Belgian

Belgium’s Brussels and Liege airports were forced to shut down twice due to mysterious drone sightings on Tuesday.

Belgium’s air traffic was severely disrupted after drone sightings forced two major airports to temporarily suspend operations as a security precaution.

A drone was first spotted near Brussels airport at 8pm (19:00 GMT) on Tuesday evening, followed by another incident at the nearby Liege airport, one of Europe’s largest cargo airports, according to Belgium’s public broadcaster RTBF.

Both airports suspended operations for an hour and reopened at 9pm (20:00 GMT), only to shut down again at 10pm (21:00 GMT) after a second sighting, RTBF said. Both airports resumed normal operations at 11pm (22:00 GMT).

Brussels airport said that the shutdowns may still impact air traffic on Wednesday in a notice on its website.

“Following drone sightings on Tuesday evening, flight operations at Brussels Airport were suspended for safety reasons,” the notice said. “This disruption has led to delays and some flight cancellations and might still impact flight operations on Wednesday morning.”

Flight Aware, a US-based flight tracking website, counted 59 cancelled and 43 delayed flights at Brussels airport on Tuesday. Some flights were also diverted to nearby airports, according to RTBF.

Authorities have not released limited information about the drone sightings, but Minister of the Interior Bernard Quintin said that an investigation was under way, according to RTBF.

“We cannot accept that our airports are disrupted by unauthorised drone flights. This requires a coordinated, national response,” he said.

The drone sightings in Brussels and Liege follow a similar incident on Saturday, when three unauthorised drones were spotted near a Belgian military base, according to Minister of Defence Theo Francken.

Francken said on X that he believed the incident was “not a simple flyover, but a clear command targeting [the] Kleine Brogel” airbase in northwest Belgium.

He said the drones were flying at a high altitude and could not be stopped with a drone jammer. They also evaded pursuit by a helicopter and police vehicle, he said.

Since September, Europe has been hit with a wave of mysterious drone sightings near civilian airports and military facilities in Denmark, Germany, and Norway.

Denmark’s intelligence service has linked the drone flights to Russia, and described them as a form of hybrid warfare intended to “put pressure on [Europe] without crossing the line into armed conflict in a traditional sense”, according to Reuters.

Oct. 10 (UPI) — A plot to attack the Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and other Belgian leadership was intercepted by police in Antwerp, and three young adult men were arrested.

Prosecutors described it as a “jihadist-inspired terrorist attack.” During a search in the Deurne area of Antwerp, police found a homemade explosive that the suspects were planning to attach to a drone to execute the attack. Deurne is near the prime minister’s residence.

“The news of a planned attack targeting Prime Minister Bart De Wever is extremely shocking,” Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot wrote in a post on X. “I express my full support to the prime minister, his wife and his family, and my thanks go to the security and justice services, whose swift action has prevented the worst. It highlights that we are facing a very real terrorist threat and that we have to remain vigilant.”

Reports said that Antwerp Mayor Els van Doesburg and Dutch anti-Islam leader Geert Wilders may have also been targets. Defense Minister Theo Francken said he couldn’t confirm who else was a target but that he was not.

Francken said on Flemish public broadcaster VRT, “it is terrible for Bart and his family, and of course it’s Islamists again,” BBC reported.

The suspects were arrested on suspicion of attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group. They all live in Antwerp, the prosecutor’s office said. The oldest one, who is 24, was released Thursday night due to lack of evidence. The other two are expected to appear Friday before an investigating judge.

At a press conference Friday, Federal Prosecutor Ann Fransen said searches found a “bag of steel balls” and a 3D printer with “indications that they intended to use a drone to attach a payload.”

She said there have been 80 terrorism investigations in Belgium this year, which is more than the number of cases in all of 2024.

Five people were convicted in April of a 2023 plot to attack De Wever while he was mayor of Antwerp. De Wever is conservative and is the first Flemish nationalist to be prime minister.

Evidence was found in a building a few hundred metres from Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s Antwerp residence.

Belgian authorities say they have arrested three people in connection with a plot to attack Prime Minister Bart De Wever and other politicians using drone-mounted explosives.

Federal prosecutor Ann Fransen announced the arrests on Thursday and said the group were under investigation for an “attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group”, according to Belgian public broadcaster RTBF.

“Certain elements indicate that the suspects intended to carry out a jihadist-inspired terrorist attack against political figures,” Fransen told reporters.

“There are also indications that the suspects aimed to construct a drone to which a payload could be attached,” she added.

Fransen did not name their intended targets, but social media posts from senior figures in De Wever’s government indicate that he was on the list.

“The news of a planned attack targeting Prime Minister Bart De Wever is deeply shocking,” wrote Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot in a post on X.

“I express my full support to the Prime Minister, his wife, and his family, as well as my gratitude to the security and justice services whose swift action prevented the worst.”

Defence Minister Theo Francken shared a similar message on X.

“Prime Minister, Bart, all our support for you and your family. Thanks to the security services. Never surrender,” he said.

