DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Rapper Macklemore said he canceled an upcoming October concert in Dubai over the United Arab Emirates' role “in the ongoing genocide and humanitarian crisis” in Sudan through its reported support of the paramilitary force that's been fighting government troops there.

The announcement by Macklemore reignited attention to the UAE's role in the war gripping the African nation. While the UAE repeatedly has denied arming the Rapid Support Forces and supporting its leader Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, United Nations experts reported “credible” evidence in January that the Emirates sent weapons to the RSF several times a week from northern Chad.

Sudan plunged into chaos in mid-April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between its military and paramilitary leaders broke out in the capital, Khartoum, and spread to other regions including Darfur. Estimates suggest over 18,800 people have been killed in the fighting, while over 10 million have fled their homes. Hundreds of thousands are on the brink of famine.

At a contentious U.N. Security Council meeting in June, Sudan's embattled government directly accused the UAE of arming the RSF, and an Emirati diplomat angrily told his counterpart to stop “grandstanding.” The UAE has been a part in ongoing peace talks to end the fighting.

The Emirati Foreign Ministry offered no immediate comment on Macklemore's public statement Sunday, nor did the city-state's Dubai Media Office. Organizers last week announced the show had been canceled and refunds would be issued, without offering an explanation for the cancellation.

In a post Saturday on Instagram, Grammy winner Macklemore said he had a series of people “asking me to cancel the show in solidarity with the people of Sudan and to boycott doing business in the UAE for the role they are playing in the ongoing genocide and humanitarian crisis.”

Macklemore said he reconsidered the show in part over his recent, public support of Palestinians amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war raging in the Gaza strip. He recently has begun performing a song called “Hind's Hall,” in honor of a young girl named Hind Rajab killed in Gaza in a shooting Palestinians have blamed on Israeli forces opening fire on a civilian car.

“I know that this will probably jeopardize my future shows in the area, and I truly hate letting any of my fans down,” he wrote. “I was really excited too. But until the UAE stops arming and funding the RSF I will not perform there.”

He added: “I have no judgment against other artists performing in the UAE. But I do ask the question to my peers scheduled to play in Dubai: If we used our platforms to mobilize collective liberation, what could we accomplish?”

The RSF formed out of the Janjaweed fighters under then-Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who ruled the country for three decades before being overthrown during a popular uprising in 2019. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide and other crimes during the conflict in Darfur in the 2000s.

Dubai, home to the long-haul carrier Emirates, the world's tallest building the Burj Khalifa and other tourist destinations, long has tried to draw A-list performers in the city-state at a brand-new arena and other venues. However, performers in the past have acknowledged the difficulties in performing in the UAE, a hereditarily ruled federation of seven sheikhdoms in which speech is tightly controlled.

That includes American comedian Dave Chappelle, who drew attention in May in Abu Dhabi when he referred to the Israel-Hamas war as a “genocide” while also joking about the UAE's vast surveillance apparatus.

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Late French film star Alain Delon wanted his dog buried with him; instead, the dog gets to live

PARIS — Before he died this week, French film icon Alain Delon once suggested he wanted his beloved sheepdog Loubo buried with him. To the relief of animal lovers around France, Loubo will be allowed to survive.

Delon, an internationally acclaimed and prolific actor and producer, died Sunday, aged 88, and will be buried on Saturday at his family home in Douchy, south of Paris.

He was quoted in a 2018 interview with Paris Match as saying he wanted Loubo, a Belgian Malinois he adopted in 2014, buried with him. “I've had 50 dogs in my life, but I have a particular relationship with this one,'' he told the magazine. “If I die before him, I'll ask the veterinarian for us to leave together. … I'd prefer that to knowing that he would let himself die on my tomb amid so much suffering.''

After Delon's death, animal welfare activists and concerned citizens raised the alarm about Loubo’s fate.

An official with the Brigitte Bardot Foundation — a prominent animal rights group founded by the famed French film star, who was close with Delon — said he contacted Delon’s family after foundation members expressed concern.

“They said the question was not even raised, and they would let the dog live. They said he has a home in Douchy, and will live there,’’ the official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to be publicly named according the Foundation’s communications policies.

The official said Delon was a longtime “friend of the foundation’’ and helped raise money for its causes.

Delon’s family didn’t publicly comment about the dog.

France’s Society for the Protection of Animals welcomed the family's decision.

‘’Our phone lines were saturated'' with calls by people worried about the dog, SPA president Guillaume Sanchez said.

Loubo “will probably be very sad to have lost the affection of Mr. Delon,'' Sanchez said. But “we are totally against the idea that anyone euthanizes an animal for this reason.''

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Justin and Hailey Bieber welcome a baby boy, Jack Blues

LOS ANGELES — Justin Bieber, who rose to international stardom in 2010 with his hit “Baby,” has welcomed one of his own with his wife, Hailey Bieber (nee Baldwin).

The singer, 30, posted a photo of a baby's foot Friday on Instagram, revealing the child's name as Jack Blues Bieber. The model, 27, reshared the post on Instagram Stories. It's not clear when the baby was born; a representative for Hailey Bieber told The Associated Press on Friday night that no further details were available.

The couple announced they were expecting a baby in May via Instagram posts on their respective pages from an intimate vow renewal ceremony. The videos and photos show the model, who also founded the skincare brand Rhode, wearing a form-fitting white dress that showed off her baby bump. The AP confirmed Bieber was just over six months pregnant at the time of the announcement.

Since the pregnancy announcement, the couple have each shared photos together and of Hailey Bieber that displayed the model’s baby bump, including a campaign for the Rhode skincare line.

The Biebers married in November 2018, which they also announced through an Instagram post. The singer posted a photo of the duo with the caption, “My wife is awesome,” and his wife followed up by changing her Instagram username to “Hailey Bieber.” The couple dated for about a month before tying the knot.

From combined wire services