Book review: Maithree Wijesekara builds South Asia-inspired fantasy in hefty debut
Author Maithree Wijesekara's debut novel The Prince Without Sorrow draws from South Asian myths. PHOTOS: CHAU TRAN, HARPER VOYAGER
The Prince Without Sorrow
By Maithree Wijesekara
Fantasy/Harper Voyager/Hardcover/384 pages/$38
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Straits Times
11 hours ago
- Straits Times
200-year-old unused condom with saucy print draws big crowds to Dutch museum
A 200-year-old condom – still unused and still straight as an arrow – has been drawing huge crowds to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. 'It's in mint condition,' the museum's curator Joyce Zelen told the BBC. She said the museum inspected the condom with ultraviolet light and ascertained that it had never been used. The rare artefact – likely a 'luxury souvenir' from a fancy brothel in France – dates back to 1830. It is believed that only two such objects are known to have survived to the present day. The condom is thought to be made of a sheep's appendix. It features an explicit print of a nun sitting in front of three clergymen with her dress up and her legs apart, pointing her finger at the men, all of whom are standing in front of her holding up their habits. The condom also bears the inscription 'Voila mon choix', meaning: 'There is my choice'. The Dutch museum said the print is a 'parody of both celibacy and the Judgement of Paris from Greek mythology' – the mythological story of a Trojan prince named Paris who had to decide who was the fairest goddess among Aphrodite, Hera and Athena. The condom 'embodies both the lighter and darker sides of sexual health, in an era when the quest for sensual pleasure was fraught with fears of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases – especially syphilis', the museum said. 'Acquiring the condom has enabled us to focus on 19th-century sexuality and prostitution, a subject that is underrepresented in our collection,' it said. Ms Zelen told the BBC that when she and her colleague first saw the condom at an auction in 2024, they 'were laughing'. 'No one else noticed it,' she said, and they were the only ones who bid on it. The 200-year-old condom on display at the Rijkmuseum in Amstermdam. PHOTO: RIJKSMUSEUM Since it was put on display, the museum has been packed with people – young and old – and the 'response has been amazing', said Ms Zelen. She said her institution was open to loan the artefact out to other museums, but noted that the condom was very delicate. It will be on display until the end of November. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
a day ago
- Straits Times
Sean ‘Diddy' Combs tells courtroom artist he looks like a ‘koala' in sketches
Sean "Diddy" Combs told courtroom sketch artist Jane Rosenberg that she was making him look like a koala bear. PHOTO: REUTERS Sean 'Diddy' Combs tells courtroom artist he looks like a 'koala' in sketches Before the jury in Sean 'Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking trial returned from a lunch break on June 5 , the grey-bearded hip-hop mogul turned to face courtroom sketch artist Jane Rosenberg in the first row to make an unusual request. 'Soften me up a bit, you're making me look like a koala bear,' Combs said, according to Ms Rosenberg. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to five criminal counts of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. During the four weeks of his trial, he has worn sweaters and sported greying hair and a goatee. Ms Rosenberg, a well-known sketch artist, has been documenting the proceedings for Reuters in Manhattan federal court, where photography and video recording are prohibited. Combs, also known throughout his career as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is not the first high-profile defendant to remark on Rosenberg's depictions of them. Earlier in 2025 , Mr Rudy Giuliani told Ms Rosenberg she had made him look like his dog. The former New York City mayor was in court in a civil case stemming from his false accusations that two election workers helped steal the 2020 US presidential election for Democrat Joe Biden. And in 2023, Mr Donald Trump Jr. had a blunt request for Ms Rosenberg during a civil fraud trial over his family's real estate business: 'Make me look sexy.' Combs could face life in prison if convicted on all counts in the trial. He has nonetheless demonstrated good spirits during some breaks in the trial, often making a heart gesture with his hands toward family seated in the front row. But his behaviour in court drew a rebuke on June 5 by US District Judge Arun Subramanian. The judge said he had noticed Combs nodding in the jury's direction during his lawyer's cross-examination of a witness. Judge Subramanian said that was 'unacceptable' and threatened to kick Combs out of the courtroom if he sought to interact with the jury again. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
a day ago
- Straits Times
Lawyer for Sean ‘Diddy' Combs accuses witness of lying about balcony attack
Sean "Diddy" Combs speaking to his lawyers in a court sketch, before the start of the day's proceedings on June 5. PHOTO: REUTERS NEW YORK - A lawyer for Sean "Diddy" Combs accused a witness at his sex trafficking trial on June 5 of falsely testifying that the hip-hop mogul held her over the balcony of a Los Angeles apartment, and suggested Combs was on the East Coast at the time of the alleged attack. Ms Bryana Bongolan, a friend of Combs' former girlfriend Casandra Ventura, testified on June 4 that Combs in September 2016 held her over the rail of the balcony at Ventura's apartment and then threw her onto the balcony's furniture, causing her bruises. Prosecutors say the incident was among several violent acts that Combs, 55, took against Ventura and people close to her during the decade he was coercing Ventura to take part in drug-fuelled sexual performances with male sex workers known as "freak offs." Combs has pleaded not guilty to five counts including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. He could face life in prison if convicted on all counts. Ms Bongolan had not stated the exact date of the alleged balcony attack during her testimony on June 4. Jurors on June 4 saw a picture Ms Bongolan took of a bruise on her leg taken on Sept 26, 2016. A civil lawsuit Ms Bongolan filed against Combs in 2024 said the incident took place "on or about Sept 26, 2016." On June 5, Combs' lawyer Nicole Westmoreland asked Ms Bongolan if she was aware that Combs performed at a concert in New Jersey on Sept 25, 2016, and attended an event in New York with Ventura the following day. Westmoreland also showed jurors a document from the Trump International hotel in New York indicating that someone named "Frank Black" stayed there from Sept 24, 2016, through Sept 29, 2016. Previous witnesses at the trial have testified that Combs, like other celebrities, frequently used aliases when staying at hotels. "You came in here and you lied to the ladies and gentlemen of this jury, didn't you?" Ms Westmoreland asked. "I can't agree with you," Ms Bongolan replied. Ms Bryana Bongolan (right) leaving court after testifying on June 4. PHOTO: REUTERS Under further questioning from prosecutor Madison Smyser, Ms Bongolan said she did not know the exact date of the incident because it happened 'a while ago', but said she had no doubt it took place. 'I will never forget him holding me on that balcony,' Ms Bongolan said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
