Polanski was under house arrest but is now free to leave

Authorities in Switzerland have decided not to extradite film director Roman Polanski to the US to face sentencing for a case dating back to 1977.

Polanski, 76, has been under house arrest in his Swiss chalet since December 2009 pending the decision.

He is wanted in the US over a conviction for unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl.

Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said the “restrictions on his liberty have been lifted.”

A Swiss official said the US cannot appeal the decision.

Polanski faces arrest over his conviction for unlawful sex with an underage girl in 1977 should he ever return to the United States.

The director, who was originally charged with six offences including rape and sodomy, pleaded guilty to unlawful sex following a plea bargain.

But he left the US in 1978, before he could be sentenced, and has never returned.

He was taken into custody in Switzerland in September last year as he travelled from France to collect a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival.

Polanski, whose films include Rosemary’s Baby and The Pianist, was moved from prison and placed under house arrest at his chalet in the resort of Gstaad in early December.

‘National interests’

The Swiss government declared Polanski a free man on Monday after rejecting the US extradition request.

The Swiss said US authorities failed to provide confidential testimony about Polanski’s original sentencing procedure.

The Justice Ministry also said that national interests were taken into consideration in the decision.

A statement said: “The 76-year-old French-Polish film director Roman Polanski will not be extradited to the US.

“The freedom-restricting measures against him have been revoked.”

It added: “The reason for the decision lies in the fact that it was not possible to exclude with the necessary certainty a fault in the US extraditionary request.”

Ms Hilton was arrested after the Netherlands match against Brazil

A South African court has dropped drugs charges against US socialite Paris Hilton after her arrest at a World Cup game.

Ms Hilton was arrested in Port Elizabeth after the Netherlands’ defeat of Brazil in the quarter-finals of the tournament.

She appeared at a special court on Friday evening.

A friend of Ms Hilton with her at the stadium was found guilty of marijuana possession, her publicist said.

Ms Hilton’s friend was sentenced to pay a fine or spend 30 days in jail, it was reported.

Ms Hilton appeared in the court wearing a beige dress and a glittery necklace with her hair in two ponytails, a reporter said.

In court she was addressed as “accused number 1″.

She thanked the court before leaving.

‘Misunderstanding’

Her publicist told the Reuters news agency that she had been questioned by police but no charges had been brought.

“I can confirm that the incident was a complete misunderstanding and it was actually another person in the group who did it. The case has been dropped against Paris and no charges will be made,” Ms Hilton’s spokeswoman said.

After her release she posted a note on the social networking site Twitter saying: “I was assisting the police with the investigation and answering their questions.”

Ms Hilton is the great-granddaughter of the founder of the Hilton hotel chain.

In 2007 a US court sentenced her to 45 days in prison for drunk and reckless driving.

After serving 25 days in jail she told US talk show host Larry King that she had re-evaluated her life and wanted to do more charity work and less partying.

Ms Hilton was arrested after the Netherlands match against Brazil

A South African court has dropped drugs charges against US socialite Paris Hilton after her arrest at a World Cup game.

Ms Hilton was arrested in Port Elizabeth after the Netherlands’ defeat of Brazil in the quarter-finals of the tournament.

She appeared at a special court on Friday evening.

A friend of Ms Hilton with her at the stadium was found guilty of marijuana possession, her publicist said.

Ms Hilton’s friend was sentenced to pay a fine or spend 30 days in jail, it was reported.

Ms Hilton appeared in the court wearing a beige dress and a glittery necklace with her hair in two ponytails, a reporter said.

In court she was addressed as “accused number 1″.

She thanked the court before leaving.

‘Misunderstanding’

Her publicist told the Reuters news agency that she had been questioned by police but no charges had been brought.

“I can confirm that the incident was a complete misunderstanding and it was actually another person in the group who did it. The case has been dropped against Paris and no charges will be made,” Ms Hilton’s spokeswoman said.

After her release she posted a note on the social networking site Twitter saying: “I was assisting the police with the investigation and answering their questions.”

Ms Hilton is the great-granddaughter of the founder of the Hilton hotel chain.

In 2007 a US court sentenced her to 45 days in prison for drunk and reckless driving.

After serving 25 days in jail she told US talk show host Larry King that she had re-evaluated her life and wanted to do more charity work and less partying.

Mr Park had been nursing his terminally ill 62-year-old father

A popular South Korean actor and singer has been found dead at his home after an apparent suicide, police said.

Park Yong-ha, 33, was reportedly found by his mother after apparently hanging himself with an electrical cord.

Police said Mr Park had been under pressure trying to manage his entertainment company and career while his father was battling cancer.

If confirmed, Mr Park would be the latest in a string of South Korean celebrities to take their own lives.

It follows the deaths of film star Choi Jin-sil in 2008 and Lee Eun-joo in 2005.

Successful career

Mr Park had been nursing his 62-year-old father and spent his last moments with him on Tuesday night, local media reported.

“I must be sick instead of you, father. I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” a police statement quoted Mr Park as saying before his death.

Mr Park also told acquaintances earlier in the week that his work was “difficult and this kind of life is so hard”, the report said.

Police said there was no suicide note but that they were not treating Mr Park’s death as suspicious. They said he had no history of depression.

Mr Park shot to fame for his role in the 2002 hit TV drama series Winter Sonata, during which he developed a following in Japan and other Asian countries.

