International News

California, USA - Elizabeth Taylor for return of Van Gogh

A Canadian lawyer, Andrew Orkin and his South African relatives are suing double Oscar-winning actress Elizabeth Taylor (72 years old), to recover a painting by Vincent Van Gogh, that the actress purchased at an auction in 1963, claiming the work belonged to their great grandmother, who was forced to give it up before the Second World War. She claims that she is the rightful owner of Vue de l'aisle et de la Chapelle de Saint-Remy, painted by Van Gogh in France in 1898, about 10 months before his suicide. They have alleged the painting was looted by the Nazis, who built up a huge stockpile of valuable art works seized from Jews, a practice that has in recent years sparked waves of litigation over the ownership of art pieces. Ms. Taylor's father bought the painting on the actress' behalf from Sotheby's London for US$260,000. It now is worth more than $15 million.

Ontario, Canada - Olympics of Gardening

Alan Eaton had to use chains and pulleys to hoist his award-winning 1,446-pound pumpkin from his home in Richmond, Ontario, to the Port Elgin Pumpkin Fest, where it could be weighed. It was more than 60 pounds heavier than the last pumpkin mentioned in the Guinness Book of records. Last year, Eaton established a new Canadian record, with a pumpkin that was more than 1,300 pounds, but it was still number 4 in the world. The United States, for the fifth straight year took number one. Mr. Eaton says about his victory over the US growers, "I call this the Olympics of gardening." He is already planning for next year's defense of the title, believing that the 1,500-pound pumpkin is coming.

Vienna, Austria - Austrian writer wins Noble Prize for Literature

Ms. Jelinek Elfriede (57 years old), is the first historian and 10th women to win the prize in its 103-year history. Her most famous work, The Piano Teacher (1983) was adapted and re-released in 2001. Her works are well-known in German-speaking countries and several have been translated into French. The Swiss Academy described the Nobel Prize Laureate's work as a "musical flow of voices and counter voices." Her latest play is, Bambiland, written in 2003 and translated into English. Her first post-prize work is titled Babel, dealing with torture at the Abu Gharib prison and with the mutilation of US forces in Falluja. She studied music at the Vienna Conservatory before making her literary debut with Lisa's Schatten, a collection of poems in 1967. Her satirical novel, "We are Decoys, Baby?" in the 1970s, was followed by Women as Lovers released in 1975, Lust in 1998 and Wonderful, Wonderful Times in 1990.

Vancouver, Canada - A possible Emily Carr's self-dash portrait?

An extremely rare oil portrait of an unidentified young woman has been discovered on the reverse side of Arbutus Tree, an early oil-on-canvas landscape, circa 1913-1920 painted by the first lady of Canadian art, Emile Carr. The question is whether this is a self-portrait of the eccentric Canadian painter who never seized to shock the gentile citizens of Victoria with her cigar smoking, cantankerous airs, and a pet monkey she sometimes pushed around in a baby carriage. She was the first female Canadian artist to break the million dollar barrier when Quite, a 1942 oil-on-canvas, sold for $1.12 million last May. The two-sided canvas was placed on auction in Toronto last November. The debate still looms on whether the painting is truly a self-portrait or not.

London, UK - Give Prince Harry a break!

Over the summer, the 20-year-old Prince Harry was seen meeting AIDS victims in Lesotho and coaching inner-city youngsters at rugby. These acts represented to him some of the things his late mother, Princess Diana, used to do before her tragic death in a car accident in Paris in 1997. The young prince was the target of much of the tabloids in the country, where they spoke about him drinking while still underage, smoking marijuana, accusing him of cheating in an art project for his end of school exams, and most recently the story about his shoving incident with a photographer in the early morning hours after leaving "Pangaea" night club. The tabloid newspapers published pictures of him fighting with the photographer, after which he was taken by his bodyguards into his car and scurried away from the area. Some relatives and journalists have voiced their opinion on the extra publicity being given to Prince Harry and felt that he needs to be given a break, since his life circumstances have not been very easy. In light of his mother's relationship with the paparazzi, and the manner in which she died, calls have been made for more restraint on the part of photographers towards her sons.

