Beer can artwork accidentally trashed by museum worker
(LONDON) — A museum in the Netherlands has recovered an artwork that resembles two empty beer cans from the trash after an elevator technician accidentally disposed of them during his shift, officials said.
The artwork, “All The Good Times We Spent Together” by Alexandre Lavet, was made in 1988 and initially appears to be nothing more than two empty beer cans. It was being exhibited in the LAM Museum in Lisse, Netherlands, approximately 25 miles southwest of Amsterdam, according to a statement from the LAM Museum.
However, a closer look reveals that these dented that were being exhibited were actually “meticulously hand-painted with acrylics, with each detail painstakingly replicated. Unlike ready-made found objects, such as the famous urinal by Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven and Marcel Duchamp, Lavet’s piece required a lot of time and effort to create.”
“For the artist, the cans symbolise cherished memories shared with dear friends. While evenings spent enjoying drinks may seem trivial in the grand scheme of things, they ultimately embody precious moments of connection,” the museum continued.
The LAM Museum, which is known for showcasing its international art collection not only on walls and exhibition plinths but also in unconventional locations, had been exhibiting Lavet’s beer cans piece inside the museum’s glass elevator shaft “as if left behind by construction workers,” the museum said.
“The theme of our collection is food and consumption,” Sietske van Zanten, the museum’s director, said. “Our art encourages visitors to see everyday objects in a new light. By displaying artworks in unexpected places, we amplify this experience and keep visitors on their toes.”
But when an elevator technician who was covering for the museum’s regular technician came to work, he ended up mistaking the work of art for just some everyday trash that somebody had left behind in the museum and ended up disposing of the 36-year-old piece.
“He was just doing his job in good faith,” says Sietske van Zanten. “In a way, it’s a testament to the effectiveness of Alexandre Lavet’s art.”
When museum officials realized that the piece had vanished, they immediately launched a search. It was museum curator Elisah van den Bergh who eventually discovered the artwork in a trash bag in the museum, ready for disposal.
“Miraculously, both cans were found intact,” the LAM Museum said. “They have been cleaned and temporarily put in a place of honour at the museum entrance, now displayed on a traditional plinth.”
“We wanted to give them their moment in the spotlight,” Elisah van den Bergh said. “As for where the artwork will be displayed next, that’s yet to be revealed. We enjoy surprising our visitors, so no space is off-limits.”
Said the LAM Museum in a statement following the accidental trashing: “The museum bears no ill will towards the lift technician who made the mistake.”
(KURSK, Ukraine) — Ukrainian troops have captured more than two dozen settlements in Russia’s western Kursk region since launching its incursion nearly a week ago, as thousands of residents have been ordered to evacuate, Russian officials said.
Alexey Smirnov, the acting governor of Kursk, said Monday the situation in the region remains “difficult.”
“As of today, the enemy controls 28 settlements, the penetration depth into Kursk Oblast is 12 kilometers, the width is 40 kilometers,” Smirnov said during an operational meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Monday that Ukraine controls about 386 square miles of Russian territory as it continues its offensive operation in the Kursk Oblast.
Some 180,000 residents of Kursk have been ordered to evacuate and about 121,000 of them have left their homes in the areas near the border with Ukraine, Smirnov said.
At least 12 people have been killed and 121 others have been wounded in the Kursk region since the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched the cross-border offensive on Aug. 6, according to Smirnov.
Putin said Russia will give “an appropriate response” to Ukraine and that “all the goals facing us will be achieved, undoubtedly.”
“[It] looks like the enemy seeks to improve its negotiating positions in the future,” Putin said during the operational meeting. “But what kind of negotiations can we talk about with people who indiscriminately target civilians, civilian infrastructure, and try to create a threat to nuclear power facilities? What can we even talk about with them?”
The Russian Nuclear Agency Rosatom claimed that Ukrainian forces attacked the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southeastern Ukraine on Sunday, hitting its cooling systems in drone strikes and causing a fire.
Ukraine, however, is claiming that Russia started the fire at the power plant. A Ukrainian intelligence source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told ABC News the Russians set fire to a large pile of tires to create the fire. The source interpreted it as an attempt to frame Ukraine and to send a warning amid its ongoing incursion into Russia.
