Entertainment

US comedian Bill Cosby has been found guilty of three counts of sexual assault, each of which carries a potential 10 years in prison.

The actor, 80, has been on trial for drugging and assaulting ex-basketball player Andrea Constand in 2004.

Cosby, the first major black actor on primetime TV, will remain out of jail until he is sentenced, the judge ruled.

"I feel like my faith in humanity is restored," Cosby accuser Lili Bernard said outside the courthouse.

It was the second time the actor had stood trial for the allegations, after an earlier jury failed to reach a verdict in June 2017.

At the start of the retrial in Pennsylvania it was revealed that Cosby had paid Ms Constand almost $3.4m (£2.4m) in a civil settlement in 2006.

Cosby is best known for starring in the 1980s TV series The Cosby Show.

Around 60 women over five decades have publicly accused the Emmy award-winning actor of being a sexual predator. But statute of limitation laws mean that only one charge has been brought to trial.

Source : BBC

Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan has revealed on Twitter that he has been diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour.

The rare illness affects the cells that release hormones into the bloodstream. Mr Khan did not give any further details of his condition.

He had tweeted on 6 March that he was suffering from a "rare disease" but did not say what it was.

Khan, 51, has acted in more than 100 films including Bollywood hits Piku, Maqbool, Haasil and Paan Singh Tomar. His English language films include Life Of Pi, Jurassic World, Slumdog Millionaire and The Amazing Spider-Man.

Khan is India's best-known international actor and has also featured in a wide range of well-received roles in Bollywood and independent Hindi films. In 2013, he won India's National Film Award for his leading role in Paan Singh Tomar, a biopic about a top athlete who becomes a bandit.

He has also won the Viewers' Choice Award at the Cannes Film Festival for his portrayal of a lonely accountant who mistakenly receives a lunchbox intended for a colleague in the 2013 film The Lunchbox.

It was also the only Indian film to be selected for competition at the London Film Festival that year.

Source : BBC

Duchess of Cambridge gives birth to a princeThe Duchess of Cambridge has given birth to a boy - her third child.The new prince arrived at 11.01am UK time, weighing 8lb 7oz, Kensington Palace announced.Kensington Palace announced that the Duchess was admitted to the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital, in central London, on Monday morning.The baby will be fifth in line to the throne, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh's sixth great-grandchild and a younger brother or sister for Prince George and Princess Charlotte. The baby's title will be HRH Prince of Cambridge.Predicted names include Arthur, Albert, Frederick, James and Philip.

Source : The Telegraph

According to Forbes, between June 1, 2016 and June 1, 2017, the world's 10 highest-paid actresses made a combined $172.5 million. The 10 highest-paid actors earned more than double that amount: $488.5 million.

Mark Wahlberg topped the men's ranking after earning $68 million over the 12-month period. The highest-paid actress, Emma Stone, earned less than half that amount: $26 million.

"Compared to men, in most professions, women make 80 cents to the dollar," Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman tells Marie Claire. "In Hollywood we are making 30 cents to the dollar."

Although some defenders of the system point out that the disparity could be chalked up to the fact that more men star in profitable action and superhero franchises, women often make less even in romantic comedies. Portman, for example, says she was paid three times less than her male co-star Ashton Kutcher for the 2011 movie "No Strings Attached."

"I mean, we get paid a lot, so it's hard to complain," the star continues, "but the disparity is crazy."

If you were to combine the two rankings, the 20 highest-paid actors in the world would include two Ryans, two Toms and just three women (two of whom, as it happens, are named Jennifer). Stone, Hollywood's highest-paid woman, would barely crack the top 15.

Here's the breakdown. All figures are pre-tax:

20. Jeremy Renner: $19 million

19. Matt Damon: $21 million

18. Ryan Reynolds: $21.5 million

17. Jennifer Lawrence: $24 million

16. Jennifer Aniston: $25.5 million

15. Emma Stone: $26 million

14. Ryan Gosling: $29 million

13. Samuel L. Jackson: $30.5 million

12. Tom Hanks: $31 million

11. Chris Hemsworth: $31.5 million

10. Akshay Kumar: $35.5 million

9. Salman Khan: $37 million

8. Shah Rukh Khan: $38 million

7. Tom Cruise: $43 million

6. Robert Downey Jr.: $48 million

5. Jackie Chan: $49 million

4. Adam Sandler: $50.5 million

3. Vin Diesel: $54.5 million

2. Dwayne Johnson: $65 million

1. Mark Wahlberg: $68 million

Here's the full breakdown of the 10 highest-paid actresses:

10. Amy Adams: $11.5 million

8. Julia Roberts: $12 million (TIE)

8. Cate Blanchett: $12 million (TIE)

6. Charlize Theron: $14 million (TIE)

6. Emma Watson: $14 million (TIE)

5. Mila Kunis: $15.5 million

4. Melissa McCarthy: $18 million

3. Jennifer Lawrence: $24 million

2. Jennifer Aniston: $25.5 million

1. Emma Stone: $26 million

A Jodhpur trial court today convicted actor Salman Khan, while acquitting other accused in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case.

