- 'Like a quake': Beirut shaken after deadliest strikes on centre
- Fallen giants Ghana in AFCON trouble after Sudan draw
- Asian leaders meet in Laos with US, Russia on world turmoil
- England gamble backfires as Pavlidis fires emotional Greece to victory
- Obama stumps for Harris, Trump talks US protectionism
- New-look France ease past Israel in Nations League
- Belgium fight back to draw with 10-man Italy in Nations League
- 'Get a life': Hurricane whips up US election storm
- Japan stay perfect in World Cup qualifying
- Relief as Lebanon evacuees dock in Turkey
- Lebanon says 22 dead in Israeli strikes on central Beirut
- NBA boss Silver sees games back in China 'at some point'
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 22
- Table tennis and Netflix push Ukraine teen into French Open contention
- Civilians flee Gaza's Jabalia in tightening Israeli siege
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 18
- At least 10 dead in Florida from tornadoes caused by Hurricane Milton
- Warhol's rare 'Queen' collection opens at Dutch museum
- Three-time NBA champion Green retires
- MLB Twins up for sale after 40 years
- S.Sudan floods affect 893,000, over 241,000 displaced: UN
- Solar storm could impact US hurricane recovery efforts: agency
- Windies sweat on injury to 'crucial' Taylor at World Cup
- Lebanon says 11 dead, 48 injured in Israeli strikes on Beirut
- Panama lashes out at EU over tax haven 'outrage'
- Erdogan says Gaza 'shame of humanity', calls for permanent ceasfire
- TD Bank to pay more than $3 bn to US in money-laundering case
- SAfrica prosecutors drop criminal complaint against president
- 'Good opportunity': Nagelsmann upbeat despite Germany's long injury list
- Hurricane whips up bitter US election battle
- Cameroon bans media talk of president's health amid rumours
- NFL MVP Jackson and rookie phenom Daniels set for showdown
- Chad's capital under threat as floodwaters rise
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit central Beirut
- No answers on strike on reporters in Lebanon one year on: watchdog
- Ramharack picks four wickets as Windies beat Bangladesh in Women's T20 World Cup
- France's City of Light switches to climate-resilient power cables
- Djokovic hails Nadal 'legacy' as Alcaraz in 'shock' over retirement
- Obama hits campaign trail for Harris
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- Djokovic tells Nadal: 'Your legacy will live forever'
- Ethel Kennedy, wife of RFK, dead at 96
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- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- After long fight for glory, Nadal leaves with a legacy of memories
- Home hopes Zheng and Wang through to last-eight in Wuhan Open
- UN peacekeepers say Israel fired on Lebanon HQ, injuring 2
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Alcaraz out as top players pay tribute to Nadal at Shanghai Masters
- Racing's Farrell 'not thinking' about British and Irish Lions
Missy Elliott, George Michael, Kate Bush to enter Rock Hall of Fame
Music's glitterati will fete a new class of legends entering the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Friday, among them Missy Elliott and the late George Michael.
Rock experimentalist Kate Bush, agitators Rage Against the Machine, country icon Willie Nelson, heartland rocker Sheryl Crow and R&B group The Spinners will round out the 2023 class of inductees.
Chaka Khan, Al Kooper and Bernie Taupin will receive the Hall's musical excellence awards. DJ Kool Herc and Link Wray meanwhile will be inducted as "influences" and the late creator of "Soul Train," Don Cornelius, will receive a non-performer honor.
The Cleveland-based Hall of Fame -- which surveyed more than 1,000 musicians, historians and industry members to choose the entrants -- will honor the acts in a star-studded gala concert at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.
For some time now the institution has defined "rock" less in terms of genre than of spirit, with a number of rap, pop, R&B and country stars included.
Hall of Fame Chairman John Sykes had previously emphasized that this year's crop of musicians "reflects the diverse artists and sounds that define Rock & Roll" -- and also noted it coincides with a milestone year that includes the 50th anniversary of the hip-hop genre and country icon Nelson's 90th birthday.
Elliott will become the first woman in hip-hop to enter the music pantheon. The "Lose Control" and "Get Ur Freak On" rapper made the cut in her first year of eligibility.
Artists can be inducted 25 years after their first commercial music release.
Fellow rap star Queen Latifah will induct Elliott, who called the honor "a blessing" in an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" show.
It's particularly poignant given hip-hop's milestone anniversary, Elliott said: "No matter what people say, the hip-hop world is something special and unique."
- 'Progress' on inclusion -
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a music industry pillar that, much like the Recording Academy that runs the Grammys, has in recent years worked to revamp its image -- long criticized as too masculine and too white.
The likes of Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin and Madonna are members -- but women represent fewer than 100 of the nearly 1,000 Hall inductees since 1986.
The Hall of Fame's image problem resurfaced earlier this year, when Jann Wenner -- one of the Hall's board members who helped start the institution -- made comments deemed disparaging towards women and people of color, which were published in the New York Times during an interview about his book "The Masters."
The 77-year-old Wenner, who cofounded Rolling Stone magazine in 1967, featured seven white men including Mick Jagger and Bruce Springsteen in his book.
Queried about the absence of women and people of color, Wenner said none could "articulate" on the level of "philosophers of rock."
The comments were widely eviscerated as racist and sexist, and Wenner was swiftly axed from the Hall's board of directors.
Up until 2020 Wenner had served as the Rock Hall foundation's chairman, a post Sykes then took over.
In a recent interview Sykes emphasized efforts to "update the general voting body" to "reflect the artists that are eligible" for the Hall.
"I want to make sure the voting body is young and diverse enough to really make the most educated decisions about who should be inducted," he told the New York Times.
Sykes underscored the women inducted in recent years, including Bush, Elliott and Crow this year: "We have to do better, but we're making progress."
As for the ever-shifting definition of rock, the chairman interpreted it as "what's moving youth culture."
Rock and roll, Sykes said, is "what a 16-year-old is obsessed with."
Disney+ will livestream Friday's event, beginning at 8 pm (0000 GMT).
P.Silva--AMWN