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French President Emmanuel Macron told a grieving nation that he aims to restore the Notre Dame cathedral within five years after a monstrous fire tore through the historic monument on Monday. “We will rebuild Notre-Dame because that is what the French expect,” Macron said of the more than 850-year-old Gothic icon in his Tuesday afternoon […]
DUBAI: The Gulf state of Bahrain on Tuesday jailed 138 people and revoked their citizenship for plotting to form a “terror” group with links to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the public prosecutor said.The verdict was swiftly condemned by the Bahraini opposition, while human rights group Amnesty International decried the “mockery of justice” and “mass arbitrary denaturalisation”.The […]
Victor Hugo’s classic novel “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” skyrocketed to the top of Amazon France’s bestseller list on Tuesday after the iconic cathedral was engulfed in fire the day before. The French landmark lost its spire to the flames, but city officials confirmed on Monday night that the main structure was “saved and preserved.” Hugo’s […]
ISTANBUL: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party has submitted its appeal for the annulment and rerun of Istanbul‘s municipal elections, broadcaster CNN Turk said on Tuesday, more than two weeks after the vote.Initial results showed the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) narrowly won control of Turkey‘s biggest city in the elections, seemingly ending 25 […]
As hundreds of firefighters battled the inferno that tore through Paris’ famed Notre Dame Cathedral on Monday, French officials worried aloud whether the Roman Catholic icon and the priceless artifacts stored within could survive the blaze. Parisians — and people the world over — breathed a sigh of relief when French President Emmanuel Macron later […]
Pope Francis offered prayers as Paris’ iconic Notre Dame cathedral was engulfed in flames on Monday. “Today we unite in prayer with the people of France, as we wait for the sorrow inflicted by the serious damage to be transformed into hope with reconstruction,” stated a tweet from the pontiff’s account on Tuesday. Today we […]
Just hours after Notre Dame was devastated by a fire, French billionaire François-Henri Pinault pledged that he and his family would donate 100 million euros ($113 million) to help reconstruct the cathedral, Agence France Presse reported. Pinault, who is married to actress Salma Hayek, is the CEO of the international luxury group Kering, the parent […]
LAHORE: Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may undergo a heart surgery if his angioplasty is not possible, said his personal physician.Sharif, 69, who has been serving a seven-year imprisonment in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills graft case, was examined on Monday by the doctors of Aga Khan University at the Sharif Medical City in Lahore, […]
HONG KONG • Anthony Wong has not always been proud of the movies he acted in, even if they helped him clinch three Best Actor prizes in the Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA). He bagged his first one in 1994 for The Untold Story, in which he played a serial killer. But he dismissed the […]
NEW YORK • It is a showdown. Netflix may already have Oscars under its belt, but its acceptance by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hangs in the balance. The latter is set to re-examine whether the streaming giant will remain eligible for such awards, amid a warning from the United States Justice […]
A fire broke out early last Saturday at a mobile shower facility during the first weekend of activities in Indio, California. Fans were quick to upload photographs of the blaze. At one point, people were told to evacuate the areas closest to the incident, but the fire was soon put out. No injuries were reported. […]
REVIEW / CONCERT MEMORIES OF 2055 TO Ensemble Esplanade Recital Studio/Last Friday The year is some time in a dystopian future. An artificial intelligence consciousness called HAL 2055 presents memories of Earth that transpired before the 2045 cataclysmic event, referred to as the Singularity. As end-of-days plots beloved by the TO Ensemble go, this one […]
Let’s get back to our roots, someone at HBO said. Capital idea, someone replied. So the premiere episode of the final season of Game Of Thrones became one long callback to Season One. Soul-searching in the Winterfell crypts? Check. Unnecessary nudity? Check. Eunuch jokes? Check. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full […]
If you have ever longed to be a part of the Mad Hatter’s tea party, you now have a standing invitation at the ArtScience Museum. But there will be no tea or cakes to nibble on. Instead, guests are seated around a large table set with teacups, teapots and plates and treated to a visual […]
I was 17 when I visited Shakespeare’s birthplace – his childhood home – in Stratford-upon-Avon. It was the year after I had spent an inordinate amount of time studying the Bard’s Scottish tragedy Macbeth as an O-level literature text, so I was well acquainted with his work, but knew little about his person. Please subscribe […]
