Bombay Durpun - Culture

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Pope kicks off Christmas under shadow of war

Christmas revellers around the world donned red and white Santa hats, offered meals to the homeless and lit candles on Wednesday, as Pope Francis launched observation of the global holiday with a sombre mass in the Vatican.

As India's Bollywood shifts, stars and snappers click

From riding pillion on zooming motorbikes to round-the-clock airport stakeouts, India's celebrity-hunting paparazzi photographers have gone from "outcasts" to becoming a key part of Bollywood's vast film industry machine.

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Romantasy and dark college: young readers drive new literary trends

From romantasy to dark college, legions of young readers are diving into eclectic new literary subgenres in a trend turbo-charged by social media.

Google wins delay in opening Android app store to rivals

A US judge on Friday let Google delay opening Android-powered smartphones to rival app shops, suspending a November 1 deadline ordered in an antitrust case brought by Fortnite-maker Epic Games.

'Heartbreaking': Dad, fans grieve Liam Payne's death

The father of One Direction member Liam Payne visited the hotel Friday where his son plunged to his death from a third-floor balcony two days earlier, thanking fans gathered nearby in a shared moment of grief.

Google wins delay opening Android app store to rivals

A US judge on Friday let Google put off opening Android-powered smartphones to rival app shops while the tech titan appeals an order to do just that.

One Direction members 'devastated' by Liam Payne's death

The members of hugely successful pop group One Direction said Thursday they were "completely devastated" by the death of bandmate Liam Payne, who fell from the balcony of his Buenos Aires hotel room.

Netflix adds millions of subscribers but growth slows

Netflix on Thursday said it added more than five million subscribers in the recently ended quarter but signaled slowing growth.

Mitzi Gaynor, star of 'South Pacific,' dies aged 93

Mitzi Gaynor, best known for hit movie musical "South Pacific," has died at the age of 93, her representatives said Thursday.

What we know about One Direction star Liam Payne's death

Liam Payne, a British singer and former member of boy band One Direction, died after falling from a third-floor balcony at a Buenos Aires hotel.

Tributes to One Direction's Liam Payne after hotel balcony fall

Tributes poured in Thursday for British singer Liam Payne, a former member of the best-selling boy band One Direction, after he plunged to his death from the balcony of a Buenos Aires hotel. He was 31.

S Korean Nobel winner Han Kang hopes daily life 'won't change much'

Author Han Kang, the first South Korean to win the Nobel Prize for Literature said Thursday that she hoped her daily life would not change too much after her historic honour.

Liam Payne: One Direction singer swept up by teenage stardom

Liam Payne, who died aged 31 after plunging from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, spent more than half his life in the public eye as a member of one of the world's most successful boy bands.

BTS member J-hope discharged from South Korean military

K-pop megastar J-hope from BTS ended eighteen months of South Korean military service Thursday, with his bandmate embracing him and dozens of fans turning up to celebrate his return to the industry.

Discovery of Shackleton's lost shipwreck brought to big screen

Legendary Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance sank more than a century ago and its wreck lay undiscovered at the bottom of the Weddell Sea until March 2022.

In Indonesia, French poet Rimbaud's voyage still a mystery

In the summer of 1876, rebel French poet Arthur Rimbaud arrived on the Indonesian island of Java, enlisting in the colonial Dutch army before deserting after just two weeks, an escape still shrouded in mystery nearly 150 years later.

'Ainadamar' brings death and dance to the Met Opera

The life and death of Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca, whom Fascist forces assassinated during the Spanish Civil War, is the subject of an opera making its Met Opera debut in New York Tuesday.

K-pop star tells South Korea lawmakers of workplace bullying

A member of chart-topping K-pop group NewJeans tearfully testified to South Korean lawmakers Tuesday as part of an enquiry into workplace harassment, amid a boardroom drama over her super producer.

Italy row, AI in focus at world's biggest book fair

An eclectic range of topics will be in focus at the world's biggest book fair this week, from a row over an Italian mafia author to growing interest in wacky literary subgenres and AI in publishing.

Small town India's DIY film industry comes to London

The bright lights of the British capital are a world away from Malegaon, a down-at-heel textile town in the backwaters of Maharashtra state in western India.

Google signs nuclear power deal with startup Kairos

Google on Monday signed a deal to get electricity from small nuclear reactors to help power artificial intelligence.

Seeing double in Nigeria's 'twins capital of the world'

On a normal day a visitor might pass Igbo-Ora with little more than a double take, wondering why so many pairs of residents wear matching clothes.

Pre-Halloween 'Terrifier' lands atop North America box office

New indie horror film "Terrifier 3" opened atop the North American box office, while last weekend's leader, "Joker: Folie a Deux," suffered a record plunge from its own debut, industry watchers reported Sunday.

Ecuador's last mountain iceman dies at 80

Ecuador's last mountain ice harvester, Baltazar Ushca, who spent over half a century climbing the country's highest summit to extract ice at the top, died Friday at the age of 80, authorities in his hometown of Guano said.

Sculptor Lalanne's animal creations sell for $59 mn

A giant bear, a winged rabbit and a rhino were among the 70 animal bronzes and stone works by celebrated sculptor Francois-Xavier Lalanne that fetched $59 million at Christie's in New York this week.

Hello Hallyu: why is South Korean culture sweeping the globe?

It's won Oscars. Its television shows and K-pop stars dominate global charts. Its leading novelist just won the Nobel literature prize. How did South Korea become such a global cultural powerhouse?

Voice of Japan's beloved robot cat 'Doraemon' dies

A Japanese actor who was the voice of "Doraemon", a cartoon cat robot beloved by children in Japan and other countries has died, her agency said Friday. Nobuyo Oyama was 90.

In Trump 'Truths,' conspiracies, attacks -- and doubts about the election

Donald Trump has been lashing out against Kamala Harris incessantly on Truth Social as next month's US presidential election nears -- mirroring his rally broadsides but in increasingly vulgar and vindictive terms that cater to his most uncompromising supporters online.

How Sebastian Stan found a 'relatable' Trump for 'The Apprentice' biopic

Sebastian Stan immersed himself 24/7 in Donald Trump's early life to research the new biopic "The Apprentice" -- and came to an unexpected realization.

Trump biopic 'The Apprentice' hits US theaters weeks before election

Explosive Donald Trump biopic "The Apprentice" hits US theaters Friday, with filmmakers gambling that it will draw audiences in a fiercely polarized nation just weeks before its subject's election showdown with rival Kamala Harris.

Warhol's rare 'Queen' collection opens at Dutch museum

A Dutch museum is dusting off a rare collection of prints by Andy Warhol of female royalty, made shortly before the pop art icon's untimely death 36 years ago.

Cameroon bans media talk of president's health amid rumours

Cameroon's government has banned the media from discussing the health of President Paul Biya, Africa's second-longest-ruling leader, amid rumours the 91-year-old is gravely ill, according to a document obtained by AFP.

After K-pop, K-novels? South Korean Nobel win sparks joy, hope at home

From the president to K-pop megastars BTS, South Korea errupted into celebration Thursday after "The Vegetarian" author Han Kang won the country's first Nobel Prize for literature.

Han Kang wins South Korea's first literature Nobel

Author Han Kang on Thursday became the first South Korean to win the Nobel Prize in Literature for her work exploring the correspondence between mental and physical torment as well as historical events.

Bombay Durpun - Culture (English)