All posts tagged: Country

‘I’m confident that an African country will win the World Cup’: CAF President Patrice Motsepe – Tête à tête

Published by Sam Flores

In an interview with FRANCE 24, the president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) discussed the upcoming World Cup and AFCON competitions. “I’m confident that an African country will win the World Cup,” Patrice Motsepe said. “We have to aspire high and high”. He also addressed the unprecedented decision by the CAF to strip Senegal of the most recent AFCON title and hand it to Morocco. “Things are back to normal,” Motsepe insisted. “Based on what has happened since the AFCON in Morocco, we are now stronger, more united than ever.” Interviewed on the sidelines of the Africa Forward summit in Nairobi, Motsepe stated that Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are fully committed to organising the next Africa Cup of Nations, which is scheduled for June and July 2027. “We set very high standards,” he said. “Every AFCON has to be better than the previous one”. While the last Africa Cup of Nations ended in unprecedented fashion, with Senegal being stripped of the title and the CAF declaring Morocco champions, Motsepe insisted that “things are back to normal”. “We have …

Films From Japan Are Everywhere at Cannes 2026: Country of Honor

Published by Daniella Wilson

It has been a very good year for Japanese cinema — and Cannes is where the country has come to prove it. In the main competition, buzz has been building around three of Japan’s previous Cannes heroes. Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters, 2018) returns with Sheep in the Box; Ryûsuke Hamaguchi — best screenplay winner in 2021 for Drive My Car — presents his French co-production All of a Sudden; and Koji Fukada, who took the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize in 2016 for Harmonium, competes with Nagi Notes. All three films explore questions of family and friendship. Japan is also looking ahead. On May 15, the Japan Goes to Cannes night at the Marché du Film will present five in-production projects that speak to the strength and diversity of contemporary Japanese cinema. Among them is Kore-eda’s next film, Look Back — currently in postproduction — which traces the 13-year friendship between two girls who bond over a love of manga. It will be the director’s first manga adaptation, and the story of how he …

The House | Rishi Sunak On AI: I Wish I’d Spoken To The Country More About The Change Coming

Published by Sam Flores

Photography by David Sandison 10 min read1 hr Britain is well-positioned to benefit from the AI revolution, but its workforce may be more exposed than many others. Rishi Sunak tells Francis Elliott how he wishes he had done more to help voters prepare for what is about to come Rishi Sunak has more time on his hands these days. Not just because he is out of No 10 but also because he is recuperating from a skiing accident caused by ‘showing off’ to his daughters. In between the pain relief (“a lot of tramadol”) and the physiotherapy, the former prime minister has been building his own AI tool. In will go 20 episodes of his favourite podcasts and post-broadcast social media commentary on them, out will come a short precis that keeps the Richmond MP bang up to date on the issue about which he most cares. He’s understandably quite chuffed with his new tool, having learned how to build it from a series of free online courses designed to improve …

Country diary: Nesting mallard, owl and woodcock in our garden – this is the ‘human shield’ effect | Birds

Published by Sam Flores

A big moon is cresting the Scots pine as I sit at an upstairs window looking down on to the garden. Awaiting the dusk emergence of a female tawny owl has become an evening ritual. After a day spent in the confines of a nest box in our sycamore tree, her departure shifts back by a few minutes every night. Completely silent, she drops towards the woodland border and skims the plants, each time on the same trajectory, a grey shadow in the gloaming. Another movement on the path below catches my eye: a woodcock slinking along, using the box hedge to disguise her passage. If I hadn’t been watching for the owl I would never have known that she too is nesting somewhere in the garden’s thick leafiness. In July 2023, I wrote about a woodcock nesting in a flower border a few metres from the house, four chicks successfully hatching from four eggs. Last year, another attempt was disturbed by a cat captured on trailcam. This may be the same bird returned for a third time. Woodcocks …

Country star Zach Bryan deletes social media after video shows him shouting vulgar joke at fan

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the inside track from Roisin O’Connor with our free weekly music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Zach Bryan is taking a break from social media after facing backlash over a vulgar interaction with a fan. The country singer, 30, deactivated his X and Instagram accounts after a longtime fan shared a video of an awkward moment from last weekend in Mississippi. In the video posted Wednesday, the fan — whose name is Logan — approaches Bryan and asks for a picture while the musician drives a truck with the windows down. However, Bryan began talking before Logan approached him, and appeared to quote Netflix’s sketch comedy show I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson by shouting something about a “c**shot.” Logan could be heard gasping in the video and shared in the caption of the video: “I gotten there really early to be at the gates and saw him as I was walking up. I don’t take it …

Academy of Country Music Awards 2026: Where to watch, who’s nominated, who’s performing, and more

