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	<title>Entertainment &#8211; Mazzaltov World News</title>
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		<title>UK: Artists release silent album in protest against AI using their work</title>
		<link>https://news.mazzaltov.com/uk-artists-release-silent-album-in-protest-against-ai-using-their-work/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=uk-artists-release-silent-album-in-protest-against-ai-using-their-work</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Loneson Mondo]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Entertainment News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UK News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UK]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mazzaltov.com/?p=24488</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[More than 1,000 musicians &#8211; including Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn and Kate Bush &#8211; released a silent album on Tuesday in protest at the UK government&#8217;s planned changes to copyright&#8230; ]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p class="">More than 1,000 musicians &#8211; including Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn and Kate Bush &#8211; released a silent album on Tuesday in protest at the UK government&#8217;s planned changes to copyright law, which they say would make it easier for AI companies to train models using copyrighted work without a licence.</p>



<p class="">Under the new proposals, AI developers will be able to use creators&#8217; content on the internet to help develop their models, unless the rights holders elect to &#8220;opt out&#8221;.</p>



<p class="">The artists hope the album, entitled Is This What We Want?, will draw attention to the potential impact on livelihoods and the UK music industry.</p>



<p class="">All profits will be donated to the charity Help Musicians.</p>



<p class="">ADVERTISING</p>



<p class="">&#8220;In the music of the future, will our voices go unheard?&#8221; Kate Bush said in a statement.</p>



<p class="">A public consultation on the legal changes closes later on Tuesday.</p>



<p class="">The album &#8211; also backed by the likes of Billy Ocean, Ed O&#8217;Brien of Radiohead and Bastille&#8217;s Dan Smith, as well as The Clash, Mystery Jets and Jamiroquai &#8211; features sound recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, demonstrating what the artists fear is the potential impact of the proposed law change.</p>



<p class="">The track listing for the record simply spells out the message: &#8220;The British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies.&#8221;</p>



<p class="">The government is currently consulting on proposals that would allow AI companies to use material that is available online without respecting copyright if they are using it for text or data mining.</p>



<p class="">Generative AI programmes mine, or learn, from vast amounts of data like text, images, or music online to generate new content which feels like it has been made by a human.</p>



<p class="">The proposals would give artists or creators a so-called &#8220;rights reservation&#8221; – the ability to opt out.</p>



<p class="">But critics of the plan believe it is not possible for an individual writer or artist to notify thousands of different AI service providers that they do not want their content used in that way, or to monitor what has happened to their work across the whole internet.</p>



<p class="">A spokesman for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said in a statement on Tuesday that the UK&#8217;s &#8220;current regime for copyright and AI is holding back the creative industries, media and AI sector from realising their full potential &#8211; and that cannot continue&#8221;.</p>



<p class="">&#8220;That&#8217;s why we have been consulting on a new approach that protects the interests of both AI developers and right holders and delivers a solution which allows both to thrive.</p>



<p class="">&#8220;We have engaged extensively with these sectors throughout and will continue to do so.&#8221;</p>



<p class="">They added that &#8220;no decisions have been taken&#8221; and &#8220;no moves will be made until we are absolutely confident we have a practical plan that delivers each of our objectives.</p>



<p class="">Imogen Heap, Yusuf aka Cat Stevens and Riz Ahmed have also backed the silent album release as well as Tori Amos and Hans Zimmer.</p>



<p class="">Composer Max Richter, another of the artists involved in the album, noted how the plans not only have an impact on musicians but &#8220;impoverish creators&#8221; across the board, from writers to visual artists and beyond.</p>



<p class="">In 2023,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ukmusic.org/news/this-is-music-report-reveals-sector-contributes-record-7-6-billion-to-uk-economy/" rel="noreferrer noopener">UK music contributed a record £7.6 billion to the economy</a>.</p>



<p class="">Organiser of the silent record, Ed Newton-Rex, said the proposals were not only &#8220;disastrous for musicians&#8221; in the UK but also &#8220;totally unnecessary&#8221;, as the country can be &#8220;leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus&#8221;.</p>



<p class="">He said the new record showed that &#8220;however the government tries to justify it, musicians themselves are united in their thorough condemnation of this ill-thought-through plan.&#8221;</p>



<p class="">Singer-songwriter Naomi Kimpenu added: &#8220;We cannot be abandoned by the government and have our work stolen for the profit of big tech.&#8221;</p>



<p class="">She said the plans would &#8220;shatter the prospects of so many emerging artists in the UK&#8221;.</p>



