Latest news with #Workers'
Arabian Post
5 days ago
- General
- Arabian Post
Sebastião Salgado, Master of Monochrome, Dies at 81
Sebastião Salgado, the Brazilian photographer whose haunting black-and-white images chronicled the human condition and environmental fragility, died on 23 May 2025 in Paris at the age of 81. His death was attributed to leukaemia, a condition linked to malaria he contracted during a 2010 assignment in Indonesia. Born on 8 February 1944 in Aimorés, Minas Gerais, Salgado initially pursued a career in economics, earning a master's degree from the University of São Paulo. His trajectory shifted in the early 1970s when, while working for the International Coffee Organization, he began photographing coffee plantations in Africa. This experience ignited a passion for photography that led him to abandon economics and dedicate himself fully to documenting global social issues. Salgado's work is distinguished by its profound empathy and meticulous composition. Over five decades, he travelled to more than 130 countries, capturing images that highlighted the dignity and resilience of people facing adversity. His seminal projects include 'Workers' , a tribute to manual labourers worldwide; 'Exodus' , documenting mass migrations and displacements; and 'Genesis' , a visual homage to the planet's pristine landscapes and indigenous cultures. ADVERTISEMENT His commitment to long-term projects allowed him to delve deeply into his subjects, often spending years on a single series. This approach garnered both acclaim and criticism; while many praised the aesthetic and emotional power of his images, some argued that his portrayal of suffering risked romanticising hardship. Salgado defended his methodology, asserting that his intent was to bear witness and provoke reflection. In the 1990s, after witnessing the horrors of the Rwandan genocide, Salgado experienced a period of profound personal crisis. He withdrew from photography and returned to Brazil, where he and his wife, Lélia Wanick Salgado, embarked on an ambitious reforestation project on his family's degraded farmland. This endeavour led to the founding of Instituto Terra in 1998, a non-profit organisation dedicated to environmental restoration and education. Over the years, the institute has planted millions of trees, revitalising the Atlantic Forest and serving as a model for sustainable development. Salgado's contributions to photography and environmentalism earned him numerous accolades, including the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund Grant, the Royal Photographic Society's Centenary Medal, and the Praemium Imperiale. He was also a member of the French Academy of Fine Arts and an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2014, his life and work were chronicled in the documentary 'The Salt of the Earth,' co-directed by his son Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and filmmaker Wim Wenders. In his later years, Salgado turned his lens towards the natural world, producing images that celebrated the planet's biodiversity and underscored the urgency of conservation. His 'Amazônia' project, published in 2021, is a testament to this shift, featuring photographs of the Amazon rainforest and its indigenous inhabitants. This body of work reflects his belief that humanity's fate is inextricably linked to the health of the environment.
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
Award-winning photographer Sebastiao Salgado dies at age 81, his institute says
SAO PAULO -- Brazilian photographer and environmentalist Sebastião Salgado, known for his award-winning images of nature and humanity, has died at age 81. Instituto Terra, which was founded by him and his wife, confirmed the information Friday, but did not provide more details on the circumstances of Salgado's death or where it took place. 'Sebastião was more than one of the best photographers of our time,' Instituto Terra said in a statement. 'His lense revealed the world and its contradictions; his life, (brought) the power of transformative action.' Salgado's life and work were portrayed in the documentary film 'The Salt of the Earth' (2014), co-directed by Wim Wenders and his son, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado. Salgado lived in Paris for many years and started to fully dedicate his time to photography in 1973, years after his economy degree. His style is marked by black-and-white imagery, rich tonality, and emotionally-charged scenarios. Impoverished communities were among his main interests. Among his main works are the recent series 'Amazonia;" 'Workers' which shows manual labor around the world; and 'Exodus' (also known as 'Migrations' or 'Sahel') which documents people in transit, including refugees and slum residents. Salgado and his wife, Lélia Wanick Salgado, founded Amazonas Images, an agency that exclusively handles his work.
