<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <rss xmlns:ag="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/aggregation/" xmlns:annotate="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/annotate/" xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app" xmlns:company="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/company" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:dcterms="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" xmlns:email="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/email/" xmlns:ev="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/event/" xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" xmlns:rdfs="http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#" xmlns:ref="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/reference/" xmlns:taxo="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/taxonomy/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Firstpost Photos Latest News]]></title><link>https://www.firstpost.com/category/photos</link><lastBuildDate>Fri, 23 Apr 2021 04:00:35 +0530</lastBuildDate><description><![CDATA[Firstpost provides Latest news in pictures. Top photo news gallery from around the world, covering a variety of topics politics, current events/affairs, celebrities, Bollywood, sports and more]]></description><copyright>https://www.firstpost.com</copyright><generator>https://www.firstpost.com</generator><language>en-us</language><atom:link href="https://www.firstpost.com/rss/photos.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[What's the connection between LSD and bicycles? 12 artists take viewers on a psychedelic two-wheeler trip]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/whats-the-connection-between-lsd-and-bicycles-12-artists-take-viewers-on-a-psychedelic-two-wheeler-trip-9544511.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/whats-the-connection-between-lsd-and-bicycles-12-artists-take-viewers-on-a-psychedelic-two-wheeler-trip-9544511.html]]></guid><pubDate>Mon, 19 Apr 2021 18:48:45 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[FP Staff]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[What's the connection between LSD and bicycles? 12 artists take viewers on a psychedelic two-wheeler trip]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/LSD-12.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[On 19 April, 1943 a Swiss Chemist took a bicycle ride that would change his life, and over the decades, the lives of countless others. Hoffman synthesised LSD – Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in 1938 as a medical stimulant for the circulatory and respiratory system. | In the picture: Sid G's 'Gonna tell my kids this was Albery Hoffman.' Sid G is the former Head of Design at Vice and has been painting for around a decade, now his work mostly revolves around films and animation.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/LSD-11.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[It wasn’t until five years later, on what is now called Bicycle Day, that he ingested a dose of LSD and took the (in)famous bike ride that revealed the psychedelic nature of the substance. Since then, the substance has been tested for its use in medicine and psychology but more prominently, and still illegally in most parts of the world, has been consumed as a psychedelic substance with hallucinogenic properties. | In the picture: Tyler's '1st Trip.' Tyler is an anonymous street artist from Mumbai. Since 2010 Tyler has created works using city walls as his canvas to bring to the fore various subjects that define society and culture around us. His works, often political, are brutally honest opinions expressed in charming and mischievous ways that relate and appeal to everyone who views them.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/LSD-10-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The impact of LSD on pop culture does not need to be written about. From The Beatles to Timothy Leary to Steve Jobs and everyone in between have spoken about their experiences with LSD. | In the picture: Santanu Hazarika's 'Catfish and Greyhounds.' Mumbai-based Hazarika creates intricately detailed illustrations and paintings inspired by Japanese Anime and loves to explore themes relating to mythology, philosophy and pop culture in his works. In addition, ‘live doodling’ and designing customised sneakers are some of his creative outlets.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/LSD-9.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[This Bicycle Day, 2021 Method takes inspiration from the culture built around a controversial substance and celebrates it with works by 12 Indian artists. The works will be printed on perforated blotting paper, as a homage to the medium through which the substance is consumed. | In the picture: Rohan Joglekar's 'Troop.' Working primarily as a painter from his studio in Goa, Joglekar is deeply fascinated by nature and he draws his inspiration from its complex mechanics. A self-proclaimed pop-surrealist his art embodies a self-developed technique influenced by education in sustainable design, love for ecology and popular culture.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/LSD-8.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The artworks will not be laced with LSD, the art itself though promises to be a psychedelic trip visually.  The exhibition commenced on 16 April and would continue till 30 April at Method, Bandra (Mumbai). | In the picture: Tarini Sethi's 'The Company We Keep.' Sethi is the founder and curator of the Irregulars Art Fair; India's first anti-art fair. Through her art, Sethi explores themes of human intimacy and tries to break the taboo of body consciousness and sexuality. Her work constantly revolves around the idea of “utopias”. She draws inspiration from folk tales, the architecture of cities and stories of kings and queens alongside twists and turns of modern-day politics. Her work unveils identity while exploring sexuality within personal spaces, both architectural and cerebral.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/LSD-7.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[In the picture: Rema Chaudhary's 'Dancing.' Mumbai-based photographer Chaudhary is inspired by nature and how we fit into the grand scheme of things. Her work is intimate, quiet, and filled with fantastical prospects of the internal and external environment.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/LSD-6.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[In the picture: Priyesh Trivedi's 'Untitled.' Trivedi's work largely revolves around nostalgia, popular culture and détournement driven by irony and satire. He is also the creator of ‘Adarsh Balak’, a series of illustrations and comics that parodies and critiques the educational posters prevalent in Indian schools from late 80’s and early 90’s. Since its inception in 2014, the series has gathered a dedicated cult following on social media.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/LSD-5.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[In the picture: Osheen Siva's 'Flux.' Siva's works revolve around themes of femininity, sexuality and gender and its intersection with technology and society. Through the lens of surrealism, speculative fiction and science fiction and rooted in mythologies and her Dalit and Tamilian heritage, Siva imagines new worlds of decolonized dreamscapes, futuristic oasis with mutants and monsters and narratives of feminine power generally lacking in popular art and culture.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/LSD-4.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[In the picture: Kunel Gaur's 'Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out.' Gaur's personal visual style is inspired by functional design and brutalist architecture and design movement that emerged in the 1950s and has come to evolve as a response to the overwhelming use of embellishment on visual communication both online and offline.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/LSD-3.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[In the picture: Kim Kaul's 'Madness vs Intelligence.' Mumbai-based painter and poet, Kaul likes to play around with the idea of self: how, in this vast landscape of our emotion, can we understand why we feel the things we do, and how they manifest into our behaviour? As someone who has experienced mental illness, she has spent a vast majority of her time being intimately aware of her emotional responses. Through her work, she aims to dissect the emotions we encounter through our environments and experiences and make sense of them from an intimate, personal perspective.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/LSD-2.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[In the picture: thebigfatminimalist's 'The World's Finest Operating System.' Aniruddh Mehta is the founder of Studio Bigfat, a boutique multi-disciplinary design studio catering to branding, illustration, motion design and packaging services; with clientele such as Facebook, Gates Foundation, Puma, Netflix (Sacred Games), Subko Coffee and more. His work often transitions between commercial design projects to more niche personal work.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/LSD-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[In the picture: RuiningMagazine's 'Holy Trip.' Conceived in 2016, RuiningMagazines (as the name suggests) started off with a few Instagram posts of old ripped up magazines. As the posts grew in number, it ventured into exploring the digital space that it finds itself in now (The humble beginnings of which were created on an iPhone app!). Some of the few interesting projects under its belt include the creation of 16 artist artworks for the very first edition of the music festival, Neon East Fest; collaborations with the home-grown brand The Ikat Story, with various indie musicians, as well as with Vh1 India, among others.]]></media:description></media:content><category>Arts </category></item><item><title><![CDATA[Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi star in Kolkata Knight Riders' victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/firstcricket/photo-gallery/nitish-rana-rahul-tripathi-star-in-kolkata-knight-riders-victory-over-sunrisers-hyderabad-9519411.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/firstcricket/photo-gallery/nitish-rana-rahul-tripathi-star-in-kolkata-knight-riders-victory-over-sunrisers-hyderabad-9519411.html]]></guid><pubDate>Mon, 12 Apr 2021 12:36:44 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[FirstCricket Staff]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi star in Kolkata Knight Riders' victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/VRP7278_opt.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Nitish Rana played an important role with the bat as his team Kolkata Knight Riders began their IPL 2021 campaign with a victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad. Sportzpics]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Match03-_00351_opt.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[While Rana scored 80 off just 56 balls with nine fours and four sixes, Rahul Tripathi also made a fine contribution of 53. Both shared a 93-run partnership after the fall of opener Shubman Gill. Sportzpics]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/VRP7200a_opt.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Rashid Khan was the most impressive bowler for SRH. He picked two wickets for just 24 runs in his four overs. He got rid of dangerous Andre Russell cheaply in the match. Sportzpics]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/VRP7404_opt.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[There was a mini collapse for KKR in the death overs but Dinesh Karthik played an important cameo as his knock of 22 off just nine ball helped his team to post 187/6 in 20 overs. Sportzpics]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/VRP7528_opt.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[SRH lost both their openers quickly but then Jonny Bairstow and Manish Pandey did their best to keep the chase going. Bairstow ended up making 55 off 40 balls. Sportzpics]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/VRP7642_opt.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Once SRH lost Bairstow, the chase became difficult for the team. Manish Pandey remained unbeaten on 61 but he didn't get much help from others. Sportzpics]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/VRP7790_opt.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Abdul Samad played a few big hits when he came to the crease but it was too late for SRH. In the end, KKR won the match by 10 runs. Sportzpics]]></media:description></media:content><category>First Cricket</category></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Nail House: Themes of loss, belongingness attached to crumbling city habitats explored in a photo exhibition]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/the-nail-house-themes-of-loss-belongingness-attached-to-crumbling-city-habitats-explored-in-a-photo-exhibition-9508991.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/the-nail-house-themes-of-loss-belongingness-attached-to-crumbling-city-habitats-explored-in-a-photo-exhibition-9508991.html]]></guid><pubDate>Thu, 08 Apr 2021 19:34:01 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[FP Staff]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The Nail House: Themes of loss, belongingness attached to crumbling city habitats explored in a photo exhibition]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/NailHouse7.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[After a decade-long absence from the usual four-walled gallery space, Anjana Mehra has brought into view an omnibus of a three-part show, comprised of paintings, photographs and a video of the demolition of a two-storied old mansion.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/NailHouse8.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The exhibition, laid out in three commodious rooms of the spacious, high-ceilinged Nine Fish Gallery could be viewed as a form of public art which, in default calls for the accountability of those in administrative power and in control of the frenetic tower/road/bridge building exercises of Mumbai’s superstructure.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/NailHouse6.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Mehra’s library of pictures, is an assembly of locations, of people, statuary, birds, animals and vitrine frontage of shops - a phenomenology of the pavement/footpath of several cities.