Stockholm, Sweden | AFP | Swedish prosecutors will need to decide on Friday on whether to charge rapper ASAP Rocky, whose detention in Stockholm on suspicion of assault during a street brawl has created a furore among his fans and fellow artists. Since his detention in early July, fans and …
Read More »Hebrew opera takes on Israeli-Palestinian conflict at French festival
Aix-en-Provence, France | AFP | It features an Israeli prime minister, Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike, a hit squad and a Shin Beth spy chief. But this is not another story on the intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict but an opera unusually with a libretto in Hebrew, the official language of Israel. “The …
Read More »‘Game of Thrones’ breaks record with 32 Emmy nominations
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | The divisive final season of “Game of Thrones” smashed the record for most Primetime Emmy nominations by a drama series in a single year, earning a whopping 32 nods Tuesday. HBO’s fantasy epic enraged fans with its bumpy conclusion but still trounced the competition …
Read More »Brazilian director of refugee odyssey laments far-right attack on artists
Avignon, France | AFP | The reality of her homeland’s lurch to the far right has seen artists branded as leftists and criminals, laments Brazilian director Christiane Jatahy, who only wishes her theatre piece on migration were actually a fiction. The documentary-style work by the 51-year-old Rio-born Jatahy is loosely based …
Read More »R. Kelly arrested on child pornography charges: report
Washington, United States | AFP | R. Kelly has been arrested on child pornography and other charges, the New York Times reported, in the latest criminal investigation into the R&B superstar dogged by allegations of sexual misconduct. The 52-year-old, whose legal name is Robert Kelly, was taken into custody by …
Read More »Nicki Minaj cancels Saudi concert over women’s rights concerns
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Nicki Minaj has canceled a performance in Saudi Arabia in a show of support for women’s and gay rights in the ultra-conservative kingdom, the US rapper said Tuesday. Minaj’s scheduled appearance in the western city of Jeddah next week as part of a cultural festival had triggered a …
Read More »Michael Jackson fans sue in France over HBO documentary
Orléans, France | AFP | Michael Jackson fan clubs moved to sue two alleged victims of the late singer in a French court on Thursday over their claims in the hit HBO documentary “Leaving Neverland”. The legal action in the French city of Orleans targets James Safechuck, 41, and Wade …
Read More »Bieber defends manager after Taylor Swift ‘bullying’ accusation
Washington, United States | AFP | Justin Bieber accused Taylor Swift of “crossing a line” Sunday after she re-ignited their longstanding feud in a post attacking his manager for buying the rights to much of her multi-platinum back catalog. Swift said she suffered years of “manipulative bullying” at the hands of …
Read More »Sudan’s underground musicians turn defiant after uprising
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | During the day, Gadoora checks his patients at a clinic near Khartoum, but at night he locks himself in his room rapping songs which echo the sentiments of Sudan’s “revolution”. “The revolution broke the long-standing wall of fear,” said Gadoora. “Songs have become much more daring …
Read More »Marvel re-releases ‘Avengers’ as box office record looms
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Marvel announced plans Tuesday to re-release “Avengers: Endgame” with bonus material in theaters, as the summer’s biggest blockbuster drew agonizingly close to breaking the global box office record. “Endgame” has pulled in $2.749 billion around the world, according to industry watcher Exhibitor Relations — …
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