Features

LAS VEGAS — Travis Kelce says he is relishing the attention after being catapulted into the global spotlight via his romance with Taylor Swift.

The 34-year-old Kansas City Chiefs tight end has found himself in the eye of a pop culture hurricane this season due to his relationship with the Grammy-winning music superstar.

It has swept the two-time Super Bowl champion’s profile into a whole new dimension, meaning Kelce is just as likely to lead entertainment news headlines as much as sports bulletins.

Unsurprisingly, the larger-than-life Kelce is loving every second of it, not for a moment resenting the inevitable attention that comes with dating one of the highest profile entertainers on the planet.

“I think it’s fair,” Kelce said of the attention on Wednesday. “Everybody’s having fun with it, and it’s not like you guys are up here teeing off on me left and right.

“Everybody’s having a good time with it so how could I be upset about it?”

Kelce admits though that he is still adjusting to the attention.

“Being worldwide is way different than just being famous in Kansas City,” he quipped. “I got it all figured out, I think”.

And there is zero chance that Kelce will allow the hoop-la surrounding his personal life to deflect from the task in hand this weekend.

Beneath the affable, down-to-earth exterior is a ferocious competitor who is widely regarded as one of the best tight ends to ever pull on an NFL helmet.

Sunday’s test against the San Francisco 49ers will be Kelce’s fourth Super Bowl, and comes a year after he lined up against elder brother Jason in the Chiefs’ victory over the Philadelphia Eagles to claim his second NFL championship. Kelce says that Super Bowl showdown remains his favourite memory shared with his brother.

“Probably isn’t his favorite memory, but it’s being on the mountain top and playing in the Super Bowl with him,” Kelce said on Wednesday.

Chasing a dynasty 

Growing up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, there was never much doubt the Kelce brothers would forge careers in sport.

The 6ft 5in, 250lb Kelce recalled WWE-style wrestling matches with his brother in the living room of the family’s home — with sometimes destructive consequences.

“I got power bombed through my living room floor as a kid and we broke the wooden floor and slid the couch over it,” Kelce said.

“My mom was vacuuming like two weeks later and figured it out and sure enough, we got in trouble for it. Growing up in the 90s I feel like you had no choice but to emulate wrestlers on the playground at recess, or in the living room and the backyard.”

Kelce says he is determined to help the Chiefs win back-to-back titles, an achievement he believes will elevate Kansas City into the dynasty ranks.

“Three is a lucky number,” Kelce said. “Three is when you solidify yourself as a dynasty.”

Winning this season would also mean more for Kelce. The Chiefs struggled during the regular season but built impressive momentum through the playoffs with back-to-back road wins against Buffalo and Baltimore.

“I think we’ve gone through a lot of ups and downs,” Kelce said. “A lot of guys have been challenged to step up in big moments, and they have. And you just love to see that.

“You want it that much more for a guy when people are counting them out and he finds a way to persevere through that.

“This team is as special as a team that I’ve ever been on. And it just makes you want it that much more for the rest of the world. We’re in the moment.”

ROME — Rome’s most majestic forum has recovered some of its former glory with a partial reconstruction of the imposing columns of Trajan’s basilica — using funds from a now-sanctioned Russian oligarch.

The restoration of a portion of the Basilica Ulpia, which soared above the ancient Italian city for over a millennia, helps bring to life the grandeur and magnificence of the original marble monument.

While most work on Rome’s ubiquitous ruins points downwards, the rebuilding of the basilica’s two-storey Corinthian colonnade has brought the focus up — over 23 metres to be exact.

“If visitors can’t sense the height of the monuments, they won’t understand the meaning of the architecture,” Claudio Parisi Presicce, Rome’s top official for cultural heritage, told AFP on a tour of the site.

The Basilica Ulpia was the centrepiece of Trajan’s Forum, the largest and last of the imperial forums, named after Marcus Ulpius Traianus, emperor from 98 to 117AD.

Inaugurated in the second century, it mostly collapsed during the Middle Ages, but was unearthed by excavations in the early 19th century and 1930s.

The current project, which began in 2021, identified three green marble columns that had been left for nearly 100 years “propped up in a corner with no connection with the floor plan”, Parisi Presicce said.

