Image
'It's almost like a weapon': How the blonde bombshell has symbolised desire and danger Western culture, she says, has built a whole mythology around female blondeness − from religious iconography and fairy tales, to art and advertising − that has told specific stories about what it means to be blonde. In cinema's early years, comedies such as Platinum Blonde (1931) and Bombshell (1933), starring Jean Harlow, embedded concepts of the dazzling, devastatingly beautiful blonde into the cultural vernacular. "The idea that you're a bombshell, it's almost like a weapon," says Nead. "On the one hand, it is this kind of ideal, but at the same time, it's also threatening."   Before Harlow, there was another − more natural-looking − blonde on the scene: Mary Pickford, whose amber curls helped earn her the moniker of "America's Sweetheart". But while Pickford played the guileless girl waiting to be rescued, Harlow's peroxide blonde ...
Post a Comment

Israeli strike kills dozens sheltering in Gaza school, officials say


At least 54 Palestinians have been killed - most of them in a school building sheltering displaced families - during Israeli air strikes on Gaza overnight, hospital directors have told the BBC.

Fahmi Al-Jargawi School in Gaza City was housing hundreds of people from Beit Lahia, currently under intense Israeli military assault. At least 35 were reported to have been killed when the school was hit.

Gaza's Hamas-run Civil Defence said multiple bodies, including those of children, were recovered – many severely burned, after fires engulfed two classrooms serving as living quarters.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had targeted "a Hamas and Islamic Jihad command and control centre" there.

The IDF said the area was being used "by the terrorists to plan... attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops", and accused Hamas of using "the Gazan population as human shields".

Video footage shared online showed large fires consuming parts of the school, with graphic images of severely burned victims, including children, and survivors suffering critical injuries.

Faris Afana, Northern Gaza ambulance service manager, said he arrived at the scene with crews to find three classrooms ablaze.

"There were sleeping children and women in those classrooms," he said. "Some of them were screaming but we couldn't rescue them due to the fires.

"I cannot describe what we saw due to how horrific it was."

Local reports said the head of investigations for the Hamas police in northern Gaza, Mohammad Al-Kasih, was among the dead, along with his wife and children.

Separately, a strike on a house in Jabalia in northern Gaza killed 19 people, according to the director of al-Ahli hospital Dr Fadel el-Naim. The Israeli military has not yet commented on what was being targeted.

The twin attacks are part of a broader Israeli offensive that has escalated in the northern part of the enclave over the past week.

The IDF said it hit 200 targets across Gaza in 48 hours as it continued its operations against what it called "terrorist organisations".

Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official told the BBC on Monday that the group had agreed to the latest ceasefire proposal offered by US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

However, Witkoff told Reuters that what he had seen was "completely unacceptable" and that the proposal being discussed was not the same as his.

A Palestinian official familiar with the talks said the plan agreed to by Hamas includes the release of 10 Israeli hostages held by the group in two phases.

In exchange, there would be a 70-day truce, a gradual partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the release of an agreed number of Palestinian prisoners, including several hundred serving long or life sentences.

The BBC has approached the Israeli government for comment on the proposal. Israeli media quoted anonymous Israeli officials as saying the plan would be rejected.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  Nick Clegg leaves Meta ahead of Trump's return as US president Former deputy prime minister Sir Nick Clegg is to step down from his current job as president of global affairs at social media giant Meta. In a post on Meta's Facebook on Thursday, Sir Nick, a former leader of the Liberal Democrats, said he was departing the company after nearly seven years. He will be replaced by his current deputy and Republican Joel Kaplan, who previously served as deputy chief of staff in the White House during President George W Bush's administration, and is known for handling the company's relations with Republicans. He added that he would spend "a few months handing over the reins" and representing Facebook at international gatherings before moving on to "new adventures". Sir Nick's resignation comes just weeks before Donald Trump returns to the White House. The president-elect has repeatedly accused Meta and other platforms of censorship and silencing conse...
Read more
Image
Disney holds small-scale Snow White premiere amid controversy Disney's live-action remake of Snow White is set to be released in UK cinemas next week, marking the latest efforts by the film studio to revive a beloved old classic. But the film, which stars Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, has faced several issues throughout its production. The movie is being released amid a debate about how the seven dwarfs are represented on screen, while Zegler has made headlines for critical comments about the original 1937 film. The European premiere was held on Wednesday at a castle in Northern Spain, instead of a more traditional and high-profile location such as London's Leicester Square. The film's European premiere took place on Wednesday at a remote castle in Spain, which was the inspiration behind the castle in the 1937 original animated film. Zegler performed a rendition of original song Waiting On a Wish at the event on Wednesday evening in Segrovia, north-West of Madrid. Most media...
Read more
Image
  Venezuela frees six US men after Trump envoy meets Maduro Venezuela has freed six US detainees after talks in Caracas between President Nicolás Maduro and a senior Trump administration official. The release of the men was announced on social media by Donald Trump and his special envoy, Richard Grenell. Grenell - who published online a photo of the six on board his plane - said they had spoken by phone to President Trump to thank him. Earlier, the White House had called on Venezuela to release "US hostages" - as well as agreeing to receive Venezuelan criminals deported by the US - or face consequences. Venezuela's Maduro sworn in for third term after contested elections US announces $25m reward for arrest of Venezuela's Maduro 'I thought I was going to die': Jailed Venezuelan activist Grenell did not name the six men, who were seen dressed in light blue outfits used by the Venezuelan prison system. "We are wheels up and headed home with these 6 American ...
Read more