Canadian pharmaceutical billionaire, wife found dead in Toronto

TORONTO —  Canadian police said they were investigating the mysterious deaths of the billionaire founder of Canadian pharmaceutical firm Apotex Inc, Barry Sherman, and his wife, Honey, who were found dead in their Toronto mansion on Friday.

The two were found dead after police responded to a medical call just before noon (1700 GMT) at their home in an affluent section of northeast Toronto.

“The circumstances of their death appear suspicious and we are treating it that way,” said Constable David Hopkinson. Homicide detectives later told reporters gathered outside the home that there were no signs of forced entry.

Two bodies covered in blankets were removed from the home and loaded into an unmarked van on Friday evening. The property is listed for sale for nearly C$7 million ($5.4 million).

Sherman, 75, founded privately held Apotex in 1974. He stepped down as chief executive in 2012, but remained as executive chairman. Forbes has estimated his net worth at $3.2 billion.

Apotex employs 11,000 people and is the world’s No. 7 generic drugmaker, according to its website.

Toronto Mayor John Tory said in statement that he was “shocked and heartbroken” to learn of the deaths, and noted the couple had made extensive contributions to the city.

“Toronto Police are investigating, and I hope that investigation will be able to provide answers for all of us who are mourning this tremendous loss,” he said.

Other politicians echoed that sentiment.

“I am beyond words right now,” Ontario health minister Eric Hoskins said in a tweet.“My dear friends Barry and Honey Sherman have been found dead. Wonderful human beings, incredible philanthropists, great leaders in health care. A very, very sad day.”

Apotex says it is the largest Canadian-owned pharmaceutical firm, with annual sales of more than C$2 billion. It has operations in more than 45 countries, including the United States.

source: interaksyon.com

Leonard Cohen, music’s poetic visionary, died in his sleep after fall

Songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen died in his sleep after a fall in his Los Angeles home in the middle of the night, his manager has said.

“The death was sudden, unexpected, and peaceful,” his manager Robert Kory said in a statement published on the Cohencentric website.

Cohen, music’s man of letters whose songs fused religious imagery with themes of redemption and sexual desire, died on Nov. 7. He was 82. No cause was given for his death when it was announced three days later on his Facebook page.

Cohen has been buried in Montreal in an unadorned pine box next to his mother and father, his son Adam said on Facebook on Sunday.

“As I write this I’m thinking of my father’s unique blend of self-deprecation and dignity, his approachable elegance, his charisma without audacity, his old-world gentlemanliness and the hand-forged tower of his work,” Adam Cohen wrote.

Born into a Jewish family in 1934 and raised in an affluent English-speaking neighborhood of Quebec, Cohen read Spanish poet Federico García Lorca as a teenager – later naming his daughter Lorca. He learned to play guitar from a flamenco musician and formed a country band called the Buckskin Boys.

Cohen moved to New York in 1966 at age 31 to break into the music business. Before long, critics were comparing him with Bob Dylan for the lyrical force of his songwriting.

Although he influenced many musicians and won many honors, including induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Order of Canada, Cohen rarely made the pop music charts with his sometimes moody folk-rock.

His most ardent admirers compared his works to spiritual prophecy. He sang about religion, with references to Jesus Christ and Jewish traditions, as well as love and sex, political upheaval, regret and what he once called the search for “a kind of balance in the chaos of existence”.

Cohen’s most famous song, “Hallelujah,” in which he invoked the biblical King David and drew parallels between physical love and a desire for spiritual connection, has been covered hundreds of times since he released it in 1984.

Cohen’s other well-known songs include “Suzanne,” “So Long, Marianne,” “Famous Blue Raincoat” and “The Future,” an apocalyptic 1992 recording in which he darkly intoned: “I’ve seen the future, brother/It is murder.”

source: interaksyon.com

Justin Bieber flirts with retirement in Christmas Eve tweets

NEW YORK | Teenage pop star Justin Bieber sent out a series of mixed messages over his Twitter feed on Tuesday night, one of which said he was retiring, on the eve of the Christmas Day release of the latest film chronicling the life of the Canadian singer.

The tweet to the 19-year-old’s nearly 48 million followers – “My beloved beliebers I’m officially retiring” – was quickly followed by another message: “I’m never leaving you, being a belieber is a lifestyle.”

And then: “IM HERE FOREVER.”

Representatives for Bieber did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.

The Canadian singer has been involved in a series of headline-grabbing incidents over the past year.