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/NailHouse10.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Walking and ambling through the town as an athlete would in exercise mode, her shot taking is to freeze fundamentally, a rhythm of survival and collectivity.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/NailHouse5.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Mehra proposes a brooding kind of reflection: the exigency of looking at and negotiating with a ready-focus lens, the sites of the haphazard and fortuitous event, the functional and casual temporariness of the street and footpath occupant.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/NailHouse4.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The stream of images that are replete with happenstance might change imminently. Figure, vehicle, animal, bicycle are subjects in micro worlds of both casual and vital narratives. She brackets off a location, to store a list of alternatives regarding astute picture making in her mind.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/NailHouse3.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Indeed, putting across an alternative to the alternative seems to be her palpable motive. The photographic album, marked often by a blurriness, catches our sense of the everyday interspersed with plucky local idiosyncrasies in the suspension of time that photography delivers so effectively.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/NailHouse9.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The exhibition calls to attention its lyceum-like space, lending its ambience to a monumentality that addresses and problematizes an urban framework — the transforming topography of a city, its skyline, its ever-shrinking and compressing spaces.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/NailHouse2.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[What we see on these walls are not reproductions of occurrences - when a building was gratuitously brought down or when the lure of mindless ‘sundecks’ of multistoried ‘heights’ began to proliferate in Mumbai. What we do perceive is Anjana Mehra’s memorials which seem to be born in the depths of floating anxieties – about her artistic predilections and whether there are alternative pictorial means to generate a painting with a forthright statement]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/NailHouse1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Memories flow into the mind space angled and scaled in an endeavour to compile words and meanings related to a consciousness of a global world and the necessity of belongingness; or, on the other hand, the possibility of an acceptance of nomadic living. The Nail House, by Anjana Mehra, is being presented at the Nine Fish Art Gallery, Byculla, Mumbai, in association with Dot Line Space till 15 April 2021 from 10.30 am to 7.30 pm]]></media:description></media:content><category>Arts </category></item><item><title><![CDATA[On World Health Day, Sanjeevani campaign for spreading awareness on COVID-19 vaccination launched]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/on-world-health-day-sanjeevani-campaign-for-spreading-awareness-on-covid-19-vaccination-launched-9504181.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/on-world-health-day-sanjeevani-campaign-for-spreading-awareness-on-covid-19-vaccination-launched-9504181.html]]></guid><pubDate>Wed, 07 Apr 2021 13:14:34 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[FP Staff]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[On World Health Day, Sanjeevani campaign for spreading awareness on COVID-19 vaccination launched]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Sanjeevani-640-NW18.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[On the occasion of World Health Day, Network18 and Federal Bank launched 'Sanjeevani-A Shot of Life' —  an initiative to create awareness and initiate conversations on COVID-19 vaccination, bust myths and bring about changes on the ground. Image Credits: News18]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/sanjeevani-2-640.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The campaign was launched on Wednesday at an event attended by actor Sonu Sood and BSF DG Rakesh Asthana at the Attari border in Punjab, amid the salutation ceremony by the jawans in the background. Image Credits: News18]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/sonu-sood-vaccine-640.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[As part of the launch, Sood visited the Apollo hospital and received a shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. “You have to remember one thing, you have to be with the doctors till 30 minutes after taking the vaccine,” he said receiving the jab. Image Credits: News18]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/sood-asthana-640.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[At the launch, Asthana addressed the issue of vaccine hesitancy. “As a leader, we have to lead from the front. Every jawan has taken the vaccine… I would like to add that it is more necessary to fight the enemies of our health than fighting the enemies of the nation,” Asthana said. Image Credits: News18]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Sanjeevani-3-640.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The initiative is a Federal Bank CSR drive to ensure that every Indian gets the vaccine, even in the remote corners of the country. Sood said that Sanjeevani is all about the cause to remove the fears from people's hearts and get more and more people vaccinated. Image Credits: News18]]></media:description></media:content><category>Event</category></item><item><title><![CDATA[From vast Roman Catholic cathedrals to Protestant churches, this year's Easter celebrations were marked by COVID-19 restrictions]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/from-vast-roman-catholic-cathedrals-to-protestant-churches-this-years-easter-celebrations-were-marked-by-covid-19-restrictions-9497841.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/from-vast-roman-catholic-cathedrals-to-protestant-churches-this-years-easter-celebrations-were-marked-by-covid-19-restrictions-9497841.html]]></guid><pubDate>Mon, 05 Apr 2021 18:22:49 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[The Associated Press]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[From vast Roman Catholic cathedrals to Protestant churches, this year's Easter celebrations were marked by COVID-19 restrictions]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Easter2021-3-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Priests and a nun wearing face masks attend Easter Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and rose from the dead, in the Old City of Jerusalem on Sunday, 4 April, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Oded Balilty]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Easter2021-6-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[People sit at a distance from each other in the cathedral during Easter services in Hildesheim, Germany. Despite the Corona pandemic and numerous contact restrictions, churches are allowed to celebrate numerous presence services around Easter. Photo by Julian Stratenschulte/dpa via The Associated Press]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Easter2021-11-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Members of the Veal family and friends join in praying during the Westside Easter Sunrise Service at Will Rogers State Beach park on the Santa Monica Bay on the Pacific Coast in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. Photo via The Associated Press/Damian Dovarganes]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Easter2021-10.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Rev Russels Governale serves communion during a Spanish-language Easter service at St Bartholomew Roman Catholic Church in New York. The parish has lost 80 members to COVID-19. Photo via The Associated Press/Mark Lennihan]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Easter2021-9.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Parishioners of St Paul's Episcopal Church stand to worship during an Easter sunrise service held on the burial grounds outside of Old St Luke's Church in Carnegie, Pa. For many congregants, this was the first in-person worship service they have attended since the coronavirus surge in November. Photo via The Associated Press/Jessie Wardarski]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Easter2021-8.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[A woman wearing a face mask attends Easter Sunday Mass led by Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and rose from the dead, in the Old City of Jerusalem. Photo via The Associated Press/Oded Balilty]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Easter2021-7.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[People attend an Easter sunrise service at the Palm Eastern Mortuary and Cemetery in Las Vegas. Photo via The Associated Press/John Locher]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Easter2021-5.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Priests circle the Edicule during Easter Sunday Mass led by the Latin Patriarch at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and rose from the dead, in the Old City of Jerusalem. Photo via The Associated Press/Oded Balilty]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Easter2021-4.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Apostolic Pentecostals celebrate Easter in field in the Johannesburg township of Soweto. Such South African independent church consist of small groups of worshippers mixing African traditions and bible study. Photo via The Associated Press/Jerome Delay]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Easter2021-2.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Pope Francis leaves after celebrating Easter Mass at St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican, during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. Photo via The Associated Press/Filippo Monteforte]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Easter2021-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Catholic priest carries a statue of Jesus Christ as he walks in religious procession during the Holy Easter celebration in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Moscow, Russia. Photo via The Associated Press/Pavel Golovkin]]></media:description></media:content><category>Arts </category></item><item><title><![CDATA[In pictures: From Holi to Palm Sunday, springtime holy days and festival observations across the globe]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/in-pictures-from-holi-to-palm-sunday-springtime-holy-days-and-festival-observations-across-the-globe-9489791.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/in-pictures-from-holi-to-palm-sunday-springtime-holy-days-and-festival-observations-across-the-globe-9489791.html]]></guid><pubDate>Fri, 02 Apr 2021 17:29:48 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[The Associated Press]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[In pictures: From Holi to Palm Sunday, springtime holy days and festival observations across the globe]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/springfestivals12.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[As yellow-orange flames crackle nearby, two girls embrace. One holds a piece of bread; around them, Israeli ultra-Orthodox Jews burn leavened foodstuffs that are forbidden during Passover as part of the commemoration of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt. In the picture: Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men and children burn leavened items in final preparation for the Passover holiday in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish town of Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, Israel on Friday, 26 March 2021. Photo by The Associated Press/Oded Balilty]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/springfestivals9.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Hindu women and children caked in neon hues grin during massive, joyful celebrations of the Holi festival in India, marked by the throwing of colourful powder and the spraying of water. In the picture: Indians smeared in colour participate in Holi festival celebrations in Gauhati, India, on Monday, 29 March, 2021. Hindus threw coloured powder and sprayed water in massive Holi celebrations despite many Indian states restricting gatherings to try to contain a coronavirus resurgence rippling across the country. Photo by The Associated Press/Anupam Nath]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/springfestivals2-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[And in Indian-controlled Kashmir, women raise their hands in prayer at a holy shrine on the occasion of Mehraj-u-Alam, believed to celebrate the ascension of the Prophet Muhammad to heaven. In the picture: Kashmiri Muslim women pray as the head priest displays a relic at the Hazratbal shrine on the occasion of Mehraj-u-Alam, believed to mark the ascension of Prophet Muhammad to heaven, in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, on Friday, 12 March, 2021. Photo by The Associated Press/Dar Yasin]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/springfestivals5.