Anne Frank’s diary, written while she and her family were in hiding from the Nazis during WWII, has been read by millions of people - and is now being made into a Spanish musical with a 22-person cast. The show will open in February at the Calderon Theater in Madrid. The musical adaptation of the book has been met with mixed reviews. Rafael Alvero, director of the show, says:

“Of course this is emotional. The thing we want to do is through the music, to understand the story better.”

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Looks like humorist David Sedaris, who moved to France a few years back to escape New York’s onerous anti-smoking laws, has given up smoking just in time. Starting on January 1st, France will no longer permit smoking in bars, cafes, restaurants, or discos. The ban will also cover casinos and hotels, according to the BBC, and is an extension of a ban that began in February which outlawed smoking in public places, including airports, railway stations, hospitals, schools, shops and offices.A smoke-free French café may sound like an oxymoron, but with similar bans already in place in Britain, Ireland, Italy, and Spain, tolerance for second hand smoke is clearly on the wane in Europe, even in the notoriously tobacco-tolerant culture of France.The French health ministry has gallantly declared that smokers will be given a 24-hour “grace” period permitting them to puff away through the New Year”the ban won’t really be enforced till January 2nd. That may be cold comfort to French smokers; come January 2nd, the only places they’ll be able to light up in public will be the outdoor seating at cafés and bistros or open-air terraces.

By Katie HalperWhen Spain’s King Juan Carlos asked Chavez to shut up at the Ibero-American Summit in Chile , he unwittingly turned himself into a pop star, attaining a level of fame no money or monarchy could buy. The King’s ¿por qué no te callas?”(why don’t you shut up?) has been branded on mugs and t-shirts, broadcast all over the globe, turned into a major YouTube hit and has even become a ring tone for cell phones. But the most creative representation of the fight between the Spanish King and the Venezuelan president is the Reggaetón music video featured below. Not only is the video fun, and the music great, but it contains an important political message. Reggaetón, the successful, popular, and appealing blend of hip hop, reggae, and Latin American Carribean music shows us that in-spite of the inter-iberic conflict displayed at the summit, inter-cultural cooperation is not only possible, but danceable.