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the inside track from Roisin O’Connor with our free weekly music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This The 2026 Academy of Country Music Awards are poised for a significant shake-up, with a new host, a fresh venue, and a strong female presence among the nominees, marking a distinct shift for the annual event. Country music icon Shania Twain will take the reins as host for the first time, succeeding Reba McEntire. The ceremony is also relocating to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, departing from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, after a three-year tenure. Adding to the fresh feel, women are leading the nominations this year. The event is scheduled for 17 May at 8 p.m. EDT. Here’s how to watch, who’s nominated and more. How can I watch the Academy of Country Music Awards? Fans eager to catch the action can stream the 2026 ACM Awards live on Prime Video, the Amazon Music …

Gigi Hadid’s country home looks like a 5-star hotel in rare new family photos with daughter Khai

Published by Daniella Wilson

Gigi Hadid is living her best life! The supermodel turned 31 on April 23, and enjoyed a low-key celebration at home with her loved ones, including her five-year-old daughter, Khai. And while it was relaxed, there was nothing ordinary about it – in fact, Gigi’s Pennsylvania farmhouse could easily have passed as a five-star hotel in photos shared on social media. The mom-of-one posted several images of the special birthday brunch, complete with a charcuterie board taking up the entire kitchen island, complete with bagels, croissants, crudités and dips and cured meats. © InstagramGigi Hadid’s country home was set up for a special birthday brunch An assortment of teas and coffees and a mimosa stand for the adults also featured. Gigi’s rarely-seen daughter Khai also featured in several pictures, including one where she helped her mom blow out the candles on her cake. A close-up of the celebratory cake showed a timeless design: white frosting adorned with delicate fresh flowers, topped with a sweet, handwritten “Happy birthday mommy” in icing. Gigi splits her time between …

Beloved UK pub suddenly closes – ‘best live music in the country’ | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

An award-winning pub and live music venue has announced its shock closure. The Monarch Bar on James Street in Dunfermline, Scotland, had remained shut for at least a week, with speculation circling on social media that the pub could be about to announce its closure. On Friday (May 1), writing on the pub’s official Facebook page, they said: “Hi folks, I had a meeting with the proprietor this morning who has informed me the Monarch is officially closed. Sad news for myself personally, as it was great being back putting on cracking gigs. The proprietor will be in contact with all of those who have booked parties over the next few days. I wish Irene and her team the best for the future.” The Monarch Bar was an award-winning, independent live music venue and public bar. Last year, it was named Scotland’s Local Live Music Venue of the Year, according to The Herald. Despite the statement, it remains unclear why the pub has decided to cease operations. On Google Maps, The Monarch Bar is now …

Ringo Starr on his new country album and his old parties in L.A.

Published by Sam Flores

Ringo Starr and T Bone Burnett were sitting around the other day at the Sunset Marquis when the former Beatle suddenly turned a dining table into a drum kit and belted out a bit of “Rock Island Line.” “It was Lonnie Donegan who gave us all a great break,” Starr, 85, said of the late British singer whose so-called skiffle music — a scrappy blend of folk, blues and country from the moment just before rock ’n’ roll — captivated kids in England (including the future Fab Four) in the mid- to late 1950s. “Everything followed him,” Starr added as he tapped out Donegan’s signature rhythm and Burnett looked on with a smile. “Did you see just then, when Ringo hit the table, how a whole vibe came alive?” asked the veteran record producer. “There was a feel there — that’s Ringo’s magic. How does it happen? Nobody knows.” Whatever the secret, the two capture that indelible feel on Starr’s charming new album, “Long Long Road,” which Burnett produced and which comes just 15 months …

David Allan Coe dead: Divisive ‘outlaw country’ pioneer was 86

Published by Sam Flores

David Allan Coe, a controversial figure who helped pioneer the 20th century “outlaw country” musical subgenre, penning hits including “Take This Job and Shove It” and “Would you Lay With Me (In a Field of Stone),” has died. Coe died Wednesday night, his representative David Wade confirmed to The Times. He was 86. No other details were available. The origins of outlaw country music, popular in the 1970s and ‘80s, are largely credited to Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, but Coe was a seminal figure in the subgenre. He began writing and releasing music in the 1970s and was surrounded by some mystique. His debut effort, “Penitentiary Blues,” released in 1969, was compiled with tracks written while Coe was in prison. The Ohio-born musician entered a reform school in Michigan at 9 years old and spent the following two decades in and out of correctional facilities. His offenses included burglary and auto theft. More recently, he pleaded guilty in 2015 to failing to pay income taxes for several years and, the following year, was ordered …

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All posts tagged: Country

‘I’m confident that an African country will win the World Cup’: CAF President Patrice Motsepe – Tête à tête

Films From Japan Are Everywhere at Cannes 2026: Country of Honor

The House | Rishi Sunak On AI: I Wish I’d Spoken To The Country More About The Change Coming

Country diary: Nesting mallard, owl and woodcock in our garden – this is the ‘human shield’ effect | Birds

Academy of Country Music Awards 2026: Where to watch, who’s nominated, who’s performing, and more

Gigi Hadid’s country home looks like a 5-star hotel in rare new family photos with daughter Khai

Ringo Starr on his new country album and his old parties in L.A.

David Allan Coe dead: Divisive ‘outlaw country’ pioneer was 86