Category: Новини

Marília Mendonça, one of Brazil’s most popular singers and a Latin Grammy winner, died Friday in an airplane crash on her way to a concert. She was 26. 

Mendonça’s press office confirmed her death in a statement and said four other passengers on the flight also died. Their plane crashed between Mendonça’s hometown Goiania and Caratinga, a small city in Minas Gerais state located north of Rio de Janeiro.

Minas Gerais state’s civil police also confirmed Mendonça’s death, without providing details about the cause of the accident, which occurred shortly before it was to land. Photographs and videos show the plane lying just beneath a waterfall; Mendonça had posted a video Friday afternoon showing her walking toward the plane, guitar case in hand.

The rising star performed country music, in Brazil called sertanejo. She was known for tackling feminist issues in her songs, such as denouncing men who control their partners, and calling for female empowerment.

On Friday evening, the news triggered an outpouring of sadness on social media from across Brazil, including fans, politicians, musicians and soccer players. Her Instagram account has 38 million followers. 

“I refuse to believe, I just refuse,” Brazil soccer star Neymar, who is a friend of Mendonça’s, said on Twitter after the news broke. Brazil’s government also offered its condolences. 

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro also used social media to mourn the passing “of one of the greatest artists of her generation.”

“The entire country receives the news in shock,” he said. 

Her album “Em Todos os Cantos” album won her the 2019 Latin Grammy for best sertanejo album. She was nominated for the same award this year for her album “Patroas”. 

Mendonça was also famous for her romantic songs, often expressing the loss of loved ones. 

“You always make me cry, you’re unique and eternal,” said fan Michelle Wisla on Twitter.

Mendonça leaves behind a son, who will be 2 years old next month. 
…

The United States on Thursday urged China not to restrict access and movement for journalists reporting on next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing.

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China this week said it was concerned about a lack of transparency from organizers of the Feb. 4-20 Games.

“We urge PRC officials not to limit freedom of movement and access for journalists and to ensure that they remain safe and able to report freely, including at the Olympic and the Paralympic Games,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said at a regular press briefing, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

Activists are calling for the United States to impose a boycott or keep its officials from attending the games over China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its northwest, which the United States has said constitutes crimes against humanity and genocide.

China rejects such accusations.

Price said he did not have an update on the U.S. position on participation in the Games. U.S. officials have in the past said they would consult allies on the matter.

All participants at the Games will be subject to daily COVID-19 tests. International media will be enveloped in a “closed loop” including three clusters of venues – one in downtown Beijing, one in the outskirts near the Great Wall, and one to the northwest of the city, in Hebei province.

International journalists’ attempts to cover the preparations have been “continuously stymied” in breach of International Olympic Committee rules and China’s promises made when it bid to host the Games, the Foreign Correspondents Club of China said in a Twitter thread on Tuesday.

 

Organizers have denied or ignored requests for access, said the Beijing-based club, which shared testimony from members who said they were harassed and abused for trying to provide independent coverage of preparations for the Games.

At a regular press briefing on Friday, a foreign ministry spokesperson said that journalists were allowed to cover the Beijing Winter Olympics provided they abided by relevant laws and regulations.

China firmly opposed the politicization of sports and was opposed to “fake news” reports that smeared China and the Beijing Winter Olympics, the spokesperson said.
…

A documentary about the impact of climate change in Africa is a highlight of the annual French film festival in Los Angeles this year. The festival, “City of Light, City of Angels,” draws filmmakers from Paris and fans from Los Angeles. Mike O’Sullivan reports on the documentary “Marcher sur L’eau” (released in English as “Above Water”), which is causing a buzz.
…

Indian police have detained or arrested at least a dozen Muslims for allegedly celebrating Pakistan’s cricket match victory October 24 over archrival India in the T20 World Cup.  

Those arrested include a Muslim teacher in the western state of Rajasthan who was fired from her job for writing “We won” on her WhatsApp status following Pakistan’s crushing victory against India last week in Dubai. Authorities at a government hospital in Indian-administered Kashmir also terminated the job contract of a Kashmiri Muslim medical technician after she allegedly celebrated the victory on social media. 

