Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a law prohibiting individuals from wearing clothing in public places that covers their faces, joining a trend in several Central Asian countries to restrict forms of Islamic dress.
The text of the law says clothing that “interferes with facial recognition” will be banned in public, with exemptions for medical purposes, in adverse weather conditions and at sporting and cultural events.
The legislation, one in a series of wider amendments signed into law on Monday, does not explicitly mention religion or types of religious dress.
Tokayev has previously praised the legislation as an opportunity to celebrate ethnic identity in Kazakhstan, a majority-Muslim country and former Soviet republic.
“Rather than wearing face-concealing black robes, it’s much better to wear clothes in the national style,” he was quoted by Kazakh media as saying earlier this year.
Read: Kyrgyz body backs ban on niqab
“Our national clothes vividly emphasise our ethnic identity, so we need to popularise them comprehensively.”
Other Central Asian countries have introduced similar laws in recent years.
Police in Kyrgyzstan have conducted street patrols to enforce their ban on the Islamic niqab face veil, according to local media reports.
In Uzbekistan, violating the niqab statute carries a fine of over $250. Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon signed a ban on wearing clothing in public that is “alien to national culture.”
Edited by Valentin Bansac, Mike Fritsch, Alice Loumeau and Peter Szendy
Published by Spector Books
The Luxembourg Pavilion at the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale is an invitation to close our eyes and actively listen. The installation hosted in the pavilion, Sonic Investigations, operates a radical shift away from the visual: it offers a cartography of various environments exclusively through sound. The volume, conceived as a companion to the sound installation in Venice, has a broad ambition: it argues for a counter-project to the hegemony of images.
Since the climate crisis can also be understood as a crisis of sensory perception and representation, it is all the more urgent to find new ways of approaching the ongoing environmental transformations. The act of listening allows for different forays into both anthropic and natural ecosystems. It directs our attention toward the vocality of other-than-human agencies; it empowers them with a voice of their own.
Field recording can thus be the prelude to another mapping of the world, attuning our ears to its various fault lines, to its tensions. And sounding becomes a powerful investigative tool, a way of auscultating the infrastructures of the present as well as the times to come. The concept of ecotone, a transitional space between two ecosystems, is a guiding thread for the authors of this volume as they listen to boundaries between territories, to urban patterns, to natural balances and imbalances, or to political fractures.
The book includes contributions by Peter Szendy, Shannon Mattern, Tim Ingold, Soline Nivet and Ariane Wilson, David George Haskell, Ludwig Berger, Philip Samartzis and Madelynne Cornish (Bogong Centre for Sound Culture), Nadine Schütz, Laure Brayer (AAU-CRESSON), Julia Grillmayr, Christina Gruber and Sophia Rut (Lobau Listening Comprehensions), Yuri Tuma (Institute for Postnatural Studies), Emma McCormick Goodhart, as well as a fiction piece by Xabi Molia and poems by Laura Vazquez and Cole Swensen. The graphic identity is designed by Pierre Vanni.
Public events of Sonic Investigations, Luxembourg Pavilion at the Venice Biennale The activations extend the reflection on embodied practices and sensorial approaches to space through sound, offering a unique exploration of the performer’s and the audience’s body within soundscapes. The events will create a dialogue between the space of the pavilion and the infrastructural apparatus of the Venetian lagoon, together with local Italian sound artists and researchers.
October 7–10, 2025 Ecotongues (Residency and Performance inside the pavilion): Gaia Ginevra Giorgi (author, sound artist and performer) Ecotongues explores mediumship as the ability to inhabit the threshold between the visible and the invisible, the audible and the inaudible, as a performative practice of interspecific intimacy between human and more-than-human entities.
October 25–26, 2025 Attunement Exercises: Nicola Di Croce (researcher and sound artist) The two public exercises address the idea of ‘attunement’ as the possibility of entering ‘into resonance with’ the non-human, through an investigation of the sound sources of the Venice lagoon taking particularly into account the infrastructure systems and their relation to wilder ecosystems.
19th International Venice Architecture Biennale, Luxembourg Pavilion, Arsenale, Sale d’Armi, 1st floor / May 10–November 23, 2025. Valentin Bansac, Mike Fritsch, Alice Loumeau with Ludwig Berger, Peter Szendy:Sonic Investigations
Commissioners appointed by the Luxembourg Ministry of Culture: Kultur | lx—Arts Council Luxembourg, LUCA—Luxembourg Center for Architecture / Curators: Valentin Bansac, Mike Fritsch, Alice Loumeau / Exhibitors: Valentin Bansac, Ludwig Berger, Anthea Caddy, Mike Fritsch, Alice Loumeau, Peter Szendy / Visual identity: Pierre Vanni.
