50 years on, Umm Kulthum is still the voice of the Arab world

A statue of the late Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum stands in the Zmalek district of Cairo on January 28, 2025. (AFP)
A statue of the late Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum stands in the Zmalek district of Cairo on January 28, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 01 February 2025
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50 years on, Umm Kulthum is still the voice of the Arab world

A statue of the late Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum stands in the Zmalek district of Cairo on January 28, 2025. (AFP)
  • More than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) away, the same music poured out of Baghdad’s own Umm Kulthum cafe — open since 1970, five years before the singer’s death at 76 plunged the Arab world into mourning

CAIRO: Half a century after her death, Umm Kulthum’s singular voice still echoes through busy streets in Egypt, across time-worn cafes in Iraq, and in millions of homes from Morocco to Oman.
“As long as people listen to music, there will be Umm Kulthum,” said Abu Ahmed, the manager of a Cairo cafe named after the Arab world’s most revered singer.
“She still lives in every song and every note,” he told AFP, adjusting the volume on an antique recorder as visitors to the historic bazaar the cafe is housed in peered in from outside.




Umm Kulthum. (Supplied)

Sepia-toned photographs of the icon adorn the walls of Abu Ahmed’s cafe, alongside posters from her concerts.
As her voice in her most famous ballad, “Enta Omri” (You’re My Life), rose to a crescendo, conversation around a nearby table fell to a hush.
“Umm Kulthum is the voice of the nation,” Aya Khamis, 36, whispered as she sipped her tea.
On a wooden stall just outside, a vendor laid out tiny figurines of Umm Kulthum and her orchestra.
Each piece was carefully crafted — musicians in sharp suits, miniature renditions of classical instruments the qanun and the oud, and Umm Kulthum herself, with her signature scarf and sunglasses.
“These are my bestsellers,” said Shadi Said, 37, holding up a figurine of the singer.

More than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) away, the same music poured out of Baghdad’s own Umm Kulthum cafe — open since 1970, five years before the singer’s death at 76 plunged the Arab world into mourning.
Far away from her state funeral in Cairo, the cafe in Baghdad held its own ceremony for bereaved fans like Iraqi engineer Youssef Hamad.
Now 77 and retired, Hamad told AFP he still comes to the same cafe every day to listen to Umm Kulthum’s hours-long concerts.
Another cafe-goer, Khazaal Abu Ali, struggled to put his love for her into words.
“She once sang ‘if a day passes without seeing you, it can’t count toward my lifetime’. That is how I feel,” the 83-year-old said, his eyes tearing up.
“A day without her voice is a day that is lost.”
Born in 1898 in a small Nile Delta village, Umm Kulthum rose from humble beginnings to become the most celebrated voice in the Arab world.
Her father, an imam, recognized her talent early on, but fearing the ire of early 20th-century Egyptian society, disguised her as a boy so she could perform in public.
Her full-bodied voice and magnetic presence soon captivated audiences, and in the 1930s, she moved to Cairo.
Her music revolutionized Arabic music, as she blended classical poetry with grand orchestral arrangements.
But it was her improvizations that made her a legend, feeding off the audience’s energy in a hypnotic exchange, as she stretched and reprised verses.
Western musicians were also mesmerised, with Maria Callas, Robert Plant and Bob Dylan all paying tribute to her.
“She is one of my favorite singers of all time,” Dylan once said.
More recently, Shakira and Beyonce have sampled her songs.

Her influence was not just musical.
Her voice became the soundtrack of a transforming Egypt, embodying a nascent nationalism, spirit of unity and a new republican identity after the monarchy was toppled in 1952.
In 1967, she performed at L’Olympia in Paris to a sold-out crowd, and donated the huge profit from ticket sales to the Egyptian army for its war against Israel, then occupying the Sinai Peninsula.
“Umm Kulthum was more than just a singer,” said veteran art critic Magda Khairallah.
“She was a national figure. That is why people did not just call her Umm Kulthum — they called her El-Set (The Lady),” she told AFP.
This year, her story is set to return to the big screen in a new biopic starring Egyptian star Mona Zaki.
The film will portray her not just as a musician, but also as a feminist figure challenging societal norms.
Though she eventually married at 56, Umm Kulthum never had children.
In the 1940s she became the first woman to head Egypt’s Musicians’ Syndicate.
“She was a woman who held immense power in a male-dominated industry,” Fayza Hendawi, an art critic, told AFP.
“She was incredibly strong and completely in control of every detail — her songs, her image, her choices in life,” she added.
In Cairo, a bronze statue of Umm Kulthum stands looking out on the Nile River 50 years after her death, commanding and timeless.
Across the water, a museum dedicated to her legacy offers glimpses into her world.
Visitors marvel at her ornate gowns, notebooks and the diamond-encrusted sunglasses that became her signature look.
Roaming the museum’s halls are mostly teenagers, a new generation of music-lovers still as enthralled as their elders.
Rodina Mohamed, 15, paused in front of a display case holding one of the singer’s embroidered gowns.
“She was intentional about every detail — lyrics, melodies, performance,” she told AFP.
“That is why she still matters.”
 

