Latest news with #Heatwave
The Independent
27-05-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
Mapped: UK weather to see off bank holiday rain with temperatures to soar up to 25C
A Caribbean jetstream is set to see temperatures rise across the country, ending the UK's bank holiday washout. The South East may even see up to 25C by the end of half-term week, according to a Met Office forecast. Weather maps show a Caribbean jet stream sweeping across Britain, triggering a 48-hour spell of summer weather warmer than parts of Greece, Morocco and southern Italy. London will even be hotter than Rabat, the capital city of Morocco, and Palermo in Sicily on Friday. But Met Office spokesperson Oliver Claydon told The Independent that the burst of warm weather doesn't quite reach the forecaster's criteria for a heatwave. He said: 'Temperatures this week will fluctuate as weather systems move across the UK, bringing wet and windy weather at times, interspersed by warmer spells of sunshine. 'Temperatures could reach highs of 25C in the south on Friday and Saturday, while remaining a little cooler further north with temperatures reaching the high teens, possibly low 20Cs. 'There is a possibility as we head into June and through the latter part of next week that we could see higher pressure moving in and with it higher temperatures in the south, but at this stage, there is fairly low confidence in the extended outlook.' He added: 'Temperatures in the mid to high 20s are not unusual for late May and early June. Additionally, any period of higher temperatures is more likely to be fairly short-lived.' Temperatures are predicted to return to normal by Monday, but could rise again by Tuesday 3 June. The Met Office's long-range forecast warns of strong winds and thunderstorms in that period. It reads: 'Strong winds may also develop at times, particularly in the North and North West. 'With time, the signs are that systems will increasingly track to the northwest of the country, with the South probably starting to see longer, drier interludes while the North West continues to see more in the way of rain and at times strong winds. 'Temperatures are expected to be around normal overall, but will be cooler in any prolonged periods of rainfall. Meanwhile, there is the possibility of some very warm, perhaps hot conditions developing, especially in the South, and these bring with them the chance of thunderstorms.' It came as April 2025 was declared the sunniest since records began in 1910. This followed the third-sunniest March, and both months saw temperatures well above average nationwide. On 1 May, the temperature reached 29.3C in Kew Gardens in London – a new record for the date. Meteorologists are warning of the potential for a summer drought, as the UK has seen roughly half its usual amount of rainfall for March and April. While farmers are concerned about this year's harvest, some water companies are urging customers to help reservoir levels recover by limiting water use.
The National
19-05-2025
- Science
- The National
Heatwave: How Bahrain's award-winning pavilion will live on beyond Venice Biennale
Bahrain's award-winning pavilion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture may inspire several new structures across the kingdom – its passive cooling technology offering construction workers shade and respite from the heat. 'The idea is to replicate this prototype across several sites in Bahrain,' explains Noura Al Sayeh-Holtrop, an architect and deputy commissioner of the project. 'The pavilion served as a test for a shading structure that we hope to implement across Bahrain in the near future.' Heatwave explores how architecture can respond to rising temperatures. The geothermal cooling system on display draws from the techniques used in vernacular architecture from Bahrain and the wider region. However, it has been bolstered by contemporary innovation. The structure combines a geothermal well, which brings cool air from underground, as well as a solar chimney that expels the warm air out. These two forces are connected in what the designers call a 'thermo-hygrometric axis' that creates a gentle, controlled climate inside the space – all without machinery. 'Temperatures are rising across the world, but their effects are unequal, and the Gulf is one of the regions that will be the most affected,' Al Sayeh-Holtrop says. 'The urgency of the situation is what compelled us to focus on this topic for our national pavilion at the biennale. These public shading spaces are conceived to provide shade and cooling for the most vulnerable members of society and those most exposed to heatwaves: construction workers on work sites.' The pavilion underscores this connection between climate, architecture and social equity through its scenography. Sandbags are piled around the central geothermal well – acting as seating to visitors. 'The proposal starts by acknowledging the alarming issue of rising temperatures and its consequences, specifically for the Gulf region,' Al Sayeh-Holtrop says. 'Yet, it is also a call not to be fatalist about the situation but to investigate what the current possibilities are, reinvesting existing technologies and practices and thinking of simple ways of deploying them in an affordable, modular and replicable manner.' Heatwave, Al Sayeh-Holtrop adds, may be rooted in traditions from the Gulf, but it invites architects worldwide to consider 'local solutions' to climate challenges. 'From Bahrain and from the Gulf, we aim to propose local solutions to global challenges that, while rooted in the contemporary realities of our urban conditions, are inspired by ancestral methods of dealing with the heat,' she says. While Heatwave may go on to inspire innovative shading structures across Bahrain, there are plans for the project in Venice to be reappropriated after the biennale concludes in November. 'We are in discussion with a few partners in Venice to relocate the installation to a location in the laguna, where it can serve as a public shading structure,' Al Sayeh-Holtrop says. 'In terms of sustainability, it would not make sense to ship this installation back to Bahrain, so we are looking for a site that is in or close to Venice.' Heatwave is Bahrain's second Golden Lion win. The country's pavilion also received the top honour at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2010. That project, entitled Reclaim, examined the social implications of extensive land reclamation in an island nation. 'Awards are always great motivations to continue working and talking about important issues,' Al Sayeh-Holtrop says. 'It's important for us in Bahrain to have a seat in international architectural dialogues and exhibitions and to use these platforms to shed light on the urgent issues that we are addressing.'
