World news – Page 3 – The News Desk

Russia adds author Boris Akunin to a register of extremists and opens a criminal case against him

18Dec

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Russia adds author Boris Akunin to a register of extremists and opens a criminal case against him

Russian authorities have added popular detective novelist and dissident Grigory Chkhartishvili, known under the pen name Boris Akunin, to its register of “extremists and terrorists."MOSCOW -- Russian authorities on Monday added popular detective novelist and dissident Grigory Chkhartishvili – known under the pen name Boris Akunin – to its register of “extremists and terrorists."On the same day that Russia’s financial watchdog, Rosfinmonitoring, added the Russian-Georgian writer to the register, state media reported that a criminal case had been opened against Akunin for “discrediting the army" — specifically for “justifying terrorism” and spreading “fake news” about the Russian military.Discrediting the Russian military is a criminal offense under a law adopted after Russia sent troops in...

Original AC/DC drummer Colin Burgess has died at 77. The Australian helped form the group in 1973

17Dec

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Original AC/DC drummer Colin Burgess has died at 77. The Australian helped form the group in 1973

Australian drummer Colin Burgess, an original member of the hard rock band AC/DC in the early 1970s, has died, the band confirmed on its social media accounts. He was 77. “Very sad to hear of the passing of Colin Burgess,” says an unsigned post on the band's official Facebook page late Friday. “He was our first drummer and a very respected musician. Happy memories, rock in peace Colin.”No cause of death was given. Burgess was recruited in November 1973 to help form AC/DC with Malcolm Young on rhythm guitar and his brother Angus on lead guitar, lead vocalist Dave Evans and bassist Larry Van Kriedt. The band fired Burgess in February 1974, accusing him of being drunk on stage, and he later said someone had spiked his drink. He was followed by a succession of drummers and filled in for one f...

Prince Harry wins phone hacking lawsuit against British tabloid publisher, awarded 140,000 pounds

15Dec

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Prince Harry wins phone hacking lawsuit against British tabloid publisher, awarded 140,000 pounds

LONDON -- LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry won his phone hacking lawsuit Friday against the publisher of the Daily Mirror and was awarded over 140,000 pounds ($180,000) in the first of his several lawsuits against British tabloids to go to trial.Justice Timothy Fancourt in the High Court found phone hacking was “widespread and habitual” at Mirror Group Newspapers over many years and private investigators “were an integral part of the system” to gather information unlawfully. He said executives at the papers were aware of the practice and covered it up. Fancourt said he awarded the Duke of Sussex damages for 15 of the 33 newspaper articles in question at trial that were the result of unlawful information gathering and resulted in the misuse of Harry's private information.“Today is a great day fo...

King Charles pays light-hearted tribute to comedian Barry Humphries at Sydney memorial service

15Dec

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King Charles pays light-hearted tribute to comedian Barry Humphries at Sydney memorial service

CANBERRA, Australia -- King Charles III paid a light-hearted tribute to the late Barry Humphries at a state memorial service Friday in Australia, recalling his own apprehension when the comedian’s alter ego, Dame Edna Everage, played a prank on him a decade ago.Video of the prank during a Royal Variety Performance in London in 2013 was widely replayed after Humphries died in Sydney in April aged 89.Humphries, in the character of the snobbish Everage, approached the then Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, as they sat in the theater’s royal box.Everage looked at her ticket then explained to the laughing royals before leaving: “I’m so sorry, they found me a better seat.”Charles alluded to the joke in a message read by Australian Arts Minister Tony Burke at the memorial serv...

Globes analysis: Let the awards season of Barbenheimer begin

11Dec

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Globes analysis: Let the awards season of Barbenheimer begin

NEW YORK -- Early honors in Hollywood's unfurling awards season have gone to films like Celine Song's tender relationship drama “Past Lives," Jonathan Glazer's piercing Holocaust film “The Zone of Interest” and Martin Scorsese's sprawling Osage murders epic “Killers of the Flower Moon."But a showdown was always brewing.“Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” those summer sensations united in release date if little else, have loomed as perhaps the most potent Oscar contenders of the year. When the Golden Globes on Monday announced picks for its 81st awards, the scandal-plagued, comeback-seeking Globes put their full weight behind the twin phenomena of the movie year.Greta Gerwig's “Barbie” landed nine nominations, tied for second-most in Globes history. (Only Bob Fosse's “Cabaret” has matched it and R...

