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☆ Egypt’s pyramids host breathtaking new art exhibit
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Francesca Perry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

In one project, a new pyramid structure emerges in wicker; in another, glass sculptures appear to make the ancient pyramids float on water. Organized by Nadine Abdel Ghaffar, the founder and curator of Cairo-based arts firm Art D’Égypte, the event aims to celebrate ancient Egyptian culture through contemporary creativity. “I’ve always been fascinated by the Pyramids of Giza and the entire ancient Egyptian culture — the mysticism around it, the enigmas,” Zeta said. Courtesy CulturVator - Art D'E“Translucent Pyramid” by Saudi artist Rashed Al-Shashai, adds a new, 6m-tall pyramid to the plateau. Conceived as seemingly archaeological fragments of a labyrinth, each one is decorated with perforated motifs taken from historic diagrams of the ancient Egyptian labyrinth.

Persons: Nadine Abdel Ghaffar, D’Égypte, Artur Lescher, ”, Pilar Zeta, I’ve, ” Zeta, Carole A, Sabine Marcelis, ” Marcelis, Stephan Breuer French, Glass, Costas Varotsos, Rashed Al, Sam Shendi, Azza Al Qubaisi, D'E Rashid Al Khalifa, JR, – Organizations: CNN, UNESCO, Bahraini, JR Locations: Giza, Egypt, Cairo, Brazil, Mexico, Argentinian, French, Saudi

☆ New SAT Data Highlights the Deep Inequality at the Heart of American Education
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Claire Cain Miller | Francesca Paris | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +13 min

When we account for how few poor students take the test, by looking at all students, a new and greater disparity emerges. It’s a reflection of an inequality in American education that starts long before high school. New SAT Data Highlights the Deep Inequality at the Heart of American EducationNew data shows, for the first time at this level of detail, how much students’ standardized test scores rise with their parents' incomes — and how disparities start years before students sit for tests. And in the last five decades, as the country has become more unequal by income, the gap in children’s academic achievement, as measured by test scores throughout schooling, has widened. Parenting in places with less income inequality and more public investment in families is more playful and relaxed, research shows.

Persons: ”, Sean Reardon, Reardon, “, —, John N, Friedman, Brown, Raj Chetty, David J . Deming, Deming, Ann Owens, Owens, Rich, Chetty, “ It’s, Nate G, Hilger, Drew Angerer, Robert Putnam, “ ‘, you’re, “ They’ve, they’ve, Jesse Rothstein Organizations: ACT, of American Education, Opportunity, Harvard, Stanford Graduate School of Education, Chetty, University of Southern, Research, The New York Times, University of California Locations: University of Southern California, Berkeley

[1/3] FILE PHOTO:Surgeon Rosanna Curinga walks out of Locri Hospital, in Locri, southern Italy, August 27, 2023. Italy's health ministry declined to provide further details. People are leaving Italy because of it," said Professor Foad Aodi, head of the Italian association of foreign doctors. The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the failings of the national health service in Italy, which suffered the second-highest death toll from the pandemic in Europe after Britain. Higher salaries and better working conditions elsewhere are also proving a lure for Italy's own medical professionals, Italy's health unions say, exacerbating staff shortages.

Persons: Rosanna Curinga, Curinga, Abdel Karim Boutimah, Elizabeth Balbuena Delgado, Delgado, Orazio Schillaci, Schillaci, Giorgia Meloni, Andrea Filippi, Foad Aodi, Roberto Occhiuto, Occhiuto, Lorenzo Grillo Della Berta, Antonio De Palma, Francesca Piscioneri, Crispian Balmer, Rupam Nair, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Locri, Cuban, Indian Health Ministry, Italian, Economic Co, Development, Reuters, Union, OECD, Thomson Locations: Locri, Italy, Calabria, Communist Cuba, Africa, Asia, South America, Europe, Santiago de Cuba, Italy's, India, Paris, France, Germany, Britain, Havana, COVID, Morbegno, Milan, Peru, Switzerland, Abu Dhabi, Antonio De Palma ., Cuba, Rome, Delhi

☆ Partnership With China More Important Than Belt and Road-Italy's Tajani
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

ROME (Reuters) - A strategic partnership between Italy and China would be more valuable than a deal such as the Belt and Road initiative, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Wednesday addressing Parliament. "A strategic partnership involves all sectors, so it is more important than single bilateral agreements such as the Silk Road (Belt and Road), which so far is unsatisfactory in terms of exports and investment," Tajani said. An Italian official close to the matter said that during his visit to China Tajani signalled the possibility for Italy to pull out from the BRI deal while stressing the desire to keep strong ties with Beijing. On Wednesday Tajani repeated that the Italian government would consult parliament before finalising its position on the issue. After meeting Tajani in Beijing this week, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said cooperation with Italy had been fruitful despite Italian scepticism.

