Russia's last Eurovision singer, now 'cancelled', still seeks to spread hope
By Marie-Louise Gumuchian LONDON (Reuters) - The last singer to represent Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest before it was banned, now herself ostracised at home, hopes that a new track released on the eve of this year's final will give others ...
May 08, 2024
Isabelle Huppert to head Venice Film Festival jury
ROME (Reuters) - Isabelle Hubbert will head the main competition jury at this year's Venice Film Festival, organisers said on Wednesday. Hubbert won the best actress award in Venice in 1988 for her performance in "Story of Women" and in 1995 for "L...
May 08, 2024
SXSW festival to launch European edition in London next year
LONDON (Reuters) - South by Southwest, the music, technology and film festival (SXSW) held annually in Austin, Texas is coming to London next year in a new European edition. The inaugural SXSW London will take place in June 2025 in the English capi...
May 08, 2024
Factbox-How to vote for your favourite in Eurovision 2024
By Isabelle Yr Carlsson MALMÖ, Sweden (Reuters) - The world's biggest live music event, Eurovision Song Contest, will take place in Sweden in the second week of May with 37 participating countries. Roughly 100,000 visitors from 89 countries are exp...
May 07, 2024
Security guard wounded in shooting at rapper Drake's Toronto mansion, CBC reports
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Toronto police are investigating a shooting at Canadian rapper Drake's mansion that left a security guard badly injured, CBC News reported on Tuesday, citing a source. The shooting happened around 2:10 a.m. (0610 GMT), and early ...
May 07, 2024
Kevin Spacey overturns UK ruling in sex assault case over lawyers' mistake
By Sam Tobin LONDON (Reuters) - Oscar-winning U.S. actor Kevin Spacey on Tuesday overturned a London court ruling which effectively found him liable for an alleged sexual assault on a British man, after his lawyers mistakenly failed to serve a defe...
May 07, 2024
Disney posts surprise profit in streaming, raises earnings forecast
By Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Walt Disney's streaming entertainment unit posted its first profit on Tuesday, two quarters ahead of schedule, and the media company raised its annual earnings per share outlook as it said turnaround efforts...
May 07, 2024
Zendaya in blue, sparkling J Lo arrive at garden-themed Met Gala
By Ben Kellerman NEW YORK (Reuters) - Zendaya posed wearing a blue gown adorned with clusters of grapes on the green and white carpeted entrance to the lavish annual Met Gala on Monday, which this year has a garden theme. Stars were told to dress i...
May 07, 2024
Israel's Eurovision contestant Eden Golan hopes to 'unite by music'
By Ilze Filks and Tom Little MALMO, Sweden (Reuters) - Eden Golan, Israel's contender in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, hopes to unite people through her music when she performs this week in Malmo, Sweden, she said in an interview. The 68th vers...
May 06, 2024
Exclusive-Disney and Comcast seek advisor to resolve Hulu valuation, sources say
By Anirban Sen and Dawn Chmielewski NEW YORK (Reuters) - Walt Disney and Comcast are seeking to hire a financial adviser to resolve a dispute over how to value the 33% stake in streaming platform Hulu that the former will acquire from the latter, a...
May 06, 2024
A Minute With: producer Mike Gunton on working with naturalist David Attenborough
(Reuters) - Veteran British naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough turns 98 on May 8, but according to his longtime collaborator Mike Gunton, he has no plans to retire. Gunton, who is Creative Director of the Natural History Unit at the BBC,...
May 06, 2024
Magnitude 5.4 earthquake strikes Taiwan - EMSC
(Reuters) - A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck Taiwan, on Monday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. The quake was at a depth of 25 km (15.53 miles), EMSC said. (Reporting by Disha Mishra in Bengaluru, Editing by Louise...
May 06, 2024
Thousands of Madonna fans gather on Copacabana beach for free concert
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Thousands gathered on Rio de Janeiro's famous Copacabana beach on Saturday ahead of a free open-air concert by pop star Madonna that was expected to attract some 1.5 million people. The Brazilian show marks the end of Mad...
