Pink Floyd release first new song since 1994 for Ukraine

Yahoo – AFP, April 7, 2022 

David Gilmour: 'We, like so many, have been feeling the fury and the frustration of this vile
act of an independent, peaceful democratic country being invaded and having its people
murdered by one of the world's major powers' (AFP/JOHN D MCHUGH) (JOHN D MCHUGH)

Pink Floyd have written their first new song in almost 30 years to support Ukrainians, the band announced on Thursday. 

"Hey, Hey, Rise-Up!" will be released on Friday, and be used to raise funds for humanitarian causes linked to the war. 

It samples Andriy Khlyvnyuk, from one of Ukraine's biggest bands BoomBox, singing in Sofiyskaya Square in Kyiv in a clip that went viral. 

Khlyvnyukh abandoned a world tour to return to Ukraine and help defend his country. 

"We, like so many, have been feeling the fury and the frustration of this vile act of an independent, peaceful democratic country being invaded and having its people murdered by one of the world's major powers," Pink Floyd said on their official Twitter feed. 

In a press release, band leader David Gilmour said he had been moved by Khlyvnyuk's video: "It was a powerful moment that made me want to put it to music." 

He was able to speak with Khlyvnyuk from his hospital bed in Kyiv, where the singer was recovering after being hit by shrapnel in a mortar attack, the record company said. 

"I played him a little bit of the song down the phone line and he gave me his blessing. We both hope to do something together in person in the future," Gilmour said. 

The image accompanying the song is of a sunflower, and was inspired by a viral video showing a Ukrainian woman insulting two armed Russian soldiers. 

In it, she tells the soldiers: "Take these seeds and put them in your pockets. That way sunflowers will grow when you all rest here." 

It is the first original music from Pink Floyd since 1994's "The Division Bell". 

Gilmour tweeted his opposition to the war soon after Russia's invasion, saying: "Putin must go". 

The band has also pulled their music from Russian and Belarusian streaming sites in protest at the invasion.

Tibet supporters in India mark 60 years since uprising

Yahoo – AFP, Archana THIYAGARAJAN, March 10, 2019

Supporters of the Dalai Lama chanted and prayed at the Buddhist shrine in mountainous
Dharamsala - home to Tibet's government in exile (AFP Photo/Money SHARMA)

Huge crowds gathered at the Dalai Lama's temple in India Sunday to commemorate 60 years since the failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule that drove the spiritual leader into exile.

Supporters of the 83-year-old peace icon chanted and prayed at the Buddhist shrine in mountainous Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama established a government-in-exile after fleeing a deadly Chinese crackdown in Tibet in 1959.

Devotees in the Indian hill station the Dalai Lama has called home for six decades waved Tibet's colourful "snow lion" flag, which China has outlawed as a symbol of separatism.

Some had "Free Tibet" painted on their faces along with the colours and distinct golden sun of the iconic flag.

"This is a proud day," Lhakpa Tsering, a Tibetan living in exile in India, told AFP in Dharamsala.

Performers danced and recited Tibetan songs at the temple for guests, which 

organisers said included parliamentarians from 10 nations (AFP Photo/Money SHARMA)

"Sixty years we've been in exile. Still, our struggle is young and fresh and strong, so we can give a message to China that until Tibetans remain, our struggle will never end."

The Dalai Lama himself was not present at the anniversary ceremony, but chief representatives of the exiled Tibetan administration and foreign dignitaries gathered for the solemn occasion.

Performers dressed in traditional attire danced and recited Tibetan songs at the temple for guests, which organisers said included parliamentarians from 10 nations.

A minute's silence was held at the outset to remember those killed when China brutally crushed the fledgling Tibetan revolt, a crackdown the government-in-exile claimed killed tens of thousands.

Call for dialogue

Buddhist Tibet, a vast Himalayan area of plateaus and mountains, declared independence from China in the early 20th century but Beijing took back control in 1951, having sent in thousands of troops.