Press contact: Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg Emilie Gouleme, emilie.gouleme [at] kulturlx.lu, T +352 621 680 028
Climeworks, the global pioneer in Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology and leading provider of holistic carbon removal portfolios, has achieved a significant milestone by securing USD 162 million in additional equity funding — marking the largest carbon removal investment of 2025 to date globally.
This financing round underscores Climeworks’ commitment to scaling up and perfecting its cutting-edge technology to help significantly reduce the cost of carbon removals. This latest investment takes the company’s total funding since inception to over USD 1 billion, further solidifying its position as the industry leader.
Main investors of the funding round were BigPoint Holding and Partners Group, with additional backing mainly from other existing investors, reaffirming their strong commitment to Climeworks. This unwavering support underscores deep confidence in the company’s technology leadership, commercial momentum, and ambitious long-term mission to revolutionize carbon removal.
Developing best-in-class technology
The new capital will fuel the continued development of Climeworks’ best-in-class DAC technology to bring down the cost of removals. Climeworks has achieved major milestones in scaling its groundbreaking technology. Its first plant, Orca, successfully validated the company’s approach. In addition, the second plant, Mammoth, is driving further advancements by enabling scaling and large-scale testing of new removal technologies.
The company has already demonstrated significant advancements that will make its processes more efficient, including doubled energy efficiency, increased throughput, and a much longer filter material lifespan—key progress toward making the world’s first profitable direct air capture plant a reality.
Building the market with a more diverse removals portfolio
The funding will also allow Climeworks to continue expanding its carbon removal portfolio, providing tailored, blended solutions that help companies begin investment in removals, spread risk and progressively move up the quality curve.
Climeworks continues to expand its carbon removal portfolio offering as the number one carbon removal player. As demand grows, companies increasingly rely on nature-based and hybrid engineered solutions for near-term removal needs while increasing their focus on technical removals over time. Climeworks is uniquely positioned to meet both short- and long-term demand with a global portfolio that already includes > 6 million tons of secured supply. According to analysts, the carbon removal market is poised for a potential to reach 80 billion USD by 2030, growing to a trillion USD by 2050.
Christoph Gebald, co-CEO and co-founder of Climeworks says: “Direct Air Capture has gone from experiment to essential—and we’re focused on scaling it by driving down costs and pushing innovation. Our hybrid model builds long-term demand while generating cash flow today, helping us grow a market that investors now see as inevitable. Crossing the $1 billion equity mark isn’t just a milestone—it shows that carbon removal is real, needed, and here to stay.”
Clashes erupted in Istanbul with police firing rubber bullets and teargas to disperse a mob on Monday after allegations that a satirical magazine had published a cartoon of the prophet Muhammad.
The clashes occurred after Istanbul’s chief prosecutor ordered the arrest of the editors at LeMan magazine on grounds it had published a cartoon that “publicly insulted religious values”.
The magazine’s editor-in-chief, Tuncay Akgun, said the image had been misinterpreted.
“This cartoon is not a caricature of prophet Muhammad in any way,” he told Agence France-Presse. “In this work, the name of a Muslim who was killed in the bombardments of Israel is fictionalised as Muhammad. More than 200 million people in the Islamic world are named Muhammad.
“[It] has nothing to do with prophet Muhammad. We would never take such a risk.”
As the news broke, several dozen angry protesters attacked a bar often frequented by LeMan staffers in downtown Istanbul, provoking angry scuffles with police, an AFP correspondent said.
The scuffles quickly became clashes involving between 250 to 300 people, the correspondent said.
Founded in 1991, LeMan is famed for its political satire and has long been the bane of conservatives, especially following its support for France’s Charlie Hebdo after its Paris offices were attacked in 2015 by Islamist gunmen who killed 12 following the magazine’s publication of caricatures of the prophet Muhammad.
The interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya, said on that X police had arrested the cartoonist responsible for the image as well as LeMan’s graphic designer.
“The person named DP who made this vile drawing has been caught and taken into custody,” he wrote, adding: “These shameless individuals will be held accountable before the law.”
Others named in the arrest warrant were LeMan’s editor-in-chief and its managing editor, media reports said.
In a string of posts on X, LeMan defended the cartoon and said it had been deliberately misinterpreted to cause a provocation.
