Entertainment

Balenciaga breaks ties with Kanye West

Paris-based fashion house Balenciaga has ended ties with rapper Kanye West following a recent run of controversial statements, including an outburst denounced as anti-Semitic, according to fashion news site WWD. "Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist," Balenciaga's parent company Kering told WWD.   It follows weeks of particularly erratic behaviour from West -- now known as Ye. He made a surprise appearance earlier this month for his brand Yeezy at Paris Fashion Week, sporting the controversial slogan "White Lives Matter", widely considered a racist response to the Black Lives Matter movement. . Balenciaga and Kering did not respond to requests for comment from AFP.  Ye appeared as a model in Balenciaga's most recent Paris show last month, wearing a military-style outfit in a mud pit. 

Fri, Oct 21, 2022 1 mins read

Entertainment

Netflix adds disclaimer to 'The Crown' after anger over story lines

Netflix has added a disclaimer to its hit series "The Crown" after a former British prime minister and acting royalty accused the streaming giant of confusing truth with fiction in its story lines.. Royal biographer William Shawcross last week told AFP the series was filled with "lies and half-truths", and that Philip had been "incredibly upset" by the unfactual story line.

Fri, Oct 21, 2022 1 mins read

Entertainment

'Absolute farce': UK gripped by latest Johnson plot twist

British former prime minister Boris Johnson's prospective return to Downing Street reads like a Shakespearean arc of redemption after a fall -- but critics see elements of farce.. Following the resignation of Prime Minister Liz Truss, Johnson's supporters have urged him to resume a tenure that was abruptly curtailed by a cabinet uprising.

Fri, Oct 21, 2022 3 mins read

Entertainment

Super Mario: Draghi's farewell warning to EU leaders

Italy's outgoing premier Mario Draghi used his last day on the European stage Friday to warn both his fellow leaders and his far-right successor that a united Europe should remain their "guiding star".. - Frugal foes - The message could have been directed to his Italian nationalist successor in Rome, but also to some of Draghi's fellow European leaders at the meeting in Brussels.

Fri, Oct 21, 2022 2 mins read

Entertainment

Batman screening scrapped by Hong Kong censors

A Hong Kong screening of Batman film "The Dark Knight" has been scrapped after government censors intervened, organisers said on Friday while denying that the cancellation was political.. Other movies rated by OFNAA with the same classification as "The Dark Knight" have not been pulled from the outdoor screening calendar.

Fri, Oct 21, 2022 1 mins read

Entertainment

Animation of Paris Algerian massacre among student Oscars winners

A French animation about the deadly police crackdown on protests by Algerians in 1960s Paris was among the winners Thursday of the Student Academy Awards, held for the first time at Los Angeles' recently opened film museum.. The Student Academy Awards -- held in-person for the first time in three years, after previous editions went online due to the pandemic -- are a key program of the Hollywood film industry's top body, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Thu, Oct 20, 2022 2 mins read

Entertainment

Kevin Spacey cleared in NY sex assault case

A New York court on Thursday dismissed a $40 million sexual misconduct lawsuit brought against Kevin Spacey by an actor who claimed the Hollywood star targeted him when he was 14.. Rapp, who stars in the series "Star Trek: Discovery," alleged he was assaulted by Spacey at a party in Manhattan in 1986, when he was 14 and Spacey 26.

Thu, Oct 20, 2022 2 mins read

Entertainment

Dan Smith, American activist and son of a slave, dead at 90

Dan Smith, an American civil rights activist and son of a former slave has died aged 90, his wife told AFP Thursday.. He told of the "hanging tree," where two slaves who had tried to escape were lynched.

Thu, Oct 20, 2022 3 mins read

Entertainment

Art Basel confirms rise of Paris in art world

Art Basel launched its inaugural fair in Paris on Thursday, seen as capping the re-emergence of the French capital as a major arts hub following the impact of Brexit on its main rival, London.. With "Paris + Art Basel", the world's biggest fair organiser has added another major city to its roster.

Thu, Oct 20, 2022 2 mins read

Entertainment

Who could become UK's new PM?

Here are the main contenders potentially in the running to succeed UK Prime Minister Liz Truss, after she announced her resignation on Thursday: - Rishi Sunak -  Truss easily beat the former chancellor of the exchequer in this summer's Tory leadership contest, winning party members over with promises to slash taxes and regulations without curbing government spending.. - Penny Mordaunt -  The current cabinet member, 49, was an early grassroots favourite to succeed Johnson, and came within eight MPs' votes of beating Truss to make the final run-off against Sunak.

Thu, Oct 20, 2022 3 mins read