Culture
During Communism, the Romanian music scene never had a chance to flourish. During the regime very few records were permitted in the country, but with the 1989 fall of the iron curtain came a growing and innovative music culture.
British artists Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey are renowned for their extraordinary work which is quite literally alive. Their latest pieces, on show at Slovenia's Mladi Levi festival, use grass to create photographic canvases that capture real life in shades of yellow and green.
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This week: Balancing power in Ukraine; Italy’s pseudo freedom of movement; And introducing trash art … a summer exhibition that's totally rubbish!
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Every summer, the beaches of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula are taken over by KaZantip - billed as the “biggest, longest, craziest and most unusual music event in the world”. Already notorious among Russian-speaking clubbers, the dance party is now drawing an increasingly international crowd.
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A first time director, who began his career as a stuntman, making a crime film in the Czech Republic. It doesn’t exactly scream ‘box office smash’ does it? But crime thriller Kajínek has become the country’s most successful film, shattering all previous records within its first two weeks.
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Fine French food is delicious and Paris certainly has no shortage of restaurants. But how do you sift though the myriad of suggestions on the internet and in hundreds of guidebooks to find the perfect meal? One group of Anglophone food writers has teamed up to try to solve the problem.
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Howard Spiegler fights for art justice, helping the victims of the Nazis and other criminals recover their art and antiquities. While often compared to Indiana Jones, this real-life crusader takes on his adversaries in the courtroom and prefers to tout case files rather than a bullwhip.
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The first purpose-built cinemas that began popping up around the UK a century ago were a long way away from today's glossy multiplexes. A small number of these pioneers still ply their trade today and their buildings offer moviegoers a trip down the memory lane of cinematic history.
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A graveyard may not strike many as the most appropriate place for a concert, but Romania's famous Merry Cemetery is no ordinary burial ground. The richly decorated graves with their humorous epitaphs served as both the inspiration and the backdrop for the first Romanian-Irish music festival.
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In an increasingly secular world, it's not just church-goers who attend the Prague International Organ Festival. The event continues to draw in performers and guests from all over the world and this year marks the festival's 15th anniversary.
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This week: Ireland’s peace process hits a rough patch; France rejects responsibility for the Roma; And a Dutch daredevil sets sail around the globe.
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Former Czech president Václav Havel, who was swept to power by the country's 1989 Velvet Revolution, has had many professions in his life – poet, playwright, dissident, revolutionary, president, and author. Now, at the tender age of 73, he is adding a new string to his bow – film director.
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As the mills and mines of northern England went into decline in the latter half of the 20th century, it was feared that the traditional brass band would follow suit. But Yorkshire's Black Dyke Band diversified its repertoire, found new fans and has since been going from strength to strength.
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This week: Germany digs deep into the festival that went horribly wrong; Slovenia picks up the pieces; And the soundtrack of the great outdoors, how to deal with those post-travel blues.
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A controversial prime minister, a natural disaster and a town in ruins, good ingredients for a gripping documentary, you might think. But for the residents of L'Aquila, there looms a bigger tragedy beneath the drama.
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The Spanish region of Catalonia banned the traditional sport of bullfighting today. The vote was preceded by a forceful campaign from animal rights activists, but some see it as a warning shot from a region determined to assert its political and cultural independence from Madrid.
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Germans are asking difficult questions today about security at the Love Parade in the town of Duisburg. An investigation is underway, but following the deaths of 17 young people in Saturday's stampede, will the tragedy mark the end of free festivals in Europe?
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It is seen by many as just another brown sludgy river threading its way through a capital city, but there is more to the Thames than meets the eye. A new photography exhibition sets out to track the river from source to sea, shining light on its role as the lifeblood of London.
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Italy may face early elections after a meeting of party leaders went awry Thursday night. After a falling out between Berlusconi and his party's co-founder, the country watches as the government teeters on the brink of collapse.
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Anyone thinking that London’s literary lovers would be cooped up in some dusty old library will be proven wrong at this week’s London's literary festival. To keep up with the times, Twitter fans can also litter the internet with their literary tweets.
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A new UK production of I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky by minimalist composer John Adams aims to shake things up a bit. The Brits are attempting to breathe new life into the American earthquake musical, but can they succeed where others have failed before?
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Go get the beers, chips and dips and enjoy the final two games of the World Cup, because come Monday we no longer have a legitimate reason to call in sick, ignore our friends and family, and wear stretchy pants exclusively. That's right folks, the World Cup is nearly over!
