Disney delves into its own history in "Saving Mr. Banks," a movie about the difficult birth of the classic film "Mary Poppins," wrenched from a tale by a reluctant British author.

Tom Hanks plays Walt Disney, who used all his sunny Californian charms to persuade writer P.L. Travers, played by Emma Thompson, to allow him to use the story.

Just a week before Christmas, a former Lebanese pop star and heartthrob turned Islamist fugitive has released a song about Jesus.

Once adored by women across the Arab world for his warm voice and good looks, Fadel Shaker gave up pop music in 2011, when he became a follower of a radical Sunni Muslim cleric, Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir.

The News of the World hacked voice-mail messages from Prince William to Kate Middleton in which the heir to the throne called his future wife "babykins", a British court heard Thursday.

The messages were obtained by police and read out during the trial over phone-hacking at the Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid, which was shut down in disgrace in July 2011.

Beyonce's new album was so secret, one of its producers only knew of its release 90 minutes before it dropped.

Beyonce released her self-titled album in surprise form last week. Ryan Tedder produced the single "XO," and he learned about the release not long before it went public.

It was a year for pixie haircuts, chunky flat shoes, bangs on our first lady and bare skin ... lots of it, on movie actresses and pop stars. Fashion always has its royalty, and this year, Kerry Washington was a queen. For real royalty, we hadKate Middleton, making the rest of us mortals feel a little better by flashing her mommy tummy. If Kate made us feel good, Lululemon didn't, when its chairman appeared to blame women's own bodies for problems with those popular yoga pants. A look back at these and other key fashion moments of 2013:

MICHELLE'S BANGS:

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" actress Zhang Ziyi has reached an undisclosed settlement with a U.S.-based dissident news website that she sued for libel after it published reports that she was paid to have sex with Chinese government officials.

Boxun News retracted its "negative and untrue" reports that began in May 2012 in an apology displayed on its English-language site on Wednesday.

A rare Stradivarius violin, which was once stolen and offered for just £100 ($162, 118 euros) by thieves, sold at auction in Britain on Wednesday for £1.3 million ($2.3 million, 1.6 million euros).

Thieves took the antique instrument, which was made in 1696, and two valuable bows from Korean-born violinist Min-Jin Kym as she ate a sandwich at a cafe in London's Euston station in 2010.

The body behind the Oscars has unveiled a new logo that it hopes will focus more attention on the organization's wider work in addition to Hollywood's biggest trophy fest.

The prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, whose 6,000 or so members choose who gets the prized golden statuettes every year, is aiming to highlight its year-round work supporting filmmakers, showcasing cinema and fostering talent.

A Philippine beauty queen has been crowned Miss International in a pageant marred by allegations of intimidation that kept her predecessor away -- pledging to use her title to help victims of the country's devastating typhoon.

"This is my dream. Thank you Japan for giving it to me," an ecstatic Bea Rose Santiago said at the event, held late Tuesday in Tokyo.

Charlotte Casiraghi, the eldest daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco, has given birth to a son, the Riviera principality's royal palace announced on Wednesday.

Baby Raphael, a first child for unmarried Charlotte and a second for her Franco-Moroccan partner Gad Elmaleh, was born on Tuesday evening at Monaco's Princess Grace hospital.