LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- Rap great Snoop Dogg thanked himself on Monday as he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame just days before the 25th anniversary of his debut album “Doggystyle.”“I want to thank me for believing in me,” the 16-time Grammy nominee said after the star was unveiled on the famed walk.“I want to thank me for doing all this hard work. I want to thank me for having no days off. I want to thank me for never quitting. I want to thank me for always being a giver, and trying to

NEW YORK (AFP) -- US lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret announced Monday that it had appointed fashion executive John Mehas as new lingerie CEO, hoping to boost its ailing fortunes.Mehas will take over in the New Year, replacing Jan Singer, who resigned with the brand under fire for slumping sales, idealized glamazonian femininity and reluctance to put larger and transgender models on the catwalk.His appointment was announced as Victoria’s Secret parent company L Brands reported third-quarter resu

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Apple CEO Tim Cook predicts that new regulations of tech companies and social networks to protect personal data are "inevitable."In an interview with news website Axios being broadcast Sunday on HBO television, Cook said he expected the US Congress would take up the matter."Generally speaking, I am not a big fan of regulation," Cook said in an excerpt released by Axios. "I'm a big believer in the free market. But we have to admit when the free market is not working. And it ha

PARADISE, Calif. (AFP) -- The toll from the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California's history rose further on Sunday to 77, the sheriff's office said, after a vigil to honor the victims. "One human remain was located today," raising the toll by one in the so-called Camp Fire which broke out 10 days earlier in northern California, a statement from the Butte County Sheriff said, following US President Donald Trump's visit on Saturday to survey thedevastation.On Sunday, mourners gathe

In China, where children are often saddled with a packed schedule of extracurricular activities before they even enter grade school, some parents are making room for a surprising pursuit: hip-hop dance classes.Inside a dance studio in central Beijing, a group of kids bopped up and down to an American hip-hop beat as they mimicked their teacher, a young woman in a dark blue beret and loose clothing.Some practised in earnest -- bending their arms just so -- while others giggled, treating the class

Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn faces being fired this week after being arrested in Japan over allegations of financial misconduct, the firm said Monday, in a stunning fall from grace for one of the world's best-known businessmen.Ghosn's arrest and his likely dismissal from Nissan, as well as possibly from Mitsubishi and Renault, sent shockwaves through the auto industry, where he is a towering figure, credited with turning around several major manufacturers.Besides being chairman of Nissan, the 64

The North Korean soldier who defected to the South in a hail of bullets last year is a general's son but says most Northerners of his age have no loyalty to Kim Jong-un, according to a Japanese newspaper.Oh Chong-song's dramatic dash across the border at the Panmunjom truce village in the Demilitarized Zone -- under fire from his comrades -- made global headlines last year, and saw him hospitalised with serious injuries.It is very rare for the North's troops to defect at Panmunjom, a major touri

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) -- Saudi King Salman stood by the crown prince and heaped praise on the judiciary Monday, in his first public remarks since critic Jamal Khashoggi's murder tipped the country into one of its worst crises.The public prosecutor last week exonerated Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the king's son, of involvement in the murder in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, but the CIA reportedly concluded he had ordered the assassination.The prosecutor called for the de

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) - Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn was reportedly under arrest in Tokyo on Monday, as his firm accused him of “significant acts of misconduct” and said it would seek to oust him.　Japan's public broadcaster NHK and other media outlets said Ghosn had been arrested after being questioned by Japanese prosecutors for various improprieties including underreporting his income.　“The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office arrested Nissan chairman Ghosn on suspicion of violation of the F

US President Donald Trump says he has been fully briefed on an audio recording of journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder but does not want to listen to it himself."Because it's a suffering tape. It's a terrible tape," he said in an interview with "Fox News Sunday.""It was very violent, very vicious and terrible."Trump refrained from blaming Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, even though the CIA reportedly concluded that he ordered the October 2 assassination in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

A swimmer died after a rare suspected stingray attack off an Australian beach while another two people were mauled in separate shark encounters this weekend.The 42-year-old's death came more than a decade after world-renowned "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin was killed when a stingray barb punctured his chest while he was filming on the famed Great Barrier Reef.The man was in waters off Lauderdale Beach some 23 kilometres (14 miles) from Hobart in the southern island state of Tasmania Saturday whe

As the winners of the biggest corporate prize in decades -- the new Amazon headquarters -- relished their victory, debate was still raging over the billions of dollars in incentives offered to attract the fast-growing US technology colossus.The new Amazon "HQ2" with an estimated $5 billion investment creating 50,000 new jobs will be split between the Long Island City district in New York and Crystal City, a Virginia community across the Potomac River from the US capital Washington.Officials in b

The crushed wreckage of an Argentine submarine has been located one year after it vanished into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean with 44 crew members, in the country's worst naval disaster in decades.There has been "positive identification of the ARA San Juan," at a depth of more than 800 meters (2,600 feet), the navy tweeted, confirming the vessel had imploded. Argentine navy submarine ARA San Juan docked in Buenos Aires in 2014 (AFP)Experts say raising the submarine would be an enormous undert

British Prime Minister Theresa May battled to salvage a draft Brexit deal and her political future on Thursday, as ministers resigned and members of her own party plotted to oust her.The Conservative leader said she believed with "every fibre of my being" in the Brexit course she had set, hours after facing a hostile parliament and seeing four ministers, including Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, quit the government.Members of parliament on all sides warned her there was no way the plan could win

A pearl and diamond pendant owned by Marie Antoinette before she was beheaded during the French Revolution sold for $36 million at an auction on Wednesday, shattering its pre-sale estimate of up to $2 million.The Sotheby's auction at an ultra-luxurious hotel on the banks of Lake Geneva saw feverish bidding for a 10-piece collection owned by the ill-fated queen, featuring jewels unseen in public for two centuries. (AFP)The 10 items, which had been estimated to fetch a total of roughly $3 million,