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Nick : @Mahrez Old grade : Co-Owner New grade : Owner Reason : Magnificent activity both inside the server and in the community, in addition to his continuous assistance to players and admins. CONGRATULATIONS!

Nick : Deliric Grade : Co-Owner Reason : He is not respecting the rules at all, (Using lm on afk's, flying during human mods, ect...). Click here / Here / Here / Here and Here. (Complaints from other admins.) Warning: It would be incorrect to give a single warning against all this; plus the previous mistakes that weren't noted (you are a co owner, so behave like one). This is your last chance. 3/4 Nick : sNuKki Grade : Pre-Manager Reason : He bought sniper mod twice in two maps and kept flying with jetpack knowing that the rules says otherwise. Click here Warning: 1/4

Accepted! Contact me in private.

Accepted! Pass me your information in private.

Crystal clear, nothing to discuss about this report. The decision taken is as follows: -Zenel will be warned! -Angrry has been removed! Thank you for your report!

DOWNGRADES; Nick : SkZarp / Fresa / F5*Kyo Kusanagi / shush / gzuz / device / Old grade : Pre-Manager / Elder / Moderator / Moderator / Moderator / Helper New grade : Player / Administrator / Player / Tag / Helper / Player Reason : 0 Acitivity / Low activity in the last 4 days / 0 Acitivy / Poor activity / Poor activity + lack of interest / 0 Activity. NOTE: THERE IS NO MORE FORGIVENESS FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT GIVE IMPORTANCE TO THE SERVER. MORE DOWNGRADES ARE COMING! UPGRADES; Nick : @DiaboliKK / @sNuKki. / @kAy_97 / @noby Old grade : Pre-Manager / Elder / Moderator / Administrator New grade : Co-Owner / Pre-Manager / Semi-Elder / Moderator Reason : Great activity, In addition to their monitoring of the server. Congratulations gentlemen! Keep it like that. NOTE: UPGRADES ARE GIVEN TO THOSE WHO MONITOR THE SERVER AND FULFILL THE NEEDS OF THE PLAYERS (HELPING THEM) WITH GOOD ACTIVITY ASWELL. +DON'T GET LAZY AFTER YOU GOT UPGRADED!

So far, I haven't noticed any mistakes coming from you on the server, as long you apply the rules and respect them, I accept you, don't disappoint me! Send me you informations in private.

Accepted! Contact me in private about your details.

Nick : rubio / JEBAC Old grade : Elder / Moderator New grade : Players Reason : They both left to other servers in order to obtain higher grades. (NO CHANCE TO RETURN AS ADMINS AGAIN!)

Accepted! Send me your informations in private.

This topic has been moved to the appropriate place. @Baghdadi Thank you for your report, but remember that being and admin means that you should know the location of each topic separately to avoid confusion, be carefull next time. @gzuz The evidence above shows that you are abusing commands. This is totally inappropriate, you have 8 hours to provide us with an explanation. If not, an action will be taken! EDIT: -It's already been 8 hours and we haven't received any clarification from @gzuz. -The decision taken againt him is as follows: Suspended for one day!

He is already been accepted here. Make sure to follow the rules, welcome!

The company recently released its financial report, announcing its "fifth consecutive year of record earnings," although it was actually the ninth consecutive year of revenue growth. Capcom said these profits were primarily due to its digital content (hello Resident Evil and Monster Hunter ). “Net sales were 110 billion yen (up 15.5% from the previous fiscal year), operating income was 42 billion yen (up 24%), ordinary income was 44 billion yen (up 27%), and net income attributable to parent company owners was 32.553 million yen (up 30.6%),” according to Capcom. In addition to these impressive numbers, the company revealed that Resident Evil Village has sold over 6 million copies, and Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin has sold over 1.5 million copies. in the world. In addition, Capcom has seen its annual sales of digital content reach 32.6 million. By way of comparison, the company last year had a figure of 30.1 million units sold (which is still very good). Capcom acknowledged that the rise in digital sales had boosted its revenue significantly, calling it a "very profitable" way to do things. Last month, Capcom revised its financial targets, given that its games are selling very well at the moment. Although not directly mentioned in its latest financial report, the company revealed in April that Devil May Cry 5 had surpassed 5 million sales worldwide. Looking ahead, Capcom is currently working on Street Fighter 6, though little is known about this next big entry in the iconic fighting game franchise right now. Capcom is also widely reported to be working on a remake of Resident Evil 4. LINK: https://www.puregamemedia.fr/actualites/capcom-une-annee-record-resident-evil-village-passe-les-6-millions/

