176 global leaders and Nobel laureates urge Bangladesh to halt cases against Peace Prize winner

 Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Prize Winner and Founder of Grameen Bank, speaks during the opening ceremony for the One Young World summit at Soccer City in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013. 160 global leaders including more than 100 Nobel laureates have written an open letter on Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, to the Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, urging her to suspend judicial proceedings against Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus for alleged violation of labor laws. Supporters of Yunus say the charges are politically motivated because of differences he has with the prime minister. 

(AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

 Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus listens to a discussion on poverty at the World Bank Group International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings in Washington, Friday, April 19, 2013. 160 global leaders including more than 100 Nobel laureates have written an open letter on Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, to the Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, urging her to suspend judicial proceedings against Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus for alleged violation of labor laws. Supporters of Yunus say the charges are politically motivated because of differences he has with the prime minister. 

(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

BY JULHAS ALAM
August 30, 2023Share

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — More than 170 global leaders and Nobel laureates have urged Bangladesh’s prime minister to suspend legal proceedings against Muhammad Yunus, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for pioneering the use of microcredit to help impoverished people.

In an open letter, the leaders, including former U.S. President Barack Obama, former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and more than 100 Nobel laureates, said they were deeply concerned by recent threats to democracy and human rights in Bangladesh.

“One of the threats to human rights that concerns us in the present context is the case of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus. We are alarmed that he has recently been targeted by what we believe to be continuous judicial harassment,” said the letter, dated Tuesday.


“We are confident that any thorough review of the anti-corruption and labor law cases against him will result in his acquittal,” it said.

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Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina responded by saying she would welcome international experts and lawyers to come to Bangladesh to assess the legal proceedings and examine documents involving the charges against Yunus.

“If they send the experts and lawyers, many more things will get revealed, which remain untouched. Many such things will come out,” Hasina said.

In 1983, Yunus founded Grameen Bank, which gives small loans to entrepreneurs who would not normally qualify for bank loans. The bank’s success in lifting people out of poverty led to similar microfinancing efforts in many other countries.

Hasina’s administration began a series of investigations of Yunus after coming to power in 2008. She became enraged when Yunus announced he would form a political party in 2007 when the country was run by a military-backed government and she was in prison, although he did not follow through on the plan.

Yunus has also criticized politicians in the country, saying they are only interested in money. Hasina called him a “bloodsucker” and accused him of using force and other means to recover loans from poor rural women as head of Grameen Bank.

Hasina’s government began a review of the bank’s activities in 2011, and Yunus was fired as managing director for allegedly violating government retirement regulations. He was put on trial in 2013 on charges of receiving money without government permission, including his Nobel Prize award and royalties from a book.

He later faced more charges involving other companies he created, including Grameen Telecom, which is part of the country’s largest mobile phone company, GrameenPhone, a subsidiary of Norwegian telecom giant Telenor.

Earlier this month, 18 former Grameen Telecom workers filed a case against Yunus accusing him of siphoning off their job benefits. Defense lawyers called the case harassment and vowed to fight the allegations.

Separately, Yunus went on trial on Aug. 22 on charges of violating labor laws. The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments brought the case against Yunus and three other people in 2021, alleging discrepancies during an inspection of Grameen Telecom, including a failure to regularize positions for 101 staff members and to establish a workers’ welfare fund.

Yunus and 13 others were also named in a case brought by the Anti-Corruption Commission accusing them of embezzling funds from Grameen Telecom.

In their letter, the global figures also urged that Bangladesh’s upcoming elections, expected to be held by early January, be credible.

Hasina said the elections would be free and fair.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by Zia has alleged that the elections will be rigged and threatened to boycott the voting if Hasina does not step down and hand over power to a caretaker government to oversee the balloting. Hasina has rejected the demand.

