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In this file photo Bollywood singer, music composer Bappi Lahiri interacts with the media before planting a tree during an environment awareness campaign in Mumbai. — AFP
India’s ‘disco king’ Bappi Lahiri dies at 69
Indian singer-composer and “Disco King” Bappi Lahiri, who collaborated with the likes of Snoop Dogg and Samantha Fox, has died aged 69, his family said Wednesday, prompting tributes from the world of politics and Bollywood. Born in West Bengal to a musical family, the larger-than-life Lahiri was renowned for his trademark gold chain and sunglasses and was credited with popularizing disco music in India.He had several collaborations with...
In this file photo taken on May 10, 1986 Brazilian film director Arnaldo Jabor is seen the Cannes International Film Festival. — AFP
Acclaimed Brazilian filmmaker Arnoldo Jabor dies at 81
Filmmaker, writer and journalist Arnaldo Jabor, a leading figure in Brazil’s “cinema novo” movement whose work won acclaim on the international festival circuit, died Tuesday at 81. Known for award-winning films such as “All Nudity Shall Be Punished” (1972) and “Love Me Forever or Never” (1986), Jabor was also a noted author, columnist and political commentator. His family said he died of complications of a stroke for which he had...
People look at a digital reproduction of ‘Ritratto di Musico (Portrait of a Musician)’, by Leonardo da Vinci, displayed as part of the ‘Eternalising Art History: From Da Vinci to Modigliani’ exhibition at the Unit London gallery in London. — AFP photos
UK gallery offers ‘real’ masterpieces-from digital tokens
Want to “own” a Leonardo da Vinci or Amedeo Modigliani? One London gallery is showing digitally re-rendered versions of priceless Italian masterpieces-although they still don’t come cheap. In what it called a first for the UK, Unit London opened an exhibition on Tuesday built on blockchain technology that allows buyers to acquire a framed screen and a “non-fungible token” (NFT) conferring ownership of the digitized version.The frames...
TAGUIG, Philippines: This photo taken on December 10, 2021 shows siblings Eugene (left) and Ginger Arboleda giving a demonstration on how to play Axie Infinity, an NFT game where players earn tokens that can be exchanged for cryptocurrency or cash, during an interview with AFP in Taguig, suburban Manila.—AFP
‘Life-changing’ or scam? Axie Infinity helps the poor earn in Philippines
TAGUIG, Philippines: Dominic Lumabi sits on the computer in his Manila bedroom pitting his puffer fish-like cartoon NFT characters against others. But this is not just a game-he is earning cryptocurrency to support his family during the pandemic. The source of his income is Axie Infinity, a blockchain-based play-to-earn game that exploded in popularity in developing nations such as the Philippines as COVID-19 destroyed jobs and forced many to...
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African films make waves at Berlinale festival
African films are enjoying a high profile at this year’s Berlinale festival, with debuts from South Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR) turning heads along with a new take on “Nollywood”. While there are no African films in the main competition at Europe’s first major film festival of the year, several documentaries and features from the continent are running in the event’s sidebar sections. In the documentary “No Simple Way...
GRESIK, Indonesia:  In this file photo taken on September 17, 2021 an Indonesian activist from ECOTON (ecological observation and wetland conservation) prepares an installation made with used plastic, including 4,444 bottles, collected from the river in Gresik. — AFP
Plastic, chemical pollution beyond planet’s safe limit
STOCKHOLM: The torrent of man-made chemical and plastic waste worldwide has massively exceeded limits safe for humanity or the planet, and production caps are urgently needed, scientists have concluded for the first time. There are an estimated 350,000 different manufactured chemicals on the market and large volumes of them end up in the environment.“The impacts that we’re starting to see today are large enough to be impacting crucial...
TOKYO: Japan’s economy grew 1.3 percent in the three months to December, rebounding from a revised contraction of 0.7 percent in the previous three months, as virus cases surged.
Japan’s GDP rebounded before Omicron wave hit
TOKYO: Japan’s economy rebounded in the last part of 2021, as virus cases slowed and restrictions were eased, spurring demand before the Omicron wave hit the country, data showed yesterday.The world’s third-largest economy grew 1.3 percent in the three months to December, rebounding from a revised contraction of 0.7 percent in the previous three months, as virus cases surged. The quarter-on-quarter figure released by Japan’s cabinet office...
LAGOS: The fuel shortage started last week in the commercial city of Lagos and administrative capital Abuja with few petrol stations selling the product.
Week-long fuel scarcity hits oil-rich Nigeria
LAGOS: A week-long petrol scarcity is fraying nerves in oil-producing Nigeria as gas stations run out of stock, causing long queues of motorists in major cities. The fuel shortage started last week in the commercial city of Lagos and administrative capital Abuja with few petrol stations selling the product.The state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) blamed the situation on importation of adulterated petrol by four oil marketers...
A couple is seen during a collective wedding celebration at the esplanade of the Municipal Palace of Nezahualcoyotl in Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico.
Hundreds wed at Valentine’s Day ceremony in Mexico
With tears in their eyes and smiles beneath their face masks, more than 660 couples tied the knot Monday at a Valentine’s Day mass wedding in Mexico. The newlyweds included Francisco Calvo, 74, and Rosalba Silva, 67 — two widowers who met five years ago. “I didn’t think I would have another chance, but love arrived because love arrived,” Silva said, smiling next to her new husband at the ceremony in a suburb of Mexico City. For Jonathan...
A cup of espresso coffee at the historic Gran Caffe Gambrinus.
Italy woos UNESCO with ‘magical’ espresso coffee rite
A shot of dark, velvety coffee is more than just a quick caffeine hit: Italy’s espresso is a prized social and cultural ritual the country considers a national heritage worthy of UNESCO status. Italians knock back some 30 million espressos a day, from Venice to Sicily, in porcelain cups or little glasses, with or without a splash of milk-and see each one as a gesture of friendship. “The espresso is an excuse to tell a friend you care,” says...
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: This photo taken on February 4, 2022 shows people using their smartphones in a park in Phnom Penh. Cambodia is powering up its new national internet gateway, a move activists say will allow the government to further silence the countryís embattled opposition voices. — AFP
Cambodia steps up surveillance with new internet gateway
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia is powering up its new National Internet Gateway, a move activists say will allow the government to further silence the country’s embattled opposition voices. UN rights experts warn the gateway, which will funnel all web traffic through a state-controlled entry point from February 16, will have a “devastating” effect on privacy and free speech.It is the latest move by authoritarian ruler Hun Sen to clamp down on dissent...
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CBK governor receives EU delegation
KUWAIT: The Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK), Dr Mohammad Y Al-Hashel, received the European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, Johannes Hahn and his accompanying delegation, in the presence of senior officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Kuwait Investment Authority. The attendees discussed the most prominent global economic developments and post-COVID-19 prospects for the global economy, amongst other topics of...