Tag: United States News

‘Too provocative’ mermaid statue causes stir in southern Italy

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The voluptuous statue of a mermaid placed in a square in a fishing village in Puglia, southern Italy, has caused a stir for being “too provocative”.
The statue was created by students at the Luigi Rosso art school in Monopoli before being positioned in a square named after the scientist Rita Levi-Montalcini.
The artwork, which is yet to be officially inaugurated, became a target of ridicule after photos taken during its installation were shared on social media.
The Bari-based actor Tiziana Schiavarelli wrote on Facebook that a friend in Monopoli had “rightly expressed some perplexity about this ‘monument’”.
“It looks like a mermaid with two silicone breasts and, above all, a huge arse never seen before on a mermaid. At least not any I know.”
Schiavarelli stressed that she did not have an issue with the art students or the local council, which had commissioned the work. “But I am very amused by this thing … who knows if it will become a further attraction for tourists,” she added.
Adolfo Marciano, the headteacher of the Luigi Rosso art school, hailed the statue as a ‘tribute to the great majority of women who are curvy’. Photograph: Monopoli Times
Adolfo Marciano, the headteacher of the Luigi Rosso art school, defended the statue, saying it was a “tribute to the great majority of women who are curvy”. He explained that the students were tasked by the mayor of Monopoli to create several statues for the town, including one on the theme of the sea.
“The students got together and came up with the idea of a mermaid,” Marciano said. “The council was shown the scale model and said it was good, and then decided the completed sculpture would be placed in the square.”

Marciano said he did not want to cast judgement on the students’ inspiration, but that he viewed the work “as a representation of reality, in this case of the female body”.
He added: “You see adverts on television with models who are very thin, but the mermaid is like a tribute to the great majority of women who are curvy, especially in our country. It would have been very bad if we had represented a woman who was extremely skinny.”
Beppe, who lives in Monopoli, said the sculpture, which has been kept covered until its inauguration, had caused much discussion in recent days, with some people criticising it as “too provocative”.
“It’s a shame as the art students deserve to be praised instead of criticised,” he said.
The students also created a statue dedicated to the victims of workplace accidents, which will be unveiled on Monday. “This is much more important than the mermaid,” said Marciano.
Female statues in other areas of Italy have caused similar controversy. In 2021, a bronze statue portraying a woman in a transparent dress in the Campania town of Sapri sparked a sexism row. The work, by the sculptor Emanuele Stifano, was intended as a tribute to La Spigolatrice di Sapri (The Gleaner of Sapri), written by the poet Luigi Mercantini in 1857. The statue, which was branded “an offence to women”, was unveiled during a ceremony attended by the former prime minister Giuseppe Conte.
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#provocative #mermaid #statue #stir #southern #Italy
( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

April 28, 2023
Remains found in Lake Mead identified as Las Vegas man missing for 25 years

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Nevada officials have identified remains found in Lake Mead as those of a Las Vegas man missing for 25 years, the latest development in a quest to identify a series of bodies discovered in America’s largest reservoir last year.
On three different days last summer, visitors at a beach on the lake discovered skeletal remains along the shoreline. The Clark county coroner’s office announced on Thursday that those remains belonged to the same person, now identified as as Claude Russell Pensinger, who disappeared on 14 July 1998 at the age of 52.
Pensinger is the third person the office has identified after several sets of remains emerged from the lake amid a devastating drought that has severely depleted the reservoir.
Water levels at Lake Mead, a popular recreation site that hosted more than 7 million visitors last year, have been at record lows due to a drought that has gripped the region for nearly two decades. The dry spell in the Colorado River basin, along with overextraction, extreme heat and decreased snowmelt, has uncovered large swaths of the lake bed.
Beginning last spring, human remains surfaced at Lake Mead in quick succession: a body with a gunshot wound in a barrel in May, a jawbone in the sand the following week, and in July, partial skeletal remains encased in mud along the shoreline. In October, contractors working near a marina found more remains.
The back-to-back discoveries were not an indication of a serial killer, experts cautioned, but rather the consequence of the environmental disaster draining the lake and uncovering bodies that had once been lost to the water. Most are suspected to be accidental deaths but one case, the remains found in a barrel, is being investigated as a homicide. The local mob museum said a barrel was historically a mob method for disposing of bodies.
The coroner’s office team have identified two other sets of remains, both Las Vegas-area men who are believed to have drowned – Donald P Smith, a 39-year-old last seen in April 1974, and Thomas Erndt, a 42-year-old last seen at the lake in August 2002. All three identifications were made using DNA analysis.
The cause and manner of Pensinger’s death is undetermined, the coroner’s office said. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Pensinger was fishing on the lake when he disappeared and his boat was later found running in circles in the water.

