Families get aid to fly home

Leonard Cohen is the latest artist whose song rights have been bought, after his estate reached a deal with the Hipgnosis Songs Fund for an undisclosed sum.According to Rolling Stone, the deal includes all 278 songs that Cohen wrote, including his most popular songs ‘Hallelujah’, ‘Suzanne’, ‘So Long, Marianne’, ‘First We Take Manhattan’ and more.The investment company obtained the “songwriter’s share” of 127 songs from Cohen’s Stranger Music catalogue, which covers the period of the inception of late musician’s career through to the year 2000; derivative works pushes the total to 211 songs.Hipgnosis also acquired the ownership of 100 per cent of the copyrights, “publisher’s share” and “songwriter’s share” of royalties of the latter part of his catalogue, spanning from 2001 to his death in 2016.“To now be the custodians and managers of Leonard Cohen’s incomparable songs is a wonderful yet very serious responsibility that we approach with excitement and fully understand the importance of,” Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis said in a statement.“Leonard wrote words and songs that have changed our lives, none more so obvious than ‘Hallelujah’ but there are so many more that we look forward to reminding the world of on a daily basis.

The Power Of The Dog, calling it “very odd”.Cumberbatch was referencing criticism of the film from Sam Elliott, who recently referred to the film as a “piece of shit”.Speaking as part of BAFTA’s Film Sessions on Friday (March 4), Cumberbatch discussed why it’s necessary to portray characters like Phil Burbank, who he plays in the movie, in order to “look under the hood” of these type of characters and “see what their struggle is and why that’s there in the first place”.Going on to reference Elliott’s criticism directly, he added (via Digital Spy): “I’m trying very hard not to say anything about a very odd reaction that happened the other day on a radio podcast over here.He added that he didn’t want to “stir over the ashes” of the comment, as “I haven’t heard it so it’s unfair for me to comment in detail on it,” but that “someone really took offence to the West being portrayed in this way.”Cumberbatch then went back to his character in the film: “These people still exist in our world. Whether it’s on our doorstep or whether it’s down the road or whether it’s someone we meet in a bar or pub or on the sports field, there is aggression and anger and frustration and an inability to control or know who you are in that moment that causes damage to that person and, as we know, damage to those around them.“There’s no harm in looking at a character to get to the root causes of that.

Charli XCX finally made her Saturday Night Live debut last night (March 5) – watch her performances of ‘Beg For You‘ and ‘Baby‘ below.The singer was originally set to appear with Caroline Polachek and Christine And The Queens on the long-running show last December, but her appearance was cancelled at the last minute due to COVID restrictions leading to “limited crew,” leaving her “devastated and heartbroken”.On last night’s episode, hosted by Oscar Isaac, Charli performed versions of two songs from her forthcoming album ‘Crash’, which is set to come out later this month (March 18).Watch the pair of performances below:After the recent release of ‘Baby’, Charli responded to critics of her new single, saying in a series of tweets that she’s unaffected by negative comments and is “living my best life”.One fan called her “mother”, to which she said: “If u wanna throw around midlife crisis fucking throw it at me. I’m getting older, I’m getting hotter, my tits are stunning, I’m in great shape, I’m dancing, I’m progressing and I’m living my best life – and that the tea.”The fan in question had written: “These charli singles so far….

Sting has shared a powerful performance of his 1985 track ‘Russians’ in support of the Ukraine – you can watch it below.Originally released during the Cold War period, the song expressed a hope that both the US and Soviet Union would find some kind of common humanity before destroying the world through nuclear warfare.Now, with the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the song has once again, sadly, found relevance, and Sting has posted a video of himself performing it in aid of Help Ukraine, an initiative that sends medicine and humanitarian aid to a warehouse on the Ukrainian border in Poland.“I’ve only rarely sung this song in the many years since it was written, because I never thought it would be relevant again,” he says at the beginning of the performance. “But, in the light of one man’s bloody and woefully misguided decision to invade a peaceful, unthreatening neighbour, the song is, once again, a plea for our common humanity.“For the brave Ukrainians fighting against this brutal tyranny and also the many Russians who are protesting this outrage despite the threat of arrest and imprisonment – We, all of us, love our children.

EastEnders favourites have often changed their appearance after leaving the soap and moving on to other avenues in their careers, but some notable stars have had complete transformations. From the abusive Trevor Morgan, played by Alex Ferns, to Danny Dyer's evil Aunt Babe, played by Annette Badland some actors are unrecognisable from their days working on Albert Square. Fans will also remember Bradley Branning actor Charlie Clements became a fan-favourite on the BBC soap, but soon after his character's dramatic death the star opted to leave fame behind altogether.

Saturday Night Takeaway fans were left baffled on Saturday night as Ant and Dec apologised to viewers for “rude words” on their hit ITV show. The popular hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, both 46, apologised to the viewers of their family show for naughty language used.

COULD this be an unlikely supergroup? Da Ya Think I’m Sexy? singer Rod Stewart, 77, and wife Penny Lancaster, 50, enjoyed a slap up dinner date with Rolling Stones rocker Ronnie Wood, 74, his wife Sally, 44, and Spice Girls’ star Geri Halliwell, 49, and her partner Red Bull Formula One boss Christian Horner, 48. The motley crew headed to swanky members’ club Annabel’s, in London, on Friday night.

ALL eyes were on Lottie Moss at Wednesday’s NME Awards, including those of a certain rocker du jour. We hear that Sam Fender, who picked up a gong for Best Album In The World, was quite taken with the model, who has just finished a stint in rehab for cocaine addiction, and he has been busy ogling her sexy snaps on ­Instagram.

KIM Kardashian showed off major cleavage with her latest pictures in which she wore a black bikini top and no bottoms. In a series of photos shared on Instagram, the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star looked fresh from the beach, wearing just a white towel and a tiny bikini top.  The SKIMS founder shared the saucy snaps with the caption: “Always ready!” Kim, 41, added an unusual accessory for this latest look -  a black motorcycle helmet - while her hair looked gorgeous in beachy waves.

CHLOE Ferry showed off her famous bum in a pair of nude leggings for a windy walk at the weekend. The Geordie Shore star, 26, posed for snaps from behind giving fans a glimpse of her perky derriere.

Supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio hit a California beach to show off her new swimwear collection. The former Victoria Secret angel, actress and TV personality turned founder of beach wear brand GAL Floripa donned on her ‘New Horizons’ collection for photoshoot.

Scots stranded abroad because of the coronavirus crisis need be taken home on emergency rescue flights, MPs are urging UK government chiefs.