Category Archives: archive

Salif Keita pressured to cancel Jerusalem Sacred Music Festival

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An open letter addressed to the Jerusalem Sacred Music Festival, the Hadassah Hospital and the fans of Salif Keita is circulating on Facebook. The famous Afropop singer-songwriter from Mali cancelled just a few hours before his departure for Jerusalem Festival due to threats by BDS. On the official fan page of the festival you can see the different reactions. News and Noise! had been talking to festival organizer Dubi Lenz about his view on such boycotts. We also interviewed Yvonne Kahan who is the manager of some Israelian artists. Both concluded that boycotting is not the answer. In this post you can read the open letter coming from the managers of Salif Keita.

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Russian oil industry new target Pussy Riot

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Two members of the Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot are serving a two years sentence, but it doesn’t stop the band to keep on criticizing Putin. On the contrary, they just released a new video “Like a red prison” with the Russian Oil Industry as a new target. In the video they dance on an oil pipe and throw oil at a picture of Igor Sechin, chairman of state oil giant Rosneft.  Putin is compared to an Iranian ayatollah and the Roman Catholic church to the United Arab Emirates.

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Palestinian Assaf wins Arab Idol

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The winner of the pan-Arabic talent show ‘Arab Idol’ (held in Beirut, Lebanon) is Mohammed Assaf from Gaza.  Even though the people in Gaza are being confronted with strict morality rules of Hamas, the fundamental Islamic movement – on News and Noise! we had an article about this before – this student of 23-years old was determined to participate Arab Idol. He already got arrested a twenty times by the Hamas, because he was singing at weddings and family parties. The only way to get out of Gaza was bribing an Egyptian guard. Unfortunately he got stuck at the frontier for two days. When he got at the auditions, the doors were already closed. He climbed over a wall, and inside he started to sing in an extremely passionate way. That’s how he was allowed to join the show. Three months later, shortly before midnight on Saturday, he was the declared winner!

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Improvisation in Pyongyang?

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Some years ago, by the end of 2010, Dutch Radio 6 – the national radio station for Jazz & Soul music – aired a program about an amazing visit three horn players and a journalist paid to North Korea, in the spring of 2009.
They went there to partake in the 26th April Spring Arts Friendship Festival in Pyongyang, which was – this year it is off schedule because of the country’s war rhetoric –  annually organized in honor of the late Kim Il Sung, the Great Leader of North Korea.

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Cuba trip has become a trending topic

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The trip of Jay-Z and Beyoncé has been a trending topic this week. To celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary, they decided to go to Havana to have a meal at La Guarida, where lots of celebrities have been. The Cubans were thrilled to get a closer look at these world-famous artists. In a 21 minute lasting home video you can see an enthusiastic mob screaming and following the two pop stars. For the Mexican TV, this visit has caused a revolution in Cuba. But in the USA the trip seems to be provocative for various reasons.

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