Entertainment News Roundup: Actor Hugh Grant settles privacy lawsuit against Murdoch's Sun tabloid; Russian ballet shows in South Korea cancelled for a second time and more

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs. Russian ballet shows in South Korea cancelled for a second time A ballet show in South Korea featuring principal dancers from Russia's Bolshoi Ballet was cancelled a day before opening night, the organiser said on Monday, amid tensions between Seoul and Moscow over Ukraine and North Korea.

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Russian ballet shows in South Korea cancelled for a second time

A ballet show in South Korea featuring principal dancers from Russia's Bolshoi Ballet was cancelled a day before opening night, the organiser said on Monday, amid tensions between Seoul and Moscow over Ukraine and North Korea. The last minute cancellation came after Seoul performances of a ballet starring Svetlana Zakharova, a Ukrainian-born Russian prima ballerina and a vocal supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, were called off in March.

Actor Hugh Grant settles privacy lawsuit against Murdoch's Sun tabloid

British actor Hugh Grant has settled a lawsuit against the publisher of Rupert Murdoch's tabloid newspaper, The Sun, over claims journalists used private investigators to tap his phone and burgle his house, he said on Wednesday. Grant, alongside King Charles' son Prince Harry, was suing News Group Newspapers (NGN) for alleged widespread unlawful information gathering, including landline tapping, burglary and "blagging" confidential information about him.

Statue to Tony Blair honours "Tonibler" cult in Kosovo

As sculptor Agon Qosa put some of the finishing touches to a statue of Tony Blair, he thought about what the former British prime minister had done for Kosovo a quarter of a century ago. Qosa and other ethnic Albanians in Kosovo idolise Blair for his leadership role during a NATO bombing campaign in 1999 that halted Serb forces' advances and ultimately helped the small Balkan nation win independence.

Two US lawmakers raise concerns over Disney, Fox, Warner sports streaming venture

U.S. lawmakers Jerry Nadler and Joaquin Castro on Tuesday raised competition concerns over the sports streaming joint venture planned by Walt Disney, Fox and Warner Bros Discovery. The congressmen questioned how the new offering would affect access, competition, and choice in the sports streaming market in a letter to the media companies' CEOs. "We are concerned that this consolidation will result in higher prices for consumers and less fair licensing terms for upstream sports leagues and downstream video distributors," they said in a letter addressed to Disney's Bob Iger, Fox's Lachlan Murdoch and Warner Bros' David Zaslav.

Russia adds director and playwright to 'terrorists and extremists' list

Russian theatre director Zhenya Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk have been added to an official list of "terrorists and extremists" as they await trial on charges of "justifying terrorism". The pair were arrested in May last year. The charges against them relate to an award-winning play about Russian women who married Islamic State fighters.

'Rust' armorer sentenced to 18 months in fatal shooting by Alec Baldwin

Hannah Gutierrez, the chief weapons handler for the Western movie "Rust," was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Monday in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was shot when actor Alec Baldwin was handling a gun during the film's production in 2021. In March, Gutierrez, 27, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for mistakenly loading a live round into a revolver Baldwin was using on a Santa Fe, New Mexico, movie set.

'Rebel Moon' sequel offers more action, backstory of warriors

Zack Snyder says "Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver" shows his full vision for the franchise. The second installment of the sci-fi adventure picks up from where "Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire", released four months earlier, left off.

(With inputs from agencies.)