entertainment news

Actor Vatsala Rajagopal passes away at 93

Vatsala was also an accomplised stage actor, with over 450 performances in a career that spanned 25 years

2027Alternativa Film Festival: Organisers call for submissions

2027Alternativa Film Festival: Alternativa Film Festival is offering $120,000 in prize money across seven award categories.

Radie Peat: No Human Tongue Can Tell review – Lankum singer’s solo debut is the year’s best folk album

Collecting traditional songs of female struggle and strength, the Irish singer invests them with staggering power Lankum singer Radie Peat’s extraordinary debut album begins without frills or ornament: just her voice, stark and low, each breath like air vibrating through the metal reeds of a harmonium. Singing Hares on the Mountain to the tune Shirley Collins arranged for 1964’s Folk Roots, New Routes, Peat accompanies herself subtly on Fender Rhodes piano before adding layers of Mellotron and Wurlitzer.

‘I left shellshocked’: writers on their scariest non-horror movies

For Halloween, Guardian writers have picked the most efficiently terrifying films outside of the horror genre from How to Have Sex to The Hunchback of Notre Dame Minor spoilers ahead Hiding in plain sight throughout Lee Chang-dong’s deliciously enigmatic Burning, in which a spirited young woman (Jeon Jong-seo) disappears, and a wealthy playboy (Steven Yeun) gives serial killer vibes, is a disaffected male rage. Chang-dong is the master dramatist who with Burning tilts violently into thriller territory, navigating elements from Taxi Driver, The Vanishing and Michael Haneke’s Caché, using the…

From Possible Love to Ali G: Who Iz I?: the seven best films to watch on TV this week

From Possible Love to Ali G: Who Iz I?: Plus, love him or loathe him – Ali G is back after 20 years In Korean director Lee Chang-dong’s involving, edgy drama, documentary-maker Ye-ji (Cho Yeo-jeong) is attempting to make a film about factory workers sacked after a strike was violently broken by the state.

Kali Malone: Burning Song review – drone composer wields Bach’s organ to breathtaking effect

The US artist takes a newly compact approach to her craft, and trades technical composition methods for pure emotion on another sombre masterpiece In drone world, Burning Song is Kali Malone’s pop record. Malone plays the Bach organ at Leipzig’s Thomaskirche, where the composer was cantor for his last 27 years.

‘I saw the script and went: oooh!’ Olivia Colman and Alexander Skårsgard on their steamy folk-horror movie Wicker

Olivia Colman and Alexander Skårsgard on their steamy folk-horror movie Wicker. “I fucking loved Pillion so much!” says Olivia Colman, reliably sweary straight out of the gate, as she brings up last year’s British indie hit starring Skarsgård as a leather-clad dom with a timid traffic warden as his submissive.

TV tonight: who will win Celebrity Traitors? It’s time to find out

Miranda Hart, Ross Kemp and James Acaster shone through Alan Carr’s shadow. It might not have had Alan Carr, but Miranda Hart warmed hearts, Ross Kemp upped the paranoia and James Acaster became a sex symbol.

CAA, NFA, Copyright Ghana to lead talks on creatives’ pension scheme

The Creative Arts Agency (CAA), National Film Authority (NFA) and Copyright Ghana will lead stakeholder discussions on a sustainable pension and social security programme for Ghanaian creative professionals. The initiative is being organised by the CAA and NFA in partnership with Copyright Ghana and its Collective Management Organisations (CMOs): CopyGhana, ARSOG and GHAMRO, with support from the British Council, Accra.

‘Ignorance towards immigration is horrible. It’s not British’: Skepta on his long-awaited return – and his anger at the racist right

Skepta on his long-awaited return – and his anger at the racist right. He explains how skinheads, fatherhood and rap history came to bear on its socially conscious contents ‘I can’t be perfect,” Skepta says, pulling a black Arc’tyrex beanie down over a furrowed brow with both hands.

From Picard to Professor X: Sir Patrick Stewart remembered

Tributes are flowing and flowers are being placed on Sir Patrick Stewart's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, following his death at age 86.

