Pelican Press

Book Review: ‘The Original Daughter,’ by Jemimah Wei Book Review: ‘The Original Daughter,’ by Jemimah Wei THE ORIGINAL DAUGHTER, by Jemimah Wei Jemimah Wei’s debut novel, “The Original Daughter,” lays bare the claustrophobia of familial love, the ache of unfulfilled dreams and the costs of repressed emotion, through the earnest and often knotty relationship between two sisters growing up in Singapore in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Genevieve Yang’s parents adopt 7-year-old Arin when her impoverished birth father — the son of Genevieve’s grandfather, who abandoned one family and recklessly began another — offers her up in desperation. But for all its tenuous harmony, the Yang household is no haven of privilege: Crammed into a one-bedroom flat in a public housing development in the town of Bedok, they are barely scraping by. Despite the disruption Arin’s arrival brings, 8-year-old Genevieve throws herself into her new role as Jie Jie (“older sister”). The novel’s sympathetic but deeply flawed narrator, Genevieve is at once victim and bully, supporter and saboteur. Over the years she will love her increasingly codependent sister, listen to and guide her — and witness Arin surpass her in almost every way. When the book opens in 2015, the Yang family — the sharp-tongued but magnanimous grandmother; the gentle father who is scarred by his own father’s deception, before repeating it himself; the mother, Su, whose persistent optimism both binds and alienates those around her; and the sisters — has been whittled down to just Genevieve and Su, who is dying of *******. Arin, now a famous actor and “the only Singaporean in recent years to breach mainstream Hollywood, making her a national treasure,” has left home and left Genevieve behind. From there the book jumps back in time to 1996, and we gradually learn that the sisters’ competition is as much about Su’s affection as it is about success. They spend their adolescence working hard in school and beyond, both together and apart, determined to break out of their working-class environment. But eventually Genevieve’s rising star stalls, and only Arin experiences the rewards of her labor. Wei handles Genevieve’s dueling pride in and envy of her sister with grace and nuance. “Despite all my practice, my confidence faltered,” she thinks as she waits to hear Arin’s results on the same school exams Genevieve failed the year before. “I’d been dreading this day for so long.” When Arin reveals her perfect score, Genevieve thinks, “Something small died, deep in my soul.” With time this imbalance in the sisters’ academic, professional and financial circumstances creates fissures in their relationship — and their respective relationships with their mother — that widen into chasms, as their inability to confront and atone for past wrongs calcifies into years of silence and sorrow. But this heartache and separation extend beyond the sisters. “Perhaps integral to all loving relationships is a necessary distance,” the adult Genevieve thinks as she’s attempting to reconnect with her estranged father, because it allows us to make sense of and articulate our stories in a manner that’s essential to our survival, whereas when we push forward in pursuit of boundless intimacy, we provide the opportunity for the other person to puncture our sense of self, to, in moments of excitement or vindication, say, no, I remember it differently, that’s not at all how it happened. The realization applies equally to her connections with her mother and sister; though the story unfolds from Genevieve’s point of view, Wei subtly invites the reader to imagine how the other characters’ perspectives on the events might differ. The novel’s second act meanders slightly as Genevieve relocates to New Zealand, hoping to forge a new identity far away from her sister’s shadow and her mother’s high expectations. Here we’re introduced to a slate of less memorable characters who lead charming but unremarkable lives. Through this emotionally heavy plot the novel thankfully maintains a sense of humor, and an engaging, matter-of-fact tone. If the pace slows down in the second act, the final quarter surges ahead as tensions erupt into a staggering act of betrayal. Wei writes with a maturity that belies this novel’s status as a debut. Precise, layered and moving, “The Original Daughter” is a book not to miss. THE ORIGINAL DAUGHTER | By Jemimah Wei | Doubleday | 354 pp. | $30 Source link #Book #Review #Original #Daughter #Jemimah #Wei Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The 25 Essential Gardens to See in Your Lifetime The 25 Essential Gardens to See in Your Lifetime A garden is an ideal place to spend a sunny afternoon, but would you fly across the world for the pleasure of doing so? Which gardens are worthy of such a journey? To answer that question — and define what makes a garden truly spectacular — we assembled a panel of six horticultural experts for the latest installment of our T25 series. Louis Benech is one of France’s best-known landscape designers, part of the team responsible for the much-praised 1990 overhaul of the Tuileries in Paris. In 2016, the Sussex, England-based garden designer Juliet Sargeant became the first ****** woman to have a show garden at the Chelsea Flower Show, where she won a Royal Horticultural Society gold medal. Tim Richardson, who lives in London, writes about gardens for numerous publications and is the author of 22 books on the subject. Before founding Domino magazine and serving as T’s editor in chief from 2012 to 2016, Deborah Needleman spent many years as a garden editor at House & Garden. She also maintains an impressive plot at her home in upstate New York. The Japanese-born, New York-based architect and plant lover Toshiko Mori is an architecture professor at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where she focuses on sustainability. And Tom Delavan is T’s design director, as well as an interior decorator and green thumb. Each panelist was asked to nominate 10 must-see gardens and, on a video call in March, they spent almost four hours winnowing down that long list to a definitive 25. Most, if not all of them, are open to the public, with some requiring reservations or other advance planning. Only eight of the 51 finalists were suggested by more than one jurist, making for some lively debate: All agreed, for example, that the Dubai Miracle Garden, a flower-encrusted theme park that includes, among other spectacles, a nearly 60-foot-tall Mickey Mouse topiary, uses unconscionable amounts of water and includes no native plants. But Sargeant, who suggested its inclusion, pointed out the project’s mass appeal. Though it was ultimately crossed off, with one panelist deeming the place “deeply immoral” and another calling it “honestly disgusting,” all agreed that it raised important issues, earning it a mention here. Gardens from 20 countries were nominated, with Italy and the United Kingdom coming out on top; each ended up with five on the final list, followed by France with four. Unsurprisingly, the panel was particularly interested in the differences among the styles favored by various cultures, from meticulously groomed Asian stroll gardens to more naturalistic English cottage borders. The impact of colonialism on landscape design was also a topic of discussion, as was the focus on native plants in several African, South American and *********** projects. A few gardens were disqualified for practical reasons: The owners of one eccentric, privately owned sculpture garden in Britain, for example, asked to be left off the list for fear of overcrowding. Others, like Claude Monet’s Giverny in France, were deemed too obvious or too packed with tourists to wholeheartedly recommend. Ultimately, while the jurists have all traveled extensively, visiting gardens around the world, none of them had seen, or even heard of, every nomination. In some instances, they had to defer to their fellow experts and take a leap of faith — something that, as gardeners, they’re well accustomed to doing. A garden, said the British horticulturist Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932), who designed one of the gardens in our top 25, “teaches entire trust.” — Alexa Brazilian This conversation has been edited and condensed. Though numbered, the entries below aren’t ranked; the gardens appear roughly in the order in which they were discussed. In 1930, when the English writer Vita Sackville-West first came to Sissinghurst, a 16th-century Tudor manor set on 460 acres in Kent, she “fell in love; love at first sight,” she later explained, likening the place to “Sleeping Beauty’s castle.” She’d been searching for a property that would match the romance of her childhood home, Knole, just outside the nearby town of Sevenoaks, which she was prohibited from inheriting as a woman (an injustice that inspired her lover, Virginia Woolf, to write “Orlando” in 1928). Though Sissinghurst was overgrown, Sackville-West saw its potential and, with her husband, the writer and diplomat Harold Nicolson, set about creating what is now arguably England’s premier garden of rooms. Nicolson imposed a framework of crisp yew hedges that enclose each space and added an avenue of espaliered linden trees underplanted with spring bulbs. His formality was the perfect counterpoint to his wife’s love of romantic blooms, old roses and color-themed borders. Best of all, perhaps, is her White Garden, with rambling roses, spiky Miss Willmott’s ghost, delphiniums and lupines, all of which burst into pale flower near the beginning of June. Nearby, there’s a picturesque fruit orchard enclosed by a moat. Still, not all of the couple’s undertakings had fairy-tale endings. In the 1930s, after visiting the Cycladic island of Delos, they attempted to plant a Greek-style garden but were eventually defeated by the combination of English weather and poor drainage. In 2021, the British landscape architect Dan Pearson — in cooperation with the National Trust, which took over care of the property in 1967, five years after Sackville-West’s death — recreated the Delos garden, where Mediterranean plants like cypress and fig trees now flourish among gravel paths, craggy boulders and reclaimed stone columns. — Clare Coulson Louis Benech: I believe it was one of the first places where planting whole gardens in one color was done. Every time you go, there are little changes, but the original plan is properly respected. Deborah Needleman: It’s a remarkable series of different kinds of landscapes: a pond, a woodland, flower borders and a cottage garden. The White Garden is iconic; I happened to be there the week that it was peaking, and it was the most sublime thing I ever saw. And it’s probably the most famous English garden there is. Tim Richardson: The white garden is the most copied garden anywhere — although it didn’t start as a white garden but as a green, silver and gray garden. It’s designed to be seen at night because it’s next to the Priest House, where they would have dinner. Sissinghurst is really about this couple and their life together, which was very unusual. Both of them had a ****** sensibility, both of them had lots of other relationships, but their own relationship was most important to them and the garden was sort of a third party in that. The longtime family home of the garden writer and horticulturalist Christopher Lloyd, Great Dixter, in East Sussex, dates back to the 15th century but was reconfigured in the early 20th century by the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens at the behest of Lloyd’s father, Nathaniel. The pair also worked together to create the estate’s six-acre garden, which has continued to evolve. Today, the property includes wildflower meadows; a 150-foot border of intensely colorful flowering shrubs, perennials and bulbs; a kitchen garden; the Sunk Garden (a flower-filled courtyard centered on an octagonal pond); the Old Rose Garden (now filled with exotic plants); and the Peacock Garden, where eighteen huge yew topiary birds preside over colorful thalictrums, asters, teasels and grasses. Under the leadership of head gardener Fergus Garrett, who arrived in 1993, Great Dixter, which is now owned by a charitable trust, functions as a garden laboratory, where new ideas are tested, generations of gardeners are trained and wide-ranging research is carried out. A major ecological survey over the past decade, for example, recorded a combined 2,400 species of flora and fauna across the 72-acre estate. The ecologist and entomologist Andy Phillips, who coordinated the project, described Dixter as one of the richest sites he’d ever encountered. — C.C. Needleman: To me, it’s the quintessential cottage garden in that it’s meant to appear natural, but is anything but. Richardson: It’s the most intense horticultural garden in the world, I would say. It’s like a monastery, with Fergus Garrett, who runs it, as a kind of horticultural, radical abbot presiding over these novices who live there and meet him every morning at dawn to be assigned their chores. Every year there are maybe 20 or 30 people from all over the world who do this and then they go out and become the greatest gardeners. It’s where the most top-notch gardening is being taught and practiced. Juliet Sargeant: For the home gardener, the wonderful thing about Great Dixter is that it encourages you to be bold and to try your own thing. Needleman: I’d love to be able to visit Dixter in the spring when the fritillaria meadows are in bloom. That’s something I want to see at least once in my life. Built on the ruins of a medieval citadel laid out along the river that shares its name, Ninfa was abandoned by its owners, the noble Caetani family, around the 14th century. The property, just south of Rome, was virtually a swampland when a descendant, Prince Gelasio Caetani — a politician and horticultural enthusiast — inherited the place in 1921 and began planting among the ruins. Caetani’s aristocratic English mother, Ada Bootle-Wilbraham, was a hands-on gardener who installed the roses (tea-scented climbers and delicate noisettes) that now scramble over the crumbling walls, and successive generations of the family have added exquisite flowering trees, including dogwood, magnolia (of which there are nineteen varieties) and several wisterias in white, lilac and pink. Ninfa’s proximity to the water creates a lush microclimate (in addition to the river, there’s a lake on-site), allowing the 20 acres to flourish even through searing Italian summers. In the 1980s, Ninfa became a trust and, until his recent retirement, it was overseen by the family’s former gardener Lauro Marchetti, who preserved the integrity of the garden and its ancient beauty. — C.C. Needleman: You really get a sense of the layers of history. It’s the kind of site that the 18th- and 19th-century English landscape designers were trying to create when they built faux ruins and follies and hermitages — but this is real. Benech: It’s a complete atmosphere. When you see the wisteria growing through the stones, you’re scared in some way — it’s probably a good thing to wear a hard hat! But there’s a mixture of abandoned nature and extremely well-kept aspects, too. It’s the kind of garden you would never be able to copy — Needleman: Unless you have your own ruined medieval village. The Belgian landscape designer Jacques Wirtz was known for his carefully conceived, impeccably manicured gardens, like the one at the fashion designer Valentino Garavini’s Château de Wideville, outside Paris, where precisely shaped, spiraling mounds of yew dot the closely clipped lawn and low, sharp-edged hedges surround the geometric flower beds. His own garden, however, evolved partially by accident. In the 1970s, he moved to a cottage outside his native Antwerp, intending to use the walled, four-acre outdoor space as a nursery, with stock beds holding plants he’d eventually incorporate into others’ projects. Once the specimens were in place, Wirtz — who’d been deeply inspired by Japanese topiary while working on the Belgian pavilion at the 1970 World Expo in Osaka — began shaping them into cubes, domes, ****** and lollipops. In the end, he opted to leave his creations in place, where they remain today, lined up in their neat grids. Once part of a larger 18th-century estate, the property had long paths edged in neglected boxwoods and Wirtz pruned those, too, transforming them into epic, undulating hedges. The trees and shrubs — many of them evergreens — are the garden’s main event, and when flowers do appear they’re also arranged in regimented blocks, like rows of vegetables. Although green is the predominant color here, autumn brings fiery foliage on the apple, pear and plum trees. Left in their natural form, they also provide some softness to balance Wirtz’s impeccably groomed interventions. — C.C. Tom Delavan: When Wirtz first bought the property, it was a mess and the boxwoods were damaged in such a way that he had to trim them back. That’s how he came up with these boxwood clouds, which I love. Benech: It was a question of how to coiffer an old lady — and the result is fabulous. In 1339, Muso Kokushi, a Buddhist high priest and master gardener, created what’s believed to be the first-ever karesansui (dry landscape), at the Saihoji Temple in southwestern Kyoto. The style, characterized by carefully