An Iranian professor at the University of Delaware is protesting the school’s decision to represent Iranian students with the country’s official United Nations flag. Calling the banner “the flag of the Islamic regime,” he submitted a petition to school officials calling for it to be replaced with a flag suggested by Iranian faculty. (May 2023)…
First-Time Filmmaker Competes at Cannes with Senegalese Drama
Most filmmakers in the Cannes Film Festival’s top-rung competition are well-known directors who have been around for decades. One dramatic exception this year is Ramata-Toulaye Sy, a French-Senegalese filmmaker whose first film, “Banel & Adama,” landed among the 21 films competing for the Palme d’Or. “It’s only now that I realize that being in competition…
Jennifer Lawrence-Produced Afghan Documentary Premieres at Cannes
While the world watched Kabul fall and the Taliban surge back to power in 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S. troops, actor Jennifer Lawrence and producer Justine Ciarrocchi were asking themselves what they could do to support women’s rights. “Jen’s first response was to find an Afghan filmmaker and give them a platform,” Ciarrocchi told…
‘Fast X’ Speeds to No. 1; Knocks ‘Guardians 3’ to 2nd
The 10th installment of the “Fast and Furious” franchise was off to the races this weekend, knocking “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” out of first place and easily claiming the No. 1 spot at the box office. “Fast X” earned $67.5 million in ticket sales from 4,046 North American theaters, according to estimates from…
2 Dorm Directors Fired at Small Christian College After Using ‘He/Him,’ ‘She/Her’ in Emails
Shua Wilmot and Raegan Zelaya, two former dorm directors at a small Christian university in western New York, acknowledge their names are unconventional, which explains why they attached gender identities to their work email signatures. Wilmot uses “he/him.” Zelaya goes by “she/her.” Their former employer, Houghton University, wanted them to drop the identifiers in line…
Iranian American Wins Pulitzer Prize
Iranian American Sanaz Toossi won the Pulitzer Prize in drama Monday for her play English. The play takes place in 2008 near Tehran, where four Iranian adults prepare for an English proficiency test. It examines how family separation and travel restrictions push them to learn a new language and how that may change their identity. …
Opera Icon Grace Bumbry Dies at 86
Mezzo-soprano Grace Bumbry, a Black opera singer who blazed trails and broke barriers, has died, her son and publicist announced Monday. She was 86. The artist died on May 7 at a hospital in Vienna, having suffered a stroke in October, according to her adopted son David Lee Brewer, who was speaking to the press…
Chinese Students in DC Establish Safe Space for Dissent to Counter Beijing
A group of Chinese international students studying in Washington has established an independent student union, hoping to provide a safe space and platform for other Chinese students and scholars at their university to express political dissent without harassment by pro-Beijing students and organizations. Students from George Washington University (GWU) call the organization Torch on the…
Ukrainian Folk Attire Exhibited During Seattle’s Fashion Week
Authentic Ukrainian ethnic folk attire made a recent appearance on a runway at Metropolitan Fashion Week Seattle, held in the city’s suburb of Woodinville. Natasha Mozgovaya has more. …
How Can Universities Entice International Students?
Consultant Iain Sloan’s recommendations for student recruitment are for the United Kingdom but could apply anywhere: Diversify beyond China and India, efficiently manage the visa process, focus on career guidance and not just academics and build hands-on curriculums. Weigh Sloan’s recommendations in the Times Higher Education. (April 2023) …
Fast-Rising Teqball Crashes Southeast Asian Games
As teqball continues its fast growth with its debut at the Southeast Asian Games, the young sport has drawn resentful glances from similar sports in the region that feel it is treading on their turf. Invented in Hungary in 2012, teqball is a nonmedal exhibition sport at this year’s SEA Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia,…
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Opens to $114 Million
There is nothing like the promise of a chapter closing to draw people to the movie theater, especially when tied to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This weekend, ” Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” which says goodbye to this iteration of the space misfits and its driving creative voice, director James Gunn, earned $114 million…
Why Should US Colleges Collaborate with Foreign Countries?
Millersville University President Daniel Wubah argues that U.S. colleges must forge closer relationships with schools elsewhere. U.S. institutions need the tuition that international students pay, and developing countries can build their economies by sending students abroad. Read Wubah’s op-ed in Forbes. (May 2023) …
Newton Minow, Ex-FCC Chief Who Dubbed TV ‘Wasteland,’ Dies
Newton N. Minow, who as Federal Communications Commission chief in the early 1960s famously proclaimed that network television was a “vast wasteland,” died Saturday. He was 97. Minow, who received a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, died Saturday at home, surrounded by loved ones, said his daughter, Nell Minow. “He wanted to be at…
Violinist on Russian Trains Soothes Weary Commuters
The commuter trains that take wearied workers out of Moscow every day can be difficult — a long and slow trip in close quarters with strangers, some of them drinking alcohol or sprawled sleeping across the seats. But a few days a week, riders might get a lift when Oksana comes aboard to soothe them…
US Pride Organizers Keep Eye on Drag Laws Ahead of Festivals
Tennessee organizers booked more than 50 drag entertainers for next month’s Midsouth Pride festival in Memphis now that the state’s new law placing strict limits on cabaret shows is temporarily on hold. But they are being cautious, making adjustments to performances should the limits of the first-in-the-nation law essentially banning drag from public property or…
Colleges Get Grades, Too; Who’s Passing?
The U.S. Department of Education released a College Scorecard based on student salaries, debt after graduation and racial diversity in teaching. This year’s reports analyze graduate programs for the first time and expand the data on earnings after undergraduate study. Read a summary by USA Today reporter Kayla Jimenez or check out the reports. (April 2023) …
5 Things to Look for During King Charles III’s Coronation
King Charles III’s coronation is a chance to unite people with the history and pageantry of the monarchy, but those traditions are also full of potential controversies as he tries to show that the monarchy still has a role to play in modern Britain. The new king has already recognized these challenges by adjusting the…
Factbox: Details of Some of the Crown Jewels
The ceremony for King Charles’ coronation at Westminster Abbey in London on Saturday will involve historic regalia ranging from sceptres and maces to a ring and a spoon. Here are details of some of the Crown Jewels that will be used during the ceremony: St. Edward’s Crown Charles will be crowned with the historic St.…
Dog Show 101: What’s What at the Westminster Kennel Club
To the casual viewer, competing at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show might look pretty simple: Get a dog. Groom it. Pose it. Lead it around a ring. But there’s a lot more than that to getting to and exhibiting in the United States’ most prestigious canine event, now in its 147th year. So here…
19 Horses to Tangle in Wide-Open 149th Kentucky Derby
The cast of characters for the 149th Kentucky Derby was rewritten in the days before the race. What didn’t change: Forte is the early 3-1 favorite on Saturday in a seemingly wide-open field of 19 horses. Four horses were scratched — Practical Move, Lord Miles, Continuar and Skinner — and three horses waiting on the…
US Director Damien Chazelle to Head Venice Film Festival Jury
U.S. director Damien Chazelle, best known for the Oscar-winning La La Land, will lead the jury of the upcoming Venice Film Festival, organizers announced Friday. The 80th edition of the prestigious festival will take place from Aug. 30-Sept. 9 on the swanky, beach-lined Lido island. “For 10 days each year this city of the arts,…
Hong Kong Police Seize Statue in ‘Incitement to Subversion’ Probe
Hong Kong police seized an exhibit Friday in connection with what they said was an attempt to incite subversion, with media reporting it was a statue commemorating Beijing’s Tiananmen Square crackdown on democracy protesters in 1989. Media reported the exhibit was the “Pillar of Shame,” an 8-meter-tall statue depicting dozens of torn and twisted bodies…
Chinese Students Prod University of Chicago on Safety
In 2021, two Chinese graduate students at the University of Chicago were shot to death within 11 months of each other. Campus newspaper The Chicago Maroon took a look at students’ push for better safety and the school’s response. (April 2023) …
Could AI Pen ‘Casablanca’? Screenwriters Take Aim at ChatGPT
When Greg Brockman, the president and co-founder of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, was recently extolling the capabilities of artificial intelligence, he turned to “Game of Thrones.” Imagine, he said, if you could use AI to rewrite the ending of that not-so-popular finale. Maybe even put yourself into the show. “That is what entertainment will look like,”…
International Students Speak Out About Issues at St. Louis University
The University News, the student newspaper at Saint Louis University in the U.S. state of Missouri, recently interviewed international students on their experiences at the school. Some students said that some U.S. systems, notably the health care and tax systems, were difficult to navigate. One student said she felt the school’s international support services tended…
As Sales Decline, Adidas Faces Pressure to Find Yeezy Fix
Adidas is set to update investors Friday about the unsold Yeezy shoes that have put the German sportswear giant in a predicament since it cut ties with Kanye West over his antisemitic comments late last year. Executives are expected to tackle the issue when the company reports first-quarter results Friday which will likely show a…
Taliban Singsongs Thrive in Music-Less Afghanistan
The recording studios at Afghanistan national radio and television where generations of male and female musicians and singers produced songs and melodies have gone silent for nearly two years. The country’s Islamist Taliban regime does not air music on the national broadcasting network because their extreme interpretation of Islam considers it forbidden. Instead, they run…