Egypt's top Islamic body said on Thursday the big budget Hollywood biblical epic "Noah" starring Russell Crowe was irreligious and should not be screened in the country.

Al-Azhar institute, one of the region's main Sunni Muslim authorities, said the movie, slated to open in Egypt on March 26, violated Islam by portraying a prophet.

Karl Lagerfeld and a Macau casino operator announced plans Friday for the Chanel designer to create his first hotel.

The 270-room Karl Lagerfeld Hotel will open in 2017 in a 20-story tower in the gambling enclave in southern China, according to Lagerfeld and the Sociedade de Jogos de Macau.

France's love affairs of state hit the courts on Thursday as the president's ex-girlfriend won a privacy case on the same day that the mistress who replaced her began her own suit against the paparazzi.

Valerie Trierweiler, the former partner of French President Francois Hollande, won 12,000 euros ($16.500) damages in an action she launched over pictures of her recovering from their break-up on a tropical beach.

Grammy-nominated singer Akon has a goal of bringing solar-powered electricity to 1 million homes in Africa by the end of the year, and the singer is using millions of his own dollars for the cause.

Akon started an initiative called "Akon Lighting Africa" this month. The singer, who was born in the U.S. of Senegalese parents and was reared in both countries, said he was "pained" after seeing people in the continent without electricity.

Kristin Chenoweth is ready to tell the world she suffers from asthma. The Tony Award-winning actress with the powerful voice says she's suffered with the respiratory disorder for more than a decade.

"I haven't really discussed the fact that I do suffer from asthma," Chenoweth told The Associated Press last week. "I kept getting sick and couldn't figure out why I couldn't get my breath... that's kind of my asthma journey, if you will."

A judge approved a substantial cut in the amount of child support that Beyonce Knowles' father must pay because his income dropped after his superstar daughter fired him as her manager.

A ruling obtained by The Associated Press shows that a Los Angeles Superior Court judge cut the amount Mathew Knowles must pay to actress Alexsandra Wright from $12,000 a month to roughly $2,500 a month. The payments are for a son Knowles fathered with Wright while he was still married to Beyonce's mother.

The first episode of the new "Game of Thrones" season will be screened at a New York arena on March 20 -- two weeks before the smash show returns on HBO.

Up to 7,000 seats will be available at the Barclays Center charity event, it was announced Wednesday, with tickets for the premiere of the medieval fantasy adventure -- dubbed "The Epic Fan Experience" -- costing $15 each.

Written by Anthony Sargon

“300: Rise of an Empire” is an upsetting film. Don’t get me wrong; the visuals can be epic, beautiful, and director Noam Murro clearly respects 2007′s “300.” The problem is that the film feels more like a tribute to the last film than anything else. Its been described as a “companion film” rather than a sequel or prequel, but after seven years, were audiences clamoring for a companion piece to “300″? Not really.

Britain's House of Commons will open its doors to a commercial film crew for the first time next month in a bid to raise cash, welcoming Meryl Streep for a movie about the suffragettes, officials said Tuesday.

The Oscar-winning actress is appearing alongside Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter in the British film "Suffragette", the fictional tale of one woman's fight for the right to vote.

John Travolta said Tuesday he has been feeling terrible over his much-ridiculed Oscars mangling of singer Idina Menzel's name -- but concluded she would want him to "Let it Go."

The actor triggered a storm of online mockery -- including an app to "Travoltify" your own name -- after mispronouncing the star's name as he introduced her performance of the Oscar-winning song "Let it Go" from Disney hit "Frozen."