A nun who became an internet star for her pop performances in full habit triumphed at Italy's version of The Voice on Friday, singing and dancing to a song from the 1980s movie Flashdance. Sister Cristina Scuccia, 25, has fascinated global audiences starting with her first surprise appearance in an audition back in March – singing Alicia Keys's No One – to her final number, Flashdance ... What a Feeling, that clinched her victory among the last four competitors. She took the title and the Universal record contract with 62 per cent of the votes. – AP
Melanie Griffith files to divorce Antonio Banderas
Melanie Griffith filed for divorce on Friday from Antonio Banderas, her husband of 18 years. Griffith cited irreconcilable differences in the court filing in Los Angeles. The actors have a 17-year-old daughter together. They first worked together on the set of the 1995 romantic comedy Two Much. Banderas, 53, later directed Griffith, 56, in 1999's Crazy in Alabama. – AP
Coldplay top Billboard charts
Coldplay retained the top spot on the Billboard 200 album chart with their latest record Ghost Stories. The country singer Brantley Gilbert held onto the No 2 spot for a second week with Just As I Am, while Mariah Carey entered the chart at No 3 with her latest album, Me. I am Mariah ... The Elusive Chanteuse. Billboard said it was Carey's smallest sales opening for a non-holiday album since SoundScan started tracking sales in 1991. – AP
RACE CARD
4pm Al Bastakiya – Listed (TB) $150,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
4.35pm Dubai City Of Gold – Group 2 (TB) $228,000 (Turf) 2,410m
5.10pm Mahab Al Shimaal – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,200m
5.45pm Burj Nahaar – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,600m
6.20pm Jebel Hatta – Group 1 (TB) $260,000 (T) 1,800m
6.55pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 – Group 1 (TB) $390,000 (D) 2,000m
7.30pm Nad Al Sheba – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (T) 1,200m
ZAYED SUSTAINABILITY PRIZE
Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
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A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Scoreline
Swansea 2
Grimes 20' (pen), Celina, 29'
Man City 3
Silva 69', Nordfeldt 78' (og), Aguero 88'
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
