PARIS: A climate activist was arrested on Saturday for sticking an adhesive poster on a Monet painting at the Musee d’Orsay in Paris to draw attention to global warming, a police source told AFP.
The action by the woman, a member of “Riposte Alimentaire” (Food Response) — a group of environmental activists and defenders of sustainable food production — is the latest in a string of protests aimed at drawing attention to global warming by defacing art.
In a video posted on X, the woman — introducing herself as a “concerned citizen” --- is seen placing a blood-red poster over the “Coquelicots” (Poppy Field) painting by Claude Monet, a French Impressionist artist.
In the video she said of the poster covering Monet’s art that “this nightmarish image awaits us if no alternative is put in place.”
She added: “At four degrees, we can expect hell,” a reference to forecasts saying that Earth’s temperature could rise by 4 Celsius over pre-industrial levels by 2050.
Monet’s painting, completed in 1873, shows people with umbrellas strolling in a blooming poppy field and is part of a special Musee d’Orsay show called “Paris 1874, Inventing Impressionism” that features 130 works by 31 artists.
A restoration expert examined the painting which suffered no permanent damage, the Musee d’Orsay told AFP, adding that it had been put back on the wall.
“The exhibition is entirely accessible to the public again,” a spokesperson said.
The museum would file a criminal complaint, the spokesperson added.
Some of Monet’s works have sold for tens of millions of dollars, with his painting “Meules” (“Haystacks“) even fetching over $110 million including fees at an auction in 2019.
Riposte Alimentaire has claimed responsibility for several attacks on art in France in a bid to draw attention to the climate crisis and deteriorating food quality.
They included an attack on the world’s most famous portrait, the “Mona Lisa,” in the Louvre in January when two protesters hurled soup at the bullet-proof glass protecting Leonardo da Vinci’s masterwork, saying they had a right to “healthy and sustainable food.”
The attackers were sentenced by a Paris court to carry out volunteer work for a charity organization.
Already in 2022, a man had thrown a custard pie at the Mona Lisa because, he said, artists were not focusing enough on “the planet.”
In February, Riposte Alimentaire protesters again threw soup at a painting, this time in Lyon, southeast France, targeting another Monet painting, “Springtime.”
Last month activists also belonging to the group stuck flyers around “Liberty Leading the People,” a painting by Eugene Delacroix in the Louvre.
In April, two of its members were arrested at the Musee d’Orsay, which is dedicated to 19th-Century art, suspected of preparing an action there.
Riposte Alimentaire calls itself a “French civil resistance movement which aims to spur a radical societal change for the environment and society.”
“We love art,” the movement has said, “but future artists will have nothing to paint on a burning planet.”
Monet appears to be a favorite target for climate activists elsewhere, too, with paintings by the Impressionist having previoiusly come under attack in Potsdam, Germany, and in Stockholm.
Climate activist arrested for attacking Monet painting in Paris
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Climate activist arrested for attacking Monet painting in Paris
- Action is the latest in a string of protests aimed at drawing attention to global warming by defacing art
Athens Acropolis introduces private visits for 5,000 euros
Normal visits cost 20 euros or 30 euros for a combined ticket with other sites
ATHENS: The Acropolis in Athens, one of the world’s most visited ancient monuments, has begun offering private visits for 5,000 euros ($5,400), setting off protests from the site’s guards.
According to the official website of the culture ministry unit that manages the hilltop site, these group visits will be held outside of normal opening hours and are limited to a maximum of five people each.
Normal visits cost 20 euros or 30 euros for a combined ticket with other sites.
“The Acropolis Experience now offers visitors the exclusive opportunity to enjoy this perfect architectural expression of the Greek spirit in private,” says the Hellenic Heritage website.
Up to four group visits can take place at a time, beginning at 7:00 am or 8:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
According to Greek media, the first such private visit took place on Saturday with a Russian couple and their private guide.
On Tuesday, the site was offering unguided visits starting July 12 and with guides starting August 2. The site says tours can be conducted in English, French, German, Greek, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
The program set off controversy when it was first announced last year, and the union that represents guards at archaeology sites said it opposes these private visits that by-pass the usual official guides.
“We were never given any information about how these visits are organized,” said the union’s president Georgia Kondyli.
Ranked as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and built in the fifth century BC, the Acropolis has attracted ever growing number of tourists, driven by cruise ship passengers.