<p class="">In January, Sir Paul McCartney told the BBC the proposed changes to copyright law could allow &#8220;rip off&#8221; technology that might make it impossible for musicians and artists to make a living.</p>



<p class="">In&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.thetimes.com/uk/technology-uk/article/dont-let-ai-steal-our-copyright-giants-of-the-arts-tell-labour-rfw55l20l" rel="noreferrer noopener">a letter to The Times</a>, published on Monday, signatories including Sir Paul, Lord Lloyd Webber and Sir Stephen Fry said that changes to the law will allow big tech to raid the creative sectors.</p>



<p class="">They were joined by the likes of Bush, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa and Sting in opposing plans to change copyright laws.</p>



<p class="">On Tuesday, the UK&#8217;s creative industries launched a campaign to highlight how their content is at risk of being given away for free to AI firms.</p>



<p class="">The Make it Fair campaign, which includes wrap-around adverts in national newspapers, is urging people to write to their MPs to object to the government&#8217;s plans.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">24488</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>Australia: Neighbours cancelled again, two years after revival</title>
		<link>https://news.mazzaltov.com/australia-neighbours-cancelled-again-two-years-after-revival/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=australia-neighbours-cancelled-again-two-years-after-revival</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Loneson Mondo]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 25 Feb 2025 16:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Australian News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entertainment News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Australia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Neighbours]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mazzaltov.com/?p=24439</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Beloved Australian soap drama Neighbours has been cancelled again, two years after it was saved by Amazon MGM Studios. Without specifying a reason, Amazon confirmed the series will finish at&#8230; ]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p class="">Beloved Australian soap drama Neighbours has been cancelled again, two years after it was saved by Amazon MGM Studios.</p>



<p class="">Without specifying a reason, Amazon confirmed the series will finish at the end of 2025 &#8211; 40 years and more than 9,000 episodes after its television debut.</p>



<p class="">It was dropped by Channel 5 in 2022, but revived by Amazon for its streaming platforms just four months after a star-studded farewell episode watched by millions.</p>



<p class="">The soap &#8211; which helped launched the careers of Kylie Minogue, Guy Pearce and Margot Robbie &#8211; has long been a huge hit with Australian and UK audiences, and last year received its first Emmy nomination.</p>



<p class="">A statement on the show&#8217;s social media said the soap would be &#8220;resting&#8221; from December.</p>



<p class="">&#8220;Audiences all around the world have loved and embraced Neighbours for four decades and we are very proud of the huge success over the last two years,&#8221; executive producer Jason Herbison wrote.</p>



<p class="">&#8220;We value how much the fans love Neighbours and we believe there are more stories of the residents of Ramsay Street to tell in the future,&#8221; Mr Hebrison added, hinting that the producers will again hunt for a new backer.</p>



<p class="">New episodes will continue to air on Amazon Prime Video and Australia&#8217;s Channel Ten four times a week until the end of 2025.</p>



<p class="">In a statement, Amazon MGM Studios said it was &#8220;proud&#8221; to have played &#8220;a small part&#8221; in Neighbours history.</p>



<p class="">&#8220;Forty years is an incredible milestone,&#8221; a spokesperson said.</p>



<p class="">Fans vented their disappointment at the decision.</p>



<p class="">One wrote on social media: &#8220;I refuse point blank to accept that they will try to take @neighbours from me AGAIN!!! It&#8217;s sometimes the only 20 minutes in the day I can escape. Absolutely blooming well not!!&#8221;</p>



<p class="">Someone else wrote: &#8220;I can&#8217;t begin to count the number of times I&#8217;ve logged into @primevideouk to be greeted by #Neighbours sitting at the top of the weekly charts.</p>



<p class="">&#8220;Now @amazon have cancelled the soap. At least a few of us will save money when we cancel though, right?&#8221;</p>



<p class="">Another said: &#8220;Will be so sad to say goodbye again, the joy &amp; comfort this show has given for 40 years.&#8221;</p>



<p class="">Set and filmed in Melbourne, Neighbours was first broadcast in Australia in 1985 and launched on BBC One a year later.</p>



<p class="">The show has lately featured more diverse characters and storylines, amid questions over how well it reflected modern Australia. It featured the first same-sex marriage on Australian TV.</p>



<p class="">It also had its controversies, however. A number of actors recently came forward with racism allegations, prompting production company Fremantle Media to promise a review.</p>



<p class="">News of the show&#8217;s cancellation comes after actor Ian Smith &#8211; who plays Ramsay Street stalwart Harold Bishop &#8211; last year announced he would leave the show, revealing he has terminal cancer.</p>



