Human Remains Found In Search For Missing British Actor Julian Sands

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June 26, 2023

Berlin was once home to Germany’s biggest Jewish community.

When Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal first talked about his dream of building Germany’s biggest Jewish educational and cultural complex since the Holocaust, most people who heard about the plan were sceptical.

Five years after the groundbreaking, Teichtal’s dream comes true on Sunday, as the Pears Jewish Campus opens its doors in the German capital’s Wilmersdorf neighbourhood.

A Berlin rabbi and head of the local Chabad community, he beams as he steps onto the seventh-floor balcony of the new curved, blue-tiled building, overlooking a campus amphitheatre, garden, playground and a plot that will eventually become a sports field.

“We’re changing the narrative about Jews in Germany,” Teichtal said earlier this week.

“Too often people only think about the Holocaust and antisemitism when it comes to Jews in Germany,” the 51-year-old rabbi said. “Our Jewish campus is about the future, it’s about joy, about studying and living together.”

The campus’ construction was paid for by the federal and state governments, private companies, foundations and donations.

The Chabad community’s 550 kindergarten, elementary and high school students who are currently spread out in different buildings across the city, will all move to the campus when the new school year begins.

Jessica Kalmanovich, a mother of a 6-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son who attend Chabad’s elementary school and kindergarten in different neighbourhoods of the city, said her family can’t wait for the campus to open.

“Every morning, when we drive by the campus, my son asks me, ’When is my kindergarten in the blue building finally ready for me to start going there?’” she said.

The 31-year-old, born in Kazakhstan before arriving in Germany as an infant, called the new campus “a milestone” for Jews in Berlin.

“We will be very visible as Jews in Berlin but at the same time feel protected,” she added.

Klimt Portrait ‘Lady With A Fan’ Headed To Auction With $80 Million Price Tag

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June 26, 2023

FILE PHOTO: Hall des Lumieres, a new permanent center for immersive digital art featuring the exhibition "Gustav Klimt: Gold in Motion" in Manhattan, New York City — FILE PHOTO: Works are displayed during a press preview for Hall des Lumieres, a new permanent center for immersive digital art featuring the exhibition "Gustav Klimt: Gold in Motion" in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., September 13, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo

The last-ever portrait Austrian artist Gustav Klimt painted before he died is headed for auction next week, with a price estimate of $80 million.

“Dame mit Fächer” (“Lady with a Fan”) – a portrait of an unnamed woman – was still on an easel in Klimt’s studio when the painter died in February 1918.

It leads Sotheby’s Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction on June 27 in London, with a price estimate of around 65 million pounds ($80 million). That price tag makes it “the most valuable ever to have been offered at auction in Europe,” according to Sotheby’s.

“It shows Klimt at the very height of his creative prowess, drawing on imagery from Asia of which he was obsessed,” Helena Newman, chairman of Sotheby’s Europe and worldwide head of impressionist and modern art, said in an interview, referring to depictions of a phoenix, lotus flower and other elements in the painting.

“It’s very rare for a Klimt painting of this quality and caliber of a portrait of a woman to come to auction.”

Last offered for sale in 1994, the painting is one of a small number of Klimt’s portraits in private collections, according to the auction house.

Other artworks being offered in the sale include Lucian Freud’s painting “Night Interior” (8 million-12 million pounds), a portrayal of his friend Penelope Cuthbertson, a rare self-portrait by Leonor Fini (400,000-600,000 pounds) and a painted bronze bust by Alberto Giacometti, “Buste de Diego au col roulé” (4 million-6 million pounds), among others.

Pioneering Video Artist Nalini Malani Awarded Japan’s $700,000 Kyoto Prize

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June 26, 2023

Indian artist Nalini Malani has been awarded this year’s Kyoto Prize, Japan’s highest private award, which carries a $700,000 purse.

Malani is among India’s first video artists, though her practice has extended to include theater, installations, paintings, and drawings. She is being recognized for her approachable art forms as well as her “pioneered artistic expression that brings the voices of the voiceless to more people,” per the press release.

“She is active globally as a non-Western artist, contributing greatly to current trends reconsidering Western-centrism in art,” the release continues.

Malani, who came to India as a refugee during the partition of India and Pakistan, studied art in Mumbai and Paris, before returning to India, wherein she began to address the country’s socio-political issues in her work.

