Xbox addict 'dies from blood clot'

The family of a budding computer programmer have launched a campaign to raise awareness about the health risks of playing online computer games after their son died following a marathon session on his Xbox.A post-mortem revealed that 20-year-old Chris Staniforth -- who was offered a place to study Game Design at Leicester University -- was killed by a pulmonary embolism, which can occur if someone sits in the same position for several hours.Deep vein thrombosis normally affects passengers on long-haul flights, but medical experts fear youngsters who spend hours glued to their consoles might also be at risk and have urged them to take regular breaks.Professor Brian Colvin -- an expert on blood-related conditions -- said it was "unhealthy" for youngsters to spend long periods in front of their consoles."There's anxiety about obesity and children not doing anything other than looking at computer screens," he said.David Staniforth has now launched a campaign to warn other parents of the dangers."Games are fun and once you've started playing it's hard to stop."Kids all over the country are playing these games for long periods - they don't realise it could kill them," he said.

Staniforth's distraught father said his son would spend up to 12 hours playing on his Xbox."He got sucked in playing Halo online against people from all over the world."Online computer games are extremely popular as thousands interact in shared science fiction worlds.Reports of gamers collapsing after spending 15 hours in front of video games are fairly common throughout Asia.In 2005, a South Korean gamer died after playing online games for three days without taking a break.Microsoft -- which manufactures the Xbox -- said it "recommend gamers take breaks to exercise as well as make time for other pursuits."

Angelina Jolie honored at Sarajevo Film Festival in Bosnia

 Angelina Jolie attended the closing ceremony of the eight-day Sarajevo Film Festival in Bosnia's capital Saturday. The organizers presented her with a special award for bringing attention to refugees from the country's 1992-95 war.The award, called The Heart of Sarajevo, was handed to Jolie by festival director, Miro Purivatra. Miro Purivatra said it was being given to her not only for her great impact in the movie industry, but also for persisting in her active engagement in the complexities in the real world we live in.Jolie visited Bosnia  last year as UNHCR ambassador and drew attention to the plight of 117,000 people who haven't able to return to their homes even though the Bosnia war ended 16 years ago.Accompanied by Brad Pitt, she visited several refugee camps. The visit resulted in a U.S. government donation that provided housing for the last 15 people living in one of the rundown facilities.

Christina Aguilera, Selena Gomez top ALMA nominees

Christina Aguilera and Selena Gomez are the leading nominees for the ALMA Awards.The National Council of La Raza announced the nominations Thursday.Aguilera and Gomez are each up for three awards for their work in music and on the big and small screens. Both are nominated in the female music artist category and for Favorite Movie Actress in a comedy or musical — Aguilera for "Burlesque" and Gomez for "Monte Carlo." Aguilera was also nominated for Reality TV Personality for her work on "The Voice." Gomez is up for Favorite TV Actress in a comedy for "Wizards of Waverly Place," which was nominated for Favorite TV Series alongside "CSI: Miami," "Desperate Housewives" and "Modern Family."Jennifer Lopez and "Glee" star Naya Rivera are each double nominees. Both are up for Female Music Artist. Lopez is also nominated in the reality TV category for "American Idol" and Rivera is nominated for Favorite TV Actress in a comedy for "Glee."The nominees for favorite movie will be announced Aug. 22.

Lady Gaga to release book of photographs

Lady Gaga will release a book of photographs with fashion photographer Terry Richardson.Grand Central Publishing announced Thursday that it will release the book, "Lady Gaga," on Nov. 22. The publisher said the book will include more than 350 color and black-and-white photographs of Gaga.On Thursday, the pop star surpassed 12 million followers on Twitter.

Drogba takes malaria fight to West Africa

After six years braving England's frigid winters, Chelsea's injury-prone striker Didier Drogba thought would keep him on the sidelines of the Premier League.Since contracting malaria last year, Drogba's fight against the disease has gone from the Chelsea treatment room to the wilds of West Africa. In West Africa  Drogba is building a hospital and providing thousands of mosquito nets in an effort to cut the infection rate of one of the world's biggest killers.There are 225 million cases a year of malaria, a mosquito-borne disease which can damage the nervous system, kidneys and liver. There were 781,000 deaths due to malaria in 2009, nine out of 10 were in Africa, according to the World Health Organization."I had malaria, I know exactly what it feels like and it's something that I want to stop," Drogba told on Saturday.He also says that "That's why we're giving these nets to kids and people who can't afford treatment. These are good options, they're efficient and they save lives."

The 32-year-old fell ill with malaria in September but continued playing, a decision he said was foolish in retrospect and delayed his recovery.