USA - The wingless superhero

Christopher Reeve (1952-2004), the wingless superhero, who developed quadriplegia after a 1995 horse-riding accident died of heart failure last October, which was mentioned as a complication of an infected bed sore! Reeve, a strong advocate for the funding and study of profound spinal cord research and the disabled, offered hope to millions. before his death, he actively promoted research of human pluripotent stem cells which have the ability to grow in every tissue type.

The star of the Superman movies once announced that he intended to walk by his 50th birthday, saying that "every scientist should remove 'impossible' from their lexicon." He also founded the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, funding research in exercise therapies that sought to re-establish neural pathways lost to spinal cord injury. He himself served as a human guinea-pig for a number of controversial techniques. In 2003, doctors implanted an experimental device in his diaphragm that improved his speech and allowed him to breathe for extended periods without a respirator. He believed that human embryonic stem cell will offer great potential for the regeneration of damaged spinal cord tissue. Christopher Reeve was famous for his role as the flying superhero Superman. While somewhat ironic, he also became the "wingless" hero for the disabled and paralyzed in his real-life battle against paraplegia. 

Egypt - Egypt on verge of eradicating elephantiasis

Elephantiasis has plagued Egypt since the pharaonic era, more than 3000 years ago, where filarial parasites were detected in old mummies. This parasite is what causes elephantiasis, the common name given to the inflammation of the arms and legs resembling those of an elephant. HE Prof. Tag El-Din, Minister of Health continued the campaign established by the former minister HE Prof. Ismail Sallam, seeking to eradicate this disease in Egypt. In 1997, 8.8% of people in Kafr El-Sheik province and 4.2% of people in parts of Giza province were carrying the parasite. In a study done last year, the prevalence in both these regions is now close to zero. In other places, the infection rate has fallen from 2.5% to 0.1%. The WHO estimated that the disease infects about 120 million people worldwide and that a billion people are at risk. Thanks to both Tag El-Din and Sallam, it seems that Egypt is on its way to eradicate this disease.

Netherlands - Is Rembrandt's vision skewed!?

Self portraits suggest that the 17th century Dutch master, Rembrandt was walleyed and would have struggled to judge distance and depth, according to new research published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Margaret Livingstone, professor of neurobiology at Harvard University, stumbled upon the discovery while visiting the Louvre last summer and standing in a room with four Rembrandt self-portraits. All of them were walleyed. She mentioned that this condition is called stereo blindness, resulting in diminished perception. It affects about 4% of the population. She stated that his left-eye in the paintings is consistently skewed. Interestingly, studying portraits of the English painter, Turner, showed that he had suffered from glaucoma.

USA - Clinton Syndrome

Following the successful quadruple bypass surgery done on former US president Bill Clinton, many diagnostic centers around the country are seeing cases of 'Clinton syndrome' - worried, middle-aged men, wanting tests for chest pain, and other possible heart disease symptoms. The 'celebrity effect' previously seen after the deaths of sports figures and Canadian actor John Candy, has again boosted US emergency room visits.

Alberta, Canada - Visiting dinosaur province on its centennial

Visitors to Alberta are interested in Rocky Mountains natural parks, Kananaskis Country, the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, and Dinosaur Provincial Park near Brooks. Alberta, as a province, turns 100 years next year, and is expecting thousands of tourists (about 360,000 people visit it early). The Albertosaurus, a giant carnivore, was named in 1905 which is the same year Alberta earned its title as province. This dinosaur is displayed among 40 others in Tyrrell's ten galleries--the largest exhibit of its kind in the world. The 600 species on display were collected from China, Japan, South America, New Zealand, Australia and other warm areas of the world.