Pensinger’s brother said the pair were fishing together on the lake that day, in separate boats, when Pensinger failed to show up at a meeting point later, 8NewsNow reported. His brother reportedly described him as a good swimmer and a navy and coast guard veteran.
The remains of a man who died of a gunshot wound discovered in a barrel have not yet been identified.
Dealing with skeletal remains is particularly challenging, Melanie Rouse, the Clark county coroner, told the Guardian last year, due to the delay from the time of death to the time of recovery and the lack of key physical identifiers. But the office remains dedicated to investigating the cases and providing answers to families, she said.
“That’s one of the reasons why we continue to do what we do – being able to provide closure and being able to return these unidentified individuals back to their families and provide them with a name,” she said.
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#Remains #Lake #Mead #identified #Las #Vegas #man #missing #years
( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

April 28, 2023
David Beckham reveals impact of OCD in new documentary

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David Beckham has revealed how living with his “tiring” obsessive compulsive disorder leads him to spending hours cleaning and organising his home while the rest of his family are in bed.
The former England football captain, 47, says in a forthcoming Netflix documentary: “The fact that when everyone’s in bed I then go around, clean the candles, turn the lights on to the right setting, make sure everywhere is tidy. I hate coming down in the morning and there’s cups and plates and, you know, bowls.
“I clip the candle wax, I clean the glass, that’s my pet hate, the smoke around the inside of a candle,” he says. “I know, it’s weird.”
When the camera crew comments on how clean his kitchen looks, Beckham says: “I clean it so well, I’m not sure it’s actually appreciated so much by my wife, in all honesty.”
In response, Victoria Beckham tells the crew “He’s just so perfect” and tells David he is “appreciated”. He says he finds the cleaning rituals “tiring” but he feels compelled to do it.
Beckham has discussed living with the condition in the past. He told the Daily Mail he would count clothes and place magazines in straight lines and symmetrical patterns. He also said that one of the reasons he kept getting tattoos was because he was addicted to the pain.
In an interview with ITV in 2006, he said he could not stop acting on his compulsions despite having tried.
He said: “I’ve got this obsessive compulsive disorder where I have to have everything in a straight line or everything has to be in pairs. I’ll put my Pepsi cans in the fridge and if there’s one too many then I’ll put it in another cupboard somewhere … everything has to be perfect.”

Netflix confirmed last July that a documentary series about the former footballer’s career was in production. The series will feature unseen archive footage as well as interviews with Beckham, his family and friends, and other people who played an important role in his story.
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In an Instagram post, Beckham said: “I’m excited to confirm that I am partnering with Netflix on a documentary series about my life and career.
“The series will feature unseen archive, untold stories as well as interviews with the people who have been a part of my journey. The series is directed and produced by Academy Award winners Fisher Stevens and John Battsek. Watch this space …”

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#David #Beckham #reveals #impact #OCD #documentary
( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

April 28, 2023
France urged to outlaw hair discrimination against afros and braids

