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26th MAC Awards Presented March 29; Andrea Marcovicci, KT Sullivan, Eric Michael Gillett Among Nominees

By Michael Gioia 29 Mar 2012

The 26th Annual MAC Awards are presented by the Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs March 29 at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill. Jason Graae hosts.

Directed by Lennie Watts, the evening begins at 7:30 PM. Julie Miller produces.

The 2012 ceremony, dedicated to The Year of the Songwriter, honors and pays tribute to five songwriters: Ervin Drake and David Friedman, who will receive MAC's Lifetime Achievement Awards; and Francesca Blumenthal, John Bucchino and Julie Gold, who will receive MAC's Board of Director Awards.

Scheduled to appear are Scott Barbarino, Kenny Bell, Anna Bergman, Liz Lark Brown, Mary Foster Conklin, Scott Coulter, Baby Jane Dexter, Natalie Douglas, Kevin Dozier, Bernie Furshpin, Terese Genecco, Kim Grogg, Sean Harkness, Thomas Honeck, Karen Mason, Sharon McNight, Julie Miller, Sidney Myer, Mark Nadler, Christine Pedi, Don Rebic, Julie Reyburn, Sarah Rice, Ricky Ritzel, Johnny Rodgers, Billy Stritch, KT Sullivan, Steven Ray Watkins, Lennie Watts and Amy Wolk.

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The 2012 MAC Award nominees follow:

FEMALE VOCALIST

Kim Grogg, One-Hit Wonder Woman Don't Tell Mama

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26th MAC Awards Presented March 29; Andrea Marcovicci, KT Sullivan, Eric Michael Gillett Among Nominees

MADRID A Spanish court has dropped a probe into allegations a Saudi billionaire prince raped a model on a yacht in Ibiza three years ago, according to a ruling seen by AFP Wednesday.

The case concerns Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a nephew of King Abdullah and one of the world's richest men, who is being asked to respond to a complaint of sexual assault against him in August 2008 by a model who was 20 at the time.

The 57-year-old has denied the allegations. He has said he was nowhere near Ibiza at the time.

A provincial court on Palma de Majorca, the capital of the Balearic Islands, on Monday ordered a stay of proceedings in the case due to the "contradictions and vagueness" of the alleged victim's testimony, the court ruling said.

"In light of recent statements by the complainant, we cannot firmly establish with evidence what happened overnight August 11-12, 2008, on the yacht," it added.

A judge in Ibiza in May 2010 ordered the case to be closed for lack of evidence. But courts later reopened the case and asked the Saudi authorities to take a statement from the accused.

Spanish law firm Oliva Ayala which represents the prince said in a statement that he was mulling legal action against the woman for "making false accusations" against him.

"This has been a grave injustice to His Royal Highness. For this, he has asked our firm to study how to proceed in order to protect other innocent people from facing similar attacks . . . " it said.

The latest ruling "confirms what we have said all along, which is that the allegations against Prince Alwaleed were not only false and outrageous but also impossible as he was not in Spain at the time but was in France with his wife, children, grandchildren and in the presence of dozens of witnesses," it added.

The woman, who has not been named by the court, believes her drink was spiked with a drug in a nightclub on Ibiza after she met the prince.

The rest is here:
Spanish court drops rape case against Saudi prince

Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal says he hasn't been to Ibiza, where the rape allegedly happened in 2008, in 10 years.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- A Spanish court on Wednesday dismissed an allegation that one of the world's richest men, Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, raped a young woman on a yacht on the island of Ibiza in 2008.

In its ruling, the Spanish court in Palma de Mallorca found there wasn't sufficient evidence to press charges.

The prince has long maintained that he was innocent, that he hasn't been in Ibiza in more than a decade and that others have tried to impersonate him.

The prince's legal team released a statement Wednesday saying the ruling vindicates the prince, but said the legal matter has nevertheless resulted in "a grave injustice" to him.

"This news confirms what this office has been demonstrating since the court took up the case: that the alleged accusations against HRH Prince Alwaleed were false and baseless as his royal highness wasn't in Spain at that time, but in France, with his wife, children, grandchildren and accompanied by dozens of witnesses as proof that was provided by the office of the prince at the time," the legal team's statement said.

"This issue has resulted in a grave injustice against HRH Prince Alwaleed. Our client has commissioned this office to consider ways to protect other innocent people who have to face this kind of false allegations and for those to face liability for their actions," the statement said.

In September, a Spanish court reopened the investigation into the rape allegation.

The woman filed her complaint in Ibiza in August 2008, but a local judge shelved it in 2010, citing a lack of evidence that a crime had been committed, according to court documents.

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Spanish court dismisses woman's rape allegation against Saudi prince

Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal says he hasn't been to Ibiza, where the rape allegedly happened in 2008, in 10 years.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- A Spanish court on Wednesday dismissed an allegation that one of the world's richest men, Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, raped a young woman on a yacht on the island of Ibiza in 2008.

In its ruling, the Spanish court in Palma de Mallorca found there wasn't sufficient evidence to press charges.

The prince has long maintained that he was innocent, that he hasn't been in Ibiza in more than a decade and that others have tried to impersonate him.

The prince's legal team released a statement Wednesday saying the ruling vindicates the prince, but said the legal matter has nevertheless resulted in "a grave injustice" to him.

"This news confirms what this office has been demonstrating since the court took up the case: that the alleged accusations against HRH Prince Alwaleed were false and baseless as his royal highness wasn't in Spain at that time, but in France, with his wife, children, grandchildren and accompanied by dozens of witnesses as proof that was provided by the office of the prince at the time," the legal team's statement said.

"This issue has resulted in a grave injustice against HRH Prince Alwaleed. Our client has commissioned this office to consider ways to protect other innocent people who have to face this kind of false allegations and for those to face liability for their actions," the statement said.

In September, a Spanish court reopened the investigation into the rape allegation.

The woman filed her complaint in Ibiza in August 2008, but a local judge shelved it in 2010, citing a lack of evidence that a crime had been committed, according to court documents.

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Rape allegation against prince tossed

Up to 80 per cent of international flights in and out of the country could be grounded by the walkout, which has been called by unions in protest over planned austerity cuts and changes to labour laws.

Iberia has scrapped six services between Heathrow and Madrid, as well as more than 240 other flights. Vueling the low-cost carrier has cancelled flights from Heathrow to Corua and Vigo, but is operating its daily route from Heathrow to Bilbao.

Ryanair has cancelled 44, including flights from Liverpool to Ibiza, Barcelona and Palma, and from Luton to Reus.

A number of other airlines, including British Airways, have said they expect significant disruption to services.

All those passengers affected by the cancellations are entitled to a full refund, or tickets to travel on an alternative date.

Meanwhile, pilots at Iberia are 30 days of strikes from April 9, according to the SEPLA union, over the launch of the airline's no-frills off-shoot Iberia Express. Walkouts are planned on every Monday and Friday until July 20.

Iberia; Vueling; EasyJet; Ryanair; British Airways

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Spain strike causes flight cancellations