“The cartoonist wanted to portray the righteousness of the oppressed Muslim people by depicting a Muslim killed by Israel, he never intended to belittle religious values,” it said. “We do not accept the stigma imposed on us because there is no depiction of our prophet. It takes a very malicious person to interpret the cartoon in this way.”
“We apologise to our well-intentioned readers who we think were subjected to provocations.”
The justice minister, Yilmaz Tunc, said an investigation had been opened on grounds of “publicly insulting religious values”.
“Disrespect towards our beliefs is never acceptable,” he wrote on X. “No freedom grants the right to make the sacred values of a belief the subject of ugly humour. The caricature or any form of visual representation of our prophet not only harms our religious values but also damages societal peace.”
Istanbul’s governor, Davut Gul, also lashed out at “this mentality that seeks to provoke society by attacking our sacred values”.
“We will not remain silent in the face of any vile act targeting our nation’s faith,” he said.
The Dalai Lama has declared in a direct challenge to China that the centuries-old spiritual institution bearing his name will continue after his death and that only his inner circle, not Beijing, will have the authority to identify his successor.
In a video message played on Wednesday during prayer celebrations ahead of his 90th birthday this weekend, the 14th Dalai Lama said the Gaden Phodrang Trust, which manages his affairs, would oversee the search for his reincarnation.
“No one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter,” he said in Dharamshala, the northern Indian hill town that serves as the seat of the Tibetan government in exile. “In accordance with past tradition, the search for my reincarnation and the naming of a 15th Dalai Lama will be carried out.”
The Dalai Lama had previously hinted he might be the last in the line, but he said consultations with senior spiritual leaders and appeals from the Tibetan public, including in Chinese-ruled Tibet, had persuaded him otherwise.
“In accordance with all these requests, I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue,” he told the gathering of senior Buddhist monks. He said clear written instructions would be left behind, but did not elaborate on their contents.
China annexed Tibet in 1951 and has retained tight control over the region ever since. It has said the choice of the next Dalai Lama lies only with Beijing, and has enshrined state assent for all senior Tibetan religious leaders in law. It insists the golden urn – a Qing dynasty ritual in which names are drawn by lot from a ceremonial vessel – is the only legitimate method for recognising reincarnated lamas. The Communist party must approve the final selection.
Beijing has already used this approach to assert control. After the death of the 10th Panchen Lama, Tibet’s second-highest spiritual authority, in 1995, the Dalai Lama recognised a six-year-old boy as his reincarnation. The boy and his family vanished into Chinese custody days later and have not been seen since. China installed its own candidate, widely rejected by Tibetans. According to Chinese state media, the Beijing-backed Panchen Lama met President Xi Jinping just last month and pledged loyalty to the Communist party.
The Dalai Lama has said his successor will be born in a free country, raising the possibility that the next reincarnation could emerge from among the Tibetan diaspora, which numbers about 140,000 globally, half of them in India. He has also said the next Dalai Lama might be an adult and not necessarily male.
“Today’s message is that the Dalai Lama institution will continue,” Lobsang Tenzin, the trust’s second-most senior leader and known by his religious title Samdhong Rinpoche, told a news conference in Dharamshala. “There will be a 15th Dalai Lama. There will be a 16th.” He said the Dalai Lama would issue detailed instructions on how the search for the next reincarnation should proceed.
Beijing swiftly rejected the Dalai Lama’s statement. “The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, the Panchen Lama, and other great Buddhist figures must be chosen by drawing lots from a golden urn and approved by the central government,” said the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning.
“Tibetan Buddhism was born in China and is a religion with Chinese characteristics,” she told a news briefing.
The clash underscores a long-running power struggle between Beijing and the Dalai Lama over who controls Tibetan Buddhism’s most sacred office. Most Tibetan Buddhists, in Tibet and in exile, oppose China’s tight control of the region.
Tibetan Buddhists believe the Dalai Lama is the earthly manifestation of Avalokiteshvara, a revered figure in Buddhism known as the bodhisattva of compassion – a spiritual being who remains in the world to guide others on the path to enlightenment.
By tradition, only the current Dalai Lama, or those he appoints, can identify his successor, using visions, omens and consultation with senior lamas and protectors of the faith.
Tenzin Gyatso was recognised the 14th reincarnation at the age of two. He assumed full authority at 15 and fled Tibet four years later when Chinese troops crushed an uprising in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, in 1959. He has been living in exile in Dharamshala since.
He was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1989 “for advocating peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect”.He wrote in a recent book: “The purpose of a reincarnation is to carry on the work of the predecessor. The new Dalai Lama will be born in the free world.”
