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Talking culture: Dior stands by Depp and hope for music festivals

Andrea Bolitho discusses this week's arts and entertainment news.

View on euronews

Latest Stories

  • Covid: Brazil approves and rolls out AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines

    A nurse receives the first jab, after months of delay and political discord over the programme.

  • I'm very secure with myself and a lot more fearless at this stage of my career, says Anil Kapoor

    Anil Kapoor, an actor who has reinvented himself and has always managed to stay relevant without a lull in his career, says he is 'more fearless' about the roles he selects.

  • Biden concert - as it happened: Cher tells Joe Biden ‘this is your time’ as virtual show kicks off Inauguration Week

    ‘We The People’ concert is one in a series of events planned for Inauguration Week

  • Two scoring flurries lead Florida Panthers to season-opening win over Chicago Blackhawks

    It took the Florida Panthers some time to get the offense going on Sunday night against the Chicago Blackhawks. That’s to be expected when nearly half of the 20 players on the active roster for the first game of the season are new to the team and there were all of 11 practices and no preseason games to get acclimated with each others.

  • Covid-19: China's economy grows in fourth quarter, bucking global trend

    China's economy grew at 2.3% for the year, making it the only major economy to see growth last year.

  • FBI vetting Guard troops in DC amid fears of insider attack

    WASHINGTON — U.S. defence officials say they are worried about an insider attack or other threat from service members involved in securing President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, prompting the FBI to vet all of the 25,000 National Guard troops coming into Washington for the event. The massive undertaking reflects the extraordinary security concerns that have gripped Washington following the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump rioters. And it underscores fears that some of the very people assigned to protect the city over the next several days could present a threat to the incoming president and other VIPs in attendance. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told The Associated Press on Sunday that officials are conscious of the potential threat, and he warned commanders to be on the lookout for any problems within their ranks as the inauguration approaches. So far, however, he and other leaders say they have seen no evidence of any threats, and officials said the vetting hadn't flagged any issues. ”We’re continually going through the process, and taking second, third looks at every one of the individuals assigned to this operation,” McCarthy said in an interview after he and other military leaders went through an exhaustive, three-hour security drill in preparation for Wednesday’s inauguration. He said Guard members are also getting training on how to identify potential insider threats. About 25,000 members of the National Guard are streaming into Washington from across the country — at least two and a half times the number for previous inaugurals. And while the military routinely reviews service members for extremist connections, the FBI screening is in addition to any previous monitoring. Multiple officials said the process began as the first Guard troops began deploying to D.C. more than a week ago. And they said it is slated to be complete by Wednesday. “The question is, is that all of them? Are there others?” said McCarthy. “We need to be conscious of it and we need to put all of the mechanisms in place to thoroughly vet these men and women who would support any operations like this.” In a situation like this one, FBI vetting would involve running peoples’ names through databases and watchlists maintained by the bureau to see if anything alarming comes up. That could include involvement in prior investigations or terrorism-related concerns, said David Gomez, a former FBI national security supervisor in Seattle. Insider threats have been a persistent law enforcement priority in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But in most cases, the threats are from homegrown insurgents radicalized by al-Qaida, the Islamic State group or similar groups. In contrast, the threats against Biden’s inauguration have been fueled by supporters of President Donald Trump, far-right militants, white supremacists and other radical groups. Many believe Trump’s baseless accusations that the election was stolen from him, a claim that has been refuted by many courts, the Justice Department and Republican officials in key battleground states. Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press

