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This file photo shows the bust of French playwright Moliere, at the Comedie Francaise, national theatre, in Paris. —AFP
Does the land of Shakespeare care for 400-year-old Moliere?
US actor Denis O’Hare could sense the ghost of Moliere smiling as he rode his co-star Olivia Williams like a horse on stage at London’s National Theatre. Usually a rather cerebral place, the National’s audience was in stitches as O’Hare’s character Tartuffe, from the classic 17th-century French play, tried to disguise his adulterous antics as a bit of horseplay.“The comedy translates across the centuries if you know what you’re...
Comedie Francaise seamstresses work in Paris. A well-born bourgeois who became Louis XIV’s favorite playwright, MoliËre left no personal trace: no diary, no correspondence, or even notes that could shed light on the personality of the greatest Western comic author. — AFP
Moliere: 400 years as master of the French stage
When the French refer to their native tongue, it is the “language of Moliere”, and as he turns 400 this week he remains as central to their culture as Shakespeare in the English-speaking world. Here are a few pointers on the life and legacy of France’s most illustrious playwright. A little-known starMoliere, real name Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, left zero trace of his personal life: no journal, correspondence or even notes on his work. The...
In this file photo, guests attend the 50th anniversary celebration of Woodstock at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, New York. Michael Lang, a concert promoter who co-created the generation-defining Woodstock music festival, died on January 8, 2022 aged 77. — AFP
Michael Lang, a Woodstock festival organizer, dies at 77
In this file photo, guests attend the 50th anniversary celebration of Woodstock at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, New York. Michael Lang, a concert promoter who co-created the generation-defining Woodstock music festival, died on January 8, 2022 aged 77. — AFPMichael Lang, a concert promoter who co-created the generation-defining Woodstock music festival, died Saturday aged 77, a family friend confirmed. Lang died of a “rare...
US actor Bob Saget
US comedian and ‘Full House’ star Bob Saget found dead aged 65
US actor Bob SagetBob Saget, the US comedian who delighted millions as the star of television’s “Full House” in the 1980s and 1990s, has died, his family said Sunday. He was 65. “We are devastated to confirm that our beloved Bob passed away today,” Saget’s family said in a statement published by People magazine. “He was everything to us and we want you to know how much he loved his fans, performing live and bringing people from all...
A general view shows houses covered with snow after a blizzard.— AFP photos
Tourists question blizzard tragedy in scenic Pakistan town
A general view shows houses covered with snow after a blizzard.— AFP photosAs unprecedented snowfall thawed at a popular Pakistan mountain resort on Sunday, rescued tourists were found reckoning with the deaths of 22 fellow travelers in a frozen traffic jam. “We didn’t get any type of alert from society, from the government, from Google, from the news, from the weather,” said 18-year-old Duaa Kashif Ali, a tourist from Islamabad....
The famous West Point slum is pictured from the dilapidated Ducor hotel in Monrovia. The Ducor Hotel, when it opened its doors in 1960, was the first five-star hotel in Africa. At its height, it hosted illustrious guests such as the former Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie. — AFP photos
In Liberia, abandoned hotel stands as symbol of haunted past
Towering above Liberia’s ramshackle capital Monrovia stands a hotel that once symbolized an African dream yet today lies in ruins, a legacy of brutal conflict. When it opened its doors in 1960, the Ducor was one of the only five-star hotels in Africa, boasting a night club and air-conditioned rooms, according to travel guides. At its height, it hosted VIPs such as former Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie. Guests would lounge by the swimming...
Bulgarian Pomak (Bulgarian speaking Muslims) bride Nefie Eminkova, 21 and her fiancee Schaban Kiselov, 24, dance during their wedding ceremony in the village of Ribnovo.
Bulgarian Pomaks keep traditional wedding rite alive
Bulgarian Pomak (Bulgarian speaking Muslims) bride Nefie Eminkova, 21 and her fiancee Schaban Kiselov, 24, dance during their wedding ceremony in the village of Ribnovo.The marriage of Nefie Eminkova, 21, and her fiance Schaban Kiselov, 24, is an extravaganza of bright colors, flowers, feasting and dancing. But the bride, who comes from Bulgaria’s Pomak minority, can see none of it. Her eyes must remain tightly closed until a Muslim priest...