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[In Israel, beaming nuns took a group selfie atop the Mount of Olives with their masks down below their chins. A year after pandemic restrictions halted mass gatherings, the country has undertaken an aggressive vaccination campaign allowing many aspects of normal life to return. In the picture: Nuns pose for a selfie as they mark Palm Sunday on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, on Sunday, 28 March, 2021. A year after coronavirus restrictions halted mass gatherings, Christians are celebrating Holy Week together. Photo by The Associated Press/Mahmoud Illean]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/springfestivals11-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[That was a stark contrast with the scene at Saint Peter Parish Church in the Philippines, where a priest walked past empty pews with lit candles in preparation for an online Mass after the government banned religious activities during Holy Week and toughened lockdown measures to try to contain an alarming surge of the coronavirus. In the picture: A Catholic priest walks beside empty pews with lighted candles as he prepares for an online mass to prevent the spread of the coronavirus at the Saint Peter Parish Church in Quezon city, Philippines on Palm on Sunday, 28 March, 2021. Photo by The Associated Press/Aaron Favila]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/springfestivals1-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[A Hindu man takes a holy bath before praying during Shivratri festival at Pashupatinath temple premises in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Thursday, 11 March, 2021. Shivratri, or the night of Shiva, is dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of death and destruction. Photo by The Associated Press/Niranjan Shrestha]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/springfestivals3-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Tourists sit on a boat and watch Hindu priests perform evening rituals on the banks of the River Ganges in Varanasi, India, on Sunday, 14 March, 2021. Varanasi is among the world's oldest cities, and millions of Hindu pilgrims gather annually here for ritual bathing and prayers in the Ganges River, considered holiest by Hindus. Photo by The Associated Press/Rajesh Kumar Singh]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/springfestivals4-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Pope Francis, surrounded by shells of destroyed churches, leads a prayer for the victims of war at Hosh al-Bieaa Church Square, in Mosul, Iraq, once the de-facto capital of IS, on Sunday, 7 March, 2021. The long 2014-2017 war to drive IS out left ransacked homes and charred or pulverized buildings around the north of Iraq, all sites Francis visited. Photo by The Associated Press/Andrew Medichini]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/springfestivals6-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[People watch a castle-shaped wooden construction burning as part of celebrations at the Maslenitsa (Shrovetide) festival at the Nikola-Lenivets art park in Nikola-Lenivets village, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) southwest of Moscow, Russia, on Saturday, 13 March, 2021. Maslenitsa is an Orthodox Christian holiday celebrated in the last week before the Orthodox Lent. Photo by The Associated Press/Dmitry Serebryakov]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/springfestivals7.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[An Orthodox Christian refugee who fled the conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region reads prayers with his son in front of a church at the Hamdeyat Transition Center near the Sudan-Ethiopia border, eastern Sudan, on Tuesday, 16 March, 2021. Political tensions between Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government and the Tigray leaders who once dominated the country's government exploded in November into war. Photo by The Associated Press/Nariman El-Mofty]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/springfestivals8.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[A devotee takes part in a Holy Week Palm Sunday procession at Saint Mary Cathedral, in Pamplona, northern Spain, on Sunday, 28 March, 2021. Many devotees attended the procession a year after events were cancelled due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Photo by The Associated Press/Alvaro Barrientos]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/springfestivals10.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Christians take part in Palm Sunday Mass at the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family, in Gaza City, on Sunday, 28 March 2021. Photo by The Associated Press/Khalil Hamra]]></media:description></media:content><category>Arts </category></item><item><title><![CDATA[West Bengal witnesses sporadic violence, polling largely peaceful in Assam; both states see high turnout]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/assembly-election-2021-second-phase-of-polls-marred-with-sporadic-violence-in-west-bengal-assam-sees-76-96-turnout-9488051.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/assembly-election-2021-second-phase-of-polls-marred-with-sporadic-violence-in-west-bengal-assam-sees-76-96-turnout-9488051.html]]></guid><pubDate>Thu, 01 Apr 2021 22:54:30 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[FP Staff]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[West Bengal witnesses sporadic violence, polling largely peaceful in Assam; both states see high turnout]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/large_file_plugin/2021/04/1617290446_assamvoting-CEOtwitter.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The second phase of elections concluded in the key states of Assam and West Bengal on Thursday with both states recording high polling percentage. Twitter@CEOAssam]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/large_file_plugin/2021/04/1617294110_pollingphase2-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[However, sporadic violence and allegations of poll rigging by the BJP and the ruling TMC marred the democratic exercise in West Bengal. AP]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/large_file_plugin/2021/04/1617294126_pollingphase2-2.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The newsmaker of the day was West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee who termed the election process &quot;the worst&quot; she has seen in her life and accused the EC of blatantly siding with the BJP. AP]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/large_file_plugin/2021/04/1617294165_pollingphase2-5.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Assam, which once reeled under the impact of militancy and extremism, recorded peaceful polling by and large. AP]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/large_file_plugin/2021/04/1617294179_pollingphase2-6.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Voters were found wearing masks and maintaining social distance as they stood inside the rings drawn at six feet distance outside the polling stations. AP]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/large_file_plugin/2021/04/1617294152_pollingphase2-4.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The provisional data until late evening showed that Assam polled 76.96% in the second phase, while West Bengal recorded a turnout of 80.43%. AP]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/large_file_plugin/2021/04/1617294138_pollingphase2-3.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[In Assam, the key political highlight of the day was BJP strongman and state's home minister Himanta Biswa Sarma being served a show-cause notice by the poll panel following a Congress complaint. AP]]></media:description></media:content><category>India</category></item><item><title><![CDATA[A year since first lockdown, UK reflects on 'grief and loss' amid tribute to frontline workers]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/a-year-since-first-lockdown-uk-reflects-on-grief-and-loss-amid-tribute-to-frontline-workers-9457071.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/a-year-since-first-lockdown-uk-reflects-on-grief-and-loss-amid-tribute-to-frontline-workers-9457071.html]]></guid><pubDate>Wed, 24 Mar 2021 15:20:10 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[The Associated Press]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[A year since first lockdown, UK reflects on 'grief and loss' amid tribute to frontline workers]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2000-1-min2.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[In this photo from 4 April, 2020, Amelie and her sister Camille watch from their front window as the lockdown enters its third week along with their parents Victoria and Damian Kerr in Berkhamsted, England. AP Photo/Elizabeth Dalziel]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2000-2-min1.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[National Health Service (NHS) staff applaud outside the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London during the weekly &quot;Clap for our Carers&quot; to show appreciation for health care workers. Photo via AP/Alberto Pezzali]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2000-3-min2.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[A montage of clubs closed due to the pandemic. Photo from AP/Matt Dunham]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2000-4-min2.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[British prime minister Boris Johnson gestures after receiving the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Photo via AP/Frank Augstein]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2000-5-min2.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[A nurse holds a painting of Prime Minister Boris Johnson clapping with blood on his hands as part of a demonstration of NHS workers at hospitals across London to demand a 15 percent raise. Photo via AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2000-6-min1.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[In this photo from Sept. 26, 2020, people take part in a &quot;We Do Not Consent&quot; rally at London's Trafalgar Square that was organized by Stop New Normal to protest against coronavirus restrictions. Image via AP/Frank Augstein]]></media:description></media:content><category>Photos</category></item><item><title><![CDATA[Looking anew at the American landscape's oft-neglected corners through an instant camera]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/looking-anew-at-americas-oft-neglected-corners-through-an-instant-camera-9448521.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/looking-anew-at-americas-oft-neglected-corners-through-an-instant-camera-9448521.html]]></guid><pubDate>Mon, 22 Mar 2021 17:32:09 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[The Associated Press]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Looking anew at the American landscape's oft-neglected corners through an instant camera]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2000-min1.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Photographer Maye-E Wong was part of a team that drove the backroads during the run-up to the 2020 election. She illustrated stories about currents of racial tension that still ripple through towns that once expelled Black people, about how claims of a gentler political culture in Utah turned out to be far more complicated than the folklore. Above, people spin around in an amusement ride at the annual Mississippi State Fair. Image via AP/Wong Maye-E]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2000-4-min1.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Fully in the moment, Wong used the camera to compile a visual diary — “a collective portrait of a dysfunctional family,” as she describes it. Image via AP/Wong Maye-E]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2000-5-min1.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Tasha Lamm, 30, kisses her girlfriend Alicia Mullins, 22, in Bidwell, Ohio. Image via AP/Wong Maye-E]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2000-3-min1.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Trump supporters Roger Plott, 65; Bill Stevens, 76; Rick Warren, 65, and Jim Rainbolt 57, stand outside The Gunsmoke Club. Their clubhouse is an old gas station which later turned into a convenience store and is now a gathering place for a dozen or so friends. Image via AP/Wong Maye-E]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2000-2-min.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Exquisite images of a Mississippi cotton field and bison grazing in Utah give way to shots that are less so — a Dollar General in Kentucky, abandoned cars. There is irony in a Superman statue, usually a favourite spot for tourists to pose in Metropolis, Illinois. Image via AP/Wong Maye-E]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2000-1-min1.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The Instax photos — tangible, color-saturated art-on-the-spot — capture slices of American life and the American landscape. Above, children watch a pig race at the annual Mississippi State Fair. Image via AP/Wong Maye-E]]></media:description></media:content><category>Arts </category></item><item><title><![CDATA[World Water Day: 10 pictures illustrating the most polluted waters around the world]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/world-water-day-10-pictures-illustrating-the-most-polluted-waters-around-the-world-9447981.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/world-water-day-10-pictures-illustrating-the-most-polluted-waters-around-the-world-9447981.html]]></guid><pubDate>Mon, 22 Mar 2021 16:59:26 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[Abigail Banerji]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[World Water Day: 10 pictures illustrating the most polluted waters around the world]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/ganges-river-2.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Ganges River in India is the country's largest river. More than one billion gallons of toxic waste enter it every day. Image credit: Pixabay]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Yamuna-river-3.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Yamuna river in India is one of the most polluted rivers and about 85 percent of the pollution is caused by domestic and industrial sources. The water quality is not fit for bathing, underwater life and domestic supply. Image credit: India Water Portal/Flickr]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Citarum-River-indonesia-4.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Citarum River in Indonesia is polluted as only 47 percent of the nearby industries treat their water while the rest dispose of it unprocessed into the river. Other sewage also comes from households, livestock, fishery, and agricultural wast Image credit: Jordi Bernabeu Farrús/Flickr]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Pasig-River-5.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Pasig River in Manila, Philippines was so polluted in 1990 that ecologists declared it &quot;biologically dead&quot;. However, clean-up efforts are showing some results as some stretches of the river are showing signs of marine life. Image credit: Manila Bay/Wikipedia]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Tiete-river-6.