placed rocks and swaths of sand or gravel raked to invoke rippling water, is now considered the archetypal Japanese landscape, often referred to in English as a Zen garden. In the nineteenth century, Saihoji was flooded repeatedly when a nearby river overflowed its banks. The temple and its roughly eight-and-a-half-acre grounds were devastated, with soggy conditions allowing moss to take over. Rather than fight nature, the monks embraced change, and today, Saihoji is best known for its incomparable collection of fuzzy, rootless bryophytes, which grow with wild abandon over both the garden and the temple. With more than 120 varieties in total, specimens include Pyrrhobryum dozyanum, with elongated phyllids resembling weasels’ tails; fluffy, cushionlike Leucobryum glaucum; and Sphagnum palustre, a pale, rosy-tinged bog moss. Saihoji looks quite different than it did in Kokushi’s day, but, in the hands of the monks who continue to maintain it, its purpose of encouraging serenity and contemplation hasn’t changed. To get into the right mind-set, visitors, permitted by reservation only, are invited to take part in the Buddhist devotional practice of copying out sutras in the temple before exploring the plush, viridescent grounds. — Johanna Silver Toshiko Mori: This garden is very interesting in that it’s part of a spiritual practice: It’s used for meditation. Moss is very tiny, and being in the garden, looking so closely to distinguish one type from another, requires a special kind of attention. It opens up a completely different kind of universe. Needleman: This is the garden I’d like to die in. It would be amazing to be on that moss. Melbourne already had a long-established world-class botanical garden — the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria (which dates to the 1840s) when, in the mid-20th century, local groups concerned about the environmental effects of creeping overdevelopment began laying the groundwork for this one, about 35 miles southeast of the city center. Completed in 2012, it’s now the largest garden devoted to *********** plants in the world. An award-winning example of contemporary landscape design, with a bold, graphic layout that incorporates large-scale contemporary art, Cranbourne is centered around the 60-acre *********** Garden, a landscape of ponds and walkways on the site of a former sand quarry that’s divided into 22 separate zones. The largest, the Red Sand Garden, features circles of saltbush and is home to “Ephemeral Lake,” a 2004 ceramic installation by the artists Edwina Kearney and Mark Stoner. Nearby, the Peppermint Garden highlights aromatic plants like pinnate goodenia, a perennial herb with pink and purple flowers, and Ziera adenophora, an endangered flowering shrub. The Weird and Wonderful Garden, meanwhile, brings together specimens with strange foliage or unusual shapes, including the Queensland bottle tree, with its pear-shaped trunk, and the leafless rock wattle, with its dense tangle of stems. But as beautiful as these planted areas might be, what surrounds the garden is just as impressive — more than 800 acres of preserved bushland with six miles of walking trails and protected habitats for more than 25 threatened plant species as well as bandicoots, kangaroos and koalas. — Clare Foster Richardson: It’s more like visiting a zoological garden than a botanical garden because some of the plants are the size of large animals — they’re massive! Needleman: I don’t know anything about it, but I wrote in my notes, “It looks more like a zoo than a garden.” Richardson: It’s a bit like the High Line [in New York City; see No. 8] in that you walk around this circle and there are different zones and areas you pass through. It’s episodic. Located in the middle of Sydney, with spectacular views of the harbor and the opera house, this remains one of the city’s best-loved community spaces. Established in 1816 by Lachlan Macquarie, then the governor of New South Wales, it’s home to more than 5,000 species, including both colorful European-style flowers and wild-growing *********** plants like lilly pillies (flowering evergreen shrubs), acacias (known there as wattles) and gum trees (a.k.a. eucalyptus.) The 74-acre property also includes gardens dedicated to succulents, roses, herbs, palms and native Asian species. One particular highlight: the Cadi Jam Ora (First Encounters) Garden, which uses both words and flora to tell the story of the Gadigal people, who were the original custodians of this land. The native grass tree, which had huge cultural significance as a source of both tools and shelter, is featured prominently in this section, while elsewhere one can see native plants like the tropical giant fern — with fronds that can stretch up to 20 feet — and the Wollemi pine, one of the rarest and most ancient trees of the world, with fewer than 100 adult specimens known to exist in the wild and a history dating back more than 90 million years. — C.F. Mori: I wanted to have at least one garden that’s part of the life of a city and this one is right on the harbor, connecting the Opera House and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, so you can just stroll through on your way to work. It’s also the oldest scientific institution in Australia, with an amazing number of species. And 88 percent of what they have in Australia can’t be found in any other place on the planet! There are plants from the first British fleet, which was the beginning of colonialism, as well as Aboriginal gardens, so you can distinguish between what came with colonial influence and what was already there. Benech: But there are plenty of botanical gardens that are part of a city; you could say the same thing about the Copenhagen Botanical Garden. What I love here is that the *********** flora are so interesting — I imagine there are so many plants that haven’t even been identified. Mori: I walked through this garden with [the American landscape architect] Kathryn Gustafson a number of times, and there were many species that even she didn’t know. There’s constant discovery. When the elevated public park opened in 2009, organizers predicted about 300,000 people would visit in the first year. In fact, closer to 1.7 million passed through — and today the unticketed attraction draws roughly six million annually. Built into defunct, elevated train tracks along Manhattan’s West Side (after a massive fund-raising effort spearheaded by the nonprofit Friends of the High Line), the garden features native, drought-tolerant species. Its Dutch designer, Piet Oudolf, also took inspiration from the wild-growing grasses, shrubs and small trees that arrived during the three decades, beginning in 1980, that the railroad sat abandoned. Designed to be visually interesting throughout all four seasons, the gardens are elegantly framed by narrow concrete planks that form walkways through the plantings, peeling up from the ground now and again to form benches for resting and people-watching. A decade and a half after its establishment, the High Line still feels like a new kind of garden, 30 feet above the streets of New York. Plus, as a model of urban ecology, it has been massively influential: In New York City alone, nearby Little Island in Chelsea as well as parts of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway and the Green-Wood Cemetery lawns all bear its rough-edged imprint. — Kendra Wilson Delavan: Apart from the actual garden itself, which has become one of the most important tourist attractions in the city, it’s really changed that whole section of New York. Sargeant: I don’t know very much at all about it, but I have heard slightly political rumblings. Can anybody enlighten us on that? Delavan: Some of the people who were living there were pushed out after the High Line made the neighborhood popular. Now it’s a very gentrified, expensive place. The founders apologized and said, “We were trying to serve the community.” But in the end — Needleman: They were too successful. I mean, that’s the story of Manhattan. It’s not unique to the High Line, but the High Line made it happen very quickly. Mori: The landscape is very sustainable though. It has a drainage system that captures rainwater and reuses it, so maintenance is quite minimal. And there’s a symbiosis in the type of species that were planted together: They help each other survive. Richardson: It blends the two most important movements in landscape architecture and design over the past 30 years or so: postindustrialism — in this case, making a disused railway line into a park — and the naturalistic planting movement. For my money, this is the most influential piece of landscape architecture that’s been created in the past 40 years. While native gardening has only recently become mainstream in the United States, the concept is nothing new in South Africa. Case in point: this botanical garden in the Western Cape province, the first of its kind in the world dedicated entirely to indigenous flora, which was established over a century ago in 1913. Located eight miles outside the city center and set against the backdrop of Table Mountain’s eastern slope, the 1,305-acre public space showcases more than 7,000 species, with high priority given to the singular fynbos biome, which is found almost exclusively in the country’s Western Cape region and includes stiff, structured proteas, shaggy, flowering ericas and tufted, reedlike plants called restios. There’s also a robust collection of spiky cycads, a type of seed plant some believe predates the dinosaurs, and visitors might also spot local fauna, including brilliantly colored sunbirds — which resemble hummingbirds — owls and wildcats. The Tree Canopy Walkway, a curved, steel-and-timber treetop bridge inspired by a snake’s skeleton, winds 65 feet above it all, offering mountain vistas and sweeping forest views. — J.S. Mori: They’ve been collecting indigenous plants that you can’t see anywhere else since the early 20th century, so it’s very significant. And the setting right by Table Rock Mountain is quite beautiful. Richardson: It’s maybe the most spectacular botanical garden in the world. It’s not really a botanical garden in a normal sense but more like a mountainside. You can’t do it all in one day — you do bits and then come back another day and do other bits. It’s really quite wild. The Miller House, situated in the small city of Columbus, about 50 miles from Indianapolis, is the product of two cosmopolitan Midwesterners: the architect Eero Saarinen and the industrialist J. Irwin Miller, who, with his wife, Xenia, commissioned the approximately 7,000-square-foot, flat-roof glass-and-stone structure as a family home in 1953. It was Saarinen who hired Dan Kiley, a regular collaborator of his, to design the 13.5-acre grounds, which back up to the Flat Rock River. Kiley’s signature was pairing Modernist architecture with the formality of 17th-century French gardens, as exemplified by the South Garden at the Art Institute of Chicago, on which he also worked with Saarinen. At Miller House, he lined the entrance drive with a double row of horse chestnut trees (since replaced by yellow buckeyes) and added another allée, of honey locusts, along the west side of the house to frame the river view. Magnolia trees by the entrance add curves to the symmetry, while large, free-flowing weeping beech trees shield the house from wind and sun. The sense of control is mixed with exuberance: By the terrace, the emerald green lawn meets platforms of liriope and a checkerboard with pink and red impatiens under a canopy of crab apple trees, all of which evokes the decorator Alexander Girard’s vibrantly patterned interiors. While the legacy of this kind of water-intensive, high-maintenance landscape is ecologically fraught, the garden stands as a remarkable icon of its time. Today, fittingly, it’s owned and operated by the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields. — K.W. Needleman: This is Dan Kiley’s masterpiece — the perfect marriage of classical gardening with Modernism. The house, while it’s this glass structure, recalls a Palladian villa and the garden does a similar thing: It incorporates classical elements — hedging, allées, groves — but none of them are as you would expect. I think it’s the most important American Modernist garden. Mori: It has this incredible sense of calm and very generous proportions. I think that’s something about Kiley’s work that’s difficult to perceive in a photograph — the slower pace at which you move through it makes you feel like you’re in a different world. Neither fences nor hedges mark the borders of the filmmaker and artist Derek Jarman’s former home in Dungeness. Instead, the small wooden fisherman’s cottage and its garden — which he bought in 1986 and lived in until his death in 1994 — sit directly on the rocky beach of this desolate English headland, which is dominated by views of a nuclear power plant. In front of the house, which is painted pitch-****** with acid yellow trim, plants are arranged into flower beds, a riff on suburban landscaping that feels surreal in this hardscrabble setting. Jarman first attempted to use traditional blooms like roses, but quickly realized that only the toughest annuals and perennials would survive such unbuffered exposure to salt, wind and sun. Ultimately, he planted a trippy rainbow of valerian, viper’s bugloss, foxglove, sea campion, wild peas, teasels, sea kale and sea holly, along with the gorse that flourishes along the English coastline. When in full flower, swaths of red and yellow poppies add to the Technicolor palette. Scattered with found objects, the garden doubles as an art installation: There are pieces of stone and flint arranged in circles, rusted metal fragments standing in for statuary and huge chains displayed like artifacts. Jarman gathered all of them himself, mining the detritus of the semi-industrial landscape. He left the cottage to his longtime companion, Keith Collins, and after Collins’s death in 2018, the British charity Art Fund, along with Jarman’s friends, raised funds to preserve it. Today it’s maintained by the local nonprofit Creative Folkestone. — C.C. Needleman: Jarman knew he was dying when he was making this garden, and that feels poetic to me. Often gardens are enclosed and we’re trying to create a fantasy and an idealized place, but this opens onto the power plant. To me, it just looks very beautiful. Sargeant: I was there last weekend, actually, and it’s amazing. That whole area is a nature preserve and the sea is just a few hundred meters away. A good thing to do is visit Great Dixter, Sissinghurst and this one at the same time because the three together make a wonderfully contrasting tour of gardens in the same area. Richardson: I didn’t want to go after Jarman died, partly because I don’t think Collins, who was still living there, liked visitors coming and he didn’t really maintain it in the same way. Now the garden is very strongly protected and has its own head gardener, [Jonny Bruce], who’s really good. Considered the father of modern tropical garden design, Roberto Burle Marx completed more than 2,000 landscapes between the 1930s and the ’90s in his native Brazil and beyond. But his former home, on the outskirts of Rio, is the place to experience the full force of his vision. On the grounds of a 100-acre hillside, Burle Marx — an early proponent of designing with native plants — nurtured and studied more than 3,500 specimens from Central and South America, some of which he’d discovered on expeditions into the jungle. “Burle Marx considered the property a ‘landscape laboratory,’ often relating it to an alchemist’s crucible,” says Claudia Storino, director of what’s today a house-and-garden museum. To better understand the tropical and subtropical plants’ growth habits and design potential, the landscape architect assembled them in various ways throughout the property. Pieces of reclaimed granite form ancient-looking backdrops for bromeliads, giant agave emerge from a sea of snake plants and masses of pygmy ****** pine fringe the banks of a pond. As Burle Marx once said: “The plant is, to a landscape artist, not only a plant … but it is also a color, a shape, a volume or an arabesque in itself.” — Miranda Cooper Mori: Marx’s gardens aren’t like European gardens: The shapes here are organic, and he incorporates the idea of rainforest conservation. Benech: I love the color palette of the pergola of the small house in which he lived: white and pale green that mirrors the climbing ***** vines exactly, like a painting. It’s an example of how keen he was with color. I think he’s the most important designer of the 20th century. Built by members of the imperial family in the 17th century, this one seduces visitors not with a single sweeping vista, but, rather, with a series of impeccably crafted scenes. The 17-acre landscape features a large, irregularly shaped pond, with hills and valleys built along a pathway to obscure and reveal various views — a signature of so-called Japanese stroll gardens, which proliferated during the Edo *******. At one point, a peninsula of flat rocks jutting into the pond appears, complete with a stone lantern standing in for a lighthouse — a recreation of a famous viewpoint over Japan’s Amanohashidate sandbar. Elsewhere, visitors encounter evergreen trees and shrubs planted alone or in small, intentional