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Showing posts from August 10, 2016

Nas and Grandmaster Flash give the lowdown on the music of 'The Get Down'

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Baz Luhrmann has never been one to worry too much about the historical accuracy of the music in his films; think Jay Z in Roaring Twenties Manhattan (“The Great Gatsby”) or Elton John in turn-of-the-century Paris (“Moulin Rouge”). But when it came to “The Get Down,” his hip-hop origin story premiering Friday on Netflix, the Australian director was less inclined to take liberties. Instead, he turned to Grandmaster Flash and Nas, two pioneering artists from different eras in rap, to lend the production authenticity. The drama, opening in the South Bronx in 1977, depicts an era before hip-hop had a name, when young people were beginning to experiment with disco, funk and soul records. “It’s a billion-dollar industry right now. We were a crew of people that had so little but did so much,” said Grandmaster Flash, who was both an eyewitness to and critical player in the art form’s creation. Likening rap music to a cake that, by the ’80s was being enjoyed by millions, the Rock and Roll Hal

Hit maker Timbaland producing music for fitness brand Zumba

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NEW YORK (AP) — Hit-making producer Timbaland is used to people dancing to his beats at nightclubs, and now fans will get a chance to move to music he specifically designed for working out through a new partnership with Zumba. The man behind hits for Justin Timberlake and Jay Z is crafting songs for STRONG by Zumba, a non-dance-inspired workout that focuses on high-intensity interval training, bodyweight exercises and strength training paired with music to match every move. "I've always been into fitness, and music is a big part of exercising for me, and I feel like STRONG by Zumba was a great way — with my edge, my music style — to put it together," the 44-year-old Grammy winner said in an interview Tuesday. The Timbaland-produced song "Nobody," performed by his new girl group, Obs3ssed, will be used by STRONG by Zumba instructors during training sessions; the track won't be available for sale or streaming. Timbaland is also working on another

Leo Messi Lights Up Joan Gamper Trophy with Overhead Assist for Luis Suarez

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Leo Messi, stop it. The Argentine superstar was at it again in the JoanGamper Trophy, Barcelona's final pre-season game before starting the Spanish Super Cup against Sevilla on Sunday. And it didn't take him long to make his mark, laying off a glorious, overhead assist to Luis Suarez just minutes into the match. And he added two further goals in the first half, including one beautiful free-kick from distance. Barcastuff   @barcastuff_real Gif: Goal Messi (3-1)  # fcblive  [via @ Emenderkfcb10 ] 8:07 PM - 10 Aug 2016     93 93 Retweets     79 79 likes

Clinton says Trump incited violence with 'Second Amendment' remarks

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Mrs Clinton said: "Words can have tremendous consequences." Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has said Donald Trump incited violence when he said gun rights supporters could stop her from winning. Speaking at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa, Mrs Clinton said "words can have tremendous consequences." Mr Trump sparked backlash after suggesting "Second Amendment people," or gun owners, could take action against her. Mrs Clinton also said Mr Trump did not have the temperament to be president. The former secretary of state called out Mr Trump for his recent row with the family of a fallen American Muslim soldier, which the military refers to as a Gold Star family. "Yesterday we witnessed the latest in the long line of casual comments from Donald Trump that cross the line. His casual cruelty to a Gold Star family, his casual suggestion that more countries should have nuclear weapons. And now his casual inciting of violence," she said. "

New wave of bomb attacks hits Turkey as Kurdish rebels targeting police and soldiers kill at least 12 victims

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Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants killed at least 12 civilians in three separate attacks in southeastern Turkey on Wednesday. The attacks, which came on the heels of a failed military coup that threatened to topple Turkey's government, were aimed at police and soldiers in the largely Kurdish region. Bombs were set off simultaneously in the city of Diyarbakir and the town of Kiziltepe, killing eight people, according to the Associated Press. Just hours earlier, four soldiers were killed and nine were wounded in another attack near the Iraqi border. A roadside bomb was set off in Kiziltepe just as a police bus passed by. An official said three people were killed and at least 25 were wounded, including at least five children between the ages of two and five. Meanwhile, a car bomb targeting police in the historic Diyarbakir city killed at least five civilians and wounded 12 others, according to the governor's office. The explosion went off at a security

