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Opera Star Montserrat Caballé Receives Six-Month Suspended Prison Sentence and a €240,000 Fine for Tax Evasion

Opera star Montserrat Caballé has reached a deal with the public prosecutor in Spain to receive a six-month suspended prison sentence and a 240,000 euro — or $291,814.80 — fine for defrauding the Spanish tax office of 500,000 euros — or $607,947.50.It is unlikely that Caballé will ultimately serve any jail time for tax evasion, given that the sentence is under two years and she has no prior convictions. The Spanish soprano has already returned the defrauded 500,000 euros to the Tax Agency and signed the agreement drawn up by the public prosecutor. The document will have to be ratified before the criminal court judge to avoid the case going to trial.The 81-year-old Caballé reportedly pretended to be living most of the year in Andorra, which is a tax haven, meaning she obtained substantial reductions in her annual return for the year 2010 on earnings from her live shows and recorded albums.But in reality, she was living in Barcelona and only visited Andorra for professional reasons.Sources close to Caballé say the soprano is not in good health and rarely leaves her house.
By Jaime Prisco

  • Bollywood Film 'PK' Battles Religious Controversy with Hindus: Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev and the World Hindu Council Speak Out; Star Aamir Khan Criticized

    The new Bollywood blockbuster "PK" is brewing some serious controversy after Hindu groups have come out saying the movie insults their religious sentiments.The film has earned more than $33 million in the 10 days since it opened and shows a funny and lovable alien who lands in India and loses contact with his spaceship, but discovers that Indians are superstitious about their gods and surround themselves with all kinds of swindling Hindu religious gurus.But on Monday, Dec. 29, angry groups burnt effigies of the film’s director and actor, tore and blackened movie posters and shattered the glass walls at the movie ticket counters. Calls to boycott the movie dominated social media groups this weekend.Popular yoga guru Baba Ramdev urged Hindus to boycott the movie and “organize themselves to protect their religion and culture just like Muslim and Christian groups do.”The Vishwa Hindu Parishad — or World Hindu Council — a Hindu nationalist group and an affiliate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political party, wrote to the country’s information and broadcasting ministry demanding that such movies be stopped and called for an overhaul of the censor board that cleared "PK."
    By Jaime Prisco

  • Gemini & Scorpio Host All-Night New Year's Eve Party 'The Court of the Snow Queen': Retro Remix Orchestra to Perform Live Jazz and Swing Music

    For those of you in New York still fretting over your New Year’s Eve, fear no more: Party experts Gemini & Scorpio pull out all the stops for a gorgeous, immersive production of the classic fairy tale “The Snow Queen” in Brooklyn, complete with circus artists and dancing through the wee hours.Dubbed "The Court of the Snow Queen," fierce snow queen Ali Luminescent will hold a menagerie of entertainers hostage for her pleasure. Gemini & Scorpio promise the event will “whirl with the creatures and spirits of winter, their talents a spectacle commanded by her whim.”The theatrical party will feature classic and modern hits in live jazz and swing music style by the Retro Remix Orchestra, aerial and contortion performers, face and body painting, large-scale art, and a snowy photo booth. On the Gemini & Scorpio website, the description for the spectacle is as follows:“The Queen has enchanted and stolen a mortal boy, Kai. But his beloved, Gerda, has summoned all the power of fire to win him back and defeat the Queen. Who will triumph in this battle for the human heart?”
    By Jaime Prisco
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