vignettes. Integrated seamlessly into the landscape are rustic teahouses with viewing platforms, the most beloved of which is a wooden structure positioned to admire the harvest moon and its reflection in the pond. Even the ground itself is carefully calibrated to control the way the garden is experienced: Small stones form tight jigsaw patterns along some pathways for a smooth journey; in other areas, steps are spaced farther apart, encouraging visitors to slow down and appreciate a mossy bridge, say, or the silhouette of a lone pine tree. — M.C. Mori: It’s different from most Japanese gardens in that it’s completely scripted. You walk from one place to another and take in very specific viewpoints. It’s a stroll garden (or kaiyu-shiki) and also a hide-and-seek garden (miegakure), where you see various elements appearing and disappearing. It’s maintained by the imperial household and it’s difficult to visit: My advice is to make an appointment online as early as possible. Sargeant: When you visit, how can you get insight into those things? The hide-and-seek, the reading of the garden … is that explained in some way? Benech: I think you’re required to have a guided tour. Richardson: But isn’t the most famous Japanese garden neither this one nor the moss garden [see No. 5] but Ryoanji [the Kyoto rock garden and Zen temple, built in the 15th century]? Mori: Ryoanji is famous, but it doesn’t have the complexity of the Imperial Palace or the spiritual quality of the moss garden. The city of Suzhou, some 70 miles west of Shanghai, is often billed as the Venice of the East for its network of picturesque canals. Even better, however, are its historic gardens, which span over a thousand years of history and number more than 50, nine of which, dating from the 11th to the 19th centuries, are UNESCO World Heritage sites. Each is considered a masterpiece of classical ******** garden design, with the aim of evoking vast natural landscapes on a small scale through the use of water, architecture, rocks and plants. The largest, and perhaps the best known, is the 13-acre Humble Administrator’s Garden, created in the 16th century by the government official Wang Xianchen. One of the most ornate in the city, it contains numerous pavilions, pools and interconnecting islands. The Master of the Nets Garden — originally laid out in the 12th century by Shi Zhengzhi, a retired bureaucrat who was inspired by the solitary life of a ******** fisherman — is much smaller, only about one and a half acres, and is centered on a large reflecting pond, known as the Rosy Cloud Pool. There, pavilions are built on rocks or piers right over the water’s edge, with larger buildings set farther back and partially obscured by trees, making the boundaries of the garden unclear. This clever use of proportion, scale and framing make the garden a quintessential example of the classical ******** style, as do its magnolias, peonies and lacebark pines, each of which holds cultural and seasonal significance. — C.F. Sargeant: Here in the West, we’re taught that Japanese gardens evolved from the ******** style, but I’ve learned that it was actually much more of a back-and-forth between the two styles. Mori: These gardens were built over nearly a thousand years, so they have many different representations of ******** garden design motifs: pagodas, buildings, landscape elements. Each of the gardens is a place of philosophy and thinking. Sargeant: In the English style, we connect with the landscape by borrowing the view, building a garden to highlight it. Here, they’re telling the story of a landscape by recreating it within the gardens themselves, in miniaturized form. In the 18th century, country estates all over England were being torn up as the formal French style that had long dominated garden design gave way to a fashion for more natural-looking, so-called Arcadian landscapes. The architect and designer William Kent was the trend’s leading proponent, and also the person that Sir James Dormer, a British Army officer, had hired to rethink the gardens at his family’s 25-acre Oxfordshire estate, Rousham. Today, Dormer’s descendants remain in residence there and Kent’s garden has, remarkably, lasted in its entirety, one of the era’s few survivors. Visitors can follow the meandering, 300-year-old paths that he laid out through shady vales and over sloping lawns and take in views of the River Cherwell from his seven-arched stone loggia, modeled after the forecourt of the temple of Fortuna Primigenia at Palestrina, near Rome. To accentuate Rousham’s classical mood, Kent installed a faux ruin, nicknamed “The Eyecatcher,” on a distant hill, as well as statuary of mythical figures throughout: Venus overlooks a lake while Antinous, a young lover of the Emperor Hadrian, guards the woodland. On the northeast side of the circa 1635 house, the walled garden is even older, predating Kent’s design. There, deep borders are filled with colorful blooms; peach, apricot, pear and plum trees are trained against 17th-century brick garden walls and a boxwood parterre is filled with picture-perfect English roses. — C.C. Richardson: Rousham is still in the hands of the family that commissioned it back in the early 18th century and it’s a great favorite of landscape architects and garden designers. It’s Kent’s masterpiece, which he did after designing other places like Chiswick House and Stowe, where he was learning his trade. Here, he’s unleashed. Needleman: It’s completely man-made but it taps into our idea of a perfect countryside — a garden leaping the fence. It’s a beautiful, sensual kind of landscape. Sargeant: And it’s got a wonderful ha-ha. Delavan: What’s a ha-ha? Needleman: It’s a kind of running ditch so you can have the cattle and sheep grazing, and they look like they’re on your lawn but they actually can’t get to the house. It’s this idea of bringing the landscape, unimpeded by a fence, straight up to the door. Sargeant: It’s called that because it takes you by surprise. You’re strolling in the garden and you come across it and you say, “Aha!” In 1966, the Scottish poet and artist Ian Hamilton Finlay moved with his wife, Sue, to an isolated farmstead called Stonypath, an hour outside Edinburgh, in the Pentland Hills. With little money or knowledge of garden design, they set about making what would become Finlay’s most enduring creative work. The seven-acre garden was originally intended as a place to display Finlay’s art: poetry, aphorisms, puns and metaphors carved into stone and wood. His plaques, headstones, sculptures and obelisks — created with a team of craftspeople — explore themes including classical mythology, French revolutionary philosophy, pastoral romanticism and modern warfare. Installed around the garden (in the clearing of a glade, on a bridge over a stream, as plinths in a pond), they’re laced with wit and unpredictability: A visitor might be lulled by the peaceful setting, its wide views over wildflower-strewn moorland, only to be jolted by the pair of giant stone hand grenades with metal pins perching on the formal gateposts. Finlay named the garden Little Sparta in the late 1970s, partly as a nod to Edinburgh’s reputation as “the Athens of the North” (a reference to its many neoclassical buildings and academic leanings) but also in homage to the militaristic, ancient city-state; he had his own fierce battles with the local council. Almost two decades after his death, the wholly unique landscape continues to resonate in the manner detailed in “Unconnected Sentences on Gardening,” his 1980 poem. “Certain gardens are described as retreats,” he wrote, “when they are really attacks.” — K.W. Richardson: People think of it as an agglomeration of about 150 individual pieces but it was never conceived in that way. It’s a total entity. He was mixing the idealism of humankind with its malevolence and violence, so you have things like classical pillars topped with hand grenades and a tortoise sculpture with “panzer leader” [“panzer” is ******* for “tank”] written on its side. There are a lot of references to the French Revolution because he was obsessed with its mix of idealism and horrifying cruelty, the contradiction in human life. Some say it’s the most important work of art made in Scotland in the second half of the 20th century. Sargeant: I’ll second that. And you can still visit it, Tim? Richardson: It’s open and in good shape. Between 1889 and 1932, the architect Edwin Lutyens and the garden designer Gertrude Jekyll collaborated on about 100 projects, most of them in their native England. Le Bois des Moutiers, perched on cliffs overlooking the English Channel, is the only one in France, commissioned by the banking heir Guillaume Mallet at the end of the 19th century. The five-acre garden features landscaped parkland as well as a series of discrete spaces nearer the house that correspond to different rooms in the property’s Arts & Crafts-style manor house and mirror its features. In the White Garden, for instance, stone benches are set into a hedge to reflect the layout of two closets flanking a large window in the music room. Le Bois des Moutiers also claims the distinction of being the first garden in France to adopt mixed borders, the wide, cottage-style flower beds planted with colorful blooms like roses, lavender and delphiniums that were a signature of Jekyll’s style. The estate was acquired in 2020 by the French film producer Jérôme Seydoux and his wife Sophie, who commissioned the American garden designer Madison Cox to oversee a much-needed restoration. In addition to revitalizing and replanting the original garden rooms, Cox is removing overgrown vegetation to improve the water views and adding contemporary elements including a large, reflecting water feature and a labyrinth of espaliered fruit trees and yews. — C.F. Delavan: What I love about this one is that the interior and garden design are interwoven. That’s a sophisticated concept, and it was conceived in the 19th century. Benech: And it’s aging well! I’ve known this place for the past 50 years. It’s special to still find trees there, like the rhododendrons and yews, that were there initially, because it’s been redone and redone and redone over the past hundred years. Needleman: It’s a Gertrude Jekyll-Edwin Lutyens mega collaboration — the first English-style flower garden in France. And Madison Cox is sensitive and original when dealing with historic gardens and bringing them into the present moment, as he did at the Villa Oasis/Majorelle Gardens for Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé. He’s the perfect choice to update it. The Russian Prince Peter Wolkonsky fell in love with plants as a child, sneaking into the kitchen plot of his next door neighbor, Czar Nicholas II. In 1965, after traveling the world painting landscapes and botanicals, he purchased a former orchard set on hills overlooking the Jaudy River in Brittany and started planting a garden. The 42 acres are now divided into seven distinct designs that range in style from a wild moor covered in golden grasses to a manicured expanse of geometric hedges. Harnessing the many streams running through the property, he built reflecting pools, ponds, waterfalls and an Italianate grotto decorated with shells. Over the next three decades, Wolkonsky amassed a vast collection of rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias and dogwoods; upon his death in 1997, he left the land to his daughter, the horticulturist Isabelle Vaughan. In 2021, she sold Kerdalo to its current steward: the accessories designer Christian Louboutin. Early in his career, feeling burned out on fashion, he’d dabbled in landscape design, “but working with nature required too much time and patience for the young, impatient man I was at that age,” Louboutin says. “So I went back to shoe design.” An admirer of Kerdalo since first catching a glimpse of it more than 30 years ago, he’s been updating leaky water systems and ripping out diseased boxwoods, which will be replaced next year with an installation by the Italian artist Giuseppe Ducrot, inspired by Wolkonsky’s hedges. “The garden doesn’t belong to me,” says Louboutin, whose goal is to preserve as much of the prince’s original design as possible while also protecting Kerdalo from the effects of climate change. “I belong to the garden.” — J.S. Benech: I hadn’t been there for more than 30 years, but I took Christian Louboutin to help connect him with Isabelle when she was selling the place. I was amazed by how big Peter’s newer plantings were — they had been my height [about six feet] when I was last there. And it’s extremely well planted with both ordinary and extremely rare things, so visitors can enjoy it whether they know about plants or not. There are some very special magnolias there. Alexa Brazilian: Can we visit or do you have to make friends with the owner? Benech: It’s totally open to visitors, which was part of the deal when Christian bought it. Located in a hillside village about a 15-minute drive northeast from Florence, the gardens of Villa Gamberaia, with not quite four acres under cultivation, are “probably the most perfect example of the art of producing a great effect on a small scale,” wrote Edith Wharton in her 1904 book, “Italian Villas and Their Gardens.” Composed mostly of cypress, boxwood, yew, oak, lemon and olive trees — with a few mixed borders of lavender, irises and roses — the space is arranged as a long, grassy bowling green opening onto a series of small garden rooms. The layout has remained largely the same since the early 17th century, when it was planned by Zanobi Lapi, a Florentine merchant, along with his two nephews. Gamberaia’s style is hard to define — “No matter how carefully one measures the spaces, analyzes the plan or seeks to interpret it in terms of Renaissance, Mannerist, or Baroque … there is always something elusive,” says the historian Patricia Osmond, who curates the villa’s archive — although it has nonetheless been emulated widely: Miami’s Villa Vizcaya and Delaware’s Longwood Gardens, both built in the first half of the 20th century, pay homage. Now run by a private trust, Villa Gamberaia was recently given close to two million euros (about $2.3 million) for upgrades by the European Union and the Italian government, making it one of the few private estates in Italy ever to receive such a grant. A portion of that money has gone toward upgrading the water systems, in an effort to protect the shady, centuries-old refuge from climate change. — J.S. Needleman: It’s the most magical garden. It’s not a very auspicious site — it’s super narrow — but the use of space is fantastic. Richardson: I agree. In fact, Villa Gamberaia is my favorite garden in the world. Benech: It’s a divine place on a perfectly human scale. Of all the formal gardens in Europe, none showcase topiary quite as exuberantly — some might say obsessively — as Marqueyssac. On this hilltop property overlooking the Dordogne Valley, more than 150,000 boxwoods are hand-clipped into a variety of fanciful silhouettes: Swirls, buns and swooping hedges form pathways; brick-shaped shrubs seem to spill like Legos down a slope; leafy lollipops appear at random. The garden began as the vision of the property’s onetime owner, Julien de Cerval, who, after inheriting it from his family in the 1860s, was inspired by trips to Italy to plant and shape boxwoods by the thousands. After his death in the l893, the landscape languished until the 1990s, when the new owner, Kléber Rossillon, a former engineer whose company maintains a dozen cultural heritage sites throughout France, revived many of the original shrubs, filled in holes and — lacking de Cerval’s original design plans — clipped the shrubs into shapes of his own imagining. While topiary remains the star attraction, Rossillon has added other surprises to the 54-acre garden, including several waterfalls, quirky contemporary sculptures and an allosaurus dinosaur skeleton. To fully appreciate the whole endeavor, visitors can follow pathways leading to various viewpoints, including one that overlooks hundreds of boxwood mounds in shapes that mimic the rolling hills of the landscape beyond. — M.C. Delavan: It’s minimalist in its limited plant selection and color palette but still manages to feel romantic. In the 19th century, the owner planted thousands of boxwoods — a lot of these gardens were made by people who were kind of obsessive. I think there are 150,000 boxwoods now and they’re trimmed super tightly but rounded. It looks almost like flocks of sheep. Richardson: It’s an example of a topiary garden on a grand scale that somehow retains the charm and character of a private residence. It’s not overwhelmed by whimsy. Reeling from a failed bid for the papacy, yet awarded the governorship in Tivoli as a consolation, Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este wanted to build an extravagant estate that would secure his legacy. The resulting 16th-century gardens, conceived of by the architect Pirro Ligorio, not only achieved Cardinal d’Este’s goal, but went on to influence the design of landscapes throughout Europe. Water features have always been the highlight at Villa d’Este’s garden, which has been built upon by successive owners. Today, there are 51 fountains and nymphaea, 398 spouts and 64 waterfalls or cascades across its seven terraced acres, with water streaming