The British singer and songwriter Ed Sheeran scored his first top album on the weekly US Billboard 200 chart with X, the 23-year-old's second album. His fellow British singer Sam Smith placed second with In the Lonely Hour. The last time two British solo artists were No 1 and 2 on the US album chart was in 1993, when albums by Eric Clapton and Sting were in the top spots. Smith's song Stay with Me topped the digital songs chart, beating out last week's top song Rude by the Canadian reggae fusion band Magic! – Reuters
Irrfan Khan and Tillotama win in Australia
The Indian actors Irrfan Khan and Tillotama Shome won Best Actor and Best Actress respectively at the Indian International Film Festival of Queensland in Australia for their performances in Qissa. The Punjabi movie also won Best Cinematography and Best Director for the Geneva-based Anup Singh. Qissa has been screened at various festivals including the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and the Mumbai Film Festival. The hard-hitting drama is scheduled for a wider release in September. – IANS
Plácido Domingo to perform at World Cup
The Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo has performed at almost every World Cup since 1990 and plans a July 11 concert in Rio de Janeiro, just two days before the city hosts the final game. Domingo, who revealed he's rooting for Brazil after Spain's abrupt elimination, said his concert in Rio will include a selection of arias as well as Spanish zarzuelas, American show tunes, local Brazilian music and several popular sambas. – AP
Paul Horn dies at 84
Paul Horn, the Grammy-winning jazz flautist and New Age music pioneer, died on Sunday in Vancouver after a brief illness. He was 84. Horn's career spanned five decades and 50 albums. His album Jazz Suite on the Mass Texts won Grammy awards in 1966. He recorded sessions with such artists as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole and Miles Davis. – AP
Jiah Khan investigation handed over
Thirteen months after the Indian actress Jiah Khan was found dead in her Mumbai home, the Bombay High Court has ordered the Mumbai police to hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The court ruling came after Khan's mother, Rabia Khan, filed a plea in October 2013 seeking intervention by the CBI. Jiah Khan, 25, was found dead in her Mumbai residence on June 3 last year. Police later recovered a suicide note purportedly written by her. Her boyfriend, Sooraj Pancholi, was subsequently arrested for allegedly being involved. Khan's mother had submitted reports by independent experts to support her contention that her daughter did not commit suicide but was murdered. – IANS