<p class="">It also follows cutbacks elsewhere to TV soaps, including to the numbers of episodes of British shows Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">24439</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>USA: More than 10 lawsuits expected against Diddy in coming days, lawyer says</title>
		<link>https://news.mazzaltov.com/usa-more-than-10-lawsuits-expected-against-diddy-in-coming-days-lawyer-says/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=usa-more-than-10-lawsuits-expected-against-diddy-in-coming-days-lawyer-says</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Loneson Mondo]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 04 Feb 2025 18:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Entertainment News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[USA News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lawsuits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[P Diddy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[USA]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mazzaltov.com/?p=22830</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Imprisoned rapper Sean &#8220;Diddy&#8221; Combs is expected to face more than 10 new civil lawsuits in the coming days, according to a lawyer who represents dozens of accusers. The announcement&#8230; ]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p class="">Imprisoned rapper Sean &#8220;Diddy&#8221; Combs is expected to face more than 10 new civil lawsuits in the coming days, according to a lawyer who represents dozens of accusers.</p>



<p class="">The announcement from Tony Buzbee came as he filed another legal case in New York on behalf of an unnamed male, who claims he was assaulted by the music mogul in 2015.</p>



<p class="">The lawsuit states the accuser, a 23-year-old man, was performing at an event that Combs was attending, and hoped to be signed to his label, Bad Boy Records. The accuser said he was drugged at an afterparty and assaulted, the suit states.</p>



<p class="">A spokesperson for Combs did not immediately respond but the rapper has vehemently denied the allegations against him &#8211; which has included drugging, assaulting and raping people.</p>



<p class="">He&#8217;s also facing federal charges in a racketeering and sex trafficking scheme, to which he has pleaded not guilty.</p>



<p class="">Mr Buzbee, who is based out of Texas, has played a key role in numerous cases against Combs over the past year, including one that also named Jay-Z as a defendant (Jay Z has denied these allegations and<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgx705l4g6o">&nbsp;asked the court to dismiss the case</a>).</p>



<p class="">He said he plans to file more than 10 lawsuits in the next seven to 10 days, as a deadline approaches on 1 March in New York &#8211; the last day of a law that allows victims of past sexual assault to file civil lawsuits, despite an expired statute of limitations.</p>



<p class="">The new lawsuit stems back to 2015 when the plaintiff secured an opportunity to perform at a nightclub in the Los Angeles area, where Combs was in attendance.</p>



<p class="">Combs&#8217; associate informed the accuser that the rapper had heard of his talent and would be watching, the lawsuit states. He was told that if he performed well, Combs might be interested in discussing a deal with Bad Boy Records &#8211; a successful record label the rapper founded in 1993.</p>



<p class="">After what the plaintiff believed to be an &#8220;excellent performance&#8221;, he was invited to attend an afterparty, where the VIP section contained &#8220;countless bottles of Combs&#8217; vodka, Ciroc,&#8221; as well as &#8220;substances such as marijuana, cocaine, and ecstasy&#8221;, the lawsuit states.</p>



<p class="">An associate of the music mogul handed the accuser a drink, saying it was from Combs. After drinking it, the plaintiff &#8220;quickly felt lightheaded&#8221; and realised he had been &#8220;drugged&#8221;, the lawsuit states. He then lost consciousness.</p>



<p class="">The lawsuit states that while he drifted in and out, he observed Combs and his entourage allegedly engaging in &#8220;group sexual activity&#8221; with attendees who appeared &#8220;either drugged, unconscious, or as if they were paid escorts.&#8221;</p>



<p class="">He said he woke up to being assaulted by Combs, the lawsuit states. When he tried to leave, Combs&#8217; security intervened and the rapper threatened to derail his career chances, the lawsuit alleges.</p>



<p class="">Combs is currently facing more than 30 civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault and misconduct. He&#8217;s currently in a New York jail awaiting a federal criminal trial on sex trafficking and racketeering.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">22830</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>USA: Selena Gomez announces engagement to Benny Blanco</title>
		<link>https://news.mazzaltov.com/usa-selena-gomez-announces-engagement-to-benny-blanco/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=usa-selena-gomez-announces-engagement-to-benny-blanco</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Loneson Mondo]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Dec 2024 20:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Entertainment News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Benny Blanco]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Selena Gomez]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[USA]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mazzaltov.com/?p=18420</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Selena Gomez has revealed she is engaged to songwriter Benny Blanco. The actress and singer posted a picture of a large engagement ring on Instagram, with the caption &#8220;forever begins&#8230; ]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p class="">Selena Gomez has revealed she is engaged to songwriter Benny Blanco.</p>