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France must introduce a law banning hair discrimination against natural afro hairstyles and braids, a lawmaker from Guadeloupe has argued as he prepares a cross-party bill to be presented to parliament in the autumn.
“Just as the Republic’s motto is ‘liberty, equality, fraternity’, this is about allowing everyone to be as they are and as they want to be, whether in it’s in the workplace or anywhere else,” Olivier Serva told France Info radio.
Serva, who left Macron’s centrist party, La République En Marche, and sits with a different centrist opposition grouping, said he was seeking calm “cross-party consensus”. In order to introduce a law on hair discrimination, he had approached all other parties in parliament except the far-right National Rally.
He said the law was about “fighting against any form of discrimination linked to hair texture, length, colour and style”.
Serva said the case of a black flight attendant for Air France who took his employers to an industrial tribunal because of discrimination over his braids had showed how France needed to tighten up legislation with a specific text on hair discrimination, and also increase awareness in the workplace and broader society.
Aboubakar Traoré, an Air France steward who had changed his hairstyle to braids worn tied back in a chignon, had been refused access to a flight because his hairstyle was said not to conform to the rules in the flight manual for male staff. After a legal battle lasting more than a decade, France’s highest appeals court found in Traoré’s favour in November last year, ruling that the company authorised female staff to wear braids and so could not ban the hairstyle from male staff.
Serva said Traoré’s long legal case showed that there was a gap in the law and specific legislation should focus on hair discrimination.
He said black women were taking health risks to straighten their hair with chemicals because of discrimination in French society and in the workplace. He said the law would ban any form of hair discrimination, including towards women and men with afro hairstyles or braids, as well as stereotyping against bald men or women with blond hair.

Serva said that because France did not count data based on ethnicity, there were no studies on the extent of hair discrimination against black people in France, but he said it would be similar to the US or UK. He cited a study funded by Dove and LinkedIn that found that two-thirds of black women in the US had felt obliged to change their hair for a job interview.
When Macron’s former adviser Sibeth Ndiaye became spokesperson for the French government during Macron’s first term in office, her natural afro hairstyle was targeted in racist commentary on social networks.
Joëlle Dago-Serry, a French career coach and TV commentator, told a chatshow on RMC radio: “Of course there is discrimination … my mother first straightened my hair when I was seven or eight … I’m of the generation where our hair was very much straightened using dangerous products in order to pass the barrier of a job interview, or to move up in a career.
“Natural afro hair is seen as not styled, it’s not understood or accepted, comments are made about it. Behind the word discrimination are the real stories of people who have the right qualifications and skills but don’t get the job because they don’t have the so-called ‘right’ hair.”
The proposed bill would have to be approved by the leader of the French parliament in order to be put on the parliamentary agenda in October.
Last year, the US House of Representatives passed a bill banning race-based discrimination on hair, specifically textures or styles associated with a particular race or national origin such as dreadlocks, afros and braids. The bill was known as the Crown Act, standing for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.
In 2019, California because the first US state to ban discrimination against natural hair.
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#France #urged #outlaw #hair #discrimination #afros #braids
( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

April 28, 2023
JKPSC Written test Examination for Various Posts

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JKPSC Written test Examination for Various Posts
Conduct of Written Test for various posts notified vide Notification No.30PSC (DRP) of 2022 and 31PSC(DRP) of 2022 dated 30.12.2022
Notice regarding Conduct of Written Test for the post of Chief Librarian 2021 and Medical Officer (Allopathic) 2023 Download of Admit Cards thereof.

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[ad_2] #JKPSC #Written #test #Examination #Posts( With inputs from : The News Caravan.com )

April 28, 2023
Leaked Amnesty review finds own Ukraine report ‘legally questionable’

