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Taylor Swift finds herself at a crossroads with 'Reputation'

WATCH Taylor Swift debuts her latest single and releases 'Reputation'

Taylor Swift’s “Reputation”
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“Reputation,” Taylor Swift’s follow-up to her blockbuster “1989” is a risky, self-aware maneuver that sometimes works and sometimes backfires. It opens with the awesome fireball venom of “… Ready for It?” which pairs a sleek energy with some slight hip-hop/reggae posturing.

However, the next track, “End Game,” featuring Future and Ed Sheeran, isn’t as noteworthy. When Swift repeats the words, “Big reputation. / Big reputation / Ooh, you and me we got big reputations," you'll wince.

Big Machine via AP

“Look What You Made Me Do” may have made a big splash at first, but its Right Said Fred nods and its lack of a decent hook make it ultimately fall flat. Swift does herself no favors by referring to herself in the third person occasionally in her lyrics, or when she sings “I never trust a narcissist, but they love me" in “I Did Something Bad."

The digitized sheen on this record also doesn’t always go over well. “Delicate” would be much more ear-catching if it didn’t have that vocoder effect on her vocals. Later, that digital haze on “So It Goes” works to add a sense of mystery, so it is a case-by-case basis.

Taylor Swift appears to address feud with Kanye West on new song 'This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things' Taylor Swift performs new 'Reputation' song, 'New Year's Day,' for fans at her home

Still, “Reputation” is admirable for taking big swings even when it misses. It massively rewrites Swift’s rule book. You have to hand it to her for ripping up her country-pop past completely in favor of skittering, sometimes neon-hued electro-pop.

“Gorgeous,” for instance, pairs the talking diary-entry quality of her older work and pairs it with the new backdrop well. The same can be said for “Getaway Car” and the beautiful “Call It What You Want.” What makes this album worth a recommendation is the second half where Swift finds better balance. That being said, the charging deep bass punctuation on “King of My Heart” may take a few listens to win you over, even if sonically speaking it is a challenging, innovative groove.

Swift still occasionally sings with a transparent, “oh gee” kind of innocence and that no longer really suits her, when you consider the seething anger beneath “Look What You Made Me Do” and the sexual awakening of “Dress,” but whether this album sometimes leaves you questioning the authenticity of Swift’s tone or not, it still is a compelling set that is enjoyable to dissect.

“Reputation” finds Swift at a crossroads as she experiments with new sounds. Her growing pains are outwardly evident. The high school confession energy to her lyrics has long been a big part of her appeal to many. As she matures, that quality is becoming tired. Swift is wrestling with her own growth as a performer and a writer. You can say a lot about “Reputation,” but it is definitely not boring. It’s alternately both impressively dynamic and frustratingly difficult.

Welcome to Taylor Swift’s futuristic, digital bonfire. Be careful you aren’t singed by stray ashes.

Focus Tracks:

“…Ready for It?” This brings the house down instantly even if it sounds like Swift is aiming for Rihanna and Nicki Minaj territory. Against all odds, she is able to sell this vibe here, partly because the chorus is one of the most tuneful and bending hooks on the record. This is a banger from a very surprising source.

“Call It What You Want” This is a lush ballad anchored by a soft, chilled vocal delivery and a beat that occasionally finds power in its drumbeat accents. This deserves to be a huge hit. It isn’t overstated and it plays right to Swift’s strengths in all the best ways.

“Dancing With Our Hands Tied” This has a bit of upbeat tripping quality to its beat. When the rhythm slows for the chorus, it adds power. This almost feels like a lost '80s pop hit. It also really holds up on repeat listens.

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Apec summit: Trump and Xi offer competing visions for trade

US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have set out starkly different visions for the future of global trade in speeches at a summit in Vietnam.

In a defiant address, Mr Trump told the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) meeting that the US would no longer tolerate "chronic trade abuses".

In contrast, President Xi said globalisation was irreversible.

Mr Trump is currently on a five-nation Asia tour, with China one of his stops.

