Vijftien landen traden donderdagavond aan in Wenen voor de tweede halve finale van het Songfestival. Er werd over een glazen kooi gekropen, het ging over ‘verstik me’ – en er was een ongemakkelijk filmpje over lhbtiq+-artiesten.
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Health officials say close contacts being offered antibiotics as a precaution after cases discovered in Reading
A young person has died and two others are being treated after an outbreak of meningitis in Berkshire, health officials have said.
It follows a major outbreak in Kent, linked to a Canterbury nightclub, that killed two people and left more than a dozen needing hospital treatment in March.
Continue reading...Researchers say risk comes from ‘other factors, including genetic predisposition to mental health conditions’
Taking antidepressants during pregnancy does not increase the risk of children going on to develop autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to an analysis of more than half a million pregnancies.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Hong Kong and published in the Lancet Psychiatry, analysed data from 37 existing studies that included 600,000 pregnant women who had taken antidepressants, and 25 million women who had no antidepressant use during their pregnancies.
Continue reading...Visit comes after US-Cuba relations deteriorated significantly, with Washington imposing a fuel blockade on the island in January
CIA director John Ratcliffe met Cuban officials in Havana on Thursday as a way to improve dialogue between the US and the communist-run island, the Cuban government said.
The meeting took place “in a context marked by the complexity of bilateral relations, with the aim of contributing to the political dialogue between both nations”, a statement said.
Continue reading...Research shows sick leave among patients prescribed GLP-1 injections over nine-month period reduced by 50%
Weight-loss drugs could halve sickness absence and significantly reduce the strain on the NHS, research suggests.
A UK study of patients who received GLP-1 jabs for nine months found sickness days fell by nearly half and sickness absence lasting five days or more fell by more than 50%. Analysis of the findings suggests expanding access could cut A&E attendance by obese patients by a quarter and free up nearly 10m GP appointments.
Continue reading...Revelation seen as serious blow to candidacy of Flávio Bolsonaro, Brazil’s leading rightwing presidential hopeful
Flávio Bolsonaro, Brazil’s leading rightwing presidential hopeful, has been caught on tape asking a banker accused of corruption for $26.8m (£20m) to fund a film about his father, the former president Jair Bolsonaro.
The leaked voice memos and text messages were published on Wednesday by the Intercept Brasil, and later acknowledged by Flávio Bolsonaro, a far-right senator who is tied in polls with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ahead of October’s election.
Continue reading...Cannes film festival: Iranian auteur Asghar Farhadi returns to France with this intriguing middleweight meta-drama featuring a cameo from Catherine Deneuve
Asghar Farhadi is the Iranian auteur whose film-making style has always shown the high European influences of Antonioni and Haneke. He has in fact made two films in Europe: The Past in France and Everybody Knows in Spain.
Now he returns to France and the French language for this diverting, middleweight meta-drama about betrayal and about a supposed link between voyeurism and creativity: do writers spy on the characters they have brought to life?
Continue reading...
Milan-based Filipina designer Mirei Monticelli creates biomorphic lighting fixtures that toe the line between sculpture and utility. Undulating outward and glowing from within, the artist’s works feel as if they are alive, quietly dancing wherever they stand or hang.
These gestural, biodegradable structures are crafted with hand-woven Banaca fabric made from Abacá, a fiber that grows abundantly in Monticelli’s native Philippines. The artist’s studio works directly with a community of weavers in the Bicol province at the southeastern end of Luzon, sharing with Colossal, “We’ve developed the material together over time, so it’s not just sourcing, but a relationship.”
The laborious act of harvesting Abacá fiber has long been communal. From gathering the wild plant’s towering stalks and stripping them layer by layer to sun-drying bundles of knotted thread and hand-weaving the strands into functional textiles, the necessity of human connection has always been part of the process.
The term Banaca—coined by Monticelli—combines modern elements of design with a heritage technique that has been passed down for centuries. Monticelli’s contemporary subversion of a material so deeply engrained within Philippine culture further emphasizes the works’ metamorphic and dynamic presence. “Human rhythm is what gives the material its character, and it’s also why every piece feels alive when it’s lit,” says the artist.
Monticelli’s practice also incoporates techniques that echo garment construction and fashion. The artist shared that many of her methods are also learned from her mother, a fashion designer. Draping, volume-building, and creating shape are present in Monticelli’s lamps, underscoring a bodily essence within their surging forms.
Last month, the artist unveiled an installation titled “Pleasure Garden” at Milan Design Week, and often collaborates with interior designers, hospitality partners, and architectural studios to create immersive spaces. Find more from Monticelli on Instagram.
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Mirei Monticelli’s Hand-Woven Banana Leaf Lamps Swell Between Material and Movement appeared first on Colossal.
STADSKANAAL (ANP) - In een deel van het Groningse Stadskanaal is donderdagavond een noodverordening ingesteld. In het gebied staan "woningen die betrokken zijn bij een strafrechtelijk onderzoek", meldt de gemeente. Een groep mensen heeft donderdag ruiten ingegooid bij die woningen.
Ook gaan er volgens de gemeente op sociale media oproepen rond om de openbare orde nog verder te verstoren, waarbij mogelijk "brandversnellende middelen" zullen worden gebruikt.
Om verdere escalatie te voorkomen heeft burgemeester Klaas Sloots besloten tot een noodverordening in het gebied dat wordt omsloten door de Hoofdkade, Julianastraat, Stationslaan en Brugkade. Het beslaat het grootste deel van de wijk Parkwijk, die tegen de grens met Drenthe ligt. De maatregel geldt tot zondagavond 23.59 uur.
Mishandeling
Donderdag werd bekend dat twee vrouwen van 31 en 33 uit Stadskanaal worden verdacht van ernstige mishandeling van hun twee kinderen van 6 en 7 jaar. Sinds dat naar buiten is gekomen, is het onrustig in de Groningse gemeente en zijn er ruiten ingegooid bij de woningen die vermoedelijk van de vrouwen zijn.
Wie niets te zoeken heeft in het noodverordeningsgebied mag er niet komen. Ook groepen van drie of meer personen zijn er niet toegestaan. In het gebied is een hele lijst van voorwerpen verboden: "stokken, stenen, knuppels, boksbeugels, brandversnellende middelen, vuurwerk en (steek)wapens", aldus de noodverordening.