Engineers returned them to their proper place atop four granite pillars that mark the outer perimeter of the basilica’s first nave.

Between the two stories of columns, archaeologists and technicians have recreated the entablature with its decorative frieze depicting winged victories sacrificing bulls.

Sanctioned donor 

The project was funded with a 1.5 million-euro donation made in 2015 by Uzbekistan-born oligarch Alisher Usmanov.

He was later sanctioned by the European Union and US following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, accused by the US Treasury of being close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Estimated by Forbes last year to possess a $14.4 billion fortune from the metals and mining industries, Usmanov is an Italophile who had previously given money for Rome restoration projects.

He was named the “most generous charity donor” by the Sunday Times’ Rich List in 2021, having donated 4.2 billion to charity over 20 years.

Parisi Presicce brushed aside questions about the donation, reiterating that it was made before Usmanov was sanctioned and noting that Rome’s ancient heritage was “universal”.

Trajan’s extensive military campaigns, including his near-annihilation of the Dacians in today’s Romania, extended Rome’s boundaries to their farthest limits.

His two bloody Dacian wars are depicted in a spiralling bas relief on Trajan’s Column, located just north of the basilica, a monument built to glorify the emperor’s victories and his spoils of war.

With the basilica, Trajan “built a monument using the most precious materials that could be used for that moment”, said Parisi Presicce, such as coloured marbles mined in far-away Egypt, Asia and Africa.

The basilica, home to civil and criminal courts and other state business, was made up of five central aisles separated by rows of columns.

Built by celebrated architect Apollodorus of Damascus, it was covered by a bronze roof, while statues of conquered Dacians and decorative panels of military banners decorated the facade.

Earlier excavations had unearthed the forum and traces of its basilica, but while the massive granite pillars running down the length of the basilica were restored and reerected, the colonnade was still missing its second tier.

Segments of the original marble from the frieze on the entablature — now kept safe in warehouses or museums — have been recreated in resin, along with lost portions bearing fewer details.

This allows the viewer to see the difference between the originals and the approximations, common practice in modern restoration, which also means the work is reversible.

The final steps of the project involve recreating the southern stairs to the basilica, incorporating slabs of ancient yellow marble found at the site.

Currently, Rome has 150 archaeological projects planned through 2027, the vast majority of them paid for by EU post-pandemic recovery funds.

The city’s 500-person cultural heritage department includes about 40 archaeologists and some 40 art historians, and another approximately 50 architects, surveyors and engineers.

LOS ANGELES — Carl Weathers, the US actor who played boxer Apollo Creed in the “Rocky” franchise, going toe-to-toe with Sylvester Stallone in some of cinema’s most memorable — and bloody — boxing moments, has died, his family said last Friday. He was 76.

Weathers, who also starred in the 1987 film “Predator”, opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger, was recently seen on the small screen in “Star Wars” spin-off series “The Mandalorian”, a role for which he won an Emmy.

“We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Carl Weathers,” his family said, according to Deadline.

“Carl was an exceptional human being who lived an extraordinary life. Through his contributions to film, television, the arts and sports, he has left an indelible mark and is recognised worldwide and across generations.”

The statement gave no cause of death, but added that he had died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday.

Weathers’ career spanned five decades and included over 75 appearances in movies and TV, beginning with the Blaxploitation films of the mid-1970s.

Younger audiences have thrilled to his role in the Disney+ hit “The Mandalorian” in which he played Greef Karga, the head of the Bounty Hunters’ Guild, who grows close to lead Pedro Pascal over the course of nine episodes.

Weathers also had a voice acting role in another beloved franchise when he played Combat Carl in 2019’s “Toy Story 4”.

He received plaudits for his turn as a golf coach in “Happy Gilmore”, where his character took to tutoring Adam Sandler after leaving the pro tour when he lost his hand to an alligator.

‘Legend’ 

But it was as the jingoistic heavyweight champion Apollo Creed, who stood in the way of Stallone’s rough-and-ready Rocky Balboa, that he will be best remembered.

The 1976 film “Rocky”, which spawned a number of sequels (and which has been rebooted through its “Creed” spin-off franchise), gave the world a brutally choreographed close-up look at championship boxing.