The Dalai Lama himself was not present at the ceremony, but chief representatives 

of the exiled Tibetan administration and foreign dignitaries were present (AFP Photo/

Money SHARMA)

The Dalai Lama -- chosen at the age of two in 1937 as the 14th incarnation of Tibetan Buddhism's supreme religious leader -- was enthroned as head of state after the Chinese invasion.

His co-existence with the Beijing authorities was tense and when the Chinese authorities summoned him to an event without his bodyguards on March 10, Tibetans feared a trap that could endanger their leader.

Thousands of his supporters assembled at his summer palace to prevent him from leaving; thousands more demonstrated in Lhasa to demand the Chinese depart, the Dalai Lama would later say.

Beijing sent more troops into Tibet, and in the bloodshed that followed, refugees poured over the border into Dharamsala -- already then a sanctuary for Tibetan exiles fleeing Chinese repression.

The Dalai Lama evaded Chinese authorities and slipped away dressed as a soldier, escaping to India with an entourage of supporters in a gruelling two-week trek through the Himalayas.

Prime Minister of the Tibetan government in exile Lobsang Sangay addressed the huge 

crowds gathered at the Dalai Lama's temple in Dharmasala (AFP Photo/Money SHARMA)

There he formed a government-in-exile and demanded autonomy for Tibet, a decades-long quest that would earn him worldwide respect as a figure of nonviolence. He won the Nobel Prize in 1989.

He remains a thorn in the side to China, which adamantly rejects any suggestion of Tibetan autonomy and blacklisted the Dalai Lama as a dangerous "separatist".

Beijing continues to be accused of political and religious repression in the region, but insists Tibetans enjoy extensive freedoms and that it has brought economic growth.

"If (China) earnestly believes that co-operation can bring more peace, it should renew dialogue with the envoys of His Holiness Dalai Lama," Lobsang Sangay, President of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

"As we have seen repeatedly, the envoys are ready to talk and peacefully resolve the issue of Tibet through the 'middle-way approach'".

VIDEO: Tibetan supporters speak out at a rally in India to commemorate 60 years since the failed uprising against Chinese rule pic.twitter.com/LKhw92Xc4o

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 10 maart 2019

N. Korea orchestra to perform in S. Korea during Winter Games

Yahoo – AFP, Jung Ha-Won, January 15, 2018

This handout photo provided by the South Korean Unification Ministry shows South
 Korea's chief delegate Lee Woo-Sung (front L) and his delegation crossing the border
 line to attend the talks (AFP Photo/Handout)

Seoul (AFP) - A 140-member North Korean orchestra will perform in South Korea during next month's Winter Olympics, the two sides announced Monday, amid a tentative rapprochement after months of tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

The North agreed last week to send athletes, high-level officials and others to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

The two sides agreed an artistic troupe would be part of the delegation, and four officials from each country met Monday at the border truce village of Panmunjom to thrash out details of that visit.

The 140 members of the Samjiyon Orchestra will hold concerts in the capital Seoul and the eastern city of Gangneung close to Pyeongchang which is hosting the Games, said a joint statement after the talks.

"The South will ensure the safety and convenience of the North's performing squad to the utmost extent," it said, without elaborating on the dates for the concerts.

The concerts, if they go ahead, would mark the first time that a North Korean artistic troupe has performed in the capitalist South since 2002, during a previous rare period of rapprochement.

The North's then-leader Kim Jong-Il sent dozens of state singers, dancers and musicians to Seoul to perform at a political event when South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung, known for his reconciliation policy, was in office.

The North's delegates at Monday's meeting included Hyon Song-Wol, the leader of Pyongyang's famed all-female Moranbong music band, raising expectations the band would perform in the South.

Monday's joint statement however did not mention it.

The South's delegates to Monday's talks included senior officials from the state-run Korean Symphony Orchestra, raising the prospect of groups from both sides of the border performing together.

