Accounting firm says several mistakes caused Oscars best picture gaffe

Author:  SANDY COHEN and ANTHONY MCCARTNEY | AP Tue, 2017-02-28 ID:  1488277315041712700 LOS ANGELES: The accounting firm responsible for the integrity of the Academy Awards said Monday that its staffers did not move quickly enough to correct the biggest error in Oscars history — the mistaken announcement of the best picture winner. PwC, formerly Price Waterhouse Coopers, wrote in a statement that several mistakes were made...

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Global art sales plummet, China biggest market

Author:  AFP Mon, 2017-02-27 ID:  1488182129032172200 PARIS: Global art sales plunged in 2016 as the number of high-value works sold dropped by half, while China regained its status as the world’s top market, Artprice said in an annual report released Monday. Art auctions worldwide totalled $12.5 billion (11.8 billion euros) last year, down 22 percent from $16.1 billion in 2015, it said. The world’s biggest database for art...

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98-year-old former NASA mathematician gets her moment at Oscars

Author:  Associated Press Mon, 2017-02-27 ID:  1488179957862014000 LOS ANGELES: She said only “thank you,” but it was one of the more moving moments of Sunday’s Oscars ceremony. Katherine Johnson, 98, the former NASA mathematician played by Taraji P. Henson in the movie “Hidden Figures,” was brought on stage to thunderous applause. She was introduced by Henson, Janelle Monae and Octavia Spencer, who all star in the film as...

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Iran’s ‘The Salesman’ wins 'best foreign film' Oscar

Author:  Ali Noorani | AFP Mon, 2017-02-27 ID:  1488178562631917000 TEHRAN: Iranian film “The Salesman” on Sunday won the Oscar for best foreign language film, but director Asghar Farhadi skipped the Hollywood gala in protest at a travel ban by US President Donald Trump. Farhadi initially said he would head to Hollywood for Oscars night, where his film — the story of two actors whose relationship turns sour during a performance...

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Trump jabs fly at Oscars, awards go to ‘La La Land,’ Davis

Author:  JAKE COYLE | AP Mon, 2017-02-27 ID:  1488174784611600900 LOS ANGELES: The Jimmy Kimmel-hosted 89th Academy Awards seesawed between jabs at Donald Trump and passionate arguments for inclusivity, with awards going to “La La Land,” Mel Gibson’s “Hacksaw Ridge” and Viola Davis. Damien Chazelle’s celebrated musical “La La Land,” up for a record-tying 14 nominations, took a while to start cleaning up. But as the night...

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‘Batman V Superman’ and Hillary doc tie at Razzies

Author:  AFP Mon, 2017-02-27 ID:  1488139920695256500 LOS ANGELES: DC Comics’ “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and a documentary attacking Hillary Clinton tied Saturday at the annual Razzie worst-of film awards, Hollywood’s hall of shame. The rivals won four “Razzies” each for their poor acting, writing and directing, although the anti-Clinton documentary walked away with the spray-painted trophy for “worst picture.” “It...

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Meryl Streep accuses Lagerfeld of spoiling her Oscars

Author:  REUTERS Mon, 2017-02-27 ID:  1488139920625256000 LOS ANGELES: Meryl Streep accused designer Karl Lagerfeld of spoiling her night at the Academy Awards ceremony by falsely accusing her of being paid to wear a gown on the Oscars red carpet. Streep was responding to a claim earlier this week by Lagerfeld that the “Sophie’s Choice” actress had decided against wearing a Chanel gown at Sunday’s Oscar ceremony because she...

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Sharp vision: New glasses help the legally blind see

Author:  MICHAEL LIEDTKE | AP Sun, 2017-02-26 ID:  1488114839512703200 SAN FRANCISCO, United States: Jeff Regan was born with underdeveloped optic nerves and had spent most of his life in a blur. Then four years ago, he donned an unwieldy headset made by a Toronto company called eSight. Suddenly, Regan could read a newspaper while eating breakfast and make out the faces of his co-workers from across the room. He’s been able...

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Bethlehem fetes Palestinian Arab Idol singing hero

Author:  AFP Sun, 2017-02-26 ID:  1488104522522228200 BETHLEHEM, Palestinian Territories: Hundreds of Palestinians celebrated in Bethlehem after a young singer from the occupied West Bank city became the second Palestinian to win the Arab Idol television song contest. Yacoub Shaheen, the 23-year-old son of a Syriac Christian carpenter, on Saturday night won the pan-Arab singing competition, defeating a fellow Palestinian...

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Lebanese opera ‘Antar and Abla’ debuts in Bahrain

Author:  LULWA SHALHOUB Sun, 2017-02-26 ID:  1488061025597372300 MANAMA: An evening of music and choreography wrapped up Saturday night in Manama with the Lebanese opera show “Antar and Abla” at the Bahrain National Theater. The show, produced by Opera Lebanon, demonstrates the timeless love story of Antar and Abla that goes back to ancient Arab history. The event coincided with Arab Tourism Day on Saturday, and was part...

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Princess Diana’s iconic dresses on show for anniversary

Author:  AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE Wed, 2017-02-22 ID:  1487769932376386400 LONDON: Glittering gowns, elegant suits and bold mini-dresses worn by the late Princess Diana will go on show from Friday on the 20th anniversary of her death in new exhibition charting her style reign. “Diana: Her Fashion Story,” hosted in her London residence Kensington Palace, follows her evolution from the demure outfits of her first public appearances...

