WHO Director-General visits Cuba

October 17th, 2009 HAVANA - "Los Dioses Rotos" (Broken Gods) by director Ernesto Daranas is Cuba's submission for the Best Foreign Film Oscar, an official said. The film is a social drama that revisits the story of a famous procurer in Havana at the beginning of the 20th century, about whom a professor does research for a university thesis that purports to show the character's relevance today.

September 25th, 2009 Cuba: Pre-concert nerves caused Juanes outburstHAVANA — Cuba's official press said Friday that a Colombian rock star's nerves got the better of him before last weekend's historic "peace concert" in Havana, causing an outburst against authorities in which he threatened to cancel the show. The complaint by the Grammy-winning Juanes and other singers became an overnight sensation on YouTube and Spanish-language television, and has been held up by some Cuban exiles in South Florida as evidence of the communist-run island's repressive ways.

September 20th, 2009 HAVANA - Hundreds of thousands of Cubans gathered at the Revolution Plaza in Havana Sunday for a "Peace Without Borders" concert headlined by popular Colombian singer Juanes. An estimated 650,000 people attended the concert making this the biggest event in Havana since Pope John Paul II's visit in 1998, CNN reported.

September 19th, 2009 LONDON - Oscar winning actor George Clooney wants to direct Matt Damon in a new movie called Hamdan v Rumsfeld, about Osama bin Laden's former chauffeur. The actor has singled out Matt, with whom he previously starred in Syriana, to star in the film, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

September 18th, 2009 Belafonte calls for better US-Cuba relationsHAVANA — American singer Harry Belafonte said on a visit to Cuba on Friday that he was disappointed President Barack Obama has not done more to improve relations with the communist-run island, but that he was hopeful progress would come soon. "The policy toward Cuba — yes, I like a lot of people am disappointed," the 82-year-old singer known as the King of Calypso said in a brief interview with The Associated Press.

September 1st, 2009 OVIEDO - US actor Brad Pitt, who has created a foundation to promote rebuilding in hurricane-wracked New Orleans, has visited the northern Spanish town of Aviles to study the possibility of taking part in an urban development project there. Pitt, who Monday toured the works of the Oscar Niemeyer International Cultural Center, said he was "enthusiastic" about the innovative Island of Innovation project and showed special interest in "everything that has to do with sustainability".

August 22nd, 2009 Cuba condemns threats against Juanes over concertHAVANA — Cuba is condemning threats made against Colombian pop singer Juanes, who plans to stage a "Peace Without Borders" concert next month in Havana's Plaza of the Revolution. Cuban Culture Minister Abel Prieto blamed anti-Castro exiles in the United States for the threats and said the Sept.

August 3rd, 2009 Rapper Lumidee makes rare US music video in CubaHAVANA — It's well after midnight and the New Yorker is strutting down a crumbling sidewalk in impossibly high — red-sequined — heels, lip-syncing a few seconds of her rap while cameras roll for a music video. Almost inevitably, a misstep on Havana's cracked and uneven concrete sends her pitching forward.

August 2nd, 2009 LONDON - Cuba Gooding Jr, known for his award winning performance in "Jerry Maguire", was spotted getting cosier with porn stars in Las Vegas. TMZ.com reports that Gooding Jr was having a blast with XXX superstar Tera Patrick and her porn star hubby Evan Seinfeld at the Tao nightclub in the Venetian in Vegas.

July 31st, 2009 In Cuba, Del Toro wins award with Murray on hand HAVANA — Benicio del Toro accepted a new Cuban government award for international artists at a ceremony in Havana on Thursday, while Bill Murray entertained a small audience by crooning from "As Time Goes By. Fellow actors Robert Duval and James Caan were also on hand as the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba gave Puerto Rican-born del Toro the first Tomas Gutierrez Alea Prize for his career body of work, including the lead in "Che." Steven Soderbergh's two-part, 4½-hour biopic on Argentine-born revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, who helped Fidel Castro take power in Cuba in 1959, was a hit on the island, often showing in theaters that had not been refurbished since the 1950s.

July 20th, 2009 LONDON - Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney surprised the band 'The Script' when he visited them backstage at a stadium in New York. "We met Paul McCartney, he just walked into our dressing room and had a chat with us.

July 17th, 2009 LONDON - Hollywood's comeback kid Mickey Rourke is eyeing a move back to his native New York, as the actor is reportedly on the hunt for a new home in Manhattan. "The Wrestler" star, who grew up in Schenectady County but now lives in Los Angeles, rents two floors of a brownstone building in the West Village when he visits the Big Apple but Rourke is now looking for a larger, pet-friendly apartment with outdoor space where he can settle, reports dailystar.co.uk.

June 15th, 2009 LONDON - Incredible Hulk star Lou Ferrigno is training pop legend Michael Jackson to prepare him for his forthcoming London concerts. Former Mr. Universe Ferrigno is paying secret visits to the Thriller hitmaker's Los Angeles home to help him prepare for his forthcoming This Is It shows at London's O2 arena that begin July 13, contactmusic.com reported.

June 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The annual Osian's-Cinefan Film Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema has been re-scheduled from July to October from this year onwards. The film fest used to be held during July at the Siri Fort Complex in the capital since its inception a decade ago but from now it will be held in October.

May 4th, 2009 Visa delay keeps Rodriguez from Seeger tributeHAVANA — Cuban singer Silvio Rodriguez says he missed Sunday's tribute to folk music legend Pete Seeger because U.S. authorities failed to approve his visa in time.