down stairs, pouring into long, decorative canals and springing up around classical sculptures. It’s even been inventively manipulated to power machines that produce the sounds of birds or organ music in some fountains. Now preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage site, Villa d’Este remains such a spectacle today that one nobleman’s quote from 1569 still resonates: “Wherever you look, springs gush forth in such a variety of ways and with such splendor of design that everywhere else on earth of this kind is far inferior.” — M.C. Needleman: Some of our other Italian gardens are very classical Renaissance and this must be Baroque. It’s a little over-the-top. Mori: Very different. It’s a water garden with scores of fountains all running on just gravity — a masterpiece of hydraulic engineering. Science and natural beauty are integrated. And the sound is exquisite! My landscape professor in architecture school had an amazing lecture all about the acoustical experience of the fountains there. Elaborate fountains and parterres may be hallmarks of Italy’s Renaissance-era landscapes, but at the 16th-century garden Sacro Bosco, about 40 miles northwest of Rome, the most well-known feature is less romantic: a giant, gaping stone mouth with stubby fangs and an inscription below them reading “Ogni pensiero vola” (“Every thought flies”). The Mouth of Hell, as it’s known, is one of about 40 stone monsters and structures carved on-site under the direction of the architect Pirro Ligorio and the property’s 16th-century owner, Pier Francesco Orsini. The intention behind the sculptures — which range from a three-headed hound of Hades to a curiously tilted house — is a mystery. Some believe the garden’s gothic leanings reflect Orsini’s grief after the death of his wife; others contend that he was simply a well-read eccentric looking to impress guests with his references to Greek mythology and literature. While the garden lay abandoned after his death in 1585, it was rediscovered by writers and artists in the 1930s and ’40s (most notably Salvador Dalí) and purchased in 1954 by the entrepreneur Giovanni Bettini, who saw its potential as a tourist attraction. Under the stewardship of his children and grandchildren today, Sacro Bosco’s seven wooded acres are open to the public, with labyrinthine paths that encourage visitors to get lost in its eerie beauty. — M.C. Sargeant: This is really a sculpture garden, but I don’t think that should exclude it, or any other garden that is defined as that, from our list. Obviously a garden is about plants, but it’s also about creating atmospheric spaces outside for people to enjoy — somewhere to sit and have a conversation or maybe, like in the ancient Greek tradition, to just think. It’s the same thing with Japanese gardens, where they feature rocks. Of course, plants are important in creating those spaces, but plants don’t have to be preponderant. Richardson: And it’s wonderful for children. I took my boys there when they were 10 and 12. I mean, look at that mouth! And no one really understands what the symbolism is. It’s a mystery. Although he died at the turn of the 18th century, André le Nôtre remains France’s most celebrated landscape designer. And while he’s best known for masterminding the grounds of Versailles, many believe that the garden at Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, begun 20 years earlier than Versailles, was actually his finest work. Widely considered a masterpiece of formal Baroque design, the garden is laid out around a 17th-century limestone château in the jardins à la Francais style, which was dedicated to imposing symmetry on nature. Spanning more than 80 acres of former woodland, the project stretches out along a nearly two-mile-long central axis lined with matching rows of pools, fountains and parterres. Owing to the prevalence of boxwood disease, the original parterre de broderie, with its ornate swirls of hedging inspired by 17th-century embroidery patterns, was replaced in 2019 with a contemporary artwork, “Rubans Éphémères” (“Ephemeral Ribbons”) by the French artist Patrick Hourcade, which mimics the intertwining lines of Le Nôtre’s design using flat sheets of aluminum. The best time to visit Vaux-le-Vicomte is on Saturdays at sunset between late May and the end of September, when the park’s 20 fountains, controlled by the original 17th-century hydraulic system, are turned on, treating onlookers to a dramatic water show. — C.F. Mori: There’s a lot of work with perspective in the design. It has distortions: You think a body of water is oval, but as you get closer you realize it’s circular. As an architect, I think the way they constructed the total experience is brilliant. Benech: Approaching from the terrace of the house, you have the feeling that the garden is going up while you’re actually going down. Mori: You can’t photograph it well because it’s all about illusion. The cameras can’t capture it. And that’s the reason to go visit. Richardson: It’s better than Versailles, isn’t it? Mori: Yes, I think so. It’s a precedent for Versailles. Set between cedar trees on a hill next to Turin, Vigna Barolo was built in the 18th century and was owned for a time by the Marquess and Marchioness of Barolo, who used it as a summer house. (The celebrated writer Silvio Pellico was their onetime secretary and librarian there.) After the death of the marchioness, it served for a time as an orphanage before falling into disrepair. In 1948, when Umberta Nasi Ajmone-Marsan purchased the place, the gardens were neglected and the front lawn ended in an abrupt 20-foot drop. Ajmone-Marson, a granddaughter of Fiat founder Giovanni Agnelli, enlisted the services of the British landscape architect Russell Page, who was making a garden for her cousin Gianni and his wife, Marella Agnelli. Page’s preference for classical formality over the more cottagey leanings of his homeland were perfectly suited to the brief for this site — that the formal part of the garden should be enjoyed as a view from the house. Sketching ideas over two years, Page settled on a cruciform layout: A vertical axis of clipped evergreens leads the eye through a double parterre, past a reflecting pool and toward a labyrinth of low hedging. The square pool at the garden’s axis is flanked by a simple pool on either side, executed with characteristic understatement. To address the steep gradient from the front lawn, Page designed a double stone staircase that’s hardly visible when seen from above. The overall result is a view of the garden from the villa that is, as intended, sublime. — K.W. Needleman: It’s a great example of Russell Page’s work. Mori: Yes, it’s wonderful. Delavan: I love the compactness of this design, and how meticulous all the details are. Brazilian: It reminds me so much of his garden at the Frick Collection in New York, which Page also designed [in 1977]. It’s so pleasingly symmetrical, with a similar reflecting pool at its center. Benech: But the garden has changed a lot since Page did it. There are no more santolinas, and the conifers he planted to hide some of the lower buildings are blocking the view now. But the garden is wonderful. Created in the 1960s by the wealthy British expat, art patron and eccentric Edward James (whom Dalí reportedly called “crazier than all the Surrealists put together”), this otherworldly sculpture garden features 34 follies across 22 acres of rainforest in central Mexico. Here, archways are arranged at chaotic angles among enormous concrete mushrooms, snakes and orchids, while elaborate, nonsensical structures composed of neo-Classical columns and stairways lead to nowhere and have names like “The House of Three Stories That Could Be Five” or “The House With a Roof Like a Whale.” The landscape is just as attention-grabbing, with both native and cultivated plants like orchids, giant ferns and rosewood trees engulfing the sculptures, near which natural waterfalls flow and pool, reflecting strange silhouettes. After James’s death in 1984, his once-private garden was managed first by the family of a longtime friend and then, starting in 2007, by an environmental conservation foundation, which restored its structures and opened it to the public. Today, with minimal signage and visitors only permitted as part of a guided tour, exploring the landscape still feels like stepping into a dream — or, as James called it, a “Surrealist Xanadu.” — M.C. Sargeant: I love gardens like this, with sculpture and with interesting buildings — that interplay between the built environment and landscape is fascinating and beautiful. Because of the climate, a lot of the plants look as though they’re taking over the sculptural pieces, which gives the garden a very intertwined look. Needleman: He used the mood that a tropical junglelike garden can create in harmony with his surrealist sculptures. The two elements are working hand-in-hand to create something mysterious and magical. Richardson: I agree with what everyone has said but … it was built as a ruin — and ruins are notorious for falling down. Benech: Still, I’d like to go one day. Sargeant: Take your hard hat, Louis! At top: © Carol Casselden; Jérôme Galland; Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria; © Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte; Frédéric Soltan/Corbis via Getty Images; Howard Sooley Source link #Essential #Gardens #Lifetime Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Deliveroo deal shows *** still can’t hang on to big firms Deliveroo deal shows *** still can’t hang on to big firms PA The takeover of Deliveroo by its US counterpart DoorDash is an illuminating example of the differing fortunes and attractions of US and *** stock markets. Deliveroo and DoorDash are similar companies. Both started out as food delivery services offering customers convenient and speedy access to their favourite restaurants and offering restaurants the ability to more fully utilise the capacity of their kitchens. Both extended their offerings to include other convenience shopping items – like nappies, flowers and **** food. Both raised money by selling shares to the public in an initial public offering (IPO) around the same time – Deliveroo on the London stock market, DoorDash on the New York Stock Exchange. Since then their fortunes have dramatically diverged. When Deliveroo listed its shares in London, DoorDash was worth five times as much as its *** counterpart. Four years later DoorDash is now worth 35 times as much. This is not a perfect comparison as DoorDash has issued more shares to raise money to expand over time which would boost its total value – its market capitalisation. But the appetite for shares in the US company meant that it could successfully raise that money on US markets. Let’s look at another measure – the price of each share. An investor who bought a share of DoorDash has seen its value rise 84%. An investor who bought a share of Deliveroo has seen its value fall 56%. What this means is that DoorDash is now in a position to use its greater financial heft to take over its *** rival – just as Deliveroo is finally turning a profit. One of Deliveroo’s first backers, Danny Rimer of Index Ventures, told the BBC in 2023 that if he had his time again he would have voted for a US listing, and people close to the company agree that the current takeover bid was partly enabled by DoorDash’s access to US capital markets. This is just one example which helps explain a wider problem. Companies are increasingly shunning the London stock market in favour of a US listing. There are many reasons. Higher valuation. The 500 largest publicly traded US companies (S&P 500) are worth, on average, 28 times the profit they make in a year. The 100 largest publicly traded *** companies (the FTSE 100) sell for 12 times their yearly earnings. Less than half. How can there be such a huge disparity? Partly because the US is home to most of the world’s most successful and profitable companies – the so-called Magnificent Seven (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla) Take those out and shares trade at 20 times earnings – still a massive premium to the ***. One of the other reasons *** valuations lag is old-fashioned lack of demand. *** investors’ appetite for *** stocks has shrivelled. Over the last 30 years, the share of the *** market owned by *** financial institutions has shrunk from 50% to less than 5%. This is partly because financial regulation has encouraged pension funds to buy less risky investments like government bonds. But it’s also partly because the managers of those pension funds think they will get better returns investing in US markets – and they have been dead right. In just the last five years, the total return including dividends on investing in US shares has been 116% while the same number for the *** is 45%. Positive comments But there are changes afoot. The government’s so-called “Edinburgh Reforms”, designed to make listing in the *** more attractive, included reducing the proportion of a company available for ***** to the public and retaining more voting power for founders who wanted to keep control of the company even as they sold stakes to others. There have also been positive comments on the attractiveness of the *** from financial giants like Larry Fink of BlackRock and Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan. They both noted the *** looks undervalued and the *** market has outperformed the US so far this year. The secret that *** stocks are cheap has been out there for some time. That is precisely why private buyers from the US and elsewhere have swooped on ***-listed companies meaning they disappear from the *** stock market. Even some of the biggest ones left are considered candidates for a move. Shell boss Wael Sawan told the BBC that while he had “no immediate” plans to move, he and his company “got a very warm welcome” when they held their big reception for investors in New York. Shell trades at a 35% discount to its US-listed peers and many of its shareholders aren’t happy about it. What the DoorDash swoop on Deliveroo seems to highlight once again is that companies listed in the US can summon greater financial firepower with which to expand or acquire their rivals. Deliveroo will join the likes of Arm Holdings, Morrisons, CRH Holdings, Ultra, Meggitt and many others as companies who used to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. Does it matter? Pension funds, or individual investors, can buy shares whether they are listed in the ***, US or one of the European exchanges. But a *** listing generates significant ancillary business for a *** financial services industry that still makes up more than 10% of the ***’s entire economy and contributes more than 10% of all taxes paid here. Accountants, lawyers, financial PR firms and others feed off the fees that *** listings generate. Trading on the London Stock Exchange is dwarfed by the trading of currencies, bonds and complex contracts but it has always been a centre of gravity for financial activity and one which many argue has lost its power to attract. Source link #Deliveroo #deal #shows #hang #big #firms Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Who Will Be the Next Pope? Here Are Some Possible Candidates to Succeed Francis. Who Will Be the Next Pope? Here Are Some Possible Candidates to Succeed Francis. Guesses about who the next Roman Catholic pope will be often prove inaccurate. Before the selection of Pope Francis in 2013, many bookmakers had not even counted him among the front-runners. This time, predictions are further complicated, because Francis made many appointments in a relatively short ******* during his tenure, diversifying the College of Cardinals and making it harder to identify movements and factions within the group. Still, discussion of potential names began long ago behind the ********’s walls and beyond. As the cardinals began meeting in Rome after Pope Francis’ ********, papal watchers scrutinized snippets of statements emerging from their discussions, trying to discern whether the electors were leaning toward a candidate who would build on Francis’ agenda or one who would represent a return to a more traditional style. Cardinals Pietro Parolin of Italy and Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle of the Philippines have been the most mentioned candidates to replace Pope Francis in the days before the conclave, which starts Wednesday. But conclaves are often unpredictable, and this one — with so many new cardinals from so many places who do not know each other well — has even more potential to surprise. A long list of other contenders has already emerged. It seems that everyone knows Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the ******** secretary of state under Francis. Cardinal Parolin will preside over the papal election and has emerged as a leading compromise candidate. A quiet, plodding Italian with a famously inscrutable poker face, Cardinal Parolin, 70, is deeply cautious. But at a time of global upheaval, that is not necessarily a disqualifier. Even his backers grant that he lacks Francis’ charisma and global symbolism — but as the leader of the ******** machinery for the past decade, he enacted Francis’ vision. Cardinals have talked about Cardinal Parolin as someone who could have a steady, bureaucratic hand on the church’s wheel. His