De Wever did not immediately comment on the case.

Belgium’s Gazet van Antwerpen newspaper said explosives were found by police in an Antwerp building a few hundred metres from De Wever’s residence.

Evidence included an improvised explosive device still under construction, a bag of steel balls, and a 3D printer, the newspaper said. Police believe the group were trying to build a drone capable of carrying an explosive payload.

Authorities did not release the names of the suspects but said they had been born in 2001, 2002, and 2007.

One of the suspects has been released, according to Fransen, and two are due to appear before an investigating judge on Friday.

Gazet van Antwerpen said De Wever has been the subject of previous threats. Earlier this year, a Belgian court convicted five people of making preparations to carry out an attack against him.

The 2025-26 Champions League has just begun and the two Belgium teams in the competition have already made their mark.

On Tuesday, Union Saint-Gilloise enjoyed a dream Champions League debut as they stunned PSV Eindhoven with a 3-1 away win.

A youthful Club Brugge side then grabbed a commanding 4-1 victory over Monaco on Thursday – scoring three goals in the space of 10 first-half minutes to set them on their way.

The two Belgian sides have had recent resurgences.

Club Brugge have raced up Uefa’s club coefficient rankings over the past five seasons – going from 44th to 20th.

Union have made an even bigger jump, rising 38 places to 45th as they have reaped the benefits of a 2018 takeover by Brighton chairman Tony Bloom.

As recently as four years ago, Union were playing in the Belgian second tier.

They then narrowly missed out on the Pro League title for three years running, but last term they won the trophy for the first time in 90 years to guarantee Champions League football.

Club Brugge, meanwhile, have proved they are not to be underestimated on Europe’s biggest stage.

Last season they beat both Aston Villa and Sporting, and drew against Juventus and Celtic in the league phase before their campaign came to an end when they fell to Villa in the last 16.

And the club – European Cup runners-up in 1978 – came agonisingly close to reaching the Europa Conference League final in 2024 when they were narrowly beaten by Fiorentina in the semis.

Already this season, Club Brugge have beaten Red Bull Salzburg and thrashed Rangers 9-1 over two qualifying legs to reach the Champions League proper.

Their success has helped Belgian football, moving the association up to eighth in Europe in Uefa’s co-efficient rankings after dropping to 13th just a couple of seasons ago.

Over the past 10 seasons, six Belgian clubs have reached the knockout rounds of a European competition on at least one occasion – the same as their neighbours the Netherlands.

Controversy erupted over Wednesday’s announcement by Flanders Festival Ghent that it had canceled an upcoming concert by the Munich Philharmonic featuring Lahav Shani, an Israeli conductor who serves as the music director of the Israel Philharmonic.

In an online statement, festival organizers acknowledged that the canceled performance, scheduled for Sept. 18, was expected to be “one of the artistic highlights of the festival,” and that Shani “has spoken out in favour of peace and reconciliation several times in the past,” but that the decision had nonetheless been made because “we are unable to provide sufficient clarity about his attitude to the genocidal regime in Tel Aviv.”

“In line with the call from the Minister of Culture, the city council of Ghent and the cultural sector in Ghent, we have chosen to refrain from collaboration with partners who have not distanced themselves unequivocally from that regime,” the statement continued, adding that priority was being given to “the serenity of our festival,” and in order to “safeguard the concert experience for our visitors and musicians. ”

Backlash was intense and immediate, with many critics taking to social media to condemn the decision as antisemitic.

“This is not a protest. It is discrimination,” the European Jewish Congress wrote on X. “Targeting artists because of their nationality is unacceptable and undermines the very foundations of European cultural and democratic values. They only fuel hatred, with concrete consequences on European streets.”

By Thursday morning, an online petition in support of Shani organized by Iranian American harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani had garnered more than 5,500 signatures, including those of well-known classical musicians such as conductor and pianist Joshua Weilerstein, British classical pianist Danny Driver and cellist Kyril Zlotnikov.

“The Ghent Festival has chosen to punish an artist on the basis of his nationality alone,” reads the petition, which calls for an immediate reversal of the cancellation. “What is more insidious is the implication that any artist, Israeli or otherwise, will only be accepted if they express unequivocally the ‘correct’ opinions.”

“This decision will do nothing to save a single Palestinian life, bring a hostage home, or to make any improvement to the unbearable civilian suffering currently taking place in this conflict,” the petition continues. “It will, however, resonate loudly with those who equate an artist’s nationality with an excuse to exclude them from the cultural sphere.”

Martin Kotthaus, the German ambassador to Belgium, posted on X that he deeply regretted the move made by the Ghent Festival, adding, “The decision and the reasons given are incomprehensible. I welcome the fact that Belgian Foreign Minister Prévot and Flemish Prime Minister Diependaele have distanced themselves from the festival’s decision.” (Note: Matthias Diependaele is the current Minister-President of Flanders.)

