Names and faces
■ A private airplane carrying singer Karol G made an emergency landing at a Los Angeles airport Thursday evening, a news report said.
The aircraft carrying the Grammy winner and others landed around 9 p.m. at Van Nuys Airport with no immediate reports of injuries, KABC-TV reported. The plane left Hollywood Burbank Airport with 16 people and flew east but turned around when the pilot reported smoke in the cockpit, KABC reported. The cause of the malfunction was not immediately known. Karol G, 33, won her first Grammy and was named Billboard magazine’s 2024 Woman of the Year in February. The Colombian singer-songwriter is expected to be honored Wednesday at the Billboard Women in Music Awards.
■ Shervin Hajipour, an Iranian singer who won a Grammy presented by U.S. first lady Jill Biden, has been sentenced to more than three years in prison over his anthem supporting the 2022 protests over the death of Mahsa Amini. Hajipour, 26, posted Friday what appeared to be part of the judgment against him. It said Hajipour received a three-year, eight-month sentence on charges of “propaganda against the system” and “encouraging people to protest.” The court issued its sentence in part because it found he hadn’t properly expressed regret over publishing the song. It also imposed a twoyear travel ban and ordered him to create a song about “U.S. crimes,” as well as make posts about those crimes online. Hajipour thanked his lawyers and agent for their support. “I will not mention the name of the judge and the prosecutor so that they don’t get insulted and threatened, because insults and threats are not in the religion of humanity,” he wrote. “Finally, one day we will understand each other. Until then.” Hajipour already had served some prison time, but was out on bail pending the court’s decision. It was unclear if he had already reported to serve his sentence. Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York didn’t respond to a request for comment. Hajipour’s song “Baraye,” or “For” in English, lists reasons that young Iranians posted online for why they had protested against Iran’s ruling theocracy after Amini’s death in September 2022, allegedly for not wearing her mandated headscarf to the liking of security forces.