<p class="">The actress and singer posted a picture of a large engagement ring on Instagram, with the caption &#8220;forever begins now&#8221;.</p>



<p class="">It comes after the couple confirmed their relationship last year.Pop star Taylor Swift was among the famous figures to offer congratulations.</p>



<p class="">Two-time Grammy-nominated Gomez posted further pictures of her beaming, wearing the ring, and one of Blanco embracing her in what appears to be a closet.</p>



<p class="">&#8220;Hey wait&#8230; that&#8217;s my wife,&#8221; Blanco commented on the post.</p>



<p class="">Swift replied: &#8220;Yes I will be the flower girl.&#8221;Rapper Cardi B, actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston and Suki Waterhouse, and singer Lil Nas X also sent well wishes.</p>



<p class="">In an Instagram Story shared with her 423 million followers, the most-followed woman on the app also revealed a video showing her ring to loved ones on the phone.&#8221;Yes to this,&#8221; she can be heard saying, evoking screams on the other end of the video call.</p>



<p class="">Gomez and record producer Blanco had collaborated on songs I Can&#8217;t Get Enough in 2019 and Single Soon in 2023, before announcing their relationship.</p>



<p class="">Blanco, who has also worked with the likes of Rihanna, Calvin Harris and Justin Bieber, was effusive about his love on the Drew Barrymore Show back in May.</p>



<p class="">&#8220;She&#8217;s just like the best, most genuine person,&#8221; he said on the chat show.</p>



<p class="">&#8220;Everything is completely real. Everyday when I wake up, I, like, walk by the mirror as I&#8217;m, like, walking to her and I ask myself, &#8216;How did I get here&#8217;&#8230;&#8221;She&#8217;s one of the sweetest, one of the most charming, one of the most humble people I&#8217;ve ever met.&#8221;</p>



<p class="">Come &amp; Get It singer Gomez was previously in a high profile on-and-off relationship with fellow singer Justin Bieber. She also dated singer The Weeknd in 2017.The Texas-born star rose to fame as a child actress on Barney and Disney Channel, before forging a career as a singer and in acting.This year she joined the billionaire celebrity rich list, according to Bloomberg, amassing a $1.3bn (£1bn) fortune &#8211; mainly deriving from her Rare Beauty make-up company.</p>



<p class="">On Monday, she received two Golden Globe nominations &#8211; one in the best supporting actress category for her role in operatic musical Emilia Pérez and the other for best actress in a TV series, musical or comedy, for her recurring role in Only Murders in the Building.</p>



<p class=""></p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">18420</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>Belgium: Malian singer Rokia Traoré detained in child custody row</title>
		<link>https://news.mazzaltov.com/belgium-malian-singer-rokia-traore-detained-in-child-custody-row/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=belgium-malian-singer-rokia-traore-detained-in-child-custody-row</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Loneson Mondo]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 01 Dec 2024 13:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Entertainment News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Belgium]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[France]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mali]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rokia Traoré]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mazzaltov.com/?p=17220</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[One of Africa&#8217;s best known musicians &#8211; the Malian singer Rokia Traoré &#8211; has reportedly been imprisoned in Belgium as part of an ongoing child custody dispute. The 50-year-old is&#8230; ]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p class="">One of Africa&#8217;s best known musicians &#8211; the Malian singer Rokia Traoré &#8211; has reportedly been imprisoned in Belgium as part of an ongoing child custody dispute.</p>



<p class="">The 50-year-old is being held after being extradited from Italy, over an outstanding two-year prison sentence, according to the AFP news agency.</p>



<p class="">The long-running saga dates back to 2020 when Traoré was initially detained in France on a Belgian arrest warrant after failing to heed a court order to hand over her daughter to the girl&#8217;s Belgian father.</p>



<p class="">Months after she was conditionally released, Traoré flew out to Mali on a private flight, defying a ban from leaving France until her extradition to Belgium.</p>



<p class="">Last October, Traoré was sentenced in absentia to two years in prison by a court in Belgium on charges of parental abduction for &#8220;failing to hand over a child to the person entitled to custody&#8221;.</p>



<p class="">In June, Traoré&#8217;s was arrested at Fiumicino airport in Rome as she flew in for a concert, over the outstanding child custody conviction, for which there was a European arrest warrant. Two months later, a court in the Italian capital approved her extradition.</p>