The two nations also agreed on Monday to hold talks at Panmunjom on Wednesday on logistics and details for the visit by the North's athletes.

The Koreas are set to hold talks with the International Olympics Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Saturday over the number of the North's athletes.

South Korea has proposed a joint march for the opening ceremony and a unified women's ice hockey team, reports quoted a minister as saying last week.

This handout photo provided by the South Korean Unification Ministry shows North

 Korea's chief delegate Kwon Hyok-Bong (L) greeting South Korea's chief delegate 

Lee Woo-Sung (R) (AFP Photo/Handout)

'Corn without teeth'

The South Korean government and Olympic organisers have been keen for Pyongyang -- which boycotted the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul -- to take part in what they have been promoting as a "peace Olympics".

The North remained silent on the offer until current leader Kim Jong-Un said in his New Year's speech that it could participate, a move seen as aimed at easing military tensions with the US.

Tension has been high as the North staged a flurry of nuclear and missile tests since last year and Kim traded threats of war and personal attacks with US President Donald Trump.

Kim's declaration triggered a rapid series of moves, while Seoul touted talks last week -- the first inter-Korea meeting for two years -- as a potential first step to bringing the North into negotiations over its nuclear arsenal.

South Korean President Moon Jae-In, who advocates dialogue with the North but remains critical of Pyongyang's weapons drive, said last week he was willing to have a summit with Kim "under the right conditions", but added that "certain outcomes must be guaranteed".

In a setback for such hopes, Pyongyang on Sunday slammed Moon as "ignorant and unreasonable" for demanding preconditions -- possibly a step towards denuclearisation -- for a summit.

"The south Korean chief executive should not be dreaming," the state-run KCNA news agency said in an editorial, accusing Moon of "brownnosing" the United States.

KCNA added that the North could still change its mind about taking part in the Olympics. "They should know that train and bus carrying our delegation to the Olympics are still in Pyongyang," it said.

A spokesman for Seoul's unification ministry played down the editorial, attributing it to "internal reasons and circumstances".

But on Monday, a senior North Korean journalist warned the South's media against criticising Pyongyang

"Tongue may bring calamity and miswritten pen may become a sword beheading oneself," Kim Chol Guk said in an essay published by KCNA.

"The South Korean authorities may find the wedding ceremony turning into a mourning ceremony if they fail to hold tight control of media and of their own tongue."

North and South Korea begin talks on appearances by performers from Pyongyang's state-run artistic troupes at next month's Winter Olympics in the South, after the North agreed to attend the Games pic.twitter.com/k9iipxKm33

— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 15, 2018

'Last Christmas': Tributes pour in as George Michael dies at 53

Yahoo - AFP, Dario Thuburn, December 26, 2016

British singer George Michael, who sold more than 100 million albums in
his career, has died aged 53 (AFP Photo/LEON NEAL)

London (AFP) - British pop star George Michael, who rose to fame with the band Wham! and sold more than 100 million albums in his career, has died aged 53, his publicist said.

"It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period," the publicist said in a statement.

Thames Valley Police said the ambulance service had attended a property in Goring in Oxfordshire, where the singer lived, at 1342 GMT on Sunday and a 53-year-old man was confirmed dead at the scene.

"At this stage the death is being treated as unexplained but not suspicious. A post-mortem will be undertaken in due course," the police said.

Billboard magazine quoted Michael's manager Michael Lippman as saying the singer had died of heart failure.

Singer Elton John published a picture of himself with Michael on his Instagram account.

"I am in deep shock. I have lost a beloved friend - the kindest, most generous soul and a brilliant artist," the British star wrote.

Madonna posted a video of herself presenting Michael with an award and wrote: "Farewell my Friend! Another Great Artist leaves us."

Michael was due to release a documentary in 2017 after a period of living as a virtual recluse in which he hit the headlines for a series of bizarre incidents linked to drugs.