The Kyoto Prize, commonly called Japan’s Nobel, is an annual grant aimed at recognizing lifetime achievements in the arts and sciences across three categories, including advanced technology, basic sciences, and arts and philosophy. The award is endowed with 100 million yen ($695,290) per category.

Since the prize first began in 1984, its notable recipients have included artists Nam June Paik, Tadao Ando, and Joan Jonas.

Harvard Art Museums Now Offer Free Admission To All Visitors

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June 26, 2023

The Harvard Art Museums has announced a new free admission policy, which administrators have hailed as a “significant expansion” of public access to its collections, exhibitions, and research in a press release on Friday. The policy will remain in place permanently.

“Art is for everyone, and the Harvard Art Museums will now be free to all visitors,” university president Lawrence S. Bacow said in a statement. “This initiative ensures that every visitor to our campus will now have the opportunity to view and engage with the phenomenal collections in our care at the Harvard Art Museums.”

Most university-affiliated museums are free for all visitors, making Harvard Art Museums—until now—an outlier in that respect. According to a statement from Bacow’s office, it took several years for the university to secure enough funds to ensure the expensive upkeep of the collection, as well as the salaries of its staff.

The museums, which underwent a major revamp around 2015, are important hubs for research and conservation, and display objects from the Harvard’s collection that spans Ancient Greece to Postwar America. Among the collection standouts are a series of Mark Rothko murals commissioned by Harvard in the 1960s, materials from Bruce Nauman’s studio, and a prodigious group of drawings by Netherlandish, Dutch, and Flemish Masters.

“We are seeing that lowering that barrier of admission has made a difference [in reaching the Greater Boston community],” Harvard Art Museums Director Martha Tedeschi told WBUR. “And we’re looking forward to just eliminating that completely so that our local audience increasingly begins to just feel this is a place for them,” she continued. “We’ve been practicing this now for about a year and a half, and we know how it changes us, so we’re excited.”

Nigeria’s James Nnaji Among 12 International Players In 2023 NBA Draft

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June 26, 2023

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Giant of Africa graduate, Nigeria’s James Nnaji, is among 12 international players from eight countries in the 2023 National Basketball Association (NBA) draft released by State Farm on Thursday.

Nnaji was selected 31st overall by the Detroit Pistons, becoming the fifth player from Nigeria to be selected in the last five years. He started playing basketball in 2016 and has two seasons of experience playing for FC Barcelona in the ACB and EuroLeague.

In 2018, Nnaji participated in a Giants of Africa camp, an organisation founded by Toronto Raptors Vice-Chairman and President, Masai Ujiri, who is also from Nigeria.

Opening-night rosters for the 2022-23 NBA season featured a record-tying five players from Nigeria, 16 players from Africa, and more than 50 players with at least one parent from Africa.

In total, there have been more than 125 NBA players either born in Africa or with at least one parent from Africa.

The other players in the 2023 draft are Senegal’s Mouhamed Gueye of Washington State University, who was selected 39th overall by the Charlotte Hornets; Morocco’s Rayan Rupert from New Zealand Breakers, selected 43rd overall by the Portland Trail Blazers; Sidy Cissoko, a Franco-Senegalese player drafted from NBA G League Ignite as 44th overall by the San Antonio Spurs, and Mali’s Toumani Camara, drafted from University of Dayton as the 52nd overall pick by the Phoenix Suns.

The NBA Draft 2023 was held at Barclays Centre, Brooklyn, New York and reached fans in 214 countries and territories in 32 languages.

Of the 12 international players from eight countries selected, three were in the first round and nine in the second round. Seven players, either born in Africa or with direct ties to the continent, were among Thursday night’s international draftees.

Speaking on the draft, Nnaji said: “For me, it’s a very special moment. For me coming from Africa, never having this dream to play in the NBA, and all of a sudden things started to change, started coming my way. It’s one of the most exciting moments of my life. I’m really excited to have this opportunity.”

Transfer: Omeruo Close To Leganes Exit

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June 26, 2023

Super Eagles defender Kenneth Omuruo seems to have made his last appearance for Spanish side Leganes after the player was reported to have bid his teammates goodbye.

Omeruo secured a permanent move to Leganes in 2019 from Premier League side Chelsea after an impressive season with the club while on loan.

Despite an injury-laden season, the Nigeria international was a mainstay for the Cucumber Growers, featuring in 22 league games and scoring a goal.

After spending five years with Leganes with just one year left on his contract, Spanish daily sports newspaper Diario AS on Saturday reported that the club are considering selling the experienced central defender.