Over time, the Octavia has become more attractive to face its rivals. With a habitability adapted to family life, the Czech sedan has also not failed to retain the performance niche with its RS version. This fourth generation has introduced hybrid-rechargeable engines in addition to the 100% thermal catalog. The look and dimensions of the Skoda Octavia Wise shapes no longer define the Skoda universe. If the third generation had paved the way for more marked lines, especially during restyling, the fourth generation drives the point home. Sharp look, salient lines, receding roof... The Octavia still asserts itself to seduce and plays the mini Superb . The RS version is dressed in specific shields, large-diameter rims or even black exterior inserts for a more aggressive effect. The trunk hook persists, to give the car the statutory look of a three-volume, but opens in the form of a tailgate. In this regard, the station wagon is still in the catalog with its generous trunk but it is nonetheless longer than the sedan: 4.69 m for both bodies. The Scout version raises the station wagon by 15 mm and gives it raw plastic protections on the shields, wheel arches and sills. More attractive on the outside, but also on the inside. The very (too?) serious presentation of the previous version gives way to a slightly more personal design, less attached to that of the Volkswagen Passat cousin . The dashboard is fluid with a sober and modern design. To compete with the Peugeot 508 and Renault Talisman , the Czech is full of technology with, to start with, a 10-inch touch screen (8 standard) and a Digital Cockpit present from the second finish. The driving aids include the essentials from the entry level with the Front Assist or the lane keeping assistant. Not the following equipment is expanded with the adaptive cruise control, the fatigue detector or the hill start assistance. In terms of habitability, it's XXL for the Octavia. With 600 dm3 of trunk, it fines the Opel Insigna (490 dm3), Mazada 6 (480 dm3) as well as the two French competitors mentioned above , all of which are larger. The station wagon increases the capacity by 40 dm3. On the other hand, the hybrid-rechargeable version iV is less welcoming with respectively 450 and 490 dm3 for the sedan and the station wagon. The internal combustion engines of the Skoda Octavia Under the hood the Octavia contains a summary of the Volkswagen group's most po[CENSORED]r petrol engines. The smallest block, a three-cylinder 1.0 TSI of 110 hp, is supported by four-cylinder 1.5 TSI of 150 hp and 2.0 TSI of 190. They offer the choice between a 6-speed manual or 7-speed DSG automatic gearbox, except the most powerful directly delivered in automatic. It is also the only one with all-wheel drive. The 110 and 150 hp TSIs in DSG7 offer light hybridization. For diesel, no complication. The range is exclusively made up of four-cylinder 2.0 TDI engines with 116, 150 and 200 hp. The first two also leave the choice between a manual or automatic transmission while the 200 hp version only offers the DSG7. On the latter, four-wheel drive is standard and optional on the TSI 150 DSG7. All this panoply is completed by a 1.5 TGI of 131 hp which runs on gasoline or compressed natural gas (CNG). Only the DSG7 is available on this engine. The plug-in hybrid version of the Skoda Octavia This fourth generation inaugurated the hybrid for Skoda. What's more, rechargeable. It is a 1.4 TSI which officiates with an electric motor of 85 kW to offer a power of 204 hp, or even 245 hp for the iV RS version with a sporting vocation. The 13 kWh battery (10.4 useful kWh) promises a range of between 61 and 85 km for the standard iV. The RS version displays between 59 and 86 km covered in all-electric. These two engines, already present on the Seat e-Leon and Volkswagen Golf eHybrid (204 hp) and GTE (245 hp), are mated to a 6-speed DSG sequential automatic or 6-speed manual gearbox. Recharging is done in 3h30 on a domestic socket. The sporty RS version of the Skoda Octavia One of the Octavia's strengths is its diversity under the hood. Alongside the engines for the general public, the Czech sedan has two supercharged blocks that make up the offer of the sporty RS version. On the program: a 245 hp 2.0 four-cylinder engine coupled to a 6-speed manual gearbox or DSG7. It only takes 6.8 s for the station wagon to erase the 0 to 100 km. The maximum speed is limited to 250 km. The big wheels are not forgotten with a 200 hp 2.0 TDI diesel version. Admittedly, it does not offer the mechanical gearbox, but it does offer four-wheel drive as an option. The main equipment of the Skoda Octavia Standard on Active, the Octavia features LED taillights, LED daytime running lights, power-adjustable door mirrors, keyless entry and start, automatic climate control, 8-inch touchscreen inches, four electric windows, cruise control/speed limiter , Front Assist, lane keeping assistant (Lane Assist) and small leather pack (steering wheel and gear lever knob). Ambition reinforces this base with 16-inch alloy wheels, automatic air conditioning, Digital Cockpit, heated multifunction steering wheel, visibility pack (automatic headlights, rain sensor, electrochromatic interior mirror), hill start assist , reversing radars and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto systems. The iV version also has a 10-inch touch screen, E-call emergency call, 18-inch rims and a driving mode selector. Sportline is equipped with LED front fog lights, LED rear lights with scrolling indicators, fatigue detector, 10-inch touch screen, heated leather sports steering wheel with paddles , aluminum pedals, assistance in the front parking lot, the reversing camera and adaptive cruise control. The Style finish is distinguished by chrome inserts on the outside, leather upholstery and heated front seats. Finally , the thunderous RS is equipped with a specific body kit, Full Crystal LED headlights with Matrix LED technology and auto-adaptive lighting , 18-inch rims, sports seats, heated sports steering wheel with paddles (on DSG), high-pressure headlight washers and carbon-style decorative inserts. In parallel with this muscular version, the Scout has its own equipment. In addition to the Style finish, this adventurous bodywork adds hill start assistance with descent control , wooden inserts, high-pressure headlight washers, aluminum pedals as well as specific upholstery and body kit.

badger, common name for any of several stout carnivores, most of them members of the weasel family (Mustelidae), that are found in various parts of the world and are known for their burrowing ability. The species differ in size, habitat, and coloration, but all are nocturnal and possess anal scent glands, powerful jaws, and large, heavy claws on their forefeet, which are used to dig for food and construct underground dens. The American badger (Taxidea taxus) feeds mostly on rodents, but Old World species are omnivorous. Badgers are classified into six genera. Some, especially the American badger, are hunted for their pelts. The American badger, the only New World species, is usually found in open, dry country of western North America. Muscular, short-necked, and flat-bodied, it has a broad, flattened head and short legs and tail. The colour of the coat is grayish and grizzled, dark at the face and feet with a white stripe extending from the nose to the back. It is 23 cm (9 inches) tall and 42–76 cm long, excluding the 10–16-cm tail, and it weighs 4–12 kg (9–26 pounds). The American badger is a powerful animal that captures most of its prey by rapid digging. Generally solitary, it feeds mainly on rodents, particularly ground squirrels, pocket gophers, mice, and voles. Other prey include insects, reptiles, and eggs of ground-nesting birds. Mostly nocturnal, American badgers spend the day inside a burrow often dug the night before. Home ranges are from 1 to 10 square km (0.4 to 4 square miles), depending on habitat and food resources. During the winter they sleep underground for long periods. To survive this period of fasting, they accumulate large amounts of body fat during late summer and autumn. Mating occurs during this time, but implantation of the zygote is delayed. Thus, although the young (usually two or three) are born the following spring, true gestation is only six weeks. The European badger (Meles meles) is omnivorous, consuming earthworms, insects, small mammals, birds and their eggs, and also fruits and nuts. It is grayish, with large black-and-white facial stripes. It is 30 cm tall and 56–81 cm long, excluding the 12–20-cm tail, and weighs 8–10 kg or more. This social species lives in groups within an extensive network of burrows called sets. Adult European badgers have few natural predators. In Europe tuberculosis and starvation are the most important causes of natural mortality, but thousands are killed annually by vehicles. There are two other species in the genus Meles: the Asian badger (Meles leucurus) and the Japanese badger (Meles anakuma). Ferret badgers (genus Melogale), also called tree badgers or pahmi, consist of four species: Chinese (M. moschata), Burmese (M. personata), Everett’s (M. everetti), and Javan (M. orientalis). They live in grasslands and forests from northeast India to central China and Southeast Asia where they consume mostly insects, worms, small birds, rodents, and wild fruits. They are brownish to blackish gray, with white markings on the face, throat, and sometimes the back. Smaller than American and European badgers, they average 33–43 cm long, excluding the 12–23-cm tail. The hog badger (Arctonyx collaris), also called the hog-nosed, or sand, badger, is a pale-clawed species of both lowland and mountainous regions in a range similar to that of ferret badgers. It is gray to black, with a black-and-white-striped head pattern and white throat, ears, and tail. It is 55–70 cm long, excluding the 12–20-cm tail, and weighs 7–14 kg. Hog badgers are nocturnal and find food by rooting. Their diet consists mostly of earthworms and other invertebrates, but they also consume fruits and small mammals. Nearly all species of otters face increasing threats as urbanization and logging continue. North American river otters (L. canadensis) are still taken as part of the commercial fur trade, but the primary threats to others are the destruction of wetland habitats and pollution. Heavy metals and contaminants such as mercury and PCBs accumulate in otter tissues and in time impair both reproduction and survival. Pollution also affects fish po[CENSORED]tions on which otters often depend. Conservation of remaining wetlands and restoration of water quality are currently the most important steps toward ensuring the future of otters. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), about half of all otter species are threatened. The IUCN lists five species—the giant otter, marine otter, and southern river otter (Lontra provocax) of South America, the sea otter of North America, and the hairy-nosed otter (Lutra sumatrana) of Asia—as endangered and two—the short-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus) and smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata)—as vulnerable. Most authorities maintain that 13 species of otters make up the subfamily Lutrinae. The status of the Congo clawless otter (Aonyx congicus) remains a subject of debate. Some researchers consider the animal to be a subspecies of the African small-clawed otter (A. capensis) and hence give it the taxonomic name A. capensis congicus. Most authorities claim, however, that the Congo clawless otter is a valid species and have given it the taxonomic name A. congicus. The classification below assumes that Lutrinae is made up of 13 species.

