entertainment news

Teenage violinist wins BBC Young Musician 2026, after first all-female final

Judges hail Sofia Demetriades’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto as full of insights, poetry and maturity A teenage violinist has won the BBC Young Musician competition 2026, in the first all-female final in the competition’s 48-year history. The judges, Joanna MacGregor, Ben Gernon and Errollyn Wallen, hailed Sofia Demetriades’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto as full of insights, poetry and maturity.

VIDEO: Entrepreneur weeps as Funke Akindele wears her handmade earrings

Entrepreneur weeps as Funke Akindele wears her handmade earrings. A young female entrepreneur broke down in tears of joy after Nollywood actress and filmmaker, Funke Akindele, wore a pair of handmade earrings she gifted her at the FinTribe Finance Fair 2026 in Lagos.

JoyNews’ Fred Quame Asare adjudged 2026 Best Community Reporter in Volta Region

Joy News Volta Regional Correspondent, Fred Quame Asare, has been adjudged the Best Community Reporter at the 4th Volta Ghana Journalist Media Awards ceremony, held in Ho over the weekend. Daniel Agbesi Latsu of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) was selected as the best reporter in the Agriculture category, while Edward Williams, also of GNA, won the Best Health Report.

Upper West GJA Awards: Stakeholders call for improved media welfare, ethical standards

The second edition of the Upper West Regional Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Awards concluded in Wa with a resounding call from media leaders, traditional rulers and corporate partners to prioritise the welfare, sustainability and ethical standards of journalists operating in the region. Echoing these sentiments, the Upper West Regional GJA Chairman, Prosper Kuorsoh, highlighted the transformative power of rural journalism.

Juan Atkins, pioneer of Detroit techno sound, dies aged 64

US artist known as Model 500 and as one half of the duo Cybotron had huge influence on dance music worldwide Juan Atkins, one of the pioneers of Detroit techno and a huge influence on dance music more widely, has died aged 64. His agency, Greensmith Artists, confirmed the news to the dance music website Resident Advisor, saying that Atkins was found unresponsive in a hotel room in Mexico City prior to a performance there, and was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital.

The Australian weaving magic with sexy basket movie Wicker

Australian Eleanor Wilson and her partner in work and life Alex Huston Fischer are behind the headline-grabbing, funnily folkloric Wicker.

Badejo’s Timor-Leste award and the power of unseen diplomacy, By Anuoluwapo Deborah Babawale

While Nigeria frequently dominates international headlines for its own domestic security and governance struggles, Nigerians like Professor Badejo have spent decades designing peace and governance architectures across Somalia, Liberia, Darfur, and Guinea-Bissau. This award is undeniable proof that Nigeria possesses the intellectual and diplomatic capital

Burna Boy’s incredible first feats that set Afrobeats ablaze in the world

Burna Boy’s “African Giant” moniker originated from a 2019 controversy over the size of his name on the Coachella music festival’s promotional poster. Burna Boy also performed at the opening ceremony of the UEFA Champions League final in Istanbul, Turkey, sharing the stage with Brazilian singer Anitta.

Director Michael Mann accidentally shoots himself in the leg at gun range

Mann taken to hospital with superficial injury after weapon accidentally discharged while holstered Hollywood director Michael Mann has been taken to the hospital following an apparently accidental shooting at a Los Angeles gun range, according to the Associated Press. Mann, 83, reportedly shot himself in the leg while at the The Range LA.

Mannarasala Ayilyam festival to be held on Monday

Mfantsipim @150 gala honours Alex Apau Dadey and other distinguished alumni

Mfantsipim School has honoured distinguished alumni, members of staff and corporate partners at its 150th anniversary Awards and Fundraising Dinner, held on Saturday, October 31, 2026. Executive Chairman of KGL Group, Alex Apau Dadey, received two honours — the Partner of Impact Award and a special category award recognising his contributions to Mfantsipim.

Three from Belagavi get Rajyotsava awards

BON Awards 2026: Love and New Notes, The Herd, Colours of Fire lead nominations

Love and New Notes, The Herd, Colours of Fire lead nominations. The nominations list, released by the organisers ahead of this year's ceremony in Enugu, also features productions competing across acting, directing, technical and major film categories.

