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Figures show many still ‘out of the habit’ of visiting museums, galleries, cathedrals, castles and country housesVisitor numbers to the UK’s museums, galleries, cathedrals, zoos, castles and country houses are increasing but remain stubbornly below pre-pandemic levels, with a significant number of people still “out of the habit” of having a day out.Figures released by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) on Monday...

Singer was praised for earlier allowing distribution of Plan B at her shows, but is now stepping back citing the presence of childrenOlivia Rodrigo has reportedly stepped in to halt the distribution of free contraceptives and the morning-after pill at her concerts, days after the American singer was praised for encouraging young people to take responsibility for their sexual health.According to abortion organizations cited...

The 79-year-old actor who won a Golden Globe for his role as Oh II-nam on the hit Netflix show has been handed a suspended prison sentenceThe South Korean actor O Yeong-su, who starred in the first season of the hit Netflix series Squid Game, was convicted on Friday on charges of sexual harassment and handed a suspended prison sentence, a court official said.The Seongnam...

London mayor’s office hopes works for Trafalgar Square will continue tradition of fostering debate over artA bronze sculpture paying homage to a woman of colour; and a hollow, lifesized person on a horse cast in a slime-green resin will be the next two artworks installed on Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth.The works by Tschabalala Self and Andra Ursuța were selected from a shortlist which included...

Actor’s lawyers call the charge ‘an abuse of the system’ and accuse prosecutors of ‘violating nearly every rule in the book’ ahead of July trialAlec Baldwin’s lawyers have asked a judge to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against the actor, accusing prosecutors of “violating nearly every rule in the book” in acquiring the indictment.Among the claims, it is alleged the state prosecutors violated court...

Coldplay become act to headline most times with their fifth top slot, while Shania Twain is booked for the Sunday teatime ‘legend’ set as the lineup is announcedDua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA will headline Glastonbury 2024, a diverse spread of A-list artists matched by a strong supporting lineup across the 26-30 June festival including Little Simz, LCD Soundsystem and Burna Boy, plus Shania Twain...

The double Oscar winner’s film A Hero won the grand prix at Cannes in 2021 but was the subject of an alleged copyright infringement brought by a former studentIranian director Asghar Farhadi has been cleared of charges of plagiarism over his film A Hero brought by one of his students, the agency representing him said on Wednesday.The film, about a prisoner in the Iranian...

From Billie to Barbie and Pacino to the pins, here’s where to get up to speed with the winners, the losers, the talking points and the dud momentsJust want to know who won? Here’s our list of winners and all those nominated, or you can relive every minute of the ceremony in our live blog. Continue reading...

Keith Piper says engaging with offensive and traumatic imagery can be important in keeping a clear sense of historyAn artist commissioned to respond to a mural in Tate Britain that has been sealed off from the public since 2020 because of its depictions of black and Chinese people, says viewing traumatic and racist images is crucial for us to truly grapple with our history.Keith...

Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster picked up seven awards while Poor Things star won over Lily Gladstone for best actressThe winners – full listHow the night unfoldedThe night’s real winners and losers Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster biopic Oppenheimer has triumphed at this year’s Oscars taking home seven awards including best picture, best actor and best director.The drama, telling the story of the “father of the atomic bomb”,...

Shibuya district is offering tours of its architect-designed public facilities that feature in Perfect DaysJapan’s hi-tech toilets have long fascinated visitors who rave about their heated seats, bidet function, automatic flushing, and even background noises to mask the unwelcome sounds that can accompany the call of nature.Now, international interest in the country’s public conveniences is surging thanks to the German director Wim Wenders, whose...

Guy Chambers says future albums may need disclaimers about how they were made amid rise of AI’s use for writing songsThe songwriter behind hits for Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue has described the acceleration in use of artificial intelligence in the music industry as “terrifying” because of its potential to replace songwriters.Guy Chambers, who has collaborated with Williams over more than two decades, said:...

