Tag: World news

A painting of Winston Churchill by an artist whose work he hated is up for auction
Entertainment

A painting of Winston Churchill by an artist whose work he hated is up for auction

LONDON -- A portrait of Winston Churchill by an artist whose work the British leader loathed went on display Tuesday at Churchill’s birthplace ahead of an auction in June.The painting by modernist artist Graham Sutherland was made in preparation for a larger portrait that Churchill hated and which was later destroyed — an episode recounted in the TV series “The Crown.”The surviving oil-on-canvas study shows Churchill’s head in profile against a dark background. It is expected to sell for between 500,000 pounds and 800,000 pounds ($622,000 and $995,000) at Sotheby’s in London on June 6.Sutherland was commissioned by the Houses of Parliament to paint Churchill to mark his 80th birthday in 1954. The full-length portrait was unveiled in Parliament that year, with Churchill calling it, with a ...
Paris prepares for 100-day countdown to the Olympics. It wants to rekindle love for the Games
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Paris prepares for 100-day countdown to the Olympics. It wants to rekindle love for the Games

PARIS -- In Paris' outskirts, a bright-eyed young girl is eager for the Olympic and Paralympic Games to end.That's because the swimming club where 10-year-old Lyla Kebbi trains will inherit an Olympic pool. It will be dismantled after the Games and trucked from the Olympic race venue in Paris' high-rise business district to Sevran, a Paris-area town with less glitter and wealth. There, the pieces will be bolted back together and — voila ! — Kebbi and her swim team will have a new Olympic-sized pool to splash around in.“It’s incredible !” she says. “I hope it’s going to bring us luck," adds her mother, Nora.In 100 days as of Wednesday, the Paris Olympics will kick off with a wildly ambitious waterborne opening ceremony. But the first Games in a century in France’s capital won't be judged f...
Winners of the 2024 Olivier Awards celebrating work on the London stage
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Winners of the 2024 Olivier Awards celebrating work on the London stage

LONDON -- The winners of the 2024 Olivier Awards, handed out Sunday for achievement in London theater, opera and dance:New Play: “Dear England”New Musical: “Operation Mincemeat”New Entertainment or Comedy: “Stranger Things: The First Shadow”Family Show: “Dinosaur World Live"Revival: “Vanya”Musical Revival: “Sunset Boulevard”Actress-Play: Sarah Snook, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”Actor-Play: Mark Gatiss, “The Motive and the Cue”Actress-Musical: Nicole Scherzinger, “Sunset Boulevard”Actor-Musical: Tom Francis, “Sunset Boulevard”Supporting Actor-Play: Will Close, “Dear England”Supporting Actress-Play: Haydn Gwynne, “When Winston Went to War with the Wireless”Supporting Actress-Musical: Amy Trigg, “The Little Big Things”Supporting Actor-Musical: Jak Malone, “Operation Mincemeat”Director: Jamie...
Eleanor Coppola, matriarch of a filmmaking family, dies at 87
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Eleanor Coppola, matriarch of a filmmaking family, dies at 87

Eleanor Coppola, who documented the making of some of her husband Francis Ford Coppola’s iconic films, including the infamously tortured production of “Apocalypse Now,” and who raised a family of filmmakers, has died. She was 87. Coppola died Friday surrounded by family at home in Rutherford, California, her family announced in a statement. No cause of death was given. Eleanor, who grew up in Orange County, California, met Francis while working as an assistant art director on his directorial debut, the Roger Corman-produced 1963 horror film “Dementia 13.” (She had studied design at UCLA.) Within months of dating, Eleanor became pregnant and the couple were wed in Las Vegas in February 1963. Their first-born, Gian-Carlo, quickly became a regular presence in his father’s films, as did their...
Nigerian transgender celebrity jailed for throwing money into the air, a rare conviction
Money

Nigerian transgender celebrity jailed for throwing money into the air, a rare conviction

A local court in Nigeria has handed a six-month imprisonment to a popular transgender woman after convicting her of throwing money into the airBy CHINEDU ASADU Associated PressApril 12, 2024, 12:03 PM ET• 2 min readABUJA, Nigeria -- A popular Nigerian transgender woman was on Friday jailed for six months after a local court convicted her of throwing the local currency into the air, a practice known as spraying, a rare conviction that was criticized by many in the West African nation where it is common, though illegal, for people to spray money.Okuneye Idris Olanrewaju better known as Bobrisky, was accused of “tampering” with the naira notes by spraying them at an event. She had pleaded guilty when first arraigned by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency in the economic hub of Lagos.Bobrisky's impri...
Posthumous memoir by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to be published Oct. 22
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Posthumous memoir by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to be published Oct. 22

NEW YORK -- A memoir Alexei Navalny began working on in 2020 will be published this fall. “Patriot,” which publisher Alfred A. Knopf is calling the late Russian opposition leader's “final letter to the world,” will come out Oct. 22.Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, said in a statement released Thursday by the publisher, “This book is a testament not only to Alexei’s life, but to his unwavering commitment to the fight against dictatorship—a fight he gave everything for, including his life. Through its pages, readers will come to know the man I loved deeply—a man of profound integrity and unyielding courage. Sharing his story will not only honor his memory but also inspire others to stand up for what is right and to never lose sight of the values that truly matter.”Navalny, 47, died in Febr...
Treasury secretary heads to China to talk trade, anti-money laundering and Chinese ‘overproduction’
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Treasury secretary heads to China to talk trade, anti-money laundering and Chinese ‘overproduction’

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is headed to a China determined to avoid open conflict with the United States, yet the world's two largest economies still appear to be hashing out the rules on how to compete against each other.There are tensions over Chinese government support for the manufacturing of electric vehicles and solar panels, just as the U.S. government ramps up its own aid for those tech sectors. There are differences in trade, ownership of TikTok, access to computer chips and national security — all of them a risk to what has become a carefully managed relationship.The 77-year-old Yellen, a renowned economist and former Federal Reserve chair, laid out to reporters the issues that she intends to raise with her Chinese counterparts dur...
Sports

‘Not intentionally done’: LSU coach defends team after players miss national anthem – video | Sport

Louisiana’s Republican governor has called for the scholarships of college athletes who are not present for the national anthem before games to be revoked. His announcement came after the LSU women’s basketball team were absent during the pre-game ceremonies on Monday night before their NCAA Tournament contest with Iowa. Kim Mulkey, who has won four national titles as head coach and was inducted into basketball’s Hall of Fame in 2020, said afterwards that her players were undergoing their regular pregame preparations on Monday night when the anthem was played.
Suspects in the stabbing of an Iranian presenter fled UK after attack, police say
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Suspects in the stabbing of an Iranian presenter fled UK after attack, police say

LONDON -- British counterterrorism police investigating the stabbing of a journalist who works for a TV channel critical of the Iranian government said that three suspects had fled the country within hours of the attack.Pouria Zeraati, a presenter at London-based Iran International, was stabbed in the leg Friday afternoon outside his home in London. Police said Zeraati, who has been released from a hospital, was attacked by two men who fled in a car driven by a third man.“We have established that after abandoning the vehicle, the suspects traveled to Heathrow Airport and have left the U.K.,’’ Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, said in a statement late Tuesday. “We are now working with international partners to establish further details.’’P...