Canadian filmmaker James Cameron will write and direct the second and third parts of the sci-fi movie "Avatar" for release in 2014 and 2015, the entertainment magazine Variety said Wednesday.

Executives at 20th Century Fox confirmed to the publication that they had reached an agreement with Cameron to make the sequels to "Avatar," the biggest box office hit in contemporary movie history, with 2.8 billion dollars in sales since its opening in December 2009.

For the discerning driver, it's got an ejector seat, machine guns and a world-class pedigree. Problem is, it's going to cost a truckload of dough.

One of the world's most famous James Bond cars - the specially equipped Aston Martin first driven by Sean Connery in "Goldfinger" - will be auctioned off in London on Wednesday evening, and it's likely to fetch one of the highest prices ever paid for an automobile.

Peter Jackson's "Hobbit" movies will be made in New Zealand after the government struck a deal with Hollywood studio Warner Bros. to end months of union tensions, Prime Minister John Key said.

Key agreed to give Warner sweeteners worth tens of millions of dollars and amend industrial laws in order to retain New Zealand's coveted role as Middle Earth in Jackson's long-awaited follow-up to "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Take That will perform with its original line-up for the first time in 16 years, the boyband confirmed on Tuesday as they revealed plans for their inaugural tour since Robbie Williams rejoined.

The British five-piece will play four nights at the City of Manchester Stadium in the group's hometown in June before four mammoth shows at London's Wembley Stadium.

Lebanese film "Here Comes the Rain" (Shatti Ya Dini) that tells the story of missing persons from the country's civil war won a Black Pearl award at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival on Friday.

"I dedicate my film to all those who are in love with freedom and peace in Lebanon," said director Bahij Hojeij, after his film won the 100,000 dollar prize in the Best Narrative Film from the Arab World category.

Human Rights Watch has slammed a ruling by an Emirati court which condone the beating of wives by their husbands, saying it sends out a signal that violence against women and children is acceptable.

According to press reports, the United Arab Emirates' Federal Supreme Court in a ruling released on Sunday said "a man has the right to discipline his wife and children provided he does not leave physical marks."

French Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux has become the latest senior official caught out by an embarrassing slip of the tongue, after he spoke on television of his "database of genital prints."

Hortefeux was apparently attempting to distinguish between police files of suspects' finger prints -- "empreintes digitales" -- and their DNA records -- "empreintes genetiques" -- mixing the two to form: "empreintes genitales."

A Georgia woman whose 15-year-old daughter appeared on an episode of Tyra Banks' talk show featuring teen sex addicts is suing the TV host for $3 million.

In a lawsuit filed Oct. 8 in federal court in Atlanta, Beverly McClendon says her daughter appeared on the former model's talk show without McClendon's permission.

A rock band will have to face the music after blocking a Los Angeles freeway and performing atop its trailer.

California Highway Patrol spokesman Rick Quintero said a big box van decorated with Imperial Stars' logo stopped on the southbound U.S. 101 near Sunset Boulevard at about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, blocking four of the five lanes.

Bond was set at $50,000 for a 27-year-old Chicago man accused of stealing an ambulance over the weekend while two paramedics treated someone he apparently knew in the back.

Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said Jimmy McCoy allegedly jumped into the stopped ambulance and drove off with the emergency lights on.