Greenpeace releases animated video in campaign against fossil fuel sponsorship of Rugby World Cup

The logo of TotalEnergies is seen at the company’s headquarters skyscraper in the La Defense business district in Courbevoie near Paris, France, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Environmental group Greenpeace released a video Wednesday Aug. 30, 2023 ahead of the rugby World Cup showing a massive amount of oil flooding the Stade de France in a campaign against fossil fuel sponsorship of big sporting events.

 (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

People walk by the Stade de France stadium Monday, July 10, 2023 in Saint-Denis, north of Paris. Environmental group Greenpeace released a video Wednesday Aug. 30, 2023 ahead of the rugby World Cup showing a massive amount of oil flooding the Stade de France in a campaign against fossil fuel sponsorship of big sporting events.

 (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)

BY SAMUEL PETREQUIN
August 30, 2023

Environmental group Greenpeace released an animated video Wednesday showing a massive amount of oil flooding the field for the upcoming opening game of the Rugby World Cup in a campaign against fossil fuel sponsorship of big sporting events.

The video takes aim at energy giant TotalEnergies, a sponsor of the event in France.

The film shows the Stade de France seconds before the start of the first match of the tournament between France and New Zealand on Sept. 8. Oil spills out of TotalEnergies advertising boards hanging in the stadium.

“The global fossil fuel industry extracts enough oil to fill a rugby stadium every 3 hours and 37 minutes,” Greenpeace said.




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The environmental group said Rugby World Cup Limited tried to block the release of the video on Tuesday on the eve of its release.

“But we won’t be silenced,” said Edina Ifticene, a campaigner at Greenpeace France. “Fossil fuel companies like TotalEnergies sponsor events like the Rugby World Cup to distract everyone from their climate destruction.”

TotalEnergies said in a statement to the The Associated Press that “it’s wrong to claim that TotalEnergies is greenwashing by sponsoring the Rugby World Cup 2023.”

The company added that the World Cup is a chance for TotalEnergies, which employs nearly 35,000 people in France, to “raise awareness of the multi-energy dimension of our activities and our ambition to be a major player in the energy transition, committed to carbon neutrality by 2050, together with society.”

When it became a sponsor of the tournament, TotalEnergies said it would work with organizers “to create an environmentally responsible event, notably through the deployment of a decarbonized mobility plan and the supply of green energy.”

Earlier this week, local organizers and TotalEnergies announced the launch of a car-sharing service for fans. The company said it also installed temporary electric charging stations near World Cup stadiums, and offered free electric recharging on match days.

“As a reminder, TotalEnergies will invest nearly 5 billion euros in renewable and low-carbon energies by 2023, and will therefore, for the first time, devote more investments to low-carbon energies than to new hydrocarbon projects,” the company said. “By 2030, TotalEnergies will be one of the world’s largest low-carbon power producers.”

According to a Greenpeace report last week that analyzed the 2022 annual reports of several oil companies in Europe, “99% of TotalEnergies’ energy production last year came from fossil fuels, meaning only 1% came from genuinely renewable sources.”

England’s female international cricketers to be paid the same match fees as male counterparts

England’s Maia Bouchier during a nets session at The 1st Central County Ground, in Brighton, England, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. England’s female international cricketers will be paid the same match fees as their male counterparts on the back of record attendances and viewing figures for the Women’s Ashes played over June and July. The move toward abolishing the pay gap between male and female players in England had already been recommended in a report by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket. 

(Adam Davy/PA via AP)

August 30, 2023

LONDON (AP) — England’s female international cricketers will be paid the same match fees as their male counterparts on the back of record attendances and viewing figures for the Women’s Ashes played over June and July.

The move toward abolishing the pay gap between male and female players in England had already been recommended in a report by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, which was published two months ago and highlighted deep-rooted discrimination in the English game.

That report said the average salary for England Women players was 20.6% of what players in the men’s team received for limited-overs games.

A total of 110,00 people came to watch the drawn Women’s Ashes series between England and Australia, with crowds of around 20,000 at several of the limited-overs matches. More than 23,000 tickets were sold for the five days of the test at Trent Bridge.