This handout image released by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) shows HFPA Grantee and A Place Called Home Chief Development Officer Katie Alheim presenting the Best Animated Motion Picture Award onstage during the 79th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton. — AFP photos
‘Power of the Dog,’ ‘West Side Story’ win at untelevised Golden Globes
This handout image released by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) shows HFPA Grantee and A Place Called Home Chief Development Officer Katie Alheim presenting the Best Animated Motion Picture Award onstage during the 79th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton. — AFP photos“The Power of the Dog” and “West Side Story” on Sunday won the top film prizes at an untelevised Golden Globes that was largely ignored by...
A Grey Heron in flight over the RSPB Ouse Fen Reserve in Willingham, Cambridgeshire, east England. — AFP
Former quarry turns haven for endangered UK birds
Nature is reclaiming her territory at a quarry in the east of England that is being transformed into a vast reserve offering vital sanctuary to endangered birds. With its reedbed wetlands, the marshy plain of the Fens outside Cambridge has become an attractive habitat for the secretive bittern, which was until 2015 on the UK’s Red list of most-threatened species.Today the thickset heron, with its perfectly camouflaged streaked brown plumage and...
Engineering teams celebrate at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, as the second primary mirror wing of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope unfolds, before beginning the process of latching the mirror wing into place. — AFP
‘Amazing milestone’ as NASA fully deploys Webb telescope in space
The most powerful space telescope ever built completed a tricky two-week-long deployment phase Saturday, unfolding its final golden mirror panel, as it readies to study every phase of cosmic history. Engineering teams in the James Webb Space Telescope’s control room cheered as confirmation came back that its final wing was deployed and latched into place. “I’m emotional about it-what an amazing milestone,” Thomas Zurbuchen, a senior NASA...
Pilgrims attend the celebration of Genna, the Ethiopian Orthodox Christmas, at Saint Mary’s Church, in Lalibela, 645 kilometers (400 miles) north of Addis Ababa.
Caught up in war, Ethiopian holy town hosts pilgrims for Christmas
In the dawn gloom, among throngs of pilgrims in white clutching burning candles, Hailu Abera gave special thanks on Friday as Orthodox Christmas celebrations unfolded at Ethiopia’s stone-hewn churches in Lalibela. Just weeks ago, the UNESCO-listed site and its astonishing houses of worship were under rebel control, Lalibela having changed hands once more as Ethiopia’s war dragged into a second brutal and unpredictable year.But with the holy...
Volunteers collect used Christmas trees before taking them to Kentish Town City Farm in north London, where they will be used for their goats to feed on.
Maa-ry Christmas! London goats feast on festive firs
Volunteers collect used Christmas trees before taking them to Kentish Town City Farm in north London, where they will be used for their goats to feed on.A herd of goats grazing on a London city farm are getting their teeth into hundreds of unwanted Christmas trees donated by residents in a fundraising drive. The eight goats can’t get enough of the discarded firs, which the Kentish Town City Farm is collecting from outside homes in the area....
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ADDIS ABABA: Pedestrians walk past old Lada cars parked and ready to carry goods in the vicinity of a busy market in Addis Ababa. – AFP photos
The last of Ethiopia’s Soviet-era Lada cars
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KUWAIT: Kuwait’s new Amir HH Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah salutes as he swears in before lawmakers as the country’s 17th Amir, at the Kuwaiti parliament, on December 20, 2023 in Kuwait City. - Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat
Amir’s first year leading Kuwait drives development and unity
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KUWAIT: Cabinet ministers convene for their weekly meeting on Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium. — KUNA
Cabinet approves MoU with China to accelerate Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port
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Floating diwaniya on a yacht trip.
Kuwait’s hidden appeal
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A design of a bridge with the sea stretching on both sides.
Vision for a sustainable Kuwait