Dinosaur known as ‘Barry’ goes on sale in rare Paris auction

Dinosaur known as ‘Barry’ goes on sale in rare Paris auction
The skeleton of an adult dinosaur named Barry, a large specimen of Camptosaurus from the end of the Jurassic period, roughly 150 million years ago, with remarkable preservation and one of the most complete skulls ever documented for the specie, is on display at Drouot auction house in Paris, France, September 12, 2023. (REUTERS)
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Updated 18 September 2023
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Dinosaur known as ‘Barry’ goes on sale in rare Paris auction

Dinosaur known as ‘Barry’ goes on sale in rare Paris auction
  • Camptosaurus known as Barry that dates from the late Jurassic period some 150 million years ago, will go under the hammer in Paris next month

PARIS: An unusually well-preserved dinosaur skeleton, a Camptosaurus known as Barry that dates from the late Jurassic period some 150 million years ago, will go under the hammer in Paris next month.
The dinosaur, which was first discovered in the 1990s in the US state of Wyoming, was initially restored in 2000 by palaeontologist Barry James, from whom it got its name.
Italian laboratory Zoic, which acquired Barry last year, has done further restoration work on the skeleton, which is 2.10 meters tall and 5 meters long.
“It is an extremely well-preserved specimen, which is quite rare,” said Alexandre Giquello, from Paris auction house Hotel Drouot where the sale will take place.
“To take the example of its skull, the skull is complete at 90 percent and the rest of the dinosaur (skeleton) is complete at 80 percent,” he said.
Dinosaur specimens on the art market remain rare, with no more than a couple of sales a year worldwide, Giquello said.
The skeleton, which will be shown to the public in mid-October before the sale, is expected to fetch up to $1.28 million.


The Cat Garden in Alkhobar: A purrfect place for feline lovers

The Cat Garden in Alkhobar: A purrfect place for feline lovers
Updated 30 September 2023
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The Cat Garden in Alkhobar: A purrfect place for feline lovers

The Cat Garden in Alkhobar: A purrfect place for feline lovers

ALKHOBAR: If you ever find yourself in Villaggio Village in Alkhobar and fancy chilling out with some really cool felines, then pop into The Cat Garden.

While many pet-centric cafes have opened in recent years across the Kingdom, this one is a bit different.

A first for Eastern Province, this is not a hybrid eatery and veterinary space or shop, but rather a place for doing nothing other than playing with cats.

You go in, you pay for the amount of time you want, you play, you leave. It is as simple as that.

Visitors are asked to fill in a form to make sure they are aware of all the do’s and don’ts, while staff will check to make sure you do not have any allergies and answer any questions you might have. All visitors are also required to wear plastic coverings over their shoes and use the hand sanitizer provided.

With the formalities over you are now free to play with your furry friends to your heart’s content.

There are lots of cats to play with, each with its own personality. Some like to lounge around and be stroked, while others are full of energy and bounce around.

All of the animals live on the premises, but the operators rotate the ones in the public area to ensure they are not put under too much stress.

The Cat Garden opens Monday to Saturday from 1-10 p.m. The cost is SR25 ($6) for 15 minutes or SR35 for half an hour. For an extra charge you can buy some treats to give to your feline friends.

For more pictures of the venue visit instagram @CatGarden_KSA.


Michael Gambon, veteran actor who played Dumbledore in ‘Harry Potter’ films, dies at age 82

Michael Gambon, veteran actor who played Dumbledore in ‘Harry Potter’ films, dies at age 82
Updated 28 September 2023
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Michael Gambon, veteran actor who played Dumbledore in ‘Harry Potter’ films, dies at age 82

Michael Gambon, veteran actor who played Dumbledore in ‘Harry Potter’ films, dies at age 82
  • While the Potter role raised Gambon’s international profile, he had long been celebrated as one of Britain’s leading actors
  • Irish president paid tribute to Gambon’s “exceptional talent,” praising him as “one of the finest actors of his generation.”

LONDON: Michael Gambon, the Irish-born actor knighted for his illustrious career on the stage and screen and who went on to gain admiration from a new generation of moviegoers with his portrayal of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight “Harry Potter” films, has died. He was 82.

