Werner Herzog to head Berlin Film Festival jury
AFP - Friday November 20, 03:56 AM
BERLIN (AFP) - Oscar-nominated German director Werner Herzog will lead the international jury at the 60th Berlin Film Festival from February 11-21, organisers said on Thursday.

Clerics cringe as Indonesians flock to doomsday film
AFP - Friday November 20, 03:56 AM
JAKARTA (AFP) - Hollywood's latest doomsday offering "2012" has caused a storm in Indonesia, with conservative clerics condemning it Thursday as a "provocation against Islam".

Life of Lula hits the screen in Brazilian biopic
AFP - Thursday November 19, 11:17 PM
BRASILIA (AFP) - Audiences wept at the first screening of a movie charting the rise of Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from a childhood of poverty to a union leader on the verge of glittering political career.

YSL auction raises four million euros -- so far
AFP - Thursday November 19, 07:51 AM
PARIS (AFP) - A sale of belongings from the posh homes of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge so far has fetched four million euros (six million dollars), including costs, with two days of auction yet to go, Christie's said Wednesday.

Jennifer Hudson to play Winnie Mandela: report
AFP - Thursday November 19, 06:52 AM
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson is to play Winnie Mandela in a film charting the turbulent life and times of the ex-wife of South Africa's first black president, it was reported Wednesday.

Nigeria struggles to curb rise in child beggars
AFP - Thursday November 19, 06:05 AM
KANO, Nigeria (AFP) - Plastic bowls in hand, often chanting religious texts, growing numbers of child beggars are roaming Nigeria's second city Kano in a trend that is worrying authorities and residents.

Tokyo crowned world's top Michelin three-star city
AFP - Thursday November 19, 12:14 AM
TOKYO (AFP) - Tokyo has overtaken Paris as the city with the most Michelin three-star restaurants, cementing its status as the "world capital of gastronomy", the publisher of the culinary guide has announced.

US companies throw workers a bone with pet insurance
AFP - Wednesday November 18, 10:54 PM
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A growing number of US businesses, eager to hang on to top talent, are throwing their most valued employees a bone by offering them a new kind of benefit: health care for their pets.

Palin drops strong White House hint
AFP - Wednesday November 18, 10:42 AM
NEW YORK (AFP) - Sarah Palin dropped a heavy hint Tuesday that she might seek to run for the White House in 2012 as champion of America's Republican right.

Michael Jackson 'Moonwalk' glove set to sparkle at auction
AFP - Wednesday November 18, 10:08 AM
NEW YORK (AFP) - A rhinestone-studded leather glove worn by pop icon Michael Jackson on his maiden Moonwalk in 1983, was on display Tuesday in New York before it rocks on to the auction block.