Leonant Yert retains position as Most Outstanding PR Agency

Leonant Yert Ltd has been named the “Most Outstanding Public Relations Agency (PR Consultancy of the Year)” for the 2025 review period at the 2026 Institute of Public Relations (IPR), PR Ghana Excellence Awards. This latest recognition strengthens Leonant Yert’s position as the leading Public Relations consultancy in Ghana and validates the Firm’s previous winning of the same award for the 2023-2024 review period.

Patrick Stewart, ‘Star Trek’ Captain Picard and ‘X-Men’ actor, dies at 86

Stewart died in Los Angeles after living with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia.

Justice for Maya women in Guatemala, girls back in school in India, restored land in Mali: The UN has named its 2026 SDG Action Award winners

Champions of indigenous women's rights in Guatemala, girls' education in India, and restored farmland in Mali all featured among the winners of UN's SDG Action Awards.

‘Star Trek’, ‘X-Men’ star Patrick Stewart dies at 86

Patrick Stewart, the British Shakespearean actor who became a Hollywood megastar through roles in the “Star Trek” and “X-Men” franchises, has died at the age of 86, an official statement said Thursday. The actor, who hailed from the northern English region of Yorkshire, trod the boards in Britain with the Royal Shakespeare Company before crossing the Atlantic to enjoy an acclaimed career on the US stage and screen.

Breaking: Patrick Stewart, Star Trek and X-Men actor, dies at 86

According to a statement on his X account, the British actor has died at his home in Los Angeles after a period with Alzheimer's disease and lewy body dementia.

Patrick Stewart, Star Trek actor and acclaimed thespian, dies aged 86

Star Trek: the Next Generation and X-Men actor died at his home after ‘a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia’ Patrick Stewart, the acclaimed British stage and screen actor renowned for both Shakespeare and sci-fi, has died. The Star Trek: the Next Generation and X-Men star died on Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles after “a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia”, said Kelly Bush Novak, his longtime spokesperson, to the Hollywood Reporter.

Powderfinger announce more shows, discuss split and joyful reunion

For Powderfinger, reuniting wasn't about cashing in on nostalgia, but creating a cultural moment to bring some joy back to the band, and to a divided world.

The Celebrity Traitors: episode nine – LIVE

Will Sharon or Joanne be banished? Last Friday we lost Miranda Hart to the traitors.

I bleached my skin to get movie roles — Nollywood actress Habibat Jinadu

By Enitan Abdultawab Nollywood actress Habibat Jinadu has revealed that she bleached her skin to secure acting roles, saying dark-skinned and slim actresses struggle to get opportunities in the film industry. Jinadu made this known in an interview with BBC Yoruba, where she recounted how pressure to meet the industry’s preferred physical appearance influenced her decision to bleach her skin.

The best young performers to legends like Joan Sutherland this Ausmusic Month

Including the ABC Young Performers Awards Grand Final live in concert and a new series on Dame Joan Sutherland, plan your Ausmusic Month listening on ABC Classic.

KLU students win awards in two categories at Rashtriya Innovation Challenge-2026

Sarah Howe wins Forward poetry prize for best collection

Howe’s ‘exceptional’ Foretokens took the main £10,000 award, while Nur Turkmani, Tara Bergin and Biff Smith swept up the remaining categories Sarah Howe has won the Forward prize for best collection, one of the UK’s most prestigious poetry awards, for Foretokens, a collection that explores new parenthood, the death of her father and her mother’s early life in Hong Kong. Howe was announced as the winner during a ceremony hosted by Joelle Taylor at London’s Southbank Centre on Saturday evening, and will receive £10,000.

The Mad Lover review – eccentric charm and baroque brilliance as duo move from Eccles to Indiana Jones

Smith Square Hall, London Part of the London Festival of Baroque Music, lutenist Thomas Dunford and violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte’s concert struck a balance between freewheeling music-making and precise virtuosity The Mad Lover was a 1616 play with incidental music by the English composer John Eccles. The two recorded this 75-minute programme of music by Eccles and his 17th-century contemporaries back in 2020, but this performance of it was their first in London.