Amid the incursion, small Ukrainian units have been spotted in villages northeast toward the Kursk nuclear power station, which is located roughly 80 miles from the border, according to accounts from Russian military bloggers. Russia has beefed up security at the plant, though most analysts believe it is still too far for Ukrainian troops to reach.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Monday that additional forces and systems are being delivered to build up a Russian group of forces and form reserves in the Kursk region.
“The military communications service has organized the delivery of additional forces and systems to reinforce a group of forces and form reserves. Soldiers, military hardware, ammunition and other supplies required for combat operations and comprehensively supporting troops are being transported,” it said.
Specialists of the logistics units of the northern group of forces are working to “repel the attempted Ukrainian military incursion into the territory of the Russian Federation,” it said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the Kursk offensive on Monday.
“We are grateful to all soldiers and commanders for their resilience and decisive actions,” he said in a statement on social media. “Among other things, we have instructed the Minister of Internal Affairs, other Government officials, and the Security Service of Ukraine to prepare a humanitarian plan for the area of operation.”
(NEW YORK) — In an exclusive interview with ABC News’ Good Morning America, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he believes the war with Russia is “closer to an end” than many believe and called on allies to strengthen Ukraine as he arrived in the United States for a week of high-stakes diplomacy.
“The plan of victory is strengthening of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said during a sit-down interview with Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts. “That’s why we’re asking our friends, our allies, to strengthen us. It’s very important.”
Zelenskyy spoke with Roberts as he visited New York on Monday for the United Nations General Assembly this week as part of a trip to the U.S. where he has promised to present what he calls his “Victory Plan” to President Joe Biden, as well as other key American political leaders.
See more of Robin Roberts’ exclusive interview with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and first lady Olena Zelenska at 8:30 p.m. ET Wednesday on ABC News Live and streaming on Hulu on Thursday.
Zelenskyy declined to provide details of the plan before presenting it to Biden later this week, but he made clear that it was aimed at strengthening Ukraine with the goal of forcing Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate on fair terms. Zelenskyy indicated he did not believe Putin was currently ready for real negotiations.
“It’s not about negotiation with Russia,” Zelenskyy told Roberts. “It’s a bridge to a diplomatic way out, to stop the war. Only in the strong position we can push, we can push Putin to stop the war, diplomatic way.”
A source close to Zelenskyy told ABC News the plan consists of five points and that its core includes specific figures and amounts of military assistance for Ukraine, as well as certain diplomatic and political steps. The plan does not include any proposed concessions to Russia, the source said, but is aimed at forcing the Kremlin to end the war.
Zelenskyy said the plan was an “urgent” one, intended to end the war quickly, not prolong it “one year, or two years or three years.”
Later this week, Zelenskyy is expected to travel to Washington to meet with Biden as well as presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
There are doubts a second Trump administration would continue similar levels of support to Ukraine and could perhaps push it into negotiations. Trump in the debate with Harris two weeks ago declined to say he wants Ukraine to win the war and his running mate JD Vance has said Ukraine should give up Russian-occupied territory and abandon ambitions to join NATO.
Zelenskyy said he hoped the U.S. election wouldn’t influence support for Ukraine but that he understood U.S. policy could change and “therefore we need to prepare in advance.”
That is why the “Victory Plan” is important, he said, saying he wants to discuss it with the candidates.
Zelenskyy again expressed gratitude to Americans and apologized for having to ask again for support.
“I’m so sorry. I know that you have your challenges. But I have to underline it and to repeat,” he said. “We can’t now be weak. We can’t relax. Because we didn’t stop Putin. Didn’t stop him in his crazy ideas. That’s why we have to be strong and I’m asking to understand us. And I think that we are closer to the peace than we think. We are closer to the end of the war. We just have to be very strong, very strong.”
Zelenskyy also repeated his appeal to the United States to drop its restrictions on the long-range missiles they have provided to Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia.
Zelenskyy said he would raise the issue again with Biden again this week, saying it would allow Ukraine to strike Russian airbases used to launch hundreds of bombs into eastern Ukraine. He said he believed other allies such as France, Britain, Italy, and Germany would allow it but that the U.S. needed to lead the decision.
“But the main role is in the United States, in the president of United States, Biden. Everybody’s looking up to him, and we need this to defend ourselves,” he said.
Putin, meanwhile, has warned that the use of Western weapons to strike targets in Russia would mean NATO countries are at war with Russia and promised a response.
Zelenskyy’s request comes amid heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine where Russia has been making steady advances in recent weeks. Russian forces are also still struggling to reverse Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. Ukraine has said it seized hundreds of square miles and dozens of villages inside the Kursk region in the early days of its surprise offensive.