Shani — a Tel Aviv-born conductor, pianist and double bassist —took over as music director of the Israel Philharmonic beginning with the 2020-21 season after Zubin Mehta stepped down. Earlier this year, his contract was extended until 2032. In 2023, it was announced that Shani would take over as chief conductor of the Munich Orchestra for the 2026-27 season, and he is expected to continue in both roles.

Shani is also serving as the chief conductor of Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra until the end of its 2025-26 season. Rob Streevelaar, general and artistic director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, issued a statement saying that the orchestra is closely following the situation in Ghent.

“Our Chief Conductor Lahav Shani has previously spoken out in the press in favor of peace and humanity,” the statement reads. “He has emphasized that he does not represent a political position, but wishes to contribute to unity and hope through art. He does this by way of various initiatives, including his involvement with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, founded by Palestinian scholar Edward Said and Israeli pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim.”

Flanders Festival Ghent is a three-week-long international music festival that attracts more than 50,000 visitors annually and features more than 180 concerts and 1,500 musicians. There are now calls for other participants to boycott the festival in protest.

I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt, writing these words with peace on my mind. Here’s this week’s arts news.

On our critics’ radar this week

Steven Skybell as Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof.”

(Jeremy Daniel I)

Fiddler on the Roof
This concert version of the much-heralded National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene’s production translates the beloved musical into Yiddish. Under the direction of Joel Grey, Steven Skybell reprises his much-acclaimed performance as Tevye. The show will include English supertitles for those who don’t understand Yiddish or already know the show by heart.
– Charles McNulty
8 p.m. Saturday; 3 and 7 p.m. Sunday. The Soraya, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge. thesoraya.org

Courtney M. Leonard, “Breach #2,” 2016, mixed media, part of LACMA’s “Grounded” exhibition.

(© Courtney M. Leonard)

Grounded
Featuring 40 works, spanning the 1970s to today, by 35 artists based in the Americas and around the Pacific, the exhibition continues LACMA’s ongoing emphasis on contemporary rather than historical art. The diverse work, primarily sculpture and installation, is billed as investigating “ecology, sovereignty, memory and home.”
– Christopher Knight
Sunday through June 21. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, BCAM Level 2, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. lacma.org

Neil Young performs at the Hollywood Bowl on Monday.

(Amy Harris / Invision / AP)

Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts
The veteran rocker will wrap his latest world tour — ostensibly booked behind June’s “Talkin to the Trees” album — with a sure-to-be-shaggy gig at the Hollywood Bowl. The Chrome Hearts include Spooner Oldham on organ, Micah Nelson on guitar, Corey McCormick on bass and Anthony LoGerfo on drums.
— Mikael Wood
7:30 p.m. Monday. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave. hollywoodbowl.com

The week ahead: A curated calendar

FRIDAY

A scene from the “Autos, Mota y Rocanrol,” which opens the Hola Mexico Film Festival on Friday.

(HMFF)

🎞️ 🇲🇽 Hola Mexico Film Festival
The celebration of cinema from our neighbors to the south features México Ahora, a curated section of the best recent releases; Nocturno, a selection of horror films; Documental, a nonfiction films section; the animated films of Hola Niños; and Nuevas Voces, a focus on emerging directors and their first works. The festival begins with an opening-night screening of director J.M Cravioto’s “Autos, Mota y Rocanrol.”
7 p.m. Friday. The Montalban Theatre, 615 Vine St, Hollywood. Festival continues through Sept. 20 at Regal Cinemas LA Live, Cinépolis Pico Rivera and Milagro Cinemas Norwalk, with closing night at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes.
holamexicoff.com

“Bosch Bird No. 3, 2014,” by Roberto Benavidez. Newspaper, paperboard, glue, party streamers, wire. 24 x 9 x 18 inches.

(Paul Salveson; courtesy of the artist and Perrotin)

“Hatching,” by Danielle Orchard, 2025. Oil on canvas, 90 x 56 inches.

(Paul Salveson ; courtesy of the artist and Perrotin. )

🪅 🎨 Roberto Benavidez/Danielle Orchard
The Pico Boulevard gallery Perrotin opens its fall season with two new exhibitions. Inspired by 15th century Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch, El Sereno sculptor Benavidez turns piñata-making into detailed figurative art with “Bosch Beasts.” Orchard finds parallels between motherhood and painting in her rich, evocative series “Firstborn.”
5-7:30 p.m. Friday opening for both shows; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through Oct. 18. Perrotin, 5036 W. Pico Blvd. perrotin.com

🎶 Made in Memphis
The performance collective MUSE/IQUE hosts a free, three-day open house paying tribute to “Stax Records, Soul and The Black Artists Who Started a Sound Revolution.” Rachael Worby leads an ensemble that features LaVance Colley, DC6 Singers Collective, Chris Pierce and Sy Smith, founder of the nu-soul movement
7:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday. Caltech, Beckman Auditorium, 332 S. Michigan Ave., Pasadena. muse-ique.com

SATURDAY
🎨 Bisa Butler
The New Jersey artist responds to how it feels to be an African American woman living in 2025 with quilted portraits on jet-black cotton or black velvet.
6-8 p.m. Saturday, opening reception; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through Nov. 1. Jeffrey Deitch, 7000 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. deitch.com

🎭 🎶 Huzzah!
Two sisters battle to save their father’s Renaissance fair from financial ruin in the world premiere of a musical comedy by Olivier Award winners and Tony Award nominees Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, directed by Annie Tippe.
8 p.m. Saturday through Oct. 19. Old Globe Theatre, 1363 Old Globe Way, San Diego. theoldglobe.org

La Santa Cecilia band members, Pepe Carlos, from left, Marisoul, Alex Bendana and Miguel “Oso” Ramirez.

