I N T E R N A T I O N A L
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Friday, June 28, 2019
Madonna edges out Springsteen to top US charts
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Friday, June 28, 2019
NEW YORK - Charting like it’s 1985? Legends Madonna and Bruce Springsteen are taking fans on a trip down memory lane, respectively nabbing numbers one and two of the US top album tally. Madonna’s “Madame X” struck gold on the Billboard 200 chart, landing the icon her ninth number one album atop the list, which the industry tracker will publish in full on Tuesday. Springsteen’s “Western Stars” raced in at second -- marking the first time since 1985 that the Queen of Pop and The Boss are reigning over the album chart together. For two weeks in January and February of that year, Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” held the top spot as Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” came in second, before the seminal albums traded places in the two weeks that followed. The era saw the two superstars -- Madonna is now 60, Springsteen 69 -- along with Prince and Michael Jackson usher in the brave new world of MTV, the music video television network that gave
albums longer staying power than seen prior. Though widely panned by critics, Madonna’s latest effort -- a mash-up of Latin beats, acoustic ballads and oddly inward-looking reflections on marginalized communities -- soared to the top of the charts in part thanks to her bundling strategy. The sales method is rampant in the industry -- with adherents including Taylor Swift and Katy Perry -- and pairs albums with performance ticket or merchandise purchases in a bid to bolster sales. Though the Queen held her own stateside, Springsteen’s dreamy sonic portrait of the American West did beat out “Madame X” in both Australia and Britain. His secondplace finish in the US marked his 20th top-ten effort there. The debut success of the musical
titans is expected to be short-lived, however, with industry-watchers predicting the future will return next week with genre-bending country rap star Lil Nas X. The meme king -- who catapulted to overnight fame thanks to his wildly successful track “Old Town Road” -- just released his debut project “7,” which includes the aforementioned megahit’s original and Billy Rae Cyrus remix along with a song featuring rap star Cardi B. In this file photo taken on August 21, 2018 Madonna poses in the press room at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
Trump ‘Hollywood star’ vandal charged with Marilyn statue theft
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A man who vandalized President Donald Trump’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star last summer was charged Monday with the theft of a nearby statue of Marilyn Monroe.
LOS ANGELES - A man who vandalized President Donald Trump’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star last summer was charged Monday with the theft of a nearby statue of Marilyn Monroe. Austin Clay, 25, faces up to three years in jail if found guilty of property theft and vandalism, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. He was arrested Friday at his home in Glendale in the LA suburbs after police identified him from video surveillance footage. Having discovered that he was on parole after a conviction for damaging Trump’s star on the Walk of Fame, investigators
searched his home and found evidence linking him to the statue theft, local media reported. The statue itself -- showing Monroe in her famous flying skirt pose from “The Seven Year Itch” (1955) -- has not been found. It had been perched atop a small gazebo dedicated to some of Hollywood’s most famous actresses, which is located at the beginning of the Walk of Fame. According to authorities, a witness saw a man climbing the structure on the night of June 16 and using a saw to remove the statue. The statue is owned by the City of Los Angeles. Police fear it may have been damaged during the theft.
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“Looking back at the (security) video, it would be reasonable that the statue broke and could be in multiple pieces,” LAPD detective Douglas Oldfield told NBC4 television. Clay made headlines in July 2018 when he vandalized Trump’s star on the Hollywood sidewalk with a pickaxe he had hidden in a guitar case. He was sentenced at the time to one day in prison, three years’ probation and 20 days of community service, and ordered to attend psychological counseling. He is due to be arraigned on Tuesday. Prosecutors are recommending that bail be set at $45,000. (afp)
BAY ISMOYO / AFP
Demonstrators gather on a road as they listen to a court verdict broadcast on speakers during a rally near the constitutional court in Jakarta on June 27, 2019. A top Indonesian court was set to rule on June 27 on a defeated presidential election challenger’s claims that the 2019 race was rigged against him -- allegations that sparked deadly rioting in Jakarta.
Heavy security as Indonesia court set to rule on election-rigging claims
A top Indonesian court was set to rule Thursday on a defeated presidential election challenger’s claims that the 2019 race was rigged against him -- allegations that sparked deadly rioting in Jakarta. Tens of thousands of military and police were deployed in the capital of the world’s thirdbiggest democracy amid fears of more unrest after Thursday’s decision, as protesters gathered outside the Constitutional Court. The court is weighing ex-general Prabowo Subianto’s claims that the April poll was plagued by “systematic, structured and massive” electoral fraud that cost him victory. His lawyers have sought to overturn the official results that declared incumbent Joko Widodo the winner with 55.5 percent of votes, against Subianto’s 44.5 percent. But Subianto’s legal team ar-
gued that Widodo mobilised the power of the state to win the vote and broke campaign finance rules, and that up to 30 million votes were “stolen”. Denny Indrayana, a lawyer for Subianto, said he was “optimistic” about winning the case. “They won’t reject it,” he told AFP, referring to the court. But election officials have discounted Subianto’s cheating claims, and many legal analysts tipped the lawsuit to fail due to weak evidence. Subianto, who lost a similar court battle in 2014 when Widodo defeated him, has little recourse if the court rules against him again. “If the claim is rejected then it’s
game over” for Subianto, said constitutional law expert Refly Harun. - Heavy security However, an unexpected victory could mean holding another election in certain regions or even disqualifying Widodo, he added. The court hearing began Thursday afternoon as some 47,000 police and army personnel were deployed around the court building and other parts of central Jakarta. Last month, peaceful protests against the official result by Subianto supporters erupted into two nights of street battles between police and rioters, leaving nine people dead and hundreds injured
in the capital’s worst violence in years. Indonesian police have been in the spotlight after videos surfaced that appeared to show officers beating protesters. There are also questions about how the demonstrators -- including a 15-year-old high school student -- died. This week, Amnesty International called for an independent probe into what it called “grave human rights violations” by police against protesters -- including beatings and “torture” -- and allegations that they were behind the killings of demonstrators. Some of the dead were reported to have gunshot wounds. Police have insisted they did not shoot live rounds, but instead used rubber bullets, water cannons and tear gas to push back the crowds.
Meanwhile, several Subianto allies have recently been arrested, including former army general Kivlan Zen over his alleged links to the Jakarta riots. Police have also aired video from several arrested suspects who claimed that Zen masterminded a failed plot to sow chaos by killing four senior government officials, including its chief security minister and the president’s top intelligence adviser.(afp) News can also be heard in “Bali Image” at Global Radio FM 96.5 from 9.30 until 10.00 am. Listen to Global Radio FM at http:// globalfmbali.listen2myradio.com or live video streaming at http:// radioglobalfmbali.com and http:// ustream.tv/channel/global-fm-bali.