When Chicago-based rock act Rise Against began writing a song about suicide among gay teens, the band's lead singer tried to block out the event that inspired the tune — the death of a gay friend.

"His loss was something big to me," said Tim McIlrath.

Mel Gibson and his Russian ex-girlfriend have reached a financial and custody settlement of a bitter dispute that spawned a criminal case and left the Academy Award winner's reputation damaged.

Los Angeles Superior Court officials said in a statement late Friday that Gibson and musician Oksana Grigorieva had reached an agreement after days of negotiation. Terms and conditions of the settlement were not announced, but a hearing Wednesday will be held to discuss the financial terms.

The MBC media conglomerate has canceled a show by a popular Lebanese presenter known in the Arab world for hosting the Arabic version of "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?" because of support of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The Dubai-based MBC Group said it has decided to cancel a show hosted by George Qordahi that was to start airing next week "out of respect for the feelings of the Syrian people."

Eighteen people were killed and 26 wounded in a suicide bombing at the Cherchell military academy west of Algiers, the defense ministry said Saturday revising its own toll given hours earlier.

The ministry said 16 officers and two civilians were among the dead. Twenty wounded had been discharged but six people were still in hospital, one in critical condition.

The motto of the Asian Football Confederation is 'The Future is Asia', yet a series of recent controversies indicate the game seems unable to shake off its unhappy history of corruption, bribery and political interference across the continent.

Asian football may be making great strides in some areas — luring top quality players — but the problems off the pitch remain as a brake on development, with Syria's expulsion from the 2014 World Cup qualifiers being yet another example.

UEFA President Michel Platini is warning of "red lights flashing" across Europe because of football's financial problems.

Platini confessed on Friday to fearing for the future of professional football because of clubs going bankrupt and running up debts, and players going on strike in Spain and Italy.

As the U.S. Open approaches, the tennis world is focusing on Novak Djokovic and his remarkable season — and rightly so, according to the man he replaced at No. 1, Rafael Nadal.

"He deserves it," Nadal said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press after attending the tournament draw.

The Emmental Show Dairy has cranked out tons of cheese for years. But now it's in trouble — production is down by a third and the company fears it may be forced to cut back to just a few wheels a day, enough to show tourists.

The dramatic slide in sales of Emmental, popularly known as "Swiss cheese" in North America, is caused by the strength of the Swiss franc, a financial phenomenon that is driving down profits in sectors across all of export-driven Switzerland.

The cast of "Chicago" plans to celebrate their show reaching a Broadway milestone a day early.

The actors and crew will host a small backstage party at intermission during Friday evening's performance to mark the moment when it becomes the fourth longest-running show in Broadway history.

Jim Carrey is launching his new website with a bang.

The 49-year-old actor posted a video love letter to "The Help" star Emma Stone on www.jimcarreytrulife.com Wednesday that many online deemed "creepy." The one-minute, 53-second video shows Carrey speaking into a handheld camera and sincerely professing his love for the 22-year-old actress.