Ed Sheeran breaks records with X

Plus, 3 Idiots still wildly popular in Hong Kong; and Meshach Taylor dies at 67.

The British singer Ed Sheeran. Jonathan Short / Invision / AP Photo

Ed Sheeran entered this week's British charts at No 1 after his new release, X, became the fastest-selling album of 2014. The album has sold 182,000 copies since its release last week, beating the previous record set by Coldplay's Ghost Stories. Sam Smith's In the Lonely Hour rose one place to second in the album chart, while last week's chart-topper Ultraviolence by Lana Del Ray dropped to third. Ghost Stories and Paolo Nutini's Caustic Love completed the top five. – Reuters

3 Idiots still wildly popular in Hong Kong

Boman Irani, who played Professor Viru Sahastrabuddhe (Virus) in Rajkumar Hirani's 2009 Bollywood blockbuster 3 Idiots, says the movie is "a favourite" in places such as Hong Kong. The actor recently stayed at The Ritz-Carlton in Hong Kong for a few days and was surprised to find a fan base among the hotel's staff. "The housekeeping staff of the Ritz Carlton Hong Kong. Fans of 3 Idiots. A favourite in these parts. Bless you Raju," Boman tweeted, referencing the filmmaker. The comedy was released in India in December 2009. It featured Aamir Khan, Sharman Joshi, R Madhavan and Kareena Kapoor in the lead roles. The film had its Hong Kong premiere in 2011. – IANS

Designing Women star Meshach Taylor dies at 67

Meshach Taylor, who played a loveable former convict surrounded by boisterous Southern belles on the sitcom Designing Women, has died of cancer at the age of 67. He died on Saturday at his home near Los Angeles. Taylor got an Emmy nod for his portrayal of Anthony Bouvier on Designing Women, a role he played from 1986 to 1993. Taylor later co-starred on another successful comedy, Dave's World, as the best friend of a newspaper humour columnist played by Harry Anderson. – AP