Arts and Culture

‘We are divided’: lake upends life for tiny Kenyan tribe

by Nick Perry Agence France-Presse EL MOLO BAY, Kenya (AFP) — At first light, children from one of Kenya’s smallest and most isolated tribes put on life jackets and board a fishing boat for the journey across the lake to school. Until recently, they could walk the distance. A road connected the El Molo with the world beyond their tiny village, a lifeline for a secluded community of fishers and craftspeople subsisting on the shores […]

France’s ‘Little Nicolas’ illustrator Jean-Jacques Sempe dies aged 89

by Fiachra GIBBONS Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Jean-Jacques Sempe, who illustrated the beloved “Little Nicolas” series of French children’s books, has died aged 89, his wife Martine Gossieaux Sempe told AFP on Thursday. As well as his work on “Le Petit Nicolas”, an idealized vision of childhood in 1950s France that became an international best-seller, Sempe also illustrated more New Yorker magazine covers than any other artist. “The cartoonist Jean-Jacques Sempe died peacefully […]

Ukraine assault sparks talk of Russian ‘cultural revolution’

by Marina LAPENKOVA Agence France-Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Actor Sergei Bezrukov says the world has had enough of “liberal values” and hopes Moscow’s intervention in Ukraine and foreign sanctions can help Russian culture chart its own path. Bezrukov is among artistic figures who say Moscow should leverage the country’s growing isolation to purify Russian culture of Western influence and promote conservative values including patriotism and the Orthodox faith. “We must take advantage of the […]

Whites-only town booms in ‘Rainbow Nation’ South Africa

by Susan NJANJI Agence France-Presse ORANIA, South Africa (AFP) — From a distance, Orania looks like any other small town in rural South Africa. But once inside, the visitor is struck by an obvious difference. Everyone here is white. And in a country where menial work in wealthy areas is typically done by blacks, whites here mop supermarket floors, wield leaf blowers and harvest the nuts on pecan farms. Orania is a whites-only town in […]

‘Total art’: Inside France’s vast video game archive

by Yassine KHIRI Agence France Presse Paris, France (AFP) — In the bowels of an imposing modernist tower in Paris, Laurent Duplouy carefully handles a pristine copy of “Tomb Raider” before slotting it back on the shelf alongside thousands of other classic video games. Duplouy oversees a huge archive of games at France’s National Library (BNF), one of the longest-running efforts to preserve a part of global heritage that is often overlooked by cultural institutions. […]

Solar electric tricycles give Zimbabwean women a lift

Zimbabwe (AFP) – For years, selling eggs was a joyless business for Danai Bvochora, as most of the money she made went to cover minibus fares to the market in a rural area of Zimbabwe. That was until an earth-brown solar-powered electric tricycle changed her life. “We used to carry loads on our heads before. The tricycle has lessened the burden,” said the 47-year-old from Domboshava, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Zimbabwe’s capital, […]

Novelist Stephen King star witness in anti-trust trial

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – Best-selling author Stephen King is horrified by an upcoming merger of major book publishers. The 75-year-old author of “Carrie,” “The Shining” and scores of other books, appeared in a Washington court on Tuesday to testify against the acquisition of his long-time publisher, Simon & Schuster, by Penguin Random House. The “King of Horror” is the Justice Department’s star witness in its anti-trust case opposing the merger. He introduced himself to […]

Syria’s last traditional boat-makers keep ancient craft afloat

by Maher Al Mounes Agence France-Presse ARWAD ISLAND, Syria (AFP) — Khaled Bahlawan hammers nails into a traditional wooden boat he built by hand, toiling under the scorching sun on Syria’s Mediterranean coast to preserve a disappearing ancient skill. “We are the last family that makes wooden ships and boats in Syria,” said the 39-year-old on the shores of Arwad island, near the city of Tartus. “This is the legacy of our ancestors… We are […]

The centuries-old mines stirring Japan-South Korea tensions

by Sara Hussein Agence France-Presse SADO, Japan (AFP) — Under a split-top mountain on the Japanese island of Sado lies a network of centuries-old mines that have sparked a new diplomatic row with South Korea. Some of the gold and silver mines of Sado, off Japan’s west coast, are believed to have started operating as early as the 12th century and produced until after World War II. Japan believes that lengthy history and the artisanal […]

Rolex worn during WWII ‘Great Escape’ sells for $189,000 in New York

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A Rolex watch worn by a British prisoner during the real-life “Great Escape” from the Nazi Stalag Luft III prisoner-of-war camp sold for $189,000 on Thursday in New York. The final sum for the timepiece, sold to an anonymous buyer, was less than the $200,000 and $400,000 expected by Christie’s. The watch was worn by Gerald Imeson on the night of March 24, 1944, when a group of Allied […]

Elvis wedding crackdown leaves Las Vegas all shook up

  by Andrew Marszal Agence France-Presse LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Every year thousands of visitors to Las Vegas can’t help falling in love — at least long enough to get married by an Elvis impersonator. But the company that controls the rights to the King’s likeness has sparked outrage in Sin City by cracking down wedding chapels offering Elvis-themed nuptials. Authentic Brands Group, which bought a controlling stake in Elvis Presley’s estate in […]