  • Records: Trump allies behind rally that ignited Capitol riot

    WASHINGTON — Veterans of President Donald Trump’s failed reelection campaign had key roles in orchestrating the Washington rally that spawned a deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol, according to an Associated Press review of records, undercutting the grassroots image pushed by groups involved in the event. A pro-Trump non-profit organization called Women for America First hosted the “Save America Rally” on Jan. 6 at the Ellipse, a federally owned patch of land near the White House. But an attachment to the permit, granted by the National Park Service, lists more than half a dozen people in staff positions who just weeks earlier had been paid thousands of dollars by Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign. Other staff scheduled to be “on site” during the protest have close ties to the White House. Since the siege, several of them have scrambled to distance themselves from the rally. The riot at the Capitol, incited by Trump’s comments before and during his speech at the Ellipse, has led to a reckoning unprecedented in American history. A week later, Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives, becoming the first U.S. president to be impeached twice. But the political and legal fallout may stretch well beyond Trump, who will exit the White House before Democrat Joe Biden takes the oath of office on Wednesday. Trump had refused for nearly two months to accept his loss in the 2020 election. Women for America First did not respond to messages seeking comment about how the event was financed and about the Trump campaign’s involvement. The rally drew tens of thousands of people. In a statement, the Trump reelection campaign said it “did not organize, operate or finance the event.” No campaign staff members were involved in the organization or operation of the rally, according to the statement. It said that if any former employees or independent contractors for the campaign took part, “they did not do so at the direction of the Trump campaign.” At least one was working for the Trump campaign this month. Megan Powers was listed as one of two operations managers for the Jan. 6 event. Her LinkedIn profile says she was the Trump campaign’s director of operations into January 2021. She did not respond to a message seeking comment. AP’s review found at least three of the Trump campaign aides named on the permit rushed to obscure their connections to the demonstration. They deactivated or locked down their social media profiles, removed tweets that referenced the rally and blocked a reporter who asked questions. Caroline Wren, a veteran GOP fundraiser, is named as a “VIP Advisor” on an attachment to the permit that Women for America First provided to the Park Service. Between mid-March and mid-November, Donald J. Trump for President Inc. paid Wren $20,000 a month, according to Federal Election Commission records. During the campaign, she was a national finance consultant for Trump Victory, a joint fundraising committee. Wren did not return messages seeking comment and locked her Twitter account after the AP reached out to her last Monday to ask her about her involvement in the rally and the tweets she had removed. Several days later, she blocked the AP reporter. Maggie Mulvaney, a niece of former top Trump aide Mick Mulvaney, is listed on the permit attachment as the “VIP Lead.” She worked as director of finance operations for the Trump campaign, according to her LinkedIn profile. FEC records show Maggie Mulvaney was earning $5,000 every two weeks from Trump’s reelection campaign, with the most recent payment reported on November 13. Maggie Mulvaney had taken down her Twitter account as of last Monday, although it reappeared after an AP reporter asked her about the account’s removal. On Sunday, the same day the AP published this report, she blocked that AP reporter on Twitter. She did not respond to messages seeking comment. In a statement issued the same day rioters attacked the Capitol, Amy Kremer, president of Women for America First, denounced the assault and said it was instigated after the rally by a “handful of bad actors,” while seeming to blame Democrats and news organizations for the riot. The AP reviewed social media posts, voter registrations, court files and other public records for more than 120 people either facing criminal charges related to the Jan. 6 unrest or identified through photographs and videos taken during the melee. The review found the crowd was overwhelmingly made up of longtime Trump supporters, including Republican Party officials, GOP political donors, far-right militants, white supremacists, off-duty police, members of the military and adherents of the QAnon myth that the government is secretly controlled by a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophile cannibals. Trump’s incendiary remarks at the Jan. 6 rally culminated a two-day series of events in Washington, organized by a coalition of the president’s supporters who echoed his baseless accusations that the election had been stolen from him. A website, MarchtoSaveAmerica.com, sprung up to promote the pro-Trump events and alerted followers, “At 1 PM, we protest at US Capitol.” The website has been deactivated. Kimberly Fletcher, the Moms for America president, said she wasn’t aware the Trump campaign had a role in the rally at the Ellipse until around New Year’s Day. While she didn’t work directly with the campaign, Fletcher did notice a shift in who was involved in the rally and who would be speaking. “When I got there and I saw the size of the stage and everything, I’m like, ‘Wow, we couldn’t possibly have afforded that,’” she said. “It was a big stage. It was a very professional stage. I don’t know who was in the background or who put it together or anything.” In addition to the large stage, the rally on the Ellipse featured a sophisticated sound system and at least three Jumbotron-style screens projecting the president’s image to the crowd. Videos posted online show Trump and his family in a nearby private tent watching the rally on monitors as music blared in the background. Tim Unes, the founder and president of Event Strategies, was the “stage manager” for the Jan. 6 rally, according to the permit paperwork. Unes has longstanding ties to Trump, a connection he highlights on his company’s website. Trump’s presidential campaign paid Event Strategies $1.3 million in 2020 for “audio visual services,” according to the campaign finance records. The company declined to comment for this story. ___ Smith reported from Providence, Rhode Island. ___ Associated Press researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York and Associated Press writer Zeke Miller contributed to this report. Richard Lardner And Michelle R. Smith, The Associated Press

