A showbiz decade marked by the emergence of the #MeToo movement, drama at Oscar time and a clutch of star-studded royal weddings is drawing to a close.
Here are the highlights from the decade.
Kathryn Bigelow becomes the first woman to win best director at the Oscars for The Hurt Locker, a low-budget Iraq war drama that also beats blockbuster Avatar, directed by ex-husband James Cameron, to the best picture award.
Model Naomi Campbell testifies at former Liberian leader Charles Taylor’s war crimes trial, saying she was given “dirty looking pebbles” but did not know if they were blood diamonds.
Fashion designer Alexander McQueen and actors Dennis Hopper and Tony Curtis die.
Britain’s Prince William marries Kate Middleton.
Michael Jackson’s personal doctor, Conrad Murray, is convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the singer’s 2009 death from a fatal dose of the powerful anaesthetic propofol.
Actress Elizabeth Taylor and singer Amy Winehouse die.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie get engaged.
Beyonce and rapper Jay-Z welcome their first child, daughter Blue Ivy.
Actress Katie Holmes files for divorce from Tom Cruise after nearly six years of marriage.
Singers Whitney Houston and Robin Gibb die.
William and Kate welcome their first child, son George, as do reality TV star Kim Kardashian and rapper Kanye West, who name their daughter North.
Paul Walker dies.
Jolie and Pitt tie the knot in France, George Clooney marries human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin in Venice and Kardashian and West wed in Florence.
Robin Williams passes away.
Comedian Bill Cosby is criminally charged with indecent assault against one woman after dozens accuse him of sexual misconduct dating back decades. He denies the allegations.
Former Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner, stepfather of Kim Kardashian, becomes the most high-profile American to publicly come out as a transgender woman, taking the new name Caitlyn Jenner.
Johnny Depp marries Amber Heard.
Actors Omar Sharif and Leonard Nimoy and director Wes Craven die.
Director Spike Lee and actress Jada Pinkett Smith boycott the Oscars because no black actors are nominated for a second straight year. The ensuing uproar leads the Academy of Motion Pictures to expand membership to more women and people of colour.
Jolie and Pitt split; Heard files for divorce from Depp.
Kardashian is robbed of millions of dollars of jewelry at gunpoint in Paris.
Music stars David Bowie, Prince and George Michael, and actors Alan Rickman, Carrie Fisher and Gene Wilder die.
A blunder overshadows the Oscars as La La Land is wrongly named best picture. African-American drama Moonlight is the actual winner. PricewaterhouseCoopers, which oversees the ballots, says presenter Warren Beatty had been given the wrong envelope.
The New York Times and the New Yorker publish accounts by numerous women accusing film producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct, fuelling the #MeToo movement across entertainment, politics and business. Weinstein denies any non-consensual sex.
A suicide bomber kills 22 people at the end of an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena. Grande later holds a benefit concert for the victims.
After winning six Grammys five years earlier for smash hit album 21, Adele triumphs again, taking five awards for follow-up 25.
Cosby becomes the first celebrity to be convicted of sexual abuse since the #MeToo movement began.
Britain’s Prince Harry marries US actress Meghan Markle.
Singer Aretha Franklin, actor Burt Reynolds, comicbook supremo Stan Lee, designer Hubert de Givenchy and chef Anthony Bourdain die.
Documentary Leaving Neverland, in which two men say they were abused as children by Michael Jackson, renews scrutiny of the singer’s legacy. Jackson’s estate calls it a “rehash of dated and discredited allegations”.
Prosecutors drop a sex assault case against Oscar winner Kevin Spacey after the alleged victim refuses to testify.
Harry and Meghan welcome their first child, Archie.
Hit medieval drama Game of Thrones wraps up after eight seasons. The ending divides fans.
Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, actors Peter Fonda, Abid Ali and Luke Perry and Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison die.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge undertook a whirlwind tour of Pakistan late October. While it has been a couple of days since they left, the couple is still sneaking into our conversations as we reminiscence the days they spent here.
Little details of their trip continue to excite us and a chef has now revealed what Kate and William ate on their flights as they travelled to different places within Pakistan.
Read more: Royal Visit Day 2 – Kate & William explore the mountainous North
Chef Samina Gul, a former Professional Cookery student at University College Birmingham, shared pictures of the food the royal couple ate while in-flight during their recent five-day tour of Pakistan.
Samina Gul, a product development chef with Pakistan’s KC Flight Catering, made elevenses, afternoon tea and dinner for Prince William and Kate on two of their Royal Air Force flights during their visit. KC Flight Catering is the largest private in-flight catering operator in Pakistan.
Samina shared pictures of her delicious delicacies on Facebook and we have to say they look mouth-watering.
And it appears that the people on the flight loved the food because Samina’s company received a letter from the catering manager of 101 Squadron Royal Air Force, Sgt Steve Roberts, expressing his appreciation of the in-flight chefs’ services and hard work.
Previously, Samina also got to cook for Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during one of his visits to the country.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who visited Pakistan late last month, have expressed their solidarity and sadness over the tragic Tezgam train incident which shook the country on Thursday.
According to the Cambridge’s official website, “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge sent a message of condolence to the President of Pakistan following the train fire near the town of Rahim Yar Khan in Pakistan.”
“Having just returned from visiting Pakistan, we were horrified and deeply saddened to hear about the tragic fire on the Tezgam train near Rahim Yar Khan.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all the people and families affected by this heartbreaking disaster,” the message added.
Read more: Royal Visit – Kate, William bid goodbye to Pakistan
Royal Editor at ITV News Chris Ship wrote that the couple was ‘horrified and deeply saddened’ with the news.