He later released albums as a singer. He was scheduled to start filming in July for a Korean television drama called Comrades, Almost a Love Story – a remake of the popular 1996 Hong Kong film.

Suicide is the leading cause of death among South Koreans in their 20s and 30s.

Mr Park had been nursing his terminally ill 62-year-old father

A popular South Korean actor and singer has been found dead at his home after an apparent suicide, police said.

Park Yong-ha, 33, was reportedly found by his mother after apparently hanging himself with an electrical cord.

Police said Mr Park had been under pressure trying to manage his entertainment company and career while his father was battling cancer.

If confirmed, Mr Park would be the latest in a string of South Korean celebrities to take their own lives.

It follows the deaths of film star Choi Jin-sil in 2008 and Lee Eun-joo in 2005.

Successful career

Mr Park had been nursing his 62-year-old father and spent his last moments with him on Tuesday night, local media reported.

“I must be sick instead of you, father. I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” a police statement quoted Mr Park as saying before his death.

Mr Park also told acquaintances earlier in the week that his work was “difficult and this kind of life is so hard”, the report said.

Police said there was no suicide note but that they were not treating Mr Park’s death as suspicious. They said he had no history of depression.

Mr Park shot to fame for his role in the 2002 hit TV drama series Winter Sonata, during which he developed a following in Japan and other Asian countries.

He later released albums as a singer. He was scheduled to start filming in July for a Korean television drama called Comrades, Almost a Love Story – a remake of the popular 1996 Hong Kong film.

Suicide is the leading cause of death among South Koreans in their 20s and 30s.

Mr Park had been nursing his terminally ill 62-year-old father

A popular South Korean actor and singer has been found dead at his home after an apparent suicide, police said.

Park Yong-ha, 33, was reportedly found by his mother after apparently hanging himself with an electrical cord.

Police said Mr Park had been under pressure trying to manage his entertainment company and career while his father was battling cancer.

If confirmed, Mr Park would be the latest in a string of South Korean celebrities to take their own lives.

It follows the deaths of film star Choi Jin-sil in 2008 and Lee Eun-joo in 2005.

Successful career

Mr Park had been nursing his 62-year-old father and spent his last moments with him on Tuesday night, local media reported.

“I must be sick instead of you, father. I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” a police statement quoted Mr Park as saying before his death.

Mr Park also told acquaintances earlier in the week that his work was “difficult and this kind of life is so hard”, the report said.

Police said there was no suicide note but that they were not treating Mr Park’s death as suspicious. They said he had no history of depression.

Mr Park shot to fame for his role in the 2002 hit TV drama series Winter Sonata, during which he developed a following in Japan and other Asian countries.

He later released albums as a singer. He was scheduled to start filming in July for a Korean television drama called Comrades, Almost a Love Story – a remake of the popular 1996 Hong Kong film.

Suicide is the leading cause of death among South Koreans in their 20s and 30s.

Michael Jackson was murdered for money, according to his sister LaToya

LaToya Jackson has claimed her brother Michael was murdered because he was “worth so much more dead than alive”.

Speaking during a TV interview, the singer demanded what she called “the truth” surrounding the star’s death in June 2009.

She said: “He was murdered for his catalogue and they knew that.”

Tomorrow (25 June) marks the one year anniversary of the Thriller singer’s death with fans organising tributes around the globe.

‘No’ accident

Earlier this week music trade magazine Billboard reported that the royalties accumulated since the star’s death had earned the Jackson estate $1 billion (£677 million).

In an interview with GMTV she said: “Personally I think it is a slap in the face, not just to Michael but to the entire family. It’s totally unfair, it’s wrong and it was not an accident.”

Asked whether she believed the star was murdered, she added: “I never had a doubt.

LaToya Jackson claims her brother’s death was “not an accident”

“You must remember from the day that I found out that Michael was no longer with us, when my mother screamed ‘he’s dead’ on the phone, I just went into this, ‘Who did it?”‘

Michael Jackson’s personal physician Dr. Conrad Murray has pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter and is currently awaiting trial.

LaToya’s not the only member of the Jackson family talking ahead of the first anniversary of Michael’s death.

His brother Jermaine’s claiming converting to Islam might have saved his life.

“I felt that if Michael would have embraced Islam he would still be here today,” the former Jackson 5 member told the BBC World Service.

Jermaine said life had been “tough” on his family since his brother’s passing. “We’ll never get over it,” he said.

Jermaine Jackson says the past year’s been tough on the whole family

“There aren’t no words to describe the feeling, we are just learning to live with it.”

Jermaine went on to question why Michael is getting so much positive attention now, when before his death many saw him as a bit of a joke.

“The love that they are giving my brother now he is dead is the love they should have shown him when he was alive.”

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Forest Lawn cemetery have confirmed fans will be allowed to leave flowers on an outdoor terrace near the singer’s burial site to mark the anniversary but that balloons, candles and doves will not be permitted.

Reverend Al Sharpton, who presided over Jackson’s memorial service last year said: “I don’t think the world has been able to mourn him properly because there’s too many unanswered questions.

Speaking in New York regarding the anniversary, he added: “I don’t think we can heal until we look at the wounds. Who inflicted the wound and why.

“I think we can celebrate his life, but we can’t be settled with his death until we know, who, what, when and why. And we still don’t know.”