Persons: Antonio Tajani, Tajani, Xi Jinping, China Tajani, Wang Yi, Francesca Piscioneri, Keith Weir, Federico Maccioni, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Italian, Tajani, China's Locations: ROME, Italy, China, China's, Beijing

☆ Partnership with China more important than Belt and Road-Italy's Tajani
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FILE PHOTO-Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani addresses the opening session on the first day of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London, Britain June 21, 2023. Henry Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsROME, Sept 6 (Reuters) - A strategic partnership between Italy and China would be more valuable than a deal such as the Belt and Road initiative, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Wednesday addressing Parliament. "A strategic partnership involves all sectors, so it is more important than single bilateral agreements such as the Silk Road (Belt and Road), which so far is unsatisfactory in terms of exports and investment," Tajani said. On Wednesday Tajani repeated that the Italian government would consult parliament before finalising its position on the issue. After meeting Tajani in Beijing this week, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said cooperation with Italy had been fruitful despite Italian scepticism.

Persons: Antonio Tajani, Henry Nicholls, Tajani, Xi Jinping, China Tajani, Wang Yi, Francesca Piscioneri, Keith Weir, Federico Maccioni, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Conference, Rights, Italian, Tajani, China's, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, London, Britain, Italy, China, China's, Beijing

☆ Opinion | Does Free Speech Protect Trump’s Election Lies?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Thomas B. Edsall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

But, Hasen argued:“Trump did not just state the false claims; he allegedly used the false claims to engage in a conspiracy to steal the election. There is no First Amendment right to use speech to subvert an election, any more than there is a First Amendment right to use speech to bribe, threaten, or intimidate.”Francesca Procaccini, a law professor at Vanderbilt, shares the view that in the contemporary political environment, there needs to be more regulation of speech. In an email, she wrote:The left is split on how to respond to misinformation precisely because the left is historically committed to free speech and also to uplifting marginalized voices. Now, many on the left have increasingly come to understand that speech itself (whether false speech or hate speech) is also detrimental to marginalized communities. It concluded that “states and public-sector unions may no longer extract agency fees (partial union dues) from nonconsenting employees.”

Persons: Hasen, Trump Will, ” Hasen, Jack Smith, Donald Trump, Trump, “ Trump, ” Francesca Procaccini, ” Procaccini, “, ”, ” Catherine MacKinnon, ” MacKinnon, misogynists, MacKinnon, Elena Kagan Organizations: “, Trump, Vanderbilt, Citizens, University of Michigan, . State, Municipal Employees Locations: “ U.S, Janus, ., County

☆ Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's former showman leader, dies at 86
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Valentina Di Donato Barbie Latza Nadeau Laura Smith-Spark Peter Wilkinson Antonia Mortensen Rob Picheta | Valentina Di Donato | Barbie Latza Nadeau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

Umberto Cicconi/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Berlusconi swims at a Tunisian beach in 1984. Umberto Cicconi/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Berlusconi leaves a 1985 news conference in Paris. Franco Origlia/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Berlusconi announced in November 1993 that he would be entering the world of politics. Franco Origlia/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Berlusconi waves while attending a European Council meeting in Corfu, Greece, in June 1994. Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images Berlusconi hands the Berlusconi Trophy to AC Milan's Massimo Ambrosini in August 2011.

