American R&B icon Bruce Springsteen becomes first international songwriter to be made fellow of Britain’s Ivors Academy
Over the last half century, the Born to Run musician has sold more than 140 million records worldwide — from his 1973 debut Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ to his most recent studio album Only the Strong Survive in 2022, with a liberal dusting of top honours along the way, including 20 Grammys, an Oscar and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Pop star Shakira revisits how she turned pain into ‘tears of triumph and tears of self-recognition’ in new album
In reality, the last few years haven’t been kind to Shakira. In 2022, after 11 years and two children together, she separated from soccer player Gerard Piqué, leading to what she’s called the “dissolution of my family.” She faced charges of tax evasion in Spain; in November 2023, she received a suspended three-year sentence and paid a fine of €7.3 million ($8 million) in addition to previously unpaid taxes and interest.
Transition: Actor Louis Gossett Jr, first Black to win supporting actor Oscar in ‘Roots’ movie dies
Gossett went to Hollywood for the first time in 1961 to make the film version of A Raisin in the Sun. He had bitter memories of that trip, staying in a cockroach-infested motel that was one of the few places to allow Black people.
After Museveni rose to power in 1986 Banyarwanda ‘refugee cattle’ enjoyed more protection than indigenous Ugandans
During the bush war, Museveni practised preferential treatment for the Banyarwanda fighters. Unlike the Baganda, Bahima and other tribes, the Banyarwanda fighters owed the total loyalty to Museveni. Externally, the Banyarwanda Tutsi political organisation, Rwandese Alliance for National Unit (RANU) banked on the Banyarwanda in the NRA for its future prospects of “liberating Rwanda.”
Unpacking real story behind Bill Gates, GMO potatoes and McDonald’s French fries in solving Africa’s climate change issues
“Gates’ farmland is held by more than 20 shell companies spread across the country. Some lead back to a P.O. Box in Kirkland, Washington, the city where Cascade Asset Management, which manages all Gates’ investments, is headquartered.
Black music queen Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ reinforces her devotion to Black consciousness and country music
Beyoncé hails from Houston, a city with a rich musical interplay of “blues and country and hip-hop,” says Francesca T. Royster, a DePaul University professor and author of Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions.
Not in Jesus’ name: Kenya starts to hand over to relatives bodies of 429 followers of a doomsday cult
The Kenya Human Rights Commission last week said police failed to act on reports that could have prevented the deaths in the remote Shakahola area. Several reports had been filed at police stations by people whose relatives had entered the forested area.
You have heard of ‘Google doesn’t forget’, but you didn’t know it has ‘Eyes’ and ‘Ears’ on even your small talk with your spouse
Other privacy concerns include the following: Tracking of your whereabouts 24/7. In 2022, four attorneys general sued Google for its deceptive practices in collecting location data, as they continue to track location data even after users disable location tracking. By tracking your Google calendar entries, combined with your location data, Google also knows what events you’ve attended, when and for how long.
PM Modi’s government announces start of India’s enactment of citizenship law that excludes Muslims
The National Register of Citizens is part of Modi government’s effort to identify and weed out people it claims came to India illegally. The register has only been implemented in the northeastern state of Assam, and the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party has promised to roll out a similar citizenship verification programme nationwide.
Money talks: Media mogul Rupert Murdoch to marry at 93, days after he was engaged to another woman for two weeks
Previously, he was married to Patricia Booker, an Australian, with whom he had Prudence, and then to Scottish-born journalist Anna Torv, with whom he had Lachlan, James and Elisabeth. These four Murdoch children have the same stake in the family trust and an equal say in what happens to the trust’s voting stock upon Murdoch’s death. He later married Chinese-born Wendi Deng, whom he divorced in 2013 after having two daughters, Grace and Chloe.
