Entertainment News Roundup: UNESCO declares reggae a global cultural treasure; Jay-Z seeks to halt arbitration against Iconix

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Margaret Atwood writing her own 'Handmaid's Tale' sequel

Canadian author Margaret Atwood said on Tuesday that she is writing a sequel to her best-selling dystopian novel "The Handmaid's Tale." "Yes indeed to those who asked: I'm writing a sequel to The #HandmaidsTale," Atwood wrote on her Twitter account.

Get Up, Stand Up! UNESCO declares reggae a global cultural treasure

UNESCO has declared reggae, the Jamaican music that spread across the world with its calls for social justice, peace and love, to be a global treasure that must be safe-guarded. Born in the poor neighborhoods of Kingston in the 1960s, reggae reflected hard times and struggle but could also be joyous dance music with its distinctive off-beat.

Boxer Floyd Mayweather and 'DJ Khaled' charged by SEC over token offerings

Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and a music producer known as "DJ Khaled" failed to disclose payments they received for promoting investments in initial coin offerings, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said on Thursday. Neither Mayweather nor Khaled Mohamed Khaled admitted or denied the regulator's charges, but agreed to pay a combined $767,500 in fines and penalties, the SEC said in a statement.

Citing racial bias, Jay-Z seeks to halt arbitration against Iconix

Jay-Z on Wednesday sued to halt his private arbitration with clothing company Iconix Brand Group Inc, saying the company's inability to find an African-American arbitrator to hear the trademark dispute was unfair. The multimillionaire rapper said in a petition filed in Manhattan Supreme Court that the lack of racial diversity among arbitrators at the American Arbitration Association (AAA) was discriminatory under New York's state constitution and a New York City human rights law.

Bobby Brown sues Showtime, BBC over Whitney Houston documentary

Whitney Houston's former husband Bobby Brown and the estate of their daughter Bobbi Kristina have sued Showtime Networks and the BBC over alleged unauthorized footage used in a 2017 documentary about the late singer, "Whitney: Can I Be Me." According to a complaint filed on Wednesday with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Brown, the R&B singer formerly of New Edition, and Bobbi Kristina's estate never consented to the airing of footage used in the documentary.

Sandra Bullock plays against type in dystopian thriller 'Bird Box'

Best known for romantic comedies, Oscar winning actress Sandra Bullock has to fight for survival in dark, dystopian thriller "Bird Box". Bullock, known for "Miss Congeniality" as well as dramas "The Blind Side" and "Gravity", plays Malorie, a woman desperate to keep her two children safe from an unseen threat that leads people to commit suicide.

Oscar winner Cuaron pays personal tribute in new film 'Roma'

After winning an Oscar for space film "Gravity", director Alfonso Cuaron chose to tell a touching personal story for his next movie, "Roma", looking back on his childhood memories growing up in Mexico City. Set in 1970s Mexico and named after a neighborhood in the capital city, the black-and-white film in Spanish focuses on one household, namely the women who raised Cuaron.

(With inputs from Reuters)

(With inputs from agencies.)