Persons: Rome, Rome CNN — Silvio Berlusconi, Christ, ”, Berlusconi, Milan’s, Benito Mussolini, “ Il Cavaliere ”, Milan, Giorgia Meloni, Matteo Salvini, Silvio Berlusconi, Alessandra Benedetti, Eric Vandeville, Indro Montanelli, Umberto Cicconi, Italy's, Michel Clement, Francis Apesteguy, Veronica Lario, Franco Origlia, Langevin Jacques, Sygma, Cesare Previti, Pope John Paul II, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Veronica, William Stevens, Barbara, Eleonora, Oscar Scalfaro, Patrick Hertzog, Romano Prodi, Alberto Pizzoli, Giuseppe Cacace, Gregorio Borgia, Associated Press Berlusconi, Vittorio Zunino Celotto, Massimo Ambrosini, Claudio Villa, Dan Kitwood, preliminarily, Filippo Monteforte, Alessia Pierdomenico, Remo Casilli, Reuters Berlusconi, Giuseppe Lami, Angelo Carconi, Emanuele Cremaschi, Tiziana Fabi, Luigi Brugnaro, Renato Brunetta, Piero Cruciatti, Hungary’s Viktor Orban, Britain’s Boris Johnson, Donald Trump, “ Berlusconi, ” Severgnini, ” Meloni, Claudia Greco, Prodi –, –, Berlusconi’s, Ignazio La Russa, “, Gianfranco Fini –, FILIPPO MONTEFORTE, Vladimir Putin, Volodymr Zelensky, Nobel, salesmanship ’, Jesus Christ, Severgnini, il, salesmanship, Francesca Pascale, Del, Pavarotti, ” Berlusconi, Marina, Carla Dall’Oglio, Luigi Organizations: Rome CNN, Milan’s San Raffaele, Forza Italia, Freedom, Italian, Getty, Canale, AC Milan, Berlusconi, Romano, Associated Press, Associated, Bloomberg, Reuters, Venice, Anadolu Agency, RAI, Media, Milano, Milan –, world’s, Forza Italia Party, Forza, soccer team, Northern League Party, European, Union coalition, Sporting, della, PM, “, ”, Del Monaco Locations: Milan, Paris, AFP, Naples, Italy, Rome, Corfu, Greece, Tatanto, Cannes, France, Italy's, Venice, Italy's Senate, Monza, Lombardy, ”, L’Aquila, Milan’s, Italian, Europe, Ukraine

☆ See the States That Have Passed Laws Directed at Young Trans People
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Francesca Paris | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Not all the laws passed this year have gone into effect yet. Several states have prohibited only certain parts of gender-affirming care. Advocates for trans care have sued in numerous states over these laws, and other Democratic-led states have passed laws protecting transition care for young people. The bill led some providers of gender-affirming care to temporarily suspend their services to adults. And several states have banned Medicaid from covering transition care for adults.

Organizations: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, Democratic Locations: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Nebraska, West

[1/4] Military officers assist a person on a dinghy after heavy rains hit Italy's Emilia Romagna region, in Faenza, Italy, May 18. "Climate change is here and we are living the consequences. Last July, an ice avalanche in the Italian Alps killed 11 people following a heatwave that exacerbated the worst drought that Italy has suffered for at least 70 years. "A climate change adaptation policy that goes beyond how to handle emergencies and considers the effects of ordinary planning is increasingly urgent," it said in a statement. Italy's national civil protection agency estimates that 94% of the country's municipalities are prone to natural disasters - making it inconceivable to protect everyone from the dangers of climate change.

☆ Springsteen draws criticism for not cancelling Italy gig after deadly floods
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] American rock star Bruce Springsteen gestures during a concert of the European tour at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona, Spain, April 28, 2023. REUTERS/Albert GeaROME, May 18 (Reuters) - U.S. rock legend Bruce Springsteen came under criticism in Italy for going ahead with a concert in Ferrara on Thursday evening after the northern Emilia-Romagna region was battered by floods that left at least nine people dead. "@springsteen please consider to reschedule your concert today. Representatives for Springsteen did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reporting by Francesca Piscioneri; editing by Alvise Armellini and Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/6] Firefighters work next to a flooded car, after heavy rains hit Italy's Emilia Romagna region, in Faenza, Italy, May 18, 2023. "We are facing a new earthquake," Emilia-Romagna President Stefano Bonaccini told reporters, recalling the seismic events that struck the region in 2012, destroying thousands of homes. The government has promised an extra 20 million euros ($22 million) in emergency aid, on top of the 10 million euros allocated in response to previous floods two weeks ago, which killed at least two people. At least 10,000 people were forced to leave their homes, and many of those who remained in flooded areas were left with no electricity. Heavy rains followed months of drought which had dried out the land, reducing its capacity to absorb water, meteorologists said.

CASTEL BOLOGNESE, Italy, May 18 (Reuters) - Floods that killed at least 13 people in Italy's northern Emilia-Romagna region caused billions of euros' worth of damage and hit agriculture particularly hard, the regional governor said on Thursday. "We are facing a new earthquake," Emilia-Romagna President Stefano Bonaccini told reporters, recalling the seismic events that struck the region in 2012, destroying thousands of homes. The government has promised an extra 20 million euros ($22 million) in emergency aid, on top of the 10 million euros allocated in response to previous floods two weeks ago, which killed at least two people. [1/6] Firefighters work next to a flooded car, after heavy rains hit Italy's Emilia Romagna region, in Faenza, Italy, May 18. Heavy rains followed months of drought which had dried out the land, reducing its capacity to absorb water, meteorologists said.

