On this week’s CULTED Weekly News Round-Up, US punk rapper Trippie Redd drops his second album of the year Trip At Knight, Supreme unveil their FW2021 collection including a surprise Shrek inspired T, and events continue to escalate in the wake of the Taliban capture of Kabul. Not to mention the UK loses a comedy giant after a brave battle with cancer. Information is the key to progress so stay informed with the CULTED Weekly News Round-Up.
SCENES OF HYSTERIA AND PANIC AT KABUL AIRPORT
After a week of horrific footage showing thousands of Afghan citizens attempting to flee Taliban rule at Kabul airport, evacuation efforts continue to be halted by disorganised evacuation plans and mobs of desperate locals. Despite a concerted Taliban effort to appear more liberal-minded in the wake of the insurgency, they continue to go door-to-door looking for individuals known to have aided US forces during the 20-year war.
Additionally, Amnesty International has released a statement drawing attention to the ongoing massacre and torture of Hazara men, a small minority community being vindicated by the Taliban. Finally, a number of deaths have been reported both around the Kabul airport border where US troops have set up a perimeter and at the site of a protest where locals were seen waving their national flag to rebuke the Taliban takeover.
To read more about the current events unfolding in Afghanistan check out our breakdown of last week’s event here.
View this post on Instagram
2000 CONFIRMED DEAD IN HAITI EARTHQUAKE
On the 14th of August, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake tore across Haiti leaving a trail of over 2100 casualties and countless injured and missing people in its wake. In a statement released by the Haitian Civil Protection General Directorate, over 500,000 people (roughly 40% of the population of the affected area) are in need of urgent humanitarian relief and intervention. Wide-scale criticism of UN and Western relief efforts have arisen as roadblocks and a lack of communication with local communities have exacerbated the suffering as 70,000 people now find themselves homeless as a result of the earthquake. Efforts are now underway to find alternative temporary shelter after a number of key government buildings have been destroyed in the aftermath
ONLYFANS ANNOUNCES IT WILL BAN EXPLICIT CONTENT FROM ITS SITE.
OnlyFans is officially getting out of the pornography business that made it so lucrative after many within the company feel they have drifted too far from their original vision. They now plan to target their service to Musicians, fitness instructors and chefs looking to provide exclusive content to their fans rather than allowing influencers to post explicit contempt. OnlyFans exploded during the pandemic, gaining more than 130 million users as sex workers transitioned their service to an online medium in order to adapt to the rapidly changing market. Now, banking partners, payment providers and advertisers have been pressuring OnyFans to clean up it’s public image, leaving sex workers worried about a lack of alternative revenue streams.
View this post on Instagram
AMAZON ANNOUNCES PLAN TO OPEN FIRST DEPARTMENT STORES IN US
Online shopping juggernaut Amazon has announced its plans to open huge-scale retail centres comparable to the traditional department store. Amazon hopes to increase its reputation as an outlet for clothes, household items and electronics as they move into a traditional brick and mortar format. Many find the move unusual considering Amazon has since its inception been the primary reason for a dwindling interest in traditional brick and mortar retail outlets. Nonetheless, it appears that the first Amazon retail outlets will be located in California and Ohio and will be roughly 30,000 square feet in size, much smaller than traditional US department stores averaging out at 100,00 square feet.
SUPREME DROP FALL/WINTER 2021 COLLECTION
Streetwear giant Supreme has officially unveiled its new Fall/Winter 2021 collection including a number of surprise collaborations. Core standouts from the collection include a Nas & DMX GORE-TEX Shell Jacket, the Rick Ruben box Tee, Lady Pink Sweatshirt and a Shrek inspired logo T. The collection launch comes shortly after Supreme shared imagery for its Metropolitan Transportation Authority collaboration, however, it’s this season’s Yankee collaboration that is stealing the show.
TRIPPIE REDD DROPS NEW ALBUM ‘TRIP AT KNIGHT’
US punk rapper Trippie Redd has released his new studio album Trip At Knight featuring a star-studded lineup of some of his closest collaborators. Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, Polo G and Lil Durk all feature on the album continuing their long-established collaborative history with Trippie. However, it’s the surprise appearances from XXXTENTACION & Juice WRLD that have sent fans into hysteria as they both make posthumous appearances on ‘Danny Phantom’ and ‘Matt Hardy 999’, respectively. Trip At Knight comes just a few months after Trippie released Pegasus: Neon Shark Vs Pegasus in collaboration with Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker.
View this post on Instagram
SYDNEY LOCKDOWN EXTENDED AND CURFEW IMPOSED ON TWO MILLION PEOPLE
Lockdown across the Australian capital has been extended until the end of September in an effort to contain a recent surge in Covid cases. Additionally, over two million residents are now facing a government-imposed nighttime curfew despite all locals existing under a ‘stay-at-home’ order since late June. Over the last week confirmed cases have doubled with 642 new cases being reported on Friday and 681 on Thursday. Australia already has the most restrictive covid legislation in the world as the country has continued its closed border policy since the start of the pandemic.
BELOVED BRITISH COMEDIAN SEAN LOCK PASSES AWAY AGED 58
UK comedic icon Sean Lock has died aged 58 after a brave battle with cancer. Throughout his 30 year career he has been a friendly and familiar face across a number of British cultural institutions like QI, Mock the Week, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Have I Got News For You. His career has inspired countless contemporary comedians and has given comfort, humility and a lot of laughs to multiple generations that admired his work. His agency Off the Kerb Productions released a statement reading: “It is with great sadness that we have to announce the death of Sean Lock. He died at home from cancer, surrounded by his family. Sean was one of Britain’s finest comedians. His boundless creativity, lightning wit and the absurdist brilliance of his work marked him out as a unique voice in British comedy.”
View this post on Instagram
CHINA FORMERLY INTRODUCES THREE CHILD POLICY
In an attempt to boost a rapidly falling population rate, China has officially codified its new three-child policy at the highest level of government. During Friday’s meeting at the National People’s Congress, a number of the country’s top lawmakers ruled that the major policy shift would become law in order to increase the state’s catastrophic birth rate. Since China enacted its one-child policy in the 1980s, the population has become incredibly unbalanced between women and men as many parents chose to have a boy whilst limitations were being imposed. In 2015, China increased the max capacity to two children before raising it to three this year. It is hoped that the new laws will raise the quality of life for residents as many continue to battle with a ‘loneliness epidemic’.
AFGHAN WHO FELL TO DEATH FROM US PLANE WAS A YOUTH SOCCER STAR
After nightmarish footage circuited social media of people falling from a US military plane, Afghan officials have confirmed that one of those who died was 19 years old Zaki Anwari. Zaki was a bright star of Afghan football after showing much promise as part of the Afghan National Youth Team. Following the Taliban recapture of Kabul, Zaki found himself amongst the mania at Kabula airport as parents thrust their children onto rammed flights to try and give them a better life than that offered under Taliban rule. Zaki was among a number of individuals that fell from the craft as it climbed from the Kabul runway, others are yet to be identified by state media.