The common raven (Corvus corax), also known as the western raven or northern raven when discussing the raven at the subspecies level, is a large all-black passerine bird. Found across the Northern Hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids. There are at least eight subspecies with little variation in appearance, although recent research has demonstrated significant genetic differences among po[CENSORED]tions from various regions. It is one of the two largest corvids, alongside the thick-billed raven, and is possibly the heaviest passerine bird; at maturity, the common raven averages 63 centimetres (25 inches) in length and 1.2 kilograms (2.6 pounds) in mass. Although their typical lifespan is considerably shorter, common ravens can live more than 23 years in the wild, which among passerines only is surpassed by a few Australian species such as the satin bowerbird and probably the lyrebirds. Here are 10 fascinating facts about ravens: 1. Ravens are one of the smartest animals. When it comes to intelligence, these birds rate up there with chimpanzees and dolphins. In one logic test, the raven had to get a hanging piece of food by pulling up a bit of the string, anchoring it with its claw, and repeating until the food was in reach. Many ravens got the food on the first try, some within 30 seconds. In the wild, ravens have pushed rocks on people to keep them from climbing to their nests, stolen fish by pulling a fishermen’s line out of ice holes, and played dead beside a beaver carcass to scare other ravens away from a delicious feast. If a raven knows another raven is watching it hide its food, it will pretend to put the food in one place while really hiding it in another. Since the other ravens are smart too, this only works sometimes. 2. Ravens can imitate human speech. In captivity, ravens can learn to talk better than some parrots. They also mimic other noises, like car engines, toilets flushing, and animal and birdcalls. Ravens have been known to imitate wolves or foxes to attract them to carcasses that the raven isn’t capable of breaking open. When the wolf is done eating, the raven gets the leftovers. 3. Europeans often saw ravens as evil in disguise. Many European cultures took one look at this large black bird with an intense gaze and thought it was evil in the flesh … er, feather. In France, people believed ravens were the souls of wicked priests, while crows were wicked nuns. In Germany, ravens were the incarnation of damned souls or sometimes Satan himself. In Sweden, ravens that croaked at night were thought to be the souls of murdered people who didn’t have proper Christian burials. And in Denmark, people believed that night ravens were exorcized spirits, and you’d better not look up at them in case there was a hole in the bird’s wing, because you might look through the hole and turn into a raven yourself. 4. Ravens have been featured in many myths. Cultures from Tibet to Greece have seen the raven as a messenger for the gods. Celtic goddesses of warfare often took the form of ravens during battles. The Viking god, Odin, had two ravens, Hugin (thought) and Munin (memory), which flew around the world every day and reported back to Odin every night about what they saw. The Chinese said ravens caused bad weather in the forests to warn people that the gods were going to pass by. And some Native American tribes worshipped the raven as a deity in and of itself. Called simply Raven, he is described as a sly trickster who is involved in the creation of the world. 5. Ravens are extremely playful. The Native Americans weren’t far off about the raven’s mischievous nature. They have been observed in Alaska and Canada using snow-covered roofs as slides. In Maine, they have been seen rolling down snowy hills. They often play keep-away with other animals like wolves, otters, and dogs. Ravens even make toys—a rare animal behavior—by using sticks, pinecones, golf balls, or rocks to play with each other or by themselves. And sometimes they just taunt or mock other creatures because it’s funny. 6. Ravens do weird things with ants. They lie in anthills and roll around so the ants swarm on them, or they chew the ants up and rub their guts on their feathers. The scientific name for this is called “anting.” Songbirds, crows, and jays do it too. The behavior is not well understood; theories range from the ants acting as an insecticide and fungicide for the bird to ant secretion soothing a molting bird’s skin to the whole performance being a mild addiction. One thing seems clear, though: anting feels great if you’re a bird. 7. Ravens use “hand” gestures. It turns out that ravens make “very sophisticated nonvocal signals,” according to researchers. In other words, they gesture to communicate. A study in Austria found that ravens point with their beaks to indicate an object to another bird, just as we do with our fingers. They also hold up an object to get another bird’s attention. This is the first time researchers have observed naturally occurring gestures in any animal other than primates. 8. Ravens are adaptable. Evolutionarily speaking, the deck is stacked in the raven’s favor. They can live in a variety of habitats, from snow to desert to mountains to forests. They are scavengers with a huge diet that includes fish, meat, seeds, fruit, carrion, and garbage. They are not above tricking animals out of their food—one raven will distract the other animal, for example, and the other will steal its food. They have few predators and live a long time: 17 years in the wild and up to 40 years in captivity. 9. Ravens show empathy for each other. Despite their mischievous nature, ravens seem capable of feeling empathy. When a raven’s friend loses in a fight, they will seem to console the losing bird. They also remember birds they like and will respond in a friendly way to certain birds for at least three years after seeing them. (They also respond negatively to enemies and suspiciously to strange ravens.) Although a flock of ravens is called an “unkindness,” the birds appear to be anything but. 10. Ravens roam around in teenage gangs. Ravens mate for life and live in pairs in a fixed territory. When their children reach adolescence, they leave home and join gangs, like every human mother’s worst nightmare. These flocks of young birds live and eat together until they mate and pair off. Interestingly, living among teenagers seems to be stressful for the raven. Scientists have found higher levels of stress hormones in teenage raven droppings than in the droppings of mated adults. It’s never easy being a teenage rebel. The RAVEN Spirit; When a Raven totem has flown into your life, it signifies that magic is at play. Raven ignites the energies of magic allowing it to become one with our intentions and will. Great changes can be achieved at this time and dreams can become a reality. The Raven will show you how to walk into the dark corners of your inner conflicts buried deep within, opening the doors to the deepest power of healing to be within our grasp. The Raven is a member of the same family as the crow and the magpie, known as the Corvids family. While they are considered different species, the only real difference is that the Raven is considerably larger than the crow. Since the Raven and the crow are so similar, it is encouraged to also read The Crow Spirit Animal. Although they are quite similar, there are meanings that are unique to the Raven. Raven Meaning The raven animal totem is sometimes called the “Keeper of Secrets” and like all birds is a messenger between the heavens and the earth. The raven encourages us to dive deeper and to look within to seek the answers to put in motion the much-needed change. Often times these messages may be difficult, but soaring over hurdles and obstacles is how we grow most. Here are a few common meanings for this power animal. => Introspection => courage => self-knowledge => magic => healing => creation => rebirth and renewal => rebirth without fear => being able to tear down and rebuild => master magician => shape shifter => mysticism => transformation of difficulties into blessings => being able to find light within the darkness => Courage for self-reflection => Being comfortable with yourself => Connecting with the crone => Omens => Playful aspects => Stir life without fear => Sexuality => Honoring ancestors => Divination => Change in consciousness => New occurrences => Eloquence => Power of thought When Raven Flies Into Your Life Raven is assuring you of the impeding change. He brings with him the ability to bend time and space for the perfect moment at the right time. He signifies rebirth, renewal, reflection and healing. He helps the transitions and transformations move along smoothly by casting light into the darkness. When the Raven enters into your life, human and animal spirits intermingle. It is in the blackness that the Raven symbolizes that everything mingles until it is brought forth into the light. The Raven can help facilitate this moving into the light as well as shape shifting your life or your being. When Raven Enters Your Dreams When raven enters your dreams, expect changes in your life. It can symbolize the ending of a harmful habit or phase in your life. If you see a raven eating away at carrion or stealing food from others, this can symbolize that someone in your life may be taking advantage of your bad luck or an unfortunate event in your life. Raven is a guardian and a keeper of secrets. When he is in your dreams, take note and examine your fears. Working with raven will help you discover and slay your inner demons. If he is silent and still while looking at you, he is working his magic. If he creates a loud raucous, he is trying to desperately get your attention and have you take heed. There is an important lesson that you need to remember or your missing an important clue to the puzzle. If he is flying through the sky playfully, he is letting you know it is time to hold on because everything is going to accelerate quickly. Magic is present. In some instances, a raven can symbolize a death or an end. This is typically seen as feeding on a carrion or the preening of feathers which symbolizes rebirth. Things to Consider The raven has an abundance of folklore surrounding his history. Some positive, some negative. Some have said he brings omens, bad tidings and even signifies impending death. If the collective believes these meanings, then it essentially transforms it to be so. In some cases these omens could be true. It is up to you to decide and perceive the feelings you pick up on with each encounter and circumstance. Raven brings us to a higher awareness of our inner workings, our conscious and unconsciousness. He is a silent observer of his environment. An important lesson you may want to take the time to practice. Observe yourself, your environment and the people around you. The raven is persistent and will find a way to untangle the knots woven in a lifetime so that inner truths may be revealed. To be frank this one is my favorite!