Meanwhile, as per reports, the train, Tezgam, was on its way from Karachi to Rawalpindi when a gas cylinder carried by a passenger exploded, resulting in hundreds of casualties on Thursday morning. The fire destroyed three of the train’s carriages, including two economy class and one business class carriage.
Prince William and Kate Middleton, after a short tour of the Army Canine Centre in Rawalpindi, left for the United Kingdom Friday afternoon. The couple was on a five-day visit to Pakistan for the first time.
They were seen off at the Nur Khan airbase by British High Commissioner Thomas Drew and other officials.
The couple arrived in Islamabad from Lahore earlier in the day. Their trip to Lahore was initially planned for a day only but stormy weather, rain and lightning played havoc with their schedule and forced the couple and their entire crew to spend the night in PC Hotel Lahore.
They departed for Islamabad the next morning. Kate looked fresh and lovely in a black and cream embroidered kurta by fashion powerhouse Elan.
According to the royal reporters who were present on the flight with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the jet flew into the storm and twice had to abort landing at the military base in Islamabad. They said that the unexpected turbulence shook the plane violently and forced everyone, including the aircrew, to strap themselves to their seats.
Royal reporter Chris Ship added that there were many experienced pilots and aircrew (including Prince William) onboard but every one of them said they had never experienced turbulence like that before.
Meanwhile, recounting her own experience, Duchess Kate said that though it was “a bumpy ride”, she had enjoyed the “adventure.”
“I think it was quite an adventure really, it was pretty bumpy up there. But we were looked after so wonderfully by the RAF who did a great job liaising with everyone and got us home safely, so we are hugely grateful to them,” the Duchess said.
Kate and William were reportedly scheduled to visit Khyber Pass and Landi Kotal (Afghan border) on the last day of their tour but due to their delayed return to Islamabad, their plan had to be cancelled. Instead, they visited the Army Canine Centre in Islamabad, where Britain provides support to a program that trains dogs to identify explosive devices.
Pictures from the event showed the couple feeding and petting trainee bomb sniffer dogs. Kate looked regal in a black flora coat from Beulah London.
Kate, who is dog-lover, appears to have had a blast with the canines.
The couple was also treated to a dog show.
For all the royal updates from Day 1, 2 and 3 click here, here and here.
After creating waves and winning hearts on the first day of their visit, the Duke and Duchess began the second day of their trip by heading straight to the beautiful mountainous North of the country.
On the third day of their five-day visit, Kate and William are visiting the mighty Hindu Kush mountain range to witness the effects of climate change, which is one of the key areas of focus of their visit.
They arrived in Chitral on a helicopter where they were gifted the traditional Chitrali cap and a book of photos commemorating the trip of Princess Diana, who visited the valley in 1991.
Upon receiving the book, William remarked “Fantastic,” as he sifted through the pages of the book. The residents also gifted an embroidered coat to the Duke and a shawl to the Duchess.
The Duchess wore a long taupe-coloured skirt and a darker coloured shirt under a leather vest for the visit. She opted for flat knee-high brown boots and accessoried with gold earrings and a beige pashmina, while William wore a teal shirt and beige chino trousers. People couldn’t help but compare her to Diana.
The couple then visited the northern tip of the Chiatibo Glacier in Broghil National Park and were shown how it has retreated rapidly in recent years due to global warming. It was the first time the couple had seen a melting glacier.
Standing between the snowy peaks of the mountain range, the duke said communities “vulnerable to change” needed “more education, more awareness and political action.”
Following that, they travelled to Bombaret village in Kalash valley, where they interacted with the locals and spent time with children. They also enjoyed performances of traditional dances and music by the local people.
The Duchess was all smiles as she took part in the festivities.
A special cultural show, focused on the life in the Northern Areas, was also held for the royal couple.
After completing their engagements, the couple flew back to Islamabad.
For all the royal updates from Day 1, click here.
With the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton, arriving in Islamabad as part of their royal tour of Pakistan, the former will be honouring his late mother and Princess of Wales, Diana, with a special visit.
The five-day visit to the country — which has been described by Kensington Palace as their “most complex” to date — will see William and Kate attend a series of engagements focusing on security and the effects of climate change beside education for girls and young women.
According to reports, during the trip that will see the couple visit Islamabad, Lahore, the mountains in the north and regions bordering Afghanistan in the west, the Queen’s grandson will also seek to honour his late mother Princess Diana’s humanitarian work.
In 1996 and 1997, shortly before she died in a fatal car accident, the princess visited the country to see her friend Jemima Goldsmith and then-husband Imran Khan, who is now the prime minister (PM).
During the latter trip to Lahore, Diana had helped Imran with raising funds for his Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital.
William is now due to meet the premier, who he has known since childhood, as well as President Dr Arif Alvi. It is also thought the Duke and Duchess, who have left their three children at home, will see sites visited by the Queen during tours in 1961 and 1997.
“The duke and duchess will be covering a lot of ground and are keen to put Pakistan back on the map as a country that is now much safer than people expect it to be,” reports quoted a royal source as saying.
Precise details of the trip — the first royal tour to the country in 13 years after Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall — haven’t been released for security reasons.
There were rumours abound that Prince William and Kate Middleton were going to have another baby. And the rumours seem to be confirmed by an unlikely source: their four-year-old daughter Charlotte.
Apparently, Charlotte, who recently started school, was heard speaking to a friend at school that her “mummy is having another girl.”
A source revealed that one of the teachers also overheard Charlotte, saying that Charlotte was speaking very loudly and was convinced that her mother was pregnant.
Another baby would be the fourth Royal to be born in the family and we wonder if SHE (since Charlotte also revealed the gender) will be as mischievous as her older sister.