BUSAN (AFP) ― When filmmaker Davy Chou began to research the history of Cambodian cinema he found the films themselves had almost vanished amidst the devastation of war but that memories were keeping them alive.“The Khmer Rouge marched into Phnom Penh in 1975 and the film industry just simply vanish

PARIS (AP) ― Their early courtship was hardly discreet: President Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni visited Disneyland Paris together, then jetted off to Jordan with cameras in tow. Weeks later, they were married.Now, Bruni-Sarkozy is about to have a baby, and the pending birth has taken on the air of

MINNEAPOLIS ― They look like large birdhouses and act like water coolers. But the sustenance stored inside the wooden, windowed boxes is a blend of knowledge and recreation.Little Free Libraries, the brainchild of Stillwater, Minnesota, native Todd Bol, are popping up all over Minnesota, from tony L

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (AP) ― The country is awash in pink for breast cancer awareness month, and some women are sick of it.While no one is questioning the need to fight the deadly disease, some breast cancer activists are starting to ask whether one of the most successful charity campaigns in rec

Actress and U.N. goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie talks to unidentified men in Misrata, Libya, Tuesday. (AP-Yonhap News)GENEVA (AP) ― The U.N. refugee agency says goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie is currently visiting Libya, though in a personal capacity.A spokesman for the U.N. High Commissione

Singer Rain salutes his fans before walking into a boot camp in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. (Yonhap News)UIJEONGBU (AP) ― South Korean pop star Rain is temporarily giving up his entertainment career to join the military.The 29-year-old singer and actor gave a military salute to tearful f

BUSAN (AFP) ― The growing power of China’s cinema industry is on show at Asia’s top film festival, but some filmmakers worry that a thirst for blockbusters is hurting quality and creativity.“It’s a big population and a big market and a lot of opportunity to increase that market,” independent Chinese

PARIS (AFP) ― The U.S. news and opinion portal Huffington Post will next month launch a French-language edition, its first foray into non-anglophone Europe with plans for similar sites in Spain, Italy or Germany, its co-founder said Monday.“We see this as our first foray into (the) euro zone,” Arian

NEW YORK (AP) ― Broadway composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim will receive New York City’s highest honor for achievement in the arts.The New York Times says Sondheim will receive the Handel Medallion on Nov. 1 at Alice Tully Hall.Other honorees will include Mikhail Baryshnikov; arts advocate Alice

NEW YORK (AP) ― A bronze sculpture of a young ballerina by French impressionist Edgar Degas will lead Christie’s New York auction of impressionist and modern art next month with a pre-sale estimate of $25 million to $35 million.“Little Dancer Aged Fourteen’’ is being offered on Nov. 1.The work depic

NEW YORK (AP) -- Dennis Lehane is the latest brand-name publisher.The author of “Mystic River,” “Moonlight Mile” and other thrillers is overseeing a new imprint at HarperCollins.The publisher announced Monday that Dennis Lehane Books will issue “a select” number of literary fiction works each year t

BUSAN (AFP) -- A movie shot secretly in Myanmar is in the running for a major award at Asia’s top film festival this week with its director saying he wanted to portray the “real” state of life in the country.“It is about the truth of Burma,” said Myanmar-born director Midi Z of his first full-length

BRUSSELS (AFP) - Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker has called in her lawyers after accusing U.S. music superstar Beyonce of stealing routines for her latest music video “Countdown”, dance troupe Rosas said Monday.“We discovered the Beyonce clip on Friday and we noticed more than a few

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) -- As a child growing up in Iceland, Bjork would compose music in her head as she walked to school.The cadence of her footsteps became the rhythm. The dramatic landscapes of her homeland became the inspiration.In her new album, Bjork says she fuses that natural world with iPa

LOS ANGELES ― Los Angeles boasts world-class museums dedicated to art, cars and even tar pits. It may soon have an equally prominent showplace for the city’s signature industry ― motion pictures.In partnership with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

MINNEAPOLIS ― Most people who update their homes want them to look bigger, better and newer. But Brita Hansen and Eric Hazen wanted their remodeled Minneapolis home to look like its small, 1880s self.“We really liked the proportions of the original house and the gables,” Hansen said.They bought the

Paul McCartney and his new wife Nancy Shevell celebrate their wedding at Marylebone register office in London on Sunday. (UPI-Yonhap News)LONDON (AFP) ― Former Beatle Paul McCartney married for the third time on Sunday, tying the knot with New York heiress Nancy Shevell at the same London venue wher

HONG KONG (AP) ― An uneven set of results from Sotheby’s autumn Hong Kong sales that wrapped up last Thursday indicates that the surging Asian art market is pausing for breath amid rocky times for financial assets such as stocks.A 15th century Meiping vase sold on Wednesday for HK$168.7 million ($21

BUSAN (AFP) ― A 3-D horror movie set in a public toilet block is part of a revolution underway in the Asian film industry as low-budget 3-D productions take on the big studios at their own game.At the 16th Busan International Film Festival, audiences have been lining up to see the likes of multi-mil

Turkey puts repaired Hercules statue on displayANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Turkey is displaying a full statue of Hercules for the first time since a U.S. museum returned the top half after two decades of negotiations.The Boston Museum of Fine Arts last month returned the top half of Weary Heracles, Greek