  • Dr. Dre back in the studio just a day after release from hospital for brain aneurysm

    Dr. Dre is back in the studio just a day after getting home from the hospital. He was reportedly taken to the ICU on Jan. 4, following a brain aneurysm.

  • China’s Economy Grew 2.3% in 2020, Accelerating Global Rise

    (Bloomberg) -- China’s economy recovered to pre-pandemic growth rates in the fourth quarter, propelling it to full-year expansion of 2.3% and making it the only major one to avoid contraction.Gross domestic product climbed 6.5% in the final quarter from a year earlier, fueled by stronger-than-expected industrial output, the statistics bureau said Monday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted 6.2% growth for the quarter and 2.1% for the full year.The recovery was aided early on by fiscal and monetary stimulus that boosted investment in infrastructure and real estate. Once China had virus cases under control and factories were able to resume production, growth was spurred by strong overseas consumer demand for Chinese exports, especially medical equipment and work-from-home devices.“The quarter really seems to have shown the economy ended the year on a strong note, manufacturing is doing well,” said Cui Li, head of macro research at CCB International Holdings Ltd. in Hong Kong said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. The softer-than-expected retail sales data in December may reflect the cooler weather and the resurgent virus in northern parts of China as some cities enforce new restrictions to control the outbreak.The onshore yuan strengthened as much as 0.06% to 6.4779 versus the dollar after the release of GDP growth figures, while the ChiNext Index of small caps gained 1.6%. The yield on the most actively traded contract of 10-year government bonds gained 2 basis points to 3.165%, set for the highest in two weeks.Emerging from the pandemic larger than when it started is a capstone to a dramatic year for the world’s second-largest economy, which began 2020 with a historic first-quarter slump when the coronavirus lockdowns brought most activity to a halt.With global output likely contracting 4.2% last year, China’s gains mean it increased its share of the world economy to 14.5%, according to World Bank estimates, compared with 22% for the U.S. Based on projections from the International Monetary Fund, China will now overtake the U.S. by 2028, two years earlier than previously predicted, according to Nomura Holdings Inc.Economists expect China’s GDP will expand 8.2% this year, continuing to outpace global peers, even as other large economies begin to recover with vaccines being rolled out.The ongoing recovery in 2021 will depend on whether China can prevent a large-scale spread of virus infections, and on whether it can pass the baton of spending from local governments and large state companies to smaller businesses and consumers. Household spending and investment by manufacturing companies has lagged overall growth in 2020.An increasingly tense trade relationship with the U.S. could also weigh on the outlook. In his final weeks in office, President Donald Trump has tightened restrictions on Chinese businesses to curb the nation’s dominance in high-tech industries, roiling financial markets. It’s still unclear how the incoming administration under Joe Biden will navigate those issues.Global demand for Chinese-made goods is expected to remain strong as the pandemic continues to keep large parts of the world’s population locked down. Already the top exporter, the value of China’s goods shipments increased 3.6% in 2020, according to official data. Imports declined 1.1%, resulting in a $535 billion annual trade surplus, the highest since 2015.The fiscal and monetary stimulus to support the economy through the pandemic has been accompanied by a surge in debt, a development that authorities are now seeking to address as the recovery takes hold. At a December meeting to lay out economic goals for 2021, the ruling Communist Party signaled that stimulus would be gradually withdrawn, although it would avoid any “sharp turns” in policy.(Updates with comment from economist, market reaction.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Roman Sadovsky wins the Challenge, his only event of the figure skating season