Broadcast viewing figures of 5.3 million were double those in 2019.

The pay increase will take effect immediately, starting with this week’s Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka.

“We all want cricket to be the team sport of choice for female athletes,” said Richard Gould, chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, “and, with the investments we are making and increasingly lucrative opportunities around the world, we are seeing cricketers become some of the highest-earning female athletes in U.K. team sports.

“However, we know there is still much further to go as we ultimately strive for equality across the game.”

The International Cricket Council said in July that men’s and women’s teams will receive equal prize money at cricket’s biggest international tournaments with immediate effect.

Amazon CEO says ‘it’s probably not going to work out’ for employees who defy return-to-office policy


AWS CEO Andy Jassy speaks in Las Vegas. Amazon employees have been pushing back against the company’s return to office policy for months - and it seems Jassy has had enough. During a pre-recorded internal Q&A session earlier this month, Jassy told employees it was “past the time to disagree and commit” with the policy, which requires corporate employees to be in the office three days a week.

 (Isaac Brekken/AP Images for NFL, File)

BY HALELUYA HADERO
August 30, 2023

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon employees have been pushing back against the company’s return-to-office policy for months — and it seems CEO Andy Jassy has had enough.

During a pre-recorded internal Q&A session earlier this month, Jassy told employees it was “past the time to disagree and commit” with the policy, which requires corporate employees to be in the office three days a week.

The phrase “disagree and commit” is one of Amazon’s leadership principles, and was used often by the company’s founder and current executive chairman, Jeff Bezos.

“If you can’t disagree and commit, it’s probably not going to work out for you at Amazon,” Jassy said, adding it wasn’t right for some employees to be in the office three days a week while others refuse to do so.

His comments were first reported by Business Insider, and later shared by Amazon.

The current office attendance mandate, which was announced in February and went into effect in May, is a shift from Amazon’s previous policy that allowed leaders to determine how their teams worked. But the company said Tuesday it rejects the notion that the prior policy was supposed to be the norm, and pointed to a blog post from 2021 where Jassy noted Amazon would “continue to adjust” things as more information rolled in.

When announcing the updated policy earlier this year, Jassy wrote in a memo to staff that Amazon made its decision after observing what worked during the pandemic and talking to leaders at other companies. He said the company’s senior executives, known internally as the S-team, concluded employees tended to be more engaged in person and collaborate more easily.

But many workers haven’t been convinced. In May, hundreds of Amazon employees protested the new policy during a lunchtime demonstration at the company’s Seattle headquarters. At the time, an internal Slack channel that advocated for remote work had racked up 33,000 members.

Some employees have also been pushing the company to supply data that support Jassy’s claims. During the session, Jassy said the company’s leadership looked at the data it has available and among other things, he said they didn’t feel that meetings were as effective from home as they were before. He added there are a lot of scenarios where the company has made some of its biggest decisions without perfect data, pointing to examples like Amazon’s decision to pursue an online marketplace for sellers and AWS, its cloud computing unit.

In July, Amazon also rolled out a policy that requires some workers in smaller offices to move to main offices located in bigger cities, according to multiple media reports.

Amazon employs 1.4 million people worldwide but does not indicate how many of those work in office settings, as opposed to working at its warehouses and other sites.

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‘Breaking Bad’ stars reunite on picket line to call for studios to resume negotiations with actors

“Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston called on the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to return to negotiations with screen actors on Tuesday while picketing outside of Sony Pictures Studios. Cranston was joined by Aaron Paul, Jesse Plemons and other members of the “Breaking Bad” universe at in an effort to energize picket lines more than a month after members of SAG-AFTRA joined striking Hollywood writers. (Aug. 29)

BY KRYSTA FAURIA
 August 29, 2023


CULVER CITY, Calif. (AP) — The cast of “Breaking Bad” has reunited to call upon Hollywood studios to resume negotiations with striking screen actors.

“We want you to come back to the table with us,” Bryan Cranston said in a plea to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers outside Sony Pictures Studios on Tuesday.