Earlier this month it was also announced that producer and songwriter Naughty Boy, whose real name is Shahid Khan, was working with Michael on a new album for next year.

Michael was best known for his 1980s hits "Last Christmas", "Freedom", "Careless Whisper" and "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" but his career spanned more than three decades.

He won a string of awards including two Grammies and three Brits.

His last album "Symphonica" (2014) rose to number one in the charts.

George Michael (AFP Photo/Gal ROMA)

'Talented soul'

Many tributes to Michael referred to other music world deaths in 2016, starting with David Bowie in January and including Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt who died on Saturday.

"2016 - loss of another talented soul. All our love and sympathy to George Michael's family," the band Duran Duran, which were 1980s contemporaries of Wham!, said on their official Twitter account.

Referring to him by his nickname "Yog" (Yours Only George), Wham! co-star Andrew Ridgeley said he was "heartbroken" by Michael's death.

Canadian musician Bryan Adams tweeted: "I can't believe it. Such an incredible singer and a lovely human being, far too young to leave us."

Tributes poured in from outside the music world too.

Football presenter and former England captain Gary Lineker tweeted: "No, not George Michael as well. Another musical great leaves us this year. 2016 can just sod off."

"Star Trek" actor George Takei referred to some of Michael's greatest hits in a tweet, writing: "Rest with the glittering stars, George Michael. You've found your Freedom, your Faith. It was your Last Christmas, and we shall miss you."

George Michael was due to release a documentary in 2017 after a period of 

living as a virtual recluse in which he hit the headlines for a series of bizarre

incidents linked to drugs (AFP Photo/LEON NEAL)

Drug charges, health scares

Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou to a Greek Cypriot father and English mother in north London in 1963.

He met Ridgeley at high school and the pair went on to form Wham! in 1981.

With their good looks, perma-tans, highlighted hair and hedonistic image, the duo captured the go-getting spirit of the age and fast became one of Britain's biggest pop acts.

In 1985, Wham! became the first Western pop band to perform in China as the country was slowly beginning to open up to the outside world under reformist leader Deng Xiaoping.

Following years of speculation over his sexuality, Michael came out as gay in 1998 after being arrested for committing a lewd act in the public toilet of a Los Angeles park.

It was the first of several incidents that were to overshadow his musical career in his later years.

He notched up police cautions for cannabis and crack cocaine possession and in 2010 was sentenced to eight weeks in jail after crashing his car into a London shop while under the influence of cannabis and prescription medication.

In 2011, he spent several weeks in hospital in Vienna after contracting pneumonia, later saying that he had been close to death.

There were fresh concerns in 2013 when he had to be airlifted to hospital after falling out of his chauffeur-driven Range Rover as it travelled at high speed on a motorway.

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"The Akashic Circle" – Jul 17, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Religion, The Humanization of God, Benevolent Design, DNA, Akashic Circle, (Old) Souls, Gaia, Indigenous People, Talents, Reincarnation, Genders, Gender Switches, In “between” Gender Change, Gender Confusion, Shift of Human Consciousness, Global Unity,..... etc.)  - (Text version)

“… Gender Switching

Old souls, let me tell you something. If you are old enough, and many of you are, you have been everything. Do you hear me? All of you. You have been both genders. All of you have been what I will call between genders, and that means that all of you have had gender switches. Do you know what happens when it's time for you to switch a gender? We have discussed it before. You'll have dozens of lifetimes as the same gender. You're used to it. It's comfortable. You cannot conceive of being anything else, yet now it's time to change. It takes approximately three lifetimes for you to get used to it, and in those three lifetimes, you will have what I call "gender confusion."

