Entertainment

British pop star Ed Sheeran has lost all of the musicians booked to open his upcoming concerts after rapper Macklemore was dropped from the lineup over pro-Palestine remarks, according to NBC News. Finneas, Aaron Rowe, Beoga and Lukas Graham have all pulled out in protest.The dispute erupted after Macklemore, whose real name is Ben Haggerty, joined Sheeran’s Loop tour at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey earlier this month. He told the crowd “Free Palestine” before performing Hind’s Hall, his protest song about the Gaza war, and later said he had been removed from the remaining dates after several venues objected to his participation.Finneas announced on Tuesday that he was withdrawing from his scheduled appearances, saying he stood “with Palestine and its people.”“Artists must not be silenced...

Bison and Hurricanes are normal names for American football teams. How about the Litwins, though? Well, it’s normal if you happen to be in Belarus and in love with the real form of football. This July, the Litwins were crowned league champions after slaughtering the Bison 42-0 in the American Football League 9 Final. But just how is such a foreign sport surviving in a country that most Americans couldn’t find on a map?Goodbye Lenin, Hello Uncle SamThe country’s leading club, the Minsk Zubrs (Bison), were formed in 1991 and initially had to rely on competition outside the country. They became three-time champions of the CIS nations, champions of Ukraine, Baltic champions, and, finally, properly Belarusian champs having faced Belarusian opposition. The founders, who all came from other sport...

A loud argument between Russian intelligentsia over Schubert, Bach, and the merits of a fugue has delighted millions of viewers far beyond the Russian-speaking internet.  Here's the backgroud.Set the scene.St. Petersburg, 2019. Three old friends are bantering around a table when the topic naturally turns to Franz Schubert, as it does, and things get emotional.Who is at the table?Esteemed musicologist Natalia Entelis is at a post-lunch table with friends; former orchestral violinist Emil Finkelstein and his wife Elena Fradkina, who was celebrating her 80th birthday. Their daughter, pianist Polina Fradkina, who – possibly knowing what was coming – recorded the video, posted it online recently in connection with comments over the merits of an online music course, and it has struck a chord. Wh...

Horsemen, wrestlers, and archers are testing their strength and skill against the spectacular backdrop of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, where the sixth World Nomad Games are in full swing.Competitors from 90 countries are taking part in 43 disciplines rooted in nomadic traditions, ranging from eagle hunting, horseback wrestling, and archery to tug-of-war and traditional intellectual games.Horses take center stage in many of the events of the Games, which run through September 6. In ‘er enish’ (horseback wrestling), two mounted wrestlers try to drag each other from the saddle, while ‘tyiyn enmei’ (coin picking) requires riders to lean almost to the ground at full gallop to pick up an object.Then there is ‘kok-boru’ (gray wolf), perhaps the games’ most famous spectacle, in which two teams on...

Vietnamese artist Duc Phuc triumphed at the Intervision contest in Moscow on Saturday night with his song ‘Phu Dong Thien Vuong’.The track, which mixes rap with folk music, was inspired by the story of mythical Vietnamese hero Thanh Giong, a boy who defeated invaders riding an iron horse.Phuc received 422 points, while the runners-up, the Nomad Trio from Kyrgyzstan, earned 373 points. Dana Al Meer of Qatar came in third with 369 points.Singer Shaman (Yaroslav Dronov), representing Russia, asked the jury not to vote for him, arguing that his country had already won by hosting Intervision.A total of 22 countries in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa were represented at the event at Moscow’s Live Arena. ...

Vietnamese pop star Duc Phuc, who won this year’s Intervision song contest in Moscow on Saturday, has announced plans to donate part of his 30-million-ruble prize (around $358,000) money to Russian charity.The Hanoi-born artist won the Vietnamese version of The Voice in 2015 and has since released many hits in his home country, where he is widely recognized for his philanthropic work.“I’ll share a little secret. I want to find a charitable foundation in Russia and donate the prize money I receive to it,” the singer said during an appearance on the show Let Them Talk on Channel One. ...

Russian figure skaters Adeliia Petrosian and Petr Gumennik have won the qualifiers for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games after standout performances in China on Sunday. Both are set to compete as neutral athletes in next year’s Games in Italy due to ongoing Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia.Gumennik racked up 262.82 points to capture the men’s singles title at the ISU Olympic qualifier in Beijing, cruising to victory by a commanding 34-point margin. He swept both the short program and free skate with a string of clean quadruple jumps and top-level spins and step sequences.His win came a day after fellow Russian Adeliia Petrosian, praised for her graceful jumps and expressive style, captured the women’s title with 209.63 points, with a Michael Jackson-themed short program and Argentine t...

Think ‘Sesame Street’ but with death, depression, and existential dread. At first glance, it looks like any other children’s cartoon: Round, brightly colored animals teaching kids to share, be polite, and cross the street safely. But Russia’s most beloved animated series, ‘Smeshariki’ – released internationally as ‘KikoRiki’ and in the US as ‘GoGoRiki’ or ‘BalloonToons’ – hides something stranger.Beneath the cheerful surface lies a world of heart attacks, suicide jokes, and meditations on the meaning of life. In Russia, a country where fairy tales have never shied away from darkness, it’s no wonder this cartoon became both a cultural phenomenon and an internet cult.The birth of Russia’s ‘two-level’ cartoonsSoviet animators worked under conditions that would have killed off most creative in...

US streaming giant Netflix has lost about $15 billion in market value after billionaire Elon Musk accused the platform of “woke bias” and urged his followers to cancel subscriptions.Netflix shares fell 4.3% in a day and a half to $1,140 by midday Thursday, cutting its market cap to $483 billion from $498 billion on Wednesday, trading data showed.The drop came after Musk called on users to boycott Netflix over the animated show ‘Dead End: Paranormal Park’, which features a transgender character. Although canceled in 2023 after two seasons, the show remains available on the platform with a TV-Y7 rating for children seven and older.Musk’s campaign began on Tuesday when he reposted a clip on X showing one of the show’s characters identifying as transgender. “Dead End Paranormal Park, a show on...

US hip hop mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has been sentenced to four years and two months in prison for transporting former girlfriends to engage in prostitution. The Bad Boy Records founder was also fined $500,000.Combs’ former partners, singer Cassie Ventura and a woman identified in court as Jane, testified that he abused them and forced them to participate in alcohol- and drug-fueled “freak-off” sex parties.In July, the jury convicted Combs on two counts of transportation for the purposes of prostitution, but acquitted him of sex trafficking and racketeering charges. ...