of the political system is an urgent task," the piece says.

Analysts are looking for signs that China's new leaders would be a path of political reform, or send by allowing freer expression on the Internet, more experiments with grassroots democracy or release of imprisoned dissidents.

But the party, which tolerates no challenge to its rule and values ​​stability above all else, has so far little sign of wanting to go down this road, despite the president-in-waiting and party chief Xi Jinping try a softer and more projecting open image than its predecessor.

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