Cranston was joined by Aaron Paul, Jesse Plemons and other members of the “Breaking Bad” universe in an effort to energize picket lines more than a month after SAG-AFTRA joined striking Hollywood writers.




Both guilds are seeking to address issues brought about by the dominance of streaming services, which have changed all aspects of production and pay in the industry.

“The way things were structured 10 years ago made a lot of sense and it made it more possible for journeymen-type actors, actors in the middle that are working just as a hard or harder,” Plemons said.

By its final season, which aired more than a decade ago, “Breaking Bad” was one of the most watched and highest rated cable TV shows ever.

The AMC hit series has achieved enduring popularity on Netflix, but its stars say that has not been reflected in their pay.

“I don’t get a piece from Netflix on ‘Breaking Bad’ to be totally honest and that’s insane to me,” Paul said. “I think a lot of these streamers know that they have been getting away with not paying people a fair wage and now it’s time to pony up.”

Cranston said they chose Sony for their reunion as the studio behind the Emmy-winning hit, along with its spinoff projects, the AMC prequel series “Better Call Saul” and the Netflix film, “El Camino.”

“We’re not making them the enemy. They are not villains. These are people that we all will be working with once again at some point,” Cranston said. “We just want them to see reality.”

Several other casts have joined picket lines during the strike, including actors from “Parks and Recreation” and the cult hit “Jury Duty,” drawing a link between popular shows and the actors’ strike goals.

Cranston also affirmed SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher’s recent comments to The Associated Press that these dual Hollywood strikes are galvanizing a broader movement throughout the country.

“Without organized labor, management will just keep stuffing their pockets. They don’t and will not ever just go, ‘You know what? I don’t think this is being fair to those people. I’m going to pay them more.’ It’s just not what they do,” he said.

Cast members of “Better Call Saul” were also on the picket lines, including Rhea Seehorn and Patrick Fabian, along with the series co-creator, Peter Gould, who has been on strike with the Writers Guild of America since May.

 

When it comes to the Hollywood strikes, it’s not just the entertainment industry that’s being hurt


Shon LeBlanc, co-owner of costume rental service Valentino’s Costume Group, poses for a portrait at his warehouse, Friday, May 26, 2023, in Los Angeles.

(AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)


BY KRYSTA FAURIA
Updated 7:53 AM MDT, August 29, 2023Share

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The company had struggled for years, tossed around by pandemic-induced production shutdowns that began in March 2020. Last year, though, business for Valentino’s Costume Group had finally picked back up.

Hoping to capitalize on that good fortune, the shop moved in January to a North Hollywood space twice the size of its old building.

Then Hollywood’s screenwriters and actors went on strike. Now, says co-owner Shon LeBlanc, Valentino’s can no longer afford to pay its rent.

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“My chest is tightening because the money is so tight,” says LeBlanc, bemoaning the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers’ apparent lack of urgency to try to reach an agreement with the unions. “When is the mayor going to step in and say, ‘I’m ordering you guys to figure something out because you’re about to collapse the economy in Los Angeles?’”

It has been well over 100 days since members of the Writers Guild of America stopped working, and more than a month since the actors union joined them. LeBlanc’s is just one story of many detailing the financial ripple effects.


Few corners of the entertainment industry have been left unscathed

From studio rentals and set construction to dry cleaning for costumes and transportation to sets, it’s hard to find a corner of the Los Angeles economy that has entirely escaped the reverberations.

“A movie set in one day can generate tens of thousands of dollars,” says Kevin Klowden, chief strategist with the Milken Institute, a think tank that researches social and economic issues. “Depending on the level of activity, it can be hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

The last writers strike, more than 15 years ago, took three months to resolve and is conservatively estimated to have cost $2.1 billion in lost output. This time around, the number will be harder to measure given how much production costs, locations and timelines have changed in recent years thanks to technological improvements and increased globalization.

