LONDON — A gang of climate activists vandalized a pair of paintings by Dutch master Vincent van Gogh at London’s National Gallery on Friday, splattering what seemed to be tomato soup on them, soon after two other activists were imprisoned for a similar action two years ago.

The paintings from Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” series, which he created at Arles, south of France, were not damaged due to protective glass coverings. The gallery identified the two as its own Sunflowers (1888) and Sunflowers (1889), which were on loan from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The three activists from the Just Stop Oil environmental group who participated in the attack were arrested while the paintings were removed, evaluated, and returned to their original location. The gallery announced that the exhibition would reopen later on Friday.

Van Gogh Paintings Vandalized At A London Gallery After 2 Activists Were Sentenced In Similar Attack

The organization shared a video of the attack on social media, which showed three persons pouring soup on the paintings. The action appeared to be in protest of the earlier Friday sentencing of two other members from the group, Phoebe Plummer, 23, and Anna Holland, 22.

For their October 2022 attack on a “Sunflowers” painting, Plummer was sentenced to two years in prison and Holland to 20 months. The two women flung tins of tomato soup at the artwork before kneeling in front of it and gluing their hands to the wall underneath it. They were convicted of criminal damage by a jury in July.

Both attacks, in 2022 and on Friday, were carried out by demonstrators wearing Just Stop Oil T-shirts. The organization has been lobbying the British government to prevent new oil and gas developments and has staged high-profile stunts, notably at major sporting events and on Britain’s transit systems.

In Friday’s video, one of the nameless activists stated that future generations will remember them as “prisoners of conscience” who were “on the right side of history.”

In the 2022 attack, the gold-colored frame of Van Gogh’s painting was damaged by 10,000 pounds ($13,000). At the time, museum staff were concerned that the soup would have seeped through and caused extensive damage to the painting.

In Friday’s punishment, Judge Christopher Hehir stated that the artwork may have been “seriously damaged or even destroyed.”

Hehir was also the judge in the case involving Roger Hallam, a co-founder of Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion, another environmental activist group, who was convicted for five years.

On Friday, he aimed at Plummer. “You clearly think your beliefs give you the right to commit crimes when you feel like it,” added the pastor. “You do not.”

Van Gogh Paintings Vandalized At A London Gallery After 2 Activists Were Sentenced In Similar Attack

Plummer, who represented herself and pleaded guilty, stated at the court that she would accept “with a smile” whatever verdict was returned.

“It is not just myself being sentenced today, or my co-defendants, but the foundations of democracy itself,” she told the court.

Plummer was arrested five days after her guilty verdict in July for spraying paint on Heathrow Airport’s departure boards.

Holland’s lawyer, Raj Chada, said the two women made sure the “Sunflowers” were secured by a glass cover before throwing the soup.

SOURCE | AP

(VOR News) – Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris toured the US-Mexico border for the first time Friday. Former President Donald Trump met Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York.

Trump and other Republicans continued to harass Harris regarding the Biden administration’s immigration record, despite her scheduled appearance in Douglas, Arizona.

During a period in which public hostilities between the two nations regarding Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s invasion were on the rise.

Zelensky met with Donald Trump.

Two Wisconsin communities are being sued by the Justice Department for neglecting to provide voting equipment that is accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Madison, Wisconsin— The US Department of Justice is suing two small Wisconsin communities for the possession of voting machines that are inaccessible to individuals with impairments.

The department and Lawrence reached an agreement to resolve Lawrence’s complaint; however, the complaint against Thornapple remains unresolved. The lawsuits were submitted on September 20.

The allegations suggest that neither town had voting machines that could be accessible by the public, as mandated by federal law for the presidential primary on April 2. Furthermore, the Justice Department has reported that Thornapple’s voting system was unavailable during the primary on August 13.

The case asserts that the boards of both communities resolved in 2023 to cease employing the accessible voting equipment they had been employing.

The municipality is required to provide accessible voting machines at each polling location it manages for the upcoming federal elections, in accordance with the parameters of the agreement with Lawrence. Furthermore, the community is required to instruct its employees on the proper use of the apparatus.

Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Michigan to discuss economic concerns.

WALKER, Michigan – Donald Trump is expected to make an appearance at a campaign visit to a manufacturing facility in Kent County, a Democratic-leaning county in western Michigan that is surrounded by more conservative rural areas.