Canada - Hunger's Brides: A 1376-page novel!!

Paul Anderson's, Hunger's Brides, is certainly one of the longest novels, almost twice the length of Susanna Clark's novel, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel. It brings to mind another 17th century Spanish language literary icon: Don Quixote and the 1348-page Vikram Seth's novel A Suitable Boy (1993). Anne Collins, the publisher who signed Anderson to imprint Random House Canada, after devouring his manuscript in a two and a half days reading frenzy, spent five years editing his book which has been released in September 2004 with 5000 copies for its first edition. It seems the Canadian publishing industry, sometimes means dreaming the impossible dream.

Johannesburg, South Africa - The anti-Apartheid Afrikaner cleric dies

Rev. Beyers Naude (1915-2004) was a courageous Afrikaner cleric and was one of the most respected and loved stalwarts of South Africa's liberation struggle, who played a crucial role in supporting the underground movement of the African National Congress (ANC). On his 80th birthday, Nelson Mandela praised his life as "a shining beacon...it demonstrates what it means to rise above race, to be a true South African." Rev. Naude received many honors over the years including doctorates from universities of Amsterdam, Witwatersrand, Notre Dame in the United States, and Cape Town University. The 1960, the Sharpeville Massacre by government troops soured his support for Apartheid.

British Columbia, Canada - Kids campaign to save bears

Kids in British Columbia launched a campaign to stop their government from killing orphaned bear cubs that have wondered into the Vancouver area. Using the power of MSN, an internet messaging service, they launched a political lobbying campaign that has changed the provincial wildlife policy. Wildlife officers have been killing problem bears in north Vancouver. The problem peaked in 1999, when 39 bears were killed. Recently, a growing number of orphaned bear cubs have been showing up wondering on the city streets. A bear even walked into a home to steal a newly cooked pie. The kid campaign called itself "Care4theBears," and set up a website which appeared on TV shows and distributed posters featuring a picture of a tiny black bear to appeal to wildlife officers in an attempt to prevent them from killing the young bears. The provincial authorities decided to stop killing the bear cubs and to move into a rehabilitation program, in which four cubs are currently being rehabilitated.

Cleveland, USA - First face transplant

The renowned Cleveland Clinic recently announced it was ready to do face transplants for disfigured persons from birth defects, accidents or diseases. People who will undergo facial transplants must take immune-suppressing drugs for the rest of their lives to prevent their bodies from rejecting the new tissues. Interestingly, the first hand transplant which was carried out in Lyon, France in 1998 ended disastrously, when the patient refused to take immune-suppressing, and the new hand had to be surgically removed. The Royal College of Surgeons (England) mentioned that further studies needed to take place before a face transplant operation could be undertaken. The Cleveland Clinic's Director of plastic surgery research, Dr. Maria Siemonow, mentioned that a "facial transplant is not a cosmetic procedure, its for severely disfigured persons." The hospital plans to select only the most extreme burn cases for the first potential transplant patients.

New York, USA - Steve Brodner's serving of "Freedom Fries"

Fifty-year-old American cartoonist, Steve Brodner, is still living the life of a college kid. His work is seen regularly in The Nation, Boston Magazine, Rolling Stone, Foreign Policy, Sports Illustrated, Harper's, and The Atlantic Monthly. He serves up 30 years of satire in his book, Freedom Fries, a handsome paperback compilation of his work. It includes cartoons of presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. One of them shows President Bush as a greasy spoon-cook serving up slop to the American public including the "Big Coalition Cheese Sandwich." The book is published by Fantagraphics Books and was released in Fall 2004.