It’s been more than 100 days since members of the Writers Guild of America stopped working – and more than a month since the actors’ union joined them. The financial ripples that the strikes have caused are too wide-reaching to count, making it difficult to find a corner of the Los Angeles economy that has entirely escaped the reverberations. (Aug. 28)

“We tend to think of productions as sort of a self-contained thing,” Klowden says, while in reality, a production often spans companies and even countries. Projects are often “shipped off” to New Zealand for the addition of visual effects, he cites as an example. “The larger a production is, the more likely you are to see a whole bunch of different tax credit mentions at the end.”

Both guilds are seeking to address issues brought about by the dominance of streaming services, which have changed all aspects of production, from how projects are written to when they’re released.

For the writers, the guild has said the use of small staffs, known as “mini rooms” (a riff on the notion of the “writers’ room”), for shorter time periods has made a living income hard to achieve. Actors’ concerns include protections on the use of artificial intelligence.

Although talks between the WGA and the AMPTP have resumed, there are no plans between the actors and studios to return to the bargaining table.

“I’m not really understanding what the silent treatment is,” SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher told The Associated Press last week. “It could be a tactical strategy to see if we they can wait us out until we lose our resolve and then they can make a better deal for themselves.”

SAG-AFTR President Fran Drescher poses for a portrait, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, at the SAG-AFTRA offices in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

In an earnings call at the beginning of August, Hudson Pacific executives tried to assuage concerns about the financial impact that the strikes are having on their businesses, while still conceding the reality behind those fears. The company owns both Quixote and Sunset Studios, two major equipment and studio rental companies in the entertainment industry.

“We’re all hugely aware of the shrapnel around the industry in general and all of the residual businesses that are getting affected. It will start to feel fairly painful,” warned its chair and CEO Victor Coleman in response to questions of how long the strikes may last. “It will be damaging. And I think everybody is very cognizant of that.”

The fallout reaches beyond entertainment, into all corners of LA

The uncertain duration of the strikes looms large over every business feeling the financial effects, with fallout spreading well beyond the entertainment industry. Restaurants, coffee shops, even nail salons that neighbor major studios — they’re all desperate for a quick resolution.

Patys Restaurant, a Toluca Lake staple that boasts regulars including Steve Carell and Adam Sandler, has seen a major slump in business from diners and catering orders, according to owner George Metsos. He cites lost businesses from obvious patrons — actors, writers, crew members — but also speaks of other regulars who aren’t coming in: electricians, set carpenters and the drivers who stop in for breakfast on their way to work at the nearby valley studios.

Emmanuel Pelargos, who owns Astro Burger across the street from Paramount Studios in Hollywood, says the regular presence of writers and actors on the picket lines has not offset the decline in business from halted productions.

“They come in sometimes,” he says of the picketers, “but it’s mostly to use the bathroom.”

Corrie Sommers, vice president of the Toluca Lake Chamber of Commerce, says the timing of the strikes — on the heels of financial recovery from the pandemic — hits small businesses particularly hard.

“The strike ... has just set everybody backwards again. Only this time, there’s not the aid that is needed,” Sommers says. “No one’s saying, ‘Here’s some free money to bail you out. Here’s some money to float you through.’ That’s not there anymore. And it’s affecting everybody.”

Sommers, also a real estate agent in the area, cites multiple clients who were interested in buying homes but changed their minds.

Shon LeBlanc displays a costume used in the musical production "Gavroche." (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)  

Shon LeBlanc primps a bowler hat at his warehouse. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

“I’ve personally had about five buyers in the last three months say, ‘I’m going to have to wait until next year because I don’t know what’s happening,’” she says.

While many on strike acknowledge the financial burdens on both peers in the industry and their neighbors outside of it, the writers are standing by their decision with renewed vigor on the picket lines after the much larger actors guild joined them.

Luvh Rakhe, a member of the WGA negotiating committee who has written for hit shows like “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “New Girl,” is acutely aware of the financial costs. But he believes people across industries and professions know it is necessary.

