The National Geographic Channel, not usually a place you'd look for laughs, is making its first comedy.

The network said Wednesday that it is making a miniseries, "History of the World ... For Now," that takes on the broadest of possible topics with the help of cartoons, puppets and the like. It is expected to air next winter.

Though Hilary Duff is 27, when it comes to the music industry, she's first to admit she's trying to make up for lost time in the seven years since she last released an album.

"When I first started it was all about selling records and I was lucky to sell a lot," Duff said in a recent interview. "Now it's just different."

Royal fans are ready to welcome Prince William and Kate's second child — a younger brother or sister to Prince George, whose birth two years ago whipped up a worldwide media frenzy.

As in 2013, the royals are keeping everyone guessing by disclosing virtually nothing about the baby — including the due date and gender.

Russia on Wednesday canceled the release of a Hollywood thriller set in the Stalin era on grounds it distorts history and would be shown as the country celebrates the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in WWII.

The film, "Child 44", starring Tom Hardy, Vincent Cassel and Gary Oldman, tells the story of a serial killer who targets children in the Stalin era. It is based on a fantasy novel by English writer Tom Rob Smith and was due to go on wide release in Russia on Thursday.

Daniel Craig, who won international acclaim playing James Bond, received a special mission on Tuesday when Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed the actor as the first U.N. Global Advocate for the Elimination of Mines and Explosive Hazards.

In a brief ceremony at U.N. headquarters, Ban thanked Craig for his commitment to support the U.N.'s vision for a world free from the threat of land mines and explosive remnants of war.

HBO's "Game of Thrones" has the dubious honor of being popular with both pirates and viewers.

After its fifth season began Sunday, users of a Twitter-owned live-streaming app shared the fantasy drama.

Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen will strut her stuff on the catwalk for the last time Wednesday, putting a gold-plated seal on the runway career that launched her to stardom.

Bundchen, the world's top-earning model, will take her final sashay down the catwalk at Sao Paulo Fashion Week (SPFW), the same event where she made her debut 20 years ago.

Feature film production in the Los Angeles area plunged 15.4 percent in the first quarter amid high industry taxes and few local government incentives, a report out Tuesday found.

In the first three months of 2015, there were just 926 Shoot Days (SD) compared to 1,094 for the same time frame a year earlier, the non-profit organization FilmLA said.

His voice is warm, his reading poised. Adored by reggae fans everywhere, Ivorian superstar Alpha Blondy has now become a storyteller on his own radio station.

Born Seydou Kone, the 62-year-old musician and activist in March launched Radio Livre -- a nightly programme whose name in French means "book radio".

A Paris court on Monday sentenced Nina Ricci's heiress to a year in prison and handed her a million-euro fine for tax fraud, in the first ruling against a famous figure in the SwissLeaks scandal.

The court said Arlette Ricci, 73, had hidden some 18.7 million euros ($19.8 million) she inherited from her father from the French taxman "for more than 20 years with particular determination."