Ramallah, Palestine - Palestinian Leader and Symbol Dies

The once controversial and omnipresent leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), the Palestinian Authority, and the public face of his people's struggle died in a hospital outside Paris on November 11. A motif of the Palestinian struggle over the past 40 years, Yasser Arafat's life is filled with controversy, accomplishment, and misery. Creator of the Fatah movement and the PLO, Arafat made a base for his organization in various parts of the Arab world from Lebanon to Tunisia to Gaza, with conflicts entailing throughout these periods. He was involved in the first Palestinian Intifada in 1987, the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993 (which earned him the Nobel Peace Prize with Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin of Israel), and the Camp David Talks in 2000 among many other historical events in the life of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. His funeral was held in Cairo and was attended by many world dignitaries. While there is still much controversy surrounding the conditions of his death, Arafat is still considered the leader of the Palestinian struggle. He was buried in West Bank town of Ramallah.

UK - The Third Man of the Double Helix

Dr. Maurice Wilkins came close to making one of the great scientific discoveries of the last century, but was buffered on all sides by stronger personalities of his colleagues. As suggested by the title of his autobiography, he was a nice chap who finished third in the discovery of the double helix. His partners in the Nobel Prize winning discovery were James Watson and Francis Crick. He had taken the first clear photo of the DNA molecule, but he was replaced by Dr. Rosalind Franklin, an excellent crystallographer. She was also marginalized in this discovery, and her premature death from ovarian cancer at the age of 37 in 1958, meant that she never knew how central her role was. The facts were not revealed until 15 years after the discovery of the double helix - 10 years after her death - when Dr. Watson published his biography, The Double Helix in 1968. The celebrated biographer, Brenda Maddox published a book in 2002 entitled, Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA. This new book mentions how Dr. Watson and Dr. Crick invited Dr. Wilkins to be a third author on their paper, but he declined because he had not taken part directly in the discovery. Furthermore, addressed the allegations that he was exploiting the work of Dr. Rosalind in his autobiography in 2003, before his death last year. In order to try to solve this mystery of one of the most significant discoveries of the 20th century, one needs to read all three biographies - Dr. Watson, Dr. Franklin and Dr. Wilkins.

Calgary, Canada - Window-Art Christmas Caricatures

Forty years ago, Bill Greig painted his first window with adornments for the Calgary Stampede. Today, the Canadian artist is considered the originator of the craft of window-art and his city of Calgary the Window-art capital of Canada. The city attracts cartoonists from around the country, especially since the city's Downtown Business Association encouraged businesses to do more than the standard decorative fare with their winter windows. Last year, even some of the cities enclosed elevated walkways were adorned with merry messages. Eight professional window painters regularly put their talent on display, and a dozen or more casual painters come and go throughout the year, trying to muscle on the market during the peak periods. Walking around Calgary's downtown now is interesting since people can spot winter wonderlands, Christmas caricatures and polar bears on shop windows.

Washington, DC, USA - New Museum of American Indians opens

The US$219 million museum is located on the Smithsonian Institute's National Mall, 500-metres away from the US capitol and across from the east wing of the National Gallery. The National Museum of the American Indians is devoted exclusively to native peoples from north, south and central America. About 39,000 items out of the 800,000 objects in the collection are from Canada, including the sculpture by Susan Point, a coast Salish artist living in Vancouver. Four Canadian communities are among the 24 represented in three inaugural exhibitions: the Saint Laurent Metis of Manitoba, Igloolik of Nunavut, Ojibway of Hollow Water Reserve in Manitoba, and the Mohawks of Kahnawake. Canadian elements are also part of the landscaping around the museum. Forty boulders, called "Grand Father Rocks" came from a quarry in Alma, Quebec.

Russia - Tom Thomson solo exhibition show

Tom Thomson, who died in 1917 in a mysterious mishap on his beloved Canoe Lake, had 58 works at Russia's Hermitage Museum, the opulent compound, where the czars and the royal courts celebrated Russia's defeat of Napoleon. He is a first-time Canadian artist to be granted a solo exhibition at the museum. His works come from the collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) and the National Gallery of Canada, including two of his most famous paintings, The West Wind and Jack Pine. Some enlist him with the greats of Picasso, Renoir, Rembrandt, and Di Vinci. His exhibit at the museum will be accompanied by a full entourage from AGO in Canada, in order to provide the Russian art lovers with detailed information about Thomson. Furthermore, a full slate of lectures and peripheral events will be taking place along with the exhibit itself.