☆ Italy to allow ChatGPT to return if OpenAI takes 'useful steps'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, April 18 (Reuters) - Italy's data protection watchdog is ready to allow the return of the ChatGPT chatbot at the end of April if its maker OpenAI takes "useful steps" to address the agency's concerns, the authority's chief Pasquale Stanzione said in an interview published on Tuesday. Microsoft Corp-backed (MSFT.O) OpenAI took ChatGPT offline in Italy in late March after the watchdog temporarily restricted its personal data processing and began a probe into a suspected breach of privacy rules. "We are ready to reopen ChatGPT on April 30 if there is a willingness on the part of OpenAI to take useful steps. The data protection body led by Stanzione last week set out a list of demands which it said OpenAI must meet by April 30 to address its concerns. Italy was the first western European country to curb ChatGPT, but its rapid development has attracted attention from lawmakers and regulators in several countries.

☆ Bans on Transition Care for Young People Spread Across U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Francesca Paris | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Florida’s state medical boards also issued a rule last year prohibiting doctors from offering gender-affirming care to new patients under 18. Though not a law, the decree has the same effect of ending care. Two more state legislatures, in Oklahoma and South Carolina, have successfully pushed major hospitals to stop providing gender-affirming care for minors by linking the care to the use of public funds. And hospitals have faced significant harassment for providing gender-affirming care in the last few years. Republican state legislators have called gender-affirming care experimental and harmful, and say that children are not mature enough to make permanent decisions.

☆ 35 Ways Real People Are Using A.I. Right Now
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Francesca Paris | Larry Buchanan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +24 min

People are using ChatGPT and other A.I. Here’s how 35 real people are using A.I for work, life, play and procrastination. People are using A.I to …Plan gardens. Chris Norn Researcher at the University of Washington Two years ago researchers cracked the code on using A.I. When you run a Dungeons & Dragons game, Mr. Green says, you have to be creative, but that almost always means pulling from existing fantasy literature.

In recent weeks authorities made it harder for same-sex couples to be legal parents and lawmakers proposed an anti-surrogacy law widely seen as targeting gay couples. In January, the government issued orders that municipalities stop the registration of most children with same-sex parents, complicating access to schooling and medical services. Rainbow Families, a group representing same-sex parents in Italy, says its members are parents to around 1,500 children, but that this underestimates the national total. In some places, already-registered children of same-sex families are now being erased from the records, upon the initiative of prosecutors. In similar cases previously, judges have routinely ruled against same-sex parents.

☆ Israel offers Italy gas, wants it to recognise Jerusalem as capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, March 9 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to boost economic ties with Italy, he said ahead of a visit to the country, raising the prospect of supplying Rome with natural gas. "I would like to see more economic cooperation (between Israel and Italy) ... In June last year, Israel and Egypt signed a deal with the European Union aimed at boosting natural gas exports to Europe. He also told la Repubblica he would ask Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Israel claims Jerusalem as its capital but it is not recognised as such by most countries and its status under international law is disputed pending a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

☆ Venice Biennale to honour British musician Brian Eno
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, March 8 (Reuters) - Brian Eno, the renowned British musician and visual artist who has worked with Talking Heads, U2 and David Bowie, will receive the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement from the Venice Biennale 2023, the organiser said on Wednesday. Eno, 74, who describes himself as a 'non-musician', came to prominence in the early 1970s as a founding member of the band Roxy Music. He is best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop and electronica. The music department of the Venice Biennale decided to honour Eno "for his research into the quality, beauty and diffusion of digital sound and for his conception of the acoustic space as a compositional instrument," the statement said. Eno will be given the award at a ceremony on Oct.22 as part of Biennale Musica 2023 in Venice.

☆ Starbucks offers a dash of olive oil with its coffee in Italy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] A drink infused with extra virgin olive oil is displayed at a Starbucks cafe in Milan, Italy, February 22, 2023. REUTERS/Alex FraserMILAN, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Starbucks (SBUX.O) has launched a new drink that mixes coffee with olive oil, offering it initially in Italy as an alternative to the more standard espresso or cappuccino. The so-called "Oleato" beverages are made with arabica coffee "infused with a spoonful of Partanna cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil," Starbucks, the world's largest coffee chain, said in a statement. Young drinkers at Starbucks flagship coffee shop in central Milan gave the initiative a qualified approval. Stefania Battagli, 22, said the coffee had a little too much oil for her tastes.

