Venezuela has banned TV networks from broadcasting a new series on late president Hugo Chavez, calling the U.S.-Colombian production an attack on the legacy of the charismatic socialist firebrand.

"El Comandante," a 60-episode series on Chavez's life, premiered Monday night in Colombia. It is also due to air in seven other Latin American countries and the United States from Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia's "Paul McCartney" took to the stage in Jeddah late Monday for a rare concert in a kingdom seeking to boost entertainment despite religious warnings of "depravity."

The performance by Mohammed Abdu, a mustachioed singer popular throughout the Arab world, was the first major concert in seven years in Jeddah, the kingdom's second city, according to Arab News.

France won its first Miss Universe crown in 64 years on Monday in a made-for-television spectacle where finalists spoke out on the refugee crisis and other hot-button global issues.

Oscar-nominated British actor John Hurt, known for his roles in "Elephant Man" and "Harry Potter", has died aged 77 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, reports said Saturday citing his agent.

Vanity Fair's Mexican edition provoked social media outrage Friday after releasing a preview of its February cover featuring America's first lady, as US-Mexico relations worsened over Donald Trump's border wall plans.

In the photo an immaculately made-up and bejeweled Melania Trump, 46, poses before a bowl of glittering baubles, twirling a sparkling silver chain with her fork as if it were pasta.

Citing President Donald Trump's visa crackdown, Kurdish filmmaker Hussein Hassan has scrapped plans to attend the U.S. premiere of his critically acclaimed film on the Yazidi minority, it was announced Friday.

Jaie Laplante, director of the Miami Film Festival, where the Kurdish-Iraqi movie "The Dark Wind" is to be screened in March, said Hassan had decided to withdraw his visa application in protest at Trump's forthcoming executive orders that are set to suspend the U.S. refugee program and restrict visas to citizens of certain countries, including Iraq, Iran, and Syria.

The inventor behind James Bond's ingenious gadgets, codenamed "Q" in the spy films, exists in reality and is actually a woman, the head of Britain's MI6 espionage agency has said.

The director of hit romantic musical "La La Land" said Friday he was jolted and honoured when he learned that his film had earned a record 14 Oscar nominations.

Damien Chazelle's whimsical tribute to Hollywood's Golden Age of musicals topped the Academy Award nominations list on Tuesday, tying an all-time record set by "All About Eve" and "Titanic".

The Iranian star of Oscar-nominated film "The Salesman" said Thursday she would boycott the awards in protest at President Donald Trump's "racist" ban on Muslim immigrants. 

Belgian model Hanne Gaby Odiele is accustomed to the bright lights of high fashion but has stepped into a different sort of spotlight after revealing she is intersex.

The 29-year-old said in interviews published this week that she wants to raise awareness and end taboos surrounding the topic.