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Art and war

PAVLO Makov fled Russia’s invasion with almost nothing but he is proud to represent Ukraine at this year’s Venice Biennale, which raises questions about the role of art in a time of war.

Back after a pandemic-induced break, the 59th edition of the Biennale has been overshadowed by the war in Ukraine.

There are 58 countries represented in national pavilions showcasing 213 individual artists. The organisers banned Moscow’s representatives in protest at the invasion, while Ukraine’s national exhibit only made it to the show after being whisked out of Kyiv on the day Russian troops crossed the border.

“I don’t think art can change the world. But art can help us to survive,” 63-year-old Makov said. | AFP

France THE leaders of Germany, Portugal and Spain urged France to back centrist President Emmanuel Macron against farright leader Marine Le Pen in elections this weekend, in a highly unusual intervention in the domestic politics of a fellow EU state.

France faces a “choice between a democratic candidate ... and a candidate of the extreme right,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa and Spanish Premier Pedro Sanchez wrote in the Le Monde daily, expressing hope the French will choose a France that has been a “beacon of democracy”. | AFP

Gabon

FOUR children of Gabon’s late president Omar Bongo have been charged in France with embezzlement and corruption.

The siblings – Grace, Betty, Arthur and Hermine Bongo, all in their 50s – were charged between March 25 and April 5 by financial investigators.

Investigators believe members of the Bongo dynasty – including Omar, his son Ali, 64, who is now president of Gabon, and his daughter Pascaline, 66 – knowingly benefited from a fraudulently acquired real estate empire worth at least €85 million (about R1.4 billion).

All four of Omar Bongo’s children have denied any knowledge of the alleged fraud. | AFP

South Korea

A DIE-HARD fan of the British rock band Queen has unveiled a life-size bronze statue of Freddie Mercury on South Korea’s resort island of Jeju, after an eight-year quest to honour his late hero.

Jeju businessman Baek Soon-yeob, 57, used to listen to bootleg recordings of Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991.

Queen’s music was banned in South Korea in the 1970s by the regime.

Mercury’s songs “kept me going despite many hurdles along the way”, Baek said, adding it had been an emotional eight-year effort to build the statue. | AFP