The deputy speaker of the Tibetan parliament in exile, Dolma Tsering Teykhang, said: “The world needs to hear directly from His Holiness. China tries to vilify him at every chance … It is trying to frame rules and regulations on how to have the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama in their hand.”
The succession dispute has also sharpened tensions between China and India, which granted asylum to the Dalai Lama after he fled Tibet. More than 100,000 Tibetans live in exile in India. Delhi officially recognises Tibet as part of China, but it also allows the Tibetan government in exile to operate from Dharamshala.
The reincarnation issue has drawn global attention. The US passed the Tibetan Policy and Support Act in 2020, threatening sanctions on Chinese officials who interfere in the selection process. The EU has voiced support for religious freedom in Tibet, but it has stopped short of taking a formal position on reincarnation.
BRASÍLIA, July 2 — A Brazilian accused of stealing a football autographed by Neymar from Congress during the 2023 riots by supporters of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro has been sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment for the theft and other charges.
The Supreme Court on Monday night convicted Nelson Ribeiro Fonseca Junior, 34, over the robbery of the ball.
He was also convicted of violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, armed criminal association and attempting a coup over his participation in the riots in Brasilia.
More than 500 people have been convicted over the events of January 8, 2023, when thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace to protest his election loss to left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Ribeiro confessed to taking the ball, which Neymar’s boyhood club Santos — to which he returned this year — gifted to the Chamber of Deputies in 2012.
His lawyers claimed that he found it on the floor of Congress during the unrest, took it away to protect it and handed it in 20 days later to the police.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ruled that Ribeiro had “actively participated” in events leading to the storming and sacking of Congress, the Supreme Court and presidential palace.
Moraes described the ball which he took, which had been on display in a corridor, as a “public good belonging to the public heritage” of Brazil.
The riots came a week after Lula was sworn in after narrowly defeating far-right incumbent Bolsonaro in October 2022 elections.
The demonstrators called for the military to intervene to oust him.
Bolsonaro, a former army captain who served a single term from 2019 to 2022, is accused of instigating the riots, although he was in the United States at the time.
He is on trial for allegedly plotting to wrest power from Lula in the event of his victory.
Prosecutors claim the plot only failed due to a lack of military backing.
In addition, BBVA secured Top 10 rankings across other relevant categories, such as, Best CEO, Best CFO, Best IR Program, Best Analyst Event, Best Company Board and Best ESG Program, underscoring the team’s strong leadership built on credibility and clear communication.
Building on these achievements, BBVA’s IR team has been awarded Best Buy-Side Management among European companies by IR Impact. This award recognizes the team’s ongoing commitment and efforts to maintain an open, transparent, and close engagement with institutional investors, always striving for excellence and value creation.
Patricia Bueno, BBVA’s Global Head of Shareholder & Investor Relations, stated: “It is a true privilege to have been acknowledged by the market for our efforts—especially in a year marked by intense activity, where the team demonstrated exceptional professionalism and unwavering dedication. We extend our deepest gratitude to all the investment professionals who participated in these surveys and to our entire team for their dedication and hard work.”
The Times of India at Wimbledon: World No. 1 Jannik Sinner is on flight mode, having locked out all distractions. The 23-year-old demonstrated it effectively on a blazing hot day at Wimbledon, when his serve rocked. The Italian dropped just four points on his first serve against compatriot Luca Nardi in the first round. Sinner won 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 in one-hour and 49-minutes.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The three-time major winner, whose best result here is a semifinal in 2023, has been working on his serve, which can be a weapon at a whole different level on this surface. Sinner has been watching other players. John Isner, who has the most aces in a tournament with 214 during the 2018 Wimbledon, and also the most career aces at 14,470, has been someone the top-seed is looking at.
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Sinner, who goes up against Aussie Aleksandar Vukic in the second round on Thursday, didn’t face a breakpoint in the match. “I feel quite comfortable at the moment,” he said of his serve. Sinner’s quick result was a relief for the tournament as top players struggled with the muggy conditions on the opening day and again on Tuesday. The Italian, who tested positive twice in March last year for the banned steroid Clostebol, but was cleared of fault or negligence, is playing here for the first time after the news of the positive tests became public. “I think people have forgotten already a little bit what happened,” said Sinner, who had his fair share of support on Court No. 1 on Tuesday. The Italian explained that the situation in the locker-room had also changed, with a lot of players, who had issues with the way the world No. 1 was treated, have put the situation behind them.