“I don’t think anyone is, like, blase and happy about the momentary disruption to their lives,” Rakhe says, “but they understand why it happened and what it is hoping to achieve.”

Despite the burdens being placed on people in peripheral lines of work, many of them say there is a general sense of solidarity. LeBlanc, the Valentino’s co-owner, continues to underscore his support, even amid the uncertain future of his 25-year-old business. (To answer his question, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass hasn’t indicated she will intervene, but did say in a statement in early August that she is “ready to personally engage with all the stakeholders in any way possible to help get this done.”)

To keep the shop afloat, Valentino’s has started a GoFundMe to pay the rent for now. LeBlanc is hopeful that if they can raise enough money for the next month or so, Halloween and school productions starting back up will get them through the rest of the year.

“We do have things coming up,” he has assured the landlord. “We just need to get some money in here to get us over the hump.”

More sector oversight necessary amid hundreds of oil, gas industry deaths, U.S. report finds


| A federal report on fatalities in the oil and gas industry found most of the deaths were related to vehicle accidents. The media, meanwhile, missed out on reporting on many severe accidents. 

File photo by Gary C. Caskey/UPI | License Photo

Aug. 29 (UPI) -- With nearly 500 on-site deaths in the oil and gas industry over six years, more stringent safety measures are necessary, a U.S. government report published Tuesday says.

The United States is among the world leaders in terms of oil and gas production. As an exporter, the country this year leap-frogged its peers to become the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas in the world.

The study from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found 470 people working in the oil and gas industry from 2014-2019 lost their lives on the job.

The data was published in the CDC's weekly Mortality and Morbidity Report.

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Focusing on the upstream side of the segment, the part of the energy sector dealing with exploration and production, the agencies said workers operate in a unique and challenging environment, though there's so far been a lack of research into occupational safety.

"[Oil and gas extraction] workers face elevated fatal occupational injury rates that are historically seven times higher than for all U.S. workers," the report said.

"OGE workers have physically demanding jobs, are exposed to hazardous chemicals and flammable and toxic gases, experience long commutes, engage in shift work, and work outdoors in all environmental conditions."

Past events show offshore operations are risky, though fatalities are rare. One person was killed and three others were treated for injuries after an explosion on the Echo Platform in the Gulf of Mexico in 2014.

During the prior year, no major injuries occurred after the collapse of a rig owned by Hercules Offshore. Among the worst environmental disasters of its kind, 11 workers were killed as a direct result of the Deepwater Horizon tragedy in 2011.

Of the 470 fatalities reported during the study period, 27% were vehicle incidents and 14% were related to explosions. About 75% of the total fatalities were among contractors, and around 20% were reported for workers operating alone on the job.

Most worker fatalities were identified first by the OSHA, with the news media accounting for only 7% of the reports. Some 17% of the total fatalities, meanwhile, included more than one death.

The federal report said continued surveillances of industry accidents could prevent further calamities.

"Robust safety and health management systems, a positive workplace safety culture, and collaboration among government, academic institutions and industry partners are essential to improving worker safety," the report said.

More than 100 arrested for attending gay wedding in Nigeria


Nearly 200 people were arrested in Nigeria for attending a gay wedding, including the couple who got married, according to police in the western African country. Photo courtesy of Council on Foreign Relations

Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Nearly 200 people were arrested in Nigeria for attending a gay wedding, including the couple who got married, according to police in the western African country.

Using the country's homosexuality laws, officers arrested hundreds of "gay suspects" early Monday morning at a hotel in Ekpan town, Delta state, in southern Nigeria.

"The amazing part of it was that we saw two suspects -- and there is a video recording -- where they were performing their wedding ceremony," Delta State Command spokesman Bright Edafe told reporters.

"This is not something that will be allowed in Nigeria," Edafe added. "We are in Africa and we are in Nigeria. We cannot copy the Western world because we don't have the same culture."

While there were reports of 200 people arrested, 67 were detained and will be charged "upon completion of the investigation," Edafe said.