The 1970s TV commercial for Smash, Cadbury’s instant mashed potato, famously featured a group of Martian robots mocking humans for mashing their spuds by hand. To peals of laughter, the chief robot concluded that humans “are clearly a most primitive people”. Spring forward 50 years and it’s tempting to think that, after the staff have shut up shop, the last-mile autonomous robots that now deliver instant mashed potato and other groceries to the people of Milton Keynes and Northampton enjoy an equally hearty chuckle at the expense of us humans and our efforts to develop autonomous passenger cars. Test cars with level four (out of five) autonomy and a human inside for emergencies are only now feeling their way around public roads, while the little delivery robots have been confidently navigating the more anarchic pavements of Milton Keynes on their own for more than two years, albeit with a human in a control centre ready to intervene should they be required (they rarely are). What’s their secret, and could autonomous cars benefit from knowing it? To find out, I went to their newest location, Northampton, to see them in action. I spotted my first robot trundling along a pavement a couple of miles from its home, the Co-op in Wootton Fields, a vast housing estate on the edge of the town. It cut a lonely figure – or, more accurately, box – no bigger than a microwave. Lonelier still when a couple walking the other way paid it no attention, even when, registering their approach, it moved aside to give them more room. As I got closer to the Co-op, I saw more of them; some waiting at pedestrian crossings, another midway over a zebra crossing and others trundling along pavements to and from the shop. While young children thought the robots were fun, especially each time a machine thanked the Co-op assistant after they had loaded it with shopping (they can swallow up to 9kg of groceries), adult shoppers simply ignored them. Dogs sniffed them but, fortunately, none cocked a leg. “I saw the robots on TV first and thought ‘we could really do with those’,” one shopper told me. “They’re not a risk on pavements. They slow down when they approach you, which is more than I can say for electric scooters.” Her friend said that she once saw a robot struggling to climb a kerb so gave it a push. “It thanked me,” she said, delightedly. The robots are built by Starship Technologies, a US company with a factory in Tallinn, Estonia (the one-thousandth has just rolled off the production line). Following four years of development, in 2018 the company launched the world’s first town-centre robot delivery service in Milton Keynes. Today, the town has the world’s largest number of delivery robots, with 120 of them trundling along its boulevards. Northampton came on stream in late 2020; it now has 30 robots, with a further 60 about to go into service. Other robots are hard at work in numerous American cities and university and college campuses and at a Volkswagen factory in Europe – which, given that Daimler is a shareholder in Starship, is quite a thing. To get around, the battery-powered robots, which have a top speed of 4mph and a battery life of 16 hours, see and sense their surroundings using 10 cameras, including time-of-flight cameras to determine depth, 3D radar and an array of ultrasonic sensors. Since they travel on pavements, where pinpoint accuracy is required, they follow pre-mapped routes and triangulate their position rather than being guided by GPS. The robots’ party tricks include being able to contra-rotate their six wheels so they can turn on their own axis and, when suddenly realising an object such as a car is approaching as they’re about to cross a road or a driveway, quickly reversing. Sensors and cameras aside, machine learning is the key to how the robots get around without incident. “As they move, they’re constantly adding to their database of experiences so that, for example, they learn to discern an approaching vehicle from its reflection in a puddle,” says Henry Harris-Burland, director of marketing at Starship Technologies. “While developers in the passenger car world are fitting increasingly sophisticated hardware to their autonomous development vehicles, we’re investing in the software that powers machine learning.” Away from the technology, Harris-Burland says that gaining the public’s trust and approval for his company’s robots is vital: “Even though our robots are doing only 4mph and are no taller than the average dog, people and communities can still feel threatened by them, so we have to prepare them.” Conversations with local councillors, a letter drop to residents, a dialogue with Facebook community groups, meetings with local charities whose clients might feel unsettled by the presence of pavement robots and visits to schools: all these help pave the way and allay fears that Starship’s new robots are about to take over the pavements. Starship’s approach is endorsed by experts in the world of autonomous vehicles. David Hynd, chief scientist at the Transport Research Laboratory, and Adam Gristock, technical consultant at Smart Mobility Living Lab London, are currently working with Servcity, a UK government-backed urban mobility project tasked with understanding how autonomous vehicles can become an everyday experience for all. “An important goal in the development of autonomous urban vehicles is that they should become boring and simply part of the furniture,” says Hynd. “Winning hearts and minds in the community at the outset is a key to achieving this.” Gristock admires how Starship’s robots cope with busy, unordered pavements. “Their speeds may be lower, but the requirement to perceive hazards and make split-second decisions is the same as for road-going autonomous vehicles,” he says. “Prioritising oncoming cars on congested urban roads is one challenge we’re tackling but which Starship’s robots appear to have overcome in terms of pedestrians on the pavement.” Clearly, those chuckling robots are still teaching us primitive people a thing or two… Robot wars Starship Technologies’ robots might soon have to have their cameras and sensors peeled for a new, bigger and faster road-going rival called the R2. Designed and manufactured by Nuro, a US robotics company, the new delivery robots will start work in California, where the company has been granted a commercial operations licence, next month. The R2 will be offered in two sizes, with one capable of travelling up to 35mph and the other 25mph. To guide itself and keep out of trouble, the R2 uses a combination of radar, thermal imaging and a 360deg camera. Elsewhere, retail giant Amazon continues to invest in the development of its Scout robots. It recently announced fresh research investment for its laboratory in Cambridge. Looking very similar to Starship’s robots, they began delivering to US homes in Snohomish County, Washington, in early 2019.

