
-
Trump tariffs spark fears for Asian jobs, exporting sectors
-
Runners fly to North Korea for first post-Covid Pyongyang Marathon
-
Hamilton rubbishes claims he's lost faith in Ferrari
-
Nintendo Switch 2 sparks excitement despite high price
-
Sri Lanka's crackdown on dogs for India PM's visit sparks protest
-
S Korea police raise security levels ahead of impeachment verdict
-
China vows 'countermeasures' to sweeping new US tariffs
-
Trump jolts allies, foes and markets with tariff blitz
-
France says EU to target US online services after Trump tariffs
-
Tsunoda vows to bring 'something different' after Red Bull promotion
-
Verstappen not happy with Tsunoda-Lawson Red Bull swap
-
Experts accuse 54 top Nicaragua officials of grave abuses
-
Remains of 30th victim of Los Angeles fires found
-
EU to target US online services after Trump tariffs: France
-
How Trump's 'liberation day' tariffs will impact China
-
Malaysia suspends search for long-missing flight MH370
-
Search for long-missing flight MH370 suspended: Malaysia minister
-
Europe hits out at Trump tariffs, keeps door open for talks
-
Myanmar's junta chief to head to Bangkok summit as quake toll surpasses 3,000
-
Lawson vows to prove he belongs in F1 after shock of Red Bull axing
-
Australia sweats through hottest 12 months on record: official data
-
Livestock theft is central to jihadist economy in west Africa
-
South African artist champions hyenas in 'eco-queer' quest
-
Danish PM in 'unity' Greenland visit amid US takeover threats
-
Taiwan says US tariffs 'highly unreasonable'
-
Lawson says ruthless Red Bull axing was 'tough to hear'
-
Heat humble Celtics for sixth straight win, Thunder roll on
-
Trump escalates trade war with sweeping global tariffs
-
Japan says US tariffs 'extremely regrettable', may break WTO rules
-
South Koreans anxious, angry as court to rule on impeached president
-
Juve at in-form Roma with Champions League in the balance
-
Injuries put undermanned Bayern's title bid to the test
-
Ovechkin scores 892nd goal -- three away from Gretzky's NHL record
-
Australian former rugby star Petaia signs for NFL's Chargers
-
China says opposes new US tariffs, vows 'countermeasures'
-
Athletics world watching as 'Grand Slam Track' prepares for launch
-
Heat humble Celtics for sixth straight win, Cavs top Knicks
-
Quake-hit Myanmar's junta chief to head to Bangkok summit
-
New Spielberg, Nolan films teased at CinemaCon
-
Shaken NATO allies to meet Trump's top diplomat
-
Israel's Netanyahu arrives in Hungary, defying ICC warrant
-
Shiny and deadly, unexploded munitions a threat to Gaza children
-
Stocks tank, havens rally as Trump tariffs fan trade war
-
Altomare hangs on to tie defending champ Korda at LPGA Match Play
-
Paraguay gold rush leaves tea producers bitter
-
Health concerns swirl as Bolivian city drowns in rubbish
-
Syria says deadly Israeli strikes a 'blatant violation'
-
Financial markets tumble after Trump tariff announcement
-
Starbucks faces new hot spill lawsuits weeks after $50mn ruling
-
Europe riled, but plans cool-headed response to Trump's tariffs

Ukraine folk artists harness music to fight Russian 'assimilation'
A Ukrainian band is treating international audiences to their country's traditional folk music, spiced up with world music and some rap, with the stated aim of aiding the struggle against cultural "assimilation" of their country by its neighbour Russia.
Ukraine's DakhaBrakha ensemble starts the performance at the Parisian Cabaret Sauvage venue with the greeting "Good evening from free Ukraine", before singer Marko Halanevych, cellist Nina Garenetska, keyboardr Iryna Kovalenko and percussionist Olena Tsybulska launch into the evening's programme.
With identical traditional peasant blouses and layers of necklaces, the group's three women could pass for sisters. Their tall black hats resembling stove pipes, however, are just a fun prop with no actual roots in Ukrainian folklore.
"We've been suffering from Russia's assimilation policy for three hundred years," said Halanevych.
After "so many tragic episodes", added the trained philologist, "it's a miracle that Ukrainian identity, culture and language still exist".
Much of modern Ukraine's territory was part of the Russian empire under the tsars and then the Soviet Union following the Bolshevik revolution.
Many Western analysts believe that President Vladimir Putin long dreamed of absorbing Ukraine into Russian territory even before the February 2022 full-scale invasion.
In conversation, the singer's fatigue becomes apparent. He admits to being tired, not just from the group's ongoing tour taking it to France, Switzerland and Luxembourg, but also from the strain brought on by Russia's war on his country.
DakhaBrakha's concerts are interspersed with reminders of the conflict, and part of the proceeds go to the national war effort.
- 'We don't judge' -
"We are aware of course that people in Europe are tired of hearing about it," said Halanevych. "We understand, and we don't judge."
After a two-year break due to the Russian invasion, DakhaBrakha, which has been around for two decades, resumed touring. Mostly abroad, but sometimes at home.
Last spring, the quartet performed in Dnipro in the east of the country -- where the gig was interrupted three times by air raid sirens -- as well as in Chernivtsi, Odesa and Vinnytsia.
Next month, it is planning its first studio session since 2020 in Kyiv, which they call "an important and symbolic choice" of location.
The folkloric repertoire has seen a resurgence in Ukraine over the past decades, with ethnomusicologists often recording elderly women to preserve the heritage as faithfully as possible.
But DakhaBrakha is not shy about lacing central European polyphonic traditions with thumping bass lines, distorted electric guitars and vocal lines akin to rapping.
Their concerts, which have taken them across Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, sometimes have moments of "disconnect" as news from home abruptly bursts into joyful performances via alarm signals from Ukraine flashing up on their smartphone apps.
"Each time we worry about our loved ones," said Halanevych.
The quartet's frontman is the first to acknowledge that weaponising music may not be enough of a contribution to the war effort indefinitely, given that Ukraine is finding it increasingly difficult to recruit soldiers.
"We may need more people to take up arms or dig trenches," he said. "I am ready to defend my country."
Halanevych's brother Taras, 37, a journalist and sound engineer, already began his military training last month.
M.A.Colin--AMWN