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Russian supply ship launched to International Space Station

Author:  Associated Press Wed, 2017-02-22 ID:  1487755193325468700 MOSCOW: An unmanned Russian cargo ship has lifted off successfully on a supply mission to the International Space Station. A Soyuz booster rocket carrying the Progress MS-05 spacecraft blasted off as scheduled at 11:58 a.m. (0558 GMT) Wednesday from the Russian-leased Baikonur launch complex in Kazakhstan. The mission follows the Dec. 1 botched launch of the...

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Life expectancy to keep rising; S. Korean women could hit 91

Author:  MARIA CHENG | AP Wed, 2017-02-22 ID:  1487752037525351900 LONDON: While most people born in rich countries will live longer by 2030 — with women in South Korea projected to reach nearly 91 — Americans will continue to have one of the lowest life expectancies of any developed country, a new study predicts. Scientists once thought an average life expectancy beyond 90 was impossible but medical advances combined with...

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Al Pacino’s Saudi visit ‘not yet confirmed,’ entertainment official tells Arab News

Author:  ARAB NEWS Wed, 2017-02-22 ID:  1487717440441350200 JEDDAH: The past few months have provided Saudis and expatriates living in the Kingdom an precedented dose of global and local entertainment under an ambitious program spearheaded by the General Entertainment Authority. However, contrary to what several local and pan-Arab media outlets have reported, the visit of international actor Al Pacino on May 11 and 12 to...

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Help! McCartney lends Ringo a hand on new album

Author:  Agence France Press Tue, 2017-02-21 ID:  1487699300879132600 LONDON: Ringo Starr got a little help from his friend when Paul McCartney dropped by to work on his new album — the first time the two surviving Beatles have come together in the studio in seven years. Starr posted a picture on Twitter on Monday showing the pair together, McCartney with his arm around The Beatles’ drummer. “Thanks for coming over man and...

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NASA aims to measure vital snow data from satellites

Author:  DAN ELLIOTT | AP Tue, 2017-02-21 ID:  1487674463356687900 DENVER: Airplanes are scanning the Colorado high country with an array of sensors as scientists search for better ways to measure how much water is locked up in the world’s mountain snows. A NASA-led experiment called SnowEx is testing 10 instruments that might one day be used to monitor snow from satellites. The goal is to find the ideal combination of sensors...

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Ex-teen idol David Cassidy says he has dementia

Author:  Reuters Tue, 2017-02-21 ID:  1487670465426437100 LOS ANGELES: Former teen idol David Cassidy said on Monday he was suffering from dementia, a day after weekend performances in California in which he forgot his words and appeared to fall off stage raised concern about his health. The former Partridge Family singer and actor, 66, told People magazine he was fighting dementia, a disease which his mother also suffered...

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Atlanta, other cities eye test tracks for self-driving cars

Author:  JEFF MARTIN | AP Mon, 2017-02-20 ID:  1487583374458377500 ATLANTA: Self-driving vehicles could begin tooling down a bustling Atlanta street full of cars, buses, bicyclists and college students, as the city vies with other communities nationwide to test the emerging technology. Atlanta would become one of the largest urban areas for testing self-driving vehicles if plans come together for a demonstration as early...

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Angelina Jolie stars in Syrian refugee TV show

Author:  ARAB NEWS Sun, 2017-02-19 ID:  1487449404094914500 SIEM REAP, Cambodia: Angelina Jolie will star in a Turkish TV show about a Syrian family fleeing the country’s civil war alongside Christiano Ronaldo and Nancy Ajram, according to reports in Turkey. The Real Madrid superstar, 32, often visits the country while Hollywood actress Jolie is well known for her charity work. “We will begin filming in the first week of...

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‘White Helmets’ makers get visas for Oscar travel

Author:  REUTERS Sun, 2017-02-19 ID:  1487449403974914300 LOS ANGELES: Two Syrian rescue workers said on Friday they plan to travel to next week’s Oscar ceremony, where their documentary “White Helmets” is nominated for an award, after weeks of uncertainty caused by US President Donald Trump’s travel ban. Raed Saleh, the leader of the White Helmets, and cinematographer Khaled Khatib have both obtained visas to travel to the...

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Disabled models make London Fashion Week debut

Author:  AFP Fri, 2017-02-17 ID:  1487400778940849600 LONDON: Disabled models made their debut on the London Fashion Week catwalk on Friday — “about time,” as one campaigner put it. Amputee Jack Eyers, who wears a prosthetic leg, and Kelly Knox, who was born with no left forearm, took to the runway for luxury British label Teatum Jones. “It’s important to get people to reconsider our relationship with the body in the luxury...

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Museum removes artwork produced by immigrants as protest

Author:  Associated Press Fri, 2017-02-17 ID:  1487329410992276000 WELLESLEY, Mass.: A museum at a small liberal arts college in Massachusetts has removed or covered dozens of artwork produced by immigrant artists or donated by foreign-born collectors to illustrate their contribution to the cultural wealth of the United States. The Art-Less project has effectively removed or shrouded 120 works of art, or about 20 percent...

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Arctic and Antarctic sea ice at record low in January — UN

Author:  Reuters Fri, 2017-02-17 ID:  1487329348042267300 GENEVA: The extent of sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic last month was the lowest on record for January, the UN World Meteorological Organization said on Friday, while concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere hit a record level. “The missing ice in both poles has been quite extraordinary,” David Carlson, Director of the World Climate Research Programme,...

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One man’s quest to find his abducted father

Author:  MANAL SHAKIR Fri, 2017-02-17 ID:  1487280432826204200 Hisham Matar’s “The Return” is a harrowing memoir about a son’s search for his father, who was forcibly taken from their Cairo apartment in March 1990. At the time, 19-year-old Matar was unaware that it would be the last time he would see his father. It would also spark an arduous, but ultimately unsuccessful, quest to find him. Matar’s father Jaballa was a military...

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