Apec brings together 21 economies from the Pacific region – the equivalent of about 60% of the world's GDP.

Since taking office, President Trump has pursued his "America First" agenda and pulled the US out of the regional Trans-Pacific Partnership – a major trade deal with 12 Apec nations – arguing it would hurt US economic interests.

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What did Trump say?

In a speech in the Vietnamese port city of Da Nang on Friday, President Trump railed against the World Trade Organization, which sets global trade laws, and said it "cannot function properly" if all members do not respect the rules.

He complained about trade imbalances, saying the US had lowered market barriers and ended tariffs while other countries had not reciprocated. "Such practices hurt many people in our country," he said, adding that free trade had cost millions of American jobs.

But he did not lay the blame on Apec countries, and instead accused earlier US administrations of not acting earlier to reverse the trend.

He said America would make bilateral agreements with "any Indo-Pacific partner here who abides by fair reciprocal trade", but only "on a basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit".

Mr Trump has repeatedly referred to the region as "Indo-Pacific", a term used to define America's new geopolitical view of Asia.

• Trump says trade deficit not China's fault

The US president had travelled to Da Nang from Beijing, where he had also discussed America's huge trade imbalance with China. There too, he said he did not blame the country for "taking advantage".

Mr Trump also met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the summit. The two shook hands and exchanged a few words, Russian news agencies reported.

How did his speech compare to Xi's?

Speaking minutes after his American counterpart, Chinese President Xi Jinping took to the podium to espouse his country's credentials as the new champion of world trade.

Globalisation, he said, was an "irreversible historical trend" but the philosophy behind free trade needed to be repurposed to be "more open, more balanced, more equitable and more beneficial to all".

In contrast to President Trump, the Chinese leader defended multilateral trade deals, which he said helped poorer nations to benefit.

"We should support the multilateral trading regime and practise open regionalism to allow developing members to benefit more from international trade and investment."

America First, or the Chinese Dream?

By Karishma Vaswani, Asia business correspondent

President Trump was clear – he wants bilateral trade deals and large, multilateral arrangements don't work for him. This was a speech saying that America is open for business, but on America's terms.

Contrast that with China's Xi Jinping, who spoke about the digital economy, quantum science, artificial intelligence – presenting a vision of the future that is connected, and comprehensive.

Increasingly whenever you see Mr Xi on the international stage he is the poster child for free trade and globalisation. Ironic, given that China itself has yet to become a fully free economy.

The US was the architect of many of the multilateral and free trade agreements for Asia. Under its tutelage, many of these countries opened up and reformed – playing by America's rules.

But under Donald Trump, that role has gone into reverse. Which has left China with a gaping hole to fill – and one it is only more than happy to take on.

Read more from Karishma

How are US-China trade relations?

The total trade relationship between the US and China was worth $648bn last year, but trade was heavily skewed in China's favour with the US amassing a nearly $310bn deficit.

Mr Trump has in the past accused China of stealing American jobs and threatened to label it a currency manipulator, though he has since rowed back on such rhetoric.

During the US president's visit on Thursday, China announced it would further lower entry barriers in the banking, insurance, and finance sectors, and gradually reduce vehicle tariffs.

Deals worth $250bn (£190bn) were also announced, although it was unclear how much of that figure included past agreements or potential future deals.

• Trump vs Xi: The two men compared

Before the Beijing talks, Mr Trump in Tokyo lashed out at Japan, saying it "has been winning" on trade in recent decades.

Japan had a $69bn (£52.8bn) trade surplus with the US in 2016, according to the US Treasury department.

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After the summit, Mr Trump will pay a state visit to the Vietnamese capital Hanoi, before ending his 12-day Asian tour in the Philippines on 13 November.

Source – bbc.com

Climate activists stage protest at German coal-fired plant

Environmental activists protested at a German coal-fired power plant on Friday — the same day that Italy became the latest country to announce a deadline for ending its use of the heavily polluting fossil fuel.

