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Botticelli’s Venus is an ‘influencer’ and Italy is not happy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:40:24 GMT

ROME (AP) — The Italian tourism ministry thought it had a sure-fire way to bring travelers into the country: turning a 15th century art icon into a 21st century “virtual influencer.” The digital rendition of Venus, goddess of love, based on Sandro Botticelli’s Renaissance masterpiece “Birth of Venus,” can be seen noshing on pizza and snapping selfies for her Instagram page. Unlike the original, this Venus is fully clothed. The influencer claims to be 30, or “maybe just a wee bit (older) than that.”But the new ad campaign is facing significant backlash — with critics calling it a “new Barbie” that trashes Italy’s cultural heritage.The tourist campaign “trivializes our heritage in the most vulgar way, transforming Botticelli’s Venus into yet another stereotyped female beauty,” Livia Garomersini, an art historian and activist with Mi Riconosci, an art and heritage campaign organization, said in a response to the project last month.The yearlong campaign, produced by national tourism age...

Daily horoscope for May 6, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:40:24 GMT

Moon Alert: Avoid shopping or important decisions from 10:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT today (7:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. PDT). After that, the Moon moves from Scorpio into Sagittarius.Happy Birthday for Saturday, May 6, 2023:You are intuitive and sensitive to the feelings of those around you. You like to inspire others to live out their dreams. This is the final year of a nine-year cycle, which means it’s time to take inventory and let go of people, places and things from the past that have held you back.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★★This is a fun-loving, playful day. Nevertheless, avoid making important financial decisions, especially about loans, mortgages or shared property. Keep things light. Later in the day, explore new ideas and new places, and travel if possible. Tonight: Serious discussions.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★Today you have to go along to get along, because cooperation with others is the key. However, agree to nothing important. Don’t volunteer for anything. Enjo...

WHO Declares COVID Is No Longer A Health Emergency

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:40:24 GMT

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency.The announcement was made by WHO Director General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Friday, a day after the WHO emergency committee convened and made the suggestion.“The Emergency Committee met for the 15th time and recommended to me that I declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern,” Ghebreyesus said Friday. “It is therefore with great hope that I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency.”The director general said, however, countries should not view this deceleration as a call to stop its efforts toward fighting the disease. Instead, there should be a “transition” to manage COVID-19 as other infectious diseases are managed.“Last week, COVID-19 claimed a life every three minutes – and that’s just the deaths we know about,” Ghebreyesus said. “As we speak, thousands of people around the world are fig...

Dear Abby: The neighbors’ dog has bad manners and so do they

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:40:24 GMT

DEAR ABBY: We are a group of neighbors with the same breed of dog, and we walk together every Saturday morning.All our dogs are well-behaved, except for one — a young, unneutered male who is very active and humps anything that moves. Its owners are against neutering. This dog especially goes after our spayed female dog, who tries to resist him, to no avail. We often must intervene.The owners try to curb his behavior but are not consistent enough that it sticks. On top of that, when they go away they expect one of the families in the group to provide free dog-sitting and are rarely available to reciprocate. The couple generally are nice, but just have poor dog manners.So far, we dog-sit for them sparingly because of this issue. What else can we do?DOGGONE TIRED OF ITDEAR DOGGONE TIRED: The owners of that animal are irresponsible and misguided. Their unneutered dog has become a nuisance.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: This is not how I wanted the bride to react to...

Sudan envoys begin talks amid pressure to end conflict

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:40:24 GMT

ASWAN, Egypt (AP) — Sudan’s warring sides were beginning talks Saturday that aim to firm up a shaky cease-fire after three weeks of fierce fighting that has killed hundreds and pushed the African country to the brink of collapse, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia said.The negotiations, the first between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since the fighting broke out on April 15, were taking place in Saudi Arabia’s coastal city of Jeddah, according to a joint Saudi-American statement.The talks are part of a diplomatic initiative proposed by Saudi Arabia and the U.S. that aims to stop the fighting, which has turned Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas into battlefields and pushed hundreds of thousands from their homes.In their joint statement, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. urged both parties to “actively engage in the talks towards a cease fire and end to the conflict, which will spare the Sudanese people’s suffering.”The statement did not offer a timefram...