The actor died on Wednesday following “a bout of pneumonia,” his publicist, Clair Dobbs, said Thursday.
“We are devastated to announce the loss of Sir Michael Gambon. Beloved husband and father, Michael died peacefully in hospital with his wife Anne and son Fergus at his bedside,” his family said in a statement.
While the Potter role raised Gambon’s international profile and found him a huge audience, he had long been celebrated as one of Britain’s leading actors. His work spanned TV, theater, film and radio, and over the decades he starred in dozens of movies from “Gosford Park” and “The King’s Speech” to the animated family film “Paddington.” He recently appeared in the Judy Garland biopic “Judy,” released in 2019.
Gambon was knighted for his contribution to the entertainment industry in 1998.
The role of the much loved Professor Dumbledore was initially played by another Irish-born actor, Richard Harris. When Harris died in 2002, after two of the films in the franchise had been made, Gambon took over and played the part from “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” through to “Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2.”
He once acknowledged not having read any of J. K Rowling’s best-selling books, arguing that it was safer to follow the script rather than be too influenced by the books. That didn’t prevent him from embodying the spirit of the powerful wizard who fought against evil to protect his students.
Co-stars often described Gambon as a mischievous, funny man who was self-deprecating about his talent. Actress Helen Mirren fondly remembered his “natural Irish sense of humor — naughty but very, very funny.”
Fiona Shaw, who played Petunia Dursley in the “Harry Potter” series, recalled Gambon telling her how central acting was to his life.
“He did once say to me in a car ‘I know I go on a lot about this and that, but actually, in the end, there is only acting’,” Shaw told the BBC on Thursday. “I think he was always pretending that he didn’t take it seriously, but he took it profoundly seriously.”
Irish President Michael D. Higgins paid tribute to Gambon’s “exceptional talent,” praising him as “one of the finest actors of his generation.”
Born in Dublin on Oct. 19, 1940, Gambon was raised in London and originally trained as an engineer, following in the footsteps of his father. He did not have formal drama training, and was said to have started work in the theater as a set builder. He made his theater debut in a production of “Othello” in Dublin.
In 1963 he got his first big break with a minor role in “Hamlet,” the National Theatre Company’s opening production, under the directorship of the legendary Laurence Olivier.
Gambon soon became a distinguished stage actor and received critical acclaim for his leading performance in “Life of Galileo,” directed by John Dexter. He was frequently nominated for awards and won the Laurence Olivier Award 3 times and the Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards twice.
A multi-talented actor, Gambon was also the recipient of four coveted British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards for his television work.
He became a household name in Britain after his lead role in the 1986 BBC TV series “The Singing Detective,” written by Dennis Potter and considered a classic of British television drama. Gambon won the BAFTA for best actor for the role.
Gambon also won Emmy nominations for more recent television work — as Mr. Woodhouse in a 2010 adaption of Jane Austen’s “Emma,” and as former US President Lyndon B. Johnson in 2002’s “Path to War.”
Gambon was versatile as an actor but once told the BBC he preferred to play “villainous characters.” He played gangster Eddie Temple in the British crime thriller “Layer Cake” — a review of the film by the New York Times referred to Gambon as “reliably excellent” — and a Satanic crime boss in Peter Greenaway’s “The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover.”
He also had a part as King George V in the 2010 drama film “The King’s Speech.” In 2015 he returned to the works of J.K. Rowling, taking a leading role in the TV adaptation of her non-Potter book “The Casual Vacancy.”
“I absolutely loved working with him,” Rowling posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The first time I ever laid eyes on him was in ‘King Lear’, in 1982, and if you’d told me then that brilliant actor would appear in anything I’d written, I’d have thought you were insane.”
Gambon retired from the stage in 2015 after struggling to remember his lines in front of an audience due to his advancing age. He once told the Sunday Times Magazine: “It’s a horrible thing to admit, but I can’t do it. It breaks my heart.”
Gambon was always protective when it came to his private life. He married Anne Miller and they had one son, Fergus. He later had two sons with set designer Philippa Hart.


