Rap music star Kanye West, who once ranted that "George Bush doesn't care about back people" following the slow government response to Hurricane Katrina, dialed back those comments in a TV interview broadcast Wednesday.

"I would tell George Bush, in my moment of frustration, I didn't have the grounds to call him a racist," the music star told NBC television.

The first single from a posthumous Michael Jackson album was released online Monday -- but was immediately clouded by questions over whether it was really the late star's voice.

Record label Epic Records was forced to issue a statement saying it was confident the album including the single, "Breaking News" was indeed Jackson singing, after fans and La Toya Jackson questioned its authenticity.

Americans have cleaned up at the MTV Europe Awards in Madrid, as Lady Gaga picked up three top prizes and awards crowned Katy Perry, Canadian teen idol Justin Bieber and half a dozen U.S. outfits.

The U.S. diva Lady Gaga received her trophies, for female artist of the year, best pop act and best song for "Bad Romance", on stage in the Hungarian capital Budapest where she was performing to a packed concert audience.

Vladimir Putin, who has carved out a health nut image by wrestling with tigers or judo opponents, raised eyebrows Thursday as he was pictured swollen-faced and caked in make-up, apparently to mask a black eye.

Journalists feverishly speculated that the Russian premier could have taken a punch during a judo session or even had a facelift, after he visited Ukraine on Wednesday slathered in war paint.

Across Eastern Europe, Russia, Kazakhstan and the Gobi Desert — it certainly was a long way to go without getting lost.

Four driverless electric vans successfully ended a 13,000-kilometer test drive from Italy to China — a modern-day version of Marco Polo's journey around the world — with their arrival at the Shanghai Expo on Thursday.

Oscar-winning Taiwanese-American director Ang Lee announced Friday he will start shooting his new and first 3D film "Life of Pi" in Taiwan in January.

The movie, set to be released in December 2012, is based on the Booker prize-winning novel by Yann Martel about an Indian boy adrift on a lifeboat in the Pacific with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a tiger.

Canadian filmmaker James Cameron will write and direct the second and third parts of the sci-fi movie "Avatar" for release in 2014 and 2015, the entertainment magazine Variety said Wednesday.

Executives at 20th Century Fox confirmed to the publication that they had reached an agreement with Cameron to make the sequels to "Avatar," the biggest box office hit in contemporary movie history, with 2.8 billion dollars in sales since its opening in December 2009.

For the discerning driver, it's got an ejector seat, machine guns and a world-class pedigree. Problem is, it's going to cost a truckload of dough.

One of the world's most famous James Bond cars - the specially equipped Aston Martin first driven by Sean Connery in "Goldfinger" - will be auctioned off in London on Wednesday evening, and it's likely to fetch one of the highest prices ever paid for an automobile.

Peter Jackson's "Hobbit" movies will be made in New Zealand after the government struck a deal with Hollywood studio Warner Bros. to end months of union tensions, Prime Minister John Key said.

Key agreed to give Warner sweeteners worth tens of millions of dollars and amend industrial laws in order to retain New Zealand's coveted role as Middle Earth in Jackson's long-awaited follow-up to "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Take That will perform with its original line-up for the first time in 16 years, the boyband confirmed on Tuesday as they revealed plans for their inaugural tour since Robbie Williams rejoined.

The British five-piece will play four nights at the City of Manchester Stadium in the group's hometown in June before four mammoth shows at London's Wembley Stadium.