Entertainment

End free TV licences and bus passes for pensioners, peers say

Image copyright Getty Images Free TV licences, winter fuel payments and other “outdated” age-related benefits should be scrapped, a group of peers has said, with the money spent on housing and training for young people. The Committee on Intergenerational Fairness said subsidising licences for over-75s were no longer justified given improvements in pensioners’ incomes. It […]

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Stormzy was ‘right’ to cancel Snowbombing gig say Big Joanie

Image copyright Ellie Smith They are a world away from UK grime – musically speaking – but self-proclaimed ‘black feminist sistah punk’ band Big Joanie are standing with Stormzy. That’s after the grime star cancelled a festival headline appearance in Austria late on last week, claiming members of his team had been racially profiled. In

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Author Sharna Jackson: Bringing diversity into children’s books

Image copyright Knights Of/Joshua Fray Image caption Sharna Jackson’s debut novel stars sisters Norva and Nik Author Sharna Jackson is something of a rarity. As a black children’s writer, she’s already in a minority. But her debut book High-Rise Mystery, a detective story starring young black sisters and featuring a diverse cast, puts Jackson in

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Roman Polanski sues Oscars Academy after 2018 expulsion

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Polanski’s films include Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown and The Ghost Writer Roman Polanski is suing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences after being kicked out of the organisation. The Pianist director was expelled from the Oscars body along with Bill Cosby in May last year. A lawyer for

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Meet Lazarus, the Malawian musician destroying myths about albinism

Image caption Lazarus says he will continue making music until people shed their superstitions about albinism From the crowded streets of Lilongwe, a busker named Lazarus Chigwandali has risen to challenge the myths and superstitions about people with albinism. Malawi is home to an estimated 10,000 albinos – a condition that affects the production of

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How an anxious teen and an ex-YouTuber made an indie box office hit

According to director, writer and ex-YouTube star Bo Burnham, his debut feature Eighth Grade is “really intense”, despite not much happening. The film follows 13-year-old Kayla as she navigates social media and the last week of middle school. It’s already been a huge hit at the box office in the United States and with young

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Charity ‘Sunshine’ Tillemann-Dick: Opera singer with transplanted lungs dies

Image copyright Facebook, courtesy of Charity Tillemann-Dick Image caption Charity Tilleman-Dick performed on stages across the world Charity “Sunshine” Tillemann-Dick, a venerated American opera singer who survived two double lung transplants, has died at age 35. Tillemann-Dick was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension in 2004, forcing her to undergo two emergency lung transplants needed to save

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Avengers: Endgame ‘satisfying’ and ‘glorious’, say critics

Image copyright Disney/Marvel Image caption Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), Captain America (Chris Evans), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) plot their next move Critics have been left dazzled by the latest Avengers film, describing it as “glorious”, “irresistible”, “intensely satisfying” and “masterful”. In his

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Oscars organisers decide against rule changes to restrict streaming films

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Director Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma won three Oscars for Netflix’s Roma this year Film streaming services could see continued awards success after the body behind the Oscars voted down calls to tighten its submission process. Figures including Steven Spielberg have said films that are given only brief cinema runs shouldn’t

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