CULTURE VULTURE
Egypt displays ancient artefacts recovered from smugglers
Egypt has put on display ancient artefacts recently retrieved from Italy after they were confiscated by the Italian police months ago. Sabah Abdel-Razek, the general director of the Egyptian Museum, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the artefacts include five burial masks, 11 vessels, 151 small statutes and over 20,000 coins from different eras. Egyptian authorities have said the items were likely excavated and smuggled out of the country in secret, as no museum has records of them. Egypt says it has retrieved around 1,000 artifacts from 10 different countries over the past two years.
Media watchdog alarmed by Indian journalist killings and hate speech
Media watchdog Reporters without Borders (RSF) expressed alarm on Wednesday about India, with seven journalists killed in the past 18 months and a sharp rise in online abuse and harassment. “In 2017, the deaths of at least three journalists killed in connection with their work were recorded and a fourth case is still under investigation. In 2018, four journalists were killed in the country in the first six months,” RSF said. “In addition, there has been a sharp increase in online abuse and harassment, and in the self-censorship, which looms over the environment in which journalists carry out their work in the world’s largest democracy,” RSF issued an “Incident Report”, an alert to warn about the deterioration of press freedom, the first time the organisation has done so for any country. It also warned India that it risked falling even further down its World Press Freedom Index from its current place of 138th out of 180. The latest murder of a journalist was that of Shujaat Bukhari, editor of an English language daily in the disputed region of Kashmir, gunned down outside the paper’s office on June 14. More than 40 journalists have been killed in India since 1992, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, based in the United States. Reporters in India often face harassment and intimidation by police, politicians, bureaucrats and criminal gangs. In the past, Indian journalists have protested against the killings of reporters in the country, pictured. The RSF has urged the government to ensure the safety of journalists.
Oprah Winfrey reiterates she will not run for president
American television mogul Oprah Winfrey, pictured, has reiterated she will not run for president, saying it would “kill” her, drawing a line over speculation about a potential 2020 bid. In an interview with British Vogue, the actress and producer again addressed the subject after much talk on whether she would eye the White House following a rousing speech at this year’s Golden Globe awards. “In that political structure – all the non-truths, the nastiness, the backhanded backroom stuff that goes on – I feel like I could not exist,” Winfrey told the magazine, where she features on its August cover. “I would not be able to do it. It’s not a clean business. It would kill me.” Winfrey got a standing ovation when she spoke in support of victims of sexual misconduct in her acceptance speech for a Golden Globe for lifetime achievement, in which she praised women who exposed harassment and abuse in Hollywood and elsewhere.