 


Woman trapped in crashed car survives on creek water for 6 days until rescue

Woman trapped in crashed car survives on creek water for 6 days until rescue
Updated 13 March 2025
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Woman trapped in crashed car survives on creek water for 6 days until rescue

Woman trapped in crashed car survives on creek water for 6 days until rescue

BROOK, Indiana: An Indiana woman who was trapped in her car after a crash survived for nearly a week on water from a small creek before she was discovered and rescued, authorities said.
A man operating drainage equipment saw Brieonna Cassell’s car off a roadway Tuesday near the town of Brook, Indiana, Newton County Sheriff Shannon Cothran said in a post on social media.
The man who spotted her car told his supervisor, who is also a fire chief, and they found Cassell inside the car, conscious and able to speak, according to the sheriff. Multiple agencies responded and the 41-year-old woman, of Wheatfield, Indiana, was extricated and flown to a Chicago hospital, he said.
Cassell had been reported missing by family members days before she was found, the sheriff said. She had been trapped since Thursday night when she fell asleep at the wheel and veered off the road into a ditch, her father, Delmar Caldwell, told ABC News. Her vehicle wasn’t visible from the road.
Caldwell told the news outlet that Cassell had injuries to her legs and wrist and that her phone was found under the passenger seat.
“She was stuck in the car and could not get out, Caldwell said. “But she was able to reach the water from the car,” Caldwell said.
She was able to dip her hooded sweatshirt into the water and get it to her mouth that way, he said.
On Wednesday, Cassell was in stable condition at the hospital and was scheduled to have surgery “as there is some concern with the healing of her legs,” according to Cassell’s mother, who told Cothran he could share her status in a social media post.
“Her outlook for recovery is good but it will be a long road to recovery,” the post said.


A look at the history of Greenland, from Viking raiders to Donald Trump

A look at the history of Greenland, from Viking raiders to Donald Trump
Updated 10 March 2025
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A look at the history of Greenland, from Viking raiders to Donald Trump

A look at the history of Greenland, from Viking raiders to Donald Trump
  • Now a warming climate and renewed competition for Arctic resources promise an economic boom for the world’s largest island, which is home to some 56,000 people, most from Inuit backgrounds

