Category: Новини

washington — President Joe Biden welcomed the reigning WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces to the White House on Thursday, celebrating what he called a “banner year” for women’s basketball.

“It matters to girls and women, finally seeing themselves represented,” Biden said during the celebration held in the East Room of the White House. “It matters to all Americans. That’s why as a nation, we need to support women’s sports.”

Both he and Vice President Kamala Harris were given the customary jerseys from the winning team. As he held his up, Biden yelled, “Put me in Coach, I’m ready to play!”

In her own remarks, Harris praised the team for playing with “such joy” and being role models both on and off the basketball court.

“You simply inspire people across our nation and around the world,” Harris said.

The Las Vegas Aces defeated the New York Liberty in the WNBA championship last October to win their second consecutive WNBA title. As he began his remarks, Biden made a not-so-veiled reference to his own reelection prospects, noting, “I kind of like that back-to-back stuff.”
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MARSEILLE, France — Joyful crowds gathered along the streets of France’s southern port of Marseille on Thursday to see torchbearers carrying the Olympic flame through the city’s most emblematic sites, a day after it arrived on a majestic three-mast ship for a welcoming ceremony. 

It was the first leg of an 11-week journey across the country for the torch, which will be carried by about 10,000 bearers as it passes through more than 450 towns until the Games’ opening ceremony in Paris on July 26. 

Former soccer player Basile Boli, who played with the Marseille team in the 1990s, kicked off Thursday’s relay from the Notre Dame de la Garde basilica that overlooks Marseille and the Mediterranean. 

“I’m very proud,” Boli said. “You feel like you’re on top of the world, because with an Olympic flame there’s a special fervor. … It’s the symbol of sport!” 

Basketball player Tony Parker later took his turn in the relay, praising “a great honor.” On a nearby crowded beach, swimmers and sunbathers cheered the torch bearers as the flame passed. 

“The enthusiasm of Marseille for the flame is phenomenal,” said Maurice Genevois, a local resident. “Honestly, I have rarely seen such a celebration.” 

Magali Evrard, who came from the town of Martigues, in Marseille’s region, said “it’s been so long since we started talking about this and now we’re in it! 

“We are on the road to Paris. We can’t wait, it’s great,” she added. 

A fencing champion, a skateboarder, a Michelin-starred chef and a comedian were also chosen to carry the flame on Thursday. 

“Let’s go for a fantastic celebration,” said Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris Olympics organizing committee. “The Games are back in our country. … Let’s share this fantastic moment of celebration with millions of people in the country.” 

Participants were scheduled to run all day past landmarks in the city to bring the torch to the roof of the famed Stade Vélodrome, home to Marseille’s passionate soccer fans. 

Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said “it’s fantastic to give that sense of pride to the French people and to show to the whole world what we’re capable to achieve.” 

“‘We’re going to give happiness to the whole world,” she added. 

Torchbearers included Ukrainian gymnast Mariia Vysochanska, who won two gold medals at the 2020 European Championships and competed at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. 

Her inclusion was an expression of solidarity with Ukraine as well as a symbolic gesture to mark Europe Day, which falls on May 9 each year. Vysochanska led a group of 27 other athletes who represent all European Union member states. 

“It’s a way to really celebrate Europe, its values and also to demonstrate our attachment to the European sport model,” Oudea-Castera said. Ukraine received the green light last year to start accelerated talks on joining the EU. 

“(Ukrainians) face that terrible war of aggression, and we want to really express that we support them the best we can,” she added. “This is unity. This is hope. This is solidarity. And we want their victory.” 

Marseille on Wednesday celebrated with great fanfare the flame’s arrival, with more than 230,000 people attending the ceremony in the Old Port, according to the city’s mayor, Benoit Payan. 

During the Games, the sailing competition and some soccer matches will be held in Marseille. 
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Heavy metal music is controversial in some conservative societies but quite popular in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country. As VOA’s Dave Grunebaum reports, heavy metal has a home in Indonesia.
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Jakarta, Indonesia — The sounds from guitars strumming and drums beating sears through the air. Crowds dance in circles while thumping their heads back and forth.

Some 38,000 fans attended Hammersonic this past weekend, according to organizers of Southeast Asia’s largest annual heavy metal music festival. Featuring 55 bands, the event is held in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim majority country.

One of the groups performing, Lamb of God, was barred from performing in neighboring Malaysia in 2013 after Islamic leaders there said some of the band’s songs were blasphemous. Interestingly, the current president of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, talks openly about his passion for heavy metal and says he’s a fan of Lamb of God.

“We’re a moderate Muslim country and that’s why we’re more open to foreign influence including heavy metal music than some more conservative countries” said Pri Ario Damar, dean of the performing arts faculty at the Jakarta Institute of Arts.

Damar, 49, was a bass guitarist in a local heavy metal band back in the 1990s and currently plays with his students from time to time. “Heavy metal has been popular here for decades,” he says. “So there are several generations of listeners here who appreciate it as an outlet to comment on society, politics and the environment.”

At 6 p.m. local time, during a break in the live performances at Hammersonic, many fans went to the designated prayer area. Some of them prayed wearing heavy metal t-shirts simultaneously showing their Muslim faith and favorite music.

While bands from around the world took the stage, Dian Ranidita, a 40-year-old Indonesian mother of three, tapped her feet to the rhythms while her husband Yanuardi gently bobbed his head up and down.

“The stereotype of heavy music is always dark, violent, aggressive and also like a devil, but actually heavy metal is not like that,” Dian said, adding that she’s been a heavy metal fan since high school because of the different themes in the music that she relates to.

“For instance, romantic themes when you have a broken heart or feeling like fall in love with someone. And also if you’re feeling depressed, there are also depression themes, and when you’re feeling like you want to release your adrenaline,” she said. “Those are some of the many themes in heavy metal.”

Sisi Selatan is a heavy metal band from the Indonesian city of Solo. The group performed songs about love and social activism while fans in front of the stage jumped up and down. Band members say Indonesia is a country that embraces foreign cultural influences.

“We [Indonesians] absorb foreign cultures,” said guitarist Adi Wibowo. “Not only metal music, but also Korean, Japanese, Indian music and more. We embrace these types of music.”

Denisa Dhaniswara is a 24-year-old heavy metal vocalist from Jakarta. Like many singers, she writes songs based on her own personal experiences in life.

“A lot of my lyrics are filled with grief and greed. So, I really want people to feel unsettled when you listen to my music,” she said. “It’s a way of saying: I’ve been feeling like this, do you relate? If you relate that’s good. I mean I’m not alone here.”

Dhaniswara says Indonesia’s heavy metal fanbase is growing as performers get better and better.

“Indonesia has a lot of newer heavy metal bands and that makes me very happy because we’re always emerging,” she said. “Always finding out new stuff. Everybody’s so creative.”
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