Le Weekend: Burning Man Investigation, Beetlejuicy Venice Film Festival, Sunset Hack

🎲  OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ

What do you remember from the news this week?

1. In what country has Telegram founder Pavel Durov been charged for “allowing criminal activity” on his messaging app?

2. Which politician from a famous American family has suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed Donald Trump?

3. What did a four-year-old boy do at the Hetch Museum in Haifa, Israel? He got trapped in a sarcophagus / He doodled on a Van Gogh / He smashed a 3,500-year-old jar / He set fire to a Dead Sea scroll

4. Which country music icon and philanthropist was awarded Kentucky’s highest civilian award?

[Answers at the bottom of this newsletter]

#️⃣  TRENDING

During his recent tour of Washington D.C.,TikTok food critic Keith Lee, who boasts 16.5 million followers, praised Dukem — a popular Ethiopian restaurant on U Street — calling it "the best food we've had in D.C." He rated their short ribs a 9/10 and left generous tips for the staff. His visit followed a viral TikTok video by Lydia Tefera, daughter of the restaurant's owners, who expressed concerns about the family business potentially closing due to slow sales. After Lee's visit, Dukem saw a surge in business, even selling out of injera, a flatbread staple. But Lee’s overall impression of D.C.'s food scene was mixed; while he celebrated Dukem, he described many other spots as “unimpressive,” noting a focus on alcohol that left non-drinkers with limited dining options.

🎭  5 CULTURE THINGS TO KNOW

• Venice Film festival opens in Tim Burton fashion. The 81st edition of the international film festival kicked off on Wednesday with the world premiere of Tim Burton’s new film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. The long-awaited sequel to the classic 1988 comedy horror film is one of this year’s most anticipated Hollywood releases. After a low-wattage 2023 edition, the 11-day event will debut a number of other highly-anticipated movies, including Maria, with Angelina Jolie playing the opera diva Maria Callas, Joker: Folie à Deux starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, and Spanish director Pedro Almodovar's first English-language film, The Room Next Door, starring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore.

• Oasis reunites and announces 2025 tour. Brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, of the iconic English rock band Oasis that split up back in 2009, announced they had buried the hatchet and would embark on a 14-date tour next year, a reunion that had many a Britpop fan pop the champagne (supernova).

• Bad Bunny signs on to new Aronofsky film. The Puerto Rican music sensation is collaborating with Austin Butler and Zoë Kravitz in Darren Aronofsky’s crime thriller, Caught Stealing. Bad Bunny, also known as Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, has appeared in the 2021 Netflix series Narcos: Mexico, the 2022 David Leitch action flick Bullet Train, and the Amazon film Cassandro. His character has not yet been revealed in the forthcoming Aronofsky film, which Sony Pictures is supporting and is based the novel of the same name by Charles Hutson.

• Burning Man opens in tragedy. Authorities are investigating the death of a female participant on the first day of the week-long large-scale event in Black Rock Desert, Nevada. Some 70,000 people are expected to attend this 38th edition.

• The Paris Paralympics get under way. Athletes from around the world have gathered in Paris again for the 17th Paralympic Games, which opened on Wednesday with a ceremony on the French capital’s Place de la Concorde and Champs Elysées. Over 11 days, some 4,400 athletes with intellectual, visual or physical impairments will compete for gold in 22 sports.

🕳️ Inside Hezbollah’s tunnel vision

Hezbollah's Imad 4 underground missile facility, which was revealed on Aug. 16, is just another layer of the Lebanese tragedy. Writer and journalist Hazem El-Amin tells Beirut-based, Arabic-language media Daraj how the footage brings back memories of his experience during the Lebanese Civil War.

Read the full story: Hezbollah Has Its Own Tunnels — And Civil War Ghosts

💃 Does climate change mean bidding ¡adios! to Spanish fiestas?

Increasingly extreme temperatures are forcing virtually every aspect of society to adapt. In Spanish magazine La Marea, Juan F. Samaniego shows how the cultural heritage sector is no exception, as scorching heat is forcing summertime cultural events and festivals (from concerts to Spain's traditional castell human towers) to accommodate the new climate reality.

Read the full story: Extreme Party Heat: How Climate Change Is Crashing Spain's Summer Fiestas

🏟️ Asia’s mega stadium boom — courtesy of Taylor Swift

It's been about a year since U.S. pop superstar Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour" began to grow into a bonafide global phenomenon, transcending entertainment news to dominate economic, political, and social discourse worldwide. Asia is no stranger to the all-encompassing Swift-mania — visible notably in the boom of mega-stadiums it triggered, as Ye Lang writes in Singapore-based media The Initium.

Read the full story: How Taylor Swift Triggered A Stadium Construction Boom In Southeast Asia

🛥️♻️ BRIGHT IDEA

Brittany-based company Efinor Sea Cleaner has unveiled its innovative electric depolluting boat: the 10-meter-long, 10-ton aluminum boat collects waste and hydrocarbons from water and can operate for up to eight hours. The water flows through its two front grids is cleaned by the vessel’s rear turbine, which separates waste and hydrocarbons. The next stop for Sea Cleaner is southern France, where Marseille port authorities were seduced by this effective maritime depollution solution.

🌇 SMILE OF THE WEEK

Talk about a view! A couple was seen enjoying the sunset in Sant Josep de sa Talaia, on the Spanish island of Ibiza, from a couch on their truck's telescopic platform on the beach parking lot. The scene was filmed by the resident of a nearby seafront building, showing the couple taking in the beautiful pink view, glasses of wine in hand. Well played, folks.

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⏩  LOOKING AHEAD

• Mexico’s Congress will debate a controversial reform of the country’s judiciary next week. The reform, which would change the structure and the selection process of the judiciary, has sparked protests. The U.S. and Canada have also expressed their concerns over potential impacts on trade and international investments, with the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar calling it a “major risk to the functioning of Mexico’s democracy.”

• The first regional elections in a decade will take place in Indian-controlled Kashmir will take place next week. The polls will allow Kashmir residents to elect their own local assembly instead of being under New Delhi’s rule. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government ended the region’s special status and statehood in 2019, and rebel attacks have increased in the Jammu area over the summer.

• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi will visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine next week after “recent deeply concerning incidents,” including a drone strike near the facility and a fire in the cooling tower early this month. The nuclear safety situation of the plant “remains precarious” and “a nuclear accident must be avoided at all costs,” Grossi said.

News quiz answers:

1. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested and charged by French authorities for allowing alleged criminal activity on his messaging app. Although released on bail, Durov is for now barred from leaving France pending further investigation.

2. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his presidential bid and endorsed Donald Trump, making an appearance at a Republican rally shortly after his dropping out announcement. Other members of the Kennedy family have criticized RFK Jr.’s decision, calling it a "betrayal" of their values.

3. A 4-year-old boy accidentally smashed a 3,500-year-old jar that was displayed without a glass case at the entrance of the museum. The artifact will be repaired and the museum did not press charges — even inviting the boy and his family back.

4. Country icon and national treasure Dolly Parton was dubbed "Kentucky Colonel" by Governor Andy Beshear, as she was promoting a children's literacy program in the state. This is Kentucky’s highest civilian honor.

✍️ Newsletter by Worldcrunch

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*Photo: @_mayanwarrior_/Instagram