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Hollywood stars condemn Gaza 'genocide' as Cannes Festival opens

More than 380 figures from the cinema world including "Schindler's List" actor Ralph Fiennes condemned "genocide" in Gaza in an open letter published on Tuesday ahead of the Cannes Festival opening.

No truce in India-Pakistan disinformation war

India and Pakistan have announced a ceasefire after coming close to all-out conflict, but on social media citizens on both sides are vying to control public perceptions by peddling disinformation.

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Justin Bieber tour dates cancelled

Following the announcement of his indefinite touring hiatus, Justin Bieber's tour dates appear ultimately to be scrapped, with fan sites and ticketing outlets reporting cancellations.

Kandinsky masterpiece sells for record $45 million

Wassily Kandinsky's masterpiece "Murnau Mit Kirche II", recently recovered by the descendants of its owner, a German Jew killed by the Nazis, sold for $45 million on Wednesday, a record for the artist according to auctioneers Sotheby's.

US lawmakers advance bill on banning TikTok

A panel of US lawmakers voted Wednesday to advance a bill that would make it easier to ban Chinese-owned video sharing app TikTok, amid criticism that the proposal threatens free speech.

TikTok to add screen time limits for young users

TikTok on Wednesday said it would introduce automatic daily screen time limits of one hour for accounts belonging to under-18s, as the social media platform faces criticism over its addictiveness among young users.

Chinese phone makers emerge from Huawei's shadow

Western governments are falling over each other to restrict social media platform TikTok, but Chinese firms are still huge in sectors from smartphones to network equipment and are only looking to grow.

Customised kicks: North Macedonia sneaker artist sketches new path

From a makeshift studio in a cramped apartment in North Macedonia's Skopje, Satja Grabuloski has made his mark as one of the top sneaker artists in the world.

Dior's feminist reworking of 1950s New Look

Under a giant surreal flower made of flourescent textiles, Dior presented its latest women's collection on Tuesday -- a softer reworking of its classic 1950s aesthetic.

How 5G disappointed 'pretty much everybody'

Driverless cars, fridges that talk to toasters, breathtaking immersive reality, mind-blowing gaming experiences –- 5G was going to enable it all, and telecom companies were going to make a packet.

Murdoch says Fox News hosts 'endorsed' false election claim

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch admitted in a deposition that hosts on his Fox News network promoted the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, court documents show.

Weight loss drug trend on TikTok worries doctors

The diabetes drug Ozempic has become a social media phenomenon for its weight loss properties, but its soaring popularity has led to global shortages and doctors warn about the potential side effects.

Two-time Palme winner Ruben Ostlund to head Cannes jury

Swedish director Ruben Ostlund, a two-time winner of the Palme d'Or, will be jury president at this year's Cannes Film Festival in May, organisers announced Tuesday.

'Wholesome' South Korean reality TV proves a global hit

The challenge is straight from Greek mythology: hold a boulder aloft as long as possible. Korean car dealer Jo Jin-hyeong lasted over two hours, captivating global audiences in a reality show that could signal a new K-culture export success.

'Rest your best!': Pokemon Sleep game coming this year

Pokemon's last major smartphone hit, "Pokemon Go", had fans on the move hunting the lovable characters, but its next release will focus on a more relaxing activity: sleep.

Breaking new ground, video game engages with Holocaust

Tackling one of the greatest human tragedies, a new video game has been released in which players adopt roles in a Jewish family torn from their home during the Holocaust and sent to an internment camp.

Paris Fashion Week coloured by scandal and grief

Paris Fashion Week launched Monday with touches of scandal and grief, as Balenciaga tries to move past recent controversies while Vivienne Westwood and Paco Rabanne hold their first shows since their founders' deaths.

'Everything Everywhere' wins (nearly) all at SAG Awards

Absurdist sci-fi comedy "Everything Everywhere All At Once" continued its dominance of this year's Hollywood award shows by earning top honors from the Screen Actors Guild on Sunday.

'Ant-Man' stumbles but still tops N.America box office

Disney's "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" fell off a cliff but managed to land on all six feet this weekend, topping the North American box office with an estimated $32.2 million in ticket sales.

Top Africa film festival opens in jihadist-hit Burkina

Africa's biggest film festival kicked off in Burkina Faso on Saturday with the Sahel nation's long-running jihadist insurgency looming large over the opening night.

Spanish girl, 8, clinches best acting award at Berlin festival

Eight-year-old Spanish girl Sofia Otero on Saturday won the best acting prize at the Berlin Film Festival for her role in the film "20,000 Species of Bees".

Brazilian favela 'shack' wins house-of-year award

At first glance, it is a house like dozens of others in the crowded favelas of Brazil. But this seemingly modest dwelling of 66 square meters (710 square feet), with its exposed brick walls, has just been recognized as the "house of the year" in an international architecture competition.

'A Thousand Splendid Suns' opera spotlights Afghan women

Minutes before Afghan filmmaker Roya Sadat entered her first Seattle Opera production meeting for an adaptation of the novel "A Thousand Splendid Suns," she learned that her hometown of Herat had fallen to the Taliban.

Inside Pique's Kings League, turning sport to spectacle

A masked La Liga player, a special card to send off an opponent, club presidents taking penalties and Gerard Pique himself opining on a new rule voted for by viewers.

For RV community, giant Carter peanut statue a beacon for home

In Jimmy Carter’s hometown of Plains, Georgia, a giant roadside statue of a peanut bearing the former president's toothy grin draws carloads of tourists, but for those living in the camper park directly behind it, the enormous caricature signifies home.

Facebook, Instagram roll out paid subscription in Australia, New Zealand

Facebook and Instagram began a week-long rollout of their first paid verification service on Friday, testing users' willingness to pay for social media features that until now have been free.

Defiant note: Ukrainian tenor sings for his country

For soloist Dmytro Popov, a special concert for Ukraine on Friday at New York's Metropolitan Opera will be a solemn but essential occasion to remind people that one year on, the war is far from over.

Eats, snorts and bereaves: killer 'Cocaine Bear' grips Hollywood

If you go down to the movie theater Friday, you're sure of a big, angry, drug-fueled surprise.

Rihanna to perform 'Black Panther' song at Oscars

Pop superstar Rihanna will perform at the Oscars next month, organizers said Thursday, just weeks after she made her long-awaited -- and visibly pregnant -- return at the Super Bowl.

David Bowie archive to open to public in 2025

A six-decade archive charting pop icon David Bowie's career will open in London in 2025, providing a "new source book for the Bowies of tomorrow", a museum director said Wednesday.

Tens of millions still use Instagram in Iran despite crackdown: Meta

Meta on Thursday said that tens of millions of people in Iran are using Instagram despite government efforts to block the service due to months-long protests.

Killer of rapper Nipsey Hussle jailed for at least 60 years

The man who shot dead Grammy-winning rapper Nipsey Hussle on a Los Angeles street in 2019 was jailed for at least 60 years on Wednesday.

Met Opera's 2023-24 season dominated by the contemporary

The prestigious Metropolitan Opera will escalate its turn towards newer productions in its coming season, including with a staging of "X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X."

Hockney immersive takes plunge into artist's creative process

David Hockney's first immersive show opened to the public in London on Wednesday offering a hypnotic, multi-sensory journey through the artist's decades-long career, from sun-drenched California swimming pools to the Normandy countryside.

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