The site received a record four million visitors last year or an increase of 31 percent from the previous year, forcing the organization that manages the country’s historic sites to institute timed visits.
‘Singing nation’: How karaoke took over the Philippines
- Karaoke is ubiquitous in the Philippines, from malls to bars and roadside eateries
- Popularized in the 1970s, it has since become the Philippines’ national pastime
MANILA: Videos of Filipinos singing their hearts out at karaoke machines and belting out showstopping numbers from stars like Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey have been raking in millions of views on social media.
One such clip posted on YouTube in 2012, with Zendee Tenerefe singing “I Will Always Love You,” attracted over 26 million viewers, winning the young girl an invite on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in the US.
While it shot her to international fame, performances like that of Tenerefe are not a unique sight in the Philippines, where people croon at singing machines at shopping malls, public transport terminals, roadside eateries, restaurants, designated karaoke bars, and in the privacy of their homes.
In public areas, Filipinos can belt their favorite hits for as little as five pesos ($0.80) a song, with the accessibility contributing to karaoke becoming a favorite pastime for everyone, regardless of social status and age.
The love for singing is so widespread that cities have been issuing ordinances regulating the time and day Filipinos can engage in public signing as the hours-long sessions usually run until the early morning.
“Karaoke culture is popular in the Philippines, as it is part of a communal activity in every celebration, whether with a family or a circle of friends,” Patricia Dizon, communication lecturer at the University of the Philippines, told Arab News, observing that its origins date centuries before the Japanese musician Daisuke Inoue invented the Juke-8 — the first karaoke machine — in 1971.
European explorers who arrived on the shores of the Philippine archipelago regularly took note of the natives’ keen musical abilities. The 16th-century Venetian scholar Antonio Pigafetta, for example, observed the Filipinos he met “played so harmoniously that one would believe they possessed good musical sense.”
Meanwhile, Antonio de Morga, a Spanish colonial official who in the late 16th and early 17th century served in the Philippines, referred to the Filipinos as a “singing nation,” as they sang during every activity.
Spanning ages, geographical locations, and social strata, the love for singing is an iconic feature of the culture, and people in the Philippines now have wide repertoire of songs to choose from in today’s ubiquitous karaoke culture.
“While karaoke has long been associated with our titos (uncles) belting the songs of Tom Jones, as well as our ates (elder sisters) singing the infamous ‘Kitchie Nadal Medley,’ there are even newer songs available at the present, including those by the likes of (P-Pop or Pinoy pop groups) SB19 and BINI,” Dizon said.
Although the first karaoke machine was created by a Japanese, it is the Filipino entrepreneur Roberto del Rosario who holds its patent and developed the Karaoke Sing-Along System in 1975.
The system, which features the prerecorded music of popular songs and lyrics on a video screen, has turned karaoke into a central part of pop culture in the Philippines
In cities, Filipinos are treated to a wide range of options to get their fill of the entertainment. Establishments called KTV (karaoke television) rooms are popular for night outs, where groups can rent a private room to sing and order food and drinks. There are also karaoke bars for more courageous people to sing in public.
Law student Crystal Arcega, 26, and her friends frequent such bars to blow off steam in the middle of a grueling academic semester.
“I usually go for karaoke during midterms or after finals season. It’s a great way to hang out with my friends, especially after a long day,” she said.
“When I was younger, we would go to a karaoke booth in the mall every Sunday to sing after going to Mass. It was very wholesome.”
Both in her childhood and now, the love for singing has always had an important social or family dimension to it.
“Karaoke is a way for us to bond,” Arcega said. “Whether it’s to unwind or make memories with our loved ones, I think karaoke as an activity makes us come together and focus on a single thing that we can do together.”
Some, like Emmelle Petalder, 25, also do it alone, at home, with voiceless tunes that are widely available on YouTube.
“This happens two to three times a week,” she said. “Whenever I feel like it, or when there’s a song stuck in my head.”
She usually goes to KTV bars with friends to celebrate special moments as the social nature of karaoke draws everyone in.
“When Filipinos do karaoke, everyone sings along, even those who are not holding the mic,” she said.
“Karaoke gives us the opportunity to let those feelings out by singing our hearts out.”