Barcelona vs. Sampdoria. Score, Reaction from 2016 Joan Gamper Trophy

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Barcelona grabbed their first trophy of the 2016-17 season on Wednesday, beating Sampdoria 3-2 in the Joan Gamper Trophy match at the Camp Nou stadium. Lionel Messi scored twice in the first half and added an assist for Luis Suarez's opener as well, as the Catalans dominated Sampdoria. Luis Muriel hit back for the visitors, but the Italians never seemed capable of keeping up with the Blaugrana. The Catalans failed to convert a host of chances after the break, and Ante Budimir restored some excitement with a goal 15 minutes before the final whistle. As shared by the club's official Twitter account, Barcelona gave summer signing Lucas Digne the chance to start, while Suarez and Messi also made the starting XI: Barça XI 🔵🔴: 13.Bravo 3.Piqué 4.Rakitic 5.Sergio 7.Arda 8.Iniesta 9.Suárez 10.Messi 19.Digne 20.S.Roberto 24.Mathieu#GamperFCB — FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 10, 2016 Sampdoria were the last club to beat Barcelona in the Joan

Protester tries to rush stage at Clinton rally in Des Moines

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A protester has tried to disrupt a Hillary Clinton rally in Des Moines, but was quickly removed from the event. The woman, protesting on behalf of animal rights, tried to rush onto the stage during a rally at Lincoln High School, but, struggling, was escorted, out by security. Clinton is visiting the battleground state of Iowa for the first time since her narrow win in the leadoff caucuses. Associated Press

How HITLER is helping ISIS: Jihadis dig up Nazi mines buried in Egypt in World War Two to boost their arsenal of deadly explosives

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ISIS and other jihadi groups have been digging up landmines and bombs buried by the Nazis during World War Two in order to boost their weapons arsenals. Egypt is thought to be home to more than 20 per cent of the total number of landmines in the world, with a massive swathe of land affected - some estimates put the total at about 15500 square miles. The landmines were planted between 1940 and 1943 during the battles involving Britain and its allies, including Egyptian forces, fighting German and Italian forces for control of North Africa. As a result Egypt is believed to be the most landmine contaminated country in world - with an estimated 23million landmines buried in the desert and surrounding areas. Of those, 17.5million were buried during the Second World War which saw Germany's Afrika Korps battle against Britain's 8th Army in the Battle of El Alamein for control of North Africa. Newsweek reports that as ISIS and other jihadi groups have started burying

Chicago's bloodiest day in more than a DECADE: Nine people killed - including young boy shot in back as he played with his twin sister - as crime runs roughshod over Windy City

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The bloodletting in Chicago continues apace as the Windy City endures one of the worst crime waves  in its history. On Monday alone, nine people were fatally shot and 10 others were wounded in a spree of gun violence that was the city's worst single-day tally since July 5, 2003, when 10 people were killed. Tavon Tanner was a 10-year-old boy who was innocently playing with his twin sister in front of their home in the Lawndale section of Chicago. According to theChicago Tribune, an unidentified gunman fired at least nine shots in Tavon's direction, hitting him in the back. His mother, Mellanie Washington, said that her wounded son 'staggered through the front door, gasping for air and yelling, 'I can't breathe', according to theWashington Post. Emergency responders rushed the boy to Mount Sinai Hospital, where doctors performed hours of surgery that entailed removing his spleen and operating on his kidneys. He was in critical condition as of Tue

Fast and furious exit! Vin Diesel 'storms off set minutes after wrapping' amid 'candy ass' row with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson

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He didn't stick around too long to say goodbye. Vin Diesel stormed off the set of Fast 8 just 'minutes' after filming his final scenes on Wednesday, according toTMZ.  The site reported he gathered everyone to say he was leaving, his speech including the words: 'Daddy's gone'.  Scroll down for video  The 49-year-old was recently revealed to be the 'candy ass' his co-star Dwayne Johnson was referring to when he blasted unnamed male co-stars in a surprise Facebook rant. TMZ claimed Diesel went to confront Johnson about his comments at his trailer; they spoke privately inside, but the issue does not seem to have been resolved. In his post, The Rock said that apart from working with his female co-stars - Charlize Theron, Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez - and a great behind the scenes crew, the experience genuinely made his 'blood boil'. Along with a short video showing a fight scene from the film, he posted: 'This is

Is that weed in Malia Obama's lips?

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Was Malia Obama really smoking weed in this video? (watch) President Obama's 18 year old daughter attended the Lollapalooza last weekend and a new video circulating on the internet this week shows the US First daughter smoking something while having fun with friends. Some think it's cigarettes, others think it's weed. 

