RECORDING ACADEMY ADDS FIVE NEW GRAMMY CATEGORIES, UPDATES RULES FOR 2026 AWARDS. (PHOTO).

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 Recording Academy adds five new Grammy categories, updates rules for 2026 awards NEW YORK - The Recording Academy is introducing five new categories and making several rule changes for the 2026 Grammy Awards in an effort to reflect the evolving global music landscape. Among the new additions is a best Asian pop music performance category, which will honor performances across genres such as K-pop, J-pop, C-pop and other Asian pop styles, with the award going to performers. A new best traditional pop vocal performance category will recognize artists whose work does not fit within modern pop styles. A best Latin song category will spotlight songwriters for Spanish-language Latin recordings. Changes are also coming to existing categories in R&B and folk music. The academy is adding a best R&B collaboration or duo/group performance category alongside a revised best R&B solo performance award. In folk, the best folk album category will be split into best contemporary folk al...

AUSTRALIA TO OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZE PALESTINIAN STATE. (PHOTO).


 Australia to officially recognize Palestinian state

Australia will officially recognize a Palestinian state at the upcoming U.N. General Assembly in September, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Monday.

“A two-state solution remains humanity’s best hope to end the cycle of violence in the Middle East and to bring lasting peace and relief to Gaza,” Albanese said in Canberra. “Until both Israeli and Palestinian statehood are permanent, peace will remain temporary. Australia will recognize the right of the Palestinian people to their own state and collaborate with the international community to realize this right.”

The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, which erupted after the militant group’s attack on October 7, 2023, has renewed international efforts to support Palestinian statehood. According to an AFP tally, at least 145 of the 193 U.N. member countries currently recognize or intend to recognize a Palestinian state, including France, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

“There is a unique moment of opportunity, and Australia intends to work with the global community to seize it,” Albanese added, emphasizing that Australia’s recognition depends on assurances from the Palestinian Authority that Hamas will have no role in any future Palestinian state. However, Hamas has governed Gaza independently for nearly two decades, where the Palestinian Authority has no presence.

Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, condemned the move as symbolic and unlikely to advance peace. “This decision will not change the reality on the ground,” he said, accusing Australia of elevating Hamas and undermining efforts toward lasting peace. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also criticized the recognition, warning it would lead to more conflict rather than peace, calling Australia’s decision “shameful.”

Amid growing international concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza—where over two million Palestinians face extreme hardship—Albanese criticized Israel for defying international law and restricting aid.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said his country is carefully considering similar recognition, suggesting it is a “matter of when, not if,” given the worsening humanitarian situation.

The Gaza health ministry reports at least 61,430 Palestinian deaths from the conflict, figures the U.N. considers reliable. Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in over 1,200 Israeli deaths.

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