New York, United States | AFP | For Generation X, “The Karate Kid” is a pop culture touchstone. Now, more than 30 years on, YouTube wants to bring a new generation into the dojo. Thirteen years after its creation, the wildly popular video-sharing platform is rolling out its first major …
Read More »Cosby: from US cultural icon to convicted sex offender
Norristown, United States | AFP | From US cultural icon blazing past racial barriers to convicted sex offender: Thursday’s guilty verdict will now likely see Bill Cosby, “America’s Dad” swap a life of wealth and privilege for prison. It was a name that once evoked so much — treasured father …
Read More »Kanye West, doubling down, voices ‘love’ of Trump
New York, United States | AFP | Rap superstar Kanye West doubled down Wednesday on his support for Donald Trump, tweeting his “love” for the president and flirting with his own political ambitions after his newfound conservatism raised eyebrows. A master of staying in the spotlight, West last week returned …
Read More »Cinema makes return to Saudi Arabia
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi Arabia hosted its first public film screening in over 35 years on Friday, two days after US movie giant AMC unveiled the kingdom’s debut theatre in Riyadh. Clutching prized tickets for the sold-out showing of Hollywood blockbuster action film “Black Panther”, men …
Read More »Dance music superstar Avicii dead at 28
New York, United States | AFP | Avicii, one of the world’s most successful DJs who helped usher in the global boom in electronic music but struggled to cope in the hard-partying lifestyle, died Friday in Oman, his representative said. He was 28. Two years after his unusually early retirement …
Read More »Tanzanian pop star Diamond Platinumz arrested over ‘indecent’ pictures
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Popular Tanzanian musician Diamond Platinumz has been arrested for publishing “indecent” photographs on social media, the information minister told parliament on Tuesday. Since Monday images have circulated on social networks showing the 28-year-old singer, shirtless and in bed with a female companion. “Among our …
Read More »New York Times, New Yorker win Pulitzer for #MeToo watershed
New York, United States | AFP | The New York Times and The New Yorker won the Pulitzer Prize for public service on Monday for explosive reporting that brought down Harvey Weinstein and spawned a cultural watershed on the issue of sexual harassment. The prestigious prize was awarded to the …
Read More »Top music videos including ‘Despacito’ defaced by hackers
New York, United States | AFP | Some of the most popular music videos on YouTube including mega-hit “Despacito” momentarily disappeared Tuesday in an apparent hacking. Fans looking for videos by top artists including Drake, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift found the footage removed and replaced by messages that included “Free …
Read More »Schwarzenegger back home after heart surgery: spokesman
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger is back home in Los Angeles and in good spirits after undergoing open heart surgery following complications with a routine operation, his spokesman said on Friday. The 70-year-old “Terminator” and “Predator” star, and former governor of California, was at the …
Read More »Bollywood hero Khan now Prisoner 106 in fight for bail
New Delhi, India | AFP | Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, now Prisoner 106, will have to spend at least another night in jail as he fights a five-year prison term for killing endangered wildlife. Khan, one of the world’s highest paid actors, was imprisoned Thursday after a court convicted him …
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