Brazil’s banana spider aids erectile dysfunction treatment

Brazil’s banana spider aids erectile dysfunction treatment
Updated 28 September 2023
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Brazil’s banana spider aids erectile dysfunction treatment

Brazil’s banana spider aids erectile dysfunction treatment
  • A molecule from the spider's venom triggers the release of nitric oxide, which is essential for an erection
  • Scientist says the research could be especially useful in the fight against cancer

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil: Three decades ago, Brazilian researchers began studying a curious side effect from banana spider bites: the toxin left victims with priapism, a painful and persistent erection.
The scientists were inspired to develop a synthetic molecule using some properties of the spider’s poison to create a gel to treat erectile dysfunction, which is now undergoing promising clinical trials.
Covered in thick brown hair, and with a maximum size of up to 15 centimeters (six inches), the arachnid is one of the most poisonous in the world.
It is found in several South American countries, and was nicknamed for its common presence in banana plantations, but it is also called the “wandering spider” or “armed spider.”
In the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, it is found in rural areas as well as urban centers.
At the Ezequiel Dias Foundation (FUNED), a medical research center in the state’s capital Belo Horizonte, a biologist delicately grabs one of the spiders with a pair of tweezers and stimulates its fangs to get a few drops of venom.
FUNED then sends the venom to the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) which has been researching which component could be replicated to treat erectile dysfunction, which affects tens of millions of men around the world.
“The venom is only used to learn the properties of the molecule” which causes the priapism in bite victims, said Maria Elena de Lima, a UFMG researcher.
Brazilian biotech company Biozeus has bought the patent for the molecule.
The company wants to sell it in an ointment, which would be rubbed on the male organ when required, resulting in an erection in a few minutes, said de Lima.
The molecule triggers the release of nitric oxide, which is essential for an erection as it increases blood circulation and allows blood vessels to widen.
De Lima said the research could be especially useful in the fight against cancer, as men suffering prostate cancer often refuse a procedure to remove the prostate because it can damage nerves and lead to erectile dysfunction.
After the first phase of clinical trials was approved by Brazil’s Anvisa regulatory agency, the medication has now moved into the second of three phases prior to being approved for sale.
De Lima said the discovery of a potential erectile dysfunction treatment was a message “not to destroy animals, even poisonous ones, because there is a real library of molecules that are still unknown.”
 


Iran clerics to embrace AI to help with religious activities

Iran clerics to embrace AI to help with religious activities
Updated 26 September 2023
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Iran clerics to embrace AI to help with religious activities

Iran clerics to embrace AI to help with religious activities
  • Push to adopt AI comes months after Iran’s supreme leader dubbed it ‘satanic’
  • Technology to help with fatwas, public communications, interpretations

LONDON: Iran’s clerics are embracing artificial intelligence to assist with the dissemination of religious teachings, months after the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared it “satanic” but then subsequently made a dramatic about-turn.

The initiative comes from the holy city of Qom, a center of Islamic learning and pilgrimage which is home to half of Iran’s 200,000 Shia clerics, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

The push to adopt AI has support from the top, with Khamenei now urging the clergy to explore the technology, and the head of Qom’s seminary welcoming its use to “promote Islamic civilization.”

However, the government’s recent move to explore the use of AI in religious seminaries is a stark contrast to its previous position.

In April, in a first against a non-human entity, Khamenei issued a fatwa against AI, calling it “satanic.”

Religious leaders have argued that the country’s people are demanding that society be modernized, and AI was a way to respond to these calls while holding onto traditional values.

They hope that advanced technology can help them disseminate Islamic texts faster and allow religious rulings, known as fatwas, to keep pace with Iran’s rapidly evolving society.

“Robots can’t replace senior clerics, but they can be a trusted assistant that can help them issue a fatwa in five hours instead of 50 days,” said Mohammad Ghotbi, who heads the Eshragh Creativity and Innovation House in Qom.

“Today’s society favors acceleration and progress,” Ghotbi argued, adding that the religious establishment should not oppose the desire of Iranians to share in global technological advances.

However, skeptics highlighted how adopting AI may prove challenging for Islam’s intricate legal system.

Some people have expressed concern that AI cannot comprehend the complexity of religious rulings or the values imparted by traditional learning methods.

Despite these challenges, Ghotbi argued that the initiative in Qom is a sign that Iran’s religious establishment is willing to embrace new technologies to stay relevant in the modern world.

