News and stories on CULTURE, movies, music, literature

BRAZIL

Hundreds of thousands turn out for Rock in Rio festival

Rock in Rio, the world's largest music festival, drew about 100,000 fans as it kicked off on Friday with a star-studded line-up that included pop queens Rihanna and Katy Perry, as well as music legend Elton John.

MUSIC

Singing legend Cesaria Evora retires

Cesaria Evora, the “Barefoot Diva” who toured the world singing ballads from her native Cape Verde, has decided to end her career at the age of 70 because of health problems, her producer said Friday.

MUSIC

R.E.M. calls it quits after more than 30 years of music

After more than 30 years and 15 albums together, rock'n'roll band R.E.M. have decided to "call it a day", in a website message thanking fans for their loyalty and support. The band produced hits including “Losing My Religion” and "The One I Love".

TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

'Where Do We Go Now?' takes best film in Toronto

The Lebanese director Nadine Labaki's second film won the People's Choice Award for best picture at the Toronto film festival on Sunday. Set in Lebanon, it tells the bittersweet story of a group of women trying to protect their village from violence.

EXHIBITS

‘Lowbrow’ art show crashes highbrow Paris

A new exhibition in Paris brings together dozens of international artists, bound by a penchant for the weird and their collective unwillingness to be defined.

PAINTING

London exhibition sheds new light on Degas artworks

USA

Recordings reveal a candid, critical Jackie Kennedy

In a new oral history compiled from interviews recorded in 1964, a year after her husband’s assassination, former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy reveals an opinionated side that differs from her discreet, soft-spoken public image.

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CINEMA

Aleksander Sokurov's 'Faust' wins Golden Lion in Venice

"Faust" by Russian director Aleksander Sokurov (pictured) won the Golden Lion for best picture at the Venice Film Festival Saturday, while the best actor award went to Michael Fassbender for "Shame" and best actress to Deanie Ip for "A Simple Life".

JUSTICE

Paris court fines Galliano €6,000 for anti-Semitic rant

A Paris court found fashion designer John Galliano guilty of two counts of anti-Semitic behaviour and handed him suspended fines totalling 6,000 euros on Thursday. Galliano blamed his actions on his addiction to alcohol and drugs.

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OBITUARY

Italian tenor Salvator Licitra dies from crash injuries

Italian tenor Salvatore Licitra died in a hospital in Catania on Monday, a week after a scooter accident in Sicily rendered him brain dead. Licitra gained international recognition from the New York Metropolitan Opera's 2002 production of Tosca.

ON THE BLOGS

In France, food says it all

Paris is a city that loves food. In fact, it loves food so much it often crops up as either a topic of conversation or a form of expression. There are a myriad ways of bandying fruit laced idioms or meaty insults to describe people and things...

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FRANCE

French summer festival season 2011

ENTERTAINMENT

Angola crowned winner of Miss Universe pageant

Miss Angola, also known as Leila Lopes, was crowned Miss Universe on Monday to become the 60th woman to win the title in the annual beauty pageant. Lopes, 25, is a business student in Angola's western town of Benguela.

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ART

Mona Lisa thief to be honoured as Italian ‘patriot’

The native town of the Italian labourer who stole the Mona Lisa a century ago is to honour Vincenzo Peruggia with a play that portrays him as an Italian patriot.

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