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Signs are placed on a fence at Lafayette Square near the White House, during ongoing protests against police brutality and racism, in Washington, DC. —AFP photos
‘History will remember your voice’: Meet women preserving Black Lives Matter art
When thousands of protesters descended on Washington in the summer of 2020, many brought with them hand-written posters reading “Black Lives Matter,” “Resist”-hallmark phrases of the historic outpouring of frustration over America’s slow-walking progress on racial equality. Nearly two years later, Nadine Seiler is still working to preserve these pieces of history. Donning a pink hat and a Wonder Woman necklace, the 56-year-old activist...
In this file photo, Russian conductor Valery Gergiev performs on stage with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra during the Summer Night Concert at Schoenbrunn Palace in Vienna.— AFP
Music world shuns Russian maestro over Kremlin ties
One of Germany’s top orchestras fired Russian maestro and Kremlin loyalist, Valery Gergiev, as its chief conductor on Tuesday after he failed to denounce Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, capping a stunning fall from grace for the classical music superstar. “With immediate effect, there will be no further concerts by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under his direction,” Munich mayor Dieter Reiter said in a statement.The dismissal is the...
KHARKIV: People queue outside a bank office in Kharkiv yesterday. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine yesterday with explosions heard soon after across the country and its foreign minister warning a ‘full-scale invasion’ was underway. — AFP
Despite sanctions, UK accused of swimming in ‘dirty Russian money’
LONDON: As Prime Minister Boris Johnson moves to confront Moscow over its Ukraine invasion, he stands accused of leaving the financial back door wide open by ignoring a “sewer” of Russian money coursing through Britain.Johnson on Wednesday confirmed another delay to an “economic crime” bill, which he says will eventually dismantle the “Matryoshka doll” hiding the ownership of UK companies and properties by Russian oligarchs. “We do...
Enoch Godongwana
Risk ‘high’ for South Africa’s economic recovery: Finance minister
CAPE TOWN: South Africa’s economic recovery-encumbered by the pandemic, riots, graft and high unemployment-will be difficult, the finance minister of the continent’s most industrialised economy warned on Wednesday. Economic growth is projected to be 2.1 percent this year, dropping to an average of 1.8 percent over the next three years, Enoch Godongwana said as he tabled the government’s annual budget statement.“Our economic recovery has...
Irish actress Catherine Clinch poses on the red carpet upon her arrival for the opening ceremony of the Dublin International Film Festival, in Dublin. — AFP photos
Dublin film festival returns after bumper year for Irish film
The Dublin International Film Festival, forced online last year, opened Wednesday with stars of the feted Irish-language  “An Cailin Ciuin” (“The Quiet Girl”) taking to the red carpet in the centre of the Irish capital. Twelve-year-old Catherine Clinch, who plays the film’s eponymous quiet girl and grew up only a few kilometers (miles) away in a south Dublin suburb beamed as she spoke with fans and posed for photographs. She told AFP...
Two participants play a popular game, with fish visible in a tank in the background, at Africa Games Week. — AFP photos
Video game developers cash in on Africa’s booming mobile market
Two manga-like avatars lock swords against a comic strip backdrop, as Alexander Poone explains the different worlds of “The Traveller”-a video game based on a graphic novel. The 27-year-old from Johannesburg is showcasing his creation at the annual Africa Games Week taking place in Cape Town. Organizers of the continent’s largest gathering of game developers aim to help the gaming industry meet demand for African-made content and boost the...
This picture shows a robot built by the start-up Workshop 4.0 cooking a Swiss fondue in Sierre.
Swiss fondue robot out to cause a stir in Paris
Switzerland’s national dish is fondue, a simmering pot of heartwarming melted cheese-that can now be prepared, stirred up and served by a robot, thanks to some hi-tech wizardry. A Swiss team has been beavering away on Bouebot, the robotic creation putting a futuristic twist on an Alpine tradition. Outside in the Rhone glacial valley bisecting Switzerland’s southern Wallis region, crisp mountain air blows down from the glistening snowy peaks....
Men pose with their dogs in Ocean View, Cape Town. — AFP photos
Behind Cape Town’s heavenly beaches, the hell of dog fighting
Ocean View is a contender for one of the world’s most ironic place names. Stuck between mountains and exquisite white-sand beaches, this distant suburb of Cape Town has, in fact, no sea vista. It was created in 1968 by South Africa’s apartheid regime as a “township” for so-called colored people, who themselves had been forced out of areas that looked out on the Atlantic.Houses made of stone and brick lie among vacant, grassless lots,...
Two English bulldogs are pictured in Oslo, Norway.
Breeding ban for bulldogs and cavaliers in Norway
Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are known for their tiny heads, English bulldogs for their smushed wrinkled muzzles-traits their owners love. But in an unprecedented move, Norway has banned the breeding of these dogs because being cute is causing them suffering. In a recent ruling, the Oslo district court banned the breeding of the two purebreds on the grounds that it inflicts harm on them, in violation of Norwegian animal protection laws.Hailed...
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Lebanese theater scene suffering due to economic crisis
As the dire economic situation continues to drag on in Lebanon, the theater scene-as in the case of various other sectors-has been down on its luck with producers, actors, and staff suffering from lack of financing, earnings, as well as the ever-looming threat of the coronavirus. “We continue to strive to provide the best theatrical, musical, and artistic performances despite the gloomy situation engulfing Lebanon,” founder and director of...
A Rapa Nui native performs at the Natural History Museum in Santiago. — AFP photos
Chile museum to return Easter Island ‘head’
Chile’s National Museum of Natural History said Monday it will return to Easter Island an enormous stone statue taken from the Rapa Nui people and brought to the mainland 150 years ago. The monolith is one of hundreds, called Moai, carved by the Rapa Nui in honor of their ancestors and sometimes referred to as the Easter Island heads. The statues are today the island’s greatest tourist attraction, sculpted from basalt more than 1,000 years...
Disk jockey (DJ) Kei Notoya, looks through various Japanese records from the 1970s and 1980s in Tokyo.
City Pop: The soundtrack to Japan’s boom years goes viral
Tel Liyanto wasn’t alive during Japan’s 1980s boom, but she loves the “timeless” City Pop hits of the era, now going viral thanks to a new generation of young, international fans. The glamorous soundtrack that accompanied the country’s economic miracle is exploding in popularity decades after its upbeat synths, influenced by soft rock, boogie and soul, first hit the airwaves. The retro genre is so hot that Canadian star The Weeknd...
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DHAKA: An unidentified man bleeds after being shot during a clash between police and anti-quota protesters on July 19, 2024. - AFP
Bangladesh court winds back job quotas that sparked unrest
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Haya AlMaqroun
People call for transparency as concerns mount over food poisoning and safety
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KUWAIT: Interior Ministry Undersecretary Lt Gen Sheikh Salem Al-Nawaf Al-Sabah chairs a meeting of the Supreme Traffic Council on July 21, 2024. - KUNA
Smooth flow traffic eyed
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US President Joe Biden
BIDEN DROPS OUT OF RACE
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HODEIDA: This handout satellite image shows a view of burning oil tanks in the port of Yemen’s Houthi-held city of Hodeida on July 21, 2024, a day after Zionist airstrikes. - AFP
Kuwait expresses concern as Zionists attack Yemen