Jailhouse rocks for Philippine Internet dance sensations

Philippine convicts who became famous for dancing to Michael Jackson tunes gave a tribute performance on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of the death of the "King of Pop".About 500 foreign tourists and local dignitaries watched as more than 900 prisoners in the high-security jail in the central island of Cebu performed dances to some of Jackson's biggest hits, prison officials said."It was a wonderful presentation. I was very impressed. Their concentration was really there and they were really serious about their dance," said Mils Bonnen, 58, a teacher from Denmark.

More doctors are dropping their private practices, choosing to go to work behind bars treating murderers, rapists and other hardened criminals.

Cirque du Soleil is to launch a series of shows next year inspired by Michael Jackson's music and dance work, the company said Tuesday after striking a deal with the late artist's family.The tour of specially themed shows will kick off late in 2011, Cirque du Soleil said in a statement that promised, "fans will experience the excitement of a Michael Jackson concert."The show will have an extended run in Las Vegas and by late 2012 the Montreal-based contemporary circus troupe aims to have established a permanent performance there.

After being fiercely shielded from the spotlight for years by their late father, Michael Jackson's children are now poised to become Internet sensations.Webcam videos of Paris, 12, and Blanket, 8, larking around emerged on Youtube Thursday, though it was not clear who had uploaded the clips. Jackson's other child, Prince Michael, does not appear in the videos.In one of the fleeting clips, Jackson's daughter Paris looks at a camera and pleads "Monkey, please help."

A popular Internet video shows bespectacled Philippine presidential frontrunner Benigno Aquino looking stiff and uncomfortable as he raps an anti-corruption jingle in a bland monotonous tone.Another video shows a rival, Richard Gordon, with two comedians as they lip-synch "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" -- a chart-topping song from the 1960s.In colourful asides to the tense and occasionally violent campaigning for next week's elections, presidential candidates are tirelessly performing for television, radio and the Internet to woo the country's 50 million voters.

AP - Philippine shares slid Thursday in step with regional and U.S. markets as the country's central bank pondered whether to cut interest rates to boost the economy.

A lawyer for victims of Bernard Madoff's fraud says Madoff told him during a 4 1/2-hour jailhouse interview in North Carolina exactly how the fraud took place.

Looking to cash out? Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman sees big bucks in a private prison operator.