In the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, seven people, including three Kashmiri students, were arrested for celebrating Pakistan’s victory. The state’s chief minister said all would be charged with sedition, and the accused could face jail terms of up to seven years. 

Former Indian Supreme Court Justice Deepak Gupta said the celebration by any Indian of Pakistan’s cricket victory is “definitely not sedition and it is ridiculous to think it is.” 

India and Pakistan are cricket-frenzy nations, and the neighbors have been fierce rivals on the pitch since British India was split into two countries in 1947.  

But because of the bitter political enmity between the countries, the Indian government does not allow the Indian cricket team to play Pakistan except in an official International Cricket Council-organized contest such as the ongoing T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. 

India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism in India and has blamed its rival for many terrorist attacks in India-administered Kashmir and other parts of the country. While Pakistan denies the accusations, almost all exchanges between the nations have come to a standstill in the recent years. The bilateral cricketing ties between the two neighbors have been frozen for more than eight years.

Pakistan’s trouncing of archrival India in the October 24 match triggered ecstatic celebrations among some Muslims in India, according to police reports. In India, where the majority is Hindu, those celebrating Pakistan’s victory are viewed as anti-nationals or enemies of India. 

On October 27, police arrested Muslim teacher Nafisa Attari in Rajasthan’s Udaipur for her WhatsApp status in support of the Pakistani cricket team. The private school where she worked dismissed her immediately.  

The same day, police in Uttar Pradesh announced they had arrested seven people, including three Kashmiri students from a private engineering college in Agra, for allegedly celebrating Pakistani team’s victory on WhatsApp. The Kashmiris were suspended from school. 

In a tweet, Uttar Pradesh police said those arrested were “anti-national elements” who used “disrespectful words against the Indian cricket team and made anti-India comments which disrupted peace.” The Kashmiris also face charges of cyberterrorism, under India’s Information Technology Act.  

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath threatened that Indians found cheering Pakistani cricket team will face tough actions.  

Adityanath tweeted: “Those celebrating Pakistan’s victory will face sedition charges.” 

The charge of sedition, which is based on a British colonial-era law, can be used against anyone who “brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law.”   

Nasir Khuehami, national spokesperson of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association, told VOA that Kashmiri Muslim students were violently assaulted in many states in India for allegedly celebrating the Pakistani cricket team’s victory.  

“This is perhaps true that those Kashmiri students celebrated Pakistani team’s victory in social media. But the Kashmiri students in Agra are being hounded more because of some Hindu groups’ charge that they shouted ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans. This charge is completely untrue. The college authorities and some non-Kashmiri students from the Agra engineering college confirmed it to us that no Kashmiri students shouted anti-India or pro-Pakistan slogans. But mostly because of the bogus charge, the students are being viewed as anti-nationalists,” Khuehami said.  

In the presence of police, Hindu right-wing groups beat up three arrested Kashmiri students while they were being produced in the court, Khuehami said.   

“Several lawyer associations in Agra have decided not to provide legal support to the three Kashmiri students. It is obvious that once the three students are booked under sedition charges, their studies will be doomed. Slapping sedition charges against the students just on the basis of their WhatsApp statuses and congratulatory messages is an arbitrary and unwarranted act.” 

The parents of the three students, who are mostly poor, have urged that the Uttar Pradesh government forgive them and revoke all the charges on humanitarian grounds.    

In a video interview, Gupta said celebrating the Pakistani team’s victory over India may be offensive or unwise for an Indian “but it is not a crime. It is not illegal. A thing may be good or bad, but that does not make it a crime or illegal.” 
…

Chinese authorities have squelched virtually all online discussion of sexual assault accusations apparently made by a Chinese professional tennis star against a former top government official, showing how sensitive the ruling Communist Party is to such charges.