The film’s underdog-against-the-odds archetype combined formidably with cinematic violence to create an instant classic that still resonates almost half a century later.

The climactic scene, which features blood, broken bones and slow motion punches, set the standard for fight films.

It also set Stallone on the path to movie mega-stardom.

The film won 1977’s best picture Oscar, as well a statue for director John Avildsen, and scored a host of other nominations.

Weathers reprised his role as Apollo Creed in “Rocky II” in 1979, which saw a rematch against Balboa.

He was back again for 1982’s “Rocky III,” and again for a final outing in 1985’s “Rocky IV”, in which Creed was killed in the ring by a Russian heavyweight played by Dolph Lundgren.

“Predator” star Schwarzenegger dubbed him a “legend”.

“An extraordinary athlete, a fantastic actor, and a great person. We couldn’t have made Predator without him. And we certainly wouldn’t have had such a wonderful time making it,” he wrote.

Fellow “Predator” actor and former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura said the world had lost “an icon”.

“Carl Weathers was a phenomenal talent, a true professional, and a dear friend,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Sandler, who posted photographs of the two men working together, called him a “great man”.

“Great dad. Great actor. Great athlete. So much fun to be around always. Smart as hell. Loyal as hell. Funny as hell,” he wrote on social media.

A long time in the making ever since the Italian manufacturer’s 2003 and 2011 Kubang concept SUVs, the Maserati Levante debuted back in 2016 and was subtly updated in 2021.

Dramatically designed, sensationally swift, sporty on-road and capable off-road, Maserati’s gambit into the ever-expanding premium SUV segment was expected to drastically expand the brand’s sales and client demographic.

Anticipated by many to be based on its then parent FCA group’s Jeep Grand Cherokee cousin, which itself was to a certain degree derived from the Mercedes ML-Class, inherited during the Daimler-Chrysler era.

The Levante however proved to be a distinctly sporting and Italian affair upon its arrival, and is built on the same sophisticated architecture and rear-biased Q4 four-wheel-drive system as its Ghibli and Quattroporte luxury sports saloon sisters, and is meanwhile powered by a Ferrari-designed engine.

Shark-like and predatory in its aesthetic, the Levante’s fascia is strongly influenced by the dramatic 2014 Maserati Alfieri coupe concept, but is taller and more aggressive, with its design being dominated by a vast hungry hexagonal grille with prominent trident badge and widely spaced vertical slats.

Brawny and brisk

The Levante’s evocative aesthetic includes heavily browed and slim headlights with inwardly tilted running lights and a luxuriously long sculpted bonnet. Clearly visible behind the grille, its automatically closing radiator slats help achieve excellent in-class aerodynamic efficiency. Meanwhile a rising waistline, descending roofline with big tailgate spoiler, and quad rear tailpipes lend a sense of road-hugging urgency, further accentuated by vast staggered 265/45R20 front and 295/40R20 rear tires. Discretely revised in design, the Levante gained updated lights and bumpers for a slightly more horizontal look in 2021, in addition to a new model nomenclature.

Initially offered in two output variants of the same 3-litre twin-turbo V6 engine — now bearing the “Modena” designation — the Levante line-up also includes a high performance twin-turbo V8 variant, and 4-cylinder hybrid introduced in 2021. The more powerful Levante Modena S V6 variant is however a brutally brisk performer in its own right, with responsively swift spooling turbos when launching from standstill and a muscular avalanche of 369lb/ft torque through a broad, flexible and effortlessly brawny 2,000-4,750rpm mid-range band, underwriting power accumulation through to its peak 424BHP at 5,750rpm. 

Sure-footed stability

Storming through 0-100km/h in 5.2-seconds and onto a 264km/h maximum, the Modena S’ additional 79BHP lends it a more urgent character than the regular Modena, with a punchier, gushingly powerful top-end.

Startlingly swift despite its 2,109kg heft, the Modena S’ sophisticated front double wishbone and rear five-link adaptive air suspension well absorbs road imperfections and provides superb stability, with its ride height lowering automatically at speed. Sure-footed, the Modena S’ firmer damper and front anti-roll bar rates lend it a sharper, stiffer and more controlled feel through corners.