<p class="">An appeal by the singer was rejected last week, paving the way for the extradition to take place. Traoré has been held in prison since her arrest, the Reuters news agency reported.</p>



<p class="">Her daughter, who is now aged nine years, has lived in Mali since turning four.</p>



<p class="">A lawyer for the child&#8217;s father, Traoré&#8217;s former partner Jan Goossens, reportedly said he had not had any contact with his daughter since then.</p>



<p class="">When she was initially arrested in 2020, she had been travelling from Mali to Brussels intending to appeal against the custody ruling, her lawyers had said.</p>



<p class="">Mali&#8217;s government previously came out in support of the singer, saying that she had a diplomatic passport.</p>



<p class="">Traoré&#8217;s lawyer, Vincent Lurquin, is reported to have told AFP that the singer plans to appeal the two-year prison sentence, which would trigger a new trial.</p>



<p class="">He also said both Traoré and Goossens were hoping to &#8220;find an agreement in the interests of the child&#8221;, thus averting a new prison sentence.</p>



<p class="">AFP reported that the state prosecutor&#8217;s office in Belgium confirmed that Traoré would remain in detention throughout the new trial.</p>



<p class="">Traoré is one of Africa&#8217;s best known vocalists. She has won several awards, including the BBC Award for World Music in 2004 and the 2009 World Music Album of the year in the Victoires de la Musique, the French equivalent of the Grammys.</p>



<p class="">She is also known for her advocacy work for refugees, becoming a goodwill ambassador for the UN&#8217;s High Commissioner for Refugees in 2015 in West and Central Africa.</p>



<p class=""></p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">17220</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>UK: Conservative leader Badenoch blame Labour for Kneecap settlement</title>
		<link>https://news.mazzaltov.com/uk-conservative-leader-badenoch-blame-labour-for-kneecap-settlement/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=uk-conservative-leader-badenoch-blame-labour-for-kneecap-settlement</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Loneson Mondo]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 01 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Entertainment News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kneecap]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UK]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mazzaltov.com/?p=17214</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has said it is &#8220;unbelievable&#8221; that the Labour government have decided to no longer contest a discrimination case brought by Belfast rap group Kneecap. The&#8230; ]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p class="">Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has said it is &#8220;unbelievable&#8221; that the Labour government have decided to no longer contest a discrimination case brought by Belfast rap group Kneecap.</p>



<p class="">The group won its case against the UK government over a decision Badenoch took when she was a minister to withdraw an arts grant.</p>



<p class="">The group was awarded £14,250 &#8211; the same amount they were initially granted.</p>



<p class="">A government spokesperson said the decision was made not to continue contesting the band&#8217;s challenge as &#8220;we do not believe it is in the public interest&#8221;.</p>



<p class="">They added: “This government’s priority is to try to reduce costs and help protect the taxpayer from further expense.</p>



<p class="">&#8220;Badenoch described the move as &#8220;yet another cowardly decision after giving away the Chagos Islands&#8221;.</p>



<p class="">&#8220;Labour will always capitulate rather than defend UK interests,&#8221; a spokesperson for the Conservative leader added.</p>



<p class="">The decision to block the grant, taken by Badenoch when she was business and trade minister, was described in court by Kneecap&#8217;s barrister as &#8220;unlawful and procedurally unfair&#8221;.</p>



<p class="">In a statement, the band said Badenoch and her department had &#8220;tried to silence us and they have failed&#8221;.</p>



<p class="">The band said it would split the £14,250 equally between two youth organisations who work with Protestant and Catholic communities in Northern Ireland &#8220;to create a better future for our young people&#8221;.</p>



<p class="">Kneecap originally applied for a grant allocated to support UK-registered artists in global markets in December 2023.</p>



<p class="">The group, who have faced controversy for their lyrics and political outlook, were successful in their application, but were subsequently blocked from receiving the funding after an intervention by the Department for Business and Trade.</p>



<p class="">At the time, then-UK Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch&#8217;s spokesperson said they did not want to hand taxpayers&#8217; money &#8220;to people that oppose the United Kingdom itself&#8221;.</p>



<p class="">The band&#8217;s music and marketing heavily features themes relating to Irish republicanism and opposition to British rule in Northern Ireland.</p>



<p class="">The group have courted controversy and it claimed it was told a 2019 tour, entitled Farewell to the Union, had angered the then Conservative government.</p>



<p class="">Kneecap have also antagonised unionists in Northern Ireland &#8211; one of their best known records is called Get Your Brits Out, a parody rap in which the band go on an imaginary, drug-fuelled night out with prominent members of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).</p>