Jodhpur District Presiding Officer Devkumar Khatri pronounced the judgment, while holding off on awarding the quantum of punishment for Salman right away. The sentencing, however, is expected to be announced shortly.

Co-accused Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Neelam and Tabu were present in court during pronouncement of the verdict. There are two other accused in the case -- travel agent Dushyant Singh and Dinesh Gawre, Salman's assistant at the time. Gawre is still absconding.

The actors are accused of hunting down two blackbucks in Kankani village near Jodhpur on the intervening night of October 1 and 2, 1998. The actors were in the city for the shooting of the film 'Hum Saath Saath Hain'.

Salman is facing charges under Section 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act and the other actors have been charged under Section 51 read with Section 149 (unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code. Maximum punishment under Section 51 is six years.

Veteran Film, Theatre and Teledrama actress Edna Sugathapala has passed away at the age of 72. She is said to have passed away while receiving treatment at a private hospital in Colombo.

Edna was born in 1946 and educated at Good Shepherd Convent in her hometown Panadura, and later at Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya. She began her film career by acting in popular film ‘Surayangeth Suraya’ directed by legendary director Lenin Moraes in 1969 alongside Gamini Fonseka and Sandya Kumari. She was also a talented singer, pianist and astrologist.

Bollywood superstar Deepika Padukone called for bolder efforts by Indians to end the stigma surrounding mental illness. According to WHO, India has the highest number of suicides in South Asia after Sri Lanka.

"We have a long way to go," said Padukone, who went public about her struggle with depression in 2015 and won praise for her campaign to spark public discourse on mental health in a country that has traditionally considered such illnesses taboo.

The 32-year-old, who starred in xXx: Return of Xander Cage, founded the Live Laugh Love Foundation to create awareness about mental health.

Deepika speaking at the event

 The charity last Friday launched the results of a survey it conducted in eight Indian cities, including New Delhi and Mumbai, which showed nearly half of Indians held prejudices against people with mental illnesses.

Three out of five of the 3,556 people interviewed for the study referred to the mentally ill using terms such as "retard", "crazy" or "stupid".

While a little more than half expressed some fear towards mentally unhealthy people - with many preferring they be ostracised - more than three-quarters showed sympathy.

Fifty-one per cent said they would seek professional help if they suffered from a mental illness, signalling a shift in the fear and shame usually attached with it in India.

"What gives us immense satisfaction is... knowing that the stigma built around mental illness over the years is now slowly reducing," Padukone said in New Delhi.

"We have come a long way in the last three years, there is increased... awareness, but I still think we have a long way to go."

More than 50 million Indians suffered from depression and more than 30 million from anxiety disorders in 2015, a World Health Organisation study released last year said.

In December, Indian President Ram Nath Kovind warned that the country of 1.3 billion people faces "a possible mental health epidemic" while releasing a report that found 10 per cent of Indians suffered from at least one mental illness.

Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez, says she always wanted to be an entertainer but didn’t plan to get into Bollywood. In a blog post which went live on International Women’s Day on Thursday, Jacqueline penned her journey into stardom and Bollywood.

“Since a very young age, I’ve always dreamt of being an entertainer. Wanting to tell stories, make everyone around me laugh. For me, it was never about the films but the pure joy that comes with being an entertainer. That dream, that joy is something that had me drawn towards it,” Jacqueline said.

“Entering Bollywood pretty much happened by chance. In Bollywood, it’s not just about entertaining, but also an artistic form of expression through dance, acting and dialogue that has the potential to stir thousands of emotions. Your audience relates to you. Lives the character through you. All the strength to live up to my dream of being an entertainer has come from constantly growing as a performer and to focus on my strengths. It might sound a little too good to be true as you read, but believe me, once you start living by it, you’ll feel the difference yourself,” she added.

Born to a Sri Lankan father and Malaysian mother, Jacqueline was raised in Bahrain. At the age of 14, she was hosting a fitness show. She moved to Australia to attend college and then returned to Sri Lanka where she took up a reporting job.

The year 2006 turned to be a game-changer as she won the Miss Sri Lanka beauty crown. She made her debut in the Indian film industry with the 2009 film Aladin. “I grew up in a very simple Sri Lankan family, raised in the UAE. I first decided I wanted to be a performer at the age of 6, and honestly, was quite afraid to bring this up with my parents at first. I was apprehensive of what they’d say since it was quite an unconventional career path but I guess I happened to get really lucky,” she said.

The actor says her parents have been her biggest source of support even when her debut Bollywood film didn’t click at the box office. “In all my trying times, during the initial stages when I was unfamiliar with this vibrant city, that I now call home, or during my first stint in acting; I’ve always believed in my abilities and that really has made all the difference. It still astonishes me, how such a small change is able to get you through an entire trial and error phase and, put you right in front of your goals, however lofty they may be,” she added.

