Akibas trip how to wear female clothes

Mega-rich Rishi Sunak made a pitch to the Tory faithful wearing beaten-up shoes with a hole in the sole, while the finishing touches are applied to the swimming pool at his luxury home.

The former chancellor, who has rubbished claims his wealth means he is out of touch, was snapped with the worn-out shoe earlier this week.

It is in stark contrast to last month, when he sported Prada loafers , estimated to cost around £470, during a visit to a building site.

Mr Sunak has repeatedly hit back at comments about his expensive attire, notably from culture secretary Nadine Dorries, who praised rival Liz Truss for wearing £4.50 earrings.

It has raised questions about whether he is deliberately dressing down as the race to be Prime Minister goes into its final days.

Political marketing expert Prof Paul Baines, of the University of Leicester, said: “Displaying wealth is unseemly in the current environment.

“It’s definitely unfashionable wearing expensive clothes while everyone is suffering, and I think he’s recognised that.”

Prof Baines, a Conservative councillor, added that Ms Truss could afford to dress “much more lavishly” – but has chosen not to.

Meanwhile, new pictures show work is progressing on a swimming pool at Mr Sunak’s £1.5million North Yorkshire home – which is being built as the nearby public swimming baths face closure due to escalating costs.

Media commentator Howard Bowden said: “Having a hole in your shoe is one thing, but if you don’t come across as authentic, you’ll never be relatable to voters.

“He’s trying to reach the soul of the Tory party, but instead he’s tripped himself up.”

Mr Sunak, 42, and wife Akshata Murty are estimated to have a combined worth of £730m, and are said to be richer than the Queen.

But Mr Sunak told the Conservative faithful in Darlington, Co Durham, on Tuesday: “I think in our country we judge people not by their bank account, we judge them by their character and their actions.”

Mrs. Choi Seung-hee and her pupils in North Korea in the late 1940s

Mrs. Choi Seung-hee (1911-1969) is the biggest icon of Korean dance. Although she lived in one of the most difficult periods in Korean history, she succeeded in familiarizing foreigners with the Korean performing arts. She became famous during the Japanese colonial era, but as for the second half of her life, only a few details are known because she moved to North Korea shortly after the national liberation. In the following article, I would like to add some new pieces to the mosaic of those unknown years.

Mrs. Choi Seung-hee in North Korea in the mid 1950s

Choi Seung-hee was born in Seoul, and studied modern dance in Japan under the famous choreographer Ishii Baku. She returned to Seoul in 1929, where she established her own research institute to modernize the traditional Korean dances. At the age of 20, she married Ahn Mak, a leftist intellectual; the couple temporary lived in Yongin, Gyeonggi. It is interesting to mention that the house they lived in is still standing in its original place.

It did not take long for Choi to become famous; besides her performances, she also worked as a model for advertisements. Meanwhile, the Japanese pronunciation of her name, Sai Shoki, became well-known internationally. In 1938, she performed throughout the United States, and from there she and her team moved to France, to Germany and then to the Netherlands. She was proud of her “Chosun” origins, so she can be acknowledged as a pioneer of the Korean wave.

In the middle of August 1939, the Hungarian daily newspaper Pesti Naplo announced that Choi Seung-hee would perform in Budapest in October. However, two weeks after the announcement, WWII broke out, and the dancer was evacuated from Europe on the board of the Japanese ocean liner Kashima Maru. During the Pacific War, she performed in front of the Japanese soldiers several times, and was therefore accused of being a collaborator during the occupation, after Korea’s liberation in 1945.

Journey across the sea to North Korea

The accusations about collaborating with the Japanese and the difficult internal situation in South Korea led Choi Seung-hee to follow her husband to North Korea. In the summer of 1946, Choi and one of her students, Kim Baek-bong, the dancer’s sister-in-law, left for North Korea on a fishing boat. Both of them were wearing peasant clothes to camouflage themselves. But the route was not free of trouble.

The boat wobbled on the sea for 10 days, the mast was crushed and what was worse was that they ran out of food. Finally, the boat somehow reached the shores of Chinnampho (today’s Nampho city), North Korea. Kim Baek-bong, who later returned to South Korea, shared her first impressions about the North with me a couple of years ago. Kim had been very surprised when she saw several telephones on the tables in the local authority’s building; it was an unimaginably modern sight in contrast to what she had gotten used to in the South.