<p class="">In statement following Friday&#8217;s court hearing, band member DJ Próvaí said: &#8220;For us this action was never about £14,250, it could have been 50p.&#8221;</p>



<p class="">The group said its motivation for taking the case was &#8220;equality&#8221;.</p>



<p class="">&#8220;This was an attack on artistic culture, an attack on the Good Friday Agreement itself and an attack on Kneecap and our way of expressing ourselves.</p>



<p class="">&#8220;In a statement following the settlement, Badeonch&#8217;s spokesperson said &#8220;this case is not about whether a band promotes violence or hates the UK, as Kneecap clearly do; this is about whether government ministers have the ability to stop taxpayers&#8217; money subsidising people who neither need nor deserve it&#8221;.</p>



<p class="">&#8220;Labour would rather waste your money than stand up to a group of Irish republicans who go to court because the UK government won’t hand them cash.&#8221;</p>



<p class="">Kneecap have said it will split the money awarded to them between two Belfast charities, Glór Na Móna in Ballymurphy and RCity Belfast on the Shankill Road.</p>



<p class="">Sarah Jane Waite, director of RCity Belfast, expressed the charity&#8217;s thanks for the &#8220;generosity and support from Kneecap&#8221;.</p>



<p class="">She said the donation will be used toward a number of projects, including both local and international programmes.</p>



<p class="">Feargal Mac Ionnrachtaigh, executive director of Glór Na Móna, said it was a &#8220;pleasant surprise&#8221; to receive news about the funding.</p>



<p class="">The club, based in west Belfast, was previously attended by Kneecap member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, known by his stage name Mo Chara.</p>



<p class="">Mr Mac Ionnrachtaigh added that they are a grassroots group in a disadvantaged area, and the money will be put to &#8220;good use&#8221; including towards the construction of a new building.</p>



<p class="">Kneecap are an Irish-speaking rap trio from west Belfast who have courted controversy with their provocative lyrics and merchandise.</p>



<p class="">The group was formed in 2017 by three friends who go by the stage names of Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí.</p>



<p class="">Their rise to fame inspired a semi-fictionalised film starring Oscar-nominated actor Michael Fassbender.</p>



<p class="">The film gained rave reviews and won an audience award at the Sundance Film Festival.</p>
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		<title>UK: Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint to pay £1.8m after losing tax battle</title>
		<link>https://news.mazzaltov.com/uk-harry-potter-actor-rupert-grint-to-pay-1-8m-after-losing-tax-battle/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=uk-harry-potter-actor-rupert-grint-to-pay-1-8m-after-losing-tax-battle</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Loneson Mondo]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 30 Nov 2024 20:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Entertainment News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Harry Potter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Movies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ron Weasley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rupert Grint]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UK]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mazzaltov.com/?p=17165</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Former Harry Potter star Rupert Grint has been ordered to pay £1.8m in tax after losing a legal battle with HM Revenue &#38; Customs.Grint, who played Ron Weasley in the&#8230; ]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p class="">Former Harry Potter star Rupert Grint has been ordered to pay £1.8m in tax after losing a legal battle with HM Revenue &amp; Customs.Grint, who played Ron Weasley in the films, was originally told to pay the sum in 2019 after an HMRC investigation disputed one of his tax returns.Lawyers for the 36-year-old appealed, arguing that money he received from a company had been correctly taxed as a capital asset, but HMRC said it should have been taxed as income at a higher rate.However, Grint&#8217;s argument has been dismissed by a tax tribunal judge.</p>



<p class="">During the 2011-2012 tax year, Grint received £4.5m from a company that managed his business, and of which he was the only shareholder.This payment was described as being for &#8220;likely residual income and bonuses&#8221; resulting from the Harry Potter films.He argued he could pay capital gains tax on it at a rate of 10% rather than income tax and national insurance at a top rate of 52%.In the ruling, tribunal judge Harriet Morgan dismissed Grint&#8217;s appeal and said the money &#8220;derived substantially the whole of its value from the activities of Mr Grint&#8221;, which was &#8220;otherwise realised&#8221; as income.He previously lost another, separate court case in 2019 that involved a £1m tax refund.Grint appeared in all eight Harry Potter films from 2001 until 2011.Since then, he has appeared in the films Into the White and Knock at the Cabin, and also appeared on TV and in theatre.He has starred in Apple TV series Servant for the last four years.</p>



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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">17165</post-id>	</item>
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