His sale will allow Leganes to make some cash while also reducing their wage bill as the Nigerian is among some of the club’s top earners.

“Omeruo has one year left on his contract and he is, of the 18 players that the Blue and Whites’ first team currently has, one that the Butarque offices can get some economic return,” Diario AS wrote.

“Also, his salary is one of the highest in the group. With a reduced salary limit and the need to find formulas to expand it or improve his margins, the chances that he will be sold are high.

“The player, for his part, assumes that his goodbye is a possibility, even more so after having already accumulated three seasons in the Second Division. A regular in his country’s squads and captain of the ‘Super Eagles’, Omeruo believes that he can look for options in a bigger competition. At the end of last year, the footballer himself told some of his teammates that he would surely be the last time he wore the blue and white.”

In his five seasons with Leganes, Omeruo made 123 appearances, scoring five goals and registering two assists.

Transfer: PSG To Make N135bn Osimhen Bid

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June 26, 2023

Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain are prepared to offer as much as €150m (N134.9bn) to sign Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen from Napoli this summer.

The Nigeria international is one of the hottest properties on the transfer market this summer after leading Napoli to the 2022/23 Serie A title with a league-high 26 goals last season.

Osimhen also provided five assists and netted five times in the Champions League to take his total for Napoli to 59 goals and 14 assists from 101 matches since joining from Lille in 2020.

The 24-year-old now only has two years left on his contract, but president Aurelio de Laurentiis previously insisted that the Italian champions had no reason to sell him this summer.

However, the Napoli chief has now confessed that Osimhen could depart if an interested party makes an offer that they cannot refuse, and their asking price is thought to be north of £100m.

Manchester United and Chelsea have been persistently linked with moves for Osimhen this summer, but the Blues have already signed Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig and are also finalising a deal for Villarreal’s Nicolas Jackson.

Meanwhile, Man United fear being priced out of a swoop for Osimhen, and the Red Devils’ slow takeover process is also harming their chances of getting deals done early in the transfer window.

With the Premier League duo seemingly out of the picture for the time being, journalist Alfredo Pedulla claims that PSG are now preparing to make a formal approach for the former Lille man.

Pedulla reports that PSG are set to offer as much as €120m (N107.9bn) to €125m (N112.4bn) up front, which could rise to as much as €140m (N125.9bn) to €150m (N134.9bn) with performance-related add-ons.

The French champions are waiting patiently to hear the outcome of a meeting between De Laurentiis and the Nigerian’s agent, where Napoli could still offer Osimhen a new deal.

PSG have freed up a large chunk of their wage bill through Lionel Messi’s exit on a free transfer to Inter Miami, and the Parisiens could raise significant funds through the sale of Kylian Mbappe.

The 24-year-old has informed PSG that he will not be activating the extension option in his contract, meaning that he could leave the club for nothing at the end of next season, a scenario which Les Parisiens are desperate to avoid.

PSG are supposedly trying to offload Mbappe this summer following his bombshell letter, but the France international has insisted that he wants to stay at the Parc des Princes and will make a decision on his future next year.

Thousands Gather In Sydney As Women’s World Cup Fever Builds

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June 26, 2023

Thousands of football fans marched over the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday to mark 25 days before the Women’s World Cup starts in Australia and New Zealand.

Football’s governing body FIFA estimated around 4,000 braved chilly temperatures to take part in the early morning event on the famed bridge, which was temporarily closed to traffic.

Co-hosts Australia and New Zealand kick off the 32-team tournament on July 20 when the Matildas play Ireland in Sydney and the Football Ferns face Norway in Auckland.

FIFA says more than one million tickets have been sold for the 64 games in nine host cities, surpassing total sales for the 2019 World Cup in France.

FIFA official Rhiannon Martin says she expected this year’s tournament would be a “milestone” for women’s football in Australia.

“We’ve seen how women’s football has developed here over the last years,” added Martin, who is head of FIFA Women’s World Cup.

FIFA has said each player at the World Cup will earn at least $30,000, with the winners taking home $270,000 apiece.

Martin said the boost to the prize money pot showed that “women’s football is really being valued”.

James Johnson, chief executive of Football Australia, told AFP it “starts to bridge the gap” between prize money for the men’s and women’s World Cup.

“We still have a bit of work to do over the next four years, but being the World Cup where the lift occurred makes us very proud,” he added.

Okocha Shines In Ronaldinho’s Organised Charity Game

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June 26, 2023