List of All Articles with Tag 'k'

India and the United Arab Emirates agreed to use their respective local currencies for cross-border transactions, as Prime

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The brightest of stars can shine for a really long time.

UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace may step down ahead of an expected autumn reshuffle of Prime Minister Rishi

Taylor Swift fans have been left shocked after a conspiracy theorist on TikTok claimed the singer is “sadistic”, “satanic” and ‘harvests energy’ at her concerts in a bizarre clip. Laura Renaud posted a TikTok earlier this month voicing her thoughts on the multi-Grammy winner artist, after another user asked her thoughts on Swift’s Karma music video off of her album Midnights. The TikTok starts with Renaud saying “here’s why I do not f*** with Taylor Swift,” as she proceeds to explain her conspiracy theory to relates to her broader belief that “the world is run by shapeshifting psychopaths”. The latter is a commonly believed amongst conspiracy theorists with links to anti-semitism and anti-Semitic tropes. Renaud goes on to say “I am a ‘conspiracy theorist’, even though these are no conspiracies anymore people. All celebrities are controlled,” she goes on to claim. “You need to understand that Hollywood and the whole entertainment industry had an agenda,” she says. “An agenda to program people, an agenda to lower people’s vibration.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter This isn’t the first time a conspiracy theory about music has featured on social media. In 2021, many were claiming that the pitch of modern music was causing listener’s brains to become “agitated” as well as to “control” listeners. “I would never listen to her new s*** because I know that there is a dark energy behind her music,” Renaud shares. At one point she even goes so far as to suggest that Swift isn’t human. @laulaurenaud Replying to @Sabrina all said with love and the intention to simply inform ❤️ #taylorswift #celebrities #hollyweird #conspiracytiktok Renaud then goes on to discuss Swift’s current tour the Eras Tour, and comments on the admittedly obscene prices some concertgoers are paying to attend. She says that she would never “step foot” in one of the venues “because there’s energy harvesting rituals, there’s mind programming being done”. “You need to understand we live in an energetic world and all of this has been thought out so long ago. So you have all of these young girls looking up to her … this is all part of the f***ing hoax.” The Weeknd, Beyonce, and “all the rap” include other artists and music genres that Renaud said she wouldn’t listen to, claiming they too are attempting harvest energy and program fan’s minds. She goes on to ask fans of Swift to “just open your eyes a little bit.” “We are praising people who are praising dark forces, who are keeping people plugged into the illusion,” she says before the TikTok ends. Whilst some in the comments agreed with Renaud saying “glad I’m not the only one”, and “very well said”, the majority were shocked at Renaud’s outlandish beliefs. Many of the comments were in disbelief over Renaud’s genuine faith in the theory saying they were “confused” and that the theory was “strange”. Others joked that they too “do not f***” with Swift but because they didn’t get tickets to see her, not because they believe she is satanic. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Heavy rainfall left at least 22 people dead and 14 missing in South Korea as of 6 p.m.

Jurgen Klopp has picked out two young Liverpool players for praise during pre-season.

By Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) -Twenty-two people have died, 14 were missing and thousands evacuated in South Korea as of

A legal battle appears set to erupt over the sale of a British author’s LGBT+- themed webcomic and graphic novel in Hungary, after Viktor Orban’s government attempted to ban a bookshop from selling it without closed packaging. The country’s second largest bookshop chain Lira has announced that it plans to take legal action after a Budapest government office fined it 12 million forints (£27,500), claiming it broke the law by selling Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper among other books for young adults without wrapping them in plastic foil. The sale of the Kent-born author’s book has fallen foul of a law passed by Mr Orban’s strongly Christian-conservative government banning the “display and promotion of homosexuality” to under-18s, a move viewed as resonating with rural voters ahead of his fourth-term election win in 2022. While the passage of the law in 2021 came despite strong criticism from human rights groups and the EU, the large fine now handed to Lira emerged on the same day that 38 countries, including Germany and the US, urged Budapest to protect the rights of LGBT+ people and scrap its discriminatory laws. Krisztian Nyary, a well-known author who works as creative director at Lira, told Reuters the fine was disproportionate, and criticised the law as vaguely worded as he indicated that the bookshop would respond legally. “As this is a resolution about a fine it cannot be appealed, it can only be attacked – in what way, our lawyers will assess,” he said. “We will use all legal means at our disposal.” Mr Nyary said that some publishers had already voluntarily wrapped their books in plastic coverings in an attempt to comply, but warned that it was not clear whether it was sufficient to place books affected by the law on a shelf for literature aimed for adults. He also said it was uncertain whether LGBT+-themed books meant for adults would also have to be wrapped up or if those could be sold without packaging, adding: “This is all not clear.” The law, which the government claims is aimed at protecting children, has caused anxiety in the LGBT+ community. It currently bans the display of LGBT+ content to minors in schools, literature, films, TV and adverts, while prohibiting the public display of products depicting gender reassignment. More than a dozen EU member states have backed legal action against the law – branded a “disgrace” by European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen – in the European Court of Justice. In a statement reported by state news agency MTI this week, the Budapest metropolitan government office said an “investigation found that the books in question depicted homosexuality, but they were nevertheless placed in the category of children’s books and youth literature, and were not distributed in closed packaging”. While it is not the first time a Hungarian government office has fined a bookshop for violating the law, the fresh fine came ahead of a Pride march in Budapest on Saturday. Heartstopper has sold millions of copies and has been read more than 50 million times online, prompting streaming giant Netflix to release an adaptation of the ongoing series last April. Ms Oseman, a 28-year-old born in the Kent town of Chatham, who first secured a publishing deal aged 17, was handed two prizes at last year’s Children's and Family Emmy Awards and was nominated for a Bafta over the Netflix adaptation of Heartstopper, which also won Waterstones Book of the Year in 2022. Additional reporting by Reuters Read More Hungary's Orban bemoans liberal 'virus' at CPAC conference ‘Less drag queens, more Chuck Norris!’: Hungary’s Orban wows Republicans The Independent Pride List 2023: The LGBT+ people making change happen Netflix announces Heartstopper season 2 release date

The incident happened at about 16:30 local time on the R238 at Tooban, County Donegal, on Friday.