Queen’s Couture Queen Elizabeth made her first trip to Independent India in the winter of 1961. During the reception held at the City Palace, Jaipur, she complimented a lady for the saree she was wearing. The saree was made by Sir Norman Hartnell, the Queen’s couturier, and the lady was Rani Urmila Raje, grandmother to Maayankraj Singh, who remains an eternal muse for his brand, Atelier Shikaarbagh. The brand is now coming out with its 35-piece collection which comprises evening gowns, wedding gowns, day dresses and over layers, recalling the glamour of the ’50s and ’60s, when detailed construction and tasteful embellishment were celebrated. Called Primavera – named for the season of spring and its new beginnings – the collection will be available from March 2021 onwards. It has diaphanous organzas and crisp georgette saree paired with sharp blouses and jackets; flowy gowns with illusion necks; and couture- technique skirts in shikargah brocades. Singh says, “Primavera also features first-of-its-kind Indian lace. The collection has taken me three years to put together.” Atelier Shikaarbagh is currently headquartered in Kota (Rajasthan), and retails online via its Instagram handle and private appointments in Kota and Delhi. Cities of Dust Gallery Vidya Heydari Contemporary in Pune presents Fugitive Dust, an exhibition of artworks by M Pravat. The artist is known to examine architectural forms and materials, and in this ongoing exhibition, he brings together a range of media, including brick, slate and ink. The works are created from the vantage point of someone living in ever-expanding and ever-intensifying Delhi, a city constantly in flux. Pravat says, the dust that rises from construction sites and demolition drives never settles. “It thickens the air we breathe, forms clouds in the sky, sediments into the earth’s crust and flows into water bodies before returning back into construction sites. A city is a continuous cycle of solid, liquid and gaseous states,” he writes. The exhibition has been curated by Delhi-based curator and writer, Sabih Ahmed, and comprises sculptural installations, paintings, drawings, collage works and prints. The exhibition runs till May 2. A Korean Twist Jim Hawkins, a boy who runs an inn with his family, is visited by a strange captain. After the man dies under mysterious circumstances, Jim finds a treasure map among his belongings. What happens as Jim follows the map and goes into the unknown is the subject of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic, Treasure Island. The Korean Cultural Centre, Delhi, has organised a streaming of the play by the Seoul Arts Centre on YouTube. Blurred Reality Lifeline 99 99 is an absurd telephone line that interrogates the greed and alienation of human experiences. You, as a member of the audience, have to call a phone number, where you hear an IVR voice that asks you certain questions and subsequently connects you to one of the five fictional experiences available. You could have a one on one conversation with a conflicted sex-chat operator, an aggrieved idealist, a dude alien, a dead insurance agent or art personified. This innovative piece of interactive theatre is created by Kaivalya Plays. On March 20-21, 6 pm, 7 pm and 8pm. Charges: Rs 250. Groovy Tunes The show is a live digital performance in which 12 young, emerging artists from India and Canada start a conversation about love or the lack of it amid isolation and quarantine, about self-discovery, independence and more. An almost raw, unedited compilation of lived experiences and artists’ encounters with joy, loneliness and creativity is presented through art forms such as the spoken word, movement, mime, burlesque and music. Each performer introduces the story of the next performer, making space for spontaneous conversations and questions. Raw and real, the show takes audiences on an intimate, cathartic journey across continents, cultures and art forms. It is organised by Thespo in India in association with Paprika Theatre Festival of Canada and the Social Distancing Festival of Canada. On March 20, 8 pm; and March 21, 7:30 am. Journey of their Own Join architect Gautam Bhatia in his exhibition at Bikaner House in New Delhi. In this collection called Still Life, he presents 24 sets of miniature paintings themed on people, food, transport, religion, labour, love, home, and family, and of course, architecture. There will be nearly 240 paintings elaborating the sequence of life, from birth to death, and 12 bronze sculptures on the theme. For an architect who views the profession with a critical eye, Bhatia shows how architecture, like all things, has its own process of life and death. On till March 31. Bridging the Differences Attend a group exhibition by artists of the Art for Change Foundation. The works of 12 international artists and nine Indian artists along with works from the foundation’s collection will be on view. The theme for the exhibition is “What to do with Difference? Art and Artist as Bridge”. On view at the Art Gallery, Kamaladevi Complex, 11 am to 7 pm, IIC, Delhi. Bridging the Differences Steal Deal Dastkar is hosting Bonanza: The Bumper Annual Sale, which features 100 plus craft groups and craft-prenuers and their handcrafted wares at steal prices. The weekend will also feature live Kutcchi folk performances and wood carving and inlay demonstration by Abshar Hussain. On till 22nd March, at Dastkar Haat, Andheria Mod. 11am-7 pm. A Mix of Five Gallery Ragini in association with Ambassador, New Delhi, is showcasing Colloquial an exhibition of India’s traditional art forms curated by Nidhi Jain. The exhibition brings Gond, Pichwai, Kalamkari, Pattachitra and Madhubani – styles of paintings, through the works of seven artists. The artists include Dhavat Singh, Kumar Jha, KM Singh, S Vishwanathan, Prakash Chandra and Shoba Jolly. The exhibition is on till May 21, at Gallery Ragini, Ambassador Hotel. Talk of the Town The Bihar Museum Biennale is hosting a webinar on Art in isolation: The impact of the pandemic on creative languages on artists from Bihar. The panelists include GR Iranna, Subodh Gupta, Paresh Maity, Georgina Maddox, Arpana Car and Seema Kohli. On March 23, 6.15 pm.