(Berenice Bautista / Associated Press)

🎸 🎶 La Santa Cecilia
The Grammy-winning quartet fronted by Marisol “La Marisoul” Hernandez crosses borders and genres with passionate songs of love, identity and social justice, fusing Latin American traditions and global rhythms.
8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13, and 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14. The Luckman, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles. luckmanarts.org

“Day Moon Shore/Through and Before the Immediate Trees” by Annie Lapin, 2025. Acrylic on Linen 68 x 94 in 172.7 x 238.8 cm

(Courtesy of the artist and Nazari an / Curcio.)

🎨 Annie Lapin
The L.A.-based artist blends representation and abstraction to reimagine the Southern California landscape in “Fragile Familiar,” a solo exhibition of new paintings.
6-8 p.m. Saturday, opening reception; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through Oct. 25. Nazarian / Curcio, 616 N. La Brea Ave. nazariancurcio.com

🎼 A Musical Genesis
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, led by Music Director Jaime Martín, is joined by cellist Nicolas Altstaedt for a program featuring Haydn‘s “La poule,” Schumann’s “Cello Concerto” and Beethoven‘s “Symphony No. 5.”
7:30 p.m. Saturday. Zipper Hall, 200 South Grand Ave., downtown L.A.; 4 p.m. Sunday, The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. laco.org

Virginia Errázuriz, “Untitled, from the series Cancelados,” circa 1979; mixed media; part of “Transgresoras” exhibition at California Museum of Photography on Riverside.

(© Virginia Errázuriz)

🎨 Transgresoras: Mail Art and Messages, 1960s–2020s
In the U.S., the emergence in the 1950s of the first lively American market for new art led to some artists developing strategies for getting around the limitations of galleries and commerce. In Latin America, meanwhile, artists often faced censorship. Mail art that could circulate through the post office was simultaneously invented in both places to serve those situations, as this intergenerational survey plans to explore. (Christopher Knight)
Noon-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, through Sept. 24; noon-5 p.m. Thursday and Friday: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 25-Feb. 15. California Museum of Photography, 3824 Main St., Riverside. ucrarts.ucr.edu

SUNDAY
🎞️ Jaws: The Exhibition
This deep dive into Steven Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster, starring Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw, takes guests through the movie scene by scene via original objects, behind-the-scenes revelations and interactive moments. The film itself screens in 4K at 6:30 p.m. Sunday in the museum’s David Geffen Theater.
10 a.m. Sunday-Monday, Tuesday-Saturday, through July 26. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org

Kim Eung Hwa & Korean Dance Company at the Ford

💃 Kim Eung Hwa & Korean Dance Company
Bring the whole family to a gorgeous outdoor amphitheater to enjoy a colorful performance by this 45-year-old traditional dance company. The show commemorates the Korean fall festival Hangawi, which celebrates the harvest season. Traditional drums, as well as fan-and-flower-crown dances, will be performed to lively Korean folk music. (Jessica Gelt)
11:30 a.m. Sunday. The Ford, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. E. theford.com

🎸 🇲🇽 Zona Libre: A Musical Celebration of Latino L.A.
Skirball Cultural Center, Grand Performances and Zócalo Public Square present a day of musical performances by Renee Goust, Vivir Quintana and La Verdad, plus dance workshops, panel conversations, food and museum exhibitions.
3-9:30 p.m. Sunday. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. skirball.org

WEDNESDAY
🎼 🎹 Thomas Kotcheff
The pianist is joined by musician Bryan Curt Kostors and video artist Allison Tanenhaus as they perform works from Kotcheff’s new album, “Between Systems,” as well as interpretations of music by Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Cher, Céline Dion and Beyoncé.
8 p.m. 2220 Arts + Archives, 2220 Beverly Blvd. pianospheres.org

🎨 Hélio Oiticica
The first major L.A. exhibition in Los Angeles of the artist (1937-1980) includes gouaches, suspended sculptures and a rare oil painting that trace the formative years of Oiticica’s career
6-8 p.m. Wednesday opening; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through Nov. 1. Lisson Gallery, 1037 N. Sycamore Ave. lissongallery.com

THURSDAY

Nine Inch Nails vocalist Trent Reznor performing in 2008.