Protesters projected images of Pacific islanders threatened by climate change onto the cooling tower of the lignite-fuelled power station in Neurath, in western Germany, along with the words "coal destroys our future."

The visual display, organized by representatives of Pacific island nations and the environmental group Greenpeace, took place as diplomats from around the world are meeting in nearby Bonn to discuss implementing the 2015 Paris climate accord.

The German government claims to be a leader in the fight against climate change but has refused to set a date for phasing out the use of coal, which emits large amounts of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide when burned. Coal accounts for about 40 percent of Germany's energy mix.

Several other countries, however, have set a cutoff date for coal, including Italy, which announced it will stop using coal for its national electricity needs by 2025.

Italy's plan calls for investments of 175 billion euros ($203.5 billion) through 2030 in infrastructure, renewable energy and energy efficiency development. According to government statistics, coal provided 16 percent of Italy's national electricity in 2015.

Italy's new energy strategy calls for carbon emissions from energy use to decrease 39 percent by 2030 and 63 percent by 2050.

Coal has become a key issue at the Bonn climate talks. Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore told delegates there Friday that making the switch away from fossil fuels won't be easy given the industry's political clout, but that it makes both environmental and financial sense.

"It is insane to force taxpayers to subsidize the destruction of our civilization, and of course, the coal and gas and oil lobbies have a lot of political power," Gore said. "They built it up over a hundred years, and they have the influence with politicians, not only in my country, but also in China, also in Japan."

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters Friday in New York that he will urge participants at Bonn conference to respond to the latest alarming data by further cutting emissions, helping countries respond to climate shocks and mobilizing the $100 billion promised to help developing countries.

He said recent reports send two messages: "accelerate climate action — and raise ambition."

The 2015 Paris climate accord set a target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) — or 2 degrees at the most — by the end of the century.

Guterres pointed to new worrying data: The World Meteorological Organization reported that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached new highs in 2016. A U.N. Environment Program report showed that greenhouse gas levels are likely to be so elevated in 2020 that reaching Paris targets for 2030 will be very hard to meet.

Guterres warned that the window of opportunity to keep temperatures to the 2-degree target "may close in 20 years or less — and we may have only five years to bend the emissions curve toward 1.5 degrees."

"We need at least a further 25 percent cut in emissions by 2020," he said.

Guterres also called for greater action by governments, businesses and citizens to combat climate change, and he announced he will hold a climate summit "to mobilize political and economic energy at the highest levels" in September 2019.

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Jordans reported from Berlin. Edith M. Lederer contributed from the United Nations.

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Source – abcnews.go.com

Driver detained in France after students injured, officials say

A driver was detained in a suburb of Toulouse, France, today after an incident that left some students injured, officials said.

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"Very shocked by the aggression against students at Blagnac," Toulouse Mayor Jean-Luc Moudenc wrote in French on Twitter. "We bring them all our support as well as to their loved ones."

Frederic Scheiber/EPA

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb confirmed on Twitter that the driver was detained.

"Support for injured young people in Blagnac, immediately taken care of by our emergency services," Collomb wrote in French on Twitter. "I salute the responsiveness of the [national police] who detained the driver. It is the investigation that will determine the nature of his act."

Frederic Scheiber/EPA

Local authorities are in charge of the investigation for now, the Paris prosecutor's office told ABC News.

Toulouse Prosecutor Pierre-Yves Couilleau said on BFM TV that the suspect drove his car into three students. The suspect did not resist arrest and told police his act was "deliberate and that he has been thinking about doing this the past month." Couilleau said the man has "psychological issues" and is not on France's terror watch list.

ABC News' Paul Pradier and Kirit Radia contributed to this report.

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Source – abcnews.go.com

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The theatre producer behind hit shows including the Lion King and Les Miserables‎ is lining up the former ITV boss Adam Crozier as its new chairman.

Sky News has learnt that Amsterdam-based Stage Entertainment is in talks to appoint Mr Crozier to the role in a move that is bound to ignite speculation about a long-term plan to take the company onto the public markets.