Masks and puppets tell Sri Lanka's ancient tales

Rajpal Abeynayake

 Puppets from the Ehelepola Kumaraya play, the story of a nobleman's son resisting a Sinhalese king influenced by the colonizing British (Photo by Rajpal Abeynayake)

In Ambalangoda, a vibrant Sri Lankan coastal town of fishermen, sunshine and traditional mask makers, two unique and ancient art forms are battling for survival. One, known as rukada, uses almost life-size puppets to thrill and amuse audiences.

Its not-so-distant cousin is the art of masked drama called kolam, which translates best as "farce." In kolam, costumed men wearing masks act out ancient stories, often to raucous effect. What unites these two art forms are the traditional masks made in Ambalangoda and other maritime towns of Sri Lanka's south, such as Balapitiya.

Both traditions deal with material from Buddhist lore -- the Jathaka tales, which are a retelling of stories from the Buddha's previous incarnations. Comedy and farcical plotlines are a large part of both types of performance.

But the masks themselves, which form the basis of the colorful puppet faces too, originate from a much darker place in the people's psyche.

Masks from Ambalangoda and other maritime towns were first used thousands of years ago in exorcism rituals, in what was called "devil dancing" or thovil. This tradition of ritual therapeutic theater dates back over 2,500 years to pre-Buddhist times.

A puppet from ancient folk tale, dramatized.

 The puppeteers from Ambalangoda also draw on the nadagam, the South Indian dance drama tradition imported from Tamil Nadu in southern India by colonizing Catholics.

Supun Gamini, a computer science and management graduate, is a fourth-generation puppeteer who has launched a determined effort to keep Ambalangoda's rukada art alive.

His greatest challenge, he said, is to work around some aspects of tradition that he feels deter people, especially the young, who prefer today's internet-generated popular culture instead.

Some of the traditions associated with masks and puppetry are dying out, but that may not be an entirely bad thing, according to Gamini. Ignoring some aspects of the ritual may be the way to let the puppet art and masked dances live on.

"For example, each time they cut down a kaduru tree for crafting masks or puppets in the days of my forefathers, they enacted elaborate rituals before the tree was felled," said Gamini. These rites were meant to propitiate the divine beings.

Supun Gamini, a puppeteer, with a puppet styled after the thovil mask tradition.

The Disney (DIS) and Marvel Studios film was the number one film in the U.S. for the second weekend in a row bringing in an estimated $108 million at the box office.

"Black Panther" becomes only the fourth film ever to cross $100 million in its second weekend, joining "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," "Jurassic World," and "The Avengers." It is the second highest second weekend for a film behind only "Force Awakens."

"Black Panther" has also crossed the $700 million mark globally in just two weekends of release and will cross $400 million domestically on Sunday, its 10th day of release. The film has yet to open in China or Japan.

 After its second weekend domestically, the film, starring Chadwick Boseman and directed by Ryan Coogler, is already the fifth highest grossing Marvel Studios film and will likely pass "Captain America: Civil War" and "Iron Man 3" to take the number three spot in the coming days.

Overall, "Black Panther" showed strong staying power losing only 47% of its domestic audience from its record-breaking opening weekend. That's less of a drop than other films in Marvel's Cinematic Universe like "Captain America: Civil War" and "The Avengers: Age of Ultron," which saw its second-weekend totals drop closer to 60%, according to comScore.

Last weekend, the film, which is Marvel's first to be directed by an African-American director, opened to $201.8 million in North America, breaking multiple records. It became the largest opening for an African-American director by a sizable margin.

The record opening and a strong second weekend stand as a watershed moment for Hollywood. With "Black Panther" shattering expectations and records, the film's success could impact change in Hollywood by encouraging more diverse casts, crews, and stories.

The film currently holds a near perfect 97% score on review site Rotten Tomatoes, which makes it one of the best-reviewed superhero films ever.

Source : CNN

Indian pop star, Daler Mehndi, has been sentenced to two years in prison for smuggling migrants abroad.

Mehndi and six others were accused in 2003 of cheating people of large sums of money by falsely promising to take them to Western countries.

The singer was convicted on Friday in the northern state of Punjab. But he was released on bail soon after.

Mehndi is one of the most popular Punjabi singers of the 1990s and early 2000s, and also has a following abroad.

In 1998 and 1999, he had allegedly taken at least 10 migrants, disguised as dancers in his ensemble, to the United States and returned without them.

After police in Punjab registered a case against him, about 35 people reportedly accused him of fraud. They said he had taken money from them for taking them abroad but had failed to do so.

Mehndi said he will appeal the conviction in a higher court.

He sang in several Bollywood films but he is best known for his music videos in bhangra pop, a bouncy electronic genre inspired by the traditional dance tunes of Punjab.

Mehndi's debut album sold over 20 million copies. He has given stage performances in about 18 countries including the UK, US and Singapore.

Source : BBC

Renowned musician, composer, conductor, and arranger Wycliffe Gordon and his International All Stars will tour Sri Lanka from the 24-28 of February with performances scheduled to be held in Colombo, Matara and Galle.

Gordon and his crew will perform as part of the cultural events planned under the #USSL70 campaign of the US Embassy to celebrate 70 years of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and the United States.