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A leaked internal review commissioned by Amnesty International is said to have concluded there were significant shortcomings in a controversial report prepared by the rights group that accused Ukraine of illegally endangering citizens by placing armed forces in civilian areas.
The report, issued last August, prompted widespread anger in Ukraine, leading to an apology from Amnesty and a promise of a review by external experts of what went wrong. Among those who condemned the report was Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who accused Amnesty of “shift[ing] the responsibility from the aggressor to the victim”.
Leaked to the New York Times, that unpublished review has concluded that the report was “written in language that was ambiguous, imprecise and in some respects legally questionable”, according to the newspaper.
In particular, the report’s authors were criticised for language that appeared to suggest “many or most of the civilian victims of the war died as a result of Ukraine’s decision to locate its forces in the vicinity of civilians” at a time when Russian forces were deliberately targeting civilians.
“This is particularly the case with the opening paragraphs, which could be read as implying – even though this was not AI’s intention – that, on a systemic or general level, Ukrainian forces were primarily or equally to blame for the death of civilians resulting from attacks by Russia.”
In the immediate aftermath of publication, the initial report was seized on by Russia, including the embassy in London, to claim that Ukrainian tactics were a “violation of international humanitarian law” at a time when Russian forces were being accused of serious war crimes.
The paper added, however, that sources had told it that Amnesty’s board had sat on the 18-page review for months amid suggestions there had been pressure to water down its conclusions.
At the centre of the controversy was Amnesty’s claim that by housing military personnel in civilian buildings and launching attacks from civilian areas, Ukraine had been in breach of international law on the protection of civilians.

The expert review was conducted by five experts including Emanuela-Chiara Gillard of the University of Oxford; Kevin Jon Heller of the University of Copenhagen; Eric Talbot Jensen of Brigham Young University; Marko Milanovic of the University of Reading; and Marco Sassòli of the University of Geneva.
Experts questioned whether the authors of the original report had correctly interpreted international law regarding Ukraine as a victim of aggression and whether there was evidence that Ukraine had put civilians in “harm’s way”.
The leaked report also disclosed that there had been significant unease within Amnesty before publication, not least over the issue of whether the government of Ukraine had been sufficiently engaged with.
“These reservations should have led to greater reflection and pause” before the organisation issued its statement, the review added.
Oksana Pokalchuk, the former head of Amnesty’s Ukraine office, who resigned over the report, said she believed the review should be made public as well as a promised internal review of relations inside the organisation on how decisions were made around the report.
“I want justice to be done and to be seen done,” she told the Guardian. “One of the things that was very important to me at the time was that we should be in communication with the Ukrainian government, formally or informally, to get information from them. This wasn’t done, and it caused a lot of damage.
“What I have also not seen so far in the reporting of this review is any discussion of the larger context of the war and how this report played in favour of Russian propaganda. We need to talk about who is the aggressor and who is the victim of this war.”
An Amnesty International spokesperson said: “Amnesty commissioned a panel of external experts in the field of international humanitarian law to conduct an independent review of the legal analysis in our 4 August press release.
“Amnesty staff reviewed a first draft of the panel’s report, and their comments were taken into account in the final version, to the extent the legal panel itself deemed appropriate.
“This is part of an ongoing internal learning process, and we welcome the full findings which will inform and improve our future work.”
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#Leaked #Amnesty #review #finds #Ukraine #report #legally #questionable
( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

April 28, 2023
What are typical symptoms and treatments for OCD?

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With David Beckham having told of his experiences of living with obsessive compulsive disorder for a new Netflix series, we take a look at the condition, and how common it is.
What is OCD?
OCD is not simply about liking things to be neat – the condition can have a serious impact on individuals and their quality of life. It is a mental health condition in which people often have obsessive, typically distressing, thoughts as well as compulsions or rituals.
The UK’s Royal College of Psychiatrists says the thoughts can include being contaminated by germs or contracting diseases, upsetting mental pictures or fears of having harmed someone. The rituals can include avoiding particular scenarios, or making repeated checks on a situation.
How common is OCD?
The answer varies a bit from source to source. A US study suggests 1.2% of US adults have OCD in a 12-month period, while the Royal College of Psychiatrists states that about one in 50 people have OCD at some point in their lives, with men and women equally^{affected. “That adds up to over 1 million people in the UK,” the latter reports.}

Among people who have spoken out about having OCD are Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and the American goalkeeper Tim Howard.
Do we know what causes OCD?
That’s a knotty question, with genetics, life events and personality among the factors thought to contribute to the development.
“OCD is a health condition like any other, so there is nothing to feel ashamed or embarrassed about,” the NHS states. “Having OCD does not mean you’re ‘mad’ and it’s not your fault you have it.”
What is the treatment for OCD?
There are a number of possible approaches for tackling OCD including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), a talking therapy that aims to change the way an individual thinks. In some cases this can include graded exposure and response prevention (ERP), an approach that involves individuals facing scenarios that would normally trigger a compulsion, such as handwashing or checking the doors, but without taking those actions.
Medication can also be used to treat OCD, in particular selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a type of antidepressant. These can also be used alongside forms of CBT.
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#typical #symptoms #treatments #OCD
( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

