Leggy models in designer clothes strutted down a catwalk in front of Baghdad's high society Friday for a fashion show that tickled one generation's nostalgia and filled the next one with hope.

Umm Mustafa and her husband cancelled all their family duties, bought new clothes and spent a whole week preparing for the first edition of the Baghdad Fashion Show.

Iranian filmmakers, at home and in exile, are breaking free from restrictions -- imposed both by their repressive government and by audience expectations -- to form a creative wave that is increasingly winning attention internationally.

The 2011 Oscar win for the Iranian movie "A Separation" snapped the focus on what was coming out of the Islamic Republic. But those in the industry emphasize that other notable productions go well beyond regime-approved portrayals of daily Iranian life.

Comedian Andy Samberg, star of the award-winning "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" series, will host the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 20.

Widely known as the television equivalent of the Oscars, the Emmy Awards will take place at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. Nominations will be announced on July 16.

Stars turned out to honour the late "enfant terrible" of British fashion, Alexander McQueen, on Thursday, the opening party of a London show celebrating the designer five years after his death.

More than 70,000 tickets have already sold for the "Savage Beauty" show, which opens to the public on Saturday at London's Victoria and Albert Museum.

Having grown up with the shortages of the communist era, a bright new generation of Polish designers is capitalizing on the spirit of ingenuity those hard times bred to win recognition worldwide.

Typical of Polish design is the "vice clock": a small, metal three-sided cube with a clamping mechanism so it can be attached to any number of household items, from drainpipes to bookshelves to a stack of post-it notes.

Guitar legend Eric Clapton is planning to celebrate turning 70 by playing two concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Clapton on Thursday announced the shows for May 1-2, which would come two weeks ahead of a previously announced residency of six sold-out concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall, also timed for his birthday.

Jim Parsons, the American actor famous for his portrayal of a quirky, self-centered scientist Sheldon Cooper on "The Big Bang Theory," earned a star Wednesday on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

Parsons, 41, was flanked by Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, Johnny Galecki and the rest of his castmates in the wildly popular series now going into its eighth season. Fans jostled for autographs.

British rock band Muse announced the release of a new album called "Drones" and a tour on Wednesday, keeping up with previous themes of science fiction and political unease.

Lead singer Matt Bellamy said the band's seventh studio album will be released on June 8, after months of hinting that new work was on the way.

Richard Glatzer, the co-director and co-writer of "Still Alice," for which Julianne Moore won a best actress Oscar last month, died Wednesday aged 63 of ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

"I am devastated. Rich was my soul mate, my collaborator, my best friend and my life. Seeing him battle ALS for four years with such grace and courage inspired me and all who knew him," Wash Westmoreland, the film's co-director and his husband, said on Twitter.

Jeremy Clarkson, the controversial presenter of hit BBC program "Top Gear", said he was waiting for his suspension to "blow over" as an online petition for him to be reinstated gathered more than 260,000 signatures.

"I'm having a nice cold pint and waiting for this to blow over," the 54-year-old, who has been repeatedly criticized for his xenophobic comments, was quoted as saying in The Sun daily's Wednesday edition.