International Business Times
22-05-2025
- International Business Times
Southern California Cop Who Faked Injury to Claim $600K in Compensation Caught Partying, Dancing at Music Festival
A Southern California police officer was caught partying at the Stagecoach Music Festival while collecting more than $600,000 in workers' compensation for a head injury that prosecutors allege was faked. As reported by the Associated Press, Westminster police officer Nicole Brown, 39, was charged Monday with 15 felonies of workers' compensation and insurance fraud, the Orange County District Attorney's office said. She faces up to 22 years in prison if convicted. Brown Suffered Minor Injury While Trying to Arrest a Suspect, Became Eligible to Receive Disabled Workers' Compensation Brown was duty on March 21, 2022, when she received a "minor abrasion" to her forehead while trying to arrest an uncooperative suspect, according to prosecutors. She told her watch commander that she had a headache and was feeling dizzy. Though an emergency room doctor who examined her that day released her back to work without restrictions, she called out sick for several days and was diagnosed with a severe concussion about a week after the initial injury. She was placed on Total Temporary Disability, which made her eligible to receive her full salary for up to a year and two-thirds of her salary after that. While Brown Claimed She was Sick, She was at a Soccer Conference, She Claimed Disability Benefits While Participating in Races, Skiing, Playing Golf Later, investigators would find out that during the three days she called out sick after her injury, Brown went to several soccer conferences in San Diego. In the following year while collecting disability, she also ran in two 5K races, went snowboarding or skiing in Big Bear and Mammoth, attended baseball games, played golf, went to Disneyland and took online courses with a local university, prosecutors allege. "Mrs. Brown suffered a significant head injury when she was on duty," her attorney Brian Gurwitz said, "and she intends to vigorously fight these allegations." According to prosecutors, some of Brown's ongoing symptoms that she reported during this time were: headaches, dizziness, sensitivity to light and noise, and inability to look at a screen. Brown Came Under Investigation After She was Spotted 'Dancing and Drinking' at Music Festival The district attorney's office began their investigation into potential fraud after she was seen by several people "dancing and drinking" in April 2023 at the Stagecoach Music Festival, an annual country music festival held in the Coachella Valley with "loud music and bright lights everywhere." This was reported to the Westminster Police Department. Three days after the festival, Brown and her stepfather attended a Zoom meeting where she sat in a dark room and said she was unable to look at the screen. Her stepfather said she still could not do paperwork or take phone calls. After the meeting, she was admitted to an inpatient center for traumatic brain injury. Prosecutors say Brown collected more than $600,000 from the city of Westminster, which includes her full salary and medical expenses. Her stepfather Peter Schuman, 57, of Buena Park, has also been charged with two felonies related to insurance fraud and helping commit a crime. He is a licensed attorney in California and faces discipline from the state bar, prosecutors said. Schuman does not have an attorney listed and could not be reached for comment.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Putin and Kim confirm for first time North Koreans fought for Russia in Ukraine war
Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un have confirmed for the first time that North Korea has sent troops to fight for Russia in the war with Ukraine, with both leaders describing the soldiers as 'heroes'. The acknowledgment comes amid claims by the Kremlin – contested by Ukraine – that North Korean forces helped recapture Russia's Kursk region. 'The Russian people will never forget the heroism of the Korean special forces. We will always honour the Korean heroes who gave their lives for Russia and for our shared freedom, alongside their brothers-in-arms from the Russian Federation,' Putin said in a statement released by the Kremlin. In a statement released on Monday, North Korea's KCNA state news agency quoted the ruling party as saying that the end of the battle in Russia's Kursk region showed the 'highest strategic level of the firm militant friendship' between North Korea and Russia. The acknowledgment follows months of silence over the deployment, which has been widely reported in western media. The Kremlin also said Russia was ready to provide assistance to North Korea 'similar to the support offered to its soldiers in the Kursk region'. Related: From ammunition to ballistic missiles: how North Korea arms Russia in the Ukraine war Russia claimed last week that Ukrainian forces had been expelled from the last Russian village they had been holding. Kyiv has denied the claim, however, and said Ukrainian troops were also still operating in Belgorod, another Russian region bordering Ukraine. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Sunday that Ukraine's army was still fighting in Kursk despite Moscow claiming the 'liberation' of its western region. 