Somewhat hard-edged in its sportier suspension mode, the Modena S firmly keeps lateral weight shift in check and corners with unexpectedly flat poise, given its’ height and weight.

With quick and precise steering and automatic brake-based torque vectoring driver assistance, the Modena S is meanwhile eager into corners and reassuringly grippy throughout. Delivering power through a smooth, slick and swift 8-speed automatic gearbox, its Q4 four-wheel-drive apportions 100 per cent power rearwards in default driving mode for agility and balance, while a mechanical limited-slip rear-differential distributes power where it’s needed along the rear axle.

Comfortable and capable

Sending up to 50 per cent power frontwards over low traction surfaces and to pull it out of tight corners, the Levante is meanwhile a more capable off-roader than expected from its sporty luxury SUV segment. Making short work of difficult dirt and gravel trails and confidently overcoming low traction inclines, the Levante’s off-road driving modes allow for increased ground clearance for improved off-road angles, and increased wheel travel and ground contact, to easily traverse significantly uneven terrain.

Its’ pre-set off-road driving modes meanwhile recalibrate electronic stability and drive-line systems for off-road driving.

Sportily elegant, the Levante’s cabin has a hunkered down but ergonomic ambiance, with a comfortable, well-adjustable and supportive driving position, good cabin refinement and generous rear head and legroom.

Incorporating high quality leathers, textures and materials, the Levante offers high personalisation possibilities, while extensive equipment includes numerous convenience, safety, and infotainment features including a user-friendly high resolution 8.4-inch touchscreen and high-end sound system.

A suite of sophisticated driver assistance systems also includes a low-set front-facing camera to provide better low speed maneuvering visibility than its long and high bonnet would otherwise allow.

Maserati Levante Modena S

• Engine: 3-litre, twin-turbocharged direct injection V6-cylinders
• Bore x stroke: 86.5 x 84.5mm
• Compression: 9.7:1
• Gearbox: 8-speed, automatic, four-wheel-drive, self-locking rear-differential
• Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 424 (430) [316] @5,750rpm
• Specific power: 142.3BHP/litre
• Power-to-weight: 201BHP/tonne
• Torque lb/ft (Nm): 427.8 (580) @2,000-4,750rpm
• Specific torque: 194.7Nm/litre
• Torque-to-weight: 275Nm/tonne
• 0-100km/h: 5.2-seconds
• Top speed: 264km/h
• Fuel consumption, combined: 12.1-12.8l/100km
• Fuel capacity: 80-litres
• Length: 5,005mm
• Width: 1,981mm
• Height:  1,693mm
• Wheelbase: 3,004mm
• Kerb weight: 2,109kg
• Weight distribution, F/R: 50/50 per cent
• Luggage: 580-litres
• Suspension, F/R: Double wishbone / multilink, adjustable air springs
• Brakes, F/R: Ventilated, perforated discs, 380/330mm
• Brake calipers, F/R: 6-/1-piston
• Stopping distance, 100-0km/h: 34.5-metres
• Tires, F/R: 265/45R20/295/40R20

By Natali Bani ‘Atta,
Pharmacist & Skin Specialist

Healthy, glowing skin does not happen by itself, and 2024 is the time to step up with your skincare routine and create new habits that will help you achieve the skin of your drearms.

Many of us want to achieve healthy and glowing skin, but before we do, we need to understand what healthy skin means. Foremost, we also need to agree that having healthy skin does not mean having perfect skin.

What Is Sew?

Skin is the first-line defence of our immune system and is the largest organ in the body It is made up of layers and covers the entire body Healthy skin reflects a healthy body.

Good skin has a naturally fine texture, hydrated, with no extra tightness or dryness nor any excess oil production.

Resolution Rain or shine, always put on your sunscreen!

No matter what gender, age, skin type or tone you have, wearing sunscreen is a must every day. At this point, all of us know that we should wear sunscreen everyday even if it’s cloudy outside; UV rays can still cause damage.

Not only that, but it’s also important to reapply sunscreen throughout the day.

Resolution Change your Pillowcases more often!

Pillowcases become a hub for dead skin cells, oils and bacteria, if not washed or changed regularly.