(Stephen Brashear / Associated Press)

🎸 🎶 Nine Inch Nails
The band has a new album of sorts out Sept. 19 in “Tron: Ares,” the latest film score from Trent Reznor and his partner Atticus Ross. The group’s “Peel It Back” tour hits the Forum for two nights; the band looks to be playing in the round for some experimental passages before firing on all cylinders with its new (and old) drummer Josh Freese, who they swapped in from Foo Fighters just days before the tour started. (August Brown)
7:30 p.m. Thursday and Sept. 19. Kia Forum, 3900 W. Manchester Blvd., Inglewood. thekiaforum.com

Culture news and the SoCal scene

“Sealstone with a Battle Scene (The Pylos Combat Agate),” Minoan, 1630 – 1440 BCE; banded agate, gold and bronze.

(Jeff Vanderpool)

Times art critic Christopher Knight weighs in with a review of a “captivating” exhibition, “The Kingdom of Pylos: Warrior-Princes of Ancient Greece,” at the Getty Villa — the first at the museum since January’s ferocious Palisades fire. The most fascinating object on view is a 1.3-inch-long, almond-shaped, gold-tipped agate, carved with an exquisitely detailed battle scene that is almost undetectable to the human eye. The piece is on display outside of Europe for the first time, and is part of a trove of treasures found with the entombed Griffin Warrior — also on display.

Times theater critic Charles McNulty also headed for the Getty Villa for its annual outdoor theater show. This year’s performance of “Oedipus the King, Mama!” comes courtesy of Troubadour Theater Company and turns the Villa’s grounds “into a Freudian carnival of psychosexual madness,” writes McNulty. The show pairs Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King” with Elvis, the king of rock ’n’ roll, to hilarious effect.

McNulty also caught A Noise Within’s production of Richard Bean’s farce “One Man, Two Guvnors,” which is based on “The Servant of Two Masters,” Carlo Goldoni’s mid-18th-century comedy. The classic commedia dell’arte antics follow a hungry busker who clandestinely works for two bosses in 1960s Brighton. “Bean’s play is impressively worked out, mathematically and verbally. The wit is crisp and the comic routines are evergreen, all the more so for the sharpness of the playing,” McNulty writes of the show.

Manuel Oliver is photographed at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

I sat down with Manuel and Patricia Oliver at the Kirk Douglas Theatre to talk about Manuel’s upcoming performance of his one-man-show, “Guac,” which explores the life and death of their son, Joaquin, who was killed in the 2018 Parkland school shooting. Our conversation included plenty of discussion about the Olivers’ quest to effect gun reform in the wake of their unimaginable loss. Creative forms of activism — including theater — are at the heart of those efforts.

I also went to opening night of “Hamilton” on the big screen at the El Capitan Theatre on Friday. I wrote an essay about how the live recording of the stage musical might be the most political film of the year. Here’s why.

A-Z Wagon Stations by Andrew Zittel

(Photo by Lance Brewer. © Andrea Zittel, Courtesy of the artist, Regen Projects, and High Desert Test Sites)

Mirage, Palm Springs, United States. Architect: Doug Aitken, 2017

(Raimund Koch / View via Alamy)

On Thursday, Dwell released its list of “The 25 most important homes of the past 25 years,” and three California structures made the list: A-Z West by Andrea Zittel near Joshua Tree; artist Doug Aitken’s Mirage, which was featured in 2017’s inaugural Desert X exhibition; and the house Axel Vervoordt built for Kim Kardashian in Hidden Hills. Zittel’s creations were featured on Dwell’s cover in its December 2002 issue and is a series of futuristic-looking “escape pods” that open up to the great outdoors and contain little more than a bed and a few hooks for belongings. Aitken made his mark when he covered a ranch-style house in mirrors that effectively camouflaged the house in its arid surroundings. “The mirrors made for iconic selfies, and onlookers clogged up the once-quiet streets, in an attempt not just to see the installation but to take a picture of themselves reflected in this viral ‘house,’” the entry on “Mirage” reads. Kardashian’s house is referred to as “The ship that launched a thousand beiges.” “Vervoordt, along with Claudio Silvestrin, Vincent Van Duysen, and Family New York, stripped back the details of a generic mansion to create a very strange blend of suburbia and austere European luxury that — for better or worse — set the standard for boring high-end home design in the Instagram age,” Dwell wrote.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art announced that it has been gifted Francis Bacon’s 1969 triptych, “Three Studies of Lucian Freud,” from the estate of philanthropist Elaine Wynn, who died in April and served as a co-chair of LACMA’s board of trustees. It is the first work by Bacon in LACMA’s collection, and will be included in the inaugural installation of the museum’s new David Geffen Galleries. Wynn paid $142 million for the piece at auction.

In the wake of philanthropist Wallis Annenberg’s death, the Wallis Annenberg Legacy Foundation has announced a $10-million gift that will be split evenly between four initiatives of great importance to Annenberg: Santa Monica’s Annenberg Community Beach House; student internships at USC’s Wallis Annenberg Hall; free and low-cost performances for underserved audiences at Beverly Hills’ Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts; and the Wildlife Crossing Fund in Agoura Hills.