In Pyongyang, the iconic dancer established her new academy, the Choi Seung-hee State Research Institute for Dance. In 1947, a Soviet writer visited North Korea to write a book about his observations there, and Choi invited him to have a look around at the academy.

“Our truck reached the two-story building with a Korean-style roof on the bank of the Taedong River,” the Soviet author later wrote. “When we arrived, her pupils — all of them teenagers, wearing black ballet clothes — were running out of the building to welcome us. The practice was held by Mrs. Choi, with the assistance of Kim Baek-bong. Mrs. Choi showed the moves, and the students copied her. Listening to the melodies played on an old musical instrument, the girls moved gracefully. Their motion was in full harmony with the music.”

Two years later, in 1949, the pupils of Choi Seung-hee brought the Korean dances to Central Europe, on the occasion of the 2nd World Festival of Youth and Students. The biannual festival, which was held in Budapest that year, was the memorable youth meeting of the Soviet bloc and the third world countries. The aforementioned pupil, Kim Baek-bong, along with the daughter of Choi, 17-year-old Ahn Seong-hee, gave a performance in Budapest, where the local newspapers emphasized the daughter’s talent and skill.

“Korean Mother” in East Berlin

Following the outbreak of the Korean War, Choi Seung-hee visited Seoul again, following the footsteps of the North Korean troops — as was suggested in an article written by her in the Soviet daily paper Pravda. In the article, which was published in December 1950, the iconic dancer announced that she lost her only daughter, Ahn Seong-hee, who was killed somewhere on the battlefield. The announcement made waves in Central Europe.

But the news about Ahn’s death was false, and the papers reported in the end of January 1951 that Ahn was alive, and had been reunited with her mother in China. From then on, Choi operated her dance academy in Beijing, where her pupils were able to continue practicing.

A few months later, Choi and her daughter led the North Korean art ensemble to East Berlin, where the 3rd World Festival of Youth and Students was held in August 1951. The main attraction of their performance was titled “Chosun omoni” (Korean mother), which fascinated the audience.

In the story, Choi Seung-hee played a mother who held her dead baby, while Ahn Seong-hee portrayed a young mother who joined the partisans. The young girl was captured by the enemy, but she survived the torture and finally was liberated by the victorious partisans. Under the influence of Ahn’s dances, a Romanian female poet, Veronica Porumbacu, wrote a poem about her character. It was later published in multiple languages. The last verse expressed the poet’s wish that Ahn would perform again soon in Seoul.

From East Berlin, the ensemble moved to Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary by train. The North Korean legation in Budapest previously notified the Hungarian officials that in Warsaw and Prague “celebrating masses” had greeted the team, and vice ministers greeted them on arrival. Therefore, the North Korean legation covertly asked the Hungarians to take the same attitude.

Meanwhile, the Hungarian organizers had a hard time because of the several pieces of contradictory information they received. At first, the Koreans told them that the ensemble would spend ten days in Hungary, but later reduced it to four days. The Hungarians subsequently reorganized the whole schedule. The Hungarian officials were informed that the train would arrive in the evening of Sept. 17, 1951, but two days earlier the Korean side sent a notice saying that the ensemble would arrive in Budapest in the morning. Because of this, the welcome celebration had to be reorganized again. Moreover, after their arrival, the Koreans announced that they would not leave Hungary after four days, but would stay ten days in the country as it had originally been scheduled.

Complaints in Budapest

After their arrival, the team was accommodated in the Hotel Gellert, which remains one of the most picturesque luxury hotels along the Danube. Choi Seung-hee visited the locations that were proposed by the Hungarian side for their performances. She chose the Budapest Operetta Theatre for the rehearsals and for the main performances. The ensemble also gave a performance at the Opera House, where the Hungarian party leader Matyas Rakosi personally greeted them. The performances were successful, but, according to an archived diplomatic report, their stay was far from trouble-free. They were unhappy with their accommodation in the Hotel Gellert, due to the lack of huge conference rooms.

