Congo Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Good Morning Britain’s Dr Hilary Jones has warned that monkeypox may have become ‘more transmissible’ amid the recent outbreak in the UK.

A fuming mum has hit back at trolls who have slammed the food she feeds her daughter amid claims it's 'abusive'.

Mike Wass Never one to rehash the past, Madonna is taking a two-pronged approach to celebrating the 40th anniversary of her debut album — nodding to the past with two career-spanning remix collections, while remaining rooted in the present by remixing Sickick’s mega-viral reimagining of “Frozen.”For the third and final iteration, dubbed “Frozen on Fire,” Madonna added new lyrics to the song and invited the masked producer to contribute his own vocals. The result is a trap-tinged adventure that rounds out a trilogy of free-wheeling remixes that began with an Afrobeats overhaul, featuring Nigeria’s Fireboy DML, and then a genre-blurring collaboration with New Jersey’s 070 Shake.While Sickick tinkered with “Frozen” independently, Madonna was quick to realize its potential.

Monkeypox has spread to both Spain and Portugal as health officials confirmed cases.

Madonna is preparing to release a charitable NFT collection that includes a video of her avatar giving birth to a rapidly growing tree.The pop star’s Mother Of Creation collection is described in press material as a “labour of love” made over the course of a year with digital artist Beeple (Mike Winkelmann) who sold an NFT last year for $69million (£55million) [via Billboard].All proceeds from the trio of digitally rendered collectables will go to three charities: the Voices of Children Foundation, which helps women and children affected by the war in Ukraine; the City of Joy Foundation, which advocates for victims of violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and Black Mama’s Bail Out, which provides bail for incarcerated caregivers.Madonna’s Mother Of Creation videos are part of an “NFT triptych”.

COVID-19-related pneumonia yesterday (May 4) following a long battle with liver disease.Describing Pyro as “my best friend and brother”, Malin wrote on his social media channels: “He fought real hard right till the end. He changed my life and so many others in ways I can’t even begin to say.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor“POV,” the Emmy-winning PBS documentary series, has announced the acquisition of environmental thriller “Delikado” as part of its upcoming 35th season.The film, which premiered April 29 at the Hot Docs Canadian Intl. Documentary Festival, is the directorial debut of award-winning journalist Karl Malakunas.

NEW ORLEANS -- The memorial garden at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is about to get a lot more crowded as fellow musicians honor the many musical icons — known as “Ancestors” — who have passed since the festival was last held three years ago.Jazz Fest, which began Friday and will conclude on May 8, will feature on-stage tributes, as well as jazz funeral processions that will cross the Fair Grounds and conclude with the unveiling of the honoree’s likenesses alongside the other Ancestors at the rear of the Congo Square field.“That’s Jazz Fest,” Quint Davis, the festival’s longtime producer/director, told The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate. Like many African cultures, “we stay connected to our ancestors.

Wilson Chapman editorFor more than 20 years, Harry Lennix — an actor best known for his roles in TV shows and film such as “The Blacklist,” “Dollhouse” and “Justice League” — has been an advisor for the Chicago-based Black theater company Congo Square Theatre. The company, which doesn’t have a permanent performance space, has struggled to find venues for shows, a situation Lennix says is all too common for many Black arts organizations.“On two hands, you can count the number of Black theatre companies in the country that actually have bricks and mortar,” Lennix tells Variety.

Ebola has been confirmed in Africa just four months after the end of the last outbreak.

Congotronics International will release their long-awaited debut LP Where's the One on April 29. Today, after sharing the album's first three offerings — "Banza Banza," "Beyond the 7th Bend," and the title cut — over the course of the past two months, they're premiering the album's fourth and fifth singles, "Mulume/Change" and “Bombo & Stifflets” with The FADER. Listen to the new songs, and read our interview with six of the international super group's 19 musicians and the project's curator Marc Hollander below.

The first anniversary of Prince Philip’s death is days away.

Bolton Wanderers forward Amadou Bakayoko has been rewarded with his recent form in front of goal with a call-up for Sierra Leone and has explained why he feels now is the right time to head on to the international stage.

Right Said Fred, who took issue with the TV personality’s upcoming trip to the Ukrainian border.Rinder is heading to the area to help the grandparents of his former Strictly Come Dancing partner Oksana Platero find safety.According to the UN, more than one million civilians have fled Ukraine because of the Russian invasion.Earlier this week Rinder, a criminal barrister, shared his plans to fly to Poland, which borders Ukraine. “Right now (Platero’s) grandparents are a week into their struggle to find sanctuary in a safe country,” said Rinder on Twitter.

