The tribute concert for Michael Jackson set to take place in Vienna this month has been rescheduled for London in June 2010.

Jackson’s brother Jermaine said that too many top artists had been unable to perform at the event.

“Numerous stars were just not able to change their schedules to make a live appearance at the Vienna event possible,” said Jackson.

The event had been due to take place on 26 September at the Schoenbrunn castle.

Earlier, representatives for Mary J Blige, Chris Brown and Natalie Cole said none of the three would sing at the concert, as previously announced.

“Many artists and performers who I have spoken to personally told me that it would be a great honour to be part of this memorial concert for my late brother,” Jermaine Jackson said.

New venue

There had been doubts over Mary J Blige and Chris Brown singing in Vienna

“However, due to the short time-frame it was not possible for many of them to change their schedule so that they could be on stage in Vienna on 26 September, therefore we decided, after careful consideration, to change the date of the tribute concert to June 2010 - just a few weeks before the first anniversary of his untimely death.

“Now we have eight months to put this monumental show together and not just eight weeks.”

The organisers, World Tribute Productions, said all ticket holders for the Vienna concert would receive a refund.

Spokeswoman Nina Elland told the BBC that discussions on the London venue were under way. “We need time to confirm the location. We are definitely moving to London and Wembley Stadium is our favourite location.”

‘Bizarre’ reports

Michael Jackson performed at the original Wembley Stadium 15 times.

Another reason for relocating the show was the “bizarre” press reports in Austria about the event, the Austrian promoters said.

Jermaine Jackson said he could not understand why the acts he had lined up for Vienna were being ridiculed.

“When artists who have won eight Grammy Awards and sold millions of records around the world and are able to sell out large stadiums are then called ‘B-list artists’, are made fun of and generally disrespected, is something I just cannot understand.

“If these artists are not welcome in Vienna, London is more than happy to have them.”

Speaking at a news conference earlier this week, Jackson told reporters that up to 25 performers had been lined up to sing in Vienna.

Organisers had said they were expecting 65,000 fans at the Vienna show - paying up to 512 euros (£448) to attend.

Catherine Zeta-Jones arrives at a Hollywood event earlier this year. She turns 40 on September 25.

Happy birthday, Catherine Zeta-Jones. You are turning 40 this month, joining an exclusive club of women in show business who are marking the same milestone this year.

Catherine Zeta-Jones arrives at a Hollywood event earlier this year. She turns 40 on September 25.

Think big names like Renee Zellweger, Jennifer Aniston, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez and Cate Blanchett.

It’s a birthday many actors — but especially female stars — in Hollywood would once dread, hide and agonize over.

At an age where men could comfortably play heroes and lovers in the prime of their life — and could do so for many years to come — women often found themselves starting to be cast in different roles.

(One example: “The Graduate,” where 36-year-old Anne Bancroft played a frustrated “older woman” trying to seduce Dustin Hoffman, who was just six years younger than her at the time.)

No wonder some stayed mum about their age, but this generation of 40-something female entertainers is different.

They’re holding birthday bashes, embracing the big four-oh and staying as busy and famous as ever. Their faces grace magazine covers, their bodies are the envy of women decades younger and their careers seem to be going strong.

Zellweger herself has said she hasn’t noticed good parts getting scarce.

“I don’t see it. I don’t know. I’m so spoiled with respect to the experiences I’ve had and the opportunities I’ve had that I don’t see it,” she said, according to published news reports.

So has anything changed for women hitting 40 in a business obsessed with youth?

Industry observers say stars like Zeta-Jones, Zellweger and Aniston have more options than ever to have long, distinguished careers thanks to independent films and television, but opinions are mixed on whether they can sustain a big Hollywood presence.

“These women are still among the most bankable, biggest stars in the industry and turning 40 isn’t going to change that,” said Kathy Heintzelman, entertainment director for More, a magazine geared toward women over 40.

The U.S. Coast Guard promised a “thorough review” after a training incident Friday along the Potomac River briefly triggered concerns about the security of President Obama on the eighth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

U.S. Coast Guard vessels appear Friday between the Memorial and 14th Street bridges on the Potomac River.

The Coast Guard will “take a good, hard look” at how it handled the routine training exercise to determine if the security scare that followed could have been avoided, Vice Adm. John Currier said.

Federal agency emergency operations centers were not aware of or notified about the exercise on the Potomac, and they began implementing response procedures, a federal source said.

Even the police department’s Harbor Patrol, which is responsible for patrolling the river, was not notified, law enforcement sources in Washington said.

The patrol has now demanded the Coast Guard notify it in the future before any training exercises on the Potomac, the sources said.

The Coast Guard did not alert other agencies when it conducted the exercise, Currier said.

He said the U.S. Secret Service, which protects the president, was not notified, stressing that the exercise was routine and happens four times a week.

The training incident took place as Obama was traveling across the Memorial Bridge following an event at the Pentagon shortly before 10 a.m. ET. CNN personnel saw what appeared to be a Coast Guard vessel working to prevent a boat from trying to enter a security zone.

Minutes later, there were reports on police scanners that the Coast Guard fired 10 rounds of ammunition.

A Department of Homeland Security representative later said no shots of any kind had been fired.

“Reports in the media were based on overheard radio calls made over a training frequency,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.

The Secret Service said Obama was back at the White House by the time reports surfaced of shots being fired.

In addition, the Federal Aviation Administration put a “ground halt” on a small number of flights Friday at Reagan National Airport after the security scare, Currier said.

Reagan National is near where the training activity occurred.

Former Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian was convicted Friday on corruption and money laundering charges, and was sentenced to life in prison, according to officials at Taipei City Court.

Former Taiwan president Chen Shui-bian walks inside the Taipei Detention Centre in Tucheng on Friday.

He was fined 200 million New Taiwan dollars (U.S.$6.1 million) as well.

Chen’s wife, Wu Shu-chen, who earlier had been convicted of lying to prosecutors, also was convicted on similar charges. She received a life sentence and was fined 300 million New Taiwan dollars (U.S. $9.1 million), according to the Central News Agency, Taiwan’s official news agency.

The former president was not at the courthouse when the verdict was read. He had asked to be excused and was being held at a detention center.

Supporters of Chen gathered outside the courthouse hours before the verdict, wearing bright-green shirts, and carrying yellow balloons and banners. Riot police stood by in case the crowd got out of control as they protested the verdict.

The former president’s corruption trial began in March. It is the first for a former head of state, and has gripped the island for months. He has denied wrongdoing and has said the charges are politically motivated.

Prosecutors say Chen embezzled 600 million New Taiwan dollars (U.S.$17.7 million), took bribes, laundered money and illegally removed classified documents from the president’s office.

Chen has countered that the bribe money was actually political donations. He has also said that a special presidential fund from which he is accused of embezzling does not clearly say what the money can and cannot be used for.

Ahead of Friday’s verdict, the island’s former first lady was sentenced to a year in prison for lying in her husband’s corruption case. Wu was convicted on charges that she helped her son, daughter and son-in-law provide false testimony.

Prosecutors said the former first couple’s son has a Swiss bank account with $22 million they think are illegal proceeds.

The challenge for prosecutors was to prove that Chen handed out political favors in exchange for money. The former president said he was being persecuted politically by his successor.

Chen’s party favors independence for Taiwan. His successor, President Ma Ying-jeou, favors closer ties with mainland China.