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Tiete river in Sao Paulo, Brazil runs 1,150 km long and Pinheiros is its most contaminated tributary. While most of the river is polluted due to domestic causes, various efforts are on to clean it up. Image credit: Eurico Zimbres/Wikipedia]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/yellow-river-7-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Yellow River in China is the cradle of Chinese civilization and more than 80 percent of the river basin is polluted. One count said that a third of all the fish species found in the River have become extinct because of dams, falling water levels, pollution and overfishing. Image credit: Leruswing/Wikipedia]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Buringanga-River-8.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Buringanga River in Bangladesh is called a dead river and during summer it appears black. The rise also has zero dissolved oxygen and high concentrations of metals. Image credit: Pixabay]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/River-Nile-9.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[River Nile in Egypt is important to yet 150 million tons of industrial waste are dumped every year, according to its Environmental Affairs Agency. Around 75 percent of the 43 fish sampled contained microplastics in their gastrointestinal tracts. Image credit: Mom Ahmadia/Flickr]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Murray–Darling-Basin-10.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Murray–Darling Basin in Australia provides Adelaide with 50 percent of its drinking water along with other cities. Most of its pollution problem include septic leakage from houses, contaminated stormwater runoff and sand dumping. Image credit: Murray–Darling Basin Authority]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pacific-ocean-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The Pacific Ocean has two garbage patches and is the most polluted ocean in the world. It has an est two trillion plastic pieces polluting its waters. Image credit: Ray Boland/NOAA]]></media:description></media:content><category>Photos</category></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Corona Quilt Project turns 12,000 accounts of the pandemic into art installations across Mumbai]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/the-corona-quilt-project-turns-12000-accounts-of-the-pandemic-into-art-installations-across-mumbai-9424791.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/the-corona-quilt-project-turns-12000-accounts-of-the-pandemic-into-art-installations-across-mumbai-9424791.html]]></guid><pubDate>Tue, 16 Mar 2021 18:26:50 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[FP Staff]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The Corona Quilt Project turns 12,000 accounts of the pandemic into art installations across Mumbai]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/ArtistProcess-min.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The Corona Quilt Project was conceived during the initial weeks of the pandemic as a way to connect people, discuss self-expression and mental health. It is a collaborative endeavour of IIFL, The Godrej Group, JSW, Bombay Shirt Company, Bombay Municipality Community (BMC). For this project, a modern take on quilting has been employed where each patch has been made using unique materials ranging from repurposed fabric and gunny bags to tablecloths and paper collages. All photographs courtesy of Corona Quilt Project.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/BEST-Bus2-1-min.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The year-long public program culminates in five separate installations by Dia Mehhta Bhupal, a Mumbai/Hyderabad-based interdisciplinary artist. Bhupal’s presentation incorporates a transformative, uplifting journey symbolically coming together in natural elements such as the ocean, butterflies, along with portraits of the frontline workforce who have led the fight against the pandemic. Pictured above is Live to Rise, wrapped around 23 BEST buses on the routes from Worli to Colaba.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/JindalMansion-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[For the presentation at Jindal Mansion, Bhupal has created a modern quilt entitled A Rising Sun. The Corona Quilt Project has received over 12,000 squares from corporates, schools, NGO’s, foundations, individuals and others. Speaking about the project, Bhupal said, &quot;My presentations have been inspired by children’s drawings and their inner innocence. Rise draws continuities and solidarities between human and nature, artificial and natural, then and now. The concepts chosen embody our current reality and consequences of the pandemic.&quot;]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Haji-Ali-Warriors-Rise-main-hero-image-min.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Honouring the frontline workers, Warriors Rise is a montage of portraits presented on the facade of the Haji Ali Pumping Station. The focus is a pumping heart, a symbol of all the workers have done to keep us safe and healthy. It features individual portraits of doctors, nurses, the police force and members of the Bombay Municipality Community (BMC), who have been the core strength and support of the city during the pandemic.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/On-the-Rise-Worli-School-min.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[On the Rise, the presentation on Worli Seaface, wraps around the facade of the building with over 5000 individual narratives coming together. It draws a parallel from the butterfly - a symbol of transformation, evolution and resurrection.]]></media:description></media:content><category>Arts </category></item><item><title><![CDATA[Amid coronavirus pandemic, historical theatre shows in Greece go online ahead of bicentennial celebrations]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/amid-coronavirus-pandemic-historical-theatre-shows-in-greece-go-online-ahead-of-bicentennial-celebrations-9421161.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/amid-coronavirus-pandemic-historical-theatre-shows-in-greece-go-online-ahead-of-bicentennial-celebrations-9421161.html]]></guid><pubDate>Mon, 15 Mar 2021 20:09:48 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[The Associated Press]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Amid coronavirus pandemic, historical theatre shows in Greece go online ahead of bicentennial celebrations]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Greektheatre14.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Dozens of museum exhibitions, theatre productions, discussion panels and historical re-enactments were planned in Greece for this year to commemorate the bicentennial of the 1821-1832 Greek War of Independence. In the picture: Singers and orchestra of the Greek National Opera perform during the video recording of 'Despo-Greek Dances' Opera and dance performance in Athens, on Saturday, 6 March, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Thanassis Stavrakis]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Greektheatre7.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[But due to the coronavirus pandemic, mezzo-soprano Artemis Bogri and her fellow singers stepped onstage in an empty theatre to perform the Greek National Opera’s new production of Despo, one of the events marking 200 years since the war that resulted in Greece’s independence from the Ottoman Empire and rebirth as a nation. In the picture: Elton Dimrochi holding Elpida Skourou, dancers of the Greek National Opera Ballet, perform during a rehearsal of 'Despo-Greek Dances' Opera and dance performance in Athens, on Friday, 26 February, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Thanassis Stavrakis]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Greektheatre1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[With her sword raised but defeat certain, the title character in composer Pavlos Carrer’s 1875 opera chooses death over captivity, detonating ammunition stored in a fortress as Ottoman forces close in. In the picture: Greek soprano Artemis Bogri holding a sword, sings during a rehearsal of 'Despo-Greek Dances' Opera and dance performance in Athens, on Thursday, 4 March, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Thanassis Stavrakis]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Greektheatre3.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[“Fire! Fire!” Bogri sang in Despo Botsi’s final moments as machine-generated smoke billowed out over the stage during a performance recorded for streaming-only events scheduled for May. In the picture: Greek soprano Artemis Bogri performs during a rehearsal of 'Despo-Greek Dances' Opera and dance performance in Athens, on Thursday, 4 March, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Thanassis Stavrakis]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Greektheatre5.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[“I can tell you, that sword is real and it’s heavy,” the soloist chuckled after the show, still costumed in a headscarf, brocade waistcoat and wide-sleeved pleated blouse. In the picture: Greek soprano Artemis Bogri sings during a rehearsal of 'Despo-Greek Dances' Opera and dance performance in Athens. Photo via The Associated Press/Thanassis Stavrakis]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Greektheatre9.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[“Artists prepare two or three months for a production and then take that work to an audience,” she said. “Now, we have to generate that energy with no one there. That’s not easy.” In the picture: Dancers of the Greek National Opera Ballet, perform during a rehearsal of 'Despo-Greek Dances' Opera and dance performance in Athens, on Friday, 26 February, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Thanassis Stavrakis]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Greektheatre4.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[In the picture: Singers and the orchestra of the Greek National Opera perform during the video recording of 'Despo-Greek Dances' Opera and dance performance in Athens, on Saturday, 6 March, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Thanassis Stavrakis]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Greektheatre11.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Greece gained its independence after a gruelling nine-year war. A century later, the Greeks were on the losing side in Asia Minor as modern Turkey was created out of the collapsing Ottoman Empire. In the picture: Singers and the orchestra of the Greek National Opera perform during the video recording of 'Despo-Greek Dances' Opera and dance performance in Athens on Saturday, 6 March, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Thanassis Stavrakis]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Greektheatre2-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Bicentennial events intended to display Greece’s modern accomplishments have been postponed, scaled back or moved online because of the pandemic. National parades by school children set for Greece’s 25 March independence day holiday were cancelled on 12 March amid the latest surge in COVID-19 infections. In the picture: A cameraman prepares for the video recording of the 'Despo-Greek Dances' Opera and dance performance at the empty Greek National Opera in Athens on Saturday, 6 March, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Thanassis Stavrakis]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Greektheatre13.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Like the National Opera, other cultural institutions formed small work teams to salvage their celebration plans even as they faced acute financial pressure due to lockdown measures now in their fifth consecutive month. In the picture: Actors Marios Panagiotou, left, and Konstantinos Arnokouros speak, during a rehearsal of 'The Free Besieged' at the Greek National Theater in Athens, on Tuesday, 2 March, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Thanassis Stavrakis]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Greektheatre6.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[A director instructs the technicians during the video recording of the 'Despo-Greek Dances' Opera and dance performance in Athens, on Saturday, 6 March , 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Thanassis Stavrakis]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Greektheatre8.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Eleftheria Stamou dancer of the Greek National Opera Ballet prepares, prior to a rehearsal of 'Despo-Greek Dances' Opera and dance performance in Athens, on Friday, 26 February, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Thanassis Stavrakis]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Greektheatre15.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Actors and singers working on the production of 'Despo' wore masks during most rehearsals, many driven by a stubborn resolve, Bogri said. In the picture: A view of the foyer of the Greek National Opera ahead of the video recording of 'Despo-Greek Dances' Opera and dance performance in Athens, on Saturday, 6 March, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Thanassis Stavrakis]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Greektheatre10.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[“It’s the creative arts that helped us keep going” during the pandemic, she said. “But the sad irony is that, after all this is over, there will be fewer of us left. A large part of the arts world will be swept away.” In the picture: Giannis Mitrakis holding Elpida Skourou, right, and Elena Kekkou, dancers of the Greek National Opera Ballet, perform during a rehearsal of 'Despo-Greek Dances' Opera and dance performance in Athens, on Friday, 26 February, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Thanassis Stavrakis]]></media:description></media:content><category>Arts </category></item><item><title><![CDATA[Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan shine as India level T20I series with seven-wicket win over England]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/firstcricket/photo-gallery/virat-kohli-ishan-kishan-shine-as-india-level-t20i-series-with-seven-wicket-win-over-england-9417871.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/firstcricket/photo-gallery/virat-kohli-ishan-kishan-shine-as-india-level-t20i-series-with-seven-wicket-win-over-england-9417871.html]]></guid><pubDate>Mon, 15 Mar 2021 00:22:36 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[FirstCricket Staff]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan shine as India level T20I series with seven-wicket win over England]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/1-Ishan-Kishan-Virat-Kohli-India-England-2nd-T20I-Sportzpics.