Vote for Arab stars in Kids’ Choice Awards

Reuters

AFP

AP

AFP

The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards are open for ­voting – and this year ­regional viewers can vote for their favourite Arab act alongside ­traditional ­categories including ­favourite film, actor and book. The ­nominees in the Middle ­Eastern ­category are ­Palestinian Arab Idol winner Mohammed ­Assaf, pop star Hala Al Turk, ­boyband The 5 and X Factor ­winner Hamza Hawsawi. The regional ­celebrities join international stars including Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johanssen and Ed ­Sheeran on the full list of this year's nominees. Visit kca.­nickelodeonarabia.com for more details. – The National staff

Lady Gaga to perform Bowie Tribute

Lady Gaga will honour the late David Bowie during the Grammy Awards this month. She will perform a "multi-­sensory tribute" to Bowie at the February 15 ceremony in Los Angeles, organisers said. Bowie died last month after a cancer battle, only days after releasing a new album. Lady Gaga is one of many contemporary stars who acknowledge Bowie's influence on their work. Despite the wide respect for him in the music world, the British artist won only one Grammy during his half-­century career, for a video. Nile Rodgers, who worked with Bowie on the 1983 hit Let's Dance, will be the musical director for Gaga's tribute. This year's Grammys, the biggest night in the American music industry, will also feature performances by British singer Adele, as well as award nominees including rapper Kendrick Lamar, who is the lead nominee, with 11. – AP/AFP

Badminton ace reveals dream star for biopic

Bollywood star Deepika Padukone has found a fan in ace Indian badminton player, Saina Nehwal. Both were at the NDTV Indian Of The Year Awards, where Nehwal said she would like Padukone to play her in an upcoming film about her life, as she has seen the actress play badminton and thinks she is "adept at the sport". Padukone said she'd love to play the 25-year-old, who is ranked No 1 in the world and won a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics in London. "Anything for the love of sport and especially for badminton," said the actress. The movie will be directed by Amol Gupte, of Taare Zameen Par fame. Padukone is the daughter of ­internationally-acclaimed badminton player Prakash Padukone, and was a ­national-level player before focusing on modelling and acting. – The National staff

James Corden to host the Tony Awards

This year's Tony Awards will be hosted by actor and chat-show host James Corden. The presenter of CBS's The Late Late Show will make his debut as the emcee at the Beacon Theatre in New York City on June 12. The British star has appeared on Broadway twice, winning a Best Leading Actor Tony in 2012 for the play One Man, Two Guvnors. Corden said: "I'm absolutely thrilled to be hosting the Tony Awards. Both times I've worked on Broadway have been among the happiest times of my professional life. I consider it a huge honour to be asked to host such an incredible night." – AP

Acclaimed Pakistani author dead at 92

Pakistani author Intizar Hussain, widely recognised as one of the greatest Urdu writers of all time, died on Tuesday at the age of 92 in the eastern city of Lahore. He had been ill for some time. Hussain was known for his novels, short stories, columns and poetry, and belatedly received worldwide recognition when he was shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize in 2013. He was awarded France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres a year later. Fellow Urdu writer Munnu Bhai said: "Intizar Hussain was a man of letters. His death has left a huge gap in the literary circle of the subcontinent that would be felt of the centuries to come." Hussain's wife, Aliya Begum, died in 2004. The couple had no children. – AFP

Clive Owen on Berlin film fest jury

British actor Clive Owen and French-born fashion photographer Brigitte Lacombe will serve on the seven-member prize jury at this month's Berlin film festival, chaired by Meryl Streep. The 66th annual Berlinale, as the event is known, will kick off next Thursday with a screening of Joel and Ethan Coen's Hail, Caesar!, a send-up of Hollywood's Golden Age, starring George Clooney. The competition among 18 international productions will start the following day and the panel – led by three-time Oscar winner Streep, whose appointment was previously announced – will select the winners of the Golden and Silver Bear top prizes on February 20. Among the most keenly awaited premieres this year are Alone in Berlin, an adaptation of the Nazi-era international bestseller starring Emma Thompson and Brendan Gleeson, and Genius, a British-US biopic starring Colin Firth as literary editor Max Perkins, also starring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Dominic West and Guy Pearce. – AFP

Def Leppard postpones 10 shows

Heavy-metal veterans Def Leppard have postponed the rest of their world tour as frontman Joe Elliott struggles with his voice. The British band, which has been touring since April last year, said it was postponing the final 10 concerts. The dates are all in the United States, where the tour was scheduled to end on February 17. The band also called off two shows last week. Def Leppard said it was “due to illness” and the shows would be rescheduled, but did not say when. Drummer Rick Allen said on Twitter that 56-year-old Elliott was straining his voice. He wrote: “The doctor basically said that if Joe continues to sing without resting his throat for a month he might do permanent damage.” – AFP