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Britain is Europe's number one when it comes to reported hate crimes, according to OECD figures. While everyone agrees this is nothing to be proud of, campaigners trying to introduce more protection for victims say they are making little progress.
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Catalonia is poised to vote on a bullfighting ban. Whether this is progressive animal rights policy or disguised nationalism, the move is stoking a long-simmering debate.
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Fancy getting your paws on a stunning work of modern art without having to part with cold hard cash? Well head on down to the Art Barter market, where you can exchange your cat-sitting skills for a canvas or a holiday for a high-class art work.
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Only a few short weeks ago the idea of not having a football match to watch in the evening was fine. I would go out, maybe exercise, maybe meet some friends. But that was then. Things have changed. I need my footy fix. But tonight for the first time in weeks, I’ll have to do without.
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With more than 60 TV soap operas currently being broadcast in the country, Turkish audiences have a voracious appetite for romance and drama - the more risque the better. But now some politicians want to clean up the salacious soaps for the good of the nation's morals.
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Who knows what goes on in the mind of Fifa chief Sepp Blatter? Despite the fact that some of the world’s greatest footballers are putting on the sport’s marquee showcase, Fifa’s dark overlord is still dominating the headlines, like he did prior to the tournament and likely will afterwards.
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Italy won’t retain their title as world champions after falling short at the competition’s first hurdle. Like many of the fancied nations, the Italians weren’t at the races throughout the tournament. The even stranger news is that the favourites Spain might also be on the next plane home.
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While I did enjoy heaping scorn on France last week following their loss to Mexico, it appears they don’t need me anymore. In a World Cup that is offering up more drama than an episode of Sex and the City, France have taken the lead role with sackings, resignations, and strikes. Sacrebleu!
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When most individuals picture tools of torture, images of thumbscrews, iron maidens and metal spikes spring to mind. But imagine having to endure mental and physical pain because of … music? For many, this reality exists.
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This week: Continuing Europe’s right-wing trend, the Belgians elect a Flemish nationalist party, making some Europeans nervous; the victims of Bloody Sunday are exonerated in a long-awaited British report; and Italian authorities tackle counterfeit street sales - just in time for summer.
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Flamenco conjures up images of colourful costumes, soulful guitar ballads and a lot of passionate Spaniards clapping their hands. So, who would have guessed that Seville's successful flamenco Jaleo dance company was the brainchild of Peter Holloway: a young man from the north of England.
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This week: The Dutch cast their votes but there’s still no government in sight; EU finance ministers agree to submit national budgets for peer review; a Hungarian junior civil servant causes financial chaos; and as the World Cup gets under way, Serbians take pride in their national team.
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A Belarusian government-backed morality watchdog intends to study the content of Elton John’s live performances before giving the green light to his concert in Minsk, scheduled for 26 June.
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Despite the fall of Communism and the subsequent break-up of the Soviet Union 20 years ago, human rights activists and journalists working in Russia say they still face harassment on a daily basis. They also claim that the authorities do little to tacle it.
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This week: Europe condemns Israel over a violent raid on a humanitarian flotilla bound for Gaza; the German president surprises everyone by standing down; and the cockpit transcripts from the crashed plane that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski are released.
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Amazing, wonderful and generous, naughty and disloyal - just some of the adjectives used to describe the famous Pablo Picasso. Long thought to be a devoted communist, an exhibition in Liverpool now shines a new light on the master painter's political ideas.
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You might have thought you'd seen the back of Eurovision for this year, following Germany's win at weekend, but in Slovenia there is no escape. The country is still abuzz with its recent Eurovision success - not in the song competition, but in the Eurovision Young Musicians Contest.
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A group of buskers who became famous for playing a unique style of reggae music on the Paris metro have picked their second home as the main theme for their first official album.
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What do you get when you cross three middle-aged losers, a geeky teenager, a lot of booze and a time travelling jacuzzi? A Hollywood smash hit apparently. The self-explanatory Hot Tub Time Machine is the latest Hollywood hit taking over Europe’s cinemas, but is it worth seeing?
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Ten acts reached the promised land of the Eurovision final last night in the competition's first semi-final. So, as the competition hots up we visit the UK, to see if Eurovision fever has gripped Britain like it has the rest of the continent.
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As the French cabinet, this week, approved a draft law to ban the burqa, Paris-based Moroccan artist Majida Khattari has been using the veil worn by some Muslim women as inspiration for a photography and installation show in the French capital.
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