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Egypt's Amina Kadous Nominated for Int'l Photography Award

Amina Kadous.
Amina Kadous.
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Egypt's Amina Kadous Nominated for Int'l Photography Award

Amina Kadous.
Amina Kadous.

Egypt's Amina Kadous is among eight photographers nominated for the 6th edition of the Madame Figaro Photography Award (Prix de la Photo Madame Figaro Arles) at the “Les Rencontres de la Photographie à Arles” Festival.

The festival is held annually in the city of Arles, southern France.

This year, the festival will feature 40 photography exhibitions displaying photos captured by prominent names in the field.

Born in 1991, Kadous studied in Boston in United States. Her photographs explore the concepts of memory and experience.

According to the competition’s brochure, Amina believes that “nothing lasts. Experiences, things, and moments from the physical world.”

Kadous had formerly displayed her works in London, Paris, Bamako and Boston.

During the 12th Biennale of Photography in Bamako, Kadous displayed a photograph, called “Memory Crack”, for which she won the “Centre Soleil d'Afrique Prize” (Sun Center of Africa Award).

Commenting on the award, she said: “The grains of my identity are planted in the city of Mahala [her hometown in Egypt]”.

Known as the home of Egyptian cotton, Mahala is depicted by Kadous in a photography collection named “White Gold”. The photograph competing in Arles is selected from this collection.

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Varieties

Indonesia Rescues Orangutan Mother and Baby from Wildfire Haze

A mother-and-baby orangutan pair named Raya and Rayu are evacuated by officials from the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), Indonesian military and the Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) due to forest and land fires in East Kotawaringin, Central Kalimantan, on September 2, 2026. (Photo by REINA / AFP)
A mother-and-baby orangutan pair named Raya and Rayu are evacuated by officials from the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), Indonesian military and the Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) due to forest and land fires in East Kotawaringin, Central Kalimantan, on September 2, 2026. (Photo by REINA / AFP)
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Indonesia Rescues Orangutan Mother and Baby from Wildfire Haze

A mother-and-baby orangutan pair named Raya and Rayu are evacuated by officials from the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), Indonesian military and the Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) due to forest and land fires in East Kotawaringin, Central Kalimantan, on September 2, 2026. (Photo by REINA / AFP)
A mother-and-baby orangutan pair named Raya and Rayu are evacuated by officials from the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), Indonesian military and the Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) due to forest and land fires in East Kotawaringin, Central Kalimantan, on September 2, 2026. (Photo by REINA / AFP)

Indonesian authorities rescued a mother orangutan and her baby from wildfire smoke on the island of Borneo, officials said Thursday.

The vast archipelago has been battling for weeks to contain wildfires that have left thick smog blanketing parts of Borneo and Sumatra, with haze also drifting across the border to Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.

Acting on a tip-off, conservation officials located the orangutan on Wednesday in Central Kalimantan province after it was spotted clinging to the top of a tree, local conservation agency official Muriansyah told AFP on Thursday.

The animal was surrounded by haze rising from nearby burned peatland, prompting officials to evacuate it immediately.

"If we don't carry out the rescue, I was concerned for (the safety) of the orangutan," Muriansyah, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said, citing the potential health risks posed by the smog.

During the operation, rescuers discovered the orangutan was carrying a baby.

Officials named the mother, estimated to be 20 years old, Raya after a nearby street where she was found, and her one-year-old daughter, Rayu, Muriansyah added.

He said recently burned terrain and darkness added to the complexity of the nighttime rescue operation.

A preliminary veterinary check-up found the orangutans were not injured, and that they had not been seriously affected by the smoke, Muriansyah said.

The orangutans were then transported to a clinic for observation, said Heriyanto, a Central Kalimantan province natural resources and conservation agency official.

"If they are healthy and can be released into the wild immediately, they will be released," Heriyanto told AFP.

Authorities in West Kalimantan rescued at least seven orangutans from wildfire-affected areas last month.

Among them was an orangutan named Sampurna, which was rescued on August 30 amid thick smoke from the fires, according to a statement from the local conservation agency.

A 2016 government survey estimated the orangutan population on Borneo to be around 57,000.