critics on the left question his past comments about same-sex marriage, which he called a “defeat for humanity,” and his lack of pastoral experience. His critics on the right criticize his role in the church’s efforts to make inroads in China, which has required negotiations with ********** leaders. But few prelates who know him have strong feelings about him either way. And after the eventful and, for some, divisive dozen years under Francis, bland but competent may be just what the cardinals are looking for. On migration, for example, whereas Francis excoriated the inhumanity of great powers turning the Mediterranean into a graveyard, Cardinal Parolin said after a meeting with Italy’s right-wing prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, that immigration was “a very, very complex subject.” — Jason Horowitz and Patricia Mazzei Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, 67, a liberal-leaning cardinal from the Philippines, has for years been deemed a front-runner to be pope and would be the first pope from Southeast Asia. An ally of Francis who has worked at the ******** in recent years, Cardinal Tagle has a highly personable approach in line with Francis’ attention to the poor and those in need in developing countries. He also comes from a region of the world where Catholicism continues to grow, and where Francis paid particular attention to trying to build a church with a less Eurocentric future. At the ********, Cardinal Tagle has overseen missionary work. Widely known by his nickname “Chito,” he is often called the “Asian Francis” for his ability to connect with the poor, his call for action against climate change and his criticism of the “harsh” stance adopted by some Catholic clerics toward gay people, divorced people and unwed mothers. Cardinal Tagle is popular for his humility, and his homilies have drawn the faithful to the pews and to Facebook streams. But as leader of the church in the Philippines, he was criticized by activists and fellow priests as being timid about the scourge of clerical ******* abuse. He has also been faulted by some as not adequately addressing former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, in which tens of thousands of people were summarily executed. Cardinal Tagle did not respond to a request for an interview. — Sui-Lee Wee and Aie Balagtas See Fridolin Ambongo Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, 65, the archbishop of Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been considered a possible contender since Francis made him a cardinal in 2019. Pope Francis had long urged the Catholic Church to “go to the peripheries,” meaning communities in Africa and Asia, where the church also is the most vibrant. One persistent question has been when the church might reinforce that commitment by choosing a pope from Africa. Catholics make up about 18 percent of the continent’s population and generate more seminarians than any other part of the world. Pope Francis, an Argentine, was the first non-European to lead the church since 741. Even so, Francis was from a family with Italian roots. Yet there is a certain paradox involved in choosing any successor from Africa. While it would be a break from tradition, the Catholic hierarchy in Africa is among the most conservative. Cardinal Ambongo was close to Pope Francis, one of just nine members of an advisory group known as the Council of Cardinals. But the cardinal led the opposition to Francis’ 2023 ruling that priests could bless same-sex couples. — Neil MacFarquhar Bishop Anders Arborelius of Stockholm, 75, who converted to Catholicism at age 20, is Sweden’s first Catholic cardinal. Although Sweden was once predominantly Lutheran and is now largely secular, the Roman Catholic Church has grown there in recent years, and Cardinal Arborelius says that many of the Catholics there have an immigrant background. Francis’ elevation of the cardinal in 2017 was seen as another attempt to appoint cardinals in places that did not have one before, and to reach out to countries where Catholics are a *********. In a recent interview, Cardinal Arborelius said the biggest challenges facing the church were building bridges in a polarized world, giving greater influence to women within the church and helping families pass on the faith. Cardinal Arborelius, who belongs to the Carmelite religious order, has expressed support for migrants, as Francis did. In the interview, he expressed deep concern about growing anti-migrant sentiments, including in Sweden. As for the blessings of same-sex couples, he said, “We have to go to the gay people with much love,” adding, “even if we cannot recognize gay marriage.” He played down his chances of becoming pope. At 75, “I would be too old,” he said. He said he was told that, according to an A.I. chatbot, his chances were 5 percent. “I had to laugh,” he said. — Emma Bubola Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, 66, from Marseille in France, has spent years promoting dialogue among faiths in the port city, which is known for its diverse cultures and religions but is also plagued by poverty and crime. Having a background in interreligious dialogue not only was important to Francis but also has become an important area for the Catholic Church. Among candidates, Cardinal Aveline would be a less obvious choice. Working in his favor: He mixes Francis’ openness to dialogue with deep theological knowledge. Possibly working against him: Conclaves have not been warm to French candidates since the 14th century, when a French pope moved the papacy to Avignon in the south of France. He had a good relationship with Francis and shared a similarly simple personal style; he has been known to do his own laundry and likes to drive his own car. Unlike Francis, Cardinal Aveline has refrained from openly taking stands on contentious issues within the church, such as the blessing of gay couples or giving communion to divorced people, both of which Francis allowed. Both detractors and supporters describe Cardinal Aveline as embracing “classic” positions on church doctrine. — Emma Bubola Charles Maung Bo Cardinal Charles Maung Bo is well known and influential among Asian leaders of the Roman Catholic Church. He has employed a delicate diplomatic touch as the leader of a Catholic ********* in Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country. The archbishop of Yangon, he became Myanmar’s first cardinal in 2015. And as his conflict-torn country’s most prominent Roman Catholic, he has been an outspoken religious leader, calling for peace and dialogue since a military coup in 2021. The cardinal has also defended Myanmar’s persecuted ******* Rohingya people, a highly delicate topic there. He has described the Rohingya as victims of “ethnic cleansing,” but he also advised Pope Francis before the pontiff’s 2017 visit to Myanmar to avoid using the word Rohingya. It is a contested term in Myanmar, and the cardinal said he feared backlash against the country’s Catholics if Francis uttered it. Cardinal Bo, 76, has also reprimanded the international community for inaction over the persecution of Uyghur Muslims in China. — Patricia Mazzei Pablo Virgilio Siongco David Cardinal Pablo Virgilio Siongco David, 66, from the Philippines is considered an outside contender to succeed Pope Francis. Experts say that while Cardinal Tagle, also from the Philippines, has attracted more attention, Cardinal David’s slightly lower profile might help, even as his relative youth could count against him. Shortly after being appointed bishop in Manila in 2015, the prelate was faced with difficult choices when a wave of executions by police officers and vigilantes hit his diocese. The killings were set off by the campaign by Mr. Duterte, then the president, to eliminate ******** drugs, and the climate of violence that prevailed made staying quiet a safer choice. Instead, the bishop, who was elevated to cardinal in December, began keeping a list of those killed in his diocese, set up mission stations to provide aid to locals and publicly denounced the killings. In an effort to communicate Catholic teaching more effectively to lay people as bishop, he set up a weekly show on YouTube. He also regularly took part in community efforts to clean up local rivers, partly to show that Catholic leaders should not be cloistered in fine buildings. — Matthew Mpoke Bigg Peter Erdo Cardinal Peter Erdo of Hungary, 72, an expert on canon law, is expected to be a front-runner among cardinals who long for a return to the conservatism of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. He has spoken out against allowing divorced Catholics to receive communion, for example. But Hungarians who have worked with him say he is less doctrinaire than some fans believe. Known for his diplomatic skills and command of several languages, he has built bridges with Catholic leaders in Latin America and Africa and reached out to Hungary’s Jewish community. But he has devoted most of his career to scholarship and has had little direct experience dealing with the day-to-day problems of churchgoers, which could work against him as the church tries to reverse a drift toward secularism across Europe. Cardinal Erdo has generally avoided intervening in Hungary’s polarized politics but dismayed liberal-minded Hungarian Catholics by failing to defend Francis against a campaign of abuse by the media machine of Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orban, during Europe’s migration crisis. — Andrew Higgins Mario Grech Cardinal Mario Grech, 68, comes from Malta, an archipelago in the Mediterranean with a relatively small population. Still, the cardinal — the former bishop of the Maltese island of Gozo — has emerged as a candidate for pope because of his role as secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, a ******** body that considers “questions pertaining to the activity of the church in the world.” Pope Francis made the most recent synod much more inclusive and participatory, and Cardinal Grech’s role in stewarding these efforts to open up the church stand in contrast to some of his own history. While he was bishop of Gozo, from 2005 to 2020, he held conservative stances on several issues, including homosexuality and the legalization of divorce, which he opposed when Malta held a referendum in 2011. He changed his tone under Francis, a progressive, and the cardinal is now seen as someone who would bring continuity to the papacy. At a time when many cardinals are new and not well acquainted with one another, Cardinal Grech might benefit from his dealings at the Synod, where he met dozens of them in person. He has also taken up global causes that were close to Francis. Malta is a key point of entry in the Mediterranean for migrants arriving from Africa, and Cardinal Grech has called on Europe to open its doors, not close them. Like other senior church leaders over the last 20 years, Cardinal Grech has been accused by some of not doing enough to reckon with ******* abuse that took place in his diocese. Cardinal Grech did not immediately respond to a request for comment. — Elisabetta Povoledo Claudio Gugerotti ******** officials have mentioned Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti as a potential kingmaker in the conclave to choose a new pope thanks to his ties to churches and influential figures around the world. Cardinal Gugerotti, 69, is Italian and speaks Armenian, English, Greek, Kurdish and Russian. In recent years, he led the ******** office that oversees the Eastern Catholic Churches, 23 self-governing bodies, mainly in Eastern Europe, that have their own liturgy and traditions. After years of working in Rome, he also knows his way around the ********. Despite his connections, some ******** observers believe his candidacy is a long shot since he has never served in a pastoral role as a bishop. Pastoral experience is widely seen as a prerequisite for becoming pope, especially after Francis put it at the center of his pontificate. Cardinal Gugerotti knows the former Soviet region well, which has been especially important in church diplomacy since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He has served as papal envoy in former Soviet republics like Belarus and Georgia and, in 2015, took on that position for Ukraine. Some Ukrainians who have dealt with him have said that he has not done enough to make it clear, amid calls for peace, that Russia was the aggressor in the war. Cardinal Gugerotti did not respond to a request for comment for this article. — Matthew Mpoke Bigg José Tolentino Calaça de Mendonça Cardinal José Tolentino Calaça de Mendonça, 59, would not the first poet to become pontiff should he be chosen: There have been several in history, including Leo XIII, who in 1887 published poems in Latin, and John Paul II, who penned poems throughout his life. But Cardinal de Mendonça’s poetry has received several literary prizes in his native Portugal, and when Francis gave him his red cardinal hat in 2019, he told him, “You are the poetry.” He is also a biblical scholar; he is well regarded in intellectual circles outside the Roman Catholic world and he is well known internationally. The two men first met in 2017, and Francis called him to Rome in 2018 to be the archivist and librarian of the ******** Library, a post he held for four years. In 2022, Francis named him the ********’s culture chief, and in that role he was behind several initiatives reaffirming the church’s commitment to art and its desire for dialogue with the contemporary world. In that spirit, he brought international artists and comedians — including those known to be controversial — to meet with Francis at the ********. His office was also involved in drafting a document, published in January, that warned about the potential for “the shadow of evil” in artificial intelligence, which it said offered “a source of tremendous opportunities but also profound risks.” He is considered to have been close to Francis, and his papacy would most likely be one of continuity. He has been supportive of outreach to L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics, and some conservatives have been critical of him. — Elisabetta Povoledo Seán P. O’Malley Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley is the recently retired archbishop of Boston. One of Pope Francis’ trusted allies, he took over the archdiocese of Boston in 2003 when the ******* abuse crisis was erupting in the Catholic Church, replacing Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned after revelations that he had protected abusive priests for years. Cardinal O’Malley led the region through a painful ******* of rebuilding and reform before stepping down from the role last year. In some ways, he is a long-shot candidate. At age 80, he is too old to vote for the next pope, and the voting cardinals almost always choose their successor from among their own ranks. In addition, the chance of an American pope’s being elected is widely thought unlikely. But Cardinal O’Malley is known to be respected across political divides. He was made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006, and a month after his election in 2013, Pope Francis included him as the only American in an inner circle of counselors. Pope Francis also made him a leader of the ********’s office on ******* abuse, and he was an adviser in the reform of the ******** bureaucracy. At a moment when questions of American power, in the church and worldwide, worry many church leaders in other parts of the world, Cardinal O’Malley is also seen as globally minded while still understanding the complicated dynamics of the American church. He speaks at least eight languages fluently and is a Capuchin Franciscan friar known for wearing his habit as an expression of humility. Soft-spoken and yet authoritative, Cardinal O’Malley is known for speaking out not only against abortion but also against gun violence, and he has called repeatedly for a ban on assault weapons. — Elizabeth Dias Pierbattista Pizzaballa Although Pierbattista Pizzaballa, 60, became a cardinal only in 2023, his experience in the Middle East, one of the world’s most heated conflict zones, helped him rise to prominence. In the days after ****** attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the cardinal, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, offered himself up as a hostage in exchange for the freedom of children who had been kidnapped. The offer, reported by ******** News, the Holy See’s news portal, was not taken up, but it nevertheless drew attention to him. As an Italian, Cardinal Pizzaballa would bring the papacy back under the control of a country that dominated it for centuries, after a gap of almost 50 years. But Cardinal Pizzaballa is seen as a ******** outsider, given that he has spent decades in the Middle East rather than building alliances closer to home. Some cardinals and other members of the Roman Catholic Church’s hierarchy are also concerned that Cardinal Pizzaballa may be too young for the job. His reverence for traditional elements of church practice has made him palatable to some conservatives. But his positions on many issues that have caused division in the church are not known. — Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Isabel Kershner There has never been a pope from the United States, and the