NUUK: Greenland is having a moment in the international spotlight as US President Donald Trump maneuvers to gain control of the mineral-rich Arctic territory that most people know only as a huge icy island at the top of the world.
But Greenland, named by Viking adventurer Erik the Red to attract settlers, has a history of human habitation that stretches back more than 4,000 years.
The self-governing region of Denmark has been home to native peoples who crossed the Arctic from what is now Canada, Norse settlers, Lutheran missionaries and US military personnel who used it as a base from which to protect the United States from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
Now a warming climate and renewed competition for Arctic resources promise an economic boom for the world’s largest island, which is home to some 56,000 people, most from Inuit backgrounds.
Here are some of the milestones of Greenland’s history.
Circa 2,500 B.C.
The first humans arrive in northern Greenland from what is now Canada after the narrow strait separating the island from North America froze over. This was to be the first of six waves of immigration that brought Inuit peoples to Greenland.
Circa A.D. 985
The Norse explorer Erik the Red arrives in Greenland with a fleet of Viking ships, according to the medieval Icelandic sagas. The Norsemen established two settlements that had a peak population of 2,500-5,000 but disappeared around 1450 for unknown reasons.
1200
The Thule people, the final wave of Inuit migration to Greenland, arrive from what is now Alaska. These people spread throughout Greenland and are the ancestors of the Indigenous people who make up about 90 percent of the country’s population.
1721
Lutheran missionary Hans Egede arrives in Greenland to search for the lost Norse settlements. Finding no survivors, he builds a new settlement at Kangeq, near modern day Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, and begins efforts to convert the Indigenous people to Christianity. This marks the start of Denmark’s modern colonization of Greenland.
1814
With the dissolution of the Kingdom of Denmark and Norway, Greenland formally becomes a Danish colony. Danish authorities develop a policy of isolating Greenland from the outside world. Trade is controlled by a state-owned monopoly.
1854-1987
Invittuut in southwestern Greenland is the world’s only commercial source of cryolite, a mineral used in the production of aluminum. The mine produced 3.7 million tons of cryolite during its history, with most of it shipped to the US Output peaked during World War II amid increased demand for aluminum to build military aircraft. The mine closed after it was depleted and manufacturers switched to synthetic cryolite.
1917
US government recognizes Denmark’s right to the whole of Greenland. This recognition was part of an agreement between the two countries under which the US acquired the Danish Virgin Islands for $25 million in gold.
1941-1945
US occupies Greenland because of concerns that Nazi Germany could use the island as a base for attacks on North America. The occupation was carried out under an agreement with Denmark’s government in exile, which recognized Danish sovereignty over Greenland.
1946
US President Harry Truman’s government offers to buy Greenland as part of an effort to secure military bases on the island because of “the extreme importance of Greenland to the defense of the United States.” Denmark rejects the sale of Greenland, but signs a long-term base agreement.
1953
Greenland ceases to be a Danish colony and becomes a county of Denmark because of a constitutional amendment. Real decision-making power, however, remains with the Ministry of Greenland in Copenhagen.
1979
Demands for Greenlanders to have more control over their own affairs culminates in the Home Rule Act, which establishes the Greenlandic parliament and gives local authorities control over issues such as education, health and fisheries. The legislation was approved by the Danish parliament and ratified by 70 percent of local voters.
2009
Greenland becomes a self-governing country within the Kingdom of Denmark. The Self-Government Act, which was approved by more than 75 percent of Greenland voters and ratified by the Danish parliament, recognizes Greenland’s right to independence when requested by local voters. Denmark retains control of defense and foreign affairs.
2019
Trump sparks a diplomatic spat with Denmark after making his first offer to buy Greenland. Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredericksen rejects the idea, saying, “Greenland is not for sale. Greenland is not Danish. Greenland belongs to Greenland. I strongly hope that this is not meant seriously.” Trump quickly cancels a planned trip to Copenhagen.
2025
During a speech to a joint session of US Congress, Trump says the United States needs Greenland for national security reasons. “I think we’re going to get it,” he says. “One way or the other, we’re going to get it.”


The cute whiskers are back on. Rare Mediterranean monk seals cared for in a Greek rehab center

The cute whiskers are back on. Rare Mediterranean monk seals cared for in a Greek rehab center
Updated 10 March 2025
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The cute whiskers are back on. Rare Mediterranean monk seals cared for in a Greek rehab center

The cute whiskers are back on. Rare Mediterranean monk seals cared for in a Greek rehab center
  • Panagis, an orphaned seal pup found a few days after his dead mother’s body was located along the coast of Cyprus
  • Nearly half of their estimated global population of 800 live in Greek waters