Euronews
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Gérard Depardieu found guilty of sexual assault on a 2021 film set
The Venice Architecture Biennale, one of the most prestigious events in the world of architecture, has officially launched. Taking place every two years, countries from around the globe are invited to showcase their most innovative and thought-provoking ideas about architecture in national pavilions - this time around the theme of 'Intelligens: Natural. Artificial. Collective.' This year, the Bahrain Pavilion, located in the historic Artiglierie of the Arsenale, has won the coveted Golden Lion award for Best National Participation with its installation titled "Heatwave". Suspended above a relaxed public seating area, Heatwave features a hovering square-shaped ceiling supported by chains from a central column. More than just a visual spectacle, the structure offers climate-responsive cooling, designed to make public space more habitable in a period of intensifying heatwaves. Engineered by Mario Monotti with thermomechanical input from Alexander Puzrin, the installation explores modular climate infrastructure. While a geothermal well and solar chimney were originally proposed to create a self-sustaining microclimate, excavation wasn't feasible at the Biennale site - so mechanical ventilation was used instead to simulate the architect's intended cooling effect. Accepting the award, pavilion commissioner Shaikh Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa noted, "The term heatwave is a very common term we hear in the media, in news and even amongst our conversations at home. It is a stress to our urban centres and local communities, and the pavilion aimed to address those issues through an innovative technique." Two other standout pavilions were also acknowledged by the jury. The Holy See's 'Opera aperta' showcase, housed in a deconsecrated Venetian church in the Castello district, received a special mention for transforming the space into an evolving site of collective care, restoration, and dialogue, inspired by Italian philospher Umberto Eco's 1962 book "Open Work (Opera aperta)". Part construction site, part community centre - over seven months, it will host restoration workshops, shared meals, and music rehearsals, bringing together international architects, local artisans, students, and social collectives. And rather than concealing damage, the team will carefully trace the building's cracks, mold, and weathering - viewing them not as flaws, but as evidence of life, history, and possibility. The British Pavilion also earned a special mention for its powerful examination of architecture and its links to colonisation. Titled 'GBR: Geology of Britannic Repair', the exhibition is a UK-Kenya collaboration led by curators Kabage Karanja and Stella Mutegi (Cave_bureau, Nairobi), Owen Hopkins, and Professor Kathryn Yusoff, and seeks to explore whether architecture can shift from being an extractive force to one of repair and restitution. "With the Great Rift Valley as the exhibition's geological and conceptual focus, we have brought together a series of installations that propose 'other architectures' defined by their relationship to the ground, their resistance to conventional, extractive ways of working, and that are resilient in the face of climate breakdown and social and political upheaval" says the curatorial team. The Venice Architecture Biennale runs until 23 November 2025. A Paris court today has found actor Gérard Depardieu guilty of having sexually assaulted two women on a 2021 film set, giving him an 18-month suspended prison sentence. The actor, 76, has been convicted of having groped a 54-year-old costume designer and a 34-year-old assistant during the filming of Jean Becker's Les Volets Verts. Depardieu, who has denied the accusations, didn't attend today's hearing. The actor was also slapped with the additional penalty of a two-year disqualification from standing for election, as well as registration in the national automated database of sexual offenders. In addition to non-material damages, Depardieu has been ordered to pay both women the sums of €1,000 and €2,000 for secondary victimisation. No fine of €20,000 as requested by the public prosecutor, however. "I hope this is the end of impunity for an artist in the film industry," stated Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, the lawyer of one of the victims. "With this decision, we can no longer say (that Gérard Depardieu) is not a sexual abuser," she added. "My thoughts are with the other victims who are under the statute of limitations and with the four victims who took the stand." Depardieu will appeal against his conviction for sexual assault, his lawyer Jérémie Assous announced after the hearing. The case is widely seen as a key post- #MeToo test of how French society and its film industry address allegations of sexual misconduct involving prominent figures. During the four-day trial in March, Depardieu rejected the accusations, saying he's 'not like that.' He acknowledged that he had used vulgar and sexualized language on the film set and that he grabbed the set designer's hips during an argument, but denied that his behavior was sexual. Paris' public prosecutor had requested that Depardieu be found guilty and given an 18-month suspended prison sentence and a fine of €20,000. The prosecutor denounced the actor's 'total denial and failure to question himself.' Some figures in the French cinema world have expressed their support for Depardieu. Actors Vincent Perez and Fanny Ardant were among those who took seats on his side of the courtroom. Depardieu has been accused publicly or in formal complaints