‘Jay Shah Deserves Credit for How He Ran BCCI’ | Arun Dhumal on BCCI’s Commitment & Leadership
Perricard serves fastest; Fritz winsIn the opening game of a first-round match, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard thumped a 153 mph first serve. It was five miles per hour faster than the previous Wimbledon speed record of 148 mph by American Taylor Dent hit 15 summers ago.That was the Frenchman’s takeaway from the three-hour 25-minute clash against the fifth-seeded American Taylor Fritz. Fritz, who didn’t face a single breakpoint in the match, broke at love in the tenth game to close out 6-7 (6), 6-7 (8), 6-4, 7-6 (6), 6-4.In other first-round matches, defending champion Czech Barbora Krejcikova, playing just her seventh match of the season, beat Philippines’ Alexandra Eala 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 in two hours and 10-minutes.
Few break-ups have as many gossiping observers as the fallout between the once inseparable Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
The ill-fated bromance between the US president and the world’s richest man, which once raised questions about American oligarchy, is now being pored over by social media users in China, many of whom are Team Musk.
The latest drama comes from Musk’s pledge to found a new political party, the America party, if Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill, which Musk described as “insane” passed the Senate this week (it did). Musk had already vowed to unseat lawmakers who backed Trump’s flagship piece of legislation, which is expected to increase US national debt by $3.3tn.
On Wednesday, hours after the bill passed the US Senate, the hashtag #MuskWantsToBuildAnAmericaParty went viral on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform similar to Musk’s X, receiving more than 37m views.
“If Elon Musk were to found a political party, his tech-driven mindset could inject fresh energy into politics. The potential for change is significant – and worth watching,” wrote one Weibo user.
“When you’ve had enough, there’s no need to keep putting up with it,” wrote another.
One comment summed up the mood on the platform: “Brother Musk, you’ve got over a billion people on our side backing you.”
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is widely venerated in China for his business acumen and technological achievements. Tesla’s electric vehicles are the only western brand on Chinese roads that can rival domestic firms, and the company’s biggest factory by volume is in Shanghai. Musk is known to have a close relationship with China’s premier, Li Qiang, while Musk’s mother, Maye Musk, is a social media celebrity in her own right in China.
Musk’s popularity in China follows a well-established trend of Chinese audiences enthusiastically embracing US tech innovators. Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs was a bestseller in China, as was his biography of Musk.
Trump, however, is seen by many as being an unpredictable funnyman who has launched the most aggressive trade war on China in recent history.
Some internet users commented that Trump and Musk should grow up. “These two grown men argue nonstop over the smallest things – and the whole world ends up knowing about it,” wrote one user, while another joked: “Every day, Musk is basically live-streaming ‘How Billionaires Argue’”.
The conversation has been allowed to flourish on China’s tightly controlled social media, suggesting that at least some censors are betting that the US political chaos could be no bad thing for China.
MELBOURNE, Australia — An Australian domestic flight was delayed for two hours after a stowaway snake was found in the plane’s cargo hold, officials said on Wednesday.
The snake was found on Tuesday as passengers were boarding Virgin Australia Flight VA337 at Melbourne Airport bound for Brisbane, according to snake catcher Mark Pelley.
The snake turned out to be a harmless 60-centimeter (2-foot) green tree snake. But Pelly said he thought it could be venomous when he approached it in the darkened hold.
“It wasn’t until after I caught the snake that I realized that it wasn’t venomous. Until that point, it looked very dangerous to me,” Pelley said.
Most of the world’s most venomous snakes are native to Australia.
When Pelley entered the cargo hold, the snake was half hidden behind a panel and could have disappeared deeper into the plane.
Pelley said he told an aircraft engineer and airline staff that they would have to evacuate the aircraft if the snake disappeared inside the plane.
“I said to them if I don’t get this in one shot, it’s going to sneak through the panels and you’re going to have to evacuate the plane because at that stage I did not know what kind of snake it was,” Pelley said.
“But thankfully, I got it on the first try and captured it,” Pelley added. “If I didn’t get it that first time, the engineers and I would be pulling apart a (Boeing) 737 looking for a snake still right now.”
Pelley said he had taken 30 minutes to drive to the airport and was then delayed by security before he could reach the airliner.
An airline official said the flight was delayed around two hours.
Because the snake is native to the Brisbane region, Pelley suspects it came aboard inside a passenger’s luggage and escaped during the two-hour flight from Brisbane to Melbourne.
For quarantine reasons, the snake can’t be returned to the wild.
The snake, which is a protected species, has been given to a Melbourne veterinarian to find a home with a licensed snake keeper.