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

Features columnist Todd Martens says that the most exciting immersive show in L.A. is a funeral. Read all about the show, “The Cortège,” which also features the substantial talents of twins Emily and Elizabeth Hinkler.

ON July 22, 2025, R&S Records came home.

The pioneering Belgian label, founded in Ghent in 1984, staged a free party at the week-long street festival, Gentse Feesten, transforming the city’s historic centre into a vast, open-air dancefloor.

6

With thousands gathering to hear Nastia, Charles Webster (live), LTJ Bukem, and founder Renaat Vandepapeliere himself, the night felt like both a celebration of R&S’s stories past and a bold statement of intent for its future.

Renaat’s set was as fearless as his impeccable, genre defying label with a diverse selection of electronica challenging and delighting the crowd.

6

For Vandepapeliere, the night was a leap into the unknown. “Honestly, I almost backed out myself,” he admitted. “I’ve never played for 6,000 people and I was nervous. I even called around to find someone to replace me, but a few friends convinced me to just go for it.

“The main goal was to take a risk and hopefully entertain some new people. Many had never heard us or the music before.”

6

Risk-taking has always been central to R&S. From the early days of releasing Joey Beltram’s Energy Flash, Model 500 and Aphex Twin, to shaping the careers of CJ Bolland, James Blake and many more, the label has built its reputation on fearless choices.

“We had no idea, we weren’t trying to be anything other than sharing music we liked and believed in,” Vandepapeliere reflected. “Let’s be honest, good music is good music. There is, as I always say, the right time and the right place to play whatever it is.”

6

That philosophy was evident in the Ghent lineup, which spanned genres and generations.

“It’s an opportunity to bring other people into the genre that aren’t necessarily into those sounds,” Vandepapeliere explained. “It has raw authenticity and a depth behind it. I could make a billion lineups like that, there’s so much talent and exciting music to share.”

His own set was guided by instinct and emotion. “It was intuitive, with many influences,” he said. “Today, if a set is different, it could be bad, so my honest opinion is to ask the crowd.”

6

The reaction was telling. He added: “You didn’t see any phones going up and all that. It was random people wondering what the hell was going on, of all ages, which I also find very interesting.”

For Vandepapeliere, who has spent much of his career behind the scenes, the experience rekindled something powerful. “Let’s say it’s actually set a new spark,” he admitted. “I now want to play more.”

Looking ahead, he is keen to build on the success of the Gentse Feesten. He said: “I would love to do more events. I don’t know if it’s possible, but yes, I’d really love to. Keeping it different, keeping it fresh, I think that would be really cool.”

6

But through all the years and transformations of dance music, Vandepapeliere insists the spirit of R&S hasn’t changed.

“We always wanted to be an eclectic label,” he said. “Not really be pushed into a certain corner and have a freedom of expression.

“It’s definitely not about formula. I wanted to be free. That’s all. You have to love what you’re doing and work for it. Nothing comes that easy. It is work, with a lot of failures and a lot of frustration. But hey, that’s the price you have to pay for freedom.”

With the power units being made simpler next year, will they generate more noise than presently (I accept they will never sound like they did up until 2013)? I consider it an embarrassment for the sport that the F3 cars (and Porsche Cup cars) that also race on the F1 weekends are louder than the main event – Raffi

The impression might be that the new engines being introduced next year should be louder because they will no longer have an MGU-H – the device that recovers energy from the turbo.

But I am told that while they might be a little louder than currently, they won’t be that different, because they still have turbos, which is the overriding impact on the sound.

As you may have read, there is a push from governing body the FIA at the moment to return F1 to older-style naturally aspirated engines, and that’s partly because of the noise.

Initially, this seems to have come from a whim of FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, with influence from Bernie Ecclestone and Christian Horner, rather than a reasoned opinion based on thorough research of the desires of the audience.

However, it does chime with concerns that exist about how F1 will look next year because of the energy-recovery demands of the new engines, which have close to 50% of their total power output coming from the electrical part of the engine.

From what I’m told about fan surveys done by F1, there is no widespread agreement on whether louder engines would be a positive.

Some – like Raffi – obviously think they would be.

But the F1 fanbase has changed a lot in recent years, and inside the sport there is concern that newer members of the audience – more women and children now come to races, for example – would not welcome engines that made so much noise as to be virtually deafening, that made ear defenders an absolute necessity, that stopped people having a comfortable conversation when the race was on, etc. Likewise the guests in the corporate boxes.

Equally, city races such as Miami and Las Vegas would be threatened if the cars suddenly became much noisier than was promised to residents when discussions about the races took place.

It would highly likely revive the complaints that used to take place in Melbourne about this, too.

The world has moved on in many different ways since the first decade of this century, and it’s far from clear that effectively turning the clock back 20 or 30 years would be a good idea, even if it was with the addition of a token hybrid element to the engines and sustainable fuel.

