Thousands have backed a video appeal to Syria's first lady to speak out against violence, made by the wives of the British and German ambassadors to the United Nations.

In the video, Sheila Lyall Grant and Huberta von Voss-Wittig implore Asma al-Assad "to stand up for peace" and speak out against the deadly crackdown instigated by her husband President Bashar Assad.

A romantic comedy that opens at Indian cinemas this week tackles taboos about sperm donation and infertility, in the latest Bollywood film to experiment with traditionally off-limits content.

"Vicky Donor", which is released on Friday, tells the story of the unemployed and lazy Vicky, who is persuaded by a doctor to donate his sperm to make a living -- a job he then tries to keep quiet from his new girlfriend.

He'll make an exception for Martin Scorsese, but for Terence Winter, the creator of the hit prohibition-era television show "Boardwalk Empire", Hollywood just isn't up to scratch these days.

The Emmy-award winning writer-producer, who co-scripted "The Sopranos" before launching his own drama series three years ago, was guest of honor this week at a festival devoted to the booming genre, held at Paris' Forum des Images.

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie will step up her work for the world's refugees following her promotion to United Nations special envoy, the U.N. refugee agency said on Tuesday.

Jolie, a goodwill ambassador since 2001, will take on a "new and expanded" role as special envoy of High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, the UNHCR said.

Robin Gibb's wife and youngest son were at his hospital bedside on Monday as the Bee Gees singer remained in a coma, having contracting pneumonia in his battle against cancer.

Dwina Gibb and her son Robin-John were seen visiting the clinic in west London where the 62-year-old star is being treated.

Disco group Boney M will join a candlelight rally in Seoul supporting North Korean refugees who fled to China and now face repatriation to their impoverished homeland, organizers said Tuesday.

Boney M, who was hugely popular during the disco era of the late 1970s, will join the rally outside the Chinese embassy, said concert promoter Btechnic in a statement.

Agence France-Presse and the news websites Huffington Post and Politico each won their first Pulitzer Prizes Monday as the prestigious journalism awards highlighted global issues and online reporting.

The New York Times won two Pulitzers, and the committee notably did not make awards for editorial writing or fiction in a year which saw Web journalism mark further gains.

Walt Disney Co. said Monday it will co-produce its next "Iron Man" movie with a Chinese partner in Hollywood's latest effort to forge closer ties with China's fast-growing film industry.

"Iron Man 3," starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle, will begin filming this year, Walt Disney and its Chinese partner DMG Entertainment said. They said DMG will jointly produce the film in China but gave no indication whether any filming would take place in this country.

DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., the maker of "Shrek," ''Madagascar" and "Kung Fu Panda," is teaming up with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to help people convert their old DVDs into an online movie library.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, DreamWorks' chief executive, says that the new "Disc to Digital" service will help consumers adapt to technological change. The service launches Monday at Walmart stores nationwide.

James Cameron has shored up his position as king of the worldwide box office.

Cameron's 1997 blockbuster "Titanic" sailed beyond the $2 billion mark in lifetime ticket sales, thanks to a 3-D re-release of the film that was timed to the centennial of the ship's sinking.