May 04, 2024
Europapa or Baby Lasagna? Contestants to look out for at Eurovision 2024
By Isabelle Yr Carlsson COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The Eurovision Song Contest, a music kitsch-fest watched by some 200 million people, kicks off in Malmö, Sweden on Sunday with its "turquoise carpet" gala, in what fans say is a wide-open year with hal...
May 04, 2024
Biden to honor Olympian Katie Ledecky, actor Michelle Yeoh with Medal of Freedom
By Trevor Hunnicutt WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A winner of seven Olympic gold medals, a leader of the Mississippi civil rights struggle and a pioneer of television's tabloid talk show genre are part of this year's class of Presidential Medal of Freedom...
May 03, 2024
Universal Music Group first-quarter core earnings beat forecast
(Reuters) - Universal Music Group on Thursday posted first-quarter adjusted core profit that beat expectations, helped by the success of its star Taylor Swift. The world's biggest music label posted adjusted core earnings (EBITDA) of 591 million eu...
May 02, 2024
John Cleese says farce best in theatre as he brings 'Fawlty Towers' to stage
By Natasha Mulenga LONDON (Reuters) - John Cleese says farce is best seen in the theatre as he brings a new stage version of his classic 1970s comedy show "Fawlty Towers" to London's West End. "Fawlty Towers The Play" has been adapted by Cleese, wh...
May 02, 2024
Jewish community anxious ahead of Sweden Eurovision anti-Israel protests
By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen MALMO, Sweden (Reuters) - Planned protests against Israel taking part in this year's Eurovision Song Contest have made members of the Jewish community in Swedish host city Malmo anxious, a representative of the community ...
May 02, 2024
Universal Music Group reaches new licensing agreement with TikTok
By Dawn Chmielewski and David Shepardson (Reuters) - Universal Music Group and TikTok said on Thursday that they had reached a new licensing agreement that will restore the label's songs and artists to the social media platform. TikTok began removi...
May 02, 2024
Harvey Weinstein expected in New York court after rape conviction overturned
By Brendan Pierson and Jack Queen (Reuters) - Harvey Weinstein is due to appear in state court in Manhattan on Wednesday for the first time since New York's highest court threw out his 2020 rape conviction last week. The hearing before Judge Curtis...
May 01, 2024
Factbox-All you need to know about Eurovision 2024
By Isabelle Yr Carlsson MALMÖ, Sweden (Reuters) - The world's biggest live music event, Eurovision Song Contest, will take place in Sweden in the second week of May with 37 participating countries. Roughly 100,000 visitors from 89 countries are exp...
Apr 30, 2024
'Hell's Kitchen' and 'Stereophonic' tie for most 2024 Tony nominations
(Reuters) - Alicia Keys' musical "Hell's Kitchen" and 1970's rock inspired "Stereophonic" led the nominations for the 2024 Tony awards, American theater's highest honors, followed by "The Outsiders," "Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club" and "Appropriate."...
Apr 30, 2024
French actor Gerard Depardieu questioned over alleged sexual assaults
PARIS (Reuters) - French screen legend Gerard Depardieu was detained for questioning on Monday in connection with alleged sexual assaults against two women on separate film sets, police sources said. Depardieu, one of France's top movie stars, has ...
Apr 29, 2024
Start me up: The Stones kick off North America tour in Houston
By Arathy Somasekhar HOUSTON (Reuters) - The Rolling Stones kicked off their North America tour at a packed venue in Houston on Sunday, with people traveling from various cities to watch one of the world's most enduring rock bands amid worries that...
Apr 29, 2024
Blackstone outbids Concord in $1.6 billion takeover battle for Hipgnosis
(Reuters) - Blackstone has agreed to acquire Hipgnosis Songs Fund for about $1.57 billion, after the private equity giant outbid rival suitor Concord in the takeover battle for the music owner of artists such as Shakira and Red Hot Chili Peppers. B...
Apr 29, 2024