Madonna says she's happy that Malawi's former vice president is now leading the country.

Joy Banda became president Saturday and is the country's first women leader. Former president Bingu Wa Mutharika died of a heart attack on April 5.

Pop superstar Shakira helped launch a $36 million education project for Colombian children Thursday as part of a series of events linked to the weekend Summit of the Americas.

The Colombian singer, who is scheduled to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama, will also sing her country's national anthem at the opening ceremony for the gathering of 33 democratically elected leaders of the Western Hemisphere Saturday in Cartagena.

From a tiny studio in a rundown district of southern Tel Aviv, a group of Iranian-Israelis beam non-stop music and news in a bid to reach out to their former fellow countrymen.

As the war of words between the leaders of the Jewish state and the Islamic Republic heats up over Iran's contested nuclear program, Farsi-language web broadcaster, Radio RadisIN, is trying to set a different agenda.

Jennifer Lopez's salsa star husband Marc Anthony has filed for divorce from the actress-singer-presenter, citing "irreconcilable differences" for the split, a court spokesman said Wednesday.

Anthony, 43, a Grammy-winning singer now also working as an actor, filed legal papers in Los Angeles, nine months after the pair announced last July that they were ending their seven-year marriage, said the spokesman.

Jimmy Buffett will replace Pearl Jam singer and guitarist Eddie Vedder in the May 3 lineup at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

Vedder canceled when he postponed his 15-city U.S. solo tour because of nerve damage in his right arm stemming from a back injury earlier this year.

Leonard Cohen told court Tuesday how he "trusted" his ex-manager and former lover before they fell out spectacularly, as colorful and expletive-laden messages from her were revealed in court.

The singer-songwriter, testifying at the trial of Kelley Lynch on charges of harassment, said the pair were intimate on and off for a time during their 17-year professional relationship, which ended when he fired her in 2004.

One of the best-kept secrets in television history has been revealed, with "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening pointing to Springfield, Ore., as the inspiration for the animated hometown of Homer and his dysfunctional family.

Groening told Smithsonian magazine, published online Tuesday, that he was inspired by the television show "Father Knows Best," which took place in a place called Springfield. Springfield, Ore., is 100 miles south of Groening's hometown of Portland.

"Battleship" steams into movie theaters overseas this week, giving international audiences the first chance to decide whether a board game-based movie is sea-worthy.

The Hasbro Inc. search-and-destroy game was once a way for kids to while away summer afternoons. But as it debuts in Europe on Wednesday, "Battleship" the movie has become a potential franchise, sporting Michael Bay-inspired special effects, aliens invading Earth, a bikini-model actress, superstar Rihanna and, of course, lots of guns.

British singer Seal filed his legal response to German supermodel wife Heidi Klum's divorce petition Tuesday, including claims which could set the couple against each other, TMZ reported.

The pair announced their split in January, and Klum filed for divorce in Los Angeles last week, citing "irreconcilable differences," referring to a post-nuptial deal and seeking primary physical custody of their four children.

Christian Dior has named Belgian designer Raf Simons as its new artistic director, seven months after its icon, John Galliano, was convicted by a Paris court for drunken anti-Semitic ravings.

A fashion rebel of a different sort, Simons — who began his career as a furniture designer and has had his own successful menswear label — will present his first show for the renowned Dior fashion house in July, according to Monday's announcement.