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Ishan Kishan and Virat Kohli stitched an 94-run stand for the second wicket to lay the foundation for the successful chase. Sportzpics]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2-Fans-India-England-2nd-T20I-Sportzpics.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Fans wave flags at the Narendra Modi Stadium at Motera, Ahmedabad during the second T20I between India and England. Sportzpics]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/3-Bhuvneshwar-Kumar-India-England-2nd-T20I-Sportzpics-640.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Bhuvneshwar Kumar celebrates after getting rid of Jos Buttler off the second delivery of the match. Sportzpics]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/4-Jason-Roy-India-England-2nd-T20I-Sportzpics-640.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Jason Roy once again contributed with a vital innings, top-scoring for his side with a 35-ball 46. Sportzpics]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/5-Shardul-Thakur-India-England-2nd-T20I-Sportzpics-640.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Shardul Thakur's (2/29) economical bowling in the slog overs, along with the efforts of Washington Sundar, helped restrict England to 164/6. Sportzpics]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/6-Virat-Kohli-win-India-England-2nd-T20I-Sportzpics-640.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Virat Kohli pulled off yet another successful chase for India, remaining unbeaten on 73 to guide his team home. Sportzpics]]></media:description></media:content><category>First Cricket Photos</category></item><item><title><![CDATA[All-round England thump India in first T20I to go 1-0 up in five-match series]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/firstcricket/photo-gallery/all-round-england-thump-india-in-first-t20i-to-go-1-0-up-in-five-match-series-9411241.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/firstcricket/photo-gallery/all-round-england-thump-india-in-first-t20i-to-go-1-0-up-in-five-match-series-9411241.html]]></guid><pubDate>Fri, 12 Mar 2021 23:11:09 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[FirstCricket Staff]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[All-round England thump India in first T20I to go 1-0 up in five-match series]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/PAN_0025_opt.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[England registered an emphatic win in the first of the five T20Is, beating India by eight wickets to take 1- series lead. Jofra Archer was named player of the match for his outstanding spell of 2 for 23 which included one maiden. Sportzpics]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/PAN_0100_opt.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Rishabh Pant was looking good before he was removed on 21. He reverse-swept Jofra Archer for a six, reminding everyone of the same shot he played against James Anderson not a long ago in Tests. Sportzpics]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/AI_4175_opt-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Shreyas Iyer struck a fine fifty. He was dismissed for 67 and had he not been there, India would have found it difficult to get to 124/7 even in 29 overs. Sportzpics]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/PAN_0080_opt.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[India captain Virat Kohli scored a duck in the first match. He now has 14 ducks in international cricket as a captain which is the the most among Indian captains, going past Sourav Ganguly who recorded 13 ducks. Sportzpics]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/PAN_2816_opt.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Jason Roy was in a hurry to finish things off as he stroked a 32-ball 49 to set up the England victory. His knock included 4 fours and 3 sixes. Sportzpics]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/PAN_3156_opt.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Jonny Bairstow looked in good touch with the bat as well. He smashed 1 four and 2 sixes on his way to an unbeaten 26 off 17 balls. Sportzpics]]></media:description></media:content><category>First Cricket Photos</category></item><item><title><![CDATA[Decade after Tohoku quake, a look at how the Japanese rebuilt the region amid govt apathy, radiation fears]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/decade-after-tohoku-quake-a-look-at-how-the-japanese-rebuilt-the-region-amid-govt-apathy-radiation-fears-9396361.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/decade-after-tohoku-quake-a-look-at-how-the-japanese-rebuilt-the-region-amid-govt-apathy-radiation-fears-9396361.html]]></guid><pubDate>Tue, 09 Mar 2021 18:17:38 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[The Associated Press]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Decade after Tohoku quake, a look at how the Japanese rebuilt the region amid govt apathy, radiation fears]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2000-min.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Vehicles pass through the ruins of the leveled city of Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on 15 March, 2011, four days after the Tsunami devastated the area. Image via The Associated Press/David Guttenfelder]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2000-1-min.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The same site pictured almost one year after the 2011 tsunami. Image via The Associated Press/David Guttenfelder]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2000-3-min.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The city of Minamisanriku photographed nearly 10 years after the 2011 tsunami. Image via The Associated Press/Eugene Hoshiko]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2000-4-min.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[A survivor of the earthquake and tsunami rides his bicycle through wreckage in northeastern Japan, on 15 March, 2011, four days after the Tsunami. Image via The Associated Press/David Guttenfelder]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2000-5-min.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[A car passes through the leveled city of Minamisanriku almost one year after the tsunami. Image via The Associated Press/David Guttenfelder]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2000-6-min.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[A woman walks through the city nearly ten years after the Tsunami. Image via The Associated Press/Eugene Hoshiko]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2000-7-min.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Residents of the tsunami and earthquake destroyed town of Onagawa in Miyagi Prefecture walk down an empty street on 19 March, 2011. Image via The Associated Press/David Guttenfelder]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2000-8-min.jpeg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Two officials walk along a street in the tsunami and earthquake destroyed town of Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan on 22 February, 2012. Image via The Associated Press/David Guttenfelder]]></media:description></media:content><category>Arts </category></item><item><title><![CDATA[In Chennai, India's largest panoramic mural created in solidarity with AIDS survivors]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/in-chennai-indias-largest-panoramic-mural-created-in-solidarity-with-aids-survivors-9370831.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/in-chennai-indias-largest-panoramic-mural-created-in-solidarity-with-aids-survivors-9370831.html]]></guid><pubDate>Wed, 03 Mar 2021 14:03:08 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[FP Staff]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[In Chennai, India's largest panoramic mural created in solidarity with AIDS survivors]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/chennaimural1-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[St+art India Foundation, TANSACS, Tidel Park and Southern Railway have come together to create India’s largest mural titled ‘We Are’. The art work supported by Asian Paints, began in December last year; took approximately 40 days to complete and spans a vast 63,000 sq ft. It aims to de-stigmatise the HIV and AIDS affected community and empower them while sharing hopeful stories of survivors. | Photograph by Pranav Gohil.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/chennaimural2-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[India has the third largest HIV epidemic in the world. In 2017, HIV prevalence among adults (aged 15-49) was an estimated 0.2 percemt. This figure is small compared to most other middle-income countries but because of India's huge population (1.3 billion people) this equates to 2.1 million people living with HIV. Overall, this epidemic is slowing down. Between 2010 and 2017 new infections declined by 27 percent and AIDS-related deaths more than halved, falling by 56 percent. (Source: UNAIDS Data 2018) | Photograph by Pranav Gohil.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/chennaimural3-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The panoramic mural, titled ‘We Are’, spreads the message of shared humanity, of how people suffering or having recovered from AIDS deserve equal rights and a place in society. The mural drives this message home by mixing portraits of AIDS patients with those who don't, showing how we are all human, and the same. | Photograph by Pranav Gohil.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/chennaimural4.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The mural is designed by Chennai-based graffiti writer and street artist A-Kill, along with Delhi-based Khatra. A-Kill, whose work is inspired by visuals offered by the streets and everyday life, is renowned for his skilled hand in portraiture, and his special connect with Chennai is reflected in this mural. This month-long project will be unveiled at Chennai’s Indira Nagar Railway Station. | Photograph by Pranav Gohil.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/chennaimural5-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The length of the Indira Nagar railway platform is 280 metres. Seen running through the station facade is the red ribbon — recognised symbol of AIDS awareness, and whose vivid red hue represents ideas of love and passion. The continuous flow of this powerful emblem across the station changes its landscape, emphasises the notion of community and collective responsibility and cements the station as a landmark of Chennai’s inclusive spirit. | Photograph by Pranav Gohil.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/chennaimural6.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The underlying aim is to highlight art as an effective response to global crises, and a tool to deliver messages of awareness, feelings of longing or loss and ideas of hope. The mural depicts the portraits of five individuals, of which three are patients of HIV, but which cannot be determined by just visual appearances.| Photograph by Pranav Gohil.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/chennaimural7-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[COVID-19 has demonstrated that, during a pandemic, no one is safe until everyone is safe. Leaving people behind is not an option if we are to succeed. With this ideology in mind, this mural reflects the theme of this year’s World AIDS Day, as declared by UNAIDS: “Global solidarity, shared responsibility”. Portraying several diverse yet familiar faces, the artwork celebrates these unique identities while reinforcing the notion that there are no physical determinants to AIDS.| Photograph by Pranav Gohil.]]></media:description></media:content><category>Arts </category></item><item><title><![CDATA[Festivals, religious rituals observed across the globe in February amid the coronavirus pandemic]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/festivals-religious-rituals-observed-across-the-globe-in-february-amid-the-coronavirus-pandemic-9366891.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/festivals-religious-rituals-observed-across-the-globe-in-february-amid-the-coronavirus-pandemic-9366891.html]]></guid><pubDate>Tue, 02 Mar 2021 20:42:38 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[The Associated Press]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Festivals, religious rituals observed across the globe in February amid the coronavirus pandemic]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Holiday13.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Kashmiri Muslims raise their hands and pray as the head priest, unseen, displays a relic believed to be a hair from the beard of the Prophet Mohammad during special prayers on the death anniversary of Abu Bakr Siddiq, the first Caliph of Islam, at Hazratbal Shrine in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, 5 February, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Mukhtar Khan]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Holiday11.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Worshippers wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus burn joss sticks as they pray at the Wong Tai Sin Temple, in Hong Kong, Friday, 12 February, 2021, to celebrate the Lunar New Year which marks the Year of the Ox in the Chinese zodiac. Photo via The Associated Press/Kin Cheung]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Holiday10.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[A man waits to have his Baby Jesus figure blessed with holy water at Purification of Our Lady of Candlemas Chapel in Mexico City, Tuesday, 2 February, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Rebecca Blackwell]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Holiday9.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Workers from &quot;Hevra Kadisha,&quot; Israel's official Jewish burial society, get dressed in full protective gear to prepare a body for a funeral procession, at a special morgue for people who died from COVID-19, during a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, in Jerusalem, Tuesday, 2 February, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Oded Balilty]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Holiday8.