Pride in Indonesia is longer than a coming-out story

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The more Indonesian her stories are, the further they travel

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A video projection of “Song of a Manhattan Suicide Addict“ by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama is seen during the media preview of the exhibition “I would overcome death and go on living“ at Yayoi Kusama Museum in Tokyo on October 16, 2024. Japanese avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama, known as the “polka dot queen“, has died aged 97, a statement from her company said on August 27, 2026.

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Japan's 'polka dot queen' artist Yayoi Kusama dies aged 97

The "polka dot queen" channeled hallucinations and battles with mental health into vibrant art featuring her trademark dots, nets and infinity motifs over a career spanning decades and continents.

3 days ago

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Dolly Parton, queen of country music, dies at 80

It was her ability to stay true to her roots, combined with her drive to work hard and her nonpartisanship, that fueled her appeal among conservatives and liberals in a politically polarized America. ...

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Saparinah Sadli: A century of curiosity, courage and conviction

A scholar, activist and mentor to generations of women, Indonesia’s pioneer of gender studies remains an enduring force for women’s rights and social justice. ...

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(L-R) Matt Fritch, Hugo Soto-Martinez, Mark Hamill, Billie Lourd, Steve Nissen and Ellen K attend the ceremony for Carrie Fisher being honored posthumously with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 04, 2023 in Hollywood, California.

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Carrie Fisher's Walk of Fame star provokes family wars

Late Star Wars actor Carrie Fisher was honored with a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame Thursday, in a ceremony overshadowed by a bitter feud among her family.

3 years ago

Serena Williams attends The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty“ at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City.

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Serena Williams debuts baby bump at Met Gala

Retired tennis superstar Serena Williams unveiled her pregnancy on the red carpet at the Met Gala in New York on Monday.

3 years ago

A demonstrator takes part in a pan-banging protest during French President Emmanuel Macron’s televised address to the nation, after he signed into law a pensions reform, in Strasbourg, eastern France on April 17, 2023. Macron on April 15 addressed France for the first time since signing into law his controversial pension reform, facing warnings the political and social crisis it sparked is not over. Macron signed the legislation just hours after the banner change to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 had been validated by the constitutional court on April 14, prompting accusations he was smuggling the law through in the dead of night.

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Put a lid on it! How the pot became a global protest symbol

As authorities try to put the lid on the protests, we look at how the humble kitchen utensil became a global symbol of resistance.

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In this file photo taken on April 26, 2013 Bangladeshi volunteers and rescue workers conduct rescue operations 60 hours after the Rana Plaza garment building collapsed in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka.

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Sweat shops: textile industry's dark side

The deadly consequences of fast fashion were spotlighted a decade ago after 1,138 people were killed when the nine-storey Rana Plaza garment factory collapsed in Bangladesh.

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Ryo Bodat (far right) with the other members of .Feast. (Courtesy of .Feast)

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Rock band .Feast fires drummer Bodat after admission of sexual assault

The popular drummer has also posted an apologetic statement on his Instagram account.

3 years ago

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (L) awards the Order of Merit to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Bellevue presidential palace in Berlin on April 17, 2023.

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Merkel given Germany's top honour despite criticism

Former chancellor Angela Merkel received Germany's highest honour on Monday despite facing continued criticism of her legacy since leaving office.

3 years ago

Verified: Andrea Gunawan, or @catwomanizer to her more than 241,000 followers on Instagram, leaves no taboo topic untouched.
(Courtesy of Andrea Gunawan)

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What I’ve Learned: Andrea Gunawan, sexual health content creator

Andrea Gunawan is hell-bent on bringing topics like non-monogamous relationships, childfree lifestyles and the dangers of relying on the Internet for external validation to the forefront of today’s conversation.

3 years ago

In this file photo taken on August 3, 2016 US jazz pianist and composer Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones) speaks during the Marciac Jazz Festival in Marciac. Ahmad Jamal, a towering and influential jazz pianist, composer and band leader in a career spanning more than seven decades, has died at age 92, news reports said Sunday.

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American jazz piano great Ahmad Jamal dead at 92

Jamal's widow Laura Hess-Hey confirmed his death, The Washington Post reported, while his daughter Sumayah Jamal told The New York Times the cause was prostate cancer. Music news outlets in France and Britain also reported his death.

