05/04/2022 | UPONSOFT

Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ Shirt Sets Auction Record

By Uponent | 05/04/2022 | No Comments | Business, Entertainment

The shirt worn by Diego Maradona when he scored the controversial “Hand of God” goal against England in the 1986 World Cup has sold for $9.3 million (7.1 million pounds), the highest price ever paid at auction for a piece of sports memorabilia.

Auctioneer Sotheby’s sold the shirt in an online auction that closed Wednesday. It did not identify the buyer.

Maradona scored two goals during the quarterfinal game in Mexico City on June 22, 1986, just four years after Britain and Argentina had fought a war over the Falkland Islands. The Argentine great’s first goal was ruled a header, but the ball had bounced off Maradona’s fist, out of sight of the referee.

Maradona said afterward that it had been scored “a little with the head of Maradona, and a little with the hand of God.”

Maradona’s second goal saw him dribble the ball past almost the entire English team before beating goalkeeper Peter Shilton. In 2002, it was voted “goal of the century” in a FIFA poll.

Argentina won the game 2-1 and went on to win the World Cup.

After the game. Maradona swapped shirts with England midfielder Steve Hodge, who loaned it long-term to England’s National Football Museum in Manchester before putting it up for sale.

Maradona, considered by many to be the greatest player of all time, struggled with cocaine abuse and other excesses and died in November 2020 at age 60.

After Sotheby’s announced the coming sale last month, relatives of Maradona expressed doubt the blue No. 10 jersey was the shirt the soccer star had worn in the second half of the game, when he scored both goals. The auction house said the shirt’s identity was confirmed by sports memorabilia photo-matching firm Resolution Photomatching and confirmed by Sotheby’s chief science officer.

Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collectibles, said the shirt was “a tangible reminder of an important moment not only in the history of sports, but in the history of the 20th century.”

The previous record for sports memorabilia was $8.8 million paid at a December 2019 auction for the manifesto that launched the modern Olympic movement. The previous record for a piece of sportswear was $5.64 million for a Babe Ruth New York Yankees jersey in 2019.

The sale prices include an auction house charge known as the buyer’s premium.
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World Faces Looming Hunger Crisis

By Uponsci | 05/04/2022 | No Comments | Business, Science, Silicon Valley

The Global Network, an alliance of humanitarian and developmental agencies, says around 193 million people globally experienced extreme hunger last year, with more than half a million on the brink of famine in Ethiopia, southern Madagascar, South Sudan, and Yemen.

The network, which includes the European Union, U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, and World Food Program, is calling for action to tackle the life-threatening crisis.

Authors of the report warn the crisis is set to worsen this year. They say the key drivers of food insecurity — conflict, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic — are pushing increasing numbers of people into poverty.

The executive director of the World Food Program, David Beasley, calls it a perfect storm. He says whatever progress has been made in feeding the destitute is being lost because of Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and now Ukraine.

“As we look around the world, 276 million people marching towards starvation,” he said. “And now we have got the breadbasket of the world being turned into breadlines. Who would have ever thought that we would see this in our time, our lifetime. Mass migration taking place out of Ukraine. And it is going to devastate the food security situation around the world.”

He notes Ukraine and Russia together produce 30 percent of the world’s wheat, 20 percent of the world’s maize, and up to 80 percent of sunflower seed oil. He says those supplies are not moving out of Ukraine because Russia has blockaded Black Sea ports.

“If we do not get ahead of this thing, we will have not just famine in multiple countries around the world because, you know, we got additional droughts and all types of issues. But you will have destabilization of some nations and you will have mass migration by necessity. And no one wants that,” Beasley said.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell warns the global food crisis threatens child survival and development.

“By stark contrast, inadequate nutrition is the leading cause of child mortality,” she said. “In fact, nearly half of all deaths of children under five are attributable to undernutrition. … We now estimate that by the end of 2021, 50 million children were suffering from wasting, the most life-threatening form of malnutrition. We expect this number is now higher.”

The Global Network is calling for coordinated, collective action to address the food and nutrition crisis. It says emergency funding is needed now to pull starving people back from the brink, and longer-term action is crucial to create more sustainable agri-food systems.

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Automakers, Appliance Manufacturers Struggle to Find Computer Chips Amid Shortage

By Uponsil | 05/04/2022 | No Comments | Business, Science, Silicon Valley

Cars stuck on the assembly line. Delays in the delivery of dishwashers, refrigerators and game consoles. Consumers and businesses are feeling the pinch of the semiconductor shortage. The war in Ukraine could make the situation worse. Michelle Quinn reports.
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Dolly Parton, Eminem, Richie Get into Rock Hall of Fame

By Uponent | 05/04/2022 | No Comments | Business, Entertainment

Eminem, Lionel Richie, Carly Simon, Eurythmics, Duran Duran and Pat Benatar have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a list that also includes Dolly Parton, who initially resisted the honor.

The honorees — voted on by more than 1,000 artists, historians and music industry professionals — “each had a profound impact on the sound of youth culture and helped change the course of rock ‘n’ roll,” said John Sykes, the chairman of the Rock Hall, in a statement Wednesday.

Parton had gone on social media to “respectfully bow out” of the process, saying she did not want to take votes away from the remaining nominees and had not “earned that right.” The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation responded by saying ballots had already been sent and it was up to the voters to decide if Parton was elected. Parton later said she would accept an induction.