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The new head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Porfirije, seated back left, performs the liturgy ceremony in Belgrade's Congregational church, Serbia, Friday, 19 February, 2021. Patriarch Porfirije replaces Patriarch Irinej, who died in November 2020 from COVID-19 complications. Photo via The Associated Press/Darko Vojinovic]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Holiday7.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[An NYPD officer receives ashes at St. Patrick's Cathedral after Ash Wednesday Mass, Wednesday, 17 February, 2021, in New York. Photo via The Associated Press/John Minchillo]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Holiday5.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Priestess Laura D'Oya Yalorixa, center, takes part in an Umbanda religious ceremony at the Casa de Caridade Santa Barbara Iansa temple in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, 6 February, 2021. The faithful of the Umbanda religion, brought to America by West African slaves, perform spiritual protection rituals as part of pre-Carnival traditions. Photo via The Associated Press/Bruna Prado]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Holiday6-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[A Nepalese devotee writes her name on a Saraswati temple, with the belief that writing on the wall of a Saraswati temple on this day imparts knowledge, during Shri Panchami festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, 16 February, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Niranjan Shrestha]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Holiday4.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Worshippers gather around candles stuck to jars of honey, arranged as a cross, during mass for the 'sanctification of honey' at the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin church in the town of Blagoevgrad, south of the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, Wednesday, 10 February, 2021. Despite the COVID19 pandemic, Bulgarian Orthodox Church marks the day of St Haralampus, Orthodox patron saint of bee-keepers, by performing a ritual for health and rich harvest. Photo via The Associated Press/Valentina Petrova]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Holiday3.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[An elderly pilgrim prays after a holy dip at the Sangam in Prayagraj, India, Thursday, 11 February, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Rajesh Kumar Singh)]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Holiday2.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Muslim men gather to pray during a protest against Police lack of enforcement and recent rise in violence Arab communities in the northern Arab Israeli town of Umm el-Fahm, Israel, Friday, 5 February, 2021. More than 2,000 people protested outside the local police station, and blocked main roads in the area. Photo via The Associated Press/Ariel Schalit]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Holiday12-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[A Hindu Holy man lies in front of an image of Hindu Goddess of learning Saraswati, at Sangam, the sacred confluence of the rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, during Magh Mela festival, in Prayagraj, India. Tuesday, 16 February, 2021. Hindus believe that ritual bathing on auspicious days can cleanse them of all sins. Photo via The Associated Press/Rajesh Kumar Singh)]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Holiday1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Catholics offer prayers during a mass in observance of Ash Wednesday at the St. Joseph Cathedral in Hyderabad, India, Wednesday, 17 February, 2021. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a solemn period of 40 days of prayer and self-denial leading up to Easter. Photo via The Associated Press/Mahesh Kumar A]]></media:description></media:content><category>Arts </category></item><item><title><![CDATA[Golden Globes 2021: Dan Levy, Amanda Seyfried, Rosamund Pike show off red carpet looks from home]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/golden-globes-2021-dan-levy-amanda-seyfried-rosamund-pike-show-off-red-carpet-looks-from-home-9361091.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/golden-globes-2021-dan-levy-amanda-seyfried-rosamund-pike-show-off-red-carpet-looks-from-home-9361091.html]]></guid><pubDate>Mon, 01 Mar 2021 17:59:26 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[FP Staff]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Golden Globes 2021: Dan Levy, Amanda Seyfried, Rosamund Pike show off red carpet looks from home]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/dan-levy-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Dan Levy wore a Valentino couture suit in soothing earth tones with a sequined turtle neck | Source: Instagram - @FashionBombDaily]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/rosemund-pike-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Rosamund Pike in a red Molly Goddard dress and Alexander McQueen boots | Instagram]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/amanda-seyfried-golden-globes-best-dressed.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Amanda Seyfried served a picture-perfect moment in a coral off-shoulder gown by Oscar de la Renta | Instagram]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/josh-o-connor-golden-globes-ftr1-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Josh O’Connor posed in front of roses in a black-and-white contrasting LOEWE suit| Image - William Waterworth]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/elle-fanning-golden-globes-best-dressed.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Elle Fanning wears a silky, mint green Gucci gown for the virtual Golden Globes ceremony | Gareth Gatrell for Gucci]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Kaley-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Kaley Cuoco channel Disney princess vibes while sporting a glittery, gray Oscar de la Renta gown | Image Courtesy of Brad Goreski]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/anya-taylor-joy-golden-globes-best-dressed.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Anya Taylor-Joy wore an emerald green gown and matching coat — both custom Dior Haute Couture, styled with Tiffany jewelry | Image Courtesy of Sami Drasin for Dior]]></media:description></media:content><category>Entertainment</category></item><item><title><![CDATA[Mumbai's BMC headquarters heritage walk: Glimpses of the iconic 128-year-old building]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/mumbais-bmc-headquarters-heritage-walk-glimpses-of-the-iconic-128-year-old-building-9343641.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/mumbais-bmc-headquarters-heritage-walk-glimpses-of-the-iconic-128-year-old-building-9343641.html]]></guid><pubDate>Sat, 27 Feb 2021 16:58:39 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[FP Staff]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Mumbai's BMC headquarters heritage walk: Glimpses of the iconic 128-year-old building]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/BMCHeritage-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Heritage Walk initiative was inaugurated by Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray on 28 January this year. These hour-long walks are being curated by Mumbai-based Khaki Tours in collaboration with the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) and are conducted over the weekends on Saturdays and Sundays. This is in fact the first time in 100 years that this iconic building has opened its doors for the tourists. In order to take part in this heritage walk, one needs to book tickets worth Rs 300 per person through bookmyshow.com and all the others related to the walk are available on the web portals of MTDC and Khaki Tours. Photograph courtesy of the BMC.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/BMCHeritage-9.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The heritage walk begins from BMC headquarters' gate number 2 and then proceeds to the chowk inside the premises. From there it reaches the offices of various political leaders and officers in the BMC, the Mayor’s office, the general body hall further heading to the office of the BMC commissioner, and finally to the museum on the second floor. Photograph courtesy of the BMC.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/BMCHeritage-10.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[&quot;What makes Mumbai different from other cities, is the fact that here heritage is living,&quot; says Bharat Gothoskar, Founder Khaki Tours. Most of these office heritage buildings are inaccessible during weekdays, but the Government of Maharashtra has now arranged for them to be accessible during the weekends, starting with the BMC heritage walk. Aditya Thackeray, the tourism and environment minister of Maharashtra is also in talks with the High Court, University of Mumbai, Vidhan Bhavan so that they can potentially be opened for the public soon. For this BMC walk, Thackeray wanted it to be properly curated and that's where Khakhi Tours came in. Ever since its inception in 2015, Khakhi Tours has been creating awareness about Mumbai’s history and heritage in a fun and interesting manner using walks and open-jeep tours across the city. &quot;Frankly, I didn't expect the response to be so good, but we are sold out for two weeks from now. Initially, we started with four walks a weekend, then we increased it to 8 and now we have 12 walks every weekend. Every walk has 20 people and we maintain social distancing; we have amplifiers so that people can listen to the tour guide even while keeping a safe distance,&quot; adds Gothoskar. Photo courtesy of the BMC.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/BMCHeritage-5.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The current building was not the original BMC headquarters. It shifted from Girgaum to Apollo Street (which is today known as Shahid Bhagat Singh Road) to Kala Ghoda till finally the present site in 1893. It was designed by an Englishman named FW Stevens who was the architect of the equally iconic building opposite to the BMC headquarters — the CSMT station (which was earlier known as Victoria Terminus) and the Central Railways headquarters. The entire building has a Gothic Revival architectural structure except for the domes and minarets on top — they bear an architectural transition from Victorian Gothic to Indo-Saracenic (the style of buildings like the GPO, CSVMS and the Gateway of India). The central facade’s architecture is similar to the Council Hall in Manchester, UK. Photograph courtesy of the BMC.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/BMCHeritage-2.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The Corporation Hall (shown in the picture above) is a place where history meets civics. Initially, meant for 80 councillors, the hall now seats 227. It was inspired by the Corporation Halls of Glasgow and Birmingham. It was destroyed by a fire in 2001 and was then restored by conservation architect Vikas Dilawari. The hall, with the ornate gilding on the ceiling, displays the ‘athra pagad jati’, the eighteen turbaned communities of the city. Photograph courtesy of the BMC.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/BMCHeritage-8.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The interior dome of the building is not the same as that one sees from the outside. Sandwiched between the interior dome and the exterior domes are water tanks, now in disuse. The water from those tanks powered the building’s hydraulic lift in the days before electricity. The beautiful goldwork (as seen in the picture above) that one sees on the dome from inside is actually made of real gold leaf. Photograph courtesy of the BMC.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/BMCHeritage-7.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Shown above in the picture is the entrance for corporation staff and public. The Mayor and corporators have a separate entrance. The winged lions with serpent tails, on both sides of the staircase, show dominance over land, air and water - inspired by Venetian lions. Mayor's office was originally not part of the building; the mayor used to operate from his personal chambers. The office was added to the building on the insistence of Vithalbhai Patel that the people’s representative should also have an office in the building. The Mayor has a special chair that travels with her wherever she presides. Photograph courtesy of the BMC.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/BMCHeritage-6.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Sir Pherozeshah Mehta is considered to be the Father of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation or the Bombay Municipality as it was known earlier. He drafted the Bombay Municipal Act of 1872 that gave control to elected representatives rather than nominated ones. The statue of Sir Pherozeshah Mehta was erected right outside the BMC headquarters by public subscription. Photograph courtesy of the BMC.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/BMCHeritage-4.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Gothoskar says that through this walk, one realises what is the Indian contribution in an otherwise European-style building: From Indian craftsmen, contractors coming on board in this project to Indian architectural styles incorporated into the design, to how with the Indian Independence movement many Indians got a say in the administration. All these things form a very cohesive narrative about the building and the city. Inside the building, there are busts of several people who had contributed to the development of the city and the country. &quot;When you look at the plaque you realise that the building was built in Rs 60,000 less than what was planned; it was estimated that around Rs 12 lakhs would be spent in the construction of the building, but it got done is something slightly more than Rs 11 lakhs,&quot; informs Gothoskar. Photograph courtesy of the BMC.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/BMCHeritage-3.