The self-proclaimed queen of Japanese hip-hop Awich has stories to tell, from discovering rap as a rebellious teenager in Okinawa to losing her husband to gun violence in America.. "My daughter is mixed Japanese and black," Awich said.
Japanese designer Hanae Mori, who cracked the Parisian haute couture world and was dubbed "Madame Butterfly" for her signature motif, has died in Tokyo aged 96, her office told AFP. Over the decades Mori's luxurious creations were worn by Nancy Reagan, Grace Kelly and countless members of high society.. An employee at Mori's office said Thursday that she died at home "of old age" on August 11, and that a private funeral had taken place.
Malaysia’s top court on Thursday began hearing ex-leader Najib Razak's appeal to overturn his jail sentence for corruption in a high-stakes legal gambit that could see him locked up or potentially launching a political comeback.. He was sentenced to 12 years in jail in July 2020, and an appellate court last December rejected his appeal, prompting him to mount a final plea before the Federal Court.
Performers at a Los Angeles strip club took their first steps toward unionization Wednesday, becoming the latest US workers to seek collective bargaining power.. Equity already represents over 51,000 performers and stage managers across the United States, many of them in and around Los Angeles.
Japanese fashion designer Hanae Mori, who cracked the elite world of Parisian haute couture, has died at her home in Tokyo aged 96, Japanese media reported Thursday.. Though she shuttered her Paris atelier in 2004, after her last couture show there, Hanae Mori boutiques remain open in Tokyo and her fragrances are still sold worldwide. bur-st/sst
US rapper A$AP Rocky pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to two charges of assault with a firearm over a confrontation with a former friend in Hollywood last year.. The 33-year-old, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, is alleged to have pointed the semiautomatic weapon at a one-time friend during an argument in November.
A Swiss Guard fainted during Pope Francis' weekly audience Wednesday, hitting the floor with a clang while still clutching his halberd, as a concerned pontiff looked on.. At the end of the audience, the 85-year-old pope broke out of his routine to speak with a plainclothes Swiss Guard.
Elon Musk tweeted Tuesday evening that he is purchasing the Manchester United football club, although it was not clear if the eccentric billionaire, currently embroiled in a lawsuit over his bid to buy Twitter, was being serious.. As for Elon Musk, the richest man in the world recently sold nearly $7 billion worth of Tesla shares, and is in a major legal battle in the US state of Delaware over his aborted plan to buy Twitter. des/jh
German director Wolfgang Petersen, who achieved international fame with films "Das Boot," "Outbreak" and "Air Force One," has died from pancreatic cancer, a spokeswoman said.. Glenn Close, who starred alongside Ford in Petersen's "Air Force One," said in a statement to AFP that being directed by the German "remains a special memory."
Ezra Miller, the troubled star of Warner Bros' major upcoming superhero movie "The Flash," is seeking treatment for mental health issues after a string of high-profile controversies, the actor said.. "Having recently gone through a time of intense crisis, I now understand that I am suffering complex mental health issues and have begun ongoing treatment," Miller, who identifies as non-binary, said in a statement sent to AFP by their representative on Tuesday.