Mishaal Seth bags Philanthropist of the Year award weeks after Mashujaa Day recognition

NAKURU, Kenya, Nov 1 – Nakuru-based businessman and philanthropist Mishaal Seth has received another award, less than two weeks after President William Ruto recognised his charitable work during this year’s Mashujaa Day celebrations. Working alongside his family, the Hindu Council of Nakuru and other well-wishers, Seth has supported low-income communities in Kanyon, Manyani and Kisulisuli estates through free meals and medical outreach programmes.

Readers reply: with governments asking us to stockpile, can we learn anything from disaster films?

Specifically, our extensive back catalogue of disaster movies, TV series and the like. Annabel, Sheffield Continue reading...

Keralam govt.’s Ezhuthachan Award for Methil Radhakrishnan

Ezhuthachan Award for Methil Radhakrishnan. Jury headed by poet K.G. Sankara Pillai assesses Methil Radhakrishnan as a writer who created a new sensibility in Malayalam literature with his unique sense of aesthetics and unparalleled intellectual ability

‘I searched and found’ – Pastor Jimmy Odukoya confirms marriage to Pastor Mo Jasmine

Former Nollywood actor turned cleric, Pastor Jimmy Odukoya, has confirmed his marriage to his fiancée, Pastor Mo Jasmine. Pastor Mo Odukoya,” he said.

Tosca review – Axelle Fanyo and Christopher Purves shine in ENO’s reimagined Puccini

A sumptuous score and magnificent singing bring real theatrical electricity, even if the relentless violence and radical reimagining don’t always convince Four years since English National Opera unveiled its previous Tosca (a hyper-stylised affair directed by Christof Loy), the curtain goes up on another new production, this time by ENO’s artistic director Annilese Miskimmon. Miskimmon’s decision to strip Amanda Holden’s translation of all references to particular places and – still more unusual – to set the entire opera in a single space might thus have been a radical creative departure.

Actor Selma Blair issues apology for plane incident

Selma Blair was detained by police after the Delta Air Lines jet parked at the gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport

Romeo + Juliet at 30: how Baz Luhrmann made teens fall in love with Shakespeare

The maximalist, heart over head adaptation of the romantic tragedy made stars of its leads and became an English teacher’s most trusted weapon for Bard-averse students Romeo + Juliet is not the most renowned or beloved of Shakespeare’s plays, but it is perhaps the most foundational. And if Romeo + Juliet is the young person’s entry to Elizabethan English, perhaps no version of it is more worthy of the term “gateway drug” than Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 film version, which reimagined Verona’s family feud as a tropical gang war and launched an army of teenage crushes with the faces of Leonardo…

‘It seems weird for an MC – but lyrics have never been a thing for me’: De La Soul’s honest playlist

Rapper Pos of the hip hop greats favours Barry White for the bedroom and sobs to Stevie Wonder, but which cheese-rock hit does he love on the sly? The first single I bought Underlove by Melba Moore from Abraham & Straus, this department store in Long Island that had a mini record store inside.

Strauss: An Alpine Symphony album review – monumental work’s mystic vision guides Petrenko

RPO/Petrenko (Harmonia Mundi) Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Philharmonic’s take on Strauss’s tone poem is full of darkness and light, with an impressionist’s eye for details This is the third recording of Richard Strauss’s monumental tone poem to appear in the last year, and in some respects the most interesting. Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra adopt an expansive view, taking three minutes longer to clamber up and down the composer’s musical mountain than Edward Gardner or Nicholas Collon’s recent recordings.

Dafne Keen and Harriet Walter on working with Patrick Stewart: ‘I’ve never seen anyone so ecstatic’

The late actor’s co-stars in Logan and Anthony and Cleopatra remember dog impressions, marching band-conducting and a fervent belief in fun I had the unbelievable privilege of working with Patrick when I was 11 He imparted lessons in a way that was so wise, you didn’t even realise you were being taught.

Fans renew Funke Akindele-Toyin Abraham rivalry ahead of December releases

As Nollywood actresses and filmmakers Funke Akindele and Toyin Abraham prepare to release new films in December, their fans have revived comparisons between the stars, scrutinising their promotional strategies, industry relationships and box-office ambitions. The actresses, both established names in Nigeria’s film industry, have repeatedly found themselves at the centre of online debates over box-office