Athens, Greece - Paralympic Games

The Athens Paralympic Games offered spectators with a unique opportunity to live closely, the experience of the athletes striving for performance, advancement and recognition. The Games saw a record of 136 nations participating with a record-breaking 3,969 athletes. To admire the strength and ability of Paralympic athletes, their morale and willpower, their courage and tenacity. Watching these athletes compete, certainly provided others with inspiration.

Of the many inspiring athletes, Andreas Potamitis of Cyprus stands out. He competed in the 50-metre swimming freestyle final during the Athens Paralympic Games at the Olympic Aquatic Center with no arms, which is as a result of congenital Amelia - which is the absence of upper limbs at birth. His determination and persistence are his main philosophies in life, and he demonstrated that by competing in swimming, of all sports, which usually relies heavily on the use of the arms. Other high achievers included 33-year-old cerebral palsy Canadian athlete, Paul Gauthier, who won the gold medal in that same race, after defeating world champion Santiago Pesquera of Spain. Athens Mayor, Dora Bakoyanni referred to the athletes who took part in the Games saying, "they [Paralympic athletes] set an inspiring example by their willpower and their ability to overcome difficulties."

USA - Hemingway's secret life

Ernest Hemingway's daughter-in-law, Valerie Danby-Smith, was a 19-year-old Irish woman who met him in Madrid hotel in 1969 and became his secretary for the last years of his life and also became his daughter-in-law when she wedded his son Gregory. After three years since the death of her husband and more than 40 years since her father-in-law committed suicide in July 2, 1961, the 64-year-old Valerie Danby-Smith wrote a book entitled, Running With the Bulls, contains her memoirs. In the book, she exposes the bitter truths about the lives of both Ernest Hemingway and his son Gregory. She describes the condition of the acclaimed writer in his last years, when she accompanied Ernest Hemingway and his wife in Cuba, where he wrote his famous novel, The Old Man and the Sea. Ms. Danby-Smith married Gregory Hemingway five years after his father's funeral. In addition to Ernest Hemingway's psychological condition, Ms. Danby-Smith describes in her book how her husband suffered from severe manic-depressive illness requiring electric shock therapy. He also struggled with depression and double life, which eventually led to their divorce in 1987, after having three children together. Furthermore, she discloses the shocking information that in the 1990s, her ex-husband had a sex change operation, becoming Gloria Hemingway and in 2002, Gloria was arrested by police for indecent exposure, and died 5-days later from heart disease in a woman's prison pending a trial.

UAE - Sheik Zayid Al-Nahyan's legacy

Sheik Zayid bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the first ruler of the United Arab Emirated, died on Tuesday in his mid-80s after a long illness including a kidney transplant in 2000. Sheikh Zayid's death caused grief among his people who held him in high esteem after ruling for 33 years, and in the Arab world where his traditional generosity, moderation and diplomacy won him a prominent place. He is credited for unifying the seven emirates into the UAE and for supporting many agricultural projects in the Arab world including those in Sinai and the re-building of Ma'arib's Dam in Yemen.

French President Jacques Chirac described the late Sheikh Zayed as a man of wisdom and peace while US Secretary of State Colin Powell said in a condolence statement saying that "Shaikh Zayid was a model of generosity, wisdom and leadership. The whole world knew him as a man of development, justice and civilization." Shaikh Zayid's eldest son, Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayid bin Sultan Al Nahyan, has been appointed by the leaders of all the countries emirates to take over as ruler of the capital Abu Dhabi. Sheikh Zayed's country of 4 million people now has one of the world's highest per capita incomes.