To be eligible, artists are required to have released their first record 25 years prior to induction. Parton, Richie, Simon and Duran Duran were selected on their first go-round. Simon was a first-time nominee this year more than 25 years after becoming eligible. Eminem becomes the 10th hip-hop act to be inducted, making the cut on his first ballot.

The hall also announced Wednesday that Judas Priest and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis are getting the award for musical excellence and that Harry Belafonte and Elizabeth Cotten will be honored with the Early Influence Award.

Other artists and groups that failed this year for induction in the performer category are A Tribe Called Quest, Rage Against the Machine, Dionne Warwick, Carly Simon, Beck, Kate Bush, DEVO, Fela Kuti, MC5 and the New York Dolls.

Parton is most associated with country music and is in the Country Hall of Fame, but she has performed songs with a rock feel. Artists who have made both the Rock Hall and Country Hall of Fame include Brenda Lee, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Chet Atkins, Hank Williams and the Everly Brothers.

The induction ceremony will be held Nov. 5 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
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Comedian Dave Chappelle Attacked on Stage at Hollywood Bowl

By Uponent | 05/04/2022 | No Comments | Business, Entertainment

U.S. comedian Dave Chappelle was attacked on stage on Tuesday night at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles by an assailant who rugby-tackled him before being apprehended and arrested, video footage verified by Reuters showed.

The attack came just over a month after actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars, an unprecedented incident at the globally televised event that prompted concerns that performers might be subject to copycat assaults.

Smith, who won the best actor award, was subsequently banned from attending the Oscars for 10 years.

It was not immediately clear if Chappelle was injured in Tuesday’s attack, or what motivated it.

An agent and public relations representative for Chappelle were not immediately available for comment. A representative for the Hollywood Bowl told Reuters the incident was under investigation, declining to comment further.

According to an ABC report, Rock, who had performed earlier in the evening, joined Chappelle on stage moments after it took place and joked: “Was that Will Smith?”

Chappelle and Rock were giving shows as part of an 11-day comedy festival called “Netflix is a Joke.”

Los Angeles police took a male suspect into custody who NBC Los Angeles said was armed with a replica gun capable of ejecting a knife blade.

Video footage obtained by Reuters showed the suspect on a stretcher being placed into an ambulance. He was taken to hospital with minor injuries, NBC Los Angeles cited police as saying.

Los Angeles Police Department officials did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Chappelle’s Netflix comedy special “The Closer” was criticized last year by some who saw it as ridiculing transgender people. Supporters of the comedian viewed it as a cry against cancel culture.

Brianna Sacks, a journalist for BuzzFeed News who attended h event, said the altercation took place as Chappelle ended his performance.
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South Africa Urges Africa’s First COVID-19 Vaccine Plant to Keep Its Doors Open

By Uponsci | 05/04/2022 | No Comments | Business, Science, Silicon Valley

South African health officials are urging COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer Aspen to keep its plant in the Eastern Cape province open. This follows a Reuters article quoting Aspen’s senior director saying they may have to shut down as there have been no orders for their rebranded COVID vaccine.

A South African-owned subsidiary of pharmaceutical giant Aspen struck a deal with American company Johnson & Johnson in March to package, price, sell and distribute its vaccine in Africa.

This vaccine was rebranded as Aspenovax.

The move was hailed by many as there had been much concern about Africa’s reliance on imported vaccines which were often costly and at times in short supply.

But there have been no orders for Aspenovax. South Africa’s National Health Department Spokesperson Foster Mohale said the lack of orders is due to low vaccination rates not only at home, but globally.

“Vaccine hesitancy is one of the factors which contribute to these low vaccination rates or demand for more vaccines which also affect the production. Because obviously we understand that they are in a business, they can’t keep on producing vaccines when they know that the demand for vaccines is very low. So, we understand the situation where they are, and we sympathize with them,” he said.

Mohale said for now, South Africa has enough vaccines. He adds that in March, 100,000 vaccines expired. And more are due to expire in June and July.

However, he said that Aspen’s vaccine plant is important because no one knows what the future holds.

“We will try to engage them not to rush their decision precisely because we anticipate especially our scientists, our epidemiologists, we anticipate that the fifth wave might hit the country, South Africa, during the winter season which is a few weeks away from now. As you can see the number of daily COVID-19 patients has been rising for the past seven days,” he said.

Professor Petro Terblanche, who is the managing director of South African company, Afrigen, which in a continent-first made an mRNA COVID vaccine using Moderna’s data — said the situation at Aspen is a tragedy for the industry.

“This is just indicating again how important it is that this continent looks at policy reform. This is about how are we going to make sure that we give preferential procurement to local companies. How are we going to make sure that we create a marketplace and eco-system that will absorb local capacity? Otherwise, we will not have capacity locally in a sustainable manner and we’re going to get the next pandemic and we will be unprepared, and we will not have health security,” said Terblanche.

She believes money should also be put into educating people on the importance of vaccines.

“We need to ensure that we also put effort into advocacy for vaccination. Because we now have 17% of the continent that is vaccinated. We need to get them to at least 40% to ensure that we fully arrest this pandemic,” she said.

Mohale was unable to say when the Health Department would be meeting with Aspen’s executives.
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Afghan Refugees in San Diego Celebrate Their First Eid al-Fitr in the US

By Uponent | 05/04/2022 | No Comments | Business, Entertainment

This was the first Eid al-Fitr in the United States for most of the more than 70,000 Afghan refugees who came to the country following the Taliban takeover last August. For VOA, Genia Dulot met with some of those refugees in California to see how they are marking the end of Ramadan. Camera:  Genia Dulot  
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