Nigeria's Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act bans same sex relationships. Mass arrests are common in the country.

According to the law, which was enacted by president Goodluck Jonathan in 2013, same sex marriages are punishable with up to 14 years in prison. Anyone who "witnesses, abets or aids the solemnization of a same-sex marriage or union" faces up to 10 years.

Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry condemned the law when it was enacted, saying it "dangerously restricts freedom" of expression for all Nigerians. Britain and Canada have also criticized the law.

Filmmaker Renan Ozturk wanted to give Arctic a voice in new Nat Geo special

"I want to show what is at stake because it is this huge part of the world that is going to change more than almost anywhere else," Ozturk said about "Explorer: Lost in the Arctic."

By Karen Butler

The documentary "Explorer: Lost in the Arctic" premieres on Disney+ and Hulu on Friday. Photo courtesy of Nat Geo

NEW YORK, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Filmmaker and photographer Renan Ozturk says his new National Geographic documentary special, Explorer: Lost in the Arctic, is meant to show how this part of the world is equally breathtakingly beautiful and treacherous.

Set to premiere Friday on Hulu and Disney+, the film follows Ozturk and his fellow extreme rock/mountain climber Mark Synnott as they attempt to find the tomb of Sir John Franklin, the 19th-century British captain who disappeared with a crew of 129 men while on a quest to navigate the Northwest Passage trade route.

"I felt like it was really important to let the Arctic itself be a character in the film because it was an opportunity for a lot more people to understand what that landscape is," Ozturk told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.

"I'm not necessarily trying to make it seem dangerous or anything," he added. "But just show it for what it is -- some of the raw beauty, the wildlife that exists up there, how some parts of it are still completely untouched and the Inuit [people] have kept it the same."

Ozturk hopes viewers appreciate the region and understand how humans have impacted it over the last century.

"I want to show what is at stake because it is this huge part of the world that is going to change more than almost anywhere else as it does open and becomes the shipping lane Franklin thought it was going to become and tourism and resource extraction increases," he said.

"Having the landscape itself have a voice, so to speak, is something that is always important in all of these [nature] films, but maybe this one more than most."

The trip started out as a personal dream of Ozturk and Synnott to sail from the East Coast of the United States to the Arctic.

"We are professional climbers, but I think we discovered over time that climbing isn't everything," Ozturk said.

"You want to find meaningful stories to tell and ways for people to find their way into understanding these places culturally and historically, and Mark was the one who had done research on the [Lost on] Everest mystery story, which is really similar, and this is in that same vein."

Ozturk said meeting Synnott changed his life.

"I didn't know anything about all of this adventure stuff. When I was an undergrad, Mark [presented] a slideshow at my school," Ozturk recalled.

"I later sought out that same lifestyle and climbed with him on all of these expeditions around the world and now have done a lot of these Nat Geo stories," Ozturk added.

"What makes him a really great collaborator is his level of research and care, and, obviously, his skills as a writer and expedition leader."

Despite their harrowing feats and extraordinary accomplishments, Synnott doesn't take himself too seriously.

"There's a level of self-deprecating humor that's just fun to be around when you are in these trying situations," Ozturk said.

Making Lost in the Arctic had distinctive risks and rewards because Synnott was captaining his own fiberglass boat, which was "a little sketchy" in the icy waters of the Arctic, according to Ozturk.

"That boat he built up from scratch for this journey and learned how to become a big ocean sailor. That boat was like a member of his family," the filmmaker said.

"He was just scared the whole time that something was going to happen to the boat," Ozturk added. "There is like a level of stress and responsibility beyond anything we'd ever done. We were pushing the safety margins a little more than normal."

Ozturk also had his hands full this time, crewing the boat while finding time to capture the adventure on film.

"Normally, when we do these film projects, there are five to 10 people who create the show," he said.

