Daniel Craig, who won international acclaim playing James Bond, received a special mission on Tuesday when Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed the actor as the first U.N. Global Advocate for the Elimination of Mines and Explosive Hazards.

In a brief ceremony at U.N. headquarters, Ban thanked Craig for his commitment to support the U.N.'s vision for a world free from the threat of land mines and explosive remnants of war.

HBO's "Game of Thrones" has the dubious honor of being popular with both pirates and viewers.

After its fifth season began Sunday, users of a Twitter-owned live-streaming app shared the fantasy drama.

Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen will strut her stuff on the catwalk for the last time Wednesday, putting a gold-plated seal on the runway career that launched her to stardom.

Bundchen, the world's top-earning model, will take her final sashay down the catwalk at Sao Paulo Fashion Week (SPFW), the same event where she made her debut 20 years ago.

Feature film production in the Los Angeles area plunged 15.4 percent in the first quarter amid high industry taxes and few local government incentives, a report out Tuesday found.

In the first three months of 2015, there were just 926 Shoot Days (SD) compared to 1,094 for the same time frame a year earlier, the non-profit organization FilmLA said.

His voice is warm, his reading poised. Adored by reggae fans everywhere, Ivorian superstar Alpha Blondy has now become a storyteller on his own radio station.

Born Seydou Kone, the 62-year-old musician and activist in March launched Radio Livre -- a nightly programme whose name in French means "book radio".

A Paris court on Monday sentenced Nina Ricci's heiress to a year in prison and handed her a million-euro fine for tax fraud, in the first ruling against a famous figure in the SwissLeaks scandal.

The court said Arlette Ricci, 73, had hidden some 18.7 million euros ($19.8 million) she inherited from her father from the French taxman "for more than 20 years with particular determination."

"Furious 7" roared away from its rivals once more to claim top spot in the North American box office for a second straight week, with nearly $60 million in ticket sales, industry figures showed Monday.

The seventh film in the stunt-filled "Fast and Furious" street-racing franchise that has raked in more than $2 billion worldwide since 2001, "Furious 7" pulled in more than $251 million in its first two weekends, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Sao Paulo Fashion Week was off and running Monday focused on the summer 2016 season, as well as this week's last turn on the catwalk for local girl-turned-supermodel Gisele Bundchen.

Designers are showing their next season through Friday at a park in this sprawling megacity, from Osklen to Ellus, to Alexandre Herchcovitch, Ronaldo Fraga and Joao Pimenta.

The birth of Prince William and his wife Kate's second baby will cap a momentous four years for Britain's golden couple, completing their journey from student sweethearts to regal domesticity.

The couple have cultivated an image as down-to-earth parents ever since William drove his new family home from hospital after the birth of Prince George in 2013, his hands-on approach being in stark contrast to previous generations of royal fathers.

U.S. reality TV star Kim Kardashian and her rapper husband Kanye West were in Jerusalem's Old City Monday for the baptism of their daughter at the Armenian Cathedral, church officials said. 

The couple flew in from Armenia, landing at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport before driving straight to the Holy City for the ceremony.