April 28, 2023
Lt Governor addresses National Seminar on NEP-2020 at Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi

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VARANASI, APRIL 28: Lieutenant Governor Shri Manoj Sinha addressed the National Seminar on “National Education Policy-2020: Exploring the Prospects” at Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi, today.
The Lt Governor highlighted various aspects of the National Education Policy and shared the vision to meet the challenges of future workplace.
“Under the guidance of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji, NEP 2020 has brought transformative reform in education. It has ensured that education system meets the challenges of 21st century and enables youth to become job giver rather than job seeker,” said the Lt Governor.
The National Education Policy encourages Knowledge, Innovation and Independent thinking for students’ Holistic Development. Global outlook with an emphasis on Indian knowledge tradition makes the learning a lifelong process, observed the Lt Governor.
The Lt Governor said the latest innovations in Artificial Intelligence will have greater impact on fourth industrial revolution. He said, since automation is changing workplaces across the world, youth will need reskilling, tech upskilling & mental flexibility to adapt to ever-changing needs of the industry.
The Lt Governor called upon the Universities & educational institutions to focus on 6Cs – Curiosity, Choice, Collaboration, Creativity, Communication and Critical Thinking, to empower youth. Our campuses & classrooms should reflect the change and issues affecting the world, he added.
The Lt Governor also highlighted the advantages of multidisciplinary Education.
“Education nurtures our soul. NEP emphasises on establishing balance in living & life and to inculcate the desire for lifelong learning process. Real education in the true sense starts from where the syllabus ends and a student begins to discover him or herself,” said the Lt Governor.

Our National Education Policy aims to transform higher educational institutions as knowledge hubs that will create vibrant communities; bridge the gap between disciplines; enable artistic, creative development of students; promote research & innovation and make the education more inclusive, he said.
As we are moving towards multi-disciplinary education, it is important that we focus on bridging technology gap and make our campuses a nursery of talents, who will make immense contribution to India’s knowledge economy, the Lt Governor added.
The Lt Governor also shared the efforts to implement NEP-2020, in letter and spirit, in J&K UT.
Prof. Anand Kumar Tyagi, Vice Chancellor, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi; HoDs; faculty members, resource persons and students in large number were present on the occasion.
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#Governor #addresses #National #Seminar #NEP2020 #Mahatma #Gandhi #Kashi #Vidyapith #Varanasi
( With inputs from : roshankashmir.net )

April 28, 2023
JKDMA Issues Avalanche Alert For Three Districts

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SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Disaster Management Authority (JKDMA) on Friday issued an avalanche alert over higher reaches in three districts for next 24 hours.
The DMA, said that a ‘low’ danger level avalanche is likely to occur above 2800 to 3000 metres above sea level over Ganderbal, Baramulla and Kupwara districts.
People living in these areas have been in the meantime advised to take precautions and avoid venturing in the avalanche prone areas till further orders. (GNS)

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#JKDMA #Issues #Avalanche #Alert #Districts
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

April 28, 2023
15-Year-Old Girl Dies After Falling Into Drain

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SRINAGAR: A 15-year-old girl lost her life after she fell into a drain at Hirpora area of South Kashmir’s Shopian district.
Quoting an official, KNO reported that a girl from Hirpora was on way to her uncle’s house in Bhorihallen when she fell into a drain at Bhorihallen.
He said that she was taken to hospital in an unconscious condition and was shifted to District Hospital Shopian where she died.
She has been identified as Simran Jan, daughter of Sheraz Ahmad of Hirpora. She was a Class 10th student.

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#15YearOld #Girl #Dies #Falling #Drain
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

April 28, 2023