In a lengthy social media post that disappeared quickly, Peng Shuai wrote that Zhang Gaoli, a former vice premier and member of the party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee, had forced her to have sex despite repeated refusals following a round of tennis three years ago. Her post also said they had sex once seven years ago and she had feelings for him after that.

Peng is a former top-ranked doubles player, taking 23 tour-level doubles titles, including Grand Slams at Wimbledon in 2013 and the French Open in 2014.

The Associated Press could not verify the authenticity of her post, which was made late Tuesday night by her verified account on Weibo, a leading Chinese social media platform. The post was removed soon after, and a search on Weibo for Peng’s account now turns up no results. Neither she nor Zhang could be reached for comment.

The accusation is the first against a prominent government official since the #MeToo movement took hold in China in 2018 before being largely tamped down by authorities the same year. Earlier accusations were confined to the media, advocacy groups and academia.

The Communist Party’s response illustrates its determination to control public discourse and restrain social movements it can’t be sure of controlling. While social media has become ubiquitous in China, it remains firmly under party control.

Screenshots of the post have circulated on Twitter, which is blocked in China, reinvigorating discussion on that platform about gender relations in China, where men dominate the top levels in politics and business.

In the post, Peng, 35, wrote that Zhang, now 75, and his wife arranged to play tennis in Beijing about three years ago and that he later brought her into a room at his home where the assault occurred.

“I was so frightened that afternoon, never thinking that this thing could happen,” the post says.

Rumors and overseas reports about affairs between younger women and leading officials have long been staples of Chinese politics, starting with the founder of the People’s Republic, Mao Zedong.

Cases brought against present and former officials under party leader and President Xi Jinping’s decade-long anti-corruption campaign also frequently feature accusations of “lascivious lifestyles,” along with bribery and abusing their positions.

Zhang retired in 2018 and has largely disappeared from public life, as is usual with former Chinese officials.

Peng hasn’t played at the top tier since the Qatar Open in February 2020. In singles, she reached the semifinals of the 2014 U.S. Open and the Round of 16 at the subsequent Australian Open, but hasn’t progressed beyond the third round at any major since Wimbledon in 2017.

The Communist Party has increasingly cracked down on civil society, including the #MeToo movement that has struggled to gain traction in the country.

Zhou Xiaoxuan, a former intern at Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, was shoved by bystanders in September as she went to court in a case against a well-known presenter.

Since then, the movement has been largely shut down by authorities as activists found their online posts censored and faced pressure from authorities when trying to hold protests.
…

The Tour du Faso, a 10-day bicycle race through the conflict-stricken West African country of Burkina Faso, began in the southern city of Banfora on October 29. One Burkinabe rider hopes to build on his Summer Olympics performance and secure victory despite security concerns. 

Paul Daumont is one of eighty cyclists taking part in this year’s Tour du Faso, Burkina Faso’s answer to the world-famous Tour de France bicycle race.  

Since October 29, cyclists have pedaled their way across the country, with a new stage each day.  

Daumont is back from the Olympics in Tokyo and hopes to improve on his performance in his home country.  

He says breaking into cycling was tough, but at just 22, it has already taken him all over the world, from Japan to Switzerland.   

“You could say that cycling, whether in Burkina Faso or in the rest of the world, is a sport that is difficult to get into, because you need a machine and the machines are relatively expensive. You have to be lucky enough to already have a bike — or someone who can lend one to you to get started,” Daumont  said.

He says that the cycling federation in Burkina Faso helped him with a road racing bike after he showed potential, but you need a good bike to get to that level in the first place.  

Despite difficulties with access, the sport of cycling is becoming more popular in Africa, and the Union Cycliste Internationale’s annual Africa tour takes in 11 countries, including Burkina Faso.   

Burkina Faso is in the midst of a six-year conflict involving terror groups linked to the Islamic State group, al-Qaida and local bandits, and security has deteriorated in recent months.  

The organizers and participants at this year’s event, however, were pushing ahead, and the atmosphere was festive. 

When asked about security, one of the organizers said it was a concern. 

