Le Weekend: Cannes’ #MoiAussi Moment, Braille For Your Back, World’s Youngest Artist

🎲  OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ

What do you remember from the news this week?

1. Vladimir Putin visited which world leader in his first foreign trip since his election to a fourth term?

2. The prime minister of which European country was shot five times in an assassination attempt?

3. What Neil Young song did U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken play in a Kyiv nightclub this week?

4. Who was first to climb the red-carpeted stairs as the Cannes Film Festival kicked off?
Meryl Streep / Messi the dog / Greta Gerwig / Camille Cottin

[Answers at the bottom of this newsletter]

#️⃣  TRENDING

A live “video portal” virtually connecting Dublin to New York has been temporarily shut due to unruly behavior. The livestream artwork has a circular, 8 foot wide screen that allows people to see but not hear each other, leading to what Dublin city council said was “inappropriate behavior by a small minority of people.” The art installation has become a global phenomenon and source of controversy since its launch on May 8, with an OnlyFans model lifting her shirt in New York and people in Dublin displaying swastikas and images of 9/11. The portal was switched off on Tuesday at 10 p.m., and it should be turned back on later this week.

🎭  5 CULTURE THINGS TO KNOW

• The Cannes Film Festival celebrates female star power amid “Moi Aussi” moment. French actor Juliette Binoche broke into tears as she delivered an honorary Palme d’Or to Hollywood icon Meryl Streep, who made her first appearance at Cannes in 35 years. There was also a tribute to Greta Gerwig, the first American female filmmaker to serve as president of the Cannes jury. Much of the drama surrounding the festival has been off screen, against the backdrop of a belated #MeToo moment in the French film industry, launched earlier this year when French actor Judith Godrèche accused two film directors of raping and sexual abusing her when she was a teenager. Her short film “Moi Aussi” (“Me Too” in French) premiered on Wednesday.

• In memoriam: Grammy-winning jazz saxophonist David Sanborn, who played with the likes of David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Bruce Springsteen, died on Sunday at 78 after a long fight with prostate cancer. Nobel Prize-winning author Alice Munro, known as “Canada's Chekhov,” died at 92 on Monday.

• King Charles unveils his first official portrait since coronation. The vast oil on canvas, by British artist Jonathan Yeo, depicts Charles against a vivid red background, wearing the uniform of the Welsh Guards military unit with a butterfly above his shoulder. Yeo said he wanted “to make reference to the traditions of Royal portraiture in a way that reflects a 21st Century Monarchy.” The portrait has proven to be controversial on social media, with one commenter on the royal family’s Instagram account writing: “Looks like he’s going straight to hell.”

• Senegal retrieves Senghor’s library from France. The Senegalese government bought 344 books that were owned by former President Leopold Senghor, who was the first president of independent Senegal (from 1960-1980). At the request of Senghor’s family, the books were going to be auctioned in France. As the Senegalese ambassador to France said, “We believe that Senghor himself constitutes an inheritance: Senegal’s heritage, Africa’s heritage, the world’s heritage.” The books are set to be exhibited in a museum dedicated to Senghor’s life.

• Meet the world’s youngest artist. Ace Liam, a 1-year-old Ghanaian who began painting when he was 6 months old, clinched the Guinness World Record for the Youngest Male Artist on Tuesday. The abstract artist has completed some 20 paintings and participated in his first exhibition, where a total of 10 of his artworks were displayed and put up for sale. The previous record was set in 2003 by then 3-year-old Dante Lamb from the U.S.

💥 The unprecedented crisis Gaza sparked for moderate Arab countries

The moderate Arab states, which include Egypt, Jordan and a number of Gulf states, are intent on finding a peaceful resolution to the Palestinian cause to avert negative consequences that may result from Israel’s complete military control over Gaza. The moderation camp is also driven by the economic damage the conflict has caused to the region as a whole — Egypt in particular due to its relative economic fragility and geographical proximity. But right now, Sherif Younis writes in Egypt-based news website Al-Manassa, “the long-held aspirations of the Arab moderation camp to fulfill the two-state solution appear farther away than ever.”

