The festive wreath above the New York stage bore the insignia "MC" -- at once "Merry Christmas" and the initials of the evening's attraction, Mariah Carey.

Indeed for the pop diva, the holiday and her identity as an artist increasingly go hand-in-hand.

North Korea hates the currently scrapped Hollywood film that revolves around the assassination of its beloved leader, but the country has had a long love affair with cinema — of its own particular styling.

In the six decades since North Korea began to cultivate its own film industry, a South Korean director and his movie star wife have been kidnapped, a Godzilla-inspired monster movie has bombed at the box office in the South, American defectors have hammed it up in anti-U.S. propaganda films — and there has even been a foray into "girl power" cinema with the more recent "Comrade Kim Goes Flying."

The son of kung fu star Jackie Chan has been charged with providing a venue for others to use drugs, the state Xinhua news agency reported Monday, citing prosecutors.

Jaycee Chan, who like his father has worked as an actor and singer, was detained in August after police said they found 100 grams of marijuana in his Beijing home.

AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd described allegations he tried to hire a hitman as "ludicrous" Monday and said he wanted to keep his job with the top-selling rock band.

Rudd faces charges of threatening to kill and drug possession in New Zealand and fellow band members, including guitarist Angus Young, have hinted he will be dropped for AC/DC's upcoming world tour.

British actress Billie Whitelaw, famous for her intense collaboration with playwright Samuel Beckett who wrote several roles for her, died on Sunday aged 82, her son told the BBC.

Described by Beckett as the "perfect actress", Whitelaw became the playwright's muse and they created a series of experimental performances together.

Madonna and Sony Pictures both were separately torpedoed by major hacks this month, in what the pop icon called "crazy times."

"Shit, this is the age that we're living in. It's crazy," she told Billboard magazine, when asked about the investigation into how at least 10 of her unfinished, unreleased songs were leaked onto the Internet.

The United States has dismissed a call by North Korea for a joint investigation into the hacking of Sony Pictures and wants China to help block cyber attacks from Pyongyang.

Washington blames North Korea for a breach of cyber security at Sony which led to the release of embarrassing emails and prompted executives to halt the release of "The Interview".

South Africa on Saturday welcomed back home its first Miss World winner in 40 years, Rolene Strauss, with wild cheers and ululations.

Hundreds turned up at O.R. Tambo International Airport to greet Strauss after the 22-year-old medical student was crowned Miss World 2014 at a glitzy final in London last Sunday.

Ashanti is appalled by the prospect of facing her accused stalker again in court, but the Grammy-winning R&B singer said Friday she's determined to see the case through after a mistrial.

A juror's illness prompted a mistrial during deliberations Thursday in Devar Hurd's case, which marks the second time in five years he's been tried on charges of harassing the singer or her relatives.

Six European, two Latin American and one African film have made the shortlist for the foreign language Oscar, announced in Los Angeles Friday.

Films by directors from Argentina, Estonia, Georgia, Mauritania, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Venezuela made the shortlist, which will be narrowed down to five nominees next month ahead of the February show.