Sources said that an announcement about Mr Crozier's appointment to the board could be made as early as next week, although it had yet to be finalised.

Stage, which is majority-owned by the buyout firm CVC Capital Partners, is among the world's largest theatre producers and owners, with millions of people attending one of its productions annually.

Its other blockbuster shows include Tina: The Musical, about the life of the singer Tina Turner‎; Mamma Mia!; Aladdin; The Phantom of the Opera; and War Horse.

Stage also owns a network of musical theatres across its operations on both sides of the Atlantic, and employs more than 3,000 people globally.

The other leg of its business is licensing musical content from major international producers.

The company was founded by Joop van den Ende, the Dutch entrepreneur who also established the television producer Endemol, in 1998.

If Mr Crozier is appointed as Stage's chairman, he would replace Just Spee, who was previously the company's chief executive and has held the chairman's role since earlier this year‎.

The former ITV chief executive left the UK's biggest terrestrial commercial broadcaster earlier this year, and has since become chairman of Vue Entertainment, the cinema chain.

Sources said he had been approached by Stage as it sought to further internationalise its business and expand into new areas of content.

CVC acquired a majority stake in ‎Stage in 2015, since when the company has grown profits significantly.

Stage recently appointed Arthur de Bok, a former executive at the tyre manufacturer Goodyear and Mediq, a medical devices supplier, as its new chief executive.

Neither CV‎C nor Stage could be reached for comment on Friday.

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Source – News.sky.com

Russia targets US media in row over RT registration

Russia is preparing to retaliate against US media after Kremlin-backed broadcaster RT was told to register in the US as a "foreign agent".

Russia will adopt "broader" measures which "may include social media networks", a top pro-Kremlin MP said.

RT has been singled out as a propaganda outlet in the wake of alleged Russian meddling in the US presidential vote.

CNN, Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty were named as likely targets for the new Russian law.

A Russian senator involved in media policy, Alexei Pushkov, said those US media organisations "should be subject to restrictions, including their services as part of cable TV packages".

Sergei Neverov, parliamentary head of the pro-Kremlin party United Russia, said "we'll not just draft proposals, but a commission will work out broader measures, which may include social media networks".

RT 'free speech' protest

Earlier an RT statement said the US Department of Justice "has given the broadcaster until Monday to register as a foreign agent, otherwise the channel's head faces arrest and its accounts could be frozen".

The instruction comes under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), adopted in 1938 to counter pro-Nazi agitation on US soil.

RT says it will challenge the US requirement in court.

"It contradicts both the democracy and freedom of speech principles. It deprives us of fair competition with other international channels, which are not registered as foreign agents," said RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan.

FARA applies to those engaged in political activity for a foreign government. It would require RT to label anything it produces – making it clear its reports are distributed on behalf of the Russian state.

Charities and other civil society groups operating in Russia have to register as "foreign agents" if they get any foreign funding.

Human rights groups have condemned the label, saying it echoes Soviet-era attacks on dissidents.

Source – bbc.com

By James Sillars, Business Reporter

EasyJet has appointed Johan Lundgren to succeed Carolyn McCall as the airline's chief executive, ahead of her looming departure to ITV.

The company said the travel sector veteran – a former deputy chief executive at TUI – will take the controls on 1 December.

Ms McCall, who has spent seven years in the airline's top job, will remain at the company until the end of the year to help Mr Lundgren with the transition, easyJet said.

He joins easyJet at a difficult time for the travel sector – with Brexit looming large on the horizon.

EasyJet has moved to navigate the potential for disruption to its flights by applying for a new air operator's certificate in Austria to allow it to continue flying in the European Union after Britain's divorce from the bloc.

Announcing the appointment, easyJet chairman John Barton said: "Johan has proven experience in European travel as chief executive and in broader group roles.

"He is strategic yet operationally focused and has proved himself to be a customer-centric, charismatic and successful leader.

"Finally, I wanted to reiterate everyone at easyJet's thanks to Carolyn for all she has done for the airline and to wish her well in her exciting new role."

