France is bidding farewell to its biggest rock star, honoring Johnny Hallyday with an exceptional funeral procession down the Champs-Elysees, a presidential speech and a parade of motorcyclists — all under intense security.

Few figures in French history have earned such an elaborate send-off. It was ordered by President Emmanuel Macron, a Hallyday fan himself.

Applause and shrieks of joy erupted as Lebanese singer Hiba Tawaji dazzled Riyadh in its first female-only music concert, as Saudi Arabia seeks to ease social restrictions on women.

The Season 2 of Génération Orient, the cultural partnership between SGBL and L’Orient-le Jour, reached its end with the awards ceremony, on Monday, December 4th at the Music Hall in Beirut, in a festive atmosphere, in the presence of the artists and a large audience.

During 12 months, we had the opportunity to get to know and appreciate the history and the course of twelve young Lebanese artists coming from different backgrounds: cooking, illustration, design, photography, storytelling, theater, music, fashion, dance, cinema, architecture and the art of tattooing. Each month, L’Orient-Le Jour featured an artist by dedicating an entire page in the print version of the newspaper and on the website as well as a vast campaign on OLJ’s social media platform (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter), with interviews, articles and videos by Karl Hadifé. The final result was voted 50% by the public and 50% by a jury of experts.

Johnny Hallyday, France's biggest rock star for more than half a century and an icon who packed sports stadiums and all but lit up the Eiffel Tower with his pumping pelvis and high-voltage tunes, has died. He was 74.

President Emmanuel Macron announced his death in a statement early Wednesday, saying "he brought a part of America into our national pantheon." Macron's office said the president spoke with Hallyday's family but did not provide details about where the rocker died or the circumstances.

The sixth and final season of "House of Cards" -- the hit Netflix series thrown into crisis by sexual assault allegations against Kevin Spacey -- is to resume production early next year without its star, an industry source told AFP Monday.

The Metropolitan Opera has announced it would investigate claims that its music director sexually abused a teenage boy decades ago, as the U.S. avalanche of misconduct allegations spread to classical music.

"We are deeply disturbed by the news articles that are being published online today about James Levine," said the New York house, one of the world's most prestigious opera companies.

Neil Young on Friday opened an exhaustive online archive of his half-century career, as the rock legend charged ahead on a politically loaded new album.

Indonesia's metalhead president received a thrash-worthy present from his Danish counterpart Wednesday.

Japan and China have more of the world's best restaurants than anywhere else, according to the La Liste ranking, which will be published next week.

Meghan Markle says acting will take a back seat when she marries Prince Harry, following the example of screen icon Grace Kelly who abandoned Hollywood to marry into royalty.