ATHENS: Panagis hauls himself out of the pool at a rehabilitation center in Greece and scurries over for a delectable lunch: whole mackerel. It’s been about three months since the orphaned seal pup was found struggling in the coastal waters of Cyprus. Soon, he’ll be well enough to go home.
Panagis is one of dozens of Mediterranean monk seals, or Monachus monachus, that have been nursed back to health by Greece’s MOm, a charity dedicated to the care and protection of the rare marine mammal whose population had dwindled so dramatically that at one point it faced extinction.
Thanks to conservation efforts, the seals with the big, round eyes and prominent whiskers are now making a remarkable comeback. Nearly half of their estimated global population of 800 live in Greek waters, where the extensive coastline offers an abundance of sea caves that provide shelter for females to rear their young.
From near extinction to recovery
Sleek and remarkably fast in the water, the monk seal is a skillful hunter and can consume up to 3 kilograms (6 pounds) of fish, octopus and squid a day. But it’s not averse to a ready meal, and can rip through fishing nets to steal fish — which led fishermen to view them as pests.
For decades, they were hunted, contributing to a major population decline between the 1960s and 1980s that led the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN, to list them as critically endangered.
When conservation efforts began in the 1980s, combined with outreach programs to educate the public — and fishermen — “society gradually began to change … and the population began to recover,” said Panagiotis Dendrinos.
Dendrinos, a marine biologist and coordinator of the Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal — or MOm — that has pioneered the Monachus monachus conservation program, says the monk seal is the only seal species in the Mediterranean Sea and also “one of the rarest species of seal and marine mammal in the world.”
“To protect an animal like the Mediterranean monk seal in its natural environment, you essentially have to protect the entire marine ecosystem,” he said.
Conservation efforts have paid off, and in recent years, the species climbed down a notch on the IUCN’s Red List of threatened species to “endangered.” About a year ago improved one step further, to “vulnerable.”
A unique seal rehab
Usually contacted by members of the public who find an animal in distress, MOm specialists tend to adult seals on location where possible, and transport young seals to the organization’s rehabilitation center housed in the grounds of Athens zoo, on the outskirts of the Greek capital.
There, the young mammals are looked after by veterinarians, fed a special diet to provide them with the best nutrition and hone their swimming skills in a pool.
Their carers give them names — often after the people who found them — but make sure contact with humans is kept to a minimum to prepare the animals for their return into the wild.
The young seals typically stay in the rehab center for several months, until they’ve put on enough weight and their natural hunting instinct kicks in, allowing them to fend for themselves. They are then tagged so they can be tracked, and re-introduced into the wild.
MOm, the only center of its kind in the region, has cared for about 40 seals from far and wide, both on location and in its facilities, Dendrinos said.
“This year, we had a really pleasant surprise,” he said. A female seal that had been treated and released four years ago was spotted nursing a pup.
Planes, boats and cars to the rescue
Panagis was found in Cyprus, near where the body of his mother had been found a few days earlier. Alerted by locals, the organization arranged for the seal to be flown to Athens.
“Transportation is carried out with whatever is available,” said veterinary assistant Nikitas Vogiatzis, shortly after feeding Panagis. “Either by plane, or by boat, or even by taxi. “Konstantina came in a taxi, Panagis by plane, Renos came on a boat,” he said, listing MOm’s most recent wards.
Weighing just under 15 kilograms (33 pounds) when he arrived, the now 3-month-old seal has reached over 40 kilograms (88 pounds). Panagis is nearly ready for his return trip home, which MOm experts hope will happen in May.
Back into the wild
Renos — short for Renos-Pantelis — was found in November in the small Aegean island of Anafi by a nurse and a military conscript whom he was named after.
The seal pup was shipped to MOm’s facility. He got medical treatment and was put on a special diet until he was old enough to move on to solid fish — the mackerel that Panagis is so fond of.
He recovered and on a cold, sunny February day, it was his turn to head back into the wild. MOm personnel loaded him into a crate and whisked him by speedboat to the uninhabited islet of Gyaros, the closest marine protected area to Athens.
The release location is chosen “based on there being enough food, and there being no disturbance by people, which is very important,” said Vogiatzis, the veterinary assistant.
The crate is placed near the water, he said. Then, “you open the door, you say a prayer and you say: ‘So long’.”
Renos’ crate was deposited on a beach and the door opened. The young seal sniffed the air timidly, and waited. Slowly, he inched his way out of the crate, then picked up speed as he belly-hauled his way down the beach, splashed into the sea and was gone.


India’s official Oscar entry, which failed to make the cut, wins big at major Bollywood awards show

India’s official Oscar entry, which failed to make the cut, wins big at major Bollywood awards show
Updated 10 March 2025
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India’s official Oscar entry, which failed to make the cut, wins big at major Bollywood awards show

India’s official Oscar entry, which failed to make the cut, wins big at major Bollywood awards show
  • The film that was submitted as India’s official Oscar entry but failed to make the final list of nominees has swept the International Indian Film Academy Awards
  • The critically acclaimed “Laapataa Ladies” emerged as the biggest winner at the 2025 IIFA Awards, bagging 10 wins, including best picture and best direction

