Oprah Winfrey received an honorary degree Friday from a South African university that has been called a model of reconciliation for its response to a racist student video that shocked the nation.

The U.S. talk show queen was awarded an honorary doctorate in education from the University of the Free State, where four white students caused national fury in 2007 by making a video that showed five black workers on their hands and knees eating food that appeared to have been urinated on.

Montreal's jazz festival this year promises to breach the banks of its genre, with an eclectic cast of performers ranging from Tony Bennett and Dave Brubeck to Robert Plant and Prince.

The festival officially opens on Saturday with an open-air show from French soul singer Ben l'Oncle Soul.

Troubled U.S. starlet Lindsay Lohan was banned Thursday from partying while under home detention, but escaped jail after reportedly testing positive for alcohol.

A judge said Lohan, who is in home custody as part of a plea deal following an alleged jewelry theft, had not violated the terms of her probation but should have known better than to hold a rooftop barbecue.

Michael Jackson and his siblings watched Bollywood films every Saturday morning when they were young and were inspired by the glamour, Jermaine Jackson said Thursday.

"We were watching you from day one as we were on the journey to becoming The Jackson Five," he told a press conference at the opening of the Indian International Film Awards in Toronto.

Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton was Thursday sentenced in Florida to ten years in prison for cocaine trafficking, federal court documents showed.

Thirty-seven-year-old Banton, whose real name is Mark Anthony Myrie, was found guilty of possession of more than five kilos of cocaine, with "intent to distribute," by a jury on February 22.

Lebanese ADONIS band will release its highly anticipated first studio album on Friday July 1st in Sporting Beach, Manara as a result of more than a year of collaboration with some of the most talented local musicians and artists.

The album will be handed out during the event, where the band, supported by visiting acts and guest musicians, will give its biggest concert to date.

A revolver belonging to notorious U.S. gangster "Al" Capone sold at a London firearms auction Wednesday for £67,250 ($109,079, 75,656 Euros).

The 1929 .38 "Police Positive" gun was used by the mobster, full name Alphonse Gabriel Capone, during his reign as king of the Chicago underworld in the prohibition era.

Hollywood star George Clooney's "The Ides of March", a thriller about a U.S. presidential campaign, will open this year's Venice Film Festival and will compete for the coveted Golden Lion award, organizers said Wednesday.

The film, about a Democratic governor campaigning in presidential primaries, will make its world premiere on August 31 immediately after the opening ceremony.

Lady Gaga says that if you want to help Japan recover from its tsunami disaster, come visit.

The flamboyant pop star, in Tokyo this week for a benefit concert for tsunami victims, said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press that she's making a point to get out and enjoy the city and its food, and that her fans should do the same thing.

Harry Potter's adventures are going digital.

Author J.K. Rowling announced Thursday that her seven Potter novels will be sold as e-books starting in October — ending the boy wizard's status as one of the highest-profile holdouts against digital publishing.