DIWANIYA, Iraq: The toughest fight that Iraqi freestyle wrestler Alia Hussein ever faced was convincing her family that women should be allowed to grapple.
The 26-year-old student was a keen cyclist and basketball player but when she told her family last year that she wanted to try her hand at the physical world of wrestling she was met with abuse.
"I was humiliated and even beaten by my family, but I defied them all," Hussein told Reuters.
"I feel that I can express myself through this sport. I wanted to prove to society that wrestling is not confined to men only and that Iraqi women can be wrestlers and can win and fight."
On the blue mats of the Al-Rafideen Club in the conservative city of Diwaniya, some 180 km (110 miles) south of Baghdad, Hussein trains three times a week with 30 other female wrestlers, some still wearing headscarves. When a big competition comes up, they train every day.
In September, Hussein won a silver medal in the 75 kg (165 lb) freestyle category at a regional event in Lebanon and gold at a local tournament in Baghdad.
"I faced opposition from my family at the beginning, but after my participation in Baghdad and Beirut tournaments they started to encourage me, thank God," Hussein said.
This is the second attempt by the Iraqi Wrestling Federation (IWF) to grow women's wrestling, this time prompted by the threat of a ban by the sport's global body if they didn't.
The first ended when the club in Diwaniya was disbanded in 2012 after complaints from the local community that the sport was in defiance of local traditions and culture.
The IWF has managed to recruit 70 female wrestlers who train at 15 clubs across the country, a spokesman for the body said. Each is entitled to a payment of 100,000 Iraqi dinars ($84) a month, but the money has stopped for the last three months as the IWF invests in a new wrestling hall in Baghdad.
Despite the financial offer, recruitment is tough.
Nihaya Dhaher Hussein, a 50-year-old school teacher, is the driving force behind the burgeoning team in Diwaniya which started in 2016.
She drives the squad to practice, trains them and undertakes the dangerous task of convincing families to let their daughters, sisters or wives wrestle.
"A woman wrestling is alien to our conservative tribal society," she said. "The idea is hard to accept. It was so difficult to attract girls and convince their families.
"I was threatened myself by a brother of a player who verbally abused me and tried to hit me. It is so difficult to bring them to training and return them to their houses."
Grappling with taboos, Iraqi women join wrestling squad
Grappling with taboos, Iraqi women join wrestling squad
Philippines devotees nailed to crosses to re-enact Christ’s crucifixion
- Around 80 percent of the Philippines’ 110 million people are Roman Catholics
- Rituals form part of Holy Week, which spans from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday
CUTUD, Philippines: Christian devotees from the Philippines were nailed to a cross on Friday in a reenactment of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion in the predominantly Catholic nation.
Hundreds of Filipinos and foreign tourists flocked to the northern village of San Pedro Cutud in Pampanga province to witness Ruben Enaje nailed to the cross and portray Christ for the 36th time in an annual devotional display. Two other devotees joined him in re-enacting the crucifixion.
Actors dressed as Roman soldiers hammered Enaje’s palms with two-inch nails. Ropes and fabric supported their bodies as they were raised on wooden crosses.
“The first five seconds were very painful. As time goes and the blood goes down, the pain numbs and I can stay on the cross longer,” Enaje, 64, said in an interview.
Around 80 percent of the Philippines’ 110 million people identify as Roman Catholics. The rituals form part of Holy Week, which spans from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday and is one of the most sacred and solemn periods in the Philippines’ religious calendar.
During Holy Week, some devotees flog their backs repeatedly with bamboo whips in an act of self-flagellation to seek penance and atonement. The Catholic Church has discouraged the practice, saying prayers and sincere repentance are enough to commemorate Lent.
‘Star Wars’ fans wave lightsabers as an upcoming film gets announced in Japan
- Gosling and director Shawn Levy appeared on stage Friday before a lightsaber-waving crowd at Makuhari Messe center outside Tokyo
- The event, called Star Wars Celebration, continues through Sunday
CHIBA: The Force was with many Japanese, as well as visitors from abroad, at a “Star Wars” event on Friday where Lucasfilm announced that the next installation in the franchise will hit theaters in May 2027 starring Ryan Gosling.