of misconduct by more than 20 women, but so far only the sexual assault case has proceeded to court. Some other cases were dropped because of a lack of evidence or the statute of limitations. The actor may have to face other legal proceedings soon. In 2018, actor Charlotte Arnould accused him of raping her at his home. That case is still active, and in August 2024 prosecutors requested that it go to trial. The 78th Cannes Film Festival kicks off today and every year, the world has its eyes on the red carpet, which is perhaps one of the most rigidly controlled red carpets in the world. This year, there's some change, as the festival has added a new stipulation: no nudity. While nudity was never previously endorsed at the festival, Cannes updated its dress policy to read that 'nudity is prohibited on the red carpet, as well as in any other area of the festival.' While a no-shirt-no-service policy is standard in places far less glamorous than Cannes, the policy tweak has sparked widespread attention because of the recent trend of sheer and "nude dresses", much like Bianca Censori's controversial outfit at this year's Grammys. Asked for clarity on the policy, Cannes press officers said the festival 'made explicit in its charter certain rules that have long been in effect.' 'The aim is not to regulate attire per se, but to prohibit full nudity on the red carpet, in accordance with the institutional framework of the event and French law,' it said. Cannes also noted that 'voluminous outfits, in particular those with a large train, that hinder the proper flow of traffic of guests and complicate seating in the theater are not permitted.' Still, skin has often been flashed at the French Riviera festival by celebrities like Bella Hadid, Naomi Campbell and Kendall Jenner, and dress policies have long been flouted by celebrities. For evening premieres at the Palais' Grand Théâtre Lumière, black tie and evening wear is required. Though not in recent years, Cannes security officials have sometimes turned away women for not wearing heels. The festival also banned selfies in 2018, as Cannes director Thierry Frémaux called them 'grotesque'. However, A-listers sometimes snap a quick photo on the Palais steps.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Bahrain wins top prize at Venice Architecture Biennale with a pavilion tackling extreme heat
The Venice Architecture Biennale, one of the most prestigious events in the world of architecture, has officially launched. Taking place every two years, countries from around the globe are invited to showcase their most innovative and thought-provoking ideas about architecture in national pavilions - this time around the theme of 'Intelligens: Natural. Artificial. Collective.' This year, the Bahrain Pavilion, located in the historic Artiglierie of the Arsenale, has won the coveted Golden Lion award for Best National Participation with its installation titled "Heatwave". Suspended above a relaxed public seating area, Heatwave features a hovering square-shaped ceiling supported by chains from a central column. More than just a visual spectacle, the structure offers climate-responsive cooling, designed to make public space more habitable in a period of intensifying heatwaves. Engineered by Mario Monotti with thermomechanical input from Alexander Puzrin, the installation explores modular climate infrastructure. While a geothermal well and solar chimney were originally proposed to create a self-sustaining microclimate, excavation wasn't feasible at the Biennale site - so mechanical ventilation was used instead to simulate the architect's intended cooling effect. Accepting the award, pavilion commissioner Shaikh Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa noted, "The term heatwave is a very common term we hear in the media, in news and even amongst our conversations at home. It is a stress to our urban centres and local communities, and the pavilion aimed to address those issues through an innovative technique." Two other standout pavilions were also acknowledged by the jury. The Holy See's 'Opera aperta' showcase, housed in a deconsecrated Venetian church in the Castello district, received a special mention for transforming the space into an evolving site of collective care, restoration, and dialogue, inspired by Italian philospher Umberto Eco's 1962 book "Open Work (Opera aperta)". Part construction site, part community centre - over seven months, it will host restoration workshops, shared meals, and music rehearsals, bringing together international architects, local artisans, students, and social collectives. And rather than concealing damage, the team will carefully trace the building's cracks, mold, and weathering - viewing them not as flaws, but as evidence of life, history, and possibility. The British Pavilion also earned a special mention for its powerful examination of architecture and its links to colonisation. Titled 'GBR: Geology of Britannic Repair', the exhibition is a UK-Kenya collaboration led by curators Kabage Karanja and Stella Mutegi (Cave_bureau, Nairobi), Owen Hopkins, and Professor Kathryn Yusoff, and seeks to explore whether architecture can shift from being an extractive force to one of repair and restitution. "With the Great Rift Valley as the exhibition's geological and conceptual focus, we have brought together a series of installations that propose 'other architectures' defined by their relationship to the ground, their resistance to conventional, extractive ways of working, and that are resilient in the face of climate breakdown and social and political upheaval" says the curatorial team. The Venice Architecture Biennale runs until 23 November 2025.