Varieties

Scientists Studying Cockroach Milk and Nose-Blowing Win Ig Nobel Prizes for Quirky Science

Canadian Associate Professor Changhong Cao poses with a fake mosquito ahead of the 2026 Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony in Zurich, on September 3, 2026. (AFP)
Canadian Associate Professor Changhong Cao poses with a fake mosquito ahead of the 2026 Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony in Zurich, on September 3, 2026. (AFP)
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Scientists Studying Cockroach Milk and Nose-Blowing Win Ig Nobel Prizes for Quirky Science

Canadian Associate Professor Changhong Cao poses with a fake mosquito ahead of the 2026 Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony in Zurich, on September 3, 2026. (AFP)
Canadian Associate Professor Changhong Cao poses with a fake mosquito ahead of the 2026 Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony in Zurich, on September 3, 2026. (AFP)

Ten research teams were honored Thursday at a satirical science awards ceremony that was hosted outside the US for the first time due to travel concerns.

Researchers who studied milk from cockroaches and analyzed soil health using underwear received Ig Nobel prizes celebrating unusual and imaginative contributions to science.

The awards organized by a digital magazine called the Annals of Improbable Research shifted to Europe after 35 years in the United States over concerns about attendees being able to get visas.

At a convention center in Zurich, Switzerland, research teams received a custom trophy resembling a cross between a mushroom and a human foot. Among them were Matilda Brindle and Stuart West from the University of Oxford and the Florida Institute of Technology's Catherine F. Talbot, who reconstructed the evolutionary history of kissing, and the late Dr. Tokuji Unno who investigated the science of blowing one's nose.

Another research team buried 1,000 pairs of underwear in more than 25 countries to study how critters in the soil helped them decompose.

For future ceremonies, organizers plan to alternate between Zurich and other European countries. The 2027 ceremony will be held in the Belgian city of Antwerp. Previous iterations took place at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston University, but there are no immediate plans to return to the US.

“During the past year, it has become unsafe for our guests to visit the country,” Marc Abrahams, master of ceremonies and editor of the magazine, told The Associated Press in an email in March.

The Nobel Prizes, which have no relation to their cheekily named counterpart, will be announced at the start of October.

Varieties

Hugh Jackman Aims to Buy into Football Club Norwich, a Division Rival of Ryan Reynolds’ Wrexham

Ryan Reynolds, left, and Hugh Jackman pose for photographers upon arrival at the screening of the film "Deadpool & Wolverine" on July 11, 2024 in London. (AP)
Ryan Reynolds, left, and Hugh Jackman pose for photographers upon arrival at the screening of the film "Deadpool & Wolverine" on July 11, 2024 in London. (AP)
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Hugh Jackman Aims to Buy into Football Club Norwich, a Division Rival of Ryan Reynolds’ Wrexham

Ryan Reynolds, left, and Hugh Jackman pose for photographers upon arrival at the screening of the film "Deadpool & Wolverine" on July 11, 2024 in London. (AP)
Ryan Reynolds, left, and Hugh Jackman pose for photographers upon arrival at the screening of the film "Deadpool & Wolverine" on July 11, 2024 in London. (AP)

Hugh Jackman wants to joins his fellow Hollywood star and friend Ryan Reynolds in owning part of a football club in the English leagues.

Jackman has long been a fan of Norwich, his mother’s home city in the east of England. The Wolverine star was asked in an interview broadcast on Thursday if he would like to “buy a bit” of the club which is majority owned by Mark Attanasio, the Milwaukee Brewers principal owner.

“I’m very, very interested in talking about it right now,” he told British broadcaster TalkSport while promoting his new movie, “The Death of Robin Hood.”

“You’re the first one to know that. There’s a little exclusive,” Jackman said when asked if he would “follow suit” with Reynolds, who put Wrexham on the global soccer and culture map after buying the club with Rob Mac in 2021.

Norwich and Wrexham are now rivals in the English second-tier Championship, though Jackman’s team has the more illustrious history. Norwich last played in the Premier League four years ago, and had perhaps its finest moment in 1993 eliminating German power Bayern Munich in the old UEFA Cup.

“Good on Ryan, you do your thing, I’m all about the Canaries,” Jackman said, citing Norwich’s nickname linked to the team’s distinctive yellow and green uniform.

Norwich and Wrexham both are expected to be contenders this season to earn promotion to the Premier League, the world’s most valuable club football competition.

“I think it’s an exciting team and it’s going to be an exciting year,” Jackman said, praising Norwich’s turnaround since hiring Belgian coach Philippe Clement last November.