It isn't confusion at all. It's absolutely normal, yet society often will see it as abnormal. I'm sitting here telling you you've all been through it. All of you. That's what old souls do. It's part of the system. …”

"THE THREE WINDS" – Feb 23-24, 2013 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Humanity, Home - other side of the veil, Wind of Birth - Birth, Wind of Existence - Life, Wind of Transition - Death) - (Text version)

“… The Human Spiritual System

The puzzle during your life is about how much of this truth of being part of the creator you can accept. How far can you open the quantum door to see this truth when you are alive? This single attribute determines how enlightened you become during life. Listen: It's not how much knowledge and experience in is your Akash, but how much you allow yourself to believe it. There are many old souls on this planet who have an amazing amount of spiritual learning, yet they don't want to touch that "spiritual jar" within them at this point in their lives. This is the free choice of the Human Being we speak about.

There is immense planning that puts you at the Wind of Birth. What did you accomplish during the last lives, if anything? Who were you and what did you do? What energies did you start that were not complete that you wish to continue? What soul group were you in? Who were your parents? Are you in certain soul agreements to become their grandchildren? That is more common than you think! There are so many things that go into the planning of the "entry energy" of your life, and each life potential is different and unique. The planning is done by you when you have "the mind of God" on my side of the veil.

Humans don't like the fact that there is no generic spiritual instruction manual that states, "Here is what happens and here is what to do." Listen, dear ones, humanity is honored way above that! Are all your children the same? Do books on how to raise children always work for your child? The answer is no, because each soul is totally unique. But Humans still wish to have a list of things to do and not to do, as though each soul somehow came out of a spiritual machine that made them all the same. No. Instead, Spirit honors each soul with unique choice and a tremendous variety of energy selections.

The Great Artists

There are certain attributes that Humans receive on the planet, and we'll call them creative attributes. These are almost quantum attributes that may take several lifetimes to complete. What often happens to these creatives is that they go through a series of lifetimes as though it were one in order to have completion of their creative cycle. Famous artists will come back, and the first thing they want to do is pick up a brush and continue what they did before. Famous composers, famous poets and sculptors will come back and simply keep going! It's so obvious, yet you deny this in your scientific way.

So the creatives are different from the others, and their puzzle is to bring the planet the greatest treasures of art through a unified series of lives, yet personally they try to sort out the puzzle of "what they carry inside is valuable, but nobody knows it". If you've noticed, most of the great artists who have even lived and are here today carry a burden that is easily identified as "lack of self-worth". Do you see the set-up? It's ripe for personal discovery, isn't it? So can you see the Human standing in the Wind of Birth, ready to continue what they only began last time? With the "mind of God", there is a smile on their face as they hear the music that they will compose, for it's with them when they arrive.

As you stand at the Wind of Birth, you are completely and totally a unique creature with incomplete energies. It takes more than one short earthly life to create Human attributes that grow into maturity. Even non-creatives (most of you) have a lineage of starting something that never got fully completed. Sometimes it's within relationships. Sometimes it's learning or teachings. Old souls are good at this coming and going and often pick up where they leave off as they slowly change the planet by their very presence upon it. The old soul is, "Sewing the seeds of light on the carpet of linear time, not even knowing that he will also be harvesting those exact mature plants of wisdom as he returns in a subsequent life."

Therefore, dear one, you don't arrive with a blank slate, but you have to know that, don't you? The old soul feels it. The only ones who arrive with a completely blank slate are the newbies [first timers] and we'll talk about that in the next wind. But this is a room of old souls who are hearing and reading right now. Each of you is here with a spiritual jar that is filled with the experience of living on Earth, and sometimes even the attribute of "awakening to your own mastery".  ….”

Holland's Got Talent 2013 - Amira Willighagen (9)

Andre Rieu & 3 year old violinist, Akim Camara 2005 (Video)

America's Got Talent YouTube Special - Jackie Evancho (10)

Is Boy His Own Grandfather? (+Video)

10 Amazing Things Kids Have Said About Past Lives

"Common Questions from Non-Lightworkers" - Feb 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) 

"... Question Three: Is there life on other planets?