Talks are ongoing on the future direction of engines from 2030 or so onwards, but they are a long way from reaching a conclusion.

There is a sense that V8s might return – many manufacturers in F1 still make V8s for road cars. But most say a hybrid element is non-negotiable, and some – such as Audi – are currently insisting on a turbo, too. A conclusion is a long way away.

Piastri had demonstrated how difficult it is for the driver on pole to lead by the end of the first lap at Spa by losing the sprint race win to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

The Dutchman slipstreamed past Piastri up the hill to Les Combes, and then held the McLaren at bay for 15 laps, while Norris followed closely in third.

In the grand prix, it was Norris in front, with Piastri in second and Piastri had been thinking about the opportunity this presented him since losing out on pole the day before.

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella said: “This weekend, Oscar, if anything, the only inaccuracy was in qualifying, where his laps weren’t perfect.

“At the same time, we have to say that after the sprint qualifying, he said, ‘Yeah, I’m in pole position, but maybe this is not the right place to be in pole position.’

“And as a joke, after the qualifying yesterday, he said, ‘That was not my best lap in Q3, but perhaps this is the best place not to have the best lap in Q3.'”

Sure enough, Piastri took the lead on lap one of the grand prix, just as Verstappen had the day before.

“I had a good run out of Turn One,” he said, “and then tried to be as brave as I could through Eau Rouge and was able to stay pretty close. After that, the slipstream did the rest for me.

“When I watched the onboard back, it didn’t look quite as scary as it felt in the car. I knew that I had to be very committed to pull that off.”

But Norris could have done a better job. For a start, he failed to build himself a gap over the finish line by arguably going too early at the restart. Then he made a mistake at La Source, which allowed Piastri to be right on his tail approaching Eau Rouge.

“I didn’t have the best Turn One,” Norris said. “So it’s hard to know how much that played a part. At the same time, Oscar came past me pretty easily. So even if I had a better Turn One, his run and the slipstream probably still would have got me.”

Stella said: “It would have always been very difficult for Lando to keep the position starting first at the safety car restart. At the same time, I think Lando didn’t help himself by not having a great gap on the finish line.”

Oscar Piastri controlled the rain-delayed race, extending his F1 Championship lead over McLaren teammate Lando Norris.

Oscar Piastri passed McLaren teammate and title rival Lando Norris with a bold early move to win the rain-delayed Belgian Grand Prix and extend his Formula One lead to 16 points.

Charles Leclerc was a distant third for Ferrari on Sunday, as reigning champions McLaren celebrated their sixth one-two finish in 13 races and the third in a row.

The race at Spa-Francorchamps was red-flagged after an initial formation lap and delayed by an hour and 20 minutes due to the weather, with standing water and heavy spray affecting visibility.

Piastri was in no mood for hanging around when the racing got going with a rolling start after four laps behind the safety car to check conditions.

The Australian slipstreamed Norris through the daunting Eau Rouge section of the track and then scythed past down the Kemmel straight into Les Combes in a move of total commitment in the treacherous conditions.

“I knew lap one would be my best chance of winning the race. I got a good exit out of Turn One; lifted as little as I dared out of Eau Rouge,” he said.

“The rest of the race we managed really well. I struggled at the end. Maybe the mediums were not the best for the last five or six laps. We had it mostly under control.”

The win was his sixth of 2025, making the 24-year-old the first Australian – on a list that includes past world champions Jack Brabham and Alan Jones – to win that many races in a single F1 season.

Norris had a slight battery issue, with the Briton asking over the radio why he had “no pack”, before his race engineer assured him it was coming back, but he was not looking for any excuses afterwards.

“Oscar just did a good job. Nothing more to say. Committed a bit more through Eau Rouge, and had the slipstream and got the run,” he said.

“So, nothing to complain of. He did a better job in the beginning, and that was it. Nothing more I could do after that point. I would love to be up top, but Oscar deserved it today.”

Two-horse race

Piastri now has 266 points to Norris’s 250. The Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen is third but 81 points off the lead. The championship is more than ever a two-horse race, with Hungary up next weekend before the August break.

McLaren lead the constructors’ standings, with 516 points to Ferrari’s 248, while Mercedes fell further behind their Italian rivals on 220.

Piastri pitted on lap 12 of 44 to switch from intermediates to medium tyres on a drying track. Norris followed a lap later, but he opted for the hards and rejoined nine seconds behind.

The Briton might have hoped Piastri would have to pit again, but the Australian made the tyres last to the chequered flag on a one-stop strategy.

Piastri crossed the line 3.415 seconds clear of Norris, who had been chasing a third win in a row, and managed to reduce the gap in the final laps before late mistakes left the ever-calm Australian under no pressure.

Saturday sprint winner Verstappen finished fourth in his team’s first Grand Prix since the dismissal of team boss Christian Horner, with George Russell fifth for Mercedes.

Williams’s Alex Albon held off Ferrari’s seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton – last year’s winner with Mercedes – to secure sixth.