conventional wisdom remains that any American would be a long shot. Yet one American who some ******** watchers say could scrape together enough votes is Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 69, a Chicago-born polyglot who is viewed as a churchman who transcends borders. He served for two decades in Peru, where he became a bishop and a naturalized citizen. He then rose to lead his international religious order. Until the death of Pope Francis, he held one of the most influential ******** posts, running the office that selects and manages bishops globally. The cardinal, who is a member of the Order of St. Augustine, resembles Francis in his commitment to the poor and migrants. Often described as reserved and discreet, Cardinal Prevost would depart stylistically from Francis. His supporters say he would most likely continue the consultative process started by Francis to invite lay people to meet with bishops. It is unclear whether he would be as open to gay, lesbian, ********* and transgender Catholics as Francis was. Although he has not said much recently, in a 2012 address to bishops, he lamented that Western news media and popular culture fostered “sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the Gospel.” He cited the “*********** lifestyle” and “alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children.” The cardinal, like many others, has drawn criticism over his dealings with priests accused of ******* abuse. Attempts to reach the cardinal were not successful. — Motoko Rich Joseph W. Tobin Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin is the archbishop of Newark, which has one of the most ethnically diverse archdioceses in America. When Pope Francis named him a cardinal in 2016, he was the first to hold the post in Newark, across the Hudson River from New York City in New Jersey. He replaced an archbishop who refused communion to politicians who supported abortion rights and who also failed to ensure that a priest who was convicted of child ******* abuse would have no access to children. Cardinal Tobin is known for his support of women, gay people and immigrants. His views were shaped after working as a parish priest, and then spending years traveling the world as leader of his religious order, the Redemptorists. Pope Benedict brought him to the ******** to help lead the office that oversees religious orders, but after he defended nuns who were being investigated by the ******** for insufficient adherence to orthodoxy, he was sent to Indianapolis to serve as its archbishop. There, in 2016, he insisted that the church would continue to resettle Syrian refugees even after Mike Pence, then the governor of Indiana, tried to block the move. He has shown support for the idea of women becoming deacons and said that he did not see “a compelling theological reason why the pope couldn’t name a woman cardinal.” — Elizabeth Dias Peter Turkson A few years ago, Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana was on many shortlists to be the next pope. He was considered a favorite in the 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis, and he worked closely with the pontiff on major issues. But his star dimmed after Francis accepted his resignation from running a major church office. Cardinal Turkson, 76, is still considered among the most prominent African cardinals who could continue Francis’ vision on social justice, economic equality and the environment. But he is now given only an outside shot. In a 2017 overhaul of the ******** bureaucracy, Francis kept him on as the head of the office for Promoting Integral Human Development, which became a larger and more empowered department. The office followed social justice, migration and environmental issues key to Francis’ agenda and was thus seen as central. Cardinal Turkson represented the ******** at the highest levels around the world, including at the United Nations. But an investigation into the office’s governance and operations was soon followed by Cardinal Turkson’s resignation. Cardinal Turkson framed it simply as the end of his term, but some ******** observers took it as a negative judgment on his management ability. Born into a family of 10 children with a once-Methodist mother and a ******* paternal uncle, he said he learned interfaith dialogue at home, and he went on to study in seminaries in Ghana and New York. A speaker of six languages, according to a ******** profile, Cardinal Turkson studied in Rome for a doctorate in scripture studies. He climbed the ranks, became an archbishop under John Paul II and headed up a ******** office under Benedict XVI. — Jason Horowitz Matteo Zuppi Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi of Italy, 69, stands out among the contenders who reflect Francis’ view that the church should be representative of and support the poor. Francis promoted this progressive native of Rome to the rank of cardinal in 2019 and assigned him several important missions. Cardinal Zuppi is closely tied to Sant’Egidio, a Catholic community known for its service to the poor and conflict resolution. ******** watchers say the group became an increasingly important lobby under Francis, but that link has also raised concerns that, if elected pope, he would be overly influenced by the group. In 2015, Francis named him archbishop of Bologna, one of the most important posts in Italy. There, Don Matteo, as he is known, continued to work with poor people and migrants. “Welcoming migrants is a historic challenge for Europe,” he has said. “Christ invites us to not turn away.” And in recent years, Francis appointed Cardinal Zuppi to the key role of envoy for Ukraine matters. He has also been welcoming to L.G.B.T. Catholics, writing the preface for the Italian edition of the Rev. James Martin’s 2017 book, “Building a Bridge,” which called for the church to find new pastoral ways of ministering to gay people. — Elisabetta Povoledo Source link #Pope #Candidates #Succeed #Francis Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Horoscope for Tuesday, May 06, 2025 – Chicago Sun-Times Horoscope for Tuesday, May 06, 2025 – Chicago Sun-Times Horoscope for Tuesday, May 06, 2025 Chicago Sun-TimesHoroscopes Today, May 6, 2025 USA TodayYour Daily Work Horoscope for May 06, 2025 YahooYour Daily Horoscope by Madame Clairevoyant: May 5, 2025 The CutHoroscope Today: Astrological prediction for May 6, 2025 Hindustan Times Source link #Horoscope #Tuesday #Chicago #SunTimes Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Viney backs Oliver to be at Melbourne next AFL season Viney backs Oliver to be at Melbourne next AFL season Melbourne vice-captain Jack Viney says Clayton Oliver is back at training and he expects the onballer to stay with the Demons beyond this season. Source link #Viney #backs #Oliver #Melbourne #AFL #season Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Xbox Releasing Another Sacred Exclusive on PS5 Can Never Outshine Their 2 Most Diabolical Betrayals Xbox Releasing Another Sacred Exclusive on PS5 Can Never Outshine Their 2 Most Diabolical Betrayals In a move that might’ve once been considered unthinkable, Xbox is sending one of its most iconic franchises, Gears of War, to the PlayStation 5. Microsoft just announced Gears of War: Reloaded, a full remaster of the original 2006 game for PS5, Xbox, and PC, releasing on August 26. Xbox has gone towards the accessibility route in recent years with Game Pass and its move towards ending platform exclusivity. And it’s worked for the most part. But despite all these positive moves, it doesn’t take away the fact that the company has also made some bad ones, and one just recently, in fact. Microsoft has had a lot of ups and downs recently with Xbox Make no mistake, Gears of War: Reloaded is a big deal. At $39.99 and as a day one release on Game Pass, the new remaster will feature everything you expect, from 4K visuals and 120 FPS, to bundled DLC for multiple platforms, including Sony’s. A lot of fans are now asking what the point of owning an Xbox is anymore, but this isn’t even the biggest issue. Rev up your Lancers Gears of War: Reloaded comes to PS5 on August 26, remastered from the ground up pic.twitter.com/edHEdH72BB — PlayStation (@PlayStation) May 5, 2025 Microsoft has been moving the gaming division in this direction for a while now, and Gears of War: Reloaded isn’t the first game to do so. We’ve already seen games like Forza Horizon 5 make the move to PlayStation, and who knows, Halo could be next. And again, this is just a part of Microsoft’s accessibility over exclusivity move. Xbox once battled with Sony and Nintendo in the console wars, with exclusives fighting against each other. But now, with Xbox Game Pass providing incredible variety and accessibility, Microsoft has changed the rules of battle entirely. And it’s been going extremely well for the company, according to their recent revenue reports. – Gaming Revenue was up 5% – Hardware revenue declined 6% - Content and services revenue up 8% driven by growth in Xbox Game Pass, Call of Duty, and Minecraft — Brad Sams (@bdsams) April 30, 2025 But Xbox’s descent into platform neutrality isn’t the real betrayal. That dishonor belongs to the fact that the company has closed promising studios like Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin. Tango had just delivered Hi-Fi Rush, a game celebrated as one of the most creative Xbox titles in years. Luckily for the studio and us fans, the studio was later acquired, so we may see more of them yet. It doesn’t stop there, the consoles just got a price hike It’s been a series of hits and misses. | Image Credit: Microsoft But wait, there’s more. Just days before the reveal of the new Gears Remaster, Xbox gave us another surprise: it raised the prices of nearly all Xbox Series consoles, controllers, and accessories. Effective May 1, 2025, the Xbox Series X now costs $599.99, with the 2TB model climbing to a staggering $729.99. The budget-friendly Series S? It now retails at up to $429.99. The bad news doesn’t stop with hardware. Microsoft confirmed that first-party games will also jump from $70 to $80 starting this holiday season. Titles like the new Fable, Gears of War: E-Day, and The Outer Worlds 2 will likely be among the first that we pay the new price for. Combine that with the studio closures, and it really paints Microsoft in a bad light. So sure, Gears of War is coming to PS5, like Forza Horizon 5 before it. But it doesn’t seem like this move is finding much love among the Xbox fans. Shuttering creative teams and jacking up prices while giving us remastered nostalgia across the aisle doesn’t make Xbox the “nice guy.” Source link #Xbox #Releasing #Sacred #Exclusive #PS5 #Outshine #Diabolical #Betrayals Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Makes Unexpected 9-Word Statement in Court Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Makes Unexpected 9-Word Statement in Court Sean “Diddy” Combs made an unexpected 9-word statement during the first day of his trial in New York City. The media mogul and rapper was in court for jury selection on May 5, 2025, in his high-profile case. “I’m sorry, your honor, I’m a little nervous today,” Combs told U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, making a rare statement in court, according to NBC News. According to NBC News, the statement came after Combs’ defense attorney “asked for a quick bathroom break,” with the judge suggesting waiting. “I’m a machine,” the judge responded, NBC News reported. Because Combs has been incarcerated for months without bail, the public hasn’t heard much from him directly. In another big moment on day one of the trial, some A-list actors’ and rappers’ names were dropped in court, when prospective jurors were read a list of names and asked whether they recognized them. The other celebrities have not been accused of criminal wrongdoing, however. The Associated Press reported that “three dozen” prospective jurors were questioned on day one of the trial. Opening statements will likely take place the following week, The AP reported. About half of the jurors were excused for various reasons by the end of the day, according to The AP. They were questioned about their biases on the high-profile case. According to NBC News, Combs also “hugged and shook hands with his attorney.” Television cameras are not allowed in federal courtrooms, but the AP reported that Combs’ appearance has changed in jail; he now has a goatee. The goatee and his hair are both “almost full gray” because the jail doesn’t allow dye, AP reported, adding that Combs was clad in court in a “sweater over a white collared shirt and gray slacks.” The indictment accuses Combs of a series of very serious crimes, which he has denied. He stands accused of having engaged in or attempted to engage in sex trafficking, obstructing justice, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, and bribery, the indictment says. The indictment accuses Comb of abusing, threatening, and coercing women and others “for decades.” Prosecutors say that he “relied on the employees, resources, and influence of the multi-faceted business empire that he led and controlled–creating a criminal enterprise.” They will have to prove this in court beyond a reasonable doubt, however, and Combs has denied the accusations and even rejected a plea deal offered before the trial got underway, CBS News reported. Related: The Surprise A-List Actors Named at Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Trial . Source link #Sean #Diddy #Combs #Unexpected #9Word #Statement #Court Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

These are the Republicans who could run for U.S. Senate in Georgia – AJC.com These are the Republicans who could run for U.S. Senate in Georgia – AJC.com These are the Republicans who could run for U.S. Senate in Georgia AJC.comGeorgia Gov. Brian Kemp passes on running for Senate PoliticoMarjorie Taylor Greene: I’d win Georgia governor or Senate seat NewsNationGOP dealt a blow in the battle for the Senate: From the Politics Desk NBC NewsBrian Kemp Won’t Run for Senate in Georgia, Giving Ossoff a Lift The New York Times Source link #Republicans #run #U.S #Senate #Georgia #AJC.com Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Man who sprayed Satan’s ***** inside a Bunnings store sparking chaos will face a trial of issues because he intended to use Fart Spray Man who sprayed Satan’s ***** inside a Bunnings store sparking chaos will face a trial of issues because he intended to use Fart Spray A West *********** man who sprayed a bottle of Satan’s ***** inside a Bunnings store sparking chaos will face a trial of issues because he intended to use Fart Spray. Source link #Man #sprayed #Satans #***** #Bunnings #store #sparking #chaos #face #trial #issues #intended #Fart #Spray Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