Bird flu hits McDonald’s breakfasts in Australia
CANBERRA: Good luck getting a late-morning McMuffin in Australia.
McDonald’s has cut breakfast service timings by 1-1/2 hours, the company said, after a shortage of eggs caused by bird flu outbreaks that have led to the slaughter of about 1.5 million chickens.
“Like many retailers, we are carefully managing supply of eggs due to current industry challenges,” McDonald’s said on Facebook, adding that from Tuesday it would stop serving breakfast at 10:30 a.m. instead of the usual time of midday.
“We are working hard with our Aussie farmers and suppliers to return this back to normal as soon as possible,” the fast food company said.
Australia is battling outbreaks of several strains of highly pathogenic avian influenza that have struck 11 poultry facilities, most of them egg farms, in its southeast since May.
None of the strains are the H5N1 variant of bird flu that has spread through bird and mammal populations worldwide, infecting billions of animals and a small number of humans.
Fewer than 10 percent of Australia’s egg-laying hens have been affected and authorities say they are successfully containing the virus, but several retailers have set limits on the number of eggs customers may buy.
There has been some disruption to egg supply, with shelves in some stores emptying toward the end of the day, Rowan McMonnies, the managing director of industry body Australian Eggs, said last week.
“Consumers can be assured there’s still over 20 million hens under the care of hundreds of egg farmers across Australia that will continue to work hard to ensure there’s eggs on shelves,” he added.
Bird flu spreads to farmed animals from wild birds. The 2024 infections are Australia’s 10th outbreak since 1976, each contained and eradicated, the government has said.
Things to know about the Karen Read murder case, which has ended in a mistrial
DEDHAM, Mass.: A judge declared a mistrial Monday after jurors deadlocked in the case of Karen Read, a woman accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend by striking him with her SUV and leaving him in a snowstorm.
A jury foreperson told the judge Friday that they hadn’t reached a unanimous verdict despite an “exhaustive review of the evidence.” They were told to continue deliberating. They did but came back Monday afternoon and said it would be futile to continue.
The jury was tasked with deciding whether prosecutors proved that Read drunkenly and intentionally slammed into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her Lexus SUV and left him to die. The defense challenged the evidence and suggested that one or more law enforcement colleagues killed John O’Keefe, dumped his body outside in a panic, and then framed Read to cover it up.
More about the case and the trial:
Who’s who?
Read, 44, had worked as an equity analyst and was an adjunct lecturer in finance at her alma mater, Bentley University. O’Keefe, 46, was a 16-year veteran of the Boston Police Department who was raising his niece and nephew.
Jurors deliberated events that unfolded at the Canton home of Brian Albert, a Boston police detective, after a night of barhopping in January 2022. Brian Higgins, a federal agent who was among those gathered inside, had exchanged flirtatious texts with Read earlier that month.
The lead investigator was State Trooper Michael Proctor, who was friends with several witnesses and sent offensive texts about Read to friends, family and fellow troopers during the investigation. After the mistrial, Massachusetts State Police announced they were immediately relieving Proctor of duty and transferring him, saying the move followed an earlier decision to open an internal affairs investigation. They didn’t say where he would be transferred.
The charges
Read was charged with second-degree murder, punishable in Massachusetts by life in prison with the possibility of parole. She also faced lesser charges of manslaughter while operating a vehicle under the influence, punishable by five to 20 years, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, punishable by up to 10 years.
The evidence
Pieces of Read’s broken taillight were found at the scene, and a single hair from O’Keefe was found on the rear bumper of Read’s SUV. Prosecutors say that Read repeatedly said, “I hit him. I hit him. Oh my God, I hit him,” to first responders and others. Prosecutors replayed angry voicemails Read left for O’Keefe, painting a picture of a failing relationship. They also questioned her behavior, saying she never cried after O’Keefe’s body was found.
Read’s defense
Read contended that the prosecution’s case is based on lies by officers trying to protect themselves. Her lawyers said the pieces of taillight and the hair were planted at the crime scene, which was left unsecured. They also suggested that O’Keefe might have been beaten up by Higgins, who had flirted with Read through texts, and that the men panicked, dumping his body outside before trying to cover up the crime.
Sloppy detective work?
The case revealed questionable techniques and actions on the part of law enforcement. Proctor, who had personal relationships with several of the people involved, called Read a “whack job” and texted his sister saying he wished Read would “kill herself.” He said that was a figure of speech and that his emotions had gotten the better of him.