Please change your pillowcases once a week in winter and up to two times a week during hot weather to prevent congested skin and breakouts.

Resolution Step up your skin care routine with vitamin C and Retinol

Vitamin C is an antioxidant and one of the best active ingredients on the market.

Most people can use topical Vitamin C without experiencing any side effect due to its safety profile.

Vitamin C smoothes the skin surface which gives your skin a youthful look and fades out pigmentation.

Retinol is a type of retinoid which is made of a derivative of Vitamin A. Retinol is primarily used to treat acne as well as mature skin concerns.

Retinol increases the production of elastin and collagen which can reduce the appearance of wrinkles and enlarged pores. It works best if you use it daily, especially at night. However, if you experience side effects such as dryness or redness, it’s better to use it once every 2-3 days.

Always remember, taking care of your skin should not be complicated.

Follow these simple resolutions to achieve healthier, glowing skin not only this year, but for years to come.

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

NEW YORK — Chita Rivera, who electrified Broadway stages over six decades in shows including “West Side Story” and “Chicago” as one of the foremost entertainers of her generation, died on Tuesday at age 91, her publicist said.

Rivera — a singer, dancer and actress — died in New York after a “brief illness”, her daughter Lisa Mordente said in a statement released by publicist Merle Frimark.

Trained in voice, piano and ballet from a young age, Rivera was dancing on Broadway before she was 20 and kept at it all the way into her early 80s.

Rivera became one of the most nominated actors in the history of the Tony Awards, Broadway’s highest prizes, with 10 nods.

In 2002 she earned Kennedy Centre honours — a top US arts distinction — and was feted at the White House in 2009 with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Sensual and with a brassy stage presence, Rivera played some of Broadway’s most acclaimed roles, and worked under legendary talents including Leonard Bernstein, Bob Fosse, Stephen Sondheim and Jerome Robbins.

She and fellow actress Rita Moreno paved the way for other stars of Puerto Rican descent, such as actor-songwriter-playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda of “Hamilton” fame, to conquer Broadway.

“The trailblazer for PR on Broadway,” Miranda wrote of Rivera on Instagram Tuesday. “She IS magnificent, not ready for the past tense just yet.”

Rivera earned the 1957 breakout role of Anita in “West Side Story”, the 20th century American adaptation of the Shakespeare tale “Romeo and Juliet”, which made her a star and earned her a first Tony nomination.

But when the film was made, the role of Anita went to Moreno. It was the first but not the last time a major Hollywood role would elude Rivera after she lit up the stage in the same part.

Born at the height of the Great Depression on January 23, 1933 in the US capital Washington, Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero was one of five children of a Catholic couple.

Her father, a US Navy musician, died when she was seven.

At age 11 she enrolled in a local ballet school, and at 16 auditioned for the renowned School of American Ballet run by George Balanchine and traveled to New York City after winning a scholarship.

After three years of training, Rivera sought small Broadway roles as a dancer.

Seeking to downplay her ethnicity, she changed her name to Chita O’Hara, before eventually settling on Chita Rivera.

After “West Side Story”, Rivera won the lead part of Rose in “Bye Bye, Birdie”, starring opposite Dick van Dyke in the captivating musical.

But when it came time for a film version, she was passed over once again by Hollywood, with Janet Leigh of “Psycho” fame getting the call to play Rose.

In 1975, Rivera starred as Velma Kelly in “Chicago” opposite Gwen Verdon as Roxie Hart in the musical directed by legendary Bob Fosse. She would later make a cameo in the 2002 film version.

“Chita’s influence, warmth, and other-worldly talent will inspire us always. Tonight’s show is for her,” said the official social media account for the latest Broadway revival of “Chicago”.

Rivera never held any overt grudges over such slights, always returning to Broadway in new roles.

She married a fellow dancer from “West Side Story”, Tony Mordente, in 1957. Their daughter Lisa was born before the marriage ended in divorce in 1966.

Her other notable shows included “Sweet Charity”, “The Rink”, “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (for which she won a Tony in 1993) and a 2003 Broadway revival of “Nine”, in which she co-starred alongside Antonio Banderas.

Rivera won a Tony for lifetime achievement in 2018.