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Paris Police Ban Concerts by Antisemitic Rapper Freeze Corleone, Citing Fear of Public Disturbances
French rapper Freeze Corleone in the video for his single Shavkat. Photo: Screenshot
Two concerts in Paris by a French rapper who has been investigated for promoting Holocaust denial and accused of spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories have been banned by the authorities in the French capital.
Rapper Freeze Corleone had been due to perform at Paris’ Zenith venue on Friday and Saturday nights. However, in an announcement on Tuesday, the Paris Police Prefect said the concerts would not go ahead because of the “risk of serious disturbances of public order.”
The police statement noted that many of Corleone’s tracks encourage belief in antisemitic conspiracy theories as well as hostility towards Jews. The statement cited a specific line from Corleone’s song “Shavkat” in which he declared, in a reference to discredited allegations against the current French interior minister, “I’d rather be accused of antisemitism than rape like Gerald Darmanin.”
Observing that the “scheduled concerts take place in a particularly tense geopolitical context,” the statement deemed that the shows would not be conducive to public order given that several angry pro-Hamas demonstrations have taken place in France amid an associated rise in antisemitism, with more than 1,700 incidents targeting Jews recorded since the Oct. 7 Hamas pogrom in southern Israel.
The statement also expressed concern that antisemitic invective would be heard at the concerts themselves, potentially triggering violent attacks on the Jewish community and on the police.
Corleone’s lyrics include appeals to “F—k the Shoah!” along with lines such as “I arrive determined like Adolf in the 1930s,” and “Every day I f—k Israel like I live in Gaza.”
Despite selling more than 15,000 copies and attracting 5.2 million listeners on the Spotify digital music platform within three days of its release, the content of his last album, “The Phantom Menace,” resulted in legal proceedings against Corleone — whose real name is Issa Lorenzo Diakhaté — as well a boycott of his music by Skyrock Radio, a French broadcaster, and his distributor, Universal Music.
The post Paris Police Ban Concerts by Antisemitic Rapper Freeze Corleone, Citing Fear of Public Disturbances first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Putin Speaks to Trump, Condemns Israel’s Strikes on Iran, Kremlin Says
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meet in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to US President Donald Trump for 50 minutes on Saturday, condemning the Israeli military operation against Iran and expressing concern about the risks of escalation, the Kremlin said.
“Vladimir Putin condemned Israel’s military operation against Iran and expressed serious concern about a possible escalation of the conflict, which would have unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
Trump, for his part, described events in the Middle East as “very alarming,” according to Ushakov. But the two leaders said they do not rule out a return to the negotiating track on Iran’s nuclear program, Ushakov said.
On Ukraine, Putin told the US leader that Russia was ready to continue negotiations with the Ukrainians after June 22, according to state news agency RIA.
Trump reiterated his interest in a speedy resolution to the conflict, the Kremlin aide said.
Putin also congratulated Trump on his 79th birthday.
The post Putin Speaks to Trump, Condemns Israel’s Strikes on Iran, Kremlin Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Sunday’s US-Iran Nuclear Talks Cancelled, Oman Says
FILE PHOTO: Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi attends a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia July 11, 2023. Photo: Natalia Kolesnikova/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
The latest round of US-Iran nuclear talks scheduled for Sunday in Muscat will not take place, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said on X on Saturday. Oman has been mediating the talks.
Albusaidi’s statement came a day after Israel launched a sweeping air offensive against Iran, killing commanders and scientists and bombing nuclear sites in a stated bid to stop it building an atomic weapon.
A senior official of US President Donald Trump’s administration, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed Sunday’s talks had been cancelled.
Washington, however, remained committed to the negotiations and hoped “the Iranians will come to the table soon,” the official said.
The post Sunday’s US-Iran Nuclear Talks Cancelled, Oman Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Says Talks with US ‘Meaningless’ After Israel Attack, But Yet to Decide on Attending
USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, Sept. 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Iran said the dialogue with the US over Tehran’s nuclear program is “meaningless” after Israel’s biggest-ever military strike against its longstanding enemy, but said it is yet to decide on whether to attend planned talks on Sunday.
“The other side (the US) acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless. You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time divide work by allowing the Zionist regime (Israel) to target Iran’s territory,” state media on Saturday quoted foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying.
“It is still unclear what decision we will make on Sunday in this regard,” Baghaei was quoted as saying.
He said Israel “succeeded in influencing” the diplomatic process and the Israeli attack would not have happened without Washington’s permission, accusing Washington of supporting the attack.
Iran earlier accused the US of being complicit in Israel’s attacks, but Washington denied the allegation and told Tehran at the United Nations Security Council that it would be “wise” to negotiate over its nuclear program.
The sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks was set to be held on Sunday in Muscat, but it was unclear whether it would go ahead after the Israeli strikes.
Iran denies that its uranium enrichment program is for anything other than civilian purposes, rejecting Israeli allegations that it is secretly developing nuclear weapons.
US President Donald Trump told Reuters that he and his team had known the Israeli attacks were coming but they still saw room for an accord.
The post Iran Says Talks with US ‘Meaningless’ After Israel Attack, But Yet to Decide on Attending first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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