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How Finnish youth learn to spot disinformation

Finland is consistently ranked as Europe's most media literate country and the skills needed to spot online hoaxes are on the school curriculum, amidst a boom of mis- and disinformation campaigns.

Support grows for Blake Lively over smear campaign claim

A chorus of support is growing behind actress Blake Lively after she filed a complaint alleging sexual harassment and a smear campaign against "It Ends With Us" co-star Justin Baldoni.

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Lady Gaga, Green Day, Post Malone to headline Coachella 2025

Lady Gaga, Green Day and Post Malone will headline 2025's Coachella music and arts festival, organizers said Wednesday, while Travis Scott will play a special guest slot.

Gl-icked? Movie theaters pin hopes on big 'Wicked,' 'Gladiator' weekend

US movie theaters are hoping the lightning-in-a-bottle magic of last year's "Barbenheimer" phenomenon can strike again this weekend, with the simultaneous release of two of 2024's most hyped films: "Wicked" and "Gladiator II."

One Direction stars attend Liam Payne's funeral in UK

Family and friends of One Direction star Liam Payne, who died last month after falling from a Buenos Aires hotel room, gathered for his funeral in Britain on Wednesday.

Star K-pop producer of NewJeans quits after legal spat with BTS agency

The South Korean superproducer behind the chart-topping girl band NewJeans resigned from her label Wednesday, following a protracted legal battle with BTS's agency HYBE that has rocked the country's K-pop industry.

Japan's manga powerhouse 'Dragon Ball' turns 40

"Dragon Ball" fans on Wednesday celebrated 40 years of the globally beloved Japanese manga, anime and video game franchise, just months after creator Akira Toriyama's unexpected death.

Lights, action, melodrama! Silent films get new reel at London haven

The black and white silent movie flickered into life as the pianist started up with a dramatic flourish. Cue the latest exploits of daring master criminal "Three-Fingered Kate".

'Rust' to premiere three years after on-set shooting

The Western "Rust" will get its world premiere on Wednesday at a Polish film festival, three years on from a shock on-set shooting that killed the cinematographer.

'Operation Night Watch': Rembrandt classic gets makeover

Shielded from the public by glass panels and staring intently through microscopes, a team of specialists has started work restoring Rembrandt's The Night Watch, one of the most iconic paintings of the Dutch golden age.

'Gladiator 3' already in works, say director and star

Ridley Scott's long-awaited "Gladiator" sequel has not even hit US theaters yet, but the veteran director is already hard at work on a third installment.

Composer of Piaf's 'Non, je ne regrette rien' dies aged 95

Songwriter and singer Charles Dumont, who composed the song "Non, je ne regrette rien" ("No, I do not regret anything") made world famous by Edith Piaf, has died aged 95, his partner told AFP Monday.

Quincy Jones awarded posthumous Oscar

The late Quincy Jones was posthumously awarded an honorary Oscar at an emotional and star-packed Hollywood gala on Sunday that also handed golden statuettes to the producers of the James Bond movie franchise.

Star power fails to perk up France's premiere wine auction

Hollywood stars including Eva Longoria and Dominic West on Sunday attended a centuries-old charity wine auction in the French town of Beaune, the capital of Burgundy wines, though the sums raised fell short of expectations.

Glastonbury 2025 tickets sell out in 35 minutes

Tickets for next year's Glastonbury Festival sold out within 35 minutes on Sunday, with more than 200,000 people expected to attend the world-renowned musical celebration in rural southwest England.

Denmark's Victoria Kjaer Theilvig crowned Miss Universe 2024

Victoria Kjaer Theilvig was crowned Miss Universe on Saturday, the first contestant from Denmark to achieve the honor.

New York auction records expected for a Magritte... and a banana

With a Magritte painting estimated to sell for nearly $100 million, drawings by pop artist Keith Haring and... a rather gnarly banana, New York's auction houses will try this week to shake up a stale market.

End of a love affair: news media quit X over 'disinformation'

News outlets have begun quitting X, formerly Twitter, once a favourite of global media but now accused of enabling the spread of disinformation under its owner, president-elect Donald Trump ally Elon Musk.

Jeff Beck guitar collection to go under the hammer in January

A collection of guitars and other musical equipment owned by influential rock guitarist Jeff Beck will go on sale in London in January, Christie's auctioneers announced on Friday.

Film's 'search for Palestine' takes centre stage at Cairo festival

The tale of a distinctly Palestinian road trip -- through refugee camps and Israeli checkpoints -- takes centre stage in director Rashid Masharawi's latest film, which debuted at this year's Cairo International Film Festival.

Ye claims 'Jews' controlling Kardashian clan: lawsuit

Kanye West frequently told employees that Jewish people were controlling the family of his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, according to a new lawsuit filed in California on Thursday.

'Harness the now': British singer Imogen Heap embraces AI

Unlike the bulk of her peers, Grammy-winning British singer Imogen Heap is embracing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in her music as well to set up a music collaboration platform.

British author says space inspired Booker Prize-winning novel

A lifelong fascination with outer space inspired British author Samantha Harvey to write her novel "Orbital", which this week won the prestigious Booker Prize.

Satirical US outlet The Onion buys conspiracy site Infowars

Satirical news outlet The Onion said Thursday it had acquired Infowars, a conspiracy-laden website whose owner made money by running stories that called one of America's most notorious school shootings a hoax.

US director Haynes to lead Berlinale 2025 jury

US writer and director Todd Haynes will in February head up the jury at Berlin's international film festival, Europe's first major cinema showcase of the year, organisers said Thursday.

Russia shuts Moscow's famed gulag museum

Russian authorities ordered the closure from Thursday of Moscow's award-winning Gulag History Museum, dedicated to the victims of Soviet-era repression.

Uganda TikToker convicted for insulting president

A Ugandan court has convicted a 21-year-old content creator for calling for the public flogging of President Yoweri Museveni on video-sharing platform TikTok, a state prosecutor said on Thursday.

Dating apps move to friend zone in search of profits

Burnt-out love-seekers are shunning dating apps in their millions, but the apps are trying to woo them back with a counter offer: If you don't want a lover, perhaps you just need a friend?

'Interior Chinatown' satirizes Asian roles in Hollywood... and beyond screen

A "meta" detective series in which a struggling Asian waiter becomes the unlikely hero of a police procedural-style criminal conspiracy, "Interior Chinatown" satirizes Hollywood's stereotypical treatment of minorities -- while also nodding to the progress the industry has belatedly made.

Sculptor Gormley hopes art can be bridge to China despite curbs

Renowned British sculptor Antony Gormley has told AFP of his concern over the "uglier sides" of China's state control but says artistic engagement with the historic and cultural powerhouse is crucial.

US death row inmate stages jazz protest for release in London court

Some of Britain's most notorious cases have been tried at London's Old Bailey, including those attracting the death penalty until the punishment was abolished in the 1960s.

UK's The Guardian stops posting on 'toxic media platform' X

Britain's The Guardian newspaper announced Wednesday it would no longer post content from its official accounts on Elon Musk's X, branding it a "toxic media platform" home to "often disturbing content".

Istanbul's historic baths keep hammam tradition alive

For centuries, hammams were central to Ottoman society, and while they fell out of use in Turkey with the advent of running water, many are being restored to revive an ancient ritual bathing tradition.

Electrician finds frescoes behind false ceiling in Rome

Rosy-cheeked cherubs surrounded by blues, reds and golds have lost none of their brilliance in 17th-century frescoes discovered behind a false ceiling at the Villa Farnesina palace in Rome.

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