Culture

Iran summons French diplomat over praise of Palme d’Or-winning film

ADVERTISEMENTIran has summoned France's representative in protest after the French foreign minister praised the Cannes-winning Iranian film as “a gesture of resistance against the Iranian regime's oppression.”French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot had praised It Was Just An Accident after it won the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.The film by famed dissident Iranian

Has watchmaker Omega leaked the identity of the new James Bond?

ADVERTISEMENTIt’s one of the most closely guarded secrets in the industry: the identity of the next 007.  It has been four years since the release of Daniel Craig’s dramatic swansong as Bond in No Time To Die, and since then the rumour mill has been working overtime.We reported last year that one candidate may have the

How Daniela Pes uses her Italian dialect to make nonsensical music

ADVERTISEMENTDaniela Pes, 32, was born in Sardinia, Italy. Growing up in Tempio Pausania, she is fluent in both standard Italian and her Gallurian region’s dialect, Gallurese. On her debut album, 2023’s ‘SPIRA’, Pes sings in a combination of Italian and Gallurese. She effortlessly moves between them combining idiomatic phrases with word jumbles, choosing lyrics for

Daredevils tumble for glory at Gloucester’s annual cheese-rolling race

ADVERTISEMENTA German YouTuber and a London thrill-seeker took top honours (and likely a few bruises) at one of Britain’s most chaotic and bizarre sporting traditions: the annual Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling Race.For the second year in a row, Munich’s Tom Kopke threw caution to the wind, hurtling down the 200-yard, nearly vertical hill after a runaway

Billie Eilish sweeps American Music Awards 2025 with seven wins

ADVERTISEMENTThe American Music Awards (AMAs) are back after a two-year hiatus and took place last night at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas in Las Vegas.Kendrick Lamar led the nominations with 10 nods, with Post Malone following behind with eight noms, and Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan and Shaboozey following behind with seven each.At the end of the

The 14 most stunning, talked-about looks from the Cannes Film Festival

ADVERTISEMENTThis weekend, the 2025 Cannes Film Festival officially came to a close - with its top prize, the Palme d'Or, being award to the Iranian revenge drama It Was Just an Accident.But beyond the silver screen, the real spectacle was on the red carpet. The Croisette was a catwalk of high drama, with fashion looks stealing the

Manchester Museum is the European Museum of the Year 2025

ADVERTISEMENTThe Manchester Museum has collected this year’s top honour at the European Museum of the Year Awards, which were presented on the last day of the EMYA2025 Conference in Poland at the Sybir Memorial Museum in Białystok. On a self-proclaimed mission to become the “most inclusive, imaginative, and caring, museum you’ll ever see,” the Manchester

Marcel Ophuls, director of ‘The Sorrow and the Pity’, dies aged 97

ADVERTISEMENTMarcel Ophuls, the acclaimed French-German documentary filmmaker whose probing explorations of history and memory helped shaped the genre for decades, has died at the age of 97.His grandson, Andreas-Benjamin Seyfert, confirmed that he "died peacefully" on Saturday.Ophuls' life and career focus was shaped enormously by his own experience of war and exile. Born in Frankfurt

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What were the most-streamed shows of 2024-2025?

ADVERTISEMENTThe most watched shows in the US have been revealed by ratings company Nielsen, and Netflix rules the top of the chart. To assert its clear dominance over TV viewing, precisely half of the Top 20 come from the streaming juggernaut.Nielsen, which historically charts broadcast viewership, has released multi-platform viewing figures for the first time
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Film of the Week: ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ – Wes Anderson’s empty shell

ADVERTISEMENTAfter three decades delighting audiences with ornamental eccentricities and highly stylised aesthetics, is Wes Anderson now simply recycling his same old tricks? Worse, has he forgotten that immersive world-building becomes the crafting of empty shells without precious emotional payoffs?  On the back of 2023’s Asteroid City and judging by this year’s offering, it’s a frustrating ‘yes’ on

Russell Brand pleads not guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault

ADVERTISEMENTBritish actor and comedian Russell Brand has pleaded not guilty in a London court Friday to rape and sexual assault charges involving four women dating back more than 25 years.Brand, who turns 50 next week, denied two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. He said "not guilty”

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What were the most-streamed shows of 2024-2025?

ADVERTISEMENTThe most watched shows in the US have been revealed by ratings company Nielsen, and Netflix rules the top of the chart. To assert its clear dominance over TV viewing, precisely half of the Top 20 come from the streaming juggernaut.Nielsen, which historically charts broadcast viewership, has released multi-platform viewing figures for the first time

Film of the Week: ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ – Wes Anderson’s empty shell

ADVERTISEMENTAfter three decades delighting audiences with ornamental eccentricities and highly stylised aesthetics, is Wes Anderson now simply recycling his same old tricks? Worse, has he forgotten that immersive world-building becomes the crafting of empty shells without precious emotional payoffs?  On the back of 2023’s Asteroid City and judging by this year’s offering, it’s a frustrating ‘yes’ on
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Slovenian police investigate disappearance of Melania Trump’s statue

ADVERTISEMENTPolice in Slovenia are investigating the disappearance of a bronze statue of US first lady Melania Trump.The life-size sculpture was unveiled in 2020 during President Donald Trump’s first term in office near Sevnica in central Slovenia, where Melanija Knavs was born in 1970. It replaced a wooden statue by US artist Brad Downey which had

Man who stabbed author Salman Rushdie faces sentencing in New York

ADVERTISEMENTThe man convicted of stabbing Salman Rushdie on a New York lecture stage in 2022, leaving the prizewinning author blind in one eye, is scheduled to be sentenced today.A jury found Hadi Matar, 27, guilty of attempted murder and assault in February.Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said he will request the maximum 25 years