Dubai beach club Zero Gravity is preparing to return from its summer hiatus and we can look forwards to performances from some of the world's leading DJs and dance acts. Kicking things off on Thursday, October 1, Krafty Kuts and A.Skillz will begin a monthly residency, bringing their blend of breaks and beats to the beach. The following night, Chicane will return, picking up his monthly residency. He'll have his usual array of guest vocalists and performers, starting with Alex Adair at the season debut. The rest of the year features shows from Ministry of Sound and Republica regular Brandon Block, You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) singer Byron Stingily and Dutch globetrotter Don Diablo, before welcoming 2016 with a sure-to-be-packed New Year's Eve extravaganza headlined by dance-music legend Pete Tong. Visit www.0-gravity.ae for more information and ticket details. – The National staff
Eyes on Colbert as Late Show reign begins
A new era in American talk-show comedy begins tonight when Stephen Colbert steps into the shoes of television legend David Letterman at the helm of The Late Show. Colbert, who shot to prominence on Comedy Central with his satirical ultra-conservative alter-ego on The Colbert Report, moves to CBS and a world of late-night TV vastly different from his predecessor's golden years. US networks face increasing competition, audience figures are down, young people watch less television and the success of Colbert's rivals at NBC and ABC has been fuelled by clever video clips that go viral online. When Letterman's rival Jay Leno stepped down from NBC's The Tonight Show last year, the channel chose former Saturday Night Live star Jimmy Fallon to succeed him. He has excelled at attracting young viewers. On ABC, Jimmy Kimmel has been shaking things up since 2003 with Jimmy Kimmel Live! At 51 years old, Colbert is older than the Jimmys. One way in which he may carve out a niche would be to dabble more in social commentary, analysts suggest. An early sign of that could be the inclusion of Jeb Bush, the Republican presidential candidate, US vice president Joe Biden and UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon as guests during his first two weeks. No UAE broadcast has been announced. – AFP
Court lifts ban on film about factory collapse
The Supreme Court in Bangladesh has lifted a ban on the screening of a movie about a garment worker who was rescued from rubble 17 days after a five-storey factory building collapsed in April 2013, killing more than 1,000 people. In response to an appeal by the movie's producer, a four- member panel of judges decided to overrule a previous High Court order banning the release of the movie for six months. The film's director, Nazrul Islam Khan, has argued that the real-life story of Reshma Begum depicts courage amid the tragedy. Last month, the High Court banned Rana Plaza after a petition was submitted alleging that the movie has scenes of horror, cruelty and violence that could negatively affect workers in the country's garment industry. –AP
Court case over Johnny Depp’s dogs adjourned
The court case against actor Johnny Depp's wife, Amber Heard, for allegedly smuggling two dogs into Australia – dubbed the "war on terrier" – was adjourned yesterday without the star couple appearing. Heard faces two counts of knowingly importing a prohibited product in breach of the Quarantine Act and one of producing a document knowing it to be false or misleading. In May, the pets, Pistol and Boo, were threatened with death by Australia's agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce unless they were returned to the united States. The animals, which reportedly were flown on a private jet to Queensland, where Depp was filming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, were quickly flown out of the country. Asked about the pets during a press conference at the Venice FIlm Festival on Friday, where his new film Black Mass is screening, Depp sarcastically replied: "I killed my dogs and ate them under direct orders from some kind of sweaty, big-gutted man from Australia." Under strict Australian laws designed to keep disease at bay, dogs entering from the US must be declared and have to spend 10 days in quarantine. The case at Southport Magistrates Court was adjourned until November 2. – AFP
