Category: issues

“The Seattle-based nonprofit, which raised $35 million in its half century and pioneered the use of the fundraising gala in Seattle, will pay out its remaining obligations, then shut down operations.”

“Next month Tony Hall leaves the Royal Opera House to become director-general of the BBC. He has worked wonders in his 12 years as chief executive at the Royal Opera House, and he’s going to be one hell of a hard act to follow.” A look at what Hall’s successor will need to do and be.

Rupert Christiansen considers six likely contenders, including one woman.

Djenné, “with its monumental mosque and its unrivalled Sahel mud architecture, has traditionally been regarded as the ‘twin sister’ of Timbuktu, … [but] it is nevertheless much older, and the archaeological site of Djenné Djenno – the original settlement, around a mile from the present city – dates back to 250BC, making it arguably the oldest known city of West Africa.”

“Guggenheim Gangnam style” is the way Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate describes the long-mooted cultural precinct he wants to build on the coast.

“Major sports leagues build brands around their stars. Doing that for young chess stars might be an inherently impossible task. Or maybe it hasn’t been done because–until now–no one’s been bold enough to try.”

“These days she is a mother-to-be, and draped in another set of threadbare attributions. Once she gets over being sick, the press will find that she is radiant. They will find that this young woman’s life until now was nothing, her only point and purpose being to give birth.”

“A disputed collection of Jewish writings will remain in Russia because returning it to a New York-based group would set a precedent paving the way for more such claims dating back to Soviet times … A Washington judge in January ordered Russia to pay $50,000 a day in fines for failure to adhere to a 2010 ruling to return the collection, triggering angry reaction from Moscow.”

“It’s still hard to pinpoint the impact of last year’s fee rises. Although applications to creative arts and design course fell by about 15% in 2011-12, this year’s Ucas figures show some signs of a recovery. The number of students hoping to study art and design in September is up 2.4%.”

Vladmir Kekhman, the wealthy businessman who took over St. Petersburg’s second ballet-opera house and began luring stars from other companies and programming adventurous fare, has been banned from leaving Russia and had most of his assets frozen pursuant to a case by a Russian bank against his fruit-importing company.