British poet and political activist Benjamin Zephaniah dies at age 65

7Dec

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British poet and political activist Benjamin Zephaniah dies at age 65

Benjamin Zephaniah, a British dub poet and political activist who drew inspiration from his Caribbean roots, has diedByThe Associated PressDecember 7, 2023, 7:13 AMFILE - Benjamin Zephaniah performs on stage during the One Big No anti-war concert, at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, on March 15, 2003. Zephaniah, the British dub poet and political activist who drew huge inspiration from his Caribbean roots, has died. He was 65. In a statement on Instagram, his family said Zephaniah died Thursday Dec. 7, 2023 after being diagnosed with a brain tumor eight weeks ago. (Yui Mok/PA via AP, File)The Associated PressLONDON -- Benjamin Zephaniah, a British dub poet and political activist who drew huge inspiration from his Caribbean roots, has died. He was 65.In a statement on Instagram, his famil...

2023 (Taylor’s Version): The year in pop culture

7Dec

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2023 (Taylor’s Version): The year in pop culture

In weather terminology, they call it “rapid intensification” — the process by which a storm strengthens dramatically in a short period.In pop culture terminology, they call it Taylor Swift.It’s not like Swift didn’t have big – huge! – years before this. But 2023? This was ridiculous. From the blockbuster “Eras” tour that conquered the United States before a planet-vanquishing international leg, to the re-release of more albums on the road to reclaiming her catalog, to the record-smashing concert film, to becoming a billionaire — and yeah, that thing with “the guy on the Chiefs” — it all made for a year you could reasonably call “2023 (Taylor’s Version).” There were, of course, non-Swiftian developments in pop culture. Beyoncé, ever the superstar, had a huge tour herself, and ruled the box...

Iran arrests a popular singer after he was handed over by police in Turkey

6Dec

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Iran arrests a popular singer after he was handed over by police in Turkey

Iranian media say authorities have arrested a popular singer who had criticized the government after he was handed over by police in TurkeyByThe Associated PressDecember 6, 2023, 4:36 AMDUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Iranian authorities have arrested a popular singer who had criticized the government after he was handed over by police in Turkey, the official IRNA news agency reported Wednesday. Amirhossein Maghsoudloo, better known as Tataloo, has been critical of Iran's leaders since he had moved to Turkey. It wasn't clear why he was arrested by Turkish police on Monday, but IRNA reported he was facing complaints for allegedly inviting underage people to his home in Istanbul. IRNA said Turkish police handed over him to Iranian authorities in the northwestern province of West Azerbaijan. ...

Prince Harry challenges the decision to strip him of security in Britain after he moved to the US

5Dec

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Prince Harry challenges the decision to strip him of security in Britain after he moved to the US

LONDON -- LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry was unfairly stripped of his publicly funded security detail after giving up his status as a working member of the royal family and moving to the U.S., his lawyer said in court Tuesday.The Duke of Sussex wants protection while visiting the U.K. and claims he and his family are endangered because of hostility toward him and his wife on social media and relentless news media hounding them.Attorney Shaheed Fatima said the government group that evaluated Harry’s security needs — known by the acronym of its former name, the Royal and VIP Executive Committee, or RAVEC — acted irrationally and failed to follow its own policies that should have required a risk analysis about the duke’s safety.“RAVEC should have considered the ‘impact’ that a successful attack ...

China’s government can’t take a joke, so comedians living abroad censor themselves

5Dec

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China’s government can’t take a joke, so comedians living abroad censor themselves

WASHINGTON -- Comedian Xi Diao says he knows he should avoid talking politics on stage, but sharing a family name with Chinese President Xi Jinping makes it hard to resist.Even his name is politically sensitive, the Melbourne-based amateur comedian tells audiences, setting up a joke about a group chat on the Chinese messaging service WeChat being shut down as soon as he joined it. The 33-year-old civil engineer gets nervous laughs whenever he breaks a de facto rule of Chinese comedy: Don’t say anything that makes China look bad. To most comedians, that means no jokes about censorship, no mentioning the president's name, and no discussion of China’s extraordinarily strict COVID lockdowns or social topics like domestic violence.“It is a pity, if the environment were open, there would be som...