The defense also pointed to sloppy policing: The crime scene was left unsecured for hours; the house wasn’t searched; bloodstained snow was scooped up with red plastic drinking cups; and a leaf blower was used to clear snow. The defense also claims that a prosecution witness conducted an incriminating Internet search hours before O’Keefe’s body was discovered and then deleted it, and that others linked with the case destroyed phones and manipulated videos.
Outside adjudicators
A handful of women with posters showed up Friday to counter the self-proclaimed “sidewalk jury” of true crime bloggers and pink-shirted Read supporters, many of them waving the Stars and Stripes, who have gathered outside the Norfolk County courthouse every day since the trial began.
Police officers stood between the two groups, neither of which was particularly pleased.
“A hung jury, that would be terrible,” said Paul Harvey, who owns a moving company in East Boston. He said Read should have been acquitted on the first day.
“This is unbelievable; the poor woman has been framed,” said Michael Ward. “This not only hasn’t been proven, but what’s been proven is she’s innocent.”
Demonstrators on the other side called out what they said has been harassment of the O’Keefe family and prosecution witnesses.
“Every day, these witnesses are getting death threats. It is just disgusting to John’s memory,” said Julie Guinto, an administrative assistant who said she doesn’t know the family.
Online duels
Much of the attention was fed by social media, with supporters on both sides routinely trading barbs over the evidence, the lawyers and details from the trial.
“We know, as well as I’m sure the jury knows, that all roads lead to Karen Read,” said Kate Peter, a YouTuber from North Attleborough. She’s been battling online against Aidan Timothy Kearney, aka Turtleboy, whose website has relentlessly questioned the prosecution.
“I am hopeful and faithful they will reach a just verdict and she will be held criminally responsible for her actions in this murder,” Peter said.
A town steeped in the history of Paul Revere
Canton, a solidly middle-class commuter town of 20,000, is best known for the Paul Revere Heritage Site — 9 acres where Revere set up a mill in 1801 to roll the copper that covered the hulls of the newly formed Navy’s boats and the dome of the Massachusetts State House in Boston.
These days, tourists are as likely to pass through the town in search of places associated with Read’s trial.
There are the bars where she and O’Keefe had been drinking that night, including the Waterfall Bar & Grille and C.F. McCarthy’s, just down the street. On the same stretch of downtown is a tattered shop called D&E Pizza & Subs, which got a mention at the trial partly because it was run by Chris Albert, the brother of Boston police detective Brian Albert, who owned the house where O’Keefe’s body was found. Albert sold that house, and the new owners put up a no-trespassing sign to keep onlookers out.
Read’s supporters have turned normally sleepy town meetings into raucous affairs, trying to push out the police chief and supporting an ongoing audit of the department. They blame the police department, which recused itself from the Read investigation, for bungling it. To counter that, lawn signs have popped up declaring support for the police.
Two pistols owned by Napoleon up for auction with estimated value of up to $1.6m
- French emperor once intended to use the weapons to kill himself
- Later gave pistols to squire to thank him for his loyalty
PARIS: Two pistols that Napoleon Bonaparte once intended to use to kill himself are up for auction this weekend, expected to reach up to €1.5 million ($1.6 million), an auction house said Monday.
The richly decorated guns inlaid with gold and silver feature the engraved image of Napoleon in full imperial pomp.
They are said to have almost been used to end the French ruler’s life in 1814 when he was forced to give up power after foreign forces defeated his army and occupied Paris.
“After the defeat of the French campaign, he was totally depressed and wanted to commit suicide with these weapons but his grand squire removed the powder,” auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat told AFP.
Napoleon instead took poison but vomited and survived, and later gave the pistols to his squire to thank him for his loyalty, Osenat added.
They are expected to fetch €1.2 to 1.5 million at Sunday’s auction in Fontainebleau, south of Paris.
Memorabilia of the emperor is extremely sought-after among collectors.
His famous black cocked hat with its blue, white and red trimmings sold for 1.9 million euros in November.
Upon his abdication, Napoleon went into exile on the island of Elba off the coast of Italy.
He would soon grow bored and make a dramatic return to France, only to have his career definitively ended when he was defeated by the British at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, dying in exile on the island of St. Helena six years later.