Ashley Judd is sharing new details about her near-death experience while in the Congolese rainforest.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent“More Than I Remember,” an animated short directed by Amy Bench and designed by Maya Edelman — who was born in Kiyv and came to the U.S. at 13 as a refugee — is having its premiere Friday at the SXSW fest in Austin.The timely pic, which delves into humanitarian and refugee issues, particularly as they relate to minors fleeing conflict, is set in southeastern Congo where militia attacks on the Banyamulenge, a persecuted minority, have led to the destruction of hundreds of villages and the displacement of over 200,000 people.It’s the story of a 14-year-old named Mugeni who, after waking up to the sounds of bombs, finds herself completely alone since her family has scattered to the surrounding forests, inadvertently leaving her behind.

EXCLUSIVE: Award-winning filmmaker Lydia Dean Pilcher (Radium Girls, A Call to Spy) has signed with Echo Lake Entertainment for management—also announcing today that she has acquired the rights to Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism, a bestselling memoir from Dawn Prince-Hughes that she plans to adapt into a feature, as both director and producer.

EXCLUSIVE: Bron Studios has snapped up rights to The Selfless Act of Breathing, the newly released novel by JJ Bola, to develop into a feature-length film.

Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones has re-recorded the band’s 1971 version of ‘When the Levee Breaks’, with assistance from 17 musicians from around the world.The video sees Jones joined by Jane’s Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins, as well as husband-and-wife duo Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi of the Tedeschi Trucks Band. The version also features Sámi vocalist Elle Márjá Eira, Māori artist Mihirangi, Congo musician Mermans Mosengo and Nigerian percussionist Sikiru Adepoju.The rendition was recorded as part of global music non-profit Playing for Change‘s Song Around the World initiative.

Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry is now available to watch online – check it out below.The Upsetter: The Life & Music Of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry is part of the Roots & Revolution: Reggae On Film series, documenting the genre’s worldwide impact, and was released in 2009.Narrated by Benicio del Toro and starring Perry himself, alongside directors Ethan Higbee and Adam Bhala Lough, the film arrives six months after the reggae legend passed away at the age of 85.According to the Jamaica Observer, Perry (real name Rainford Hugh Perry) died at the Noel Holmes Hospital in Western Jamaica after battling illness. No cause of death has yet been revealed.The Upsetter is now available to watch here on the Criterion Collection, and you can check out a snippet of the film below.Born in rural Jamaica in 1936, Perry – also known as The Upsetter – moved to Kingston in the early 1960s.

Since his 2014 debut LP Le Dernier Empereur Bantou, Pierre Kwenders has been an invaluable force in Canadian music with his experimental and playful approach to Congolese rumba. Today, Kwenders is announcing his third album José Louis and the Paradox of Love, due out on April 29 via Arts & Crafts, and today you can hear its lead single "Papa Wemba." The new song is a tribute to the legendary Congolese musician that brought rumba to the world, an accomplishment that has informed Kwenders' own work.

Whether you know her as Ozark’s Wendy Byrde or The Big C’s Cathy Jamison, it’s clear that Laura Linney’s serious acting chops have captivated audiences all while earning her a pretty penny. But what is Laura Linney’s net worth, exactly? The Emmy Award-winning actress didn’t get to where she is today without landing some impressive paychecks—so we’re diving into everything we know about Linney’s career and salary below.

Ed Sheeran has collaborated with Nigerian singer-songwriter Fireboy DML on a forthcoming remix of the latter’s hit song, ‘Peru’, in which Sheeran sings in the Niger-Congo language Yorùbá.Fireboy DML – the stage name of Adedamola Adefolahan – tweeted a snippet of the song alongside a screen grab of his phone on December 21, revealing Sheeran’s input on the track.

Manchester United players and staff have sent a good luck message to Hannibal Mejbri ahead of the Arab Cup final between Tunisia and Algeria.

tweeted simply on Thursday.In a statement released by the organization, he said, “This has been my dream job, even with malaria, a plane crash in Congo and periodic arrests abroad for committing journalism. Yet here I am, resigning — very reluctantly.”The Times announced his departure in a piece outlining his 37 years with the paper and his plans to pursue a political career.

EXCLUSIVE: The story of NBA champ Serge Ibaka is set to be turned into an animated kids series after the LA Clippers center struck a deal with Studio71.

Coltan, short for columbo-tantalite, is an ore containing the metal element tantalum, which due to its resistance to corrosion and high permittivity is used in capacitors essential to the functioning of smartphones, laptops, and other high-tech devices.

BBC Radio 1Xtra has announced it will broadcast a weekly Official UK Afrobeats Chart Show, launching on Sunday, September 26. 

Jeff Bezos is pitching in to help.

Richard Kuipers Revenge is a dish served with considerable style and imagination in “Saloum,” a fast and furious crime-horror-thriller that twists and turns its way around the mangroves, islets and inlets of Senegal’s Sine-Saloum coastal region.