Japanese artist remembered for his ‘unique world of creation’ including comic series that spawned films, video games and TV seriesAkira Toriyama, the influential Japanese manga artist who created the Dragon Ball series, has died at the age of 68.He died on 1 March from an acute subdural haematoma. The news was confirmed by Bird Studio, the manga company that Toriyama founded in 1983. Continue...

Song amended after organisers banned entry for seeming references to 7 October attacks, which broke rules on political neutralityIsrael will be allowed to compete at the Eurovision song contest after changing the lyrics to its song, organisers have confirmed.Eden Golan, representing Israel at this year’s competition, originally submitted a ballad called October Rain, widely thought to reference the Hamas attacks of 7 October. However,...

The Pritzker prize has been won by the 78-year-old Japanese master whose whose work ranges from an open-access Hiroshima fire station to a building seemingly made of booksFrom rows of public housing connected by elevated walkways and shared terraces, to sleek glass university buildings designed for maximum transparency between departments, the architecture of Riken Yamamoto has always been about seeing and being seen. Now...

Instrument was adapted, translated and corrected by Muslim and Jewish users in Spain, north Africa and ItalyAlmost exactly a year ago, Federica Gigante was preparing a lecture and searching the internet for a portrait of the 17th-century Italian nobleman and collector Ludovico Moscardo when an altogether different image caught her eye.The historian’s gaze soon snagged on a photo of a metal disc with a...

The hugely successful beach-set drama is returning to television after an underwhelming response to 2017 movieA reboot of the highly successful drama Baywatch is heading to television.The original series became one of the most watched shows in the world running for 11 seasons in the late 80s and 90s. The new version will again follow a group of Los Angeles county lifeguards as they...

Fashion personality who found fame in her 80s went from copywriter at Women’s Wear Daily to design authority whose projects included the White HouseIris Apfel – a life in picturesIris Apfel, the interior designer and fashion tastemaker who found fame as an octogenarian, has died aged 102.Apfel’s agent, Lori Sale, confirmed her death on Friday, and said “working alongside her was the honour of...

High-budget series with largely Japanese cast avoids well-worn western orientalist fantasies and wins plaudits in JapanJapanese audiences could have been forgiven for bracing themselves when Disney announced Shōgun, a 10-part adaptation of James Clavell’s classic 1975 novel.With few exceptions, Hollywood depictions of Japan and the Japanese have relied on one-dimensional characters whose purpose is to confirm cultural stereotypes, set against the backdrop of an...

From the Tate Britain to New York’s Met, some of the world’s mightiest galleries have signed up for my audio guides, which shift the spotlight onto female artists like Rosa Bonheur – who required a permit to wear trousers‘Do women have to be naked to get into the Met Museum?” asked a 1989 artwork by the Guerrilla Girls, the all-female-identifying activist artist collective. A...

Early editions of the book of quotations will be sold at an auction of Cultural Revolution artefactsThe Little Red Book, a talisman of 20th-century Maoism, may have fallen out of favour in China after the Cultural Revolution, but its popularity with collectors shows no sign of abating.The book, officially entitled Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong, was given its popular name due to the bright...

Four-minute video features drag queens, twerking, ballerinas, a classical Indian dancer and a bunch of friends from CanberraFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe former Canberra scientist Dr Weliton Menário Costa said it “felt like winning Eurovision” when he learned he had won the global “Dance Your PhD” competition, for...

Allegations, which rapper and mogul denies, is the latest in a series of lawsuits accusing him of sexual assaultSean Combs, the rapper and mogul known as Diddy, was sued Monday by a music producer who accused the hip-hop mogul of sexually assaulting him and forcing him to have sex with prostitutes.The suit, filed in federal court in New York, accuses Combs of repeated instances...

Christopher Nolan’s historical epic picked up three major acting awards while The Bear and Succession shared the big TV winsChristopher Nolan’s hit biopic Oppenheimer has dominated this year’s Screen Actors Guild awards.The cast of the biographical epic won for best ensemble, ahead of Barbie and Killers of the Flower Moon. Cillian Murphy picked up male actor in a leading role, which was also contested...