Adele finally confirms marriage in Aussie concert

Author: 

AFP

Tue, 2017-03-07

ID: 

1488833371292589000

NEW YORK: Adele, who has become a global pop sensation with her songs of heartbreak, has confirmed years of speculation that she is married.
The English singer has been in a long-term relationship with Simon Konecki, a former financier who founded drop4drop, a charity that presses for global access to clean drinking water.
The couple have a four-year-old son, Angelo, but Adele has been coy about whether they are married as she tried to maintain her privacy.
But she confirmed their status at a concert in Brisbane, Australia on Sunday as she introduced “Someone Like You,” her breakthrough 2011 hit written about the lingering pain of a breakup with a previous boyfriend.
“That feeling when you first fall for someone is the best feeling on earth,” she said, according to a fan’s video posted online.
“And I am addicted to that feeling. Obviously, I can’t go through with those feelings because I’m married now,” she added, to a smattering of cheers.
Attentive fans at last month’s Grammy Awards also heard Adele thanking “my husband and my son — you’re the only reason I do it.”
Her representative declined at the time to say whether she had been confirming her marriage to Konecki.
Adele, 28, has been one of the most successful artists of the 21st century with her ballads of nostalgia and heartache.
With the latest Grammys, she became the first artist to win all three most-coveted awards — for album, record and song — in two different years.

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Offbeat

http://ift.tt/2mOFqGR March 06, 2017 at 09:51PM

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Arab-American artist breathes life into still ‘paintings’

Author: 

REUTERS

Tue, 2017-03-07

ID: 

1488833371212588700

CAIRO: At first glance, the Cairo art installation appears to be a mural in red and purple hues, of three people at a table. Then, one of the subjects pours bright pink paint from a teapot into a cup. Another lights a cigarette, and the scene comes into focus.
The installation, called “After Dinner,” was Cairo-based artist Chanel Arif’s latest venture into living, breathing art.
Arif uses humans and their surroundings as her canvas, creating what at first appear to be two-dimensional paintings using fluid brush strokes and playing with light and shadows.
“It’s crazy to be able to create that optical illusion, from 3D to 2D ... When you create something with the human body, people are affected more by it, there’s something more intimate about it,” Arif told Reuters.
The child of Saudi and Iranian immigrants to the US, Arif first signed up to study make-up and body art in Los Angeles last year. After returning to Egypt, she relied on friends, who offered their bodies and time, to experiment.
“You’re just like a canvas for someone’s vision and even just to be concentrating to keep a certain mood is really meditative,” May Mansour, one of the models in the installation and Arif’s friend, said.
Arif usually starts with a sketch, inspired by an emotion or mood that dictates the palette. In each work, Arif strives to create something that invites the viewer to forget the space they are physically in.
“I like that its bringing art to life. Instead of taking pictures of people and lifelessly observing them, we can see the painting brought to life,” Salma Barakat, a spectator at the exhibition, said.
Inspired by American artist Alexa Meade, the concept is new in Egypt’s contemporary art scene, where artists can struggle to engage conservative audiences.
“Egypt is the most inspiring place for me... It’s very chaotic and very high-energy and there’s a lot to see and experience,” Arif said.

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http://ift.tt/2mYrsyG March 06, 2017 at 09:51PM

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Letterman would like to give Trump ‘a scolding’

Author: 

AP

Tue, 2017-03-07

ID: 

1488833371052588100

NEW YORK: David Letterman said he would have handled President Donald Trump a bit differently than “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon.
In a wide-ranging interview with Vulture, the retired late-night television icon discussed the playful moment when Fallon tousled Trump’s hair during an appearance on his show during the presidential campaign.
Letterman said Fallon got a “fantastic viral clip” out of the moment, but he “would have gone to work on Trump.” He says: “I think I would be in the position to give him a bit of a scolding and he would have to sit there and take it.”
Letterman said he does not watch late-night television anymore and has not seen successor Stephen Colbert’s show.
Letterman retired in 2015 after 33 years as a late-night host.

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http://ift.tt/2mOvKfw March 06, 2017 at 09:51PM

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Are high heel dress codes sexist? UK lawmakers debate topic

Author: 

Associated Press

Mon, 2017-03-06

ID: 

1488817748880701900

LONDON: British lawmakers are focusing on footwear, asking whether employers should be able to make women wear high heels as part of corporate dress codes.
Members of Parliament on Monday will debate banning mandatory workplace high heels, in response to a petition by a receptionist who was sent home for wearing flat shoes.
Nicola Thorp was told in December 2015 that her shoes were unacceptable while on assignment in London with finance firm PwC, and was sent home without pay. After she launched an online petition, the Portico employment agency said it was changing its policy to allow workers to wear flat shoes if they prefer.
Thorp’s petition, which calls formal workplace dress codes “outdated and sexist,” gathered more than 150,000 signatures, making it eligible for a non-binding debate in Parliament.

