LONDON (AFP) -- Actors from around the world will converge on London next year to stage all of Shakespeare’s plays in 37 different dialects and styles, from a hip-hop “Othello” to “The Comedy of Errors” in Farsi.The six-week marathon at Shakespeare’s Globe theatre begins on April 23 and is timed to

Long ago, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts professed their love for rock ‘n’ roll. It’s time to see if the feeling runs both ways.The iconic rock act is on the list of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees for the 2012 class released Tuesday. Women who rock feature prominently among first-time nominees.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Television networks in Brazil and Japan won their first-ever International Emmy Awards in the news and current affairs categories.Brazil’s TV Globo won the International Emmy for news on Monday for “Jornal Nacional: War on Drugs,” about the four-day raid in November 2010 by security

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Your mutt isn’t destined to be a movie star, therapy dog, bomb-sniffing expert, AKC champion or working K9?No worries. He or she can still be a well-behaved pet. A basic obedience class is one way to do it. But a little home-schooling can do wonders.Three veteran trainers were ask

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Too old to learn taekwondo? Not for a group of Hong Kong grandmothers who became black belts after demonstrating their kicking and punching prowess, according to a report Wednesday.The seven women, aged 63 to 74, received the top ranking in the Korean martial art after passing a t

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- At a loss for words when someone you know is suddenly out of work? Try sending a greeting card.With unemployment in the United States hovering around the nine percent mark, Hallmark -- the nation‘s biggest greeting card manufacturer -- has rolled out eight cards to cheer up the j

LONDON  (AFP) -- The giant inflatable pig from Pink Floyd’s iconic “Animals” album sleeve flew again on Monday above Battersea Power Station in London almost 35 years after the original cover image was taken.The 1976 cover shoot was restaged for the launch of “Why Pink Floyd?” a multi-platform

LAS VEGAS (AP) ― Jay-Z rapped about his beef with corporate radio in the monster jam “99 Problems,” noting that stations won’t play his hits if he doesn’t do their shows. But on Friday, he played savior to radio station giant Clear Channel, headlining a two-night concert billed as the largest in rad

MONACO (AFP) ― Russian oligarchs and their floating palaces helped keep the luxury yachting industry buoyant through the crisis, but super-rich buyers from China and Brazil are rushing to join them on the waves.Emerging market billionaires are showing a keen interest in superyachts, according to pun

MILAN (AP) ― Midway through the current women’s wear fashion week for the Spring-Summer 2012, it is clear that designers are thinking ladylike, not sporty.There are few trousers in the collections, and when they show up they are slim and proper. Short shorts do have a prominent place on the runway,

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Andy Warhol is known for soup cans and celebrity images, not so much for painting headlines and abstract works.The late pop artist has left much to be discovered in two shows that open Sunday on the National Mall.The National Gallery of Art is opening its first Warhol exhibit with

RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) ― About 100,000 people turned out Friday in Brazil for the start of the world’s biggest music festival, Rock in Rio, featuring an all-star line-up including Rihanna, Katy Perry and Coldplay.The event is expected to attract 700,000 people over its week-long run, with around 100,0

 

NEW YORK (AP) ― If travel expert Peter Greenberg does not like his tour guides when he explores different countries for his new public television series, he really has nobody to complain to.That is because he is starting at the top, everywhere. “The Royal Tour” features Greenberg, the CBS News trave

LA CADIERE D’AZUR, France ― It is day four of cooking class at La Bastide des Saveurs, and many of the 14 students are looking for chairs to catch a few minutes of rest before the whisking begins. But it is also dessert day, so a delicious reward at the end is guaranteed.Such are the joys, and chall

Looking for an alternative to Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc? Lately, some interesting whites are coming out of Rioja, and Allende’s Rioja Blanca is one of them.A blend of Viura and Malvasia aged in French oak, the 2008 is a rich, almost oily wine, with an extravagant scent, from this relatively new

NEW YORK (AP) ― Conga, merengue, salsa, cumbia. And also pop. Rock. Folk.As a singer, Gloria Estefan has offered a whole palette of flavors and colors to her fans, both in English and in Spanish. But with her new English album, “Miss Little Havana,” the Cuban star reveals a side she had yet not expl

MANILA (AP) ― How did Seoul become Asia’s capital of cool?Even here in the Philippines, once an undisputed bastion of American pop and Hollywood movies, South Korean pop music, soap operas and fashion are now all the rage.“I want the same brown, but slightly blonde color, as Sandara’s hair,” says 22

MOSCOW (AFP) ― Surrounded by leggy tutu-clad ballerinas, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Tuesday took to the stage of the historic Bolshoi Theatre to hail its reconstruction after half a decade of closure.His business suit rather starkly contrasting with the frilly costumes of the Bolshoi’s world

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Disney and filmmaker James Cameron announced plans Tuesday to bring the world of the Oscar-winning movie “Avatar” to the entertainment giant’s theme parks.The first “Avatar” land will open at the Walt Disney World in Florida, with construction due to begin by 2013, said Walt Disn