Zelenskyy told Roberts that Putin is “afraid” of the Kursk operation.
“It’s true. He’s afraid very much,” Zelenskyy said. “Why? Because his people saw that he can’t defend, that he can’t defend all his territory.”
Zelenskyy said Ukraine launched the surprise operation because of intelligence suggesting that Russia had been preparing to mount its own offensive into Ukraine’s northern Sumy region.
“They have the desire to occupy the city of Sumy,” he said. “And we decided that we need preventive steps. We had to move in with our troops. And we did it so that they did not occupy our north.”
Zelenskyy also accused Russia of using Chinese satellites to photograph Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, perhaps in preparation for possible strikes on them.
“The recent information is that, Russia has been using Chinese satellites and taking photos of the details of the objects on nuclear facilities,” Zelenskyy told Roberts. “And in our experience, if Russia takes photos of certain objects, then there is a threat of strikes against the nuclear objects.”
Zelenskyy did not say whether the Chinese satellites Russia has used were commercial satellites or controlled by the Chinese government. He said he would share information Ukraine had with leaders at the General Assembly this week.
Asked to comment on Monday, China’s embassy in Washington did not respond.
Zelenskyy was joined by his wife, first lady Olena Zelenska, who is also attending events at the General Assembly.
Zelenska, who is addressing events focusing on the impact of the war on children, said she was also seeking to campaign for greater international help in returning tens of thousands of Ukrainian children deported to Russia. She said at least 19,500 remained held in Russia, but that the true number could be significantly higher.
She said so far only 308 children had been returned through negotiations, saying she hoped a 30-country coalition would find a way to do more.
“This can’t carry on like this. If we are going to bring our children back at this rate, we will need more than 30 years to bring them back,” she said. “So we need to bring pressure to bear to make sure they can be brought back.”
(NEW YORK) — The Biden administration has announced plans to expand the influential United Nations Security Council by adding two permanent seats for African nations — an initiative that will likely face an uphill battle in the body and could spark pushback from other countries that have long sought permanent membership.
“It’s what our African partners seek, and we believe, this is what it’s what is just,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in announcing the plan during a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday.
But the administration’s plan comes with an important caveat: Unlike the other permanent members of the Council — China, France, Great Britain, Russia, and the U.S. — the African representatives would not have the power to veto any resolution that comes before the body.
The African Union has already rejected the prospect of denying veto power to the new permanent members from the continent, but a senior administration official argued that even without it, the seats would still have great benefits for Africa.
“Representation is a part of it. Permanent representation does offer perspective and the durability of that perspective on the Council that is otherwise not afforded necessarily by a rotating seat,” the official said. “I can tell you that when we have been briefing these ideas to some of those partners in recent days, we have had an enthusiastic reception.”
The official acknowledged there are still “questions that will need to be worked out,” including determining which countries would fill the new spots. Thomas-Greenfield did not explicitly say which U.N. members the administration would endorse but spoke positively about recent contributions from Kenya and Gabon during her remarks.
This is not the first time the administration has sought to expand the Security Council. In 2022, President Biden announced he supported “increasing the number of both permanent and non-permanent representatives,” with representatives from Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. He has also endorsed Germany, India, and Japan for permanent spots.
However, Biden’s push to expand the Council — and a host of other U.S. initiatives — have faced consistent gridlock from Russia and China.
A senior official denied that the administration’s new, narrower focus on adding African representatives was an admission that broader expansion and the inclusion of ardent U.S. allies like Germany and Japan was currently unachievable.
“The proposals that we’re putting forward today are additive to what we’ve said over the years,” they said. “But our view on this is that we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good, and we can and should still try to achieve a reformed Council that is more representative, is more credible, and ultimately more effective in addressing the challenges and opportunities that the world faces today. “
Thomas-Greenfield also announced that the administration would move to add a new, elected position on the Security Council to serve as an envoy for small developing island nations. If successful, it would be the first cross-regional seat.
The ambassador concluded by declaring that the U.S. was prepared to move forward with “text-based negotiations” aimed at making the vision a reality.
“This may seem weedy, inside-baseball news. But it’s actually a big deal,” she said. “It means we’re ready to work with other countries to negotiate language, prepare amendments, and ready this resolution for a vote in the General Assembly, and ultimately amend the U.N. Charter.”