LONDON (AP) -- Adele had the world’s best-selling album last year, a global smash that helped music revenues record their first significant growth since the dawn of the digital age two decades ago.　Figures released Tuesday by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry show that the British singer’s chart-topping “25” sold 17.4 million copies -- five times more than runners-up Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift, whose albums “X” and “1989” both sold 3.5 million copies. 　The year’s best-se

PerformanceApril 13, 2016

PARIS (AFP) -- Steven Spielberg, George Clooney and Jodie Foster are tipped to be among those who will walk the red carpet at Cannes next month when the lineup for the world’s top film festival is revealed Thursday.　While movies in the running for the main Palme d’Or prize are still under tight wraps, it appears that Spielberg will almost certainly show his adaptation of Roald Dahl’s children’s classic “The BFG” (The Big Friendly Giant) out of competition.　It will most likely be joined by Jodie

FilmApril 13, 2016

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Ben Affleck will direct a stand-alone “Batman” movie, says Warner Bros. chairman and CEO Kevin Tsujihara. 　 Affleck portrayed the caped crusader in this year’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and had been rumored to be the studio’s top choice. Tsujihara confirmed the studio was moving forward with him in the director’s seat Tuesday at CinemaCon, an annual gathering of theater owners in Las Vegas. 　 Actor Ben Affleck, cast as Batman, waves as he arrives for the red carpet e

FilmApril 13, 2016

Hailed as one of the first Korean ballerinas to achieve widespread international fame, Julia Moon is seeking to expand the global network of Universal Ballet and make it more “universal.” 　One of the founding members of the Universal Ballet -- among the top ballet companies in the country, rivaling the Korean National Ballet -- Moon has been its general director for the past decade, since retiring as principal dancer. 　Now in its 32nd year, the director says the company is ready to branch out mo

PerformanceApril 13, 2016

　　PARIS (AP) -- A 400-year-old picture that might have been painted by Italian master Caravaggio has been found in an attic in southern France.　 　Eric Turquin, the French expert who retrieved the painting two years ago, said it is in an exceptional state of conservation and estimated its value at 120 million euros (about $135 million), even though he acknowledged experts disagree about its authenticity.　 　Called “Judith Beheading Holofernes,” it depicts the biblical heroine Judith beheading an A

CultureApril 13, 2016

　　BOSTON (AP) -- Ernest Hemingway penned 47 possible endings to “A Farewell to Arms,” eight of which are on display at a new exhibition on the famed American writer at the John F. Kennedy presidential library -- along with the one that actually concluded the classic World War I novel.　 　“If a person wants to make their mark as a writer they have to work very hard, and this exhibit really shows how hard he worked,” said Patrick Hemingway, the author’s only surviving child who on Tuesday toured th

CultureApril 13, 2016

　　　JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israeli mathematicians and archaeologists say they have found evidence to suggest that key biblical texts may have been composed earlier than what some scholars think.　 　Using handwriting analysis technology similar to that employed by intelligence agencies and banks to analyze signatures, a Tel Aviv University team determined that a famous hoard of ancient Hebrew inscriptions, dated to around B.C. 600, were written by at least six different authors. Although the inscription

CultureApril 13, 2016

The territorial dispute between Korea and Japan over Dokdo Islets in the East Sea, dates back to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904, explains Park Hyun-jin in his new book, “A Study of Dokdo Sovereignty,” which is by Kyungin Publishing and cost 59,000 won.　Although records show that Korea obtained the original right to the Dokdo Islets during the Silla Kingdom period (57 BC-935 AD), Japan has been attempting to claim sovereignty over the Dokdo Islets after using it as a naval base during the war aga

BooksApril 13, 2016

　“The Hole”  By Pyun Hye-young  Moonji Publishing (210 pages, 13,000 won, $11)　　After a devastating car accident, 40-something university professor Oh-gi wakes up to find his wife dead and his own body completely paralyzed in a hospital bed, capable of no other movement than blinking. 　His whole existence seems to have collapsed and disappeared into nothing, he says in a monologue. He is recognizable to himself only through a nametag that a nurse placed at the foot of his bed. 　“The Hole,” the f

BooksApril 13, 2016

“And Then All Hell Broke Loose: Two Decades in the Middle East” 　By Richard Engel　Simon & Schuster (241 pages, $27)　In his 20 years of reporting from some of the most volatile hot spots in the Middle East, Richard Engel has survived bombings and uprisings, been kidnapped and spent many nights sleeping on the floor, a mattress shoved against the window in case of an explosion.　Engel’s accounting of his two-decade rise from young freelancer to NBC’s chief foreign correspondent is often as exhausti

BooksApril 13, 2016

“Final Chapters: How Famous Authors Died”　By Jim Bernhard　Skyhorse Publishing (296 pages, $14.99 paperback)　A person’s life is always more important than his or her death -- but no one reads an obituary or biography without wanting to know how the subject died. British-educated Texas writer Jim Bernhard gives a respectful nod to the understandable fascination most of us have with death in this collection of essays about the ends authors have come to.　To his credit, he includes in each essay some

BooksApril 13, 2016

NEW YORK (AP) -- A book project founded by director-writer Michael Mann has found a home with HarperCollins Publishers.　The Harper imprint William Morrow told the Associated Press on Tuesday that it had acquired three novels to be released through Michael Mann books. The novels, all coauthored by Mann and currently untitled, will include a collaboration with “The Cartel” author Don Winslow on a story based on the lives of crime bosses Tony Accardo and Sam Giancana and a prequel to Mann’s origina

BooksApril 13, 2016

If you ever happen to interview Padma Lakshmi, do yourself a favor and let her pick the location. That way, you might just find yourself enjoying a piping hot plate of spicy orecchiette at an unassuming East Village trattoria while the former model converses in fluent Italian with the restaurant’s owner.　To anyone who’s watched “Top Chef,” the popular Bravo competition series that has introduced a generation of American TV viewers to phrases like sous-vide and mise en place, it should come as no

BooksApril 13, 2016

Seoul city will invite 200 teams of small business owners from all over Korea to a flea market at Cheonggye Plaza in Seoul on May 28. The event will run between noon and 6 p.m. with busking performances, interactive games and more.Designed to help invigorate the small business ecosystem, a wide range of items including handcrafted clothes, artisan accessories, homemade food, interior design props and stationary will go on sale at the market.   (Naver)By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)

CultureApril 13, 2016

The saturated fishcake market in port city Busan has embraced creativity for its next-generation street snack. (@seung_ryeoll Instagram)Brainchild of tried-and-tested chef Lee Seung-ryeoll, 53, the chicken wing fishcake mashes together chicken’s savoriness with fishcake’s chewy texture. The recipe for this is simple. The chicken wing is first deboned and stuffed with fishcake, then it is cooked in an oven, roasted on a grill and served on a paper plate with sauce and sesame salt. Lee said he cam

FoodApril 12, 2016