... I will tell you, as long as you stay in 3D, you'll still be getting in little metal cans and air suits and going to planets. As soon as you begin the quantum age, however, you will simply wish yourself there, because you will be entangled with everything and can go with intent. If you don't believe this now, you will later, for what I give you is true. It may be lifetimes and lifetimes from now, but the group that is before me is the group that is going to come back over and over. The difference is that you're done coming back in an old energy. This is a new energy..

When you come back, dear one, everything you know will be in your DNA and be on top [available]. You're not going to have to go through what you did before. As soon as you decide to look around and open the door [metaphor for free choice to awaken], everything you've learned this time around will be right there.

This is the attribute of what you would call "a child of new consciousness," which you have labeled with a color - indigo. The child remembers who they are. They are conceptual, and you believe they have to be taught from scratch! Hardly! They remember! Do you understand what is taking place? We told you this last time, but we want to review something with you: The animal on the prairie drops its calf and within hours, the calf is up, running with the herd. Did you know that the calf instantly knows who its enemies are, what water to drink that doesn't smell right, and what berries to eat that are not poison? Where did that come from? How did that infant animal know these things? The answer is that this information was biologically inherited. You call it instinct. But when you have a Human baby - nothing! It doesn't know anything but that it's hungry. It requires 20 years of teaching! Aren't you tired of that? Did you ever think about why the animals have so much knowledge to begin with and you have so little? Does that seem correct for the top of the evolutionary ladder? It's time for that to change.

You're starting to see it, even with the indigos. They come in knowing. That's why they're so impatient. You're trying to teach them things they already know instinctively. Just like the calf on the prairie, they come in knowing. Some of them try to teach you. That doesn't always go well. That was question three...."

"The Quantum Factor" – Apr 10, 2011 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Galaxies, Universe, Intelligent design, Benevolent design, Aliens, Nikola Tesla (Quantum energy), Inter-Planetary Travel, DNA, Genes, Stem Cells, Cells, Rejuvenation, Shift of Human Consciousness, Spontaneous Remission, Religion, Dictators, Africa, China, Nuclear Power, Sustainable Development, Animals, Global Unity.. etc.) - (Text Version)

"..... DNA - A Quantum Force 

Now we get to the core truth, don't we? So I will tell you. The ninety percent of DNA which is quantum, is filled with information, both esoteric and timeless. It is a quantum blueprint for everything you are and have been since you arrived on the planet the first time. DNA contains instruction sets for your life; everything from your full Akashic Record - every single lifetime you have had - to the benevolent creator's fingerprint within the seeds of creation itself. Every single talent you ever had is there, even if you don't have any of those today... the record is there. Every predisposition of weakness and strength are there. Biologically, every single instruction to every single stem cell is there. . ..."

"..... DNA is a Dynamic Molecule, not a static one.

Humanity is stuck in the 3D portion of their biological thinking. In your 3-D life, you simply accept the chemistry you're given. You act as though the three percent gene producing part is all there is. You believe it is a chemical protocol that is unchangeable and simply "you." You don't see it for the way it's designed. It's dynamic and always has been. It's not set, but will continue to simply repeat what it does unless there is another quantum influence on it.

Therefore you live with the 3 percent as though it were all there is, and since it just "came with your body" and seems to control everything, you never talk to it. Many of you come in with pre-dispositions based upon the karma which is put upon you from your past lives. You don't come in clean [without karmic energy]. Instead, you arrive with pre-dispositions, fears and phobias. Some are positive. Perhaps you come in as a prodigy continuing your last life... the 8-year-old who can paint like a master and do brushstrokes that take 30 years to develop. What does that tell you about what must be in the DNA?

Perhaps you come in as the composer, the pianist, the prodigy, the violinist, just waiting until your hands can go on the fingerboard or can reach up and fret the notes. Perhaps you come in knowing how to play the piano, just waiting for your hands to get big enough to do what you used to do... without any lessons. How do you explain that, dear ones? The answer is that all this is contained in the dynamic quantum instruction sets of your DNA... the part you never talk to it. .."