China - South American wins Miss World

Miss Peru, Maria Julia Mantilla Garcia (20-years-old), was chosen Miss World 2004, ahead of contestants from the Dominican Republic and the United States at a beauty pageant held in China for the second time. She beat Claudia Julissa Cruz-Rodriguez (18-years-old) from the Dominican Republic and Nancy Randall (24-years-old) from the United States to take the crown. This contest, held in the resort town of Sanya in the tropical island province of Hainan, saw 107 beauty queens parade their looks and talents at the Beauty Crown Theatre and for the first time, be selected by television viewers worldwide who picked the winner via telephone, SMS text and Internet voting. Previously the winner was chosen by a panel of judges. Maria Mantilla Garcia will replace the current holder of the crown, Miss Ireland Rosanna Davison, daughter of "Lady in Red" pop crooner Chris de Burgh.

Edinburgh, Scotland - Advanced course in elderly medicine

The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is arranging a new 5-day course for 30 consultants, specialists, and senior trainees in elderly medicine from around the world. Each day will focus on a single clinical topic: falls/osteoporosis, heart failure, diabetes mellitus, delirium/dementia, and infections in the elderly. Prof. Neil Douglas, the president of the RCPE mentioned that, "the College is now developing improved postgraduate education for physicians and Modernizing Medical Careers." This geriatric course will build on a tradition of promotion of cooperation between geriatricians in the UK and other countries. Information on the RCPE and its activities are available at www.rcpe.ac.uk.

Oslo, Norway - First African women to win Nobel Peace Prize

The first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize has accepted her award to the beat of drums and dancers that broke with the usual ceremony. Kenyan Wangari Maathai, 64-year-old Kenyan environmental activist, urged her audience "to embrace the whole creation in all its diversity, beauty and wonder," warning that if the environment was not protected, peace would forever remain endangered. "We are called to assist the Earth to heal her wounds and in the process heal our own indeed, to embrace the whole creation in all its diversity, beauty and wonder," added Maathai after receiving the traditional gold medal and diploma that accompanies the 10 million kronor prize.

Ole Danbolt Mjoes, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, described her as "an extraordinary example for women throughout Africa, throughout the world." She was granted the prize for her role in founding the Green Belt Movement, which has sought to empower women, improve the environment and fight corruption in Africa for nearly 30 years. Interestingly, in 2003, the peace prize was given to Iranian human rights activist Shirin Ebadi, the first Muslim woman to receive this prestigious honor. The peace prize is presented in Oslo, while the other Nobel prizes are awarded in the Swedish capital of Stockholm.

Congo - Doctors Without Borders Leading Anti-AIDS Campaigns

In the war-ravished city of Bukavu in eastern Congo, Medicins sans Fronteirs (MSF) is providing life-saving treatment to 154 people with AIDS (soon the number will rise to 500). Dr. Heater Culbert of Vancouver is the MSF doctor who runs the AIDS clinic. She also aims to replicate this effort in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where an estimated 4 million people have died of the disease since 1998. The UN estimates the Congolese HIV rate at about 1.6 million people, and that 100,000 people are dying from AIDS each year. There are lots of widows and widowers. Many also suffer from malaria and tuberculosis. In the photo, the Canadian doctor talks with two of her patients who are receiving anti-retroviral drugs.

Kuwait - International geneticists meet in the KMGC

The First Kuwait International Medical Genetics Conference will be held on the 25the anniversary of the Kuwait Medical Genetics Centre (KMGC). Dr. Sadika A. Al-Awadi, MD (Dublin), FRCP, the founder and director of the KMGC (http://www.safat.com/kgc.html)emphasized the need for this conference to be multidisciplinary, discussing clinical, biochemical, and molecular genetics, in addition to cytogenetics, genetic counseling and community genetics. Several distinguished international and Arab geneticists have been invited to contribute in this conference. Coverage of the event and a historiography of the KMGC will be covered by The Ambassadors Magazine in coming issues.