- Lindor powers Mets past Phillies into NL Championship Series
- Wildlife populations plunge 73% since 1970: WWF
- 'Sleeper agent' bots on X fuel US election misinformation, study says
- Death toll rises to 109 after Haiti gang attack, official says
- Tigers beat Guardians and on brink of advancing in MLB playoffs
- Argentina MPs back Milei's veto of university funding
- Man City sink Barca in Women's Champions League as Bayern outgun Arsenal
- Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool: state agency
- Florida seaside haven a ghost town as hurricane nears
- Pharrell Williams to co-chair Met Gala exploring Black dandyism
- Wall Street indices hit fresh records as Chinese shares tumble
- Taiwan's president to deliver key speech for National Day
- Sea row on the menu as ASEAN leaders meet China's Li
- Injured Kane won't start England's Nations League clash with Greece
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Mozambique starts tallying votes in tense election
- Zelensky moves to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- Rodgers rejects 'false' suggestions of role in Saleh dismissal
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Lebanon facing 'catastrophic' situation as 600,000 displaced: UN
- US warns Israel not to repeat Gaza destruction in Lebanon
- Musk's X returns in Brazil after 40-day showdown with judge
- Call her savvy? Harris unleashes unconventional media blitz
- Lucian Freud 'masterpiece' fetches £13.9 million at London sale
- SoFi Stadium to hold next two CONCACAF Nations League finals
- McIlroy and DeChambeau set for PGA-LIV 'Showdown' in Vegas
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Run blitz edges India and South Africa closer to World Cup semi-finals
- Zelensky to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Israel captain says 'difficult' to focus on football in time of war
- Macron to host Ukraine's Zelensky after meeting Ukrainian troops
- Root says 'many more to get' after England Test runs landmark
- India pile up World Cup high to rout Sri Lanka
- One year later, Israeli hostage family learns of loss
- Texans receiver Collins, Pats' safety Peppers out for NFL clash
- Biden-Netanyahu talk as Hezbollah, Israeli forces clash
- Musk's X available again in Brazil after 40-day ban
- Reddy stars as India crush Bangladesh to clinch T20 series
- Nobel winners hope protein work will spur 'incredible' breakthroughs
- What are proteins again? Nobel-winning chemistry explained
- Arch rivals Ghana, Nigeria drawn together in CHAN qualifying
- AI steps into science limelight with Nobel wins
- Trump lauds India's Modi as 'total killer'
- Wall Street, Europe rise as Chinese shares tumble
- Hunkering down for Hurricane Milton at Disney -- but first, a few rides
- Reddy, Rinku power India to 221-9 in second Bangladesh T20
Storm brews at Cannes over divisive Johnny Depp comeback
The Cannes Film Festival was set for a stormy start on Tuesday as discontent rumbled over the organisers' decision to launch with Johnny Depp's comeback as the opening film.
The red carpet received a final vacuuming ahead of opening night, when some of Hollywood's biggest stars are set to decamp to the world's leading film festival that has turned the French Riviera resort into a hive of activity.
But while 21 films from around the globe are competing for the coveted top prize, the Palme d'Or, the festival has faced repeated questions over its choice of opening film.
The 59-year-old Depp will be feted on the red carpet, a sign of his ongoing popularity in Europe despite his megastar image nosediving in the US after toxic court battles with ex-wife Amber Heard.
His legal woes cast a reality-TV-like spotlight onto a turbulent private life involving alcohol, drugs and domestic abuse allegations.
But Depp has been gradually returning to work and arrives in Cannes with the French period drama "Jeanne du Barry", playing King Louis XV, the 18th-century monarch who fell in love with a prostitute.
- 'Violence in creative circles' -
Although the film is playing out of competition, the jury for the Palme d'Or was asked about Depp's presence on Tuesday.
Jury member Brie Larson, star of "Captain Marvel" and an outspoken MeToo supporter, looked flustered.
"You are asking me that? I don't understand... Why me specifically?" she said.
"I don't know how I feel about it," she added, curtly.
There was anger online, however, with a friend of Heard, journalist Eve Barlow, started a new hashtag -- #CannesYouNot -- criticising the decision to invite Depp.
"Cannes seem proud of their history supporting rapists and abusers," Barlow wrote on Instagram, with pictures of Depp alongside past Cannes regulars such as Harvey Weinstein, Roman Polanski and Gerard Depardieu -- all of whom have faced sexual assault allegations.
On Monday, festival director Thierry Fremaux said he was not interested in Depp's legal woes, saying: "I am interested in Depp the actor."
A group of 123 French film industry workers also denounced the festival for "rolling out the red carpet to men and women who commit assaults."
- 'Greatest film prize' -
Michael Douglas will also attend the opening ceremony to receive an honorary Palme d'Or.
Jury chief Ruben Ostlund, who won the top prize last year, described the Palme as "the greatest film prize in the world. If I can choose between an Oscar and a Palme, it is an easy choice".
Of the films in the running for the award, a record seven have been directed by women.
Several Palme laureates are back in competition, including Britain's two-time winner Ken Loach, Japan's Hirokazu Kore-eda and Germany's Wim Wenders.
The festival, which runs until May 27, includes a slew of hot-ticket premieres outside the main competition, including "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny", the fifth and final outing for Harrison Ford as the whip-cracking archaeologist.
Saturday will see Martin Scorsese present his latest epic, "Killers of the Flower Moon", alongside stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.
Around a thousand police and security guards are in place for the festival, amid fears of protests linked to President Emmanuel Macron's unpopular pension reforms, with the CGT union even threatening to cut power.
O.Norris--AMWN