The Kremlin said on Friday that President Vladimir Putin’s offer to speak by phone with US President Joe Biden was intended to prevent bilateral ties from completely falling apart over the American leader’s remark that his Russian counterpart was a killer. Putin made it clear that “it makes sense to have a talk to maintain Russia-US relations instead of trading barbs”, and he wanted to make it public to help defuse tensions over Biden’s “very bad remarks”, said his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov. In an interview broadcast on Wednesday, Biden replied “I do” when asked if he thought Putin was a “killer”. Russia responded by recalling its ambassador in Washington, DC for consultations and Putin on Thursday pointed at the US history of slavery, slaughtering Native Americans and the atomic bombing of Japan in World War II in an “it-takes-one-to-know-one” response. At the same time, Putin noted that Russia would still cooperate with the United States where and when it supports Moscow’s interests, adding that “a lot of honest and decent people in the US want to have peace and friendship with Russia”. He proposed the phone call with Biden in the next few days to discuss the coronavirus pandemic, regional conflicts and other issues, and he suggested that the conversation be open to the public. Peskov said Putin’s offer to make the call public was intended to prevent Biden’s statement from inflicting irreparable damage to the already-frayed ties. “Since Biden’s words were quite unprecedented, unprecedented formats can’t be excluded,” Peskov said. “President Putin proposed to discuss the situation openly because it would be interesting for the people of both countries.” Peskov said the Kremlin has not heard back from the White House on the call offer, adding that it was not going to repeat the proposal. “The request has been made,” he said in a conference call with reporters. “The lack of response would mean a refusal to have a conversation.” Calls between heads of states are normally conducted out of the public eye, but in one exception last June, the opening part of Putin’s video call with French President Emmanuel Macron was televised. In taking a tough stance on Russia, Biden has said the days of the US “rolling over” to Putin are done. And he has taken pains to contrast his style with the approach of former President Donald Trump, who avoided direct confrontation with Putin and frequently spoke about him with approval. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden would continue to look to cooperate on efforts to stem Iran’s nuclear programme and, more broadly, nuclear nonproliferation. But she said Biden did not regret referring to Putin as a killer and pushed back against suggestions the rhetoric was unhelpful. Russia’s relations with the US and the European Union already had plunged to post-Cold War lows after Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, meddling in elections, hacking attacks and, most recently, the jailing of Russia’s opposition leader Alexey Navalny after his poisoning, which he blamed on the Kremlin. Russian authorities rejected the accusations. Dmitri Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, forecast that the Russia-US ties will remain bitterly strained in the coming years and spoke about the need to focus on preventing any military incidents between them. “The most important thing in relations with the US for a foreseeable perspective is to avoid an inadvertent military conflict,” Trenin said in a commentary, adding that Moscow and Washington have the necessary communications channels. “It’s necessary to prevent possible incidents between the armed forces of Russia, the US and its allies, their aircraft and ships, or if they still happen, settle them immediately.” On Wednesday, the US national intelligence director’s office released a report finding that Putin authorised influence operations to help Trump’s re-election bid. The Biden administration warned that Russia would face sanctions soon over its attempt to influence the election and the massive SolarWinds hacks. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan weighed in the controversy, saying Biden’s statement about Putin was “unbecoming of a head of state”. “It really is not acceptable or palatable for a head of state to use such an expression against the head of a state such as Russia,” Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul. He praised Putin’s response as “very astute and elegant”. Erdogan’s comments came as Turkey’s efforts towards a reset of its troubled relations with the US remain unanswered. Since Biden’s inauguration in January, he has not held a telephone call with Erdogan.