“Yeah. Sure. It’s one of the big difficulties for us, because of course when we have, for example, European countries. We are not all the time sure, but we have a big organization. We have the military with us; we have to police with us,” Bezault said.

Contenders from Europe say they are not worried about security. 

“Oh, I don’t feel unsafe at all. I think everyone is very friendly and, yeah, like I said, I haven’t felt unsafe at all. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here,” Betten said.

Local riders say they are enjoying the cosmopolitan nature of the event but have their eyes on the prize. 

“I thank the foreigners who came, and I also thank the cyclists, the runners from Burkina Faso. May God give us the yellow jersey,” Sorgho said. 

Meanwhile, Daumont has already placed in the top 10 in the first two stages of the Tour du Faso, which will reach its conclusion on Sunday. 
…

South African writer Damon Galgut won the prestigious Booker Prize for fiction on Wednesday with “The Promise,” a novel about one white family’s reckoning with South Africa’s racist history. 

Galgut had been British bookmakers’ runaway favorite to win the 50,000-pound ($69,000) prize with his story of a troubled Afrikaner family and its broken promise to a Black employee — a tale that reflects bigger themes in South Africa’s transition from apartheid. 

Galgut took the prize on his third time as a finalist, for a book the judges called a tour de force. He was previously shortlisted for “The Good Doctor” in 2003 and “In a Strange Room” in 2010. 

Despite his status as favorite, Galgut said he was stunned to win. 

Galgut said he was accepting the prize “on behalf of all the stories told and untold, the writers heard and unheard, from the remarkable continent that I’m part of.” 

“Please keep listening to us — more to come,” he added. 

Historian Maya Jasanoff, who chaired the judging panel, said “The Promise” was a profound, forceful and succinct book that “combines an extraordinary story, rich themes — the history of the last 40 years in South Africa — in an incredibly well-wrought package.” 

Galgut’s ninth novel traces members of the Swart family — the word is Afrikaans for black — haunted by an unkept promise to give their Black maid, Salome, her own house. The book is structured around a series of funerals over several decades; Galgut has said he wanted to make readers fill in the narrative gaps themselves. 

He is the third South African novelist to win the Booker Prize, after Nadine Gordimer in 1974 and J.M. Coetzee, who won twice, in 1983 and 1999. 

“The Promise” was selected over five other novels, including three by U.S. writers: Richard Powers’ “Bewilderment,” the story of an astrobiologist trying to care for his neurodivergent son; Patricia Lockwood’s social media-steeped novel “No One is Talking About This”; and Maggie Shipstead’s aviator saga “Great Circle.”

The other finalists were Sri Lankan author Anuk Arudpragasam’s aftermath-of-war story “A Passage North” and British/Somali writer Nadifa Mohamed’s “The Fortune Men,” about a Somali man falsely accused of murder in 1950s Wales. 

Jasanoff said many of the shortlisted novels, including Galgut’s, reflected on the relationship between past and present. 

“This is a book that’s very much about inheritance and legacy,” she said of the winner. “It’s about change over a period of decades. And I think it’s a book that invites reflection over the decades and invites and repays rereading.” 

Founded in 1969, the Booker Prize has a reputation for transforming writers’ careers and was originally open to British, Irish and Commonwealth writers. Eligibility was expanded in 2014 to all novels in English published in the U.K. 

The judging panel winnowed their list from 158 novels submitted by publishers. Only one British writer, Mohamed, made the final six, a fact has renewed debate in the U.K. about whether the prize is becoming U.S.-dominated. 

Last year there also was only one British writer on a U.S.-dominated list of finalists, Scotland’s Douglas Stuart. He won the prize for “Shuggie Bain,” a gritty and lyrical novel about a boy coming of age in hardscrabble 1980s Glasgow. 

For a second year, the coronavirus pandemic has scuttled the prize’s usual black-tie dinner ceremony at London’s medieval Guildhall. The winner was announced in a ceremony broadcast live on BBC radio and television. 

 
…