3 years ago

In this file photo taken on March 30, 2023 Sex workers and sympathisers take part in a demonstration to protest plans to shutter the city's historic red light district, to be moved to a new erotic centre, in Amsterdam on March 30, 2023. Sex workers and residents oppose an “erotic centre“ project as Amsterdam wants to move legal prostitution outside the city centre's famed red light district over complaints from residents over crime and visitors' behaviour.

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Amsterdam at war over 'erotic centre' plan

In the middle of the row is Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema, who is sticking to a plan that few people seem to like despite being branded a "brothel madame" by opponents.

3 years ago

In this photo taken on April 5, 2023, Lee Jong-chul (with microphone), whose 24-year-old son Lee Ji-han was killed during a Halloween crowd crush in October last year, attends a rally with other families of victims and supporters near the alleyway where the disaster took place in the popular Itaewon district of Seoul. Families of the Itaewon victims want answers about why authorities failed to prevent the catastrophe despite clear warning signs, with some families forming a group “to understand what really happened and to hold those officials responsible.“ But the internet interpreted their efforts to organise as an attack on the government, with right-wing trolls launching a coordinated counter-attack, accusing the families of being profiteers out for compensation, or anti-government forces.

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'Overwhelming': S.Korean families' grief compounded by online abuse

Experts say the government is worried the disaster could hurt the administration. Seoul's last conservative government lost power in part due to its mishandling of the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster, which killed more than 300.

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In this file photo taken on December 29, 2022, Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama waves during his first day of teaching session at the Kalachakra Ground in Bodhgaya.

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Dalai Lama apologises for asking boy to suck his tongue

The Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama apologised on Monday after a video which showed him asking a boy to suck his tongue triggered a backlash on social media.

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French Secretary of State for Social Economy and Associations Marlene Schiappa arrives to attend the traditional breakfast at the Ministry of the Interior, Place Beauvau in Paris, on January 4, 2023.

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French minister defends Playboy shoot as criticism mounts

A feminist French minister who posed for Playboy told the magazine she backed the right of women to pose nude if they wanted to, amid criticism from her cabinet colleagues.

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Astronauts Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Reid Wiseman on the court prior to the game between the San Diego State Aztecs and Connecticut Huskies at NRG Stadium on April 03, 2023 in Houston, Texas.

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First woman, Black astronaut to make 2024 flight around Moon

NASA unveiled the crew on Monday for its first human mission to the Moon in more than 50 years –- including the first woman and Black man to voyage into deep space.

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Actor Leonardo DiCaprio in Edinburgh, Scotland, on November 17, 2016.

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Leonardo DiCaprio testifies in corruption trial against Fugees member

Leonardo DiCaprio was in Washington Monday to testify in a political corruption trial featuring a 90s hip-hop star and a disgraced Malaysian financier.

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This file photo taken on February 15, 2018 shows Japanese musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, jury member of the 68th edition of the Berlinale international film festival, reacting during a press conference in Berlin. Pioneering Japanese composer and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto has died on March 28, 2023 aged 71, after battling cancer, his management team said in a statement on April 2, 2023.

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Pioneering composer Ryuichi Sakamoto dies age 71

Having shot to fame in the 1970s with the influential Japanese group Yellow Magic Orchestra, Sakamoto's electronic innovations helped lay the foundations for synth-pop, house music and hip-hop.

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US actress Gwyneth Paltrow reacts to the verdict in the trial over her 2016 ski collision with 76-year-old Terry Sanderson on March 30, 2023, in Park City, Utah.

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Gwyneth Paltrow not liable in ski crash lawsuit

Gwyneth Paltrow is not liable for an accident on a swanky US ski slope, a jury ruled Thursday.

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US Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, from Georgia, speaks at a 2024 campaign rally for former US President Donald Trump in Waco, Texas, March 25, 2023.

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Twitter restricts Marjorie Taylor Greene account over 'Vengeance' post

Twitter has temporarily restricted Marjorie Taylor Greene's congressional account after the US lawmaker tweeted a graphic that referred to a "Trans Day of Vengeance".