There is a tremendous consistency to the things we’ve said about the Toyota GT86 and its Subaru BRZ twin during the past 10 years. In September 2011, a see-through full-size model of the coupé appeared on the Subaru stand at the Frankfurt motor show, with its drivetrain on full display. “It will have the lowest centre of gravity of any rear-drive sports car on the market,” we wrote. That November, I first drove the Toyota version, a disguised prototype when we still thought it would be called the FT-86. But while the name ended up different, what we thought about its purity remained the same. “If you add more power, you will need a turbocharger and bigger brakes, and that adds weight, and that’s where the downward spiral starts, right?” I wondered. Correct, said Toyota: “The key development for the FT-86 is that it’s a front-engined, rear-drive car with intuitive handling. A fun car is a car you can control. We rejected the idea of a car developed using numbers. It must have a front-engine/rear-drive layout, a naturally aspirated engine and a low centre of gravity.”’ The effect of all of those characteristics was startling. By the following summer, we had given the finished article a five-star road test rating. That autumn, it won our Britain’s Best Affordable Driver’s Car contest. Then it moved onto the full, non-affordable competition, and it beat everything in that, too. That Christmas, we named it one of our cars of the year (obviously): “The package is so well conceived and so persuasively delivered that the threat of diminishment shadows any possible alteration. More power? Perhaps, but it isn’t intended to be fast and a turbo would likely ruin the perfectly poised throttle response. A bigger, better, quieter interior? Well, okay, but we wouldn’t want to add a single solitary kilogram to [Tetsuya] Tada’s and [Toshio] Masuda’s [chief programme engineers of Toyota and Subaru respectively] hard-won 1275kg kerb weight.” In fact, we weighed one car at just 1235kg fully fuelled. By 2019, we were entirely accustomed to it, but it was clear that it was closer to the end of its life than the start. During a drive of a development GR Supra, Toyota had a GT86 on hand for a convoy with the larger new coupé. “Swapping into it,” I wrote, “I’m reminded of the advantages that minimal mass gives you. Sure, the GT86’s engine is wheezy, but working it hard, you can carry speed and enjoy delicate fingertip steering responses that are denied the heavier Supra. It’s a reminder of how exceptional the GT86’s chassis is, which I suspect wasn’t the object of the exercise.” Indeed it wasn’t. I like the Supra but, even in its new four-cylinder guise, there’s no chance that it can step on the toes of the GT86. Especially given that it’s way more expensive. And anyway, even if it could, now the GT86 is gone. Subaru withdrew the BRZ from sale last summer and the last GT86 left Toyota dealerships in February. It’s my favourite car of the past decade, and it’s fair to say that we championed it. Fat lot of good it did. When Toyota president Akio Toyoda gives interviews, sometimes dressed in a race suit, because he’s that kind of bloke (you would like him), he jokes about what tales he tells the company’s accountants because of making cars like this. I’ve sat with Tada as he has smiled and said similar things. If Toyota had sold a million GT86s, it might be different, but Toyota’s engineers have had to be creative to justify making this car in limited volumes. As Julius Levinson said in Independence Day about hidden government agency costs (only the latest cultural references here, dear reader): “You don’t actually think they spend $20,000 on a hammer, $30,000 on a toilet seat, do you?” Given that Toyota made a £5.74 billion profit in the past quarter, I imagine its accountants take this kind of thing in good humour. Anyway, here I am in the $50,000 hammer-and-toilet-seat. One of the last GT86s, a post-facelift car whose 2017 revisions centred on improving the interior and mildly updating the outside but left the ride and handling pretty much alone. Apparently, there were alterations to the dampers and steering but, without a straight back-to-back test I never had, I’m blowed if I could tell. It still feels… well, exactly like I said earlier. Today, I’m driving it to the coast, in winter, because everything is closed: out of season, out of favour, out of time, playtime is over… you get the idea. It has been two or three years since I drove a GT86, but the happy familiarities quickly come flooding back. The seating position is good, if higher than I remember, and the manual gearshift is positive. The car feels compact and you can see haunches on the edge of the bonnet, deliberately placed there to make it easier to judge the corners of the car. People bought hot hatchbacks more than they bought GT86s and BRZs because they needed family-friendly cars, but really the little coupé is more practical than you might think. There’s not a lot of leg room behind the driver, true, but a front passenger can scooch forwards enough to create usable knee space in the back, while the rear seats fold to create a decent-sized load bay. Less noise, more habitability? Sure, a Volkswagen Golf GTI would be quieter, calmer and easier to step into on a cold winter morning. But the GT86 is still a Toyota, so it warms through and defrosts quickly, it has heated seats and its engine settles to a muted thrum on a motorway. Ah, the engine. Cue the complaints. Too buzzy, too slow, there’s a flat spot. Look, I know it’s not perfectly smooth and makes ‘only’ 197bhp, but it spins to 7500rpm and it asks you to work it to make progress. Yes, to extract the performance (which, let’s be clear, got this manual car with no launch control from 0-60mph in 7.4sec in our road test, so it isn’t slow) you have to work the engine and gearbox. That was once considered the entire point of a sports car: you put the effort in and it gives rewards back to you. It did in 2012 and it does now. Heading from the seaside to good South Downs roads I know well, the steering retains its slickness; that light kerb weight, ever so slightly biased towards the front, helps it turn easily and on ordinary 215-section tyres; and there’s enough balance and adjustability for me to know that, even after nine years, this is still one of the best driver’s cars. One that could be ruined if a more potent turbo version replaced it – with a heavier engine, bigger brakes to compensate and, well, reread the previous page. Subaru won’t bring the next-generation BRZ to the UK, but the Toyota successor will come. Subaru has revealed the car already and it’s not turbocharged. The turbo would necessitate raising the flat four too high, so its 2.4-litre engine makes a naturally aspirated 225bhp at 7000rpm. Praise be. So cheerio to this car. I’m looking forward to the new GT86 with just as much enthusiasm as I was to the original in the middle of 2011.

