Having grown up with the shortages of the communist era, a bright new generation of Polish designers is capitalizing on the spirit of ingenuity those hard times bred to win recognition worldwide.

Typical of Polish design is the "vice clock": a small, metal three-sided cube with a clamping mechanism so it can be attached to any number of household items, from drainpipes to bookshelves to a stack of post-it notes.

Guitar legend Eric Clapton is planning to celebrate turning 70 by playing two concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Clapton on Thursday announced the shows for May 1-2, which would come two weeks ahead of a previously announced residency of six sold-out concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall, also timed for his birthday.

Jim Parsons, the American actor famous for his portrayal of a quirky, self-centered scientist Sheldon Cooper on "The Big Bang Theory," earned a star Wednesday on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

Parsons, 41, was flanked by Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, Johnny Galecki and the rest of his castmates in the wildly popular series now going into its eighth season. Fans jostled for autographs.

British rock band Muse announced the release of a new album called "Drones" and a tour on Wednesday, keeping up with previous themes of science fiction and political unease.

Lead singer Matt Bellamy said the band's seventh studio album will be released on June 8, after months of hinting that new work was on the way.

Richard Glatzer, the co-director and co-writer of "Still Alice," for which Julianne Moore won a best actress Oscar last month, died Wednesday aged 63 of ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

"I am devastated. Rich was my soul mate, my collaborator, my best friend and my life. Seeing him battle ALS for four years with such grace and courage inspired me and all who knew him," Wash Westmoreland, the film's co-director and his husband, said on Twitter.

Jeremy Clarkson, the controversial presenter of hit BBC program "Top Gear", said he was waiting for his suspension to "blow over" as an online petition for him to be reinstated gathered more than 260,000 signatures.

"I'm having a nice cold pint and waiting for this to blow over," the 54-year-old, who has been repeatedly criticized for his xenophobic comments, was quoted as saying in The Sun daily's Wednesday edition.

The restored vinyl of Elvis Presley's first single will go on sale next month for Record Store Day, the growing annual sale to bolster independent retailers.

More than 400 new records, including first-time releases and reissues of classics, will be part of the latest Record Store Day on April 18 at stores across the world, organizers announced Tuesday.

A U.S. jury on Tuesday ordered pop stars Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams to pay more than $7 million in damages to Marvin Gaye's family, ruling the pair copied his music in writing their 2013 mega-hit "Blurred Lines."

The eight-member California panel, which had been deliberating since last week, found that the pop stars lifted parts of Gaye's 1977 hit "Got to Give It Up."

The Swedish startup that revolutionized digital music has a blanket response to claims that it pays artists a mere pittance: "two billion dollars".

Since U.S. pop empress Taylor Swift pulled her catalogue from the service, Spotify has regularly trumpeted its self-reported payout (1.8 billion euros) to the music industry over the past seven years.

Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp was jetting back to the United States Wednesday for surgery after injuring his hand in Australia where he is filming the latest "Pirates of the Caribbean" installment, reports said.

Depp, who stars as "Captain Jack Sparrow" in the Disney franchise and has been shooting on the Gold Coast tourist strip in Australia's east, was hurt over the weekend but not while filming or on set, the Gold Coast Bulletin said, citing undisclosed sources.