Hamilton had been one of four drivers due to start from the pit lane, but given a big boost by the switch to a rolling getaway and a fresh engine installed overnight.

The Briton was also the first to make the decision to switch to slicks and pit, gaining six places.

Liam Lawson was eighth for Racing Bulls, with Gabriel Bortoleto ninth for Sauber and Pierre Gasly securing the final point for Alpine.

Belgian authorities have interrogated two members of the Israeli military following allegations of serious breaches of international humanitarian law committed in Gaza, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Brussels said.

The two people were questioned after legal complaints were filed by the Hind Rajab Foundation and the Global Legal Action Network. The complaints were submitted on Friday and Saturday as the soldiers attended the Tomorrowland music festival in Belgium.

“In light of this potential jurisdiction, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office requested the police to locate and interrogate the two individuals named in the complaint,” said the prosecutor’s office in a written statement on Monday. “Following these interrogations, they were released.”

The questioning was carried out under a new provision in Belgium’s Code of Criminal Procedure, which came into effect last year. It allows Belgian courts to investigate alleged violations abroad if the acts fall under international treaties ratified by Belgium – including the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1984 UN Convention Against Torture.

The prosecutor’s office said it would not release further information at this stage of the investigation.

The Hind Rajab Foundation, based in Belgium, has been campaigning for legal action against Israeli soldiers over alleged war crimes in Gaza. It is named after a six-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed by Israeli fire while fleeing Gaza City with her family early in Israel’s war on Gaza.

Since its formation last year, the foundation has filed dozens of complaints in more than 10 countries, targeting both low- and high-ranking Israeli military personnel.

The group hailed Monday’s developments as “a turning point in the global pursuit of accountability”.

“We will continue to support the ongoing proceedings and call on Belgian authorities to pursue the investigation fully and independently,” the foundation said in a statement. “Justice must not stop here – and we are committed to seeing it through.”

“At a time when far too many governments remain silent, this action sends a clear message: credible evidence of international crimes must be met with legal response – not political indifference,” the statement added.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the incident, saying that one Israeli citizen and one soldier were interrogated and later released. “Israeli authorities dealt with this issue and are in touch with the two,” the ministry said in a statement cited by The Associated Press news agency.

The incident comes amid growing international outrage over Israel’s conduct in its war on Gaza. More than two dozen Western countries called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza on Monday, saying that suffering there had “reached new depths”.

After more than 21 months of fighting that have triggered catastrophic humanitarian conditions for Gaza’s more than two million people, Israeli allies Britain, France, Australia, Canada and 21 other countries, plus the European Union, said in a joint statement that the war “must end now”.

“The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths,” the signatories added, urging a negotiated ceasefire, the release of captives held by Palestinian armed groups and the free flow of much-needed aid.

On Sunday, the World Food Programme accused Israel of using tanks, snipers and other weapons to fire on a crowd of Palestinians seeking food aid.

It said that shortly after crossing through the northern Zikim crossing into Gaza, its 25-truck convoy encountered large crowds of civilians waiting for food supplies, who were attacked.

“As the convoy approached, the surrounding crowd came under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire,” it said on X, adding that the incident resulted in the loss of “countless lives” with many more suffering critical injuries.

“These people were simply trying to access food to feed themselves and their families on the brink of starvation. This terrible incident underscores the increasingly dangerous conditions under which humanitarian operations are forced to be conducted in Gaza.”

Gaza’s Health Ministry described the Israeli attack, which killed at least 92 people, as one of the war’s deadliest days for civilians seeking humanitarian assistance.

More than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its war on Gaza in October 2023, according to local health officials. Much of the territory lies in ruins, with severe shortages of food, medicine and other essentials due to Israel’s ongoing blockade.

Two Belgian men have claimed they hid in a toilet at Munich’s Allianz Arena for 27 hours in order to watch last weekend’s Champions League final for free.

Neal Remmerie and Senne Haverbeke told Belgian broadcaster VRT News they managed to get into the ground the day before the match then emerged to watch Paris St-Germain’s 5-0 win over Inter Milan.

The pair uploaded a video, external on the social media platform TikTok which showed them sticking a homemade ‘out of order’ sign on two toilet cubicle doors before they waited in silence for more than a day as stadium staff used the facility.

“We had a backpack with snacks and we played around on our phones to kill time,” Remmerie said.

“The lights were on all the time and the sitting position was uncomfortable, so sleeping was almost impossible. That made it physically and mentally difficult.”

As soon as the duo heard fans using the toilets on matchday they emerged from the hiding place and made it past another ticket check before taking a seat in a stand.

“We looked carefully at which security guard was paying the least attention. While on the phone and with food in our hands, we just walked on, and suddenly we were inside,” Remmerie added.

“PSG won 5-0 and we were also in the supporters’ section of the winning team. It was the most beautiful football match we have ever seen.”

BBC Sport has approached the Allianz Arena and Uefa for comment.