The hubbub that descends each summer on a sleek exhibition hall in Basel, where collectors snap up art and hunt for hot-ticket new talent, is likely to be replaced this year by lines of socially distanced Swiss waiting for COVID-19 vaccines. The Herzog & de Meuron building usually hosts one of the world’s biggest art fairs in June, but last year’s event was cancelled due to the pandemic and this year’s has been moved to September. The adjoining congress centre, meanwhile, has been turned into a vaccination hub. The artworld is reeling from the impact of lockdowns, travel bans and social distancing, and fairs like Art Basel suffered more than most. The business of buying and selling art is having to adapt to limit the damage. Global art sales fell 22% in 2020 to $50.1 billion, UBS and Art Basel’s Art Market Report published on Tuesday showed the steepest market drop since the financial crisis. But the picture was uneven, as buying by the ultra-wealthy, notably from Asia, held up. In contrast to the 2007-2009 financial crisis, when many of the world’s rich lost money, the super-rich have become richer during the pandemic as financial stimulus and volatile markets served to increase their fortunes. Big auction houses, led by Sotheby’s and Christie’s, were already used to telephone bidding and online sales, and so could pivot relatively easily to appeal to cash-rich clients. Both reported an overall dip but saw record online activity and resilience among Asian buyers, while pre-pandemic trends of interest in Black, female and living artists were reinforced. This year, they hope to build on that, capitalising on an influx of young collectors who have found the online world more accessible than old-style auction rooms, and as more traditional buyers yearn to return to the real world. “There is enormous pent-up demand for experiences and even spending, once there’s a bit more stability and predictability,” Sotheby’s Chief Executive Charles Stewart told Reuters. “We have the potential for just the biggest boom for a period of time, assuming that we get to a place where people are comfortable leaving their house.” BEEPLE For Christie’s, 2021 has seen spectacular confirmation of the potential to create wealth from the virtual world as it hosted a record-breaking $70 million digital artwork sale this month. In an online auction held over 14 days, bids on the work by U.S. artist Beeple started at $100 and accelerated dramatically, with 22 million visitors tuning in for the final minutes of bidding. Christie’s plans to follow up on the success with further sales of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), or artworks that exist only in digital form. More people appear to be willing to purchase artworks online without seeing the real thing first. “What we have observed is the simple behavioural truth that collectors are more willing than ever before to buy from an image,” said Rachel Lehmann, co-founder of Lehmann Maupin, which has galleries around the world. But she added that the digital space presented a challenge for artists and artworks that don’t translate well into an online image. ALSO READ |Crypto investor ‘Metakovan’ named as buyer of $70 million digital artwork. WINNER TAKES ALL For German artist ANTOINETTE, lockdown was not all bad: the cancellation of public events allowed her an extended stay in the east German castle of Merseburg where she was working. Using only pencils, she is creating intricate drawings on 5-metre high panels that form part of a multi-year project on European cultural identity entitled “ALTAR of Europe”. Socially-distanced locals can watch her work through the windows and ANTOINETTE said they had become her network. “I’ve come to feel like a part of the community,” the artist told Reuters. But if she is fulfilled artistically, financially her situation is perilous, as commissions such as portraits have dried up during the pandemic. Smaller galleries are also struggling, experts say, because the pandemic has accelerated the concentration of the art world into fewer hands – very wealthy buyers and high-profile and established sellers. “Compared to the last recession, when everybody’s wealth went down, in this one billionaire wealth has really risen,” art economist Clare McAndrew, who authored the Art Market report, said. “These things are good for art sales … But it does bring us back to our old problem of the infrastructure being very top heavy and kind of winner-takes-all.” The UBS and Art Basel report found fairs accounted for 43% of art dealer sales in 2019 but only 22% in 2020, just under half of which were generated by digital events. “The digital world is concentrating buying on what is fashionable (on social media) and through the big galleries that employ more than 100 people,” said James Mayor, who has run the Mayor Gallery in London since taking it over from his father in 1973. Although he always attended Art Basel, he has avoided its digital offerings, which he says are no substitute for the real-life event. Some others agree. “So far, digital formats have not replaced this as we benefit from face-to-face interaction and the atmosphere of a physical fair,” Stefan von Bartha, director at Basel-based gallery von Bartha, told Reuters. It is not just galleries that suffer. During a normal year, Art Basel’s nearly 100,000 visitors to the city help boost hotel room occupancy to almost full capacity during the first four days of the fair, or by some 35%–60% over average levels over the week, Basel’s tourism office said. SOUL SEARCHING Galleries and advisers interviewed by Reuters anticipated recovery in demand for fairs and art tourism post-pandemic. Art Basel has scheduled a fair in Hong Kong for late May. Other major fairs, including TEFAF and Frieze, have said they expect to proceed with live fairs in some format later this year, complemented by digital participation. But even before the COVID-19 crisis, some said there were too many fairs, and galleries and collectors say they will be more selective, sticking to the more local focus they have experienced over the last year. In Hong Kong, galleries report strong business as China made an early recovery from the pandemic and the appetite for contemporary Chinese art grows. “People have become very used to the extravagance of big fairs and big biennales celebrated in so many major cities,” Leo Xu, senior director at David Zwirner Hong Kong, said. “Honestly, I don’t miss that.” The gallery, one of Zwirner’s six international locations, managed to increase sales in 2020, Xu said, primarily through outreach to wealthy, tech-savvy Chinese. Also in Hong Kong, the Villepin gallery, run by former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin and his son Arthur, opened in March last year at the height of pandemic lockdown and said it had done “very well”. In New York, gallery owners said there were positives, including a much-needed reassessment that might mean peripheral art fairs disappear, while Art Basel will almost certainly bounce back. Sean Kelly, who runs a contemporary art gallery in New York, said the loss of art fair revenues has been offset by cost savings from not attending. “We have to start thinking about the cost of the art fairs and I don’t mean the financial cost. I mean the physical and environmental cost,” he said.

Miami – Inspiring everyone from millennials to university-level lecturers, Manal Benchlikha’s song “NIYA” pays tribute to Moroccan culture-specific customs as the artist works towards the release of her album “360” in May. At the age of 27, urban pop singer-songwriter Manal Benchlikha has reached audiences from around the globe, showing off her artistic talent and advocating for female empowerment. Her debut single “Denia,” which earned her the title of Best Female Artist from North Africa in 2015 at the African Music Awards, highlighted her unique music lyrics and jumpstarted her journey to success. Followed by the release of “Kolchi Ban” in 2017 and “Taj” in 2018, Benchlikha’s music videos spurred a wave of public attention as she denounced the stereotypes induced by a historically patriarchal society. Benchlikha was considered an artistic activist as early as 2014, when she encouraged the younger generation to vote in the national elections in the music video “Mantsayadch” with Ahmed Soultan, Dizzy Dros, DJ Van, Muslim, and Shayfeen. In an exclusive statement to Morocco World News, Manal Benchlikha emphasized the value she attributes by using her music videos as a medium to address crucial topics such as gender stereotypes and feminism. She specified, “I work closely with my team to ensure that my music videos are produced in such a way that they depict crucial societal messages with a subtle air of sarcasm at times.” As she addresses controversial topics pertinent to her culture and society, Manal Benchlikha unapologetically voices her opinion while embracing and celebrating her roots and identity in these music videos. Her song “NIYA” propelled a handful of commentaries and praise. It entailed the story of a loving geisha or “shikha” who impatiently awaits her beloved to come and ask for her hand in marriage. Yet in a society where her occupation is frowned upon and her fate doomed, she never fulfills this fantasy. The music video featured on platforms across the nation and transcended borders, honoring a golden era with vivid representations of the rich stylistic period and customs of the kingdom. Extending beyond the walls of the music industry and its audience, a professor presented Manal Benchlikha’s “NIYA” in a college-level lecture at the University of Miami, in the United States, as a source to discuss the preservation of cultural customs through modern mediums. When asked about the incorporation of Benchlikha’s music video in the lecture, Dr. Suja R. Sawafta, professor of Arabic studies in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, applauded Benchlikha’s work. She told MWN, “It pays homage to the traditional aspects of Moroccan culture—specifically the culture that is preserved, practiced, and created by women for other women and by women for the broader Moroccan socio-cultural fabric.” “We see the duality of femininity in this video,” she stated, “how it is joyous and full of celebration and how it is equally painful and filled with a great deal of expectation, which can sometimes become burdensome for women to carry.” “Yet,” she added,” “Manal’s vision of these dynamics does not sacrifice the visual stimulant of beauty though it seeks to relay a potent political message.” Manal Benchlikha is undoubtedly leaving her distinct mark around the globe as she continues to use her artistic talent to inspire the public and preserve the precious Moroccan culture. She is currently working to release her latest album, “360,” by May 2021, while also handling the launch of her brand Bari & Soch, and using her platforms to positively influence the public.