Londres, United Kingdom | AFP | Ed Sheeran smashed a host of British pop records on Friday, taking the top five places in the singles charts and all 16 songs from his new album in the top 20. “Divide” is the fastest-selling album by a male artist ever in Britain, shifting …
Read More »Rapper Akon in Gambia, lights up two African nations
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Cliched rappers spend money on bling and cars, but Senegalese-American artist Akon is looking skywards to splash his cash, investing in solar power projects across Africa. The rapper added The Gambia and Cape Verde to his Akon Lighting Africa initiative this weekend, a fund …
Read More »Adele confirms marriage after years of speculation
New York, United States | AFP | Adele, who has become a global pop sensation with her songs of heartbreak, has confirmed years of speculation that she is married. The English singer has been in a long-term relationship with Simon Konecki, a former financier who founded drop4drop, a charity that …
Read More »Hats, shiny leather and a ‘return to sex’: the big Paris fashion week trends
Paris, France | AFP | As the Paris fashion week autumn-winter shows reach their climax, we look at the biggest womenswear trends so far on the catwalk: – Mad hatters – Paris has fallen head over heels for hats. This week has seen an unprecedented sprouting of headwear on the …
Read More »Ed Sheeran obliterates Spotify records with new album
New York, United States | AFP | Ed Sheeran has smashed Spotify records with his new album “Divide,” which drew nearly twice as many listens on its first day as the previous leader. The world’s largest streaming service said that the pop singer’s album was heard nearly 57 million times …
Read More »UK cinema-goers asked to become real-life 007s
London, United Kingdom | AFP | British film icon James Bond has entertained audiences for over five decades, but now the country’s foreign intelligence agency is asking cinema-goers to become spies themselves. MI6 on Friday unveiled a 58-second advertisement — entitled “But She Can” — that will be shown in …
Read More »‘Sadistic’ treatment of models casts new shadow over fashion
Paris, France | AFP | The alleged “sadistic” mistreatment of scores of models who were forced to wait in a dark, cramped staircase at a Paris fashion week casting has sparked fresh criticism of how the industry functions. With fashion already under intense scrutiny over under-age and overly thin models, …
Read More »President Oprah? Winfrey doesn’t rule out 2020 run
Washington, United States | AFP | Media mogul Oprah Winfrey did not say she was running for president, but she didn’t rule it out either, raising the unlikely prospect of a titanic celebrity-on-celebrity duel with Donald Trump in 2020. In an interview with Bloomberg TV that aired Wednesday, host David …
Read More »Rio carnival fantasy hides dirty reality
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | Rio’s Sambodromo parades are a fantasy of beautiful bodies and dreamlike costumes but the self-declared greatest show on Earth is prepared in a dirty street next to an open sewer. The contrast between what happens inside Rio de Janeiro’s specially built samba stadium …
Read More »‘Moonlight’ takes best pic Oscar after stunning mix-up
Hollywood, United States | AFP | Coming-of-age drama “Moonlight” won the best picture Oscar on Sunday, but not before the film industry’s biggest night was marred by one of the worst fiascos in its history, as “La La Land” was mistakenly handed the award first. Until the final minute the …
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