Pink Floyd’s co-founder says in West Bank he will give concert if Israel wall comes down

AIDA REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank — The legendary rocker and co-founder of Pink Floyd says he would give a concert in a flash if Israel’s West Bank wall is torn down.

Fats Domino makes rare appearance with B.B. King, Little Richard at La. fundraising concert

NEW ORLEANS — Fats Domino rarely emerges from his Louisiana home — and many wondered if he’d show up for “The Domino Effect,” his namesake concert that raises funds to help rebuild schools and playgrounds damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Chuck Mangione, who lost 2 band members in NY plane crash, performs for victims’ families

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Jazz musician Chuck Mangione has performed in upstate New York at a concert rescheduled after two of his band members died in a plane crash there in February. Other victims’ relatives attended.

Jackie Chan sings at Bird’s Nest stadium in China; no hint of outrage over ‘freedom’ remarks

BEIJING — Jackie Chan and a host of Chinese pop stars performed at Beijing’s massive Bird’s Nest stadium on Friday without a hint of the uproar caused by the veteran action star’s recent comments about freedom and China.

Seeger to celebrate 90th with Bruce, Emmylou and others, but environment is top priority

NEW YORK — When Emmylou Harris was a young girl trying to figure out whether she could have a career in music, she decided to seek advice from the wisest man she could think of — so she wrote a note to Pete Seeger.

Maxwell sets July date for new CD release; says concert tour boosted his confidence

NEW YORK — Maxwell may appear smooth and suave onstage, but he says it’s all just an act.

Mexican tenor Rolando Villazon needs larynx surgery, cancels German performances

BERLIN — Rolando Villazon’s concert organizer in Germany says the Mexican tenor needs surgery to remove a cyst on his larynx and has canceled two performances in the country.

Israel marks Independence Day; leaders note absence of peace, persistent threats

JERUSALEM — In a jarring contrast, Israel switched moods Tuesday evening from a somber Memorial Day for fallen soldiers to a joyous Independence Day celebrating 61 years since the Jewish state was created, but the absence of Mideast peace weighed on the festivities.

Amsterdam is no longer a bargain, but city of canals and bicycles can be had for a discount

AMSTERDAM — Amsterdam is defined by its canals.

No. of suspected swine flu cases rises to 1,614 in Mexico; 103 believed dead

MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s federal health secretary says the number of suspected swine flu cases in Mexico has risen to 1,614, including 103 deaths.

Empty streets, churches, stadiums, bars: Mexico City locks itself in as swine flu spreads

MEXICO CITY — The cardinal said Mass in a shuttered cathedral. Soccer teams played to empty stadiums. A televised variety show filled its seats with cardboard cutouts. Mexico’s overcrowded capital locked itself indoors Sunday, terrified by a new strain of swine flu that was spreading around the world.

Jennifer Hudson gives Chicago concert for first time since family murders

CHICAGO — Oscar and Grammy-winning singer Jennifer Hudson has given her first hometown concert since her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew were murdered in Chicago last year.

Aerosmith fans with tickets to canceled Maui show won’t miss a thing; band agrees to perform

WAILUKU, Hawaii — Free tickets to see Aerosmith in Hawaii? Dream on, unless you happen to be one of 8,300 people left in the cold when the band canceled a sold-out concert in 2007.

China’s campaign to wipe out Falun Gong drives tenacious movement underground

BEIJING — A musician dies in police custody, a lawyer is beaten, an aid worker abandons China after 10 years of persecution — the stories are the human toll behind China’s decade-long campaign to wipe out Falun Gong, a spiritual movement that the government calls an evil cult.

China’s 10-year campaign to crush Falun Gong drives movement underground

BEIJING — Now entering its second decade, China’s relentless drive to obliterate the Falun Gong spiritual sect has left a human toll ranging from the deaths of followers in custody to the self-exile of others and the beatings of their lawyers.

Beyonce on her ‘dramatic’ tour, Solange’s twittering and why she wasn’t fazed by Etta James

NEW YORK — Beyonce says one of the toughest parts of summer tour has been condensing more than a decade’s hits into a two-hour show. Judging from a recent photo shoot, figuring out how to perform them in Thierry Mugler’s elaborate, over-the-top costumes is just as difficult.