Furthermore, they were dissatisfied because the Hungarians did not recognize the ensemble as a “political delegation” despite the fact that two “war heroes” were among its members. After the various complaints, the Hungarians tried to pay more attention to satisfy the guests, and the ensemble was invited to the Opera House to see “The Nutcracker”, “Carmen” and “Don Carlos.” Meanwhile, various Hungarian organizations gave gifts to them: from the bicycle factory in Csepel, the team received two bicycles, from a textile factory all of them got silk handkerchiefs and from the provincial city of Gyor, the ensemble received vases and ceramic goods. The local youth organization gave them various musical instruments and some medical equipment, and the Institute of Cultural Exchange gave them more musical instruments, fur-lined coats and cigarette lighters. Choi Seung-hee personally got a coat, two dresses, a pair of shoes and nylon stockings.

Eventually, the North Korean ensemble left Hungary for Romania on Sept. 27, 1951. According to the archived diplomatic report, the North Koreans wanted to have a special train arranged for the ensemble, but it was difficult to organize. Therefore, the Hungarians attached four separated Pullman sleeping cars to the scheduled train for them. The performances of Choi Seung-hee and Ahn Seong-hee remained memorable in Hungary, but a very bizarre situation occurred after their farewell. Mr. Gyorgy Timar, a young Hungarian poet, never received the news that Ahn Seong-hee’s death was false, and he also missed their performance in Budapest. Therefore, he wrote a sad verse about Ahn’s death, which was published in a literary journal in 1952.

Reception in Beijing

As mentioned above, during the years of the Korean War, Choi Seung-hee had operated her dance academy in Beijing. One story about her from that period is also available in a reminiscence written by a Hungarian surgeon. Dr. Janos Denes and his fellows served one year in the Hungarian hospital in North Korea. On their way back to Europe in February 1952, the group took part in a reception at the Hungarian embassy in Beijing. Among other illustrious guests, Choi Seung-hee participated in the event, and she invited the whole group to her academy the following evening. According to Dr. Denes, around 130 North Korean and Chinese pupils were studying at the academy. Most of them were girls, but there were some boys, too. The evening was spent in good spirits, with the physicians enjoying the performance and the buffet. Dr. Denes left the place in the middle of the night by the embassy’s car, but the other doctors stayed there to enjoy the reception a little bit longer.

“Sado Fortress” in Transylvania in 1956

The next piece of the mosaic about the legendary dancer and her daughter comes from Romania, during the autumn of 1956. According to the local newspapers, the North Korean art ensemble arrived in Bucharest on Oct. 12, 1956. They performed their new dramatic dance, the “Story of Sado Fortress” (Sadoseongui iyagi), and then the team left for Transylvania, a region near the Hungarian border. They gave performances in Cluj-Napoca, Kolozsvar and Oradea, Nagyvarad, but they were still in the region in the second week of November. The reason they could not continue their trip to Hungary was the anti-Soviet revolution, which broke out in Budapest on Oct. 23, and the clashes between the freedom fighters and the Soviet tanks lasted for almost two weeks. It seems that the team was waiting for a decision on whether they could cross the border to Hungary or not, but finally the ensemble left for Czechoslovakia.

Just like the cases of other North Korean intellectuals and artists, the career of Choi Seung-hee and her family ended due to the internal turbulence of the regime. In the late 1950s, a campaign had started against all forms of “revisionism.” Therefore, Choi Seung-hee and her husband, the leftist intellectual Ahn Mak, lost their influence in the cultural sphere. Ahn was arrested in 1959, and he was soon executed. A former Hungarian diplomat, Mr. Istvan Garajszki, who served in Pyongyang in the 1960s, told me that the diplomats had heard some rumors at that time about the purge of Choi Seung-hee. According to the rumor, after a dance performance, which Kim Il sung personally attended, the North Korean leader wanted to greet Choi in her dressing room. However, the iconic dancer reacted “disrespectfully” to the greetings. She ultimately disappeared, with the circumstances of her death remaining unknown. But decades later, her grave appeared in the Patriotic Martyrs’ Cemetery in Pyongyang. The fate of her daughter, the aforementioned Ahn Seong-hee, who earned great popularity in Central Europe, also remains a mystery.