****** says no point in further Gaza truce talks ****** says no point in further Gaza truce talks A senior ****** official said Tuesday the group was no longer interested in truce talks with Israel and urged the international community to halt Israel’s “hunger war” against Gaza. “There is no sense in engaging in talks or considering new ceasefire proposals as long as the hunger war and extermination war continue in the Gaza Strip,” Basem Naim told AFP. He said the world must pressure the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the “crimes of hunger, thirst, and killings” in Gaza. The comments by Naim, a ****** political bureau member and former Gaza health minister, came a day after Israel’s military said expanded operations in Gaza would include displacing “most” of its population. They come a day after Israel said its security cabinet approved the military’s plan for expanded operations, which an Israeli official said would entail “the conquest of the Gaza Strip and the holding of the territories”. Nearly all of the territory’s inhabitants have been displaced, often multiple times, since the start of the war sparked by ******’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Gaza has been under total Israeli blockade since March 2 and faces a severe humanitarian crisis. Israel’s military resumed its offensive on the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month truce. The spokesperson for Gaza’s civil defence agency, Mahmud Bassal, said Tuesday that three Palestinians including a little girl were killed in Israeli dawn attacks on different areas of Gaza. A UN spokesman said Monday Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “alarmed” by the Israeli plan that “will inevitably lead to countless more civilians killed and the further destruction of Gaza”. – ‘Large-scale evacuation’ – “Gaza is, and must remain, an integral part of a future ************ state,” Farhan Haq said. The Israeli decision comes as the UN and aid organisations have repeatedly warned of the humanitarian catastrophe on the ground, with famine again looming. On Monday, a senior Israeli security official said that “a central component of the plan is a large-scale evacuation of the entire Gazan population from the fighting zones… to areas in southern Gaza”. Military spokesman Effie Defrin said the planned offensive will include “moving most of the population of the Gaza Strip… to protect them”. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in a radio interview on Tuesday called Israel’s plan for a Gaza offensive “unacceptable”, and said its government was “in violation of humanitarian law”. For Palestinians, any forced displacement evokes memories of the “Nakba”, or catastrophe — the mass displacement in the war that led to Israel’s creation in 1948. On Monday, the health ministry in ******-run Gaza said at least 2,459 people had been killed since Israel resumed its campaign on March 18, bringing the overall death toll from the war to 52,567. ******’s October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Out of the 251 people abducted by militants that day, 58 are still held in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead. bur-az-mib/phy/srm/dv Source link #****** #point #Gaza #truce #talks Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Fashion retailer Hugo Boss shares pop 8% on better-than-feared first-quarter sales – CNBC Fashion retailer Hugo Boss shares pop 8% on better-than-feared first-quarter sales – CNBC Fashion retailer Hugo Boss shares pop 8% on better-than-feared first-quarter sales CNBCHugo Boss Posts 1Q Beat, Warns of Tough Consumer Backdrop WSJHUGO BOSS REPORTS Q1 RESULTS ABOVE EXPECTATIONS AND CONFIRMS 2025 OUTLOOK HUGO BOSS GroupDifficult market conditions: Hugo Boss reports decline in sales and profit in first quarter fashionunited.ukHUGO BOSS reports 8% drop in net income for first quarter MSN Source link #Fashion #retailer #Hugo #Boss #shares #pop #betterthanfeared #firstquarter #sales #CNBC Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

First minister Eluned Morgan to ‘call out’ *** Labour ******** cuts First minister Eluned Morgan to ‘call out’ *** Labour ******** cuts Gareth Lewis Political editor, BBC Wales News Getty Images First Minister Eluned Morgan will “call out” *** government ******** cuts but will stop short of demanding they be scrapped In her speech, which marks a year until polling day, Morgan will bill next year’s Senedd election as a “battle for the future of Wales”. She will admit that polls are tight and that with “the rise of Reform and the risks of a divided left vote, the future of Wales is at stake”. It is not known exactly what language the first minister will use to “call out” the cuts, but in her speech she will promise to “get more out of the relationship with the *** government” and to “challenge from within”. Morgan is also expected to introduce a new phrase – “the red Welsh way” – to set herself apart from her Labour colleagues at Westminster. The term echoes “clear red water”, coined by former First Minister Rhodri Morgan in the early 2000s to highlight differences between Welsh Labour and former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s *** Labour. This move follows criticism from opposition parties, who accuse her of failing to stand up to Westminster and secure key demands like rail funding and devolution of policing and justice. Morgan will say that “when *** Labour does not deliver for Wales… when we disagree we will say it”. “Where we see unfairness, we will stand up to it. “When Westminster makes decisions that we think will harm Welsh communities, we will not stay silent.” Getty Images In March, Morgan contacted Downing Street to express concerns over major changes to the benefits system Morgan is expected to argue that Welsh Labour is in a “unique” position to deliver for Wales due to shared priorities with *** Labour, including increased NHS funding. She will likely renew calls for more rail investment and control of the Crown Estate, which is key to developing offshore wind farm projects around Wales. Highlighting past exploitation of Welsh resources, she will say: “We saw them take our coal. We saw them take our water. We will not let them take our wind. Not on my watch.” However, it is not clear how she would achieve that. Morgan is also expected to say that the £25m the *** government pledged to help make coal tips safe is welcomed, but is nowhere near enough. Plaid Cymru said any political reset would be “too little too late” and question if it would be credible given that Labour has used the phrase “partnership in power” to describe the relationship between the two governments. The Welsh Conservatives describe the speech as a “last ditch attempt to rescue the situation”. Reform said they have Labour in their sights after last week’s local elections in England. Source link #minister #Eluned #Morgan #call #Labour #******** #cuts Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Google Gemini Now Accepts Multiple File Uploads With a Single Prompt Google Gemini Now Accepts Multiple File Uploads With a Single Prompt Google is adding a new quality-of-life improvement to Gemini. On Monday, the company rolled out an update which now allows users to upload up to 10 images or files in one go. Earlier, the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot capped the limit at one image or file per prompt. The new feature is available on both the Gemini web client as well as the Android and iOS apps. The multi-file uploading capability is supported by all the new general-purpose Gemini AI models. Gemini Can Now Chat About 10 Images At Once In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Josh Woodward, the Vice President of Google Labs and Gemini, announced the rollout of the new feature. With this, users will be able to upload 10 images or files (or a combination of the two) in a single submission. Woodward also asked users to share any other feature (or lack thereof) that is causing them inconvenience while using the platform. Gadgets 360 staff members were able to access the feature in both the free version of the platform as well as on Gemini Advanced. However, we did not see the feature on the Android or iOS app at the time of writing. It is likely that the feature is being rolled out in a phased manne and will be available across all interfaces soon. Papercut fixed: @GeminiApp now lets you upload multiple files at the same time. Sorry we didn’t have this before – if you see other little annoying things like this, drop them here! We’ll aim to fix the most common things that cause grumpiness. — Josh Woodward (@joshwoodward) May 6, 2025 With this update, users can tap the plus icon on the left side of the text field to open the gallery or upload files. Users can either select multiple files directly by long pressing (Shift key + select on Windows desktop), or they can add multiple files by tapping the plus icon again. Previously, tapping the icon would prompt a pop-up message asking users to replace the attached image or file. Attempting to add more than 10 files now returns the error message, “Some of your files could not be uploaded because you can only upload 10 attachments at a time.” The new capability also makes it easier to ask Gemini queries about multiple documents at the same time. While the same can be done via NotebookLM or by creating Gems, the option to do so in the main interface is easier and convenient, especially when users might have limited queries about the files. For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who’sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube. PhonePe Launches ‘Made in India’ SmartSpeaker With 4G Support and Extended Battery Life Source link #Google #Gemini #Accepts #Multiple #File #Uploads #Single #Prompt Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Labor caucus meeting to decide shape of Anthony Albanese’s Cabinet for second term Labor caucus meeting to decide shape of Anthony Albanese’s Cabinet for second term Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to convene a Labor Caucus meeting on Friday as party factions jostle to maximise their influence in the Federal Cabinet and wider ministerial positions. Mr Albanese on Monday indicated he would “slow the pace” in the immediate days following Labor’s landslide win to “consult with colleagues about forming a frontbench” and wait for the full election results to trickle in before finalising the Cabinet’s structure. But it has not stopped factions from manoeuvring into position, particularly with their eye on two vacant portfolios in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), formerly held by right faction member Bill Shorten, and the prized assistant treasurer role previously under Stephen Jones, on the left. While the results remain fluid with Labor on 86 seats and 14 still in contention, the Labor Caucus could have as many as 30 new members, with two thirds of them women. The Government’s frontbench big hitters will remain in their positions, the Foreign Minister and other senior Labor figures have confirmed. Asked on Tuesday if she would stay in the foreign affairs portfolio, Senator Penny Wong said, “I want to and the Prime Minister’s indicated that me and Richard (Marles), Don Farrell, Katy (Gallagher) and Jim (Chalmers) will stay where we are.” Ms Wong also confirmed she would stay for the full term, amid earlier speculation the long-term Senator, who has been in in the upper house since 2001, could retire. “Yes, I will, and in fact, you know, the size of this victory and the prospect of a third-term Labor Government, it looks pretty good,” she said. The Prime Minister last reshuffled his inner circle in January and the frontbench, widely viewed as a strong team, is expected to remain largely unchanged. But there may be some readjustments and also shifts in mid-tier roles to accommodate delicate geographical and political demands to reflect the latest election results and achieve a fair spread of leadership positions. The left of the party may demand 50-50 representation in ministerial jobs, up from the 14 it was allocated in Labor’s first term. Insiders say this could force a difficult decision over four of the most senior Cabinet jobs held by four New South Wales MPs from Labor’s right – Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, Education Minister Jason Clare, Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Industry Minister Ed Husic. Senator Wong also confirmed that Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, with whom Mr Albanese shared an excruciating air kiss on the campaign trail, would be staying on in a senior position. Mr Albanese on Monday had dismissed speculation that she would be given the NDIS brief, which would be a tough ask for any new minister due to long overdue reforms. But the Foreign Minister was less definitive when asked if Mr Bowen needed “some time off the bench?” Camera IconShadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen. Credit: MICK TSIKAS/AAPIMAGE “Chris, when we first came to government, had to deal with a gas crisis, an energy crisis, where as a result of where we’d been, we had real reliability and supply problems. He’s doing, and has done, an excellent job,” she said. “What happens to people’s portfolios is at the privilege of the Prime Minister. He’s made some indication about a number of us in the leadership group and in senior portfolios, who will continue in our current jobs but the rest is up to him.” The Prime Minister on Monday tried to stamp out rumours of job shifts, with the testy comment that, “the only person who knows is me … if you hear something, unless you hear it come out of my mouth, it’s nonsense.” Mr Albanese faces a challenge to satisfy requests from the right and the left, which is expected to push for one or two more positions, unless he forces the faction to accept the current balance of roles in a 20-member Cabinet and 10-member outer ministry that legally cannot exceed 30. After each election, the factions make a claim on a percentage of front bench spots based on their percentage of caucus positions. The left selects its frontbench candidates from a single nationwide pool and the right makes decisions at a state level before the Prime Minister allocates portfolios and chooses assistant ministers. “There are rules and conventions, and it’s all very orderly, and a lot of people sort of see it as this very negative thing, and it can be, but what it actually means is that it’s actually a dispute resolution mechanism,” said Dr Marija Taflaga, a lecturer at ANU’s School of Politics. “So long as there’s still enough debates and ability to have good quality discussion, the factions can be really productive.” The internal wrangling maintains party discipline but also raises the possibility of confrontation, but one senior Labor source said the party had been so humbled by the opportunity of the election result that Mr Albanese was likely to get anything he asked for. Camera IconAssistant Trade Minister Tim Ayres could be stepping into a new role. Credit: TheWest Of the two vacant spots, both may go to the left, with factional heavyweight and prime ministerial confidant Tim Ayres being touted for the assistant treasurer job. While NSW may be forced to lose a spot, these were marginal issues, said the source. Managing the energies and ambitions of an increased talent pool is being considered as a “good problem” that could be handled through changes to assistant ministry ranks and plum committee chair jobs. First-time Federal MP, Rebecca White, the former Tasmanian state opposition leader who won the seat of Lyons, has already been floated as a potential new recruit to the Cabinet. But when the dust settles on the final election tally, Queensland and Western *********** are expected to push for further spots. “For too long now, Queensland has been long on influence but short on numbers in the federal parliamentary Labor party,” Treasurer Jim Chalmers told ABC Insiders on Sunday. “Now we are long on influence and longer on numbers and that’s a very good thing, and we hope to see that represented in the decision-making of the government going forward.” Dr Chalmers name-checked Madonna Jarrett, Renee Coffey, Kara Cook and Corinne Mulholland as promising members to watch. Meanwhile, Ali France, who ousted Opposition Leader Peter Dutton from his Dickson seat in the shock twist of the election, has been widely praised by the Prime Minister and the frontbench as a rising star. Source link #Labor #caucus #meeting #decide #shape #Anthony #Albaneses #Cabinet #term Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Urgent Vine Ripe Tomato Recall Spans 11 States After Alarming Warning Urgent Vine Ripe Tomato Recall Spans 11 States After Alarming Warning A major recall of vine-ripened tomatoes spans 11 states, and the health risk could lead to death in some people.. According to the Food and Drug Administration, Ray & Mascari Inc. is recalling “four-count Vine Ripe Tomatoes” because of the “possible health risk.” The FDA published notice of the recall on May 3, 2025. The recalled tomatoes “were sold by Gordon Food Service Stores in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Wisconsin,” the FDA noted, adding that people should not consume the product. Ray & Mascari Inc. of Indianapolis, Indiana, “is recalling 4 Count Vine Ripe Tomatoes packaged in clamshell containers [20 oz. (1 lb. 4 oz) 567g] with UPC# 7 96553 20062 1, and a master case label with Lot# RM250424 15250B or Lot# RM250427 15250B because of the potential for them to be contaminated with Salmonella,” the FDA wrote. Salmonella can cause death in some people. “Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems,” the FDA noted. “Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain,” the FDA wrote. “In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis, and arthritis.” The FDA continued: “Ray & Mascari Inc. was notified by Hanshaw & Capling Farms of Immokalee, Florida that they were recalling the lot of tomatoes Ray & Mascari Inc. received and repacked into 4 Count Vine Ripe Tomatoes.” “Hanshaw & Capling Farms initiated the recall due to the possible presence of Salmonella in their facility. Customers who received the recalled lots have been notified and provided information to further contact their customers and distribution centers with recall instructions,” wrote the FDA. Noted the FDA: “This product is sold in plastic clamshells containing 4 tomatoes. The 4-count plastic clam shells have a VINE RIPE TOMATOES label containing a Packed by Ray & Mascari Inc., Indianapolis, IN 46204.” Related: Wildly Popular Appliance Is Being Recalled After 106 Burn Reports Source link #Urgent #Vine #Ripe #Tomato #Recall #Spans #States #Alarming #Warning Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Sam Altman hands Elon Musk a win, scrapping OpenAI’s for-profit plan – The Washington Post Sam Altman hands Elon Musk a win, scrapping OpenAI’s for-profit plan – The Washington Post Sam Altman hands Elon Musk a win, scrapping OpenAI’s for-profit plan The Washington PostEvolving OpenAI’s structure OpenAIOpenAI dials back conversion plan, nonprofit to retain control ReutersOpenAI says non-profit will remain in control after backlash BBCMicrosoft Is Key Holdout for OpenAI Restructuring Plan Bloomberg Source link #Sam #Altman #hands #Elon #Musk #win #scrapping #OpenAIs #forprofit #plan #Washington #Post Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Germany’s Merz falls short of majority in vote for chancellor Germany’s Merz falls short of majority in vote for chancellor Paul Kirby Europe digital editor Reuters Germany’s conservative leader has unexpectedly fallen short of the numbers needed to form a majority in parliament to become chancellor. Friedrich Merz needed 316 votes in the 630-seat Bundestag but only secured 310, in a significant blow to the Christian Democrat leader, two and a half months after winning Germany’s federal elections. His coalition with the centre-left has enough seats in parliament but it appears 18 MPs who had been expected to back him dissented. Merz’s failure in the first vote is seen as unprecedented in modern ******* history. The Bundestag will now have another 14 days to choose either Merz or another candidate as chancellor. Under Germany’s constitution, there is no limit to how many votes can be held, but ultimately if no absolute majority is reached then a candidate can be elected without one. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts. Source link #Germanys #Merz #falls #short #majority #vote #chancellor Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