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Qualified: Sam Olam has a medical degree, a master's in public health and has worked as a consultant with many big-name organizations (Courtesy of Sam Olam)

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What I've Learned: Sam Olam, Human Rights Activist

There are some people you meet who are simply operating on a higher plane of decency, grace, and thoughtfulness than the rest of us. Sam Olam is one of them.

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In this file photo taken on September 20, 2019, US author and screenwriter Bret Easton Ellis poses during a photo session in Paris. Bret Easton Ellis writes about the rich because it's funny to see them screw up, says the American writer who publishes his seventh novel “Les Éclats“ which appears on March 15, 2023 in French.

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Bret Easton Ellis: 'I was always suspicious of wealth'

His latest novel, "The Shards", sees him revisit Buckley, the posh high school he attended in the early 1980s.

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Legend: Musician and producer Nomo Koeswoyo of the famed Indonesian 1950s group Koes Bersaudara passed away on Mar. 15, 2023. (Instagram/Courtesy of Sari Koeswoyo)

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Musician Nomo Koeswoyo of Koes Bersaudara passes away

Nomo Koeswoyo of the legendary 1950s music group Koes Bersaudara died at 84.

3 years ago

The coffin of murdered transgender teenager Brianna Ghey, is carried outside St Elphin's Church in Warrington, northern England on March 15, 2023.

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Funeral held in UK for stabbed transgender girl

Family and friends of a 16-year-old British transgender girl who was stabbed to death in a park paid their last respects on Wednesday at her funeral.

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Mohammed Shasho test a sample from a patient for Covid-19 at a medical centre in Damascus on January 21, 2023.

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Syrian medical students study German in hopes of move abroad

His medical studies in Syria keep Mohammed Shasho busy enough but whenever he can he also pores over German vocabulary and grammar points in hopes of a move to Europe.

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Britain's King Charles III (C) signs the Commonwealth Charter next to Britain's Queen Consort Camilla (C-R) host the Commonwealth secretary general Patricia Scotland (front R) and other members of the Commonwealth community during the annual Commonwealth Day Reception at Buckingham Palace in London on March 13, 2023.

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King Charles III calls for Commonwealth unity

Charles III on Monday attended his first Commonwealth Day service as king, issuing a call for unity to tackle the globe's most pressing issues.

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Meet the man: Yanuar Nugroho is the expert coordinator at the National Secretariat of SDG Implementation (Courtesy of Yanuar Nugroho)

People

What I’ve Learned: Yanuar Nugroho, former deputy chief of staff to the President

If activism takes a million forms, Yanuar Nugroho knows the ins and outs of 999,999 of them.

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Pope Francis waves from the window of the apostolic palace during the weekly Angelus prayer on March 12, 2023 in The Vatican.

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Pope marks 10 years with podcast and a diplomatic row

Pope Francis marked 10 years as head of the Catholic Church on Monday with a podcast, a private mass and a series of interviews.

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Michelle Yeoh said she knew Harvey Weinstein was a bully and not always honorable.

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Anwar Ibrahim lauds Michelle Yeoh's success at Oscars 2023

"In creating history by being not just the first Malaysian but the very first Asian actress to win in this category, we take enormous pride in her achievement, adding to a long list of successes and capping a critically acclaimed acting career spanning decades," Anwar said in a statement on his Facebook page.

3 years ago

In this file photo dated on April 10, 2003 US marines take position near a portrait of late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in a stadium in Baghdad.

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Shock and awe: the toppling of Saddam Hussein 20 years ago

It took just three weeks for the decades-old regime of Iraq's feared dictator Saddam Hussein to fall in one of the most controversial foreign military interventions of modern times.

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In this file photo taken on September 14, 2022 Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex walks behind the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II during a procession from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster, in London.

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UK's King Charles grants brother Edward Duke of Edinburgh title

Britain's King Charles III on Friday awarded his younger brother Edward the title Duke of Edinburgh.

3 years ago

In this file photo taken on July 27, 2022 Governor General of Canada Mary Simon speaks during a meeting with Pope Francis at the Citadelle de Québec in Quebec City.

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Canada's first Indigenous governor general decries online abuse

Canada's first Indigenous governor general, Mary Simon, denounced Wednesday racist and sexist abuse that led her to block comments on her official social media accounts.

3 years ago