American actress Amanda Bynes appeared in court on Friday and denied charges of possessing marijuana and tossing a bong out of the window of her 36th-floor Manhattan apartment. The former Nickelodeon child star, who appeared in court dressed in gray sweatpants, a long-sleeved black shirt and a disheveled platinum blonde wig, was released on her own recognizance after spending a night in jail after her arrest on Thursday. She was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, reckless endangerment and attempted tampering with physical evidence, according to court documents. All the alleged offenses are classified as misdemeanors rather than felonies. Her attorney at the hearing denied the charges and accused police of entering the actress' apartment illegally. "Clearly a search was made for the bong and nothing was recovered," attorney Andrew Friedman told the court. "My client completely denies ever having thrown anything out the window. She was followed illegally into her apartment for no reason." More»

Denmark has triumphed at this year's Eurovision Song Contest, held in the Swedish city of Malmo. Emmelie de Forest, 20, had been the overwhelming favourite among the 26 entries, with her song Only Teardrops. Azerbaijan finished second. The UK's Bonnie Tyler came 19th, an improvement on last year when Engelbert Humperdinck came second from last. There was disappointment for Ireland's Ryan Dolan as he finished in last place with just five points. De Forest won with 281 points and Azerbaijan's Farid Mammadov finished 47 points behind, followed by Ukraine in third and Norway in fourth. Denmark, which will now have the job of hosting the 59th contest next year, had previously won in 1963 and 2000. 'It's amazing' De Forest sang her up-tempo tune barefoot, saying before she performed: "It makes me feel closer to the ground, the earth and makes me feel more relaxed." De Forest described the experience as "overwhelming" at a news conference following the contest More»

"American Idol" winner Candice Glover, whose powerful voice clinched the title of the popular TV singing show, comes from a sea island culture made up of descendants of West African slaves. "I speak another language," she said during the Fox TV show. "It's called Geechee." Some 14.2 million TV viewers tuned in to watch Glover beat Kree Harrison to win the season 12 "American Idol" crown on Thursday. Glover, 23, is a native of rural St. Helena Island in the coastal South Carolina Lowcountry. The island is part of a new national heritage corridor to preserve and promote the unique African culture and language called Gullah Geechee that survived on the isolated sea islands of South Carolina and Georgia for centuries. "When she said that, I stood up in my living room and applauded," said Ron Daise, commission chairman of the corridor that also includes parts of North Carolina and Florida. "There's a rootedness about her spirit." More»

Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie said on Tuesday that she had undergone a preventive double mastectomy after finding out she had a gene mutation that leads to a sharply higher risk of both breast and ovarian cancer. Jolie, writing in the New York Times, said her mother's death from cancer at 56 and the discovery that she carried the BRCA1 gene mutation led to her decision out of fears she might not be around for her six children. "We often speak of 'Mommy's mommy', and I find myself trying to explain the illness that took her away from us. They have asked if the same could happen to me," wrote Jolie, 37, in the editorial "My Medical Choice". "I have always told them not to worry, but the truth is I carry a 'faulty' gene," she added. Her doctor estimated that she had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer. "Once I knew this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much as I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy," she said. More»

Within a unique experience, CBC channels cooperate with KidZania® Cairo, to discover and support the early media talentsin children. By building CBC’s Television Studio inside KidZania® Cairo, children who are looking forward to work in the media field in the future can start now! TarekZidan, KidZania® Egypt governor stated “in KidZania® Cairo we were keen to add within different simulation models a TV station model to instill proper basis of media work in children from an early stage”. Zidan added: the work inside CBC station in KidZania® Cairo is fun and includesan introduction to all production stages of a television program. This allows children to produce the television program in an entertainingeducational form which makes them pass through an unforgettable experience that gives them the chance to express themselves and their ideas freely. More»

Egypt's most beloved singer, Mohamed Mounir ended his spring concert abruptly early at the Red Carpet Hotel, in Ain Sokhna Sunday, 5 May. Mounir played several of the most popular songs to his more than 20,000 fans in the audience, but surprised them by launching early into the night with Ashky Lmein - which he always ends his concerts with. "Some want to spoil our joyous, warm gathering," said the star into the microphone amid several technical failures and crowd problems in the general admission concert. "This is the worst concert Mounir ever performed," said one fan, backing his statement with: "I used to attend all of his concerts in the Cairo Opera House, Alexandria and Sokhna. I guarantee you this is the worst ever!" Many others left disappointed and fuming into the early morning, hitting the road from the Egyptian beach town on a two-hour ride back to Cairo and cities much farther away. More»

International hit "Iron Man 3" flew into U.S. and Canadian theaters, kicking off Hollywood's summer blockbuster season with $15.6 million in ticket sales late Thursday and early Friday. The superhero sequel from Walt Disney Co's Marvel studio is expected to finish the weekend with one of the biggest debuts in film history. Box office analysts predict the movie will bring in $150 million or more from Friday through Sunday, likely ranking in the top five all-time openings. The opening night sales fell short of the $18.7 million earned a year ago by Disney's "The Avengers," which brought together Iron Man, The Hulk and other Marvel superheroes. "Avengers" went on to earn $207 million in its first three days, a record for the North American (U.S. and Canadian) market. More»

The story of South Korean rap sensation Psy's ascent to global stardom with his megahit "Gangnam Style" has now been immortalized in full color and with appropriate dramatic flourishes in a comic book. "Fame:Psy", which went on sale in the United States and South Korea on Wednesday, focuses mainly on what went into making "Gangnam Style," which catapulted the sunglassed singer with the garish jackets to global fame and became YouTube's most popular song ever with more than 1.5 billion hits. "Has he fallen from the sky? Has he risen from the earth?" the comic begins, with illustrations showing Psy - in the suits he made famous in "Gangnam Style" and striking poses from his "Horse Riding Dance" - descending from heaven and bursting through the earth. "It was the end of summer, 2012, when a little-known Asian rapper put his music video on YouTube. It exploded in popularity," continues the 26-page tale, from U.S. publisher Bluewater Productions and South Korean firm "able". More»

British fashion designer and former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham said life as a working mother is a struggle but she relishes the challenge and plans to expand her empire with a retail store in London. As mother to three boys - Brooklyn, 14, Romeo, 10, and Cruz, 8 - and to 21-month-old daughter Harper, Beckham said balancing her family life and career was a constant juggle. "The children are my priority and always have been and always will be so it's a little bit of a juggling act," she told the Vogue Festival at London's Royal Festival Hall on Sunday. "I really enjoy being a mum, I love my kids more than anything, but I love doing what I do as well and it's just getting the balance right which is not easy, at all." With her second son Romeo appearing in the latest Burberry campaign and football star husband David Beckham fronting an underwear campaign for H&M, 39-year-old Beckham is busy. More»

Women directors are making their mark at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, crafting entries such as a psychological thriller about a person's disappearance, a look at a same-sex couple's rights and a story about sisters. Twenty-six feature films, about a quarter of the total to be presented during the two-week festival, are by women directors, including the first feature film by a female Saudi filmmaker shot entirely in her country. Although the number is still small compared to male directors, festival organizers said women's participation has been growing annually. "Women have always played prominent roles and creative roles in the film industry. As far as directing, it seems more women are taking on that role," said Genna Terranova, the vice president of programming at the festival. More»