☆ Popes are for life, resignations should not become a fashion, Francis says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Pope Francis looks at the coffin of former Pope Benedict during his funeral, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, January 5, 2023. REUTERS/Yara NardiVATICAN CITY, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Pope Francis has said that pontiffs resigning instead of ruling for life should not become a "fashion" in the Roman Catholic Church and happen only in truly exceptional circumstances. "This does not, however, in any way mean that popes retiring should become, let's say, a fashion, a normal thing," he said. In 2013, Pope Benedict, citing frail physical and mental health, became the first pontiff to resign in 600 years. The tone of Francis' comments to the African Jesuits was in a marked contrast to that which Francis used in the past when discussing the possible resignations of popes, including himself.

☆ Can China Reverse Its Population Decline? Just Ask Sweden.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Andrew Jacobs | Francesca Paris | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

China’s population has begun to decline, a demographic turning point for the country that has global implications. Experts had long anticipated this moment, but it arrived in 2022 several years earlier than expected, prompting hand-wringing among economists over the long-term impacts given the country’s immense economic heft and its role as the world’s manufacturer. With 850,000 fewer births than deaths last year, at least according to the country’s official report, China joined an expanding set of nations with shrinking populations caused by years of falling fertility and often little or even negative net migration, a group that includes Italy, Greece and Russia, along with swaths of Eastern and Southern Europe and several Asian nations like South Korea and Japan.

Locations: China, Italy, Greece, Russia, Southern Europe, South Korea, Japan

☆ You Call That Snow?! See How This Winter Stacks Up.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Francesca Paris | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

If so, you’re not alone: It has been a dreary winter for children hoping for snow days and grown-up snow enthusiasts alike on the East Coast. More than 50 years of snowfall in … Interactive line chart showing cumulative snowfall for each winter season over 50 years, as well as the median snowfall for all seasons. Line chart showing Philadelphia’s cumulative snowfall for each winter season over 50 years. Loading dataLine chart showing Boston’s cumulative snowfall for each winter season over 50 years. Milwaukee Pittsburgh Providence, R.I. Pueblo, Colo. Richmond, Va. Rockford, Ill. St. Louis Topeka, Kan. About normal snow Anchorage Boise, Idaho Colorado Springs Columbia, Mo.

☆ LVMH could pick Pietro Beccari as new Louis Vuitton CEO - paper
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ROME/PARIS, Jan 11 (Reuters) - The world's largest luxury group LVMH (LVMH.PA) could pick Pietro Beccari as new CEO of Louis Vuitton, the flagship brand of the French group, according to a media report on Wednesday. Italian Repubblica daily reported that Beccari, who took over as chairman and CEO of Dior Couture in 2018, could replace Michael Burke after LVMH will release its 2022 results. Officials at LVMH could not be immediately reached for comment. Reporting by Francesca Piscioneri in Rome and Geert de Clercq in Paris, editing Federico MaccioniOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The Tom Brady of Other Jobs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Francesca Paris | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +17 min

Meet them, and decide for yourself:The Tom Brady of Paramedics Jesse Izaguirre, 70Gardena, Calif.Jesse Izaguirre loves working with younger paramedics. Hopefully never.”The Tom Brady of Bakers Helen Fletcher, 83Clayton, Mo. Chalk it up to a great big fib.”The Tom Brady of Artists Lilian Thomas Burwell, 95Highland Beach, Md. “I should’ve signed them.”The Tom Brady of Biologists Maria Elena Zavala, 72Los AngelesProfessional longevity runs in Maria Elena Zavala’s family. It didn’t vanish when they crossed the border.”The Tom Brady of Loggers Earl Pollock, 82Hamburg, Ark.

But the Inflation Reduction Act, which represents about a third of the spending, was passed by Democrats alone. The White House is still pushing a more expansive child tax credit that was not included in the Inflation Reduction Act. Here’s a detailed look at what Mr. Biden wanted and what he got:Climate and Environment Proposed $722 billion Passed $509 billionOn climate, the Biden administration got much of what it wanted. Health Care Proposed $563 billion Passed $412 billionOn health care, there were some victories for the president — and much trimming. The family programs were eliminated largely because of concerns from Mr. Manchin about the overall size of what became the Inflation Reduction Act.

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