'Our military continues to perform tasks in the Kursk and Belgorod regions – we are maintaining our presence on Russian territory,' he said in his evening address. In a statement earlier on Sunday, he conceded that the situation remained difficult in many areas, including Kursk. The central military commission of North Korea's ruling Workers' party said Kim made the decision to deploy troops under the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty he signed with Putin in June 2024. 'Under the order of the head of state, the sub-units of the armed forces of the Republic regarded the territory of Russia as one of their country and proved the firm alliance between the two countries,' KCNA cited the commission as saying. North Korea 'regards it as an honour to have an alliance with such a powerful state as the Russian Federation', KCNA added. The agency quoted Kim as saying: 'They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland.' North Korea sent an estimated total of 14,000 troops, including 3,000 reinforcements, to replace those killed, injured or captured, Ukrainian officials have said. With no armoured vehicles or drone warfare experience, they took heavy casualties but adapted quickly, the officials added. Russia confirmed on Saturday for the first time that North Korean soldiers had been fighting alongside Russians in Kursk. Neither Russia nor North Korea had previously either confirmed or denied the deployment. The US state department said it was concerned by North Korea's direct involvement in Russia's war in Ukraine and that Pyongyang's military deployment must end. 'We continue to be concerned by [North Korea's] direct involvement in the war. [North Korea's] military deployment to Russia and any support provided by the Russian Federation to [North Korea] in return must end,' a state department spokesperson said in an email, adding that third countries such as North Korea 'bear responsibility' for the war. Kim, whose material support for Putin could earn North Korea access to Russian satellite and military technology to boost its nuclear missile programme, said a monument would soon be built in the capital, Pyongyang, to honour his soldiers' 'battle feats'. North Korea has also provided Russia with vast quantities of ammunition, artillery shells, ballistic missiles and other weapons. South Korea, the US and their partners worry that Russia could reward North Korea by transferring hi-tech weapons technologies for use in its nuclear weapons programme. North Korea is also expected to receive economic and other assistance from Russia. Kim's reference to 'the tombstones of the fallen soldiers' is seen as public confirmation by the regime that North Korean troops had been killed in combat. Zelenskyy has put the number of killed or wounded North Koreans at 4,000, though US estimates are lower, at about 1,200. Kim said North Korea must 'take important national measures to specially honour and care for the families of war veterans'. Experts said Moscow and Pyongyang are likely to have agreed in advance to publicly disclose the deployment. 'The two countries agreed to disclose the deployment because they judged that the benefits of compensation for the troop deployment outweighed the potential damage to their international image,' Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told Agence France-Presse. By promising state benefits to the deployed troops, North Korea could also 'sufficiently ease internal backlash', Yang said, adding that the move reflected Pyongyang's growing confidence. 'North Korea likely aimed to showcase that victory was achieved thanks to their involvement, thereby securing greater rewards from Russia,' he added.
The Guardian
27-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
North Korea confirms for first time it has sent troops to fight for Russia in Ukraine war
North Korea has confirmed for the first time that it has sent troops to fight for Russia in the war with Ukraine under the orders of leader Kim Jong-un. The end of the battle in Russia's Kursk region showed the 'highest strategic level of the firm militant friendship' between North Korea and Russia, the North's KCNA state news agency cited the ruling party as saying. Russia claimed last week that Ukrainian forces had been expelled from the last Russian village they had been holding, although Kyiv denied the claim and said their troops were still operating in Belgorod, another Russian region bordering Ukraine. The Central Military Commission of the North's ruling Workers' party said Kim made the decision to deploy troops under the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty he signed with Putin in 2024. 'Under the order of the head of state, the sub-units of the armed forces of the Republic regarded the territory of Russia as the one of their country and proved the firm alliance between the two countries,' KCNA cited the commission as saying. 'They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland,' KCNA quoted Kim as saying. North Korea 'regards it as an honour to have an alliance with such a powerful state as the Russian Federation,' KCNA said. North Korea sent an estimated total of 14,000 troops, including 3,000 reinforcements to replace its losses, Ukrainian officials have said. Lacking armoured vehicles and drone warfare experience, they took heavy casualties but adapted quickly. Russia confirmed on Saturday for the first time that North Korean soldiers have been fighting alongside Russians in Kursk. Neither Russia nor North Korea had previously either confirmed or denied the deployment.