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[There are a lot of symbolism used in the design: be it the trees, fruits or animals. All these minute details in a way lend a voice to the building and it starts talking with us, as Gothoskar points out. &quot;This walk is a very immersive experience where we explain each and every corner: what are the tiles you are walking on, which part of England did they come from; what are the architectural similarities between the BMC building and the Taj Mahal Hotel (the same engineer had designed the iconic hotel as well). We try to establish these connections, making the building relatable and personally connected to who you are as a resident of Mumbai.&quot; Photograph courtesy of the BMC.]]></media:description></media:content><category>Arts </category></item><item><title><![CDATA[Germany's famed Rose Monday carnival marked by low-key celebrations of tradition, resilience]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/event/germanys-famed-rose-monday-carnival-marked-by-low-key-celebrations-of-tradition-resilience-9318341.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/event/germanys-famed-rose-monday-carnival-marked-by-low-key-celebrations-of-tradition-resilience-9318341.html]]></guid><pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 2021 18:12:25 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[The Associated Press]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Germany's famed Rose Monday carnival marked by low-key celebrations of tradition, resilience]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/g1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Parades, street festivals and other large gatherings have all been cancelled in Germany this year. But organisers in Duesseldorf, one of the German Rhineland's main Carnival strongholds, didn't want to let Rose Monday in 2021 go completely without the traditional caricatures of current events. Here, a young carnival reveller dressed as a clown holds an umbrella in the empty old town in Duesseldorf. AP Photo/Martin Meissner]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/g4.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Organisers sent eight floats through the city — separately, rather than in a parade, and on routes that were kept secret in advance to prevent crowds from gathering. Here, a political carnival float depicting climate and coronavirus crisis is driving in the streets of Duesseldorf. AP Photo/Martin Meissner]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/g2.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[One of Germany’s first superspreader events stemmed from a Carnival celebration in a town west of Cologne in February 2020, where many people came into contact with an infected man. This year authorities are taking no chances, with public consumption of alcohol banned in some places. Here, a carnival reveller rides an electric scooter near the Severinstor gate in Cologne. Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa via AP]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/g3.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Carnival reveller Ingrid Kuellheim wears a face mask to protect against the coronavirus as she walks in disguise long the route, usually taken by the carnival parade Rosenmontagszug, in Cologne, Germany, Monday. Because of the coronavirus pandemic the traditional carnival parades are canceled. Marius Becker/dpa via AP]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/g7.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Germany has seen over 65,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths during the pandemic and just put restrictions on its borders with Austria and the Czech Republic to keep out the new virus variants circulating in those countries.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/g6.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[A man wearing a carnival cap stands in a deserted street in the old town in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday. Because of the coronavirus pandemic the traditional carnival parades are canceled. Fabian Strauch/DPA via AP]]></media:description></media:content><category>Arts </category></item><item><title><![CDATA[Amid restrictions due to coronavirus pandemic, glimpses of Brazil's Carnival in pictures]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/event/amid-restrictions-due-to-coronavirus-pandemic-glimpses-of-brazils-carnival-in-pictures-9307551.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/event/amid-restrictions-due-to-coronavirus-pandemic-glimpses-of-brazils-carnival-in-pictures-9307551.html]]></guid><pubDate>Mon, 15 Feb 2021 23:12:31 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[The Associated Press]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Amid restrictions due to coronavirus pandemic, glimpses of Brazil's Carnival in pictures]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/BrazilCarnival2-min-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Brazil is still recording an average of more than 1,000 deaths a day from the pandemic and as in many countries, immunization campaigns have been lagging. Rio’s mayor’s office reported that as of Sunday morning, it had closed four nightclubs that broke restriction rules and imposed seven fines for social distancing violations. With this year’s Carnival cancelled, most showed up in the Uncle Sam themed costumes they’d used last year and made a quick dash up a single street. Image via The Associated Press/Bruna Prado]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/BrazilCarnival1-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Some Carnival fans met in small groups of “bate-bolas” or ball hitters group - revellers who dress up in exuberant, identical, hand-made costumes known as “fantasias” each Carnival — for symbolic celebrations on Saturday. Image via The Associated Press/Bruna Prado]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/BrazilCarnival3-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[A member of a “bate-bola” eyes the camera during a brief appearance as part of a Carnival tradition despite restrictions due to the new coronavirus pandemic, in Rio de Janeiro. “On the day we parade, it’s magical, fantastic. People come, the street is packed but this year we won’t have this. We feel a void, people say something is missing,” said a person involved with a group of bate-bolas for the last 31 years. Image via The Associated Press/Bruna Prado]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/BrazilCarnival7-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[A member of the &quot;Desliga da Justica&quot; — the name is a Portuguese language play on “Justice League” — street band gets dressed in his spiderman costume in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Sunday, 14 February 2021. The group's performance was broadcast live on social media for those who were unable to participate in the carnival due to COVID restrictions after the city's government officially suspended Carnival and banned street parades or clandestine parties. Image via The Associated Press/Bruna Prado]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/BrazilCarnival6-min-2.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Musicians of the &quot;Desliga da Justica&quot; street band perform in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Sunday. The group featured in costumes of Supergirl, Freddy Krueger, Poison Ivy and Captain America and they kicked off, into a song. That idiosyncratic lineup is a typical sort of lineup for the Carnival street band Desliga da Justica, but this year they were facing cameras in a studio and the fans were scattered across the internet instead of dancing in the streets during one of the world’s most iconic celebrations. Image via The Associated Press/Bruna Prado]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/BrazilCarnival4-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[This year, all members of the band took a PCR test for coronavirus on Sunday when they arrived at studio in the south of Rio. Desliga has been holding the parties since 2009 and the gatherings have been growing ever since. Image via The Associated Press/Bruna Prado]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/BrazilCarnival5-min-2.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[One of the biggest street party associations, Blocos da Sebastiana, this year organized workshops on Carnival makeup and instruments and offered playlists of their music. “We would like to be partying on the street but we can’t.” said Rita Fernandes, president of Blocos da Sebastian. “Streamed shows are important, but symbolic. They bring us memories of Carnival and reaffirm what it means to us.&quot; Image via The Associated Press/Bruna Prado]]></media:description></media:content><category>Event</category></item><item><title><![CDATA[Glacier break in Uttarakhand's Chamoli causes flash floods; 7 dead, homes swept away, two projects damaged]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/glacier-break-in-uttarakhands-chamoli-causes-flash-floods-7-dead-homes-swept-away-two-projects-damaged-9279761.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/glacier-break-in-uttarakhands-chamoli-causes-flash-floods-7-dead-homes-swept-away-two-projects-damaged-9279761.html]]></guid><pubDate>Mon, 08 Feb 2021 00:27:08 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[FP Staff]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Glacier break in Uttarakhand's Chamoli causes flash floods; 7 dead, homes swept away, two projects damaged]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/AP-Uttarakhand-flooding-6401.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[A portion of the Nanda Devi glacier broke off in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on Sunday, triggering an avalanche and a deluge in the Alaknanda river system that caused large-scale devastation, washing away hydroelectric stations and leaving at least seven people dead and 125 missing. AP]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Uttarkhand-2-640.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Two power projects – NTPC’s Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project and the Rishi Ganga Hydel Project – were extensively damaged with scores of labourers trapped in tunnels as the waters came rushing in. In picture, a view of the hydropower project at the Reni village. AP]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Uttarakhand-3-AP.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Homes along the way were also swept away as the waters rushed down the mountainsides in a raging torrent. Amid fears of damage in human settlements downstream, many villages were evacuated and people were taken to safer areas. However, the NCMC was informed later in the day that there was no danger of downstream flooding. AP]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/ITBP-rescue-ops-AP-640.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The Indo-Tibetan Border Police rescued 16 men from a tunnel in the Tapovan project but 125 were still missing. Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said seven bodies were recovered. AP]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/NDRF-twitter-640.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The Indian Air Force and the army also swung into action as part of a multi-agency rescue operation. Indian Air Force has operated C-130 and AN32 transport aircraft to airlift personnel from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to the affected areas, said officials. Image credits: Twitter @PIBDehradun]]></media:description></media:content><category>India</category></item><item><title><![CDATA[From Oedipus to Yeh Bhi Jungle, Woh Bhi Jungle: A look at theatre productions under the Alkazis over the years]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/from-oedipus-to-yeh-bhi-jungle-woh-bhi-jungle-a-look-at-theatre-productions-under-the-alkazis-over-the-years-9253311.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/from-oedipus-to-yeh-bhi-jungle-woh-bhi-jungle-a-look-at-theatre-productions-under-the-alkazis-over-the-years-9253311.html]]></guid><pubDate>Tue, 02 Mar 2021 20:45:05 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[FP Staff]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[From Oedipus to Yeh Bhi Jungle, Woh Bhi Jungle: A look at theatre productions under the Alkazis over the years]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/AlkaziMemoir-4-min.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Scene from Oedipus Rex with Ebrahim Alkazi as Oedipus, 1954, at Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mumbai. Sophocles’ Oedipus, considered one of the greatest tragedies of all time, is a fast moving, almost detective-like drama. Choral speech, the stylised dance-like movement of individual actors against the mass of chorus, draped royal robes in deep rich tones, sonorous voices raised in rhythm became Alkazi’s signature style in presenting the Greeks to modern audiences. The single-storeyed Bhulabhai Desai Institute faced the Arabian Sea, with waves that furiously lashed the rocks across the road. It was here against a simple set of Greek pillars and a red drape, that Alkazi brought alive this Greek tragedy.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/AlkaziMemoir-5.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[In the 1950s, when Alkazi enrolled at St Xavier's College, Mumbai, he joined the Shakespeare Society which was then presided by Sultan ‘Bobby’ Padamsee, who had returned from Oxford during World War II. Alkazi was cast in several Padamsee productions namely Othello, Macbeth and Twelfth Night. Later, he was also seen in Oscar Wilde’s Salome and Lajos Biro’s God and Kings. (In the picture above) Scene from Macbeth, 1956, with Ebrahim Alkazi as Macbeth.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/AlkaziMemoir-7.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Ebrahim Alkazi as Jean in August Strindberg's Miss Julie, 1960. Of the play, Girish Karnad had said that it opened up new dimensions of the theatre experience to him. In the play, when Alaknanda's Miss Julie comes to the end of her climactic speech, ‘Kill me, kill me too, if you can kill an innocent bird’, that was accompanied by ‘sentimental music’, Alkazi, playing Jean, struck a match and on cue, the lights brightened and the music was killed. Such precision and sophistication of presentation was new to Bombay theatre then.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/AlkaziMemoir-6.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Alakananda Samarth (in the picture above) as the young, alluring vivacious daughter of the Count, Miss Julie, was the ideal foil to Alkazi's sexual predator Jean, the valet in Strindberg’s masterful interplay of sexual tension across the class divide. Alaknanda belonged to Shobhana Samarth’s family and was film star Nutan’s niece.