Reggae star gets Jamaican honours

Reggae star Jimmy Cliff has been awarded Jamaica's Order of Merit in the country's Independence Day honours list.

The 55-year-old singer has released 30 albums over the past 40 years and is ranked only behind Bob Marley as the champion of reggae music.

The Order of Merit is Jamaica's third highest honour after National Hero and Order of the Nation.

Cliff will receive his award at a special ceremony on National Heroes Day on 20 October.

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Lange makes UNICEF trip to Congo

Hollywood actress Jessica Lange has spent four days in the Democratic Republic of Congo on her first assignment as a UNICEF ambassador.

The star, best known for her roles in King Kong and The Postman Always Rings Twice, aims to raise awareness of the victims of sexual violence in the war-torn eastern province.

"In the past year I was so disgusted by the events of our government and I thought that many voices in the US and in the world were not being heard," she said.

Despite the peace process in Congo, which led to the inauguration of a new power-sharing government on 17 July, killings have continued in some parts of the country's north-eastern region.

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Native American champion dies

American author James Welch has died at the age of 62 from lung cancer.

The writer dedicated much of his work to native American culture after growing up on an Indian reservation in Montana.

Welch was a professor at the University of Montana and many of his books explored the meaning of being native American in modern US culture.

His best known works are Fools Crow, Killing Custer and Winter in the Blood.

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Mexican films to lose out

Two key film funds run by Mexican film institute, Imcine, have nearly dried up and are unlikely to be replenished.

One of the funds, Foprocine, has backed more than 40 films including Oscar-nominated El Crimen Del Padre Amaro and blockbuster Sexo, Pudor Y Lagrimas.

The funds were set up in 1999 by former President Ernesto Zedillo but the current government has no obligation to top them up as they were not created by law.

"The terrible thing is that while Mexican movies have earned more acceptance in the world, new ones are less likely to be made," said director and producer Eduardo Rossof, whose directorial debut Ave Maria was backed by Foprocine.

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Manson banned from venue

Controversial rock star Marilyn Manson has been banned from appearing at a concert venue in New York state, in the US.

The singer was due to appear at amusement park Six Flags, in Buffalo, as part of the 2003 Ozzfest tour organised by singer and reality TV star Ozzy Osbourne.

But the amusement park said the star's act was not appropriate for the venue.

"We decided to pass on the Marilyn Manson performance," a statement from the park said.