EasyJet shares were broadly flat on the announcement.

Mr Lundgren said: "I have flown with and been a fan of easyJet and its wonderful people for many years.

"This is an exciting time to be joining Europe's leading airline. Carolyn has built a fantastic team and with them I look forward to contributing to easyJet's continued success."

Mr Lundgren, the company said, would receive an annual salary of £740,000 with a maximum yearly bonus of 200% of that sum.

Under a long-term incentive plan his awards would be set at 250% of his salary, with a two-year holding period after vesting.

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Source – News.sky.com

DR Congo's Kavumu child rape trial opens

Eighteen militiamen are on trial in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo on charges of raping 46 children.

Some of the victims from the village of Kavumu were just 18 months old.

The men allegedly targeted young girls between 2013 and 2016 because a spiritual adviser told them that the blood of virgins would grant them supernatural protection.

The alleged militia leader, Frederic Batumike, a provincial legislator, and the other defendants deny the charges.

Rights groups hope the trial will help to end a culture of rape as a tool of war in DR Congo.

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"The start of the trial is a strong signal in the fight against impunity," Jean Chrysostome Kijana, an activist representing the victims, told Reuters news agency.

Proceedings started 10 hours late and lasted only 20 minutes on Thursday, during which time the defendants' names were read aloud, according to Reuters.

Advocacy groups have told Reuters that the case has been particularly difficult to investigate because the victims were so young.

"Their families were often asleep when the alleged rapes occurred," Reuters reports.

Villagers believed a magic powder was being used to induce sleep, investigative journalist Lauren Wolfe told BBC Newsday:

"I thought… Could they [the attackers] be using some kind of herbal anaesthetic? It actually turned out to be true. They were."

She said the militiamen had been illegally squatting on an "extremely fertile" plantation previously owned by a German botanist who was murdered in 2012.

The Democratic Republic of Congo was labelled "the rape capital of the world" by Margot Wallstrom, the former UN special representative on sexual violence in conflict.

Writing in The Guardian, Wolfe says that two years ago "one UN official resigned out of frustration at the UN's continued failure to halt the atrocities", which began in 2013 in Kavumu.

Source – bbc.com

Rodrigo Duterte: Philippines president says he killed someone as teenager

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has said he stabbed a person to death when he was a teenager.

"At 16, I killed someone," he told Filipinos in the Vietnamese city of Da Nang, where he is attending a regional summit. He said he stabbed the person "just over a look".

His spokesman later said his remarks had been "in jest".

Mr Duterte has previously said he killed criminal suspects as mayor of the city of Davao.

The Filipino leader is attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit, alongside regional leaders and US President Donald Trump.

He has presided over a massive crackdown on crime in the Philippines, which critics allege undermines fundamental human rights.

Mr Duterte has encouraged extrajudicial killings of those involved in the drugs trade, and said he would "be happy to slaughter" three million drug addicts in the country.

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Addressing the Filipino community in Da Nang, he said he had killed a person during his violent teenage years, when he said he was in numerous fights and "in and out of jail".

But a spokesman for the president, Harry Roque, told the AFP news agency that the remarks were "in jest" and the Filipino leader often used "colourful language" when addressing Filipinos overseas.

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Mr Duterte has previously said he possibly killed someone while a teenager. In 2015 he told the Philippines edition of Esquire magazine that during "a tumultuous fight in the beach" when he was 17, "maybe I stabbed somebody to death".

It is not clear if he was referring to the same incident in his speech.

He also claims to have thrown corrupt officials out of helicopters, warning officials he would do it again if they embezzled financial aid. His spokesman described that claim as an "urban legend".

Speaking about human rights during his Vietnam visit, Mr Duterte proposed a "world summit" on the issue – but not looking solely at human rights abuses in the Philippines.

"What makes the death of people in the Philippines more important than the rest of the children in the world that were massacred and killed?" the Manila Bulletin quoted him as saying.

Since he took office, police say they have killed almost 4,000 people in anti-drug operations. More than 2,000 others have been killed in connection with drug-related crimes.