    Six weeks after he skated his only competitive free program of a figure season wiped out by COVID-19, Roman Sadovsky watched the event play out alone in his basement apartment of his parents' house.The suspense was agonizing, like throwing up a buzzer-beater with the game on the line, and having to wait six weeks to see if it drops through the hoop."I sort of just cooped up down in my basement, my parents watched it upstairs," Sadovsky said. "I felt like I needed to watch it alone. I didn't need all these people watching beside me and hearing their opinions too. So I just kept to myself . . . and watching it was honestly excruciating."The 21-year-old from Vaughan, Ont., the leader after the short program, landed a pair of quad jumps in his free skate to Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars" -- a pre-recorded program from early December -- to win the Challenge with 262.01 points."Usually when we skate, we have maybe two minutes that we kind of absorb what we did, and then we get a score, and we have a result," said Sadovsky, the reigning Canadian champion. "But with a month-and-half, you have so much time to overthink, and then you start forgetting the details of what you did. "Because as you skate, it blurs out, you go into autopilot. You don't consolidate any of that memory. It's all gone."Nam Nguyen of Toronto was second with 256.43, while Toronto's Corey Circelli won the bronze (235.50).Among sports, the global pandemic has been particularly unkind to figure skating. The world championships last March in Montreal were among the first major international event erased by COVID-19, and it's been a snowball of cancelled events ever since.Next month's Canadian championships were recently cancelled, leaving the Challenge as the only event this season for Canadians. And it was a makeshift competition, originally slated to be held live in Edmonton.Instead, it was virtual and pre-recorded. Skaters performed their programs for a video crew in their home rinks over the last few weeks, and those programs were broadcast — and judged — over the past two weekends. "It's so bizarre. Everything was bizarre this year," Sadovsky said. Sadovsky said the cancellation of the national championships in Vancouver wasn't surprising as Canada struggles with COVID-19's second wave. The news was still heartbreaking. "I watched this performance, and there's a lot left to be desired, and a lot that I wish I would have done. So that's the biggest part for me," Sadovsky said. "It's very disappointing, especially on a national stage for that program, that I couldn't have that one more opportunity to skate this year."Sadovsky was happy his mom Olha and dad Mykola got to see him skate at least once this season, albeit on TV."Usually they come and watch me practise occasionally because I live pretty close to my training facility, but they actually haven't seen me skate even in person since the lockdown," Sadovsky said. "It's just impossible for them. So for them, (Saturday) was a pretty special moment."Sadovsky has almost 20,000 followers of his YouTube channel "Romsky," and nearly a million views. He produces pieces in his mini basement studio. Sadovsky was philosophical about the crazy year that was 2020 and the uncertain future in his short film called "The Next Episode.""At this point we're living in a movie, with a director that has a very interesting vision with a series of plot twists that you would never expect, nor did you ever ask for. And it's been getting a little bit messy," Sadovsky says in the three-minute piece."Lately it just seems we make these big strides forward only to get pushed back again, and it feels irritatingly stagnant. . . Regardless of the movie that we live in, what kind of a movie would it be without a solution? In the end, we are the protagonists that need to find that solution."The biggest question for me is how long with this episode be? Perhaps scariest part of any movie is the unknown of where it's going. The path is completely unclear." The Canadian championships in this pre-Olympic season would have also determined the team for the world championships in March in Stockholm. The worlds are still scheduled to go ahead, but plenty of questions have been raised about them as well. Keegan Messing is the only Canadian to have competed internationally this season, finishing third in men's singles at Skate America. He didn't compete in the Challenge.Madeline Schizas won the women's single title on Saturday, while Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro won the pairs title awarded last weekend.On Sunday, reigning Canadian champions Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier had the best score in the senior dance event at 223.33. Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen finished second with 206.91 while Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha finished third with 200.42. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2021. Lori Ewing, The Canadian Press

  • Justin Timberlake Confirms He and Wife Jessica Biel Welcomed Second Child Named Phineas

    "He's awesome and so cute," Justin Timberlake said.