Mrs. Choi Seung-hee and her pupils in North Korea in the late 1940s

Mózes Csoma
Ambassador of Hungary to Korea

A FORMER ITV newsreader broke down in tears as she relived her stalker hell.

Isla Traquair suffered nightmares and panic attacks throughout professional gardener Jonathan Barrett’s “campaign of vengeance”.

Traquair, 42 – who has worked for ITV News and Channel 5 – was forced to flee her home in the Cotswolds after “weird” Barrett’s obsession began.

The stalker, 54, stared into her bedroom window and used a chainsaw to chop a bush in her garden – among other bizarre acts.

Ex-presenter Traquair broke down as she told Salisbury Magistrates’ Court how Barrett’s behaviour was more terrifying than “confronting murderers” in her work as a journalist.

Traquair – who has made programmes for the Oprah Winfrey Network in the US – was unable to eat or sleep properly and was left too scared to go outside.

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Barrett was convicted of stalking, ordered to pay £715 in fees and carry out 300 hours of community service following his trial in July.

Breaching Traquair’s restraining order against him could land him in jail, the court heard.

Struggling to speak through her tears in court, Traquair said: “Writing this very short statement is one of the hardest things I have ever had to write.

“Usually I am writing about other people, and I never thought I would end up in this position…

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“I have been scared and in a state of fear for my safety since early 2021.

“Things got so bad I had to leave my home suddenly.

“My friend’s husband collected me late at night so I could sleep on their sofa.

“Every aspect of my life has been negatively impacted.

“The insidious effect of [Barrett’s] erratic behaviour to intimidate me and cause me fear has been devastating.

“His behaviour has caused damage to my health and mental health.

“I have been riddled with anxiety. I have been to some of the most dangerous places in the world, confronting murderers…

“But I have never felt as scared as I did in a remote home in rural Wiltshire.

“I didn’t feel safe to leave my house or walk my dog. I didn’t feel safe to wear certain clothes and didn’t even feel safe inside my own home.

“I had no choice but to move out of my beautiful home. I can’t see myself living in this home whilst this stalker lives next door.”

She added: “My health has suffered; I can’t eat properly, sleep properly, it has impacted my relationships.

“It was relentless and tedious to explain [to people]. I have had nothing to offer as a human being.

“I focus on helping victims of crime, and here I was not being able to help myself.

STALKER HELL

“Stalking is not just a list of offences, it is an accumulation of hundreds of things that cause fear and alarm. It is truly terrifying.

“There is no excuse to justify [Barrett’s] campaign of vengeance.”

Barrett shocked Traquair soon after she moved into her home in Wiltshire by climbing over her garden wall and then entering her house to offer her a sandwich.

The journalist became so fearful of her neighbour that she spent thousands fortifying her home with fences and security cameras.

Traquair – originally from Aberdeen in northeast Scotland – now rents it out as an AirBnb.

Barrett denied stalking or harassing his neighbour and even claimed it was she who had become “fixated” on him.

When Barrett was arrested in July 2021, he told officers he thought Traquair was “petty” and claimed she had “divorced a wealthy man who runs a hire company up in Scotland”.

He said “because of her job, she knew which buttons to press with the police”.

The stalker also claimed Traquair had become “disturbed” from working on her true crime podcast, something he admitted knowing about her because he researched her life on Wikipedia.

Lead Magistrate Mina Searles warned him he could be sent to prison if he failed to adhere to requirements imposed by the court.

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Mrs Searles told him: “I am going to give you a warning: if you break any of the requirements your sentence could be increased. This can include going to jail.

“I am obliged to remind you there is a current restraining order. If you breach that, you can be arrested and brought back to court.”

When heading abroad for holidays , most of us know want to avoid getting into trouble and having a trip ruined because of a hefty fine.

We dutifully check that we’re abiding by the most up-to-date travel advice, from Covid masks on public transport to steering clear of becoming the boozy ‘Brits abroad’.

But, some unusual rules around the world can land UK holidaymakers with a fine if they’re found to have broken them – even if this is accidental.

READ MORE: Tourists in Italy could be fined thousands for breaking these simple rules

After all, nobody expects to get told off for wearing swimming trunks to a pool or dancing in the wrong place.

