A wild pigeon feeds on bits of a rusk in the mouth of Rene Lion-Cachet on a beachside bench in Cape Town, South Africa, yesterday. Rene has been feeding the birds every morning for over four years and has built up a trusting relationship to the point where the birds eat pieces of rusk straight from his mouth. The birds recognise him as he arrives at the beach and land on him for their morning

Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield performing aboard the International Space Station a revised version of David Bowie’s song Space Oddity, yesterday.  MOSCOW: Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield has marked his upcoming departure from the International Space Station by singing a cover version of David Bowie’s classic song “Space Oddity” recorded on t

Employee Simon Domoney poses with Star Wars figures at the Forbidden Planet memorabilia and comic store in London yesterday. Filming of the new Star Wars movie will take place in England, returning the franchise to its British roots, Disney’s Lucasfilm said.

TOKYO: The Shiki Theatre Company’s acclaimed musical staging of the Walt Disney classic The Little Mermaid, which opened in early April in Tokyo, transforms the performance hall into a world of underwater fantasy. For the well-loved song “Under the Sea,” a crowd of colourful fish gather on the stage. Bob Crowley, the winner of numerous Tony Awards for Best Musical, is

Colourful hats are the uniform of the day on Derby Day at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

Indonesian policewomen and demonstrators break out into a Gangnam Style dance performance while securing a Labour Day rally in front of the city hall of Surabaya in East Java province yesterday. SURABAYA, Indonesia: A group of policewomen took an unusual approach to crowd control at a May Day protest in Indonesia yesterday, breaking into a performance of Gangnam Style to keep demonstrato

LONDON: Helen Mirren was crowned best actress at Britain’s top theatre awards for reprising her Oscar-winning portrayal of Queen Elizabeth, while a play about a boy with autism was the night’s top winner, taking home seven Olivier prizes. Mirren, 67, has won stellar reviews for starring in The Audience, Peter Morgan’s play about the private weekly meetings between the

This combo of photos shows participants in the German beard championship at the congress centre in Pforzheim, southern Germany, yesterday. 

SYDNEY: Hundreds of fans screamed and waved as the cast of Star Trek: Into Darkness beamed into Sydney yesterday with the crew of the starship Enterprise returning to space in the world premiere of one of the season’s most anticipated movies. Fans swarmed the red carpet in central Sydney for a glimpse of Chris Pine and co-star Zachary Quinto, who play Captain James T Kirk and Mr

A ferry sails past as a photograph is projected onto the sails of the Sydney Opera House yesterday during a display showcasing photographs taken by members of the public depicting their daily lives. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the country’s population is about to tick past the 23 million mark.

SEOUL: Singing a duet in front of thousands of fans with South Korean rapper Psy, a world sensation for his Gangnam Style and Gentleman videos, would be heady for any singer, much less one who’s only 16 years old and has just launched her first album. But the soulful-voiced Lee Hi, like Psy, has been breaking rules for the K-pop music industry since her discovery in an amateur ta

A volunteer in a polar bear costume takes part in an action by environmental group Greenpeace in Paris to call on political leaders to protect the Arctic.

Cristina de Middel’s self-published photobook depicting Zambia’s 1964 space project is one of an increasing number of success stories for photographers going it alone.   By Sean O’Hagan In 2010, while trawling the internet for ideas, Spanish photographer Cristina de Middel came across a list of the 10 craziest experiments in history. At No. 1 was the

Idris, an Indonesian statue street performer, poses with a visitor at Fatahilah museum park in Jakarta’s old city. About 10 statue performers gather at Fatahilah museum park on weekends to entertain visitors. Idris’ performance, which mimics a statue, draws the attention of tourists and visitors, many of whom request to take group photos with him. Idris receives from tourists a

Psy performs during a concert in Seoul yesterday. SEOUL: South Korean pop star Psy unveiled yesterday the hip-swinging dance and music video for his new song, aimed at replicating the global success of Gangnam Style and its famed horse-riding dance.  The singer showed off the much-anticipated dance moves — a simple swaying, grinding hip movement — at a promotional co

A field of crocuses blossoms at the castle on the Lake Constance island Mainau, Germany, yesterday.

US actor Tom Cruise breaks an ice sculpture on stage during the Taiwan premiere of their latest film Oblivion in Taipei, yesterday.

LONDON: The Rolling Stones unveiled details of their biggest tour in six years yesterday, playing nine dates in North America as well as two British concerts after a stage comeback last year to celebrate 50 years in music. The band said they would kick off their “50 and Counting” tour in Los Angeles on an unspecified date and then play Oakland, California, on May 5 and seve

NEW YORK: Joining a cacophonous debate over gun violence in the United States, a new film probes behind the headlines of a 2002 sniper spree that terrorized the area around the nation’s capital. Brooklyn-based French director Alexandre Moors’s film Blue Caprice premiered at the Sundance festival and was chosen to open the New Directors New Films festival in New York, which ends

A picture of a blood stained pair of glasses of John Lennon is exhibited at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in New York. NEW YORK: Yoko Ono has taken up arms against gun violence with a raft of Twitter postings, including a photograph of blood-stained glasses apparently worn by John Lennon when he was shot and killed more than 30 years ago. “Over 1,057,000 people have been kil