Read the full story: The Gaza War Has Left Moderate Arab Countries Stranded In Their Own Region

🇹🇷 What Turkey still needs for Erdogan’s normalization to be a “win-win” 

After its defeat in municipal elections in March, the ruling party of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has reopened a dialogue with the main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), following years of ruling by sheer political power. A surprise announcement which has generated warm praise but also harsh criticism from within the opposition, with some claiming that CHP is being duped by Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP). The move has been touted as normalization of the Turkish political system, but for Ihsan Dagi, writing for Turkish news site Diken, there's still much work to be done, and trust to be regained.

Read the full story: The Meaning Of "Normalization" In Erdogan's Turkey

⛪ Replacing Notre-Dame stained glass windows? Jamais!

Ahead of Notre Dame Cathedral's reopening in December 2024, a proposal by President Macron to replace six 19th-century stained glass windows with new panels has sparked outcry. Born in France in the Middle Ages, at the time of cathedrals, stained glass is not exactly new to controversy, reports Florence Bauchard in Paris-based daily Les Echos. Yet several artists, from Matisse to Chagall, Garouste and Soulages have managed to unite the sacred and the contemporary in religious buildings, with stained glass that is now admired and saluted.

Read the full story: Inside The "New" Notre Dame, Stained Glass As Contemporary Art

👓 BRIGHT IDEA

Rémi du Charlard won France’s top innovation contest with his prototype allowing the visually impaired to gain autonomy. The invention uses a sensor placed on glasses linked to a belt to “draw images on the skin of the back. It’s full of tiny pins that play on the sense of touch to transmit the images.” A visually impaired young man who tested the prototype said it promised autonomy without the need for a white cane.

👑 SMILE OF THE WEEK

Taiwanese drag queen Nymphia Wind celebrated her historic victory on Rupaul's Drag Race with a showstopping performance at the Taiwan’s Presidential office. Nymphia is the first East Asian winner of RuPaul's Drag Race and proudly championed her cultural background throughout her time on the show. Dressed as a yellow water lily, Nymphia went for a bit of lip sync to Lady Gaga’s “Marry The Night” and Taiwanese singer Huang Fei’s “Chase, Chase, Chase” in front of the outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen.

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⏩  LOOKING AHEAD

• Dominican Republic general elections are set to be held on Sunday. President Luis Abinader is expected to be reelected, supported by his tough stance on migration. Abinader’s main opponent is former President Leonel Fernandez, who served three four-year terms in office (1996-2000, 2004-2008 and 2008-2012).

• Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will be in Japan from May 20 to 23 to meet with Emperor Naruhito and hold talks with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. They are set to discuss bilateral cooperation on decarbonization-related technologies and the situation in the Gaza Strip.

• Moldova is expected to sign a security pact with the European Union next week that will allow it to participate in joint military exercises and join the EU’s collective weapons procurement efforts, strengthening its defense strategy against Russia. According to the proposal, Moldova and the EU will also broaden and elevate the classification level of shared intelligence.

⁉️ WHAT THE WORLD

From four sheep beginning their pursuit for knowledge in France to a German politician's complete breakdown, take a quick world tour of the internationally weird!

News quiz answers:

1. During a state visit to Beijing, Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for China's efforts to mediate the Ukraine conflict. Xi emphasized hopes for European peace and pledged to play a constructive role.

2. Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico survived after being shot five times at close range on Wednesday. The 59-year-old politician is now in stable but “very serious” condition after five hours of surgery. Fico was shot while among its supporters in Handlova and a suspect has been detained.

3. U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken visited Kyiv to assure Ukrainians that America will support them. To do so, he went to a bar and interpreted Neil Young’s 1989 hit “Rockin’ In The Free World.”

4. The first star to arrive on the red carpet at the 77th Cannes Film Festival was none other than Messi the dog, from Justine Triet’s movie “Anatomy of a Fall.”

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*Photo: Ace Liam/IG