Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – A new art installation, “Unbroken”, has been set up outside the National Opera of Ukraine, showing a graceful Ukrainian ballerina printed on bullet casings. Its creators hope it will provoke discussion around the ongoing conflict.
Saint-Denis (France) (AFP) – The bust of Marie-Antoinette or a reproduction of Antinous displayed in the Capitol in Rome: the moulding workshop of the Réunion des musées nationaux-Grand Palais in Saint-Denis has been reproducing works of art for over 200 years. Created just after the Louvre Museum to safeguard its heritage but also to export works for schools and institutions, the workshop now also caters for private orders.
Cajamarquilla (Peru) (AFP) – Images released by the Peruvian University of San Marcos show the the remains of an adolescent who lived between 800 and 1200 years ago. These are the first such remains discovered in section 8 of the famous Cajamarquilla archaeological complex on the outskirts of Lima.
Beijing (AFP) – Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning urges the UK to be “careful in words and deeds” after British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly warned Beijing of global impact from any conflict over Taiwan in a foreign policy speech.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lays a wreath in front of memorials dedicated to the victims of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. A reactor at the Chernobyl power plant, about 100 km north of Kiev, exploded on April 26, 1986, when Ukraine was still part of the USSR.
Washington (AFP) – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and US President Joe Biden meet and shake hands at the White House ahead of a bilateral meeting during Yoon’s six-day visit to the United States.
Garabulli (Libya) (AFP) – Boats transporting migrants of different nationalities arrive in the port of Garabulli after being rescued by the Libyan coastguard. The Libyan coastguard recovered the bodies of 11 drowned migrants, including a child, after their Europe-bound boat sank off the coast of Libya, and saved the survivors of the shipwreck who were able to swim to shore.
Tirana (AFP) – Printed most likely towards the end of the 19th Century on nearly 900 pages, a miniature Koran, considered one of the smallest in the world, has been preciously kept by an Albanian family in Tirana for several generations. For generations, the postage-stamp sized book has been passed down in Mario Prushi’s family.
Bodrogkeresztur (Hungary) (AFP) – They come in their tens of thousands by chartered plane, bus and even helicopter to the shrine of Hungary’s “Miracle Rabbi” to pray for health, wealth and marriages for their children. Once a year, orthodox Jews from all over the world descend on a sleepy Hungarian village in search of divine intervention. Yeshaya Steiner, known as Rabbi Shayele, died in 1925 after devoting his life to feeding the poor and performing wonders for Jews and Gentiles alike in the tiny eastern village of Bodrogkeresztur.
Brussels (AFP) – Belgian-American fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg’s iconic wrap dress gets its own retrospective at the Fashion and Lace Museum in Brussels. The designer started making wrap dresses in her twenties and now, aged 76, she has created an exhibition of her work. “People ask me, you know, the wrap dress, the wrap dress, I made the wrap dress. But really the wrap dress made me” she says during an interview with AFP. “At 25, I was making 25,000 wrap dresses a week. I really lived an American dream as a young European and it was fascinating”. The exhibition is the first dedicated the designer, its organisers say.
Lima (AFP) – Facing a lack of drinking water and no internet connection to do homework, girls from poor neighbourhoods in dusty hills of Lima find in ballet dancing not only a break from their problems but a chance to build a better life. To cover the expenses of clothing, shoes and travel for competitions, their teacher, a former professional dancer, has created a system in which students and parents recycle and sell second-hand clothes and food.
Dohuk (Iraq) (AFP) – Years after being kidnapped by the Islamic State, thousands of people from Iraq’s non-muslim Yazidi minority are still missing. But their families refuse to give up. “We ask all countries of the world to help us find out the fate of our captured relatives, whether they are still alive or not, so that we can be relieved of this pain,” says Bahar Elias. Her husband Jassem and their son Ahmed’s whereabouts are still unknown.
