Entertainment – International

Hollywood stars among dozens charged over college entrance scam

by Thomas URBAIN “Desperate Housewives” star Felicity Huffman and fellow Hollywood actress Lori Loughlin were among dozens indicted Tuesday in a multi-million dollar scam to help children of the American elite cheat their way into top universities. The accused, who also include chief executives, financiers, the chairman of a prominent law firm, a winemaker and fashion designer, allegedly cheated on admissions tests and arranged for bribes to get their children into prestigious schools including Yale, […]

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K-pop star Seungri retires amid sex-for-investment allegations

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean pop star Seungri on Monday announced his retirement from show business amid mounting criminal investigations including his alleged involvement in a sex-for-investments scandal. The 29-year-old singer from K-pop boy band BIGBANG is accused of lobbying potential investors by offering sex services at multiple nightclubs in Seoul’s posh Gangnam district. He faced police questioning at the weekend. “It would be better for me to retire from the entertainment business […]

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Second South Korean star quits as K-pop sex scandal spreads

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A burgeoning K-pop sex scandal claimed a second scalp as a singer who rose to fame after coming second in one of South Korea’s top talent shows admitted secretly filming himself having sex and sharing the footage. Jung Joon-young, 30, announced his immediate retirement from showbusiness amid allegations he shot and shared sexual imagery without his partners’ consent. “I admit to all my crimes,” he said. “I filmed women […]

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Oh baby, baby… Britney Spears hits set for Broadway

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Britney Spears is heading to Broadway, the singer announced Tuesday, in the form of a fairytale jukebox musical with a feminist bent set to the pop star’s hits. “Once Upon a One More Time” begins previews and then a limited run in Chicago from October 29 before setting its sights on New York. “I’m so excited to have a musical with my songs — especially one that takes place […]

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‘Captain Marvel’ soars to rarefied heights in N.American opening

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — “Captain Marvel,” the first Marvel Studios/Disney superhero film with a female lead, has soared to rare heights in North American theaters, with whopping weekend ticket sales of $153 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported. Added to the $302 million taken in internationally, the film’s estimated total of $455 million for the three-day weekend would give it the sixth highest global debut ever, according to Variety, and the best domestic […]

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US ‘Jeopardy!’ host Alex Trebek announces pancreatic cancer

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Alex Trebek, the beloved host of US game show ‘Jeopardy!’, announced Wednesday that he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer. The Canadian said he planned to “beat the low survival rates for this illness” and keep working on NBC’s long-running syndicated TV show. “This week I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer,” Trebek said in a video shared on the show’s Twitter account. “Truth be told, I have to (keep […]

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‘After Neverland’: Oprah interviews men who claimed Michael Jackson abused them as minors

  NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Celebrity talk show host Oprah Winfrey waded into the Michael Jackson debate Monday, hosting an hour-long interview of the men who say the late superstar sexually abused them as minors. The special aired on HBO after the conclusion of the network’s presentation of a bombshell four-hour documentary entitled “Leaving Neverland,” which has thrown the late Jackson’s legacy into question nearly a decade after his death. Calling sexual abuse […]

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Luke Perry, star of ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ dead at 52

by Javier TOVAR Agence France Presse LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Actor Luke Perry, who rose to fame as a heartthrob in the hit 1990s television series “Beverly Hills, 90210,” died on Monday at the age of 52 after suffering a massive stroke, his agent said. Perry, who was hospitalized in the Los Angeles area last week, died surrounded by his children Jack and Sophie, his fiancee and ex-wife, his parents, siblings and other […]

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‘Train Your Dragon’ stays aloft atop N.American box office

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” has topped the North American box office for a second straight weekend, losing a bit of altitude but still edging the latest Tyler Perry film, according to industry estimates. Universal’s final installment in the “Dragon” trilogy is expected to earn $30 million for the three-day weekend, down 45 percent from last weekend but still bringing its North American total earnings to […]

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US music industry streams double-digit revenue growth

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The US music industry posted its third straight year of double-digit growth in 2018 thanks to continued surges in streaming, an industry tracker said Thursday. Revenues from recorded music jumped 12 percent to $9.8 billion in estimated retail value, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, with 75 percent of revenues coming from streaming. The RIAA said paid subscriptions of streaming services like Spotify and Tidal soared to […]

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Jonas Brothers reunite, will release first new music in years

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The Jonas Brothers are getting the band back together — and will release their first single in six years, the heartthrob trio announced Thursday. “We’re baaaccckkkk…” the band tweeted. The Grammy-nominated boy band is set to drop their new song “Sucker” Friday at midnight, their label said, after splitting nearly six years ago, citing a “deep rift in the band.” The brothers — Joe, 29, Kevin, 31, and Nick, […]

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Hit song ‘Despacito’ breaks YouTube record with six billion views

PARIS, France (AFP) — The mega-hit “Despacito” by the Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi has become the most watched video ever on YouTube with more than six billion views, the Google-owned service said Tuesday. The video, first released in January 2017 by Fonsi and Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee, already holds the record for the fastest two billion, three billion and four billion views (272 days). Fonsi’s Spanish-language hit, whose English title is “Slowly”, has […]

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