Wine professionals declared themselves "pleasantly surprised" with the 2012 Bordeaux vintage but demand from China was expected to be weak due to losses on 2010 wines.

China is currently Bordeaux's biggest market in terms of volume and second in value, but Chinese buyers were expected to stay away this time.

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher may be dead but her conservative policies have never been in better health, Primal Scream lead singer Bobby Gillespie has said.

Left-wing Gillespie, 51, the Scottish son of a union official and a bitter opponent of "Thatcherism", also said he had been happy to hear of the death of the "Iron Lady".

"Gangnam Style" star Psy unveiled Friday the follow-up to his global hit with another catchy dance tune infused with his signature self-mocking humor -- but fans had to wait for the all-important video.

Even Kim Jong-Un's threats of nuclear war couldn't divert world attention from the main event on the Korean peninsula as "Gentleman" hit online music stores in a midnight rolling release across 119 nations.

The Ukraine National Opera house was embroiled in a farcical scandal Thursday after it ousted a star dancer from the post of ballet company chief on the grounds he never formally held the job.

Denis Matviyenko, 34, a Ukrainian dancer who has also won fame and prizes abroad, said he had worked as the ballet's director for one-and-a-half years on a mission to make Kiev a world-class city for ballet.

Disgraced U.S. cyclist Lance Armstrong, who is the subject of multiple lawsuits after confessing to doping, has sold his property in Austin, it was reported.

The Austin American Statesman reported on Thursday that Armstrong had sold the luxurious 1.7-acre Spanish-style estate he bought in 2004 but planned to continue living in the Texas city.

U.S. pop icon Madonna on Thursday deepened a war of words with Malawi's government, accusing them of peddling lies about her charity work.

Fresh from a trip to Malawi, the native country of her two adopted children, Madonna hit back after stinging accusations from government that she had expected VIP treatment and lied about her charity work.

President Barack Obama did not personally approve Beyonce and Jay-Z's trip to Cuba, the White House said Thursday, after the U.S. rapper released a single online slamming criticism of their travels.

In "Open Letter," Jay-Z -- who with Beyonce worked to raise funds for Obama's re-election campaign last year -- boasts: "I done turned Havana into Atlanta... Boy from the hood, I got White House clearance."

"Django Unchained" became "Django Unscreened" on Thursday as Quentin Tarantino's violent slave-revenge saga was pulled from Chinese theaters on its opening day, with the importer blaming an unspecified technical problem.

The rare suspension order by China Film Group Corp. was confirmed by theater employees throughout China, and has led to speculation that the Hollywood film could have run afoul of Chinese censors despite weeks of promotion in the country.

Malawi has launched a stinging attack on U.S. pop icon Madonna, accusing her of expecting "gratitude" and VIP treatment during a visit last week to her charity work in the southern African country.

It was "strange and depressing" that the singer seemed to want "Malawi to be forever chained to the obligation of gratitude" for having adopted two Malawian children, said President Joyce Banda's government on Wednesday.

Sharon Stone has counter-sued her Filipina former nanny, who is pursuing the U.S. actress for wrongful dismissal and harassment including racist abuse, new court documents show.

In a breach-of-loan-agreement action filed in Los Angeles Superior Court this week, the "Basic Instinct" star says Erlinda Elemen owes $9,500 of a $12,500 loan she made to her in 2010.