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Fashion

http://ift.tt/2mu6oCC March 06, 2017 at 06:30PM

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Hadid mania grips Paris as Saab channels the dark

Author: 

AP

Mon, 2017-03-06

ID: 

1488746355404017700

PARIS: It was Lebanese designer Elie Saab’s first collection since his coup of dressing Meryl Streep for the Oscars following the actress’ high-profile spat with Chanel.
The deep blue embellishments of Streep’s lauded Oscars gown were picked up again in Saturday’s fall-winter Paris show, inspired by the magical, romantic ballet Giselle.
Meanwhile, Paris Fashion Week went gaga for the Hadid sisters.
The half-Palestinian sibling models Bella, 20, and Gigi, 21, continue to dominate coverage at Paris Fashion Week for both professional and personal reasons — their every move is snapped by photographers.
Gigi Hadid was branded a rock of solidarity by the fashion press simply for holding the hand of her sister, Bella, at H&M’s runway show as they strutted out for the finale awkwardly past Bella’s ex-boyfriend, The Weeknd, who was performing.
Then there was a media alert sent out because Gigi went outside Friday night with partner Zayn Malik.
Friday night also saw Bella crowned the face of Dior’s new Diorshow Pump & Volume mascara. She posed for cameras at the posh launch party in a sheeny, satin bustier gown, with a folded petal-like detail at the bust.
It is a mania that is not going away soon.
Meanwhile, at Saab’s show, dark romanticism wafted in the air with decorative gowns made from velvet, feathers, ribbon and lace — against the set of dark shards of blue light.
There were some lighter touches too. Tulle organza and silk chiffon fluttered by on diaphanous gowns with high necks that borrowed from Victorian or Edwardian styles.
But the collection tried to do too much.
Overly divergent styles — such as thigh-high leather boots, an electric blue fur coat and black biker jacket — took away from the collection’s coherence.

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Offbeat

http://ift.tt/2lMwtIV March 05, 2017 at 10:15PM

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Atop Palmyra’s damaged theater, Syrian musicians sing of return

Author: 

AFP

Mon, 2017-03-06

ID: 

1488746355344017400

PALMYRA, Syria: Atop the ruins of Syria’s famed Palmyra theater, recently recaptured from the Daesh group, teenage musician Angel Dayoub sang an old Arabic favorite: “We’re coming back, oh love, we’re coming back.”
The 15-year-old’s voice floated over the ancient Roman theater, heavily damaged then abandoned by Daesh on Thursday as Russian-backed government forces drew near. “A little destruction won’t stop us from coming here to play and sing on this stage, despite what happened to it,” Dayoub told AFP.
“I want to play music and sing everywhere that has seen the expulsion of Daesh, which hates singing and banned playing instruments,” she said defiantly.
Dayoub’s rendition of Lebanese diva Fairuz’s famous song is accompanied by fellow musicians of all ages playing violins, tambourines and the oud, the pear-shaped stringed instrument beloved in the Arab world.
“We’re singing ‘We’re coming back’ because we will come back even stronger than before to rebuild Syria,” she said.
“Everyone will rebuild in their own way. We want to rebuild it with music and singing.” The city and its ruins, designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 1980, have traded hands several times during Syria’s six-year war.
Daesh first seized Palmyra in May 2015 and began to systematically destroy and loot the site’s monuments and temples during a brutal ten-month reign.
Young musicians flocked to the theater during a press tour organized by the army at the weekend, playing to an audience of dozens of Syrian and Russian soldiers.
Explosions can still be heard in the distance, as Syrian forces and their Russian allies press their offensive against Daesh north and east of Palmyra.
“Daesh wanted to ban us from the theater, to ban us from singing, but I want to challenge it, to beat it,” said Maysaa Al-Nuqari, a teenage oud player.
Although the precise date of its founding is unknown, Palmyra’s name is referred to on a tablet dating from the 19th century BCE as a stopping point for caravans between the Mediterranean and the East.
It developed into a wealthy metropolis thanks to trade in spices, perfumes, silk and ivory from the east and became known to Syrians as the “Pearl of the Desert.”

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http://ift.tt/2mtJfR0 March 05, 2017 at 10:15PM

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Will Smith fascinated by pyramids during Egypt visit

Author: 

ARAB NEWS

Mon, 2017-03-06

ID: 

1488746355284017100

CAIRO: American actor Will Smith and his family arrived in Cairo on Sunday and paid a visit to the iconic Giza Pyramids. They were accompanied by renowned archaeologist Zahi Hawass who guided the family on a tour around the Sphinx and inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu.
Egyptians, meanwhile, are understandably excited. Pictures on local media showed Smith’s fans taking selfies with the actor as he arrived at Cairo’s International Airport.
Hawass, who is a former minister of antiquities, told Ahram Online that Smith and his family enjoyed admiring the sunrise on the plateau, learning about ancient Egyptian civilization and taking photographs before the Sphinx.
Smith and Hawass have been friends since 2006 when they were selected among Time magazine’s top 100 men and women whose power, talent or moral example is transforming the world.
He will also be visiting the national museum in central Cairo, before he embarks on a trip to Luxor and Aswan, to see the relics of Egypt’s ancient past.
“Smith was impressed with the Pharaoh’s legacy, and he stated that he was obsessed with it ever since he was a little kid and always dreamed of being an Egyptologist in order to discover the secrets of the Pharaohs,” Ashraf Mohy El-Den, director-general of the Giza Plateau, said.

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http://ift.tt/2lMibbp March 05, 2017 at 10:14PM

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