Author: staff
Participants face off in informal “aura battles”, using dance moves, poses, facial expressions and playful gestures to show who can command the crowd’s attention. There are no physical fights: spectators usually choose the winner based on confidence, charisma and creativity. The trend takes its name from the online slang “aura”, used to describe someone with a strong, charismatic presence. The phrase “farmear aura”, or “farming aura”, began as a joke about collecting imaginary “aura points” online before becoming a real-world competition. At one recent event, 16-year-old Kaled Rosales Salazar won 2,000 Mexican pesos, around €100 at the time, after beating…
Published on 21/08/2026 – 12:33 GMT+2 Call it what you will – just don’t call it the Taiwan Pavilion. The Gwangju Biennale is the latest organisation to come under fire over how it refers to Taiwan, after changing its pavilion’s name from “Taiwan Pavilion” to “NTMoFA Pavilion”. Unlike other participants, whose pavilions are identified by country, Taiwan’s is recognised by the name of its organising body, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. The exceptional designation has prompted accusations of censorshipfrom Taiwanese artists and government officials. It has also brought the art world back into the fraught politics of Taiwan’s…
Published on 21/08/2026 – 11:32 GMT+2 International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane of Japan warned on Friday against “the demise of international rule of law” after the United States targeted her with sanctions. “The sanction against me this time was something I had anticipated to an extent, so I’m not surprised,” Akane said in a statement released on X by her publisher Bungei Shunju. “The important thing is not to let this be the beginning of the demise of international rule of law.” The United States sanctioned Akane and trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal on Tuesday as part of…
Published on 21/08/2026 – 10:45 GMT+2•Updated 12:01 Twenty migrants deported from the United States have arrived in Liberia, the first of up to 1,200 foreign nationals the west African country has agreed to accept. Liberia is the latest African country to agree to take in migrants deported under US President Donald Trump’s contested immigration crackdown. A plane bringing the 20 people touched down at the country’s international airport shortly before 1:00 pm local time on Thursday. They boarded a bus, which then left the airport near the capital, Monrovia. Staff from the Liberian Commission on Repatriation, Resettlement and Reintegration were…
As the end of August brings (marginally) cooler weather to the northern hemisphere, travellers who have sensibly shunned hot urban centres might be looking to get back to city breaks. For a little inspiration, hotel chain Premier Inn decided to try to classify the most beautiful cities to visit in summer using a bit of science. The company collected images of over 60 major cities across the globe in summertime and, using eye-tracking technology, studied which pictures people were drawn to quickest and where their gazes lingered the longest. These are the world’s most beautiful summer cities The study revealed…
No discrimination The Commission maintains that the FSR does not discriminate against companies on the basis of where they’re headquartered. “The FSR is completely, fully compliant with WTO rules as it applies to all companies irrespective of their nationality, and its objective is to ensure that all companies doing business in the EU, including Chinese ones, are treated equally and compete on an equal footing,” spokesperson Ricardo Cardoso told reporters in Brussels on Thursday. According to Beijing, the EU is requesting too much information as it investigates whether JD.com’s deal is unfairly backed by Chinese state support. “In the JD.com…
By Euronews Persian Published on 21/08/2026 – 10:50 GMT+2 Iran executed a foreign national accused of taking part in anti-government protests in the city of Isfahan in January, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported on Thursday. The judiciary identified the man as Qaim Hosseini, but did not disclose his nationality. Mizan said Hosseini, who was also known by the alias “Arian,” had confessed to taking part in protests held on 8 January in Ali Khani Square in Isfahan. The judiciary had previously said that four security personnel were killed during protests in the square. Authorities arrested 59 people after the incident…
Published on 21/08/2026 – 10:26 GMT+2 The world’s oldest person is celebrating her 117th birthday today, after a year of “many firsts” – including meeting King Charles. Ethel Caterham, who lives at Hallmark Lakeview Care Home in Lightwater, Surrey, UK, is spending the day with her family and friends to mark the occasion. In a statement, she said: “Thank you for all of the kind birthday wishes. Even at 117, I’ve had many firsts this year, from stroking a llama to holding hands with the King.” Indeed, she was visited by King Charles last September, just after her 116th birthday.…
But some ships that have nothing to do with Russia or Ukraine are also finding themselves caught in the middle of this drone battle. To be sure, Ukraine’s drone attacks are extremely precise, which means there is little risk that a drone intended to hit one vessel ends up hitting another. Still, tankers and other ships now operate in a world where they may accidentally become drone targets — not only because of a mistake Ukraine could make but because of the risk that Russia could decide to use drones against merchant shipping to harm Ukraine and its Western allies.…
A group of Cuban migrants, including several minors, who went missing at sea last week have been rescued, the Mexican navy said. The migrants set sail from the western Cuban province of Pinar del Rio on 11 August, according to Cuban and US media. Their whereabouts had been unknown since and fears for their safety had grown amid reports they were running short of supplies. “We rescued the Cubans,” the navy source said, putting the number of passengers found at 15, including four minors. A Cuban man living in Mexico, whose two children were traveling on the boat with their…