Join Life reporters Toh Wen Li (left) and Olivia Ho (right) in this new monthly podcast by The Straits Times, in which they talk about sizzling reads and titles in the headlines. In this episode, they look at women and memory in two new books – New York novelist Siri Hustvedt’s Memories Of The Future, […]
Think Hong Kong is only for shopping, sightseeing and food? Think again. The bustling city is also an arts haven, with flashy events such as Art Basel in March and the Instagrammable giant inflatable sculpture called Kaws:Holiday floating in Victoria Harbour last month. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Learn […]
FICTION 1. (7) Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan 2. (1) The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa 3. (3) The Next Person You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom 4. (6) Pet Sematary by Stephen King 5. (5) Love Looks Pretty On You by Lang Leav 6. (2) I Owe You One by Sophie […]
FICTION THE DREAMERS By Karen Thompson Walker Random House/Paperback/299 pages/$30.98/ Books Kinokuniya/ 3 stars The Dreamers has all the ingredients of a doomsday scenario – an unseen lurking menace, the early confusion, the subsequent crippling fear and paranoia, and the stories of compassion and heroism that emerge. In Walker’s second novel, following her best-selling debut […]
The impending closure of Books Kinokuniya’s Liang Court outlet, which will open for the last time this Sunday after 36 years in business, has dismayed book lovers in Singapore. Brought down by falling sales, it joins a long list of brick-and-mortar bookstores that have shuttered over the years amid rising rents and competition from online […]
On normal days, the Books Kinokuniya branch at Liang Court mall is an oasis of cheerful calm. Strains of Vivaldi mingle with the tinkle of musical boxes in a glass display. Wandering the store’s impeccably ordered shelves, one feels as if one is sinking into a warm bath of fiction and finer feelings. Please subscribe […]
MADONNA INTRODUCES MYSTERIOUS MADAME X: Beautiful Stranger singer Madonna would like fans to meet Madame X. Posting over the weekend, she wrote: “Madame X is a secret agent, travelling around the world, changing identities, fighting for freedom, bringing light to dark places.” Was the 60-year-old singer talking about herself? Madonna has supported causes from efforts […]
AUSTIN (Texas) • It could be a long shot but Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron is still waiting for a part in a Marvel film. But she did nail a role in a romantic comedy called Long Shot, in which she stars as a presidential candidate opposite Seth Rogen as her speechwriter. The film opens in […]
NEW YORK • On Nov 26, 2008, Dev Patel was 18 and on the cusp of stardom with Slumdog Millionaire when he switched on a television at home in London. And there in the overflowing Indian metropolis of Mumbai, where he had shot Slumdog a year earlier, “were these teenagers with rucksacks and AK-47s with […]
MAP OF THE SOUL: PERSONA Big Hit Entertainment Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Learn more about ST PREMIUM. Enjoy unlimited access to ST’s best work Exclusive stories and features on multiple devices In-depth analyses and opinion pieces ePaper and award-winning multimedia content
Chang Yi gave up film-making for glass art in the 1980s despite being one of Taiwan’s leading film-makers. He is probably best known for Kuei-Mei, A Woman (1985), which won top awards, including Best Director and Best Leading Actress, at the 22nd Golden Horse Awards. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full […]
NEW YORK • Ms Shannon Olson got more sleep than she expected during her daughter Emilia’s hospital stay in January. Emilia, 2½, was hospitalised for 10 days to treat an infected cyst on her face. Ms Olson slept in Emilia’s room and planned to wait for the nurses’ last rounds. Instead, she went to sleep […]
It’s about balance and moderation. I do a variety of exercises that balance out one another, for example, weightlifting for strength and yoga for flexibility. I also eat in moderation. I was slightly overweight in primary school. I hated being in the Trim and Fit weight-loss programme as that meant sacrificing recess to do exercises […]
The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard famously said: “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” For many years, I didn’t understand what he meant. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Learn more about ST PREMIUM. Enjoy unlimited access to ST’s best work Exclusive stories and features […]
Recent news that celebrity gym chain Barry’s Bootcamp is opening in Singapore next month is indication that the high-intensity interval training (HIIT) craze shows no sign of abating. In the past few years, gyms offering HIIT or HIIT-inspired workouts have sprung up all over Singapore, and it continues to be incorporated into exercises such as […]