West Coast’s Elijah Hewett admits Eagles didn’t do enough to protect their midfield guns West Coast’s Elijah Hewett admits Eagles didn’t do enough to protect their midfield guns West Coast’s great midfield hope Elijah Hewett has backed coach Andrew McQualter’s call for the players to do more to protect No. 1 draft pick Harley Reid and veteran Tim Kelly, “at whatever cost”, from the constant attention of taggers. “We’ve got to find ways to be able to wrap our arms around those blokes getting tagged, him and TK (Tim Kelly),” Hewett said. “As a midfield, we have got to find a way. And keep doing that at whatever cost, we got to be able to support them. “That’s something we’ve spoken about. We’ve acknowledged it.” Reid was sat on by Melbourne’s Jack Viney from the first to the last bounce in round eight, with the Eagles midfield never able to get any clearance edge because of the ruck dominance of Max Gawn against Matt Flynn. “There’s a few things that went wrong at the weekend. So we’ve just got to get back to the fundamentals of what we’re chasing … and support Flynny (ruck Matt Flynn) in his battle,” Hewett said. “Hopefully, we get a bit more reward for effort. You know, hopefully get a win soon.” Camera IconJack Viney of the Demons tackles Harley Reid. Credit: Paul Kane/Getty Images The Eagles are yet to record a victory in 2025 after eight matches but will get their best chance on Sunday when they play fellow strugglers Richmond at the MCG. West Coast will be missing premiership defender Jeremy McGovern (concussion) and young utility Bo Allan (suspension) when they take on the Tigers, with Eagles off-season recruits Liam Baker and Jack Graham in their first game for premiership points against their old team after crossing at the end of last season. “My family is flying over it. First game at the ‘G, so that’s exciting,” he said. “I guess you’re hoping you’re going to play as many games at the ‘G over the course of your career and finals footy is at the ‘G so (keen) to get used to it early days. “It’s obviously a personal game for them, because they’re playing against old teammates. “But it doesn’t differ how we approach we approach every game. It’s a primal game. You’re going over to win regardless of the scenario.” Hewett has played six games this season after foot issues prevented the 20-year-old from playing at all last year. The powerful on-baller reminded the Eagles of his potential with 22 disposals and two goals against the Bombers in round six. He kicked another three goals from 15 disposals in the loss to Melbourne. Coming off surgery, Hewett admitted he’d had doubts in what was “a long 18 months personally fighting through the challenges” but believes a four-quarter game is not far away. “I’m just glad I’m able to show bursts of what I can do, and then over the course of the season, get fitness and get continuity, and then that, you know, four quarterly performances are coming,” he said. Camera IconElijah Hewett of the Eagles celebrates a goal. Credit: Janelle St Pierre/AFL Photos/AFL Photos via Getty Images “To continue to improve on those and string a few more together, I’m pretty excited about that. “You do become a more resilient person. You don’t even know what resilience is until you go through something like that. “I’ve got a better perspective on football and what matters to me in life.” Hewett is happy to be among the goals, but he sees his future as a permanent midfielder. “I think I’ve got the ability to go forward and kick goals, but I think my best football and the ability to help the team most comes out of my burst and power from stoppages,” Hewett said. “That’s where I’m honing my craft and that’s where I’d like to play. And then, if it’s chop out forward … if the team needs me to be down there, absolutely willing to go down there and kick goals. But I find myself at my most natural and at my best through the midfield.” Source link #West #Coasts #Elijah #Hewett #admits #Eagles #didnt #protect #midfield #guns Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

PhonePe Launches ‘Made in India’ SmartSpeaker With 4G Support and Extended Battery Life PhonePe Launches ‘Made in India’ SmartSpeaker With 4G Support and Extended Battery Life Walmart-backed PhonePe announced its ‘Made in India’ SmartSpeaker for merchants on Monday. It is a wireless speaker that can verify payments received over the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) instant payment system via real-time audio alerts. The device comes with a built-in speaker and is available in up to 21 language options. As per the company, it brings significant improvements over the original speaker, such as a battery life exceeding over seven days on standby. The PhonePe SmartSpeaker also gets 4G connectivity support. PhonePe SmartSpeaker Features PhonePe says its new ‘Made in India’ SmartSpeaker retains all of the popular features of the previous model. This includes the celebrity voice feature for voice-based notifications and availability in 21 language variants. The new variant utilises the 4G network, which is said to result in higher network reliability when registering payments made by customers to the merchant. The PhonePe SmartSpeaker comes with fast charging capabilities and can get completely charged in about 75 minutes. As per the company, ithe speaker has a battery life which can exceed seven days on standby. Similar to other smart speakers in the market, it provides audio alerts in real time about successful UPI payments to merchants. “With these SmartSpeakers, we are not only driving financial inclusion for merchants nationwide, especially in underserved areas, but also fostering domestic innovation and ensuring that Indian manufacturers become integral participants in the country’s digital transformation”, Yuvraj Singh Shekhawat, Chief Business Officer of Merchant Business at PhonePe, said. As per the company, the built-in speaker provides better audio clarity while its compact form factor provides merchants with flexibility when placing it in congested counter spaces. PhonePe advertises its SmartSpeaker as made in India, a move which is claimed to allow them to tailor the product to the specific needs and preferences of the local merchants. How Much Does It Cost? Merchants have two ways of getting a PhonePe SmartSpeaker. The monthly plan entails a one-time setup fee of Rs. 318 and a monthly subscription charge of Rs. 125, which is debited from the settlement every 30 days via UPI Autopay. Meanwhile, the zero-rental plan includes a Rs. 999 one-time setup fee and a Rs. 25 monthly subscription charge. The digital payments and financial services company says that the monthly fee will be deducted until merchants cancel their SmartSpeaker subscription. Source link #PhonePe #Launches #India #SmartSpeaker #Support #Extended #Battery #Life Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

TikTok Under Fire for Allegedly Promoting Bonnie Blue’s Disturbing “1000 Men in One Day” Challenge TikTok Under Fire for Allegedly Promoting Bonnie Blue’s Disturbing “1000 Men in One Day” Challenge TikTok is again facing intense condemnation, this time for allegedly sanctioning one of the darkest and most ethically rotten trends yet to appear on social media. The “1000 men in one day” challenge, which is credited to adult material content creator Bonnie Blue, has provoked a furor on the internet, with users accusing the site of initiating young viewers onto dangerous, exploitative regimes of behavior that present themselves under the guise of entertainment. This controversy erupted when an X (formerly Twitter) user named J Wilderness tweeted: “TikTok promoting the concept of ‘1000 men in one day’ challenges to young impressionable women. We’re cooked.” The post has since gone viral, garnering more than 7.5 million views and unleashing a wave of angry and deeply disappointed reactions. What was once touted as a platform for creativity is now facing criticism for its failure to police content that many see as deeply unethical, psychologically harmful, and horrifyingly accessible. Millions Horrified by the Charges: Social Media Users Call on TikTok to Be Accountable Public outrage went viral across all platforms, as most users commented in shock that something so below the belt could exist and be kept quietly thriving on a platform frequented by millions of young consumers. “This crap must be looked into or something. There was no way these women were volunteering to do this. Also, the masked men deserve their identity to be revealed. I also heard that some men brought their sons to this place. It’s so messed up,” wrote one user. Another posted, “Bonnie Blue making sure Julia has no innocence left is horrific. That girl will wake up one day and realize how ill this was. Not everyone is as cruel as Bonnie. Even Lily Phillips regretted her affair.” These words reflect a growing sense that this is not just an issue of one person or one tweet; it’s an issue of a more profound moral failure, both by the individuals who create such material and by the technology companies that facilitate its existence. Anonymous Men and a Culture of Concealed Exploitation: The Sickening Application of Masks to Mask Accountability Many observers have been unsettled by the involvement of men who claimed to have used masks during the event to conceal their identities. “The reality that behind such masks may be a fiancé, husband, or boyfriend who comes home as usual is quite appalling,” went one post. “They maintain their ‘dignity’ by staying anonymous and objectifying women.”. The idea that they can get away with this sort of thing without consequence as their victims fight through trauma is maddening to so many. It reflects a toxic culture of exploitation where shame and responsibility are hidden neatly behind figurative masks. Bonnie Blue and the Destruction of Innocence: Critics Accuse Influencer of Grooming and Exploiting Young Women Much of the anger is directed at Bonnie Blue, who is charged with promoting or inciting the defiance and bringing young women into an environment they might not be emotionally or mentally prepared to handle. A few users mentioned a particular incident that was particularly disturbing and involved an allegedly newly 18-year-old girl named “Julia.” “It’s weird. The men are weird. Wearing masks is weird. And, weirdly, people find this amusing,” one user said. “Bonnie Blue is making Julia have no innocence left; that’s not funny; that’s a tragedy.” The scandal has led many to charge Bonnie Blue’s content with being manipulative at best and predatory at worst. What some have called “empowerment,” others call the systematic grooming and exploitation of women under the guise of adult content creation. The Failure of Platform Safety: How Did This Content Slip Through TikTok’s Moderation System? The largest mystery remains unsolved: How can this content be accepted on TikTok and endorsed by its algorithm? “This is why children shouldn’t have free internet,” wrote one user. “These are sick people, and there’s no entirely effective way of avoiding things like this. TikTok is failing the young ones full stop.” Others pointed out that this is not a special issue on TikTok but a systemic issue of not policing risky content on all platforms. “Where were y’all when we BEGGED to ban porn because of how easily people are trafficked into it?” one of the tweets stated. “Why do you only care when it’s a TikTok?” However, TikTok’s silence during this scandal says a lot. For a site that continually censors harmless content, its apparent inaction infuriates users who feel this incident must be investigated and taken down instantly. Corporate Silence and Public Fury: TikTok’s Inaction Fuels the Fire Despite the overall indignation and fresh calls for explanation, TikTok still has no public statement. That silence is generating even more contempt, with most interpreting it as complicity or, worse still, indifference. Critics argue that if TikTok is genuinely concerned about user safety, endorsing something of this magnitude without intervention is a betrayal of trust. Platforms that boast about their AI moderation tools and commitment to community standards cannot remain silent when egregious exploitation is revealed. A Society in Decline: What the Existence of This “Challenge” Says About Modern Culture Other than the specifics of Bonnie Blue and TikTok, something like the “1000 men in one day” challenge somehow forces a somewhat sobering self-reflection. How did it get to this point? When did human dignity become so easily sacrificed on altars of views, clicks, and viral celebrity? This is not conservatism or moral panic. This is decency. This is protecting people, young people, in the first place, from grooming, humiliation, and ******* abuse masked as freedom online. This concerns a society where men wear masks to veil their shame when they steal others’ innocence. It concerns steps that profit from anarchy and will not accept responsibility until it is too late. Enough is Enough: It Is Time for Action, Accountability, and Reform TikTok’s reported endorsement of this abhorrent and disturbing trend cannot be written off as an internet moment of theatrics. It is a crisis of culture and leadership failure and a wake-up call. Social media platforms can be held accountable to a higher standard. Creators who ride on others for fame and wealth must be held responsible. Society must stop making acceptable behavior that destroys lives while quietly behind hashtags and algorithms. People are angry, and they should be. If TikTok is not going to act, then perhaps it’s time for the public, politicians, and media to step in and demand long-overdue accountability. The post TikTok Under Fire for Allegedly Promoting Bonnie Blue’s Disturbing “1000 Men in One Day” Challenge appeared first on Where Is The Buzz | Breaking News, Entertainment, Exclusive Interviews & More. Source link #TikTok #Fire #Allegedly #Promoting #Bonnie #Blues #Disturbing #Men #Day #Challenge Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Friedrich Merz unexpectedly fails to be elected ******* chancellor in first parliamentary vote Friedrich Merz unexpectedly fails to be elected ******* chancellor in first parliamentary vote Friedrich Merz, designated Federal Chancellor (CDU), is pictured during the signing of the coalition agreement between the SPD, CDU, and CSU on May 05, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. Florian Gaertner | Photothek | Getty Images Friedrich Merz failed to get the majority needed to become ******* chancellor in a parliamentary vote Tuesday. This breaking news will be updated shortly. Source link #Friedrich #Merz #unexpectedly #fails #elected #******* #chancellor #parliamentary #vote Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Friedrich Merz unexpectedly fails to be elected ******* chancellor in first parliamentary vote Friedrich Merz unexpectedly fails to be elected ******* chancellor in first parliamentary vote Friedrich Merz, designated Federal Chancellor (CDU), is pictured during the signing of the coalition agreement between the SPD, CDU, and CSU on May 05, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. Florian Gaertner | Photothek | Getty Images Friedrich Merz failed to get the majority needed to become ******* chancellor in a parliamentary vote Tuesday. This breaking news will be updated shortly. Source link #Friedrich #Merz #unexpectedly #fails #elected #******* #chancellor #parliamentary #vote Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

NBA playoffs takeaways: Nuggets top Thunder in final seconds, Knicks down Celtics in OT – The New York Times NBA playoffs takeaways: Nuggets top Thunder in final seconds, Knicks down Celtics in OT – The New York Times NBA playoffs takeaways: Nuggets top Thunder in final seconds, Knicks down Celtics in OT The New York Times’I knew it wasn’t a miss’: Gordon’s 3 stuns OKC ESPNNBA Playoffs Live Blog NBAThe Denver Nuggets Are Thin, Flawed, and Dangerous The RingerThunder vs. Nuggets: Key matchups, schedule and prediction for epic battle featuring MVP finalists Yahoo Sports Source link #NBA #playoffs #takeaways #Nuggets #top #Thunder #final #seconds #Knicks #Celtics #York #Times Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Bombers to regain midfielder Caldwell for Swans clash Bombers to regain midfielder Caldwell for Swans clash Jye Caldwell will return for Essendon against Sydney, who could welcome Taylor Adams back to their midfield. Source link #Bombers #regain #midfielder #Caldwell #Swans #clash Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]