Author: Ewang Johnson

Michel Leclerc has never shied away from delicate social topics and the French director has now managed to inject humour into the issue of sexual assault in “Not all men, but…”. Critic Perrine Quennesson tells us why his gamble has paid off and why entertaining performances from Léa Drucker and Benjamin Lavernhe bring levity to a heavy subject. We also hear about Régis Wargnier’s long-awaited feature “La Réparation”, a family mystery set between France and Taiwan which unites a stellar cast. Meanwhile, filmmaker Lawrence Valin marks himself out as a rising talent with “Little Jaffna”, a thriller set in Paris’s…

AlamyA new Apple TV+ series explores the life of the so-called “King of Chefs and the Chef of Kings” – shown as a wild enfant terrible in post-Revolutionary France who blazed a trail for future generations of cooks.It’s described as “the story of the first celebrity chef”. The French language series Carême is a dramatisation of the life of Antonin Carême, who was born into poverty in pre-Revolutionary Paris around 1784. His talent would make him chef for the French diplomat Charles Talleyrand, the Emperor Napoleon, the future George IV of Britain, Tsar Alexander of Russia and the Baron de…

The Beginnings Fund aims to prevent over 300,000 avoidable deaths by expanding access to quality care for mothers and babies in sub-Saharan Africa, in partnership with Ministries of Health.   The Fund is supported by anchor donors the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity, The ELMA Foundation, Gates Foundation, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Delta Philanthropies, and others.   The launch took place in Kanad Hospital in Abu Dhabi, attended by Ministers of Health from Malawi, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Zanzibar.  A coalition of global philanthropies today announced the launch of the Beginnings Fund, a new philanthropic initiative committed to accelerating maternal and newborn…

Some leadership moments do not require shared faith to recognize their truth. Pope Francis’s relationship with Africa was one of them. Across twelve years, he traveled to Africa not to manage perception, but to bear witness. Five journeys. Ten countries. Millions of lives are often spoken about but rarely spoken with. While others addressed Africa through the language of crisis, Francis treated Africa as essential — to the future of the Church and to the conscience of the world. In Nairobi’s Kangemi slum, he called out the “dreadful injustice of exclusion.” He stood where others might have issued statements from…

TV critic Dheepthika Laurent speaks to presenter Eve Jackson about this month’s new series including “Dying for Sex” – a bold new series about female sexuality and terminal cancer, starring Michelle Williams. They also look at the new seasons of “The Last of Us”, “Black Mirror”, “The Handmaid’s Tale” and the new French-American ballet drama, “Étoile”. Source link

DisneyThe latest in the superhero franchise “is scrappy, scruffy-looking, down-to-earth fun”, with a “charismatic” Florence Pugh at its centre, writes Nicholas Barber.Ever since Avengers: Endgame came out in 2019, the subtitle has felt a lot more appropriate than the studio might have liked. It’s not that Marvel hasn’t had any hits in the 2020s, but it is no longer releasing an unbroken chain of talked-about blockbusters, nor is it keeping audiences invested in a story that threads through all of them. That particular game has come to an end.The Marvel films that have worked best since Endgame are the ones…

By Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, and Co-Chair of UN-Energy Energy access is a fundamental driver of economic growth. However, Africa faces a daunting challenge – approximately 600 million people continue to live in energy poverty, while one billion lack access to clean cooking solutions. At the same time, estimates place the Black population at 1% of the energy workforce. Projections indicate that Africa’s energy demand will more than triple by 2040. This surge in demand, coupled with the current energy deficits, necessitates urgent interventions. The critical question for Africa…

While the volume of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa has seen a spurt over the last decade, for example registering $91bn in 2024, the FDI flow to the continent remains low at around 4-5%. Most of the investment is into hydrocarbons and minerals but investment into the continent’s biggest potential, its agricultural products, remains largely disappointing. Almaz Alsenov, founder of Harvest Group SA, a Switzerland-based international trader and distributor of agricultural products, argues the investors willing to navigate the complexities and challenges of the African market stand to Reap significant rewards from this untapped potential. Harvest Group SA is…

I will never forget the first time I heard OneRepublic’s hit song “Counting Stars.” I was 15 years old. My taste in music was limited, to say the least. I rarely listened to anything “mainstream,” and I was more than a little inclined to judge my peers who filled their ears with godless pop music.When “Counting Stars” came on at a birthday party, I couldn’t help liking the catchy tune. It was a good song, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. People were singing along, and I was listening in hopes of joining in.Then we got to the pre-chorus.I feel…

Operatic soprano Chen Reiss has just released a new album alongside Daniel Grossman and the Jewish Chamber Orchestra Munich entitled “Jewish Vienna”. The Austrian capital has always been a key spot for classical music and the goal of this record was to focus on the artists and composers who were part of this rich scene until the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany. We also look at how the internet and social media may have killed off the video star, as well as the new album from Welsh rockers Stereophonics. Source link