Entertainment

Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub has said the US and Canada denied him visas to attend the FIFA World Cup, as unexpected entry restrictions have affected accredited delegates from across Africa and the Middle East.The tournament, which began on Thursday, is being jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the US. Although the Palestinian team did not qualify for the competition, FIFA typically invites the heads of football associations from member nations to the event, which it presents as a celebration of global unity.Rajoub, who attended the opening match between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City, told AFP on Saturday that he would return to the Palestinian territories after Tunisia’s match against Sweden on June 14. ...

American singer Oliver Tree was among the six people killed when two helicopters collided over southwest Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, Globo1 and CNN Brasil have reported, citing local police.Firefighters were called to the scene of a collision involving two aircraft at around 9 am. Acting Rio de Janeiro State Governor Claudio Castro confirmed that all six people aboard were killed.Tree and Argentine YouTuber Gaspi were among the victims. They shared one of the helicopters with a music producer and a music video director, along with the pilot, Globo1 reported, citing the police.The second helicopter reportedly carried only its pilot.Security footage circulating on social media appears to catch a brief moment when one of the helicopters plummets out of the sky, spinning out of control.Acidente ...

Working out in the gym on Monday, after rugby training on Sunday, was difficult. So, a dose of John Oliver’s politically motivated rants are good to distract from a painful recovery session. When he chose the current FIFA World Cup and the restrictions imposed on visiting fans, I thought – You are the type of person who will screech about how awful FIFA is, yet sit in their underpants screaming for England to win, while watching as many games as possible. However, his hypocritical rhetoric took me back to the Russian World Cup of 2018 and its aftermath. Because I knew, 100% knew, that his invective was dangerously uninformed.In August 2018, my neighbor, the then-Tunisian military attaché, told me that at a recent meeting of African ambassadors, there were major concerns about Africans who ...

The Eurasian Cinema Academy has launched the selection process for films competing for the 2026 Diamond Butterfly awards, with screenings already underway ahead of the ceremony in Moscow, organizers announced on Tuesday.The event is billed as an alternative to mainstream Western film awards, promoting works rooted in traditional values that reject the ‘wokeism’ and political messaging which organizers say have become increasingly prevalent in contemporary cinema.Renowned Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov spearheaded the creation of the Eurasian Cinema Academy and the Diamond Butterfly award with support from Russia’s Culture Ministry and Foreign Ministry. Organizers say the initiative aims to foster cultural exchange and promote films that reflect both “national” and “universal spiritual a...

Multi-award-winning Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev has been added to Ukraine’s notorious Mirotvorets (Peacemaker) ‘kill list’ for visiting Crimea.According to the entry, the director supposedly violated “Ukraine’s territorial integrity” by setting foot in the region that overwhelmingly voted to become part of Russia in a 2014 referendum. Kiev still claims the territory and refuses to recognize the outcome of the vote.The personal details of Zvyagintsev’s mother, Galina, and his wife, Anna Matveeva, have also been doxed.The filmmaker, who currently resides in France, has been openly critical of Russia’s military campaign against Ukraine.Taking the podium at the Cannes Film Festival in May, after his film Minotaur was awarded the Grand Prix, Zvyagintsev addressed Russian President Vlad...

One person has been killed and eight others injured in a stampede as thousands of football fans gathered to watch a World Cup match in the Jordanian capital, Amman, according to the local authorities.People converged on Hashemite Plaza to support the Jordanian national team as it faced Algeria early on Tuesday. This year marks the first time the Middle Eastern nation has qualified for the World Cup.Videos circulating on social media show the Roman Theater packed with football fans watching the game on giant screens.At one point, the situation appears to spiral out of control, with at least one video showing scenes of chaos.#الأردنتدافع الجماهير الاردنية في المدرج الروماني..--- من الوطنية ان تشجع فريق وطنك، ولكن الاولى ان تكون هذه الحماسة في الدفاع عن حقوقك كمواطن، على الله تعود...#احرار_ال...

As a former international athlete, seeing your flag raised or hearing your anthem play is a nice bonus. Ultimately you compete for yourself, and win or lose you do it for yourself too. Yes, family, club, coach, friends, pets, nation etc., are important, but so long as you’re treated the same as those you’re up against, you can go and give it your best shot. However, after interviewing Russians since 2019 who saw their flag and anthem banned, I asked myself – what if when I competed, the Irish flag and anthem was banned?It’s Groundhog Day and the sports world is marching to the beat of the anti-sport drum yet again. Despite ruling that Russian and Belarusian athletes be treated as equals, a Romanian city hosting a sports event for females decided the best way to empower young women was to h...

This weekend the National Hockey League (NHL) Draft takes place in Buffalo, New York, and the business of sport will outplay geopolitics. Since the 1970s Summit Series, the Transatlantic and Transpacific dialogue between North America and Russia hinged on ice hockey. Then, pro teams in the US and Canada looked covetously upon the Soviet Union’s Big Red Machine and dreamed of ‘freeing’ goalie Vladislav Tretyak and winger Valeri Kharlamov from communism. However, the capitalism then of using up and disposing of men is very different now, where teens become millionaires in a matter of minutes.The youngsters from Russia about to be drafted into the biggest hockey league in the world expect to earn millions and never have to work a day in their lives once they retire. After 21 Russians were sel...

Hasbro, the US entertainment company behind the children’s animated television series Peppa Pig, is asking child voice actors to sign over rights to use their voices for artificial intelligence (AI) under new contract terms, Deadline reported this week.The reported move has drawn criticism from representatives of child performers, who say it raises concerns over consent and the use of AI.The controversy reflects broader questions over the growing use of AI tools in the entertainment industry. Advances in digital voice-cloning technology have enabled companies to recreate human voices with increasing accuracy, prompting performers to warn that their work could be replicated without their consent or adequate compensation, reducing overall demand for professional voice actors.Industry sources...

A nationwide contest for music videos in the languages of Russia’s ethnic groups is being launched to give regional performers a broader platform while helping to promote and preserve the country’s cultural heritage. The ‘Strana zvuchit’ (The Country Sounds) contest is being organized by RU.TV music channel, part of the Russian Media Group. It will kick off on July 1 as part of the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia and is open to artists who use their native languages, local traditions, and regional cultural heritage in their work. The project aims to bring together performers from different regions and introduce a wider audience to the musical styles of Russia’s many peoples.Although Russian is the country’s only official language at the federal level, around 155 distinct languages a...