We take a look at six lesser-known laws in hotspots such as France, Italy and Greece – check them out below.

1. Avoid high heels in Greece

OK, so you don’t have to avoid your favourite glam stilettos everywhere on your holiday to Greece or its islands.

But, you should aim to wear flat shoes when touring ancient monuments.

By law, it is forbidden to wear high heels to the Acropolis, Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens and the Epidaurus Theatre in the Peloponnese region.

Eleni Korka, Director of Greek Prehistoric and Cultural Antiquities said, “Female visitors must wear shoes that do not wound the monuments.

“These monuments have a skin that suffers and people must realise that.”

The ban was introduced in 2009 and stands to this day.

2. Swimming trunks banned in France

A little known law in France means that swimmers must wear a Speedo when in a public swimming pool. Anyone who’s ever been to the beach or a lido in our neighbouring country may have been surprised to see so many men wearing the skin-tight revealing clothing, but it seems it’s a civic duty.

Thanks to the the 1903 law, all men and boys of all ages must wear a Speedo to swim in public pools.

Emmanuel Dormois, a head pool attendant in Paris’s 11th arrondissement previously told the Guardian that this was because of hygiene.

He explained: “Hygiene. Small, tight trunks can only be used for swimming. Bermudas or bigger swimming shorts can be worn elsewhere all day, so could bring in sand, dust or other matter, disturbing the water quality.

“By banning them outright, we’re not forced to stand there measuring what can be defined as swimming shorts. I accept that some men feel very ill at ease wearing small trunks, but others don’t mind.”

3. Don’t feed pigeons in Venice

Since 2008 it has been illegal to sell or distribute grain to feed birds in Venice. In fact, any tourists found to be feeding the city’s pigeons could be handed a 50 euro fine.

The rule is believed to have been put in place because the birds peck small gaps in the marble statues, buildings and facades that fill Venice’s streets.

Cleaning up and repairing the damage caused to the architecture by pigeons was costing taxpayers a fortune, reports Reuters.

4. Wearing a bikini in Sorrento

The Italian town on the Amalfi coast banned swimwear on its streets earlier this year.

The Italian hotspot has announced a new ban on bikinis – and those who break the rules could be risking fines of up to €500 (approximately £425).

The rules will also apply to tourists who walk around topless.

The good news is that you’re not going to get fined if you’re sitting poolside or hanging out at a beach club. Instead, the rules will apply when people are out and about on the streets of Sorrento, whether walking around the shops or heading to a restaurant.

5. Dancing in an unlicensed venue in Sweden

‘Spontaneous dancing’ in Sweden at a venue which does not have a ‘dance permit’ could land the venue owner in trouble.

Unless you know the bar or club has a permit it is against the law for you to dance.

The law was introduced in the 1930s and has faced multiple motions to dismiss it, but as recently as 2020 people were being fined for breaking the Footloose-style rule.

The Swedish parliament formally voted to delete the archaic article of the law, reports the Afrinik , but there have been claims that it’s still being enforced.

6. Plastic plates, cups and straws in Capri

In 2019, the stunning Italian island of Capri – just off the Amalfi coast – banned all single-use plastics that are not biodegradable.

The natural beauty of the area was being compromised as it struggled with the rubbish left by its 2.3million annual visitors.

Tourists will face up to a €500 fine if they’re caught using disposable plastic cups, bags, plates or cutlery on the island.

So if you’re planning a day trip or beach picnic be aware that you should take biodegradable items or metal or stoneware items to avoid a whopping fee.

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Fashion inhibitions…These words don’t exist in actor Ranveer Singh’s style vocabulary. The talented star never fails to amaze everyone with his outlandish fashion sensibilities. From exaggerated prints to holding a ladies’ handbag; the man literally owns his style. Stylists across the globe are happy to dress him up for the simple fact that, he can pull off any outfit!

Image: Instagram

He is one Bollywood actor who is always experimenting with his fashion choices. Ranveer doesn’t care about the criticism he receives for his offbeat style. For him, it is all about wearing what he feels is right! It makes him happy!

Here are the 7 times when Ranveer Singh broke gender stereotypes in fashion for good: