NEW YORK — PEN America has canceled its annual World Voices Festival, as the literary and free expression organization continues to face widespread unhappiness with its response to the Israel-Hamas war. Earlier this week, PEN called off its awards ceremony after nearly half of the finalists withdrew from contention. The festival, which brings in writers … Read more
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is set to deliver an election-year roast Saturday night before a large crowd of journalists, celebrities and politicians against the backdrop of growing protests over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war. In previous years, Biden, like most of his predecessors, has used the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner to … Read more
LONDON — It’s springtime in Europe — time for the annual blossoming of spectacle and sound known as the Eurovision Song Contest. Taking place in May in Malmö, Sweden, the 68th annual competition will see acts from 37 countries vie for the continent’s pop crown in a feelgood extravaganza that strives — not always successfully … Read more
NEW YORK — Facing widespread unhappiness over its response to the Israel-Hamas war, the writers’ group PEN America has called off its annual awards ceremony. Dozens of nominees had dropped out of the event, which was to have taken place next week. PEN, a literary and free expression organization, hands out hundreds of thousands of … Read more
Lebanese Shiite militant group has intensified its attacks on Israel military targets across the border. Beirut: Hamas ally Hezbollah said on Monday it had fired “dozens” of Katyusha rockets at an army headquarters in northern Israel in response to raids targeting villages in southern Lebanon. Since Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel triggered war … Read more
File photo Jerusalem: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said Israel will increase “military pressure” on Palestinian group Hamas in a bid to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza. “In the coming days we will increase the military and political pressure on Hamas because this is the only way to free our hostages,” … Read more
File photo Jerusalem: Israel’s State Attorney on Sunday indicted the sister of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on charges of incitement and showing solidarity with a terror group, after she allegedly praised Hamas’ October 7 attack that sparked the six-month old war in Gaza. Sabah al-Salem Haniyeh, 57, lives in the southern Israeli town of Tel … Read more
Some hardline Republicans have voiced strong opposition to further Ukraine aid Washington: The US House of Representatives on Saturday with broad bipartisan support passed a $95 billion legislative package providing security assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, over bitter objections from Republican hardliners. The legislation now proceeds to the Democratic-majority Senate, which passed a similar … Read more
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held hours-long talks with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul Istanbul: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Palestinians to unite amid Israel’s war in Gaza following hours-long talks with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul on Saturday, his office said. Erdogan has failed to establish a foothold as a mediator … Read more
VENICE, Italy — Outsider, queer and Indigenous artists are getting an overdue platform at the 60th Venice Biennale contemporary art exhibition that opens Saturday, curated for the first time by a Latin American. Brazilian curator Adriano Pedrosa’s main show, which accompanies 88 national pavilions for the seven-month run, is strong on figurative painting, with fewer … Read more