Numerous individuals, donning red “Make America Great” headwear, T-shirts, and other campaign memorabilia, are anticipating Trump’s arrival.

Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris have been emphasising the economy for the past week, and the event is expected to centre on this topic. The event will occur at the loading dock of the Falk Production plant in Walker, Michigan, which is located just outside Grand Rapids. The factory is responsible for the production of prefabricated walls and partitions.

Michigan, a state that Trump won in 2016 but Biden regained in 2020, has been a significant focus of the campaigns of Trump and Harris. Trump is anticipated to campaign in Warren, Michigan, a city that is in close proximity to Detroit, later on Friday.

Hackers from Iran are being accused of targeting the Donald Trump campaign.

The Justice Department has announced criminal charges against Iranian agents who are purportedly responsible for hacking into Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and disclosing confidential information to media outlets.

The indictment is issued at a time when Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah are escalating their attacks against one another, which has raised concerns about the potential for a full-scale conflict. Furthermore, U.S. officials assert that they are continuing to monitor Iran’s physical threats against a variety of officials, including Donald Trump.

The Trump campaign announced on August 10 that it had been hacked and that Iranian actors had taken and shared private documents.

In regions that are predominantly crimson, Senate Democrats are resisting.

In two U.S. Senate contests in the Republican-leaning states of Texas and Florida, Democrats are exerting themselves to preserve their Senate majority.

According to Sen. Gary Peters, the chief of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the group is investing “multi-million dollars” in television advertising in the two states and is “very confident” that there will be additional investments.

The investments are perceived by Republicans as evidence that Democrats are concerned about the likelihood of incumbent Sen. Jon Tester winning reelection in Montana.

Catholics and Jews advise against voting in the most recent voter loyalty test administered by Trump.

Former President Donald Trump recently extended his loyalty test to Americans who identify as religious, asserting that he is the most qualified individual to protect their liberties and accusing certain individuals in advance of the November election.

He stated that Catholics and Jews can support him and perform well on the test, but those who refrain from doing so “need their heads examined.” Trump persisted in his assertion that Jews would be held accountable in the event of his defeat.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, was among the Jewish leaders who were appalled by Trump’s remarks. Jacobs declared, “It targets American Jews… It must cease.”

SOURCE: AP

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HELSINKI – A Finnish zoo has reached an agreement with Chinese officials to return two borrowed giant pandas to China more than eight years ahead of planned, citing rising costs and dwindling visitor numbers.

The private Ähtäri Zoo in central Finland, located 330 kilometers (205 miles) north of Helsinki, announced on its Facebook page that the female panda Lumi, meaning “snow,” and the male panda Pyry, meaning “snowfall,” will return to China “prematurely” later this year.

The panda duo was a gift from China to commemorate the Nordic nation’s 100th anniversary of independence in 2017, and they were scheduled to be on loan until 2033.

A Zoo In Finland Is Returning Giant Pandas To China Because They’re Too Expensive To Keep

However, the zoo has faced a number of obstacles since then, including a decrease in attendance owing to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as well as an increase in inflation and interest rates, according to a statement from the facility.

The panda deal between Helsinki and Beijing, a 15-year loan arrangement, was finalized in April 2017 when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Finland to meet with then-President Sauli Niinistö. Pandas arrived in Finland in January 2018.

The Ähtäri Zoo, which specializes in northern European animals including bears, lynxes, and wolverines, created a special panda annex at a cost of almost 8 million euros ($9 million) in hopes of attracting more people to the secluded nature reserve.

Lumi and Pyry’s upkeep, which includes a preservation fee to China, costs the zoo approximately 1.5 million euros per year. The bamboo that giant pandas consume was flown in from the Netherlands.

The Chinese Embassy in Helsinki informed Finnish media that Beijing attempted to assist Ähtäri in resolving its financial troubles by encouraging Chinese enterprises in Finland to donate to the zoo and support its debt arrangements.

A Zoo In Finland Is Returning Giant Pandas To China Because They’re Too Expensive To Keep

However, dwindling visitor numbers, combined with significant economic changes, were too much of a strain for the little Finnish zoo. In late October, the panda pair will be quarantined for one month before being transferred to China.

Finland, with a population of 5.6 million, was one of the first Western countries to establish formal connections with China, in 1950. China has gifted gigantic pandas to countries as a gesture of goodwill and better political connections, with Finland becoming the first Nordic nation to receive them.

SOURCE | AP