He argued that while the tools change the goals remain the same, insisting that AI would not necessarily result in Iran becoming more aligned with the secular views of the West.

“We’re working on localizing the use of technology because our cultural values differ,” he said.


’Break down walls’: Tunisia dance show celebrates diversity

Dancers perform during a show aimed at raising awareness of children with disabilities, in Tunis on September 20, 2023. (AFP)
Dancers perform during a show aimed at raising awareness of children with disabilities, in Tunis on September 20, 2023. (AFP)
Updated 26 September 2023
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’Break down walls’: Tunisia dance show celebrates diversity

Dancers perform during a show aimed at raising awareness of children with disabilities, in Tunis on September 20, 2023. (AFP)
  • As the ensemble performs together, the audience is captivated by 16-year-old Rayen descending from his wheelchair onto the stage to perform his mesmerising dance number

TUNIS: A performer on a wheelchair, another who is blind and a third with Down syndrome share the stage for a pioneering new dance show seeking to push the boundaries in Tunisia.
Choreographer Andrew Graham says “the show is not about disability at all” but rather a celebration of diversity and inclusion that also involves migrants and LGBTQ artists.
“The idea is to break down all the walls,” said Graham, 35, whose production “Lines” premiered this weekend and runs until October 8 at the Dream City Festival in Tunis.

Tunisian actress and dancer Sondos Belhassen performs during a dance show aimed at raising awareness of children with disabilities, in Tunis on September 20, 2023. (AFP)

The performance brings together 15 dancers from different segments of society in the north African country.
It offers an opportunity for “sharing and mutual aid,” said Gabonese dancer Cedric Mbourou, 29.
The performance comes at a difficult time for Tunisia, which recently saw a wave of racial violence mainly targeting migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.
Mbourou himself was forced to go into hiding after an anti-migrant speech by President Kais Saied set off a wave of attacks.
“We see people just dancing for an hour non-stop,” said Graham, a Franco-British dance artist and teacher based in Marseille with his company L’Autre Maison.
“And very quickly the onlooker becomes interested in the dance and not necessarily who they are but in what they actually do.”

Graham hopes that this “very ambitious” show can “travel around the world, in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.”
As the ensemble performs together, the audience is captivated by 16-year-old Rayen descending from his wheelchair onto the stage to perform his mesmerising dance number.
Graham conceived of “Lines” after directing workshops in Tunis in 2021 for L’Art Rue, the organizer of Dream City, and activities aimed at making art accessible to underprivileged children.
The choreographer said he also drew inspiration from the stories of his grandfather, a Sicilian from Tunisia, and from “this extremely mixed country that has blended many cultures.”
The show features rhythmic “hadra” chants from the Muslim Sufi tradition and electronic music beats.
On stage, the singer and dancer Iyed — who at just 13 years old studies at the prestigious music conservatory in Tunis, and who is visually impaired — is gently hoisted into the air by the other performers.
His mother Hakima Bessoud, 49, is proud to join her son as they live out a passion that she said was a “childhood dream.”
She left a tourism sector job in 2018 to accompany her son to the conservatory and said that, since rehearsals started for “Lines,” her life has been “turned upside down.”
“Before, I had the routine of a homemaker: children, the house,” she said. “Now, I have a lot of energy, and I rush to do everything to attend rehearsals.”

Bessoud, who says she hails from a conservative background, said she welcomed being around the show’s openly gay dancer and actor Ahmed Tayaa.
“I have no problem with differences,” she said. “We must accept everyone, even Iyed is different.”
Tayaa, meanwhile, said he was amazed to see his sister Nourhene, 21, who has Down syndrome, perform.
He marvelled at having “discovered the artist that is Nourhene.”
“We all have a disability,” he said. “The people who see the show will discover their disability on the inside.”
“Lines,” he said, is “a paradise for people with all kinds of differences.”
One of the show’s professional dancers, Sondos Belhassen, 55, hailed the experience as “unique for a dancer,” saying they had experienced “something wonderful.”
“I wonder what weight it will leave in their universe, what memories they’ll keep?“
She said the performance had forced her to “readjust everything.”
“We are forced to experiment,” she said about working with performers whose physique is not “typical of a dancer.”
“We have a free body that can do anything, even the unexpected.”