Entertainment

Fela Kuti's son cancels Morocco gig over migrant deaths

Seun Kuti, son of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, has cancelled a concert in Morocco to mourn last week's tragedy on the border of Spain's Melilla enclave in which at least 23 African migrants died.. Friday's incident was the deadliest in years of attempts by migrants, mostly from southern African countries, to cross the heavily fortified border, one of the EU's only land borders with Africa.

Russian film director denounces 'murder' of his former theatre

Russia's celebrated film director Kirill Serebrennikov, who left the country after criticising its offensive in Ukraine, has accused the authorities of "murdering" his former theatre that he had built into a top cultural venue.. Criticism of Russia's offensive in Ukraine has essentially been outlawed in the country.  bur/yad

Sex Pistols show shines light on 'violence of punk'

Dennis Morris was the official Sex Pistols photographer, taking some of the most iconic images of the 1970s punk trailblazers.. The Sex Pistols' 1977 anti-monarchy tirade "God Save the Queen" coincided with Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee and provoked strong reactions.

R. Kelly, the top-selling R&B star who dodged sex allegations for years

A Chicago native who soared to global celebrity on a burst of megahits in the 1990s, for years R. Kelly endured as one of R&B's top stars, even as he faced a slew of sex abuse allegations.. In July 2017, BuzzFeed published a lengthy investigation by DeRogatis, which alleged Kelly was operating a "sex cult" and holding six women hostage between Chicago and Atlanta.

Francis Bacon painting of Lucian Freud sells for £43.3mn: Sothebys

A painting by Irish-born British artist Francis Bacon of fellow UK painter Lucian Freud sold on Wednesday for £43.3 million ($52.5 million, 50.2 million euros), according to Sotheby's auction house.. Bacon's 1969 triptych "Three Studies of Lucian Freud" sold in 2013 for $142.4 million, and held the record for the most expensive work of art at auction until being unseated by Picasso's "The Women of Algiers (Version O)" in 2015.

'Noisy' anti-Brexit protester silenced outside UK parliament

He has spent years protesting outside Britain's parliament with his trademark yellow ribbon hat, "Stop Brexit" shouts and blaring music.. On Wednesday when he tried to blare music again officers told him he was in a designated area where noisy protesting was now forbidden under the new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act.

US Speaker Pelosi takes Communion at St Peter's: media

US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi received Communion at St. Peter's Basilica Wednesday, according to a local news report, after being barred from the sacrament in her home city of San Francisco.. Catholic online newspaper Crux Now reported Wednesday that Pelosi, who was seen by an AFP photographer attending the mass with family members, received Communion from one of the priests present.

Saudi artists marvel at surprise patron: their own rulers

In one of Saudi artist Ahmed Mater's best-known works, a silhouette of a gas pump morphs into a man holding a gun to his head –- a clear critique of oil's damaging influence. . The nature of visual artists' work gives them more space to speak out than Saudi activists might enjoy, said Eman Alhussein, non-resident fellow with the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

With 'Thirteen Lives,' Ron Howard revisits Thai cave rescue

The dramatic rescue of 12 youth football players and their coach from a flooded cave in Thailand in 2018, a captivating operation already revisited in an award-winning documentary, is now getting the big-screen dramatic treatment from Ron Howard.. "Thirteen Lives" -- which stars Joel Edgerton, Colin Farrell and Viggo Mortensen -- retells the story of the spectacular rescue of the 12 boys and their coach who, in June 2018, found themselves trapped in Tham Luang cave for more than two weeks.

Singer R. Kelly faces sentencing over sex crimes case

A US federal judge on Wednesday was set to sentence disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly nearly a year after he was convicted of leading a decades-long effort to recruit and trap teenagers and women for sex.. It was also the first time Kelly faced criminal consequences for the abuse he for decades was rumored to have inflicted on women and children.