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/AlkaziMemoir-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[When Alkazi was appointed as the Director of the National School of Drama in Delhi, Alkazi staged many huge productions, especially historicals, from NSD's rather small setup. Alkazi had carved out an excellent studio theatre by removing a wall between two rooms to make an eighty-seat auditorium and a stage as large as the seating. Sophocles’ Oedipus and Shakespeare’s King Lear were presented there in Urdu, and later Mohan Rakesh’s Lehron ke Raj Hans, among others. (Above) Scene from King Lear, 1964, with Om Shivpuri in the titular role. Shivpuri had earned a lot of accolades for his performance and was ofted touted to be the youngest actor to play King Lear on stage.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/AlkaziMemoir-2.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[With Ebrahim Alkazi's historical productions, Delhi’s history came alive at the Purana Qila. A long flight of steps led down from a huge archway that was sometimes filled by the ceremonial procession of a king, and at other times resounded to the clash of swords as Razia Sultan battled for her life and yet at other times was full of the rushing, rioting mobs hungry for food in Girish Karnad’s Tughlaq. In the picture above, scene from Tughlaq by Girish Karnad, 1972, with Manohar Singh as Muhammed Bin Tughlaq.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/AlkaziMemoir-3.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Scene from Sultan Razia, 1974, written by Balwant Gargi and directed by Ebrahim Alkazi. In the picture above, we see Rohini Hattangadi as Razia and Naseeruddin Shah as Jamaluddin Yakut in the NSD production staged at the Purana Qila in Delhi.]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/AlkaziMemoir-8.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book was directed by Feisal Alkazi in 1997 for NSD’s Theatre in Education Company as it is the ultimate coming-of-age story. It was retitled Yeh Bhi Jungle, Woh Bhi Jungle. (In the picture) Walter Peter and Seema Diwan with baby Mowgli. In the play, Mowgli experiences every important transition of adolescence: the breaking of rules, attraction to a delinquent subculture, asserting his manhood and finally, a search for his identity]]></media:description></media:content><category>Arts </category></item><item><title><![CDATA[From Bahamas, Brazil to America, Australia: NASA's 10 most captivating satellite images from 2020]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/from-bahamas-brazil-to-america-australia-nasas-10-most-captivating-satellite-images-from-2020-9213631.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/from-bahamas-brazil-to-america-australia-nasas-10-most-captivating-satellite-images-from-2020-9213631.html]]></guid><pubDate>Thu, 21 Jan 2021 11:20:19 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[tech2 News Staff]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[From Bahamas, Brazil to America, Australia: NASA's 10 most captivating satellite images from 2020]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image_4_-_the_parched_parana_river-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[On 3 July 2020, NASA's Landsat 8 captured this image of the river near Rosario which is a key port city in Argentina. A prolonged period of hot weather and drought in southern Brazil, Paraguay, and northern Argentina has caused a drop in water levels in the Paraná River, and it is at its lowest levels in decades. With Rosario serving as the distribution hub for Argentina’s exports, low water levels have caused hundreds of millions of dollars in losses and due to the drought, many vessels have had to reduce their cargo in order to navigate the river. Image Credits: NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image_3_-_nighttime_changes_in_china_wuhan.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Chinese authorities suspended air, road, and rail travel in Hubei province and placed restrictions on other activities in late January 2020 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. A before and after comparison by a team from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and Universities Space Research Association detected signs of the shutdown of activity around the city of Wuhan, China, between 19 January and 4 February 2020. This before photo clearly depicts densely occupied roads and highways that are undetectable post-shutdown. Image Credits: NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image_2_-_australia_fires-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[At the start of 2020, daytime seemed to turn to night as thick smoke filled Australian skies and intense wildfires drove people from their homes. This natural-colour image of Southeastern Australia was acquired on 4 January 2020, by NASA’s Aqua satellite. The smoke has a tan colour, while clouds are bright white. Image Credits: NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS/LANCE and GIBS/Worldview]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image_1_-_river_ili-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Seen from space, the icy Ili River Delta contrasts sharply with the beige expansive deserts of southeastern Kazakhstan. On 7 March 2020, the Landsat 8 acquired this natural-colour image of the delta was just starting to shake off the chill of winter. While many of the delta’s lakes and ponds were still frozen, the ice on Lake Balkhash was breaking up, revealing swirls of sediment and the shallow, sandy bed of the western part of the lake. Image Credits: NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/bahama_bank_larger-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[This is an underwater masterpiece photographed from above is the Great Bahama Bank and was dry land during past ice ages, but it slowly submerged as sea levels rose. Today, the bank is covered by water, though it can be as shallow as two meters deep in places. The bank itself is a combination of white carbonate sand and limestone, mainly from the skeletal fragments of corals. The wave-shaped ripples in the image are sand on the seafloor. The curves follow the slopes of the dunes, which were likely shaped by a fairly strong current near the sea bottom. Sand and seagrass are present in different quantities and depths, giving the image it’s a striking range of blues and greens. Image Credits: NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image_10_-_solar_eclipse_2020-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The first and only total solar eclipse of 2020 occurred on 14 December 2020, with the path of totality stretching from the equatorial Pacific to the South Atlantic and passing through southern Argentina and Chile as shown in the lower half of the image above. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 16 captured these images of the Moon’s shadow crossing the face of Earth. Image credits: NASA]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image_9_-_hokkaido_snow-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[From above, the Konsen Plateau in eastern Hokkaido offers a remarkable sight: a massive grid that spreads across the rural landscape like a checkerboard, visible even under a blanket of snow. Photographed by the Landsat 8, this man-made design is not only aesthetically pleasing, but it’s also an agricultural insulator. The strips are forested windbreaks—180-meter wide rows of coniferous trees that help shelter grasslands and animals from Hokkaido’s sometimes harsh weather. In addition to blocking winds and blowing snow during frigid, foggy winters, they help prevent winds from scattering soil and manure during the warmer months in this major dairy farming region of Japan. Image credits: NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image_8_-_laura_at_night-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[NOAA-20 captured this image of Hurricane Laura at 2:20 a.m. Central Daylight Time on 26 August 2020. It was one of the ten strongest hurricanes to ever make landfall in the United States. The eye of the storm touched down in a sparsely populated area just east of Calcasieu Ship Channel. Forecasters had warned of a potentially devastating storm surge up to six meters along the coast, and the channel might have funnelled that water far inland. It did not. Image Credits: NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image_7_-_painting_pennsylvania_hills-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The folded mountains of central Pennsylvania were past peak leaf-peeping season but still colourful when the Landsat 8 satellite passed over on 9 November 2020. The region of rolling hills and valleys is part of a geologic formation known as the Valley and Ridge Province that stretches from New York to Alabama. These prominent folds of rock were mostly raised up during several plate tectonic collisions and mountain-building episodes in the Ordovician Period and later in the creation of Pangea—when what is now North America was connected with Africa in a supercontinent. Those events created the long chain of the Appalachians, one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world. The Appalachians once stood as tall at the Rockies and Alps, but hundreds of millions of years of erosion have worn them down. Image Credits: NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens,]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image_5_-_fires_on_us_pacific_coast-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Climate and fire scientists have long anticipated that fires in the U.S. West would grow larger, more intense, and more dangerous. Lightning initially triggered many of the fires, but it was unusual and extreme meteorological conditions that turned some of them into the worst conflagrations in the region in decades. This image shows North America on 9 September 2020, as a frontal boundary moved into the Great Basin and produced very high downslope winds along the mountains of Washington, Oregon, and California. The winds whipped up the fires, while a pyrocumulus cloud from the Bear fire in California injected smoke high into the atmosphere. The sum of these events was an extremely thick blanket of smoke along the West Coast. Image Credits: NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens]]></media:description></media:content><category>Photos</category></item><item><title><![CDATA[‘Much to regain, much to restore’, says Joe Biden as he takes charge as 46th President of United States]]></title><link><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/democracy-has-prevailed-says-joe-biden-as-he-takes-charge-as-46th-president-of-united-states-of-america-9222161.html]]></link><guid><![CDATA[https://www.firstpost.com/photos/democracy-has-prevailed-says-joe-biden-as-he-takes-charge-as-46th-president-of-united-states-of-america-9222161.html]]></guid><pubDate>Thu, 21 Jan 2021 01:12:23 +0530</pubDate><dc:creator><![CDATA[FP Staff]]></dc:creator><description><![CDATA[‘Much to regain, much to restore’, says Joe Biden as he takes charge as 46th President of United States]]></description><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/US-President-Joe-Biden.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, declaring that “democracy has prevailed&quot; as he took the helm of a deeply divided nation and inherited a confluence of crises arguably greater than any faced by his predecessors. AP]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Joe-Biden-Jill-Biden-AP.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Speaking at the US Capitol just two weeks after it was stormed by an armed mob supporting his predecessor Donald Trump, Biden declared: 'This is America's day, this is democracy's day. A day of history and hope'. AP/NYT]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Joe-Biden_AP_640_inauguration.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Jill Biden holds the Bible during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the US Capitol in Washington. He also acknowledged the challenges that lay ahead of him in tumultous times. AP]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Biden-Harris-640-AFP.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Vice President Kamala Harris broke the barrier Wednesday that has kept men at the top ranks of American power for more than two centuries when she took the oath to hold the nation's second-highest office. AFP]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Harris-oath-AP-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Harris was sworn in as the first female vice president — and the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to hold the position — in front of the US Capitol by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. AP]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Lady-Gaga-at-biden-harris-inauguration-640.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Lady Gaga launched Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony by belting out a classic rendition of the US national anthem, donning a billowing ball gown and enormous dove brooch. AP]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Jennifer-Lopez-AFP.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Following Gaga's performance of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' Jennifer Lopez took the stage, performing Woody Guthrie's classic 'This Land Is Your Land', a tune with socialist leanings the folk legend is said to have written in response to the more nationalistic 'God Bless America'. AFP]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Amanda-Gorman-640.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[Poet Amanda Gorman recited a powerful poem at the Biden-Harris inauguration ceremony. But who is Gorman? The 22-year-old is the youngest poet to read at a presidential inauguration in US history. AFP]]></media:description></media:content><media:content url="http://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Capitol-640-AP.jpg" type="image/jpeg"><media:description type="plain"><![CDATA[The chilly Washington morning was dotted with snow flurries, but the sun emerged just before Biden took the oath of office, the quadrennial ceremony persevering even though it was encircled by security forces evocative of a war zone and devoid of crowds because of the coronavirus pandemic. AP]]></media:description></media:content><category>Photos</category></item></channel></rss>