In September, the budget for the human rights commission investigating the deaths was cut to 1,000 pesos – the equivalent of $20 (£15). It had asked for 1.72bn pesos ($34m).

Mr Duterte is due to hold bilateral talks with US President Donald Trump in the Philippines in the coming days – the first meeting between the pair.

The Philippines president was adversarial towards Mr Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, labelling him a "son of a whore."

Mr Obama cancelled their scheduled meeting.

Source – bbc.com

Brexit bill: Barnier gives UK two weeks to clarify key issues

The UK has two weeks to clarify key issues or make concessions if progress is to be made in Brexit talks, the bloc's chief negotiator has said.

Michel Barnier was speaking after meeting the Brexit secretary for talks on citizens' rights, the Irish border, and the UK's "divorce bill".

David Davis said it was time for both sides "to work to find solutions".

Before the talks, Theresa May said she wanted the UK's exit date set in law, and warned MPs not to block Brexit.

• Davis stands firm on Irish border issue
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Speaking at a press conference in Brussels, Mr Barnier suggested Britain would have to clarify its position in the next fortnight on what it would pay to settle its obligations to the EU if the talks were to have achieved "sufficient progress" ahead of December's European Council meeting.

"It is just a matter of settling accounts as in any separation," Mr Barnier said.

'Useful clarifications'

Mr Barnier also said both sides had to work towards an "objective interpretation" of Prime Minister Theresa May's pledge that no member of the EU would lose out financially as a result of the Brexit vote.

The Brexit secretary insisted good progress was being made across the board, and that the negotiations had narrowed to a "few outstanding, albeit important, issues".

Mr Davis and Mr Barnier agreed there had been progress on the issue of settled status for EU citizens in the UK after Brexit.

Mr Barnier said the UK had provided "useful clarifications" on guaranteeing rights, although more work needed to be done on some points including rights of families and exporting welfare payments.

For the UK's part, Mr Davis said, the government had "listened carefully" to concerns and that there would be a "streamlined and straightforward" process for EU nationals to obtain settled status.

'Frank discussions'

But Mr Davis rejected a suggestion that Northern Ireland could remain within the European customs union.

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He was responding to a European Commission paper, which proposed that Northern Ireland may have to remain a member of the EU's single market or customs union, if a so-called "hard border" with the Irish Republic is to be avoided.

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Saying there had been "frank discussions" with Mr Barnier and his negotiators on the issue of the Irish border, Mr Davis insisted there could be "no new border" inside the UK.

"We respect the European Union desire to protect the legal order of the single market and the customs union, but that cannot come at cost to the constitutional and economic integrity of the United Kingdom," Mr Davis told reporters in Brussels.

"We recognise the need for specific solutions for the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland. But let me be clear – this cannot amount to creating a new border inside our United Kingdom," he added.

But Mr Barnier said the "unique situation" on the island of Ireland required "technical and regulatory solutions necessary to prevent a hard border".

Looking ahead to December's EU summit, Mr Davis pledged the UK was "ready and willing" to engage with Brussels "as often and as quickly as needed".

"But we need to see flexibility, imagination and willingness to make progress on both sides if these negotiations are to succeed and we are able to realise our new deep and special partnership," he said.

Friday's update came as Prime Minister Theresa May announced she wanted the date the UK leaves the EU – 29 March 2019 – enshrined in law.

The prime minister said the decision to put the specific time of Brexit "on the front page" of the Brexit bill showed the government was determined to see the process through.

"Let no-one doubt our determination or question our resolve, Brexit is happening," she wrote.

The draft legislation has already passed its second reading, and now faces several attempts to amend it at the next part of its parliamentary journey – the committee stage.

Mrs May said the government would listen to MPs if they had ideas for improving the bill, but warned against attempts to halt the process.

"We will not tolerate attempts from any quarter to use the process of amendments to this bill as a mechanism to try to block the democratic wishes of the British people by attempting to slow down or stop our departure from the European Union."

Source – bbc.com