Euronews
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Bahrain wins top prize at the Venice Architecture Biennale
The Venice Architecture Biennale, one of the most prestigious events in the world of architecture, has officially launched. Taking place every two years, countries from around the globe are invited to showcase their most innovative and thought-provoking ideas about architecture in national pavilions - this time around the theme of 'Intelligens: Natural. Artificial. Collective.' This year, the Bahrain Pavilion, located in the historic Artiglierie of the Arsenale, has won the coveted Golden Lion award for Best National Participation with its installation titled "Heatwave". Suspended above a relaxed public seating area, Heatwave features a hovering square-shaped ceiling supported by chains from a central column. More than just a visual spectacle, the structure offers climate-responsive cooling, designed to make public space more habitable in a period of intensifying heatwaves. Engineered by Mario Monotti with thermomechanical input from Alexander Puzrin, the installation explores modular climate infrastructure. While a geothermal well and solar chimney were originally proposed to create a self-sustaining microclimate, excavation wasn't feasible at the Biennale site - so mechanical ventilation was used instead to simulate the architect's intended cooling effect. Accepting the award, pavilion commissioner Shaikh Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa noted, "The term heatwave is a very common term we hear in the media, in news and even amongst our conversations at home. It is a stress to our urban centres and local communities, and the pavilion aimed to address those issues through an innovative technique." Two other standout pavilions were also acknowledged by the jury. The Holy See's 'Opera aperta' showcase, housed in a deconsecrated Venetian church in the Castello district, received a special mention for transforming the space into an evolving site of collective care, restoration, and dialogue, inspired by Italian philospher Umberto Eco's 1962 book "Open Work (Opera aperta)". Part construction site, part community centre - over seven months, it will host restoration workshops, shared meals, and music rehearsals, bringing together international architects, local artisans, students, and social collectives. And rather than concealing damage, the team will carefully trace the building's cracks, mold, and weathering - viewing them not as flaws, but as evidence of life, history, and possibility. The British Pavilion also earned a special mention for its powerful examination of architecture and its links to colonisation. Titled 'GBR: Geology of Britannic Repair', the exhibition is a UK-Kenya collaboration led by curators Kabage Karanja and Stella Mutegi (Cave_bureau, Nairobi), Owen Hopkins, and Professor Kathryn Yusoff, and seeks to explore whether architecture can shift from being an extractive force to one of repair and restitution. "With the Great Rift Valley as the exhibition's geological and conceptual focus, we have brought together a series of installations that propose 'other architectures' defined by their relationship to the ground, their resistance to conventional, extractive ways of working, and that are resilient in the face of climate breakdown and social and political upheaval" says the curatorial team. The Venice Architecture Biennale runs until 23 November 2025. A Paris court today has found actor Gérard Depardieu guilty of having sexually assaulted two women on a 2021 film set, giving him an 18-month suspended prison sentence. The actor, 76, has been convicted of having groped a 54-year-old costume designer and a 34-year-old assistant during the filming of Jean Becker's Les Volets Verts. Depardieu, who has denied the accusations, didn't attend today's hearing. The actor was also slapped with the additional penalty of a two-year disqualification from standing for election, as well as registration in the national automated database of sexual offenders. In addition to non-material damages, Depardieu has been ordered to pay both women the sums of €1,000 and €2,000 for secondary victimisation. No fine of €20,000 as requested by the public prosecutor, however. "I hope this is the end of impunity for an artist in the film industry," stated Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, the lawyer of one of the victims. "With this decision, we can no longer say (that Gérard Depardieu) is not a sexual abuser," she added. "My thoughts are with the other victims who are under the statute of limitations and with the four victims who took the stand." Depardieu will appeal against his conviction for sexual assault, his lawyer Jérémie Assous announced after the hearing. The case is widely seen as a key post- #MeToo test of how French society and its film industry address allegations of sexual misconduct involving prominent figures. During the four-day trial in March, Depardieu rejected the accusations, saying he's 'not like that.' He acknowledged that he had used vulgar and sexualized language on the film set and that he grabbed the set designer's hips during an argument, but denied that his behavior was sexual. Paris' public prosecutor had requested that Depardieu be found guilty and given an 18-month suspended prison sentence and a fine of €20,000. The prosecutor denounced the actor's 'total denial and failure to question himself.' Some figures in the French cinema world have expressed their support for Depardieu. Actors Vincent Perez and Fanny Ardant were among those who took seats on his side of the courtroom. Depardieu has been accused publicly or in formal complaints of misconduct by more than 20 women, but so far only the sexual assault case has proceeded to court. Some other cases were dropped because of a lack of evidence or the statute of limitations. The actor may have to face other legal proceedings soon. In 2018, actor Charlotte Arnould accused him of raping her at his home. That case is still active, and in August 2024 prosecutors requested that it go to trial.