Malaysian rapper freed after being held for insulting Islam

Yahoo – AFP, August 25, 2016

Malaysian rapper Wee Meng Chee said the song he was filmed singing inside a
mosque, which led to his arrest, was written to "promote harmony" (AFP Photo)

A Malaysian rapper, who was arrested for insulting Islam in a music video that was filmed inside a mosque and used the word "Allah," was freed on Thursday on health grounds.

Wee Meng Chee, who goes by the stage name Namewee, was arrested on Sunday over the song, entitled "Oh my God," when he landed at Kuala Lumpar airport after returning from overseas.

Police said he was being investigated for defiling a place of worship, with the intention of insulting religion, as part of the video was filmed in a mosque.

Namewee was held for four days in northern Penang state, where the offense allegedly took place.

If found guilty, the 33-year-old ethnic Chinese musician could be jailed for up to two years and face a fine.

Penang district police chief, Mior Faridalathrash Wahid, said the magistrates court had refused to extend his arrest because Namewee had health problems.

"Namewee is suffering from stomach ulcers," he told AFP. "Namewee has been freed on police bail and we are still continuing with the investigations."

"They had entered a mosque to do the video," Mior added.

The video features Namewee and three other singers in front of various places of worship, including a mosque as well Hindu, Buddhist and Taoist temples.

The song is in Mandarin, but the lyrics include religious terms including "Allah" and "Hallelujah," as well as the Islamic call to prayer.

It is illegal for non-Muslims to use the word Allah to refer to God in Malaysia, even in reference to their own faith.

Activist Mizuad Mohamad Azudin, who lodged a police report against Namewee, said the singer's "despicable behaviour" had angered Muslims.

But Amnesty International condemned the arrest as "another sign of the increasing repression by the Malaysian authorities against government critics, including artists".

In a video posted on YouTube, Namewee said the song was written to "promote harmony".

Malaysia generally practises a moderate brand of Islam among its majority Malay community, but conservative views have gained increasing traction in recent years.

Minorities -- mainly ethnic Indians and Chinese -- complain of what they see as Islamisation.

Issues related to race, religion and language are considered sensitive in Malaysia, which witnessed deadly riots mainly between ethnic Malays and Chinese in 1969.

Kate Bush fans re-enact Wuthering Heights in Australia

Yahoo – AFP, July 16, 2016

Kate Bush fans gather to rehearse a dance before performing during a
celebration to mark 'The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever', in Melbourne, on
July 16, 2016 (AFP Photo/Paul Crock)

Melbourne (AFP) - Thousands of Kate Bush fans put on their best billowy red dresses and danced en masse in Melbourne Saturday to one of the singer's most iconic songs Wuthering Heights.

They donned matching red stockings and black wigs to mark The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever -- a re-enactment of the British star's classic 1978 debut music video in which she pirouettes and cartwheels in a misty field.

Bush's distinctive voice and performance-art–style videos gained a global cult following and in 2013 theatre group Shambush gathered nearly 300 Kate Bushes to recreate her iconic frolic in the English city of Brighton.

This inspired the Melbourne event, which has taken on a life of its own with similar dances also planned Saturday in 21 cities around the world, coordinator Douglas Leitch said, including Berlin, Oslo, Montreal, Tel Aviv, Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

"The whole idea really is just to get toregether and have fun and do our unique interpretation of the dance," the 44-year-old, who had an overwhelming response after advertising the day on Facebook, told AFP.

Kate Bush fans rehearse a dance before performing during a celebration to 

mark 'The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever', in Melbourne, on July 16, 2016

(AFP Photo/Paul Crock)

He said at least 800 dresses had been bought for the occasion, with dance classes booked out across Melbourne as people prepared. Organisers on Saturday estimated around 2,000 people, young and old, took part.

