It seems that God of War fans still reeling from the whole ‘What happens next?’ cliffhanger at which God of War 3 left us, are set to be denied closure with the news that Sony Santa Monica’s next blood-filled adventure through ancient Greece is to be prequel to the series.

New Year's Eve master of ceremonies and American Bandstand host Dick Clark, whose long-running dance show helped rock 'n' roll seduce mainstream America, has died, aged 82.

Unbelievers' billboards edge out nativity scenes after council allocates space in lottery draw

The American novelist Mona Simpson is no stranger to interesting family dynamics. She didn't meet her biological brother, the late Steve Jobs, until she was 25. From her memorable debut Anyway But Here, her fiction has long been preoccupied with the way in which parents shape their children's notion of belonging and home. Here she explores a familial construct of another kind - the ties of attachment binding a mother, her baby son and his nanny.

Waldron is a leafy Sussex village where the tranquillity is disturbed only by the bells of the parish church. Its residents, then, are baffled after the pop star Gary Numan said he was emigrating to California to escape its "thugs".

James 'Whitey' Bulger, a notorious Boston gangster on the FBI's 'Ten Most Wanted' list for his alleged role in 19 murders, was captured yesterday near Los Angeles after living on the run for 16 years, authorities said.

With its bouncy, skipping beat, catchy chorus and corny maritime metaphors – "Our love is like a ship on the ocean / We've been sailing with a cargo full of love and devotion" – the disco hit "Rock The Boat" soundtracked the summer of 1974 on both sides of the Atlantic.

The actor Jackie Cooper, who survived a tumultuous childhood as an Oscar-nominated star to enjoy a varied career as a television executive, director, and Superman sidekick, has died near Los Angeles. He was 88.

When U2's guitarist The Edge bought more than 150 acres of pristine mountains in the upmarket California beach city of Malibu, his plans to build five mansions met such opposition from conservationists that they remained on the drawing board for five years.

Annie Leibovitz has entered into an agreement with a private investment firm to help manage her debt and market her portfolio of celebrity images.

Nancy Meyers, who has made two of my least favourite movies of all time in What Women Want and The Holiday, adds to her charge-sheet with this egregiously stupid comedy of middle-aged romance.