In March, the singer scuffled with a photographer outside a London hotel during a European tour. Later that month, police were called to his Los Angeles area home after a neighbor claimed he had been threatened and struck by Bieber.

In June, Bieber struck a photographer with his Ferrari sports car while driving away from a comedy club in Los Angeles, though police said the accident was not considered a hit-and-run.

The movie, “Justin Bieber’s Believe,” which takes the name of Bieber’s third studio album, could help repair his image after the difficult year.

“I think people forget that it’s a 19-year-old kid, trying to figure it out,” Bieber’s manager, Scooter Braun, told ABC News, adding the film shows Bieber as “a human.”

At one point in the film, director Jon Chu suggests Bieber’s life could become a “train wreck.”

The “retirement” message went out on the night of Christmas Eve and by the following morning had nearly a quarter million retweets and over 185,000 favorites.

Twitter user @theycallmejerry tweeted: “A life without Justin Bieber. A life without my idol, hero, inspiration, my everything. Not the best thing to think about on Christmas Eve.”

On the other end of the spectrum, Twitter user CozImAGuy said, “Justin Bieber retiring is the greatest Christmas gift EVER.”

source: interaksyon.com

Three surfing tips from the champs of the 8th Manila Surfers Cup

The best thing about the Philippines, says a girl to a Canadian at a seaside hostel, is that there’s always a bus headed to a beach somewhere. The foreigner has to agree. He himself is there to catch a few waves over the weekend.

This is exactly what surfers like to take advantage of as frequently as possible. While weekdays are for the daily grind inside concrete and steel offices, weekends are solely for the sand and sea.

At the 8th Manila Surfers Cup held last February 23 to 24 by the Manila Surfers Association in San Juan, La Union, pros Nikki dela Paz, Buji Libarnes, and Lui Tortuya revealed a few nuggets of wisdom for anyone who wants a piece of the action, too.




1. There are no epiphanies in surfing. One doesn’t figure it out in a single day, said Tortuya, who took the crown at the men’s shortboard invitational division.

“You don’t say, ‘I’m gonna learn to surf this weekend,’” he said. There are hundreds of minor adjustments and tiny movements one’s body learns to make over time, he added.

Tortuya has been surfing for some 20 years, having started when he was 13 back in California, where he grew up. Meanwhile, dela Paz and Libarnes have been in the game for ten and 13 years, respectively.

2. Always prioritize your safety. Dela Paz, who was the champion at the wahine shortboard invitational division, recalled the how she got hooked on surfing on her first try.

“When learning to surf, your instructor will push you into the water. I was done for. With that first push, I knew I would be back.”

While a thrilling experience, she emphasized that surfers should only go on waves they know they can handle. Injury and drowning are very real possibilities.

3. Don’t be ashamed to ride a big board. “Foam is fun,” said Libarnes, who brought home the bacon at the men’s longboard invitational division.

Most surfers from Manila are averse to the longboard, he observed. This is a no-no, as they don’t get to learn the basics in style, gliding, and the like when they immediately use a shortboard.

One gets to catch more waves with a bigger board. If beginners go on shortboards and don’t catch waves, they can get frustrated. Worse, they no longer want to pursue surfing. With a bigger board, said Libarnes, one can improve faster and attain a better form.

He had been longboarding for eight years before he transitioned to shortboarding.

“There is a proper board for every type of wave,” he said. The shortboard is appropriate for big waves, while the longboard is suited for knee-high waves.



Dancing in the ocean

“Dancing in the ocean” is how Tortuya calls it, and whether it be the boogie or the ballet, it is what separates the good surfers from the best.

Libarnes, who is Mr. Style himself, says surfing is “the best feeling.” The architect goes to the beach at least twice a month to get a natural high, spending up to five hours straight in the water to get his fill.

“Wala akong kain (I don’t even have to eat)!” he said. “It’s just you, the ocean, and a couple of friends enjoying nature. You feel like kids again.”

It is here that he finds his escape. There are no problems out in the sea. It never gets tiring, either, as each wave is special.

At the very least, Dela Paz joked, surfing beats going to the gym. One doesn’t break out in a sweat even though it is a form of exercise.

Also an architect, she advised that beginners shouldn’t be discouraged if they wipe out. Falling of the board is normal. One just has to keep going back to try and catch another wave.

She wishes more girls would begin surfing, although their numbers have swelled over the years.

Meanwhile, Libarnes extends the invite to everyone.

“It’s life-changing. You see the world differently. You’d want life to be simpler, to be less materialistic,” he explained.

source: interaksyon.com