PLEASE NOTE THIS EDIT CONTAINS 4:3 MATERIAL

The Venice film festival kicked off on Wednesday (August 29) with "The Reluctant Fundamentalist", a film based on the novel of the same name. Hollywood star Kate Hudson was among the cast of the film that arrived on the Venice waterfront on Wednesday August 29) afternoon for a news conference ahead of the evening red carpet premiere which marks the opening of the festival.

U.S. rapper Will.i.am debuted his latest song, "Reaching for the Stars," from the surface of Mars on Tuesday (August 28), using the Mars rover Curiosity to beam the song back to earth. It is the first song to ever debut from another planet.

Madonna brought her hits, charm and political views to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the first U.S. stop on her MDNA World tour.

Madonna then went on to express how grateful she is to be an American and to have freedom of speech, before calling for the release of jailed Russian rockers "Pussy Riot," who are currently serving time behind bars for an anti-Putin song.

College students in India are paying homage to Michael Jackson, creating a sand art of popstar at a beach to mark his 54th birthday.

Jackson's birth anniversary will be celebrated worldwide on Wednesday (August 29).

Family members are reportedly taking part in memorial at the singer's boyhood home in Indiana.

Jackson died suddenly, age 50, in 2009 as he was rehearsing for a series of London concerts.