Amanda Anisimova announces indefinite break from tennis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:40:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The WTA Tour says Amanda Anisimova plans to take take an indefinite break from tennis, citing burnout and concerns for her mental health.“I’ve really been struggling with my mental health and burnout since the summer of 2022,” the former world No. 21 American wrote on Instagram on Friday. “It’s become unbearable being at tennis tournaments. At this point, my priority is my mental well-being and taking a break for some time. I’ve worked as hard as I could to push through it.”Anisimova, now 21, reached the French Open semifinals after beating reigning champion Simona Halep to reach the final four at the age of 17 — the youngest woman to get that far at a major since 2006.But later that year, just prior to the U.S. Open, her father and longtime coach Konstantin died at the age of 52 from a heart attack.Anisimova reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon a year ago, upsetting Coco Gauff. She twice reached the fourth round of the Australian Open and beat defending champion N...

Coronación del rey Carlos III de Reino Unido en vivo y en directo

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:40:24 GMT

Mira aquí en vivo la ceremonia de coronación del rey Carlos III de Reino Unido.Agentes de policía marchan en el centro de Londres, el 6 de mayo de 2023, antes de las coronaciones del rey Carlos III y la reina Camila. (Crédito: Loic Venance/AFP vía Getty Images) Haz clic aquí para ver las actualizaciones más recientesThe-CNN-Wire™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.Source

Fuerza área de EEUU en Corea confirma accidente de avión de combate cerca de la base de Osan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:40:24 GMT

BASE AÉREA DE OSAN, Corea del Sur – Un avión Fighting Falcon F-16, asignado a la 8a. Ala de Combate, se estrelló a las 9:45 a.m. hora local de este sábado en un área agrícola cerca de la base aérea de Osan.Durante el incidente, el piloto se expulsó de forma segura y fue trasladado al centro médico más cercano, dijo un vocero de la 51 Ala de Combate. En el momento del accidente, el piloto participaba en una salida de entrenamiento diurno de rutina.Hasta ahora, el nombre del piloto no se dio a conocer. El accidente está bajo investigación. El gobernador de un pueblo cercano a la base confirmó el accidente y negó que hubiera riesgos de una explosión secundaria. “Alrededor de las 9:30 a.m., un avión de combate estadounidense se estrelló en Paengseong-eup, Pyeongtaek. El Cuartel General de Incendios y Desastres de Gyeonggi-do fue enviado de inmediato para extinguir el incendio y rescatar vidas, y no hay riesgo de una explosión secundaria”, escribió el funcionario en su ...

¿Quién es Camila, la reina de Reino Unido? Esta es su historia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:40:24 GMT

Londres (CNN) — Con el ascenso de su esposo al trono luego de la muerte de la reina Isabel II , Camila se convirtió en reina consorte y asumió un papel nuevo y más destacado junto al rey Carlos III.Coronación del rey Carlos III de Reino Unido en vivo y en directoPoco más de 25 años después de la muerte de la primera esposa de Carlos, Diana, princesa de Gales, Camila sigue siendo una figura divisiva en Gran Bretaña.Desde que ella y Charles se casaron en 2005, Camila ha trabajado arduamente como miembro de la realeza sénior, apoyando a Carlos y defendiendo organizaciones benéficas que ayudan a mujeres y niños. Pero a muchas personas les resulta difícil olvidar o perdonar su larga relación y el dolor que le causó a Diana.El drama de Netflix “The Crown” ha enfocado ese período turbulento en temporadas recientes, presentando a algunos espectadores a Camila y recordando a otros su pasado.El príncipe Carlos y Camila Parker Bowles se ven juntos a fines de 1979 antes de su ...

8 false Trump electors have accepted immunity deals in Georgia probe, lawyer says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:40:24 GMT

Eight Republican activists who falsely claimed to be legitimate presidential electors for Donald Trump have accepted immunity deals from the Atlanta-area district attorney investigating Trump’s bid to subvert the 2020 election.Kimberly Debrow, a lawyer for the false electors, revealed the arrangement — reached last month — in a court filing Friday, opposing a bid by District Attorney Fani Willis to disqualify her from representing the large group.It’s the latest indication of Willis’ advancing investigation, which she recently revealed could result in charges — possibly against Trump himself and a slew of high-profile allies — as soon as July.Trump and his inner circle orchestrated a plan for GOP electors in seven states he lost to sign documents claiming to be legitimate presidential electors. Those false electors became a component in a desperate last-ditch bid by Trump to overturn the election on Jan. 6, 2021. Citing the certificates signed by the false electors, Trump and a cadr...