I only found charred pieces of flesh'; 12 babies die when fire rips through maternity ward in Baghdad hospital

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Families of newborn babies killed in a fire gather outside the maternity ward at Yarmouk hospital in western Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) BAGHDAD -- A fire ripped through a maternity ward at a Baghdad hospital overnight, killing 12 newborn babies, government officials said Wednesday, a deadly blaze that was likely caused by faulty electrical wiring. By morning, grief-stricken fathers searched for their missing newborns in vain while angry relatives gathered outside the Yarmouk hospital in western Baghdad blamed the government for the tragedy. Some of the babies who perished were prematurely born, a doctor at the hospital said. The hospital director, Saad Hatem Ahmed, said the blaze broke out late on Tuesday night and that the initial investigation indicated it was an electrical fire. Ahmed said 29 female patients and eight babies were moved from the ward where the fire broke out and transferred to another hospital. Baghdad authorities initially seale

Protesters storm Chevron facility in Delta, demand better jobs

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Hundreds of protesters stormed a Nigerian facility owned by Chevron on Wednesday demanding better jobs and forcing staff to be airlifted out, community leaders said. Protesters from Ugborodo village, which is close to Chevron’s Escravos terminal, want the company to relocate more of its Nigerian offices to the southern Delta state to secure work for people living in the oil-producing swampland. “Our people are casual workers in their own land,” Collins Edema, president of the National Association of Itsekiri Graduates, a community group, told AFP. Speaking from the facility, Ofe Nene said that “400 protesters” were inside the Chevron yard while hundreds of others were outside. “We have been here since yesterday and will continue to be here for as long as possible until Chevron gives in to our demands,” said Nene, a youth leader. Chevron workers were evacuated from the facility in helicopters and planes, said a security staff member. “A plane just landed 40 minutes back to continue eva

Ethiopia video shows security forces beating protesters

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The protesters were arrested Saturday after a rare demonstration in Addis Ababa by hundreds of people calling for greater freedom in the East African nation. Several dozen people were shot dead in anti-government demonstrations across the country, opposition members and Amnesty International have said. The government blocked internet access over the weekend and blamed the protests on "foreign-backed forces." Ethiopia, a close security ally of the West, is often accused by rights groups of stifling dissent. The video, which appears to be shot from an upper floor of a nearby building, shows police pushing, pulling and dragging protesters one by one from the street into a run-down compound and out of sight. Police officers are shown beating people with sticks and batons even after they fall to the ground. Some people are beaten after they have walked into the compound. One man backs up against a wall as an officer raises a stick. Another cowers against a wall as two officers

Libyans 'oust' so-called IS from Sirte headquarters

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Fighters allied with the UN-backed government have been battling IS in Sirte US-backed Libyan militias say they have seized control of the headquarters of so-called Islamic State in Sirte. "The Ouagadougou [convention] centre is in our hands," a spokesman for forces loyal to Libya's UN-backed government of national accord said. Sirte, on the Mediterranean coast, is IS's most significant stronghold in Libya. The city has been under the militant group's control since February 2015. The pro-government forces said IS fighters still held positions in three residential areas of Sirte and in a villa complex near the seafront. But capturing the Ouagadougou centre had been a key aim of the offensive against IS in the past few weeks. Fighters also took Sirte's Ibn Sina hospital and university campus, spokesman Rida Issa said. Earlier, a news agency affiliated with IS said the group had brought down a Libyan fighter jet in Sirte. Pro-government forces said they had los

Buhari inaugurates economic adviser, four others

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President Buhari and his SA on Economic Matters, Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday swore in four special advisers and one permanent secretary. Buhari administered oaths of office on them shortly before the Federal Executive Council (FEC) began its meeting. They are Special Adviser on Economic Matters, Dr Adeyemi Dipeolu; Special Adviser on Planning, Tijani Abdullahi; Special Adviser on Social Investment, Mrs. Maryam Uwais and Special Adviser on Political Matter, Senator Babafemi Ojudu as well as the Permanent Secretary of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Ambassador Rafiu Enikanolaye. Dipeolu, Ojudu and Uwais were deployed in the Office of the Vice President; while Abdullahi was deployed in the Ministry of Budget and National Planning

BRT buses lost N50m as drivers resume operations after a one-day strike ,

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Drivers driving the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) buses resumed work on Wednesday after Tuesday’s protest over delay in payment of their salaries, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. This came just as Primero Transport Services Ltd., the operators of the scheme, said that it lost no less than N50 million during the one day protest. The management, led by Mr Fola Tinubu, however, expressed its apologies to its teeming commuters for the pains the strike brought on them. NAN reports that the drivers had also protested against alleged unfavourable working conditions of service. A correspondent of NAN that visited the Majidun Depot of the company in Ikorodu on Wednesday morning saw some of the drivers preparing their buses for the day’s operations. He, however, saw some of them loitering outside the depot. He noted that the atmosphere changed positively when Mr Fola Tinubu, the company’s Managing Director, rode in the first bus from the depot to its Ikorodu Terminal. NAN reports that at th