Award-winning U.S. actor James Gandolfini, the burly star of classic TV mafia drama "The Sopranos," died Wednesday aged 51 in Italy, triggering a flood of tributes from the acting world and beyond.

The New Jersey-born actor, who won three Emmys and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of troubled mob boss Tony Soprano on the popular cable TV series, suffered a heart attack or a stroke, HBO network officials said.

One of America's premier documentary film festivals got underway late Wednesday with a fresh look back on the life and times of John F. Kennedy based on moving condolence messages to his widow.

"Letters to Jackie: Remembering President Kennedy" marries archival footage with poignant words of sympathy from the 800,000 letters sent to Jacqueline Kennedy in the two months after JFK's assassination 50 years ago this November.

Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine do not know the sex of their baby, which is expected in mid-July and should be born by natural delivery, palace sources said Wednesday.

The baby, which will be third in line to the throne, will be born in the same London hospital where princess Diana gave birth to William and his younger brother Harry.

An Italian court Wednesday sentenced fashion house duo Dolce & Gabbana to one year and eight months in prison for tax evasion of around one billion euros ($1.33 billion), according to media reports.

Lawyers for Dolce and Gabbana, whose celebrity clients include Beyonce and Madonna, immediately said they will be appealing, and under Italian law the sentence will be suspended in the meantime.

U.S. actor Edward Furlong, whose credits range from "Terminator 2" (1991) to 2011 hit "The Green Hornet," was charged Tuesday with assaulting his girlfriend, prosecutors said.

The 35-year-old is also accused of threatening her if she went to the police, and could face up to four years behind bars if convicted, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said.

British comic Russell Brand told Katy Perry he was divorcing her by text message, the U.S. pop star said in a new magazine interview, adding that she hasn't heard from him since.

Brand issued a statement in December 2011 announcing that he had filed for divorce 14 months after the pair were wed in India, saying that "I'll always adore her and I know we'll remain friends."

Strapped in an orange suit in his spaceship, Yuri Gagarin smiles as the rockets roar and chirpily tells mission control: "Let's go!"

A new Russian film -- "Gagarin. First Man in Space" -- is the first full biopic on the pioneering cosmonaut ever to be released in Russia or the Soviet Union.

For years the Chinese have been buying up wine from Europe, but with domestic wine production predicted to overtake Australia and Chile by next year, Tiana Wu is hoping European drinkers are ready to be tempted by a glass of her "Yunnan Red".

"We produce one million cases per year. We're exploring the possibility of exporting," Wu told Agence France Presse at Vinexpo in Bordeaux, one of the world's largest wine and spirit fairs.

Kris Jenner says her daughter Kim Kardashian is thrilled to have a new baby girl.

Kardashian and her rapper boyfriend Kanye West were keeping silent in the wake of multiple reports that Kardashian gave birth over the weekend — about a month premature.

Prominent British art collector Charles Saatchi has admitted assault and accepted a police caution after published photos showed him grasping the throat of his wife, celebrity chef Nigella Lawson.

Tabloid newspapers this week published photos of the incident, which happened June 9 in a posh London restaurant.