  • 'My skin was bright red': 'compromised' facial mask recalled after users report burns

    'My skin was bright red': 'compromised' facial mask recalled after users report burnsConsumers urged to self-test skincare and beauty products in Australia’s largely unregulated market after users react to Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask

  • GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia shares pare losses as China GDP pips forecasts

    Asian share markets pared early losses on Monday as data confirmed China's economy had bounced back last quarter as factory output jumped, helping offset recent disappointing news on U.S. consumer spending. Industrial production for December also beat estimates, though retail sales missed the mark. The pick-up in China was a marked contrast to the U.S. and Europe, where the spread of coronavirus has scarred consumer spending, underlined by dismal U.S. retail sales reported on Friday.

  • China's fourth quarter GDP growth beats forecast, ends 2020 in solid position after COVID-19 shock

    China's economy grew at a faster-than-expected pace in the fourth quarter of last year, ending a rough coronavirus-striken 2020 in remarkably good shape and remained solidly poised to expand further this year. The gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 6.5%, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday, faster than the 6.1% forecast by economists in a Reuters poll, and followed 4.9% growth in the third quarter. GDP grew 2.3% in 2020, the data showed, making China the only major economy in the world to avoid a contraction last year as many nations struggled to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Covid: Australian Open players frustrated by quarantine after positive cases

    Dozens of top players are confined to hotel rooms, as people on three flights to the event test positive.

  • Kemba Walker returns for Celtics after knee injury: 'I don't feel anything and it's joy'

    "It feels weird actually not having pain."

  • Ambuja and ACC Cement Digital Transformation with Blue Yonder

    ACC Limited and Ambuja Cements Ltd., the two Indian units of LafargeHolcim, announced that they have chosen Blue Yonder®, the world’s leading, end-to-end, digital supply chain platform provider, for their supply chain transformation and digitalization. Both ACC and Ambuja Cement have implemented Blue Yonder Luminate Planning.

  • Loved 'Bridgerton'? Here are 5 great TV shows to watch next

    Netflix's romantic drama 'Bridgerton.' set in the early 19th century, captivated viewers. Here's what fans might like to watch next.

  • Oil Extends Losses on Stronger Dollar and Still-Surging Virus

    (Bloomberg) -- Oil extended losses in Asia on a stronger dollar and a still-surging coronavirus after slumping the most in almost four weeks on Friday following the release of disappointing U.S. economic data.Futures in New York fell below $52 a barrel after tumbling 2.3% on Friday. The dollar held gains Monday after advancing last week, reducing the appeal of commodities like oil that are priced in the currency. Chinese economic growth and industrial production data released Monday came in ahead of estimates, helping oil to pare losses slightly.Covid-19 continues to spread rapidly, complicating the global recovery in energy demand. The U.S. is on track to reach 400,000 deaths before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday, while the U.K. is closing its travel corridors with countries around the world as cases spike.Crude still managed to eke out a small gain last week, helped by a rebalancing of commodity indexes and the promise of more U.S. stimulus spending. However, the rally that started in early November and has pushed oil to the highest in almost a year looks to be stalling amid a worsening short-term demand outlook.The dip in prices on Friday was a “breather” for a market that has rallied strongly, said Howie Lee, an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. “Biden’s inauguration will be the focus of markets this week, particularly on how quickly he can roll out his fiscal stimulus plans.”Libya’s oil output, meanwhile, has dropped by about 200,000 barrels a day after the closure of a leaking pipeline. The decline underscores how difficult it is for the country to maintain production after almost a decade of civil war.See also: President Biden Won’t Unlock a Wave of Iranian Crude: Julian LeeThe worsening short-term outlook is being reflected in oil’s futures curve. Brent’s prompt timespread is 1 cent a barrel in contango -- a bearish structure where near-dated prices are cheaper than later-dated ones -- after being as much as 16 cents in backwardation earlier in the month.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • WRAPUP -China's Q4 GDP growth beats f'cast, ends 2020 in solid position after COVID-19 shock

    China's economy grew at a faster-than-expected pace in the fourth quarter of last year, ending a rough coronavirus-striken 2020 in remarkably good shape and remained solidly poised to expand further this year. The gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 6.5%, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday, faster than the 6.1% forecast by economists in a Reuters poll, and followed 4.9% growth in the third quarter. GDP grew 2.3% in 2020, the data showed, making China the only major economy in the world to avoid a contraction last year as many nations struggled to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.