"It is such a unique song from a unique artist. It resonates with people and that's why it's lasted," added Leitch.

"I don't know if Kate knows it's happening, because she's a bit of a recluse, but I'm sure she might."

Thousands of Kate Bush fans re-enact 'Wuthering Heights' in Melbourne, Australia https://t.co/nYgSVPNt5h pic.twitter.com/yy88BfuS0g

— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 16, 2016

Related Article:

Young Vietnamese quiz Obama on rap, weed and good looks

Yahoo – AFP, Jérôme Cartillier, Tran Thi Minh Ha, May 25, 2016

US President Barack Obama listens as a young female rapper sings a song
 at a town hall event in Ho Chi Minh City (AFP Photo/Jim Watson)

Barack Obama fielded questions Wednesday on everything from rap and weed smoking to his good looks at a lively meeting with young Vietnamese, who see the US leader as a far cry from their staid Communist rulers.

The US President, on the final leg of a three-day trip to Vietnam before flying to Japan, held one of his trademark town hall gatherings with hundreds of youngsters in the country's buzzing commercial and creative capital Ho Chi Minh City.

The president received a huge cheer as he took to the stage in a one-party authoritarian state where politics is opaque and young people's voices are rarely heard.

US President Barack Obama has been 

met with throngs of enthusiastic well-wishers

 in a country where politicians are notorious

 for their remoteness and lack of charism

(AFP Photo/Jim Watson)

Suboi, one of the country's best known female rap artists, serenaded Obama with Vietnamese lyrics about whether people are really happy if they have lots of money.

Seemingly delighted with the exchange, Obama praised the journey of hip-hop "which started out as an expression of poor African Americans" and became a "global phenomenon".

He then appeared to take a thinly veiled swipe at Vietnam's authoritarian leaders, who regularly suppress critical artists.

"Imagine if at the time when rap was starting off our government had said 'No' because some of the things you say are offensive, or some of the lyrics are rude, or you're cursing too much?" he said.

"If you try to suppress the arts then you are suppressing the deepest dreams and aspirations of a people," he added.

Earlier another young man began his question with: "Mr President, you're so handsome."

To which Obama quickly quipped "Oh. You can just stop there if you want."

Dreaming of a father

Another asked whether Internet posts about Obama's alleged marijuana smoking as a youth were true.

In this combination of images made from pool video, U.S. President Barack 

Obama, left, listens as Vietnamese rapper Suboi raps during a town-hall style event 

for the Young Southeast Asian Leadership Initiative (YSEALI) at the GEM Center

in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Wednesday, May 25, 2016.

"I don't know if that's true," Obama quickly remarked, further dousing the issue with a warning: "Don't believe everything you read on the Internet."

But that particular exchange also prompted some soul-searching from Obama about leadership and growing out of a rebellious teenage phase prompted by the absence of a father.

"As I got older I realised that instead of worrying about the father who wasn't there, I should start worrying more about what can I do to take more responsibility for my own life," he added.

The environment was a subject that repeatedly came up. Vietnam is acutely vulnerable to climate change and environmental causes have been the focus of numerous protests against the authorities, especially among young people.

Young Vietnamese see US leader Barack Obama as a far cry from their staid 

Communist rulers (AFP Photo/Jim Watson)

Obama said he recognised the freedom western industrialised countries have had to pollute the earth for far longer than developing ones, but urged all countries to work together to prevent disaster.

"The problem is, if a country like China or Vietnam or India took the same development path the West did, we're all going to be under water."

Obama has been met with throngs of enthusiastic well-wishers in a country where politicians are notorious for their remoteness and lack of charisma.

"I like his behaviour, being the most powerful man in the world, but very close to people, not like leaders here," said 22-year-old Tran Huu Duy. "They only wear suits and talk cliches... (they) cannot inspire young people."