FRANCE
Picasso painting won
A Parisian art enthusiast could not believe his luck when he found out on Tuesday that he had won a Pablo Picasso painting worth US$1 million with a US$117 raffle ticket. “How do I check that it’s not a hoax?” said Ari Hodara, 58, after organizers called him following the draw at Christie’s auction house in the French capital. Hodara described himself as an art amateur fond of Picasso and said he bought his ticket over the weekend after finding out about the charity raffle by chance during a meal in a restaurant. “First, I will tell the news to my wife, who has yet to return from work,” said Hodara, a sales engineer. “And at first, I think I’ll take advantage of it and keep it.” The third iteration of the “1 Picasso for 100 euros” lottery was for Picasso’s Head of a Woman, a portrait of Picasso’s longtime muse and partner Dora Maar. The gouache-on-paper was painted by the artist in 1941. The online draw offered the chance to win a US$1 million portrait by the Spanish artist in aid of Alzheimer’s research. Organizers said that all 120,000 tickets were sold worldwide, netting 12 million euros (US$14 million). Of that, 1 million euros would be paid to the Opera Gallery, an international art dealership that owned the painting.
Photo: EPA
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Soldiers launch protest
Authorities yesterday ramped up security at military bases as soldiers set up road blocks in Port Moresby to vent frustrations over alleged government corruption. A small number of soldiers controlled roadblocks near the Murray Barracks on Tuesday night, protesting a recruitment scandal that has already forced the nation’s defense minister to step aside pending investigation. Billy Joseph is accused of interfering with army recruitment, local media reported, enlisting soldiers from his home district in a process allegedly tainted by nepotism. Believing they were unfairly targeted for blowing the whistle on the affair, a small core of soldiers have deserted their posts in protest against the government. Chief of Defence Force Philip Polewara yesterday ordered all military units to implement “close camp” procedures for one month. The security measures shut down armories, restrict the use of military vehicles, and limit movements in and out of barracks. “All unit commanders are to exercise strict command and control to ensure compliance,” a directive signed by Polewara said. “Any breach of this directive will be treated as a serious disciplinary matter.” Prime Minister James Marape urged the troops to “immediately cease” their protest.
UNITED STATES
Erika Kirk faces threat
Erika Kirk, widow of slain activist Charlie Kirk, on Tuesday withdrew from a Turning Point USA event featuring Vice President J.D. Vance due to threats on her life, the vice president said. “I know that she did get some threats,” Vance told an audience of University of Georgia students in Athens, Georgia. “I was a little worried that we were going to have to cancel the event because Erika was not going to come, and she was very worried about it.” Vance said that he had talked to the Secret Service and was not concerned about his own safety. He gave no details about the threats to Erika Kirk, who is the CEO of Turning Point USA. A gunman, who faces murder charges, killed Charlie Kirk in September last year during a campus speaking event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Authorities describe the shooting as politically motivated.
PHISHING: The con might appear convincing, as the scam e-mails can coincide with genuine messages from Apple saying you have run out of storage For a while you have been getting messages from Apple saying “your iCloud storage is full.” They say you have exceeded your storage plan, so documents are no longer being backed up, and photos you take are not being uploaded. You have been resisting Apple’s efforts to get you to pay a minimum of ￡0.99 (US$1.33) a month for more storage, but it seems that you cannot keep putting off the inevitable: You have received an e-mail which says your iCloud account has been blocked, and your photos and videos would be deleted very soon. To keep them you need
For two decades, researchers observed members of the Ngogo chimpanzee group of Kibale National Park in Uganda spend their days eating fruits and leaves, resting, traveling and grooming in their tropical rainforest abode, but this stable community then fractured and descended into years of deadly violence. The researchers are now describing the first clearly documented example of a group of wild chimpanzees splitting into two separate factions, with one launching a series of coordinated attacks against the other. Adult males and infants were targeted, with 28 deaths. “Biting, pounding the victim with their hands, dragging them, kicking them — mostly adult males,
The Israeli military has demolished entire villages as part of its invasion of south Lebanon, rigging homes with explosives and razing them to the ground in massive remote detonations. The Guardian reviewed three videos posted by the Israeli military and on social media, which showed Israel carrying out mass detonations in the villages of Taybeh, Naqoura and Deir Seryan along the Israel-Lebanon border. Lebanese media has reported more mass detonations in other border villages, but satellite imagery was not readily available to verify these claims. The demolitions came after Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz called for the destruction of
SUPERFAN: The Japanese PM played keyboard in a Deep Purple tribute band in middle school and then switched to drums at university, she told the British rock band Legendary British rock band Deep Purple yesterday made Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s day with a brief visit to their high-profile superfan as they returned to the nation they first toured more than half a century ago. Takaichi’s reputation as an amateur drummer, and a fan of hard rock and heavy metal has been well documented, and she has referred to Deep Purple as one of her favorite bands along with the likes of Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden. “You are my god,” a giddy Takaichi said in English to Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice, presenting him with a set of made-in-Japan
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