Auction house hit by cyber-extortionist group RansomHub which claims to have sensitive information of at least 500,000 clients

A ransomware hack was the last thing the precarious fine art market needed – but that’s what it got when Christie’s website went down days before it began its all-important 20th and 21st century May auctions in New York.

Guillaume Cerutti, CEO of the French-owned auctioneer, gently called the attack a “technology security incident”. Christie’s posted its auction catalogs on a separate site, the sale went ahead with sales of $640m, and 10 days later the website came back to life.

A Miss USA winner has handed back her crown, and another champion has resigned – is the lustre of the pageant starting to wear off?

The US beauty pageant industry, in a concise summation made last week, is “such a hot mess”.

Two reigning beauty queens have stepped down in as many weeks, and there may be more turbulence to come to an area of showbusiness that promotes a sheen of perfection – at least among its contestants – but is increasingly seen as out of date with modern social mores.

Benediktas Gylys admits he was surprised by the rowdy behavior that came from the exhibit connecting people in the two cities

The artist behind the controversial “Portal” art exhibit that visually linked New York and Dublin in real time, but was then closed due to rowdy and extreme behavior by the public using it, has admitted he was surprised by the reaction.

Benediktas Gylys also vowed to continue with his project, which has the aim of connecting people and communities all over the world and is hoped to reopen soon.