JAIPUR: The film that was submitted as India’s official Oscar entry but failed to make the final list of nominees has swept the International Indian Film Academy Awards, which recognize outstanding work in the country’s film industry.
Director Kiran Rao’s critically acclaimed “Laapataa Ladies” — renamed “Lost Ladies” for its Oscar campaign — emerged as the biggest winner at the 2025 IIFA Awards, bagging 10 wins, including best picture and best direction.
The 2023 comedy is about two veiled brides who are accidentally swapped during a train ride, and tackles issues of patriarchy and gender roles, a shift from decades of male-centered mainstream Indian movies.
“It’s a rare privilege to win an award for a film like ‘Laapataa Ladies.’ It’s been a wonderful night. It’s a rare privilege to make a film like this,” Rao said in her acceptance speech.
Rao’s film — a rare departure from most Bollywood films, which typically feature song-and-dance routines, violence and melodrama — also won in categories for best story, best screenplay and best actress in a leading role.
The annual ceremony of IIFA began in the western city of Jaipur on Saturday and concluded Sunday.
Indian cinema’s most recognizable names took part in the glitzy event and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and actor Shahid Kapoor were among those who performed at the ceremony. The event was hosted by veteran director and producer Karan Johar and actor Kartik Aaryan.
The awards show also presents an opportunity for Indian celebrities to showcase their fashion, and this year was no exception. Notable figures such as Madhuri Dixit, Katrina Kaif and Kareena Kapoor Khan displayed their fashion choices on the green carpet.


Gene Hackman died of heart disease, his wife died of hantavirus about 1 week prior, authorities say

Gene Hackman died of heart disease, his wife died of hantavirus about 1 week prior, authorities say
Updated 08 March 2025
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Gene Hackman died of heart disease, his wife died of hantavirus about 1 week prior, authorities say

Gene Hackman died of heart disease, his wife died of hantavirus about 1 week prior, authorities say
  • Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday

SANTA FE, N.M.: Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease, authorities revealed Friday.
Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference.
“Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer’s disease,” Jarrell said. “He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that’s what resulted in his death.”
Authorities didn’t suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative.
Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday.
Hackman’s pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said.
Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said.
“It’s quite possible he was not aware she was deceased,” Jarrell said.
Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer’s disease and unable to deal with his wife’s death in the last week of his life.
Most older Americans with dementia live at home, and many receive care from family or friends.
Their bodies were found a little over a week later. Hackman was found in the home’s entryway. His death was tied to heart disease with Alzheimer’s disease contributing.
Arakawa was found in a bathroom. Authorities linked her death to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare but potentially fatal disease spread by infected rodent droppings. Thyroid medication pills prescribed to Arakawa were found nearby and weren’t listed as contributing to her death, Jarrell said.
Hantavirus typically is reported in spring and summer, often due to exposures that occur when people are near mouse droppings in homes, sheds or poorly ventilated areas. This is the first confirmed case of hantavirus in New Mexico this year.
While hantavirus is found throughout the world, most cases in the US have been found in western states. The virus can cause a severe and sometimes deadly lung infection.
Jarrell said it was not known how quickly Arakawa died.
One of the couple’s three dogs also was found dead in a crate in a bathroom closet near Arakawa, while two other dogs survived. Authorities initially misidentified the breed.
Dogs do not get sick from hantavirus, said Erin Phipps, a veterinarian with the New Mexico Health Department. The sheriff considers this an open investigation until they receive results of the dog’s necropsy and finish checking into data from personal cellphones retrieved from the home.
When Hackman and Arakawa were found, the bodies were decomposing with some mummification, a consequence of body type and climate in Santa Fe’s especially dry air at an elevation of nearly 7,200 feet (2,200 meters).
“All of us that knew him should have been checking on him,” said Stuart Ashman, co-owner of Artes de Cuba gallery who cherished his encounters with Hackman at a local Pilates exercise studio, where they used to swap stories. “I had no idea. ... It’s just really sad. And that she died a week before him. My God.”
Dr. Victor Weedn, a forensic pathologist in Virginia, said when two bodies are found at the same time, the usual assumption would be that they died at the same time. But Hackman’s Alzheimer’s disease added a complicating factor: He apparently was unable to seek help after his wife died.
“They died several days apart: One dying of a viral infection, the hantavirus, which can kill quite quickly. And the other death occurring from heart disease. And that too can be a relatively sudden death,” Weedn said. “Their (the authorities’) explanation, I thought, was quite clear and plausible. I believe they really discovered what truly happened in this case.”
Hackman, a Hollywood icon, won two Oscars during a storied career in films including “The French Connection,” “Hoosiers” and “Superman” from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.
Arakawa, born in Hawaii, studied as a concert pianist, attended the University of Southern California and met Hackman in the mid-1980s while working at a California gym.
Hackman dedicated much of his time in retirement to painting and writing novels far from Hollywood’s social circuit. He served for several years on the board of trustees at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, and he and his wife were investors in local businesses.