Appearing on stage before a lightsaber-waving crowd at Makuhari Messe center outside Tokyo, Gosling showed a photo of his childhood bedsheets, plastered with illustrations from the space epic created by George Lucas.
“I guess I was dreaming about ‘ Star Wars ‘ even before I saw the film,” Gosling said.
Shawn Levy, who will direct the movie, told the crowd that “Star Wars: Starfighter” will not be a prequel or a sequel, but a new standalone adventure with new characters set several years after “Episode Nine.” Filming starts later this year, he said.
Levy, who also directed the 2006 film “The Pink Panther” and the recent Netflix series “Stranger Things,” said little else, noting: “I can’t say much about it because I understand the rules.”
Only the title was shown on a giant screen, although that was enough for the crowd to burst into cheers.
The event, called Star Wars Celebration, which runs through Sunday, is full of “Star Wars“-themed merchandise including T-shirts, toys, books, manga comics, AC chargers, cellphone covers, autographs, posters and more.
The Lego booth featured a man wearing the ominous black mask and cloak of Darth Vader, made out of Legos. The deep-breathing villain also appeared as traditional Japanese lacquerware decorating earphones in a limited edition of 10, each selling for 990,000 yen ($7,000). Darth Vader T-shirts were more affordable at 8,000 yen ($56).
“It makes me so happy to think everyone here loves ‘Star Wars,’” said Yoshiki Takahashi, 26, who was holding a remote-controlled R2-D2 miniature robot.
“I love the directing, the sound of the gun and the lightsaber, but above all the story, with great fight scenes and, of course, human drama,” he added.
Another Japanese man, who said he goes only by Hiro, was dressed as the “Star Wars” character Mandalorian, in a detailed costume he made himself, complete with a plastic sword and armor.
Also present were “Star Wars” fans from around the world, including a robed Raul Herrera, a computer science teacher from Chile, who was there with friends.
“All of them,” said Herrera, when asked which ‘Star Wars’ films he’d seen. “The sense of commitment of the characters, I really like it.”
With offshoot stories spanning generations and literally the cosmos, “Star Wars” is one of the highest-grossing franchises of all time since its 1977 debut, starring Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker.
It may be natural that “Star Wars” appeals to Japanese: Its story about a samurai-like hero who befriends various characters along his journey echoes the nation’s fables, as well as legendary Akira Kurosawa films.
Scientists find possible chemical signs of life on a faraway planet
- Researchers found evidence of dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide in the atmosphere of the planet known as K2-18b
- On Earth, those two compounds are produced primarily by microbial life, such as marine phytoplankton
LONDON: Astronomers have found possible chemical signs of life on a distant planet outside our solar system, though they caution more work is needed to confirm their findings.
The research, led by scientists at the University of Cambridge, detected evidence of compounds in the exoplanet’s atmosphere that on Earth are only produced by living organisms and contended it’s the strongest potential signal yet of life.
Independent scientists described the findings as interesting, but not nearly enough to show the existence of life on another planet.
“It is the strongest sign to date of any possibility of biological activity outside the solar system,” Cambridge astrophysicist Nikku Madhusudhan said during a livestream on Thursday.
By analyzing data from the James Webb Space Telescope, the researchers found evidence of dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide in the atmosphere of the planet known as K2-18b. The planet is 124 light-years away; one light-year is equivalent to nearly 6 trillion miles.
On Earth, those two compounds are produced primarily by microbial life, such as marine phytoplankton.
The planet is more than double Earth’s size and more than 8 times more massive. It’s in the so-called habitable zone of its star. The study appeared in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Madhusudhan stressed that further research is needed to rule out any errors or the possibility of other processes, besides living organisms, that could produce the compounds.
David Clements, an astrophysicist at Imperial College London, said atmospheres on other planets are complex and difficult to understand, especially with the limited information available from a planet so far away.
“This is really interesting stuff and, while it does not yet represent a clear detection of dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide, it is a step in the right direction,” he said in comments released by the Science Media Center in London.
More than 5,500 planets orbiting other stars have been confirmed so far. Thousands more are in the running out of the billions out there in our Milky Way galaxy alone.
Launched in 2021, Webb is the biggest and most powerful observatory ever sent into space.
Philippine film legend Nora Aunor dies aged 71
- She was proclaimed a ‘National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts’ in 2022
- The cause of death, which took place Wednesday, was not disclosed
MANILA: Nora Aunor, considered by many Filipinos as their country’s greatest actress and singer, has died aged 71, the government and her family said Thursday.
Proclaimed a “National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts” by the Philippines in 2022, the once child snack vendor who would go on to star in 170 films will be honored with a state funeral.
“It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Nora Aunor, our beloved mother, celebrated television and movie actress,” her adopted daughter Lotlot de Leon announced Thursday on her Instagram page.
The cause of death, which took place Wednesday, was not disclosed.
Her first break came when cast in 1967’s “All Over the World,” a typical teen comedy of the era.
Aunor, who had a darker skin tone compared to the half-Caucasian actresses that dominated local cinema at the time — brought a relatability to audiences, earning her the nickname Ate guy, or big sister guy.
She would become a sensation as part of a studio-manufactured “love team” with actor Tirso Cruz III. Together they were known as “Guy and Pip.”
Critical acclaim followed nearly a decade later with starring roles in the dramas “Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos” (Three Years Without God) and “Minsa’y Isang Gamu-gamo” (Once a Moth), both released in 1976.
Aunor also recorded hundreds of songs, including 1971’s “Pearly Shells,” said to be one of the Philippine’s top-selling singles ever.
On Thursday, President Ferdinand Marcos described her as “a gift to the Filipino nation,” and the government’s National Commission for Culture and the Arts said she would receive a state funeral at a date to be determined.
“Throughout her splendid career that spanned more than 50 years, she was our consummate actress, singer, and film producer,” Marcos said.
“Her golden voice was a balm for all. Her genius was a gift to the Filipino nation.”
The fourth of five children from a family in the poverty-stricken Bicol region southeast of Manila, Aunor, born Nora Villamayor, helped the family make ends meet by selling cold water and snacks at a train station.
Her grandmother taught her to sing, and at 14, she won a nationwide singing contest.
She married local actor Christopher de Leon in 1975, and the couple had one biological child and four adopted children before separating two decades later.
Aunor later immigrated to the United States, and in 2005 was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for drugs possession. She underwent a court-directed drug diversion program that kept her out of prison.
She returned to Manila in 2011 to resume her acting and singing career.
Spain police dig up underground shooting range used by gun traffickers
- Spanish officers raided a house in the southern province of Granada and found the site
- Authorities believe the site was used to test weapons that the group supplied to drug trafficking rings
MADRID: Spanish police said Wednesday they have uncovered an illegal underground firing range they suspect was operated by a weapons trafficking ring that supplied assault rifles and other arms to drug gangs.
Officers raided a house in the southern province of Granada and found the site, which was located three stories underground, said a police statement.
Neighbours could not hear guns going off because of the depth of the range, it added.
Police said it was the first time they had found a “illegal shooting range run by a criminal group” in Spain.
Authorities believe the site was used to test weapons that the group supplied to drug trafficking rings, who then used them to defend themselves or attack rival gangs.
“The operation has removed weapons from the streets that could have been used to commit extremely serious crimes,” the statement said.
Police said the group offered to sell assault rifles, submachine guns and automatic pistols, as well as ammunition, bulletproof vests and other tactical equipment.
Officers arrested three people and seized several weapons and more than 60,000 euros ($68,000) in cash. They said further arrests were possible.
Spain is a major gateway to Europe for drug trafficking networks due to its ties to former colonies in Latin America and its proximity to Morocco, a top cannabis producer.