"We just had myself and one other guy and, on top of that, Mark said, 'You guys can't focus on the filming. You know that, right? The entire time, you're first priority is keeping the boat above the water, and every six hours, for four months, whether it is midnight, 2 a.m. or 6 a.m., if your watch comes, you are looking out for ice and not shooting.'"

That grueling schedule took its toll on Ozturk.

"You descend into a sleepless delirium where you never see darkness and you are shooting when other people are on watch and the light is good," he said.

"It puts you in a pretty crazy place, mentally. That was really challenging."

Ozturk said he never doubted whether the project would be worth it in the end, especially when Jacob, an Inuit man with tremendous knowledge of the region, joined them on the boat and acted as a guide and hunter for the film crew.

"That was a thing that nobody from his village had done, and it added this level of meaning to the trip because we got an [Inuit] perspective of the North," he said.

"If he wasn't there, I think I would have questioned being just a bunch of White guys sailing on a boat through the Arctic."

Modern technology and the desire for comfort have had definite impacts on adventure and exploration.

"We've got satellite devices. We can communicate anywhere on Earth and you can press the SOS button on your Garmin. ... You can get a HeliRescue," Ozturk said.

That's one of the things that attracted the team to this adventure.

"Even with all of the climbing trips we've done -- like Everest -- it's really hard to get that remote," Ozturk said.

"On this, even if you hit the full-on HeliRescue button, you're probably going to die before the helicopter gets there because it is going to take a week or more and it's going to be really tricky to find you," he added.

"This expedition is us testing ourselves in more of an old-world way, even though we have the best technology known at this point in time for safety. We still have some of the same challenges as Franklin."

Meta says it won't censor ex-Cambodian leader Hun Sen over incendiary speech

By Adam Schrader

President Joe Biden (L) with Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen as they meet on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Phnom Penh in Cambodia in November 2022. 

File Photo by Cambodian PM Press Office | License Photo

Aug. 29 (UPI) -- The U.S.-based Meta Platforms announced Tuesday the social media giant has chosen not to censor the Instagram and Facebook accounts of Hun Sen, the former leader of Cambodia who has been under fire for a live video he broadcasted of an incendiary speech he delivered in January.

Hun Sen, who led Cambodia for 38 years, passed on rule to his son after what has been considered a sham election in July. In the January speech, the Cambodian leader made comments that have been viewed as threatening violence to citizens of his country.

The situation and the decision by Meta, a U.S. company, could have global ramifications for content moderation.

The video quickly racked up more than half a million page views and thousands of shares before it was flagged to Facebook. Human reviewers at Facebook determined the video did not violate the social media site's policies.

After further review, Meta determined that the content did violate the company's Violence and Incitement policy outlined under Facebook's Community Standards but decided to leave the video up under a newsworthy allowance.

The video was ultimately flagged to Meta's oversight board, a quasi-independent body that helps the social media sites self-govern content decisions. The oversight board took up consideration of how to handle the Hun Sen video in March.

"Meta referred this case to the board because we found it significant and difficult as it creates tension between our values of safety and voice," Meta said in a news release Tuesday.

Meta said it would comply with the board's decision to remove the video but opted not to take action to further limit Hun Sen.

"Our commitment to voice is a critical component of our protocol on restricting accounts of public figures, which we created following the Board's decision in the Donald Trump case, specifically to address the Board's concerns regarding the indefinite suspension of public figures," Meta said.

"This protocol is designed to apply a severe time-bound restriction, or suspension, on the account of a public figure users inciting or celebrating ongoing civil unrest or violence in crisis situations. The protocol is not designed for situations where a history of state violence or human rights restrictions have resulted in ongoing state restrictions on expressions for an indeterminate period of time."

Meta noted that social media has provided platforms for citizens in countries where freedom of the press has been curtailed by the government.

"These concerns are particularly acute in Cambodia, where prior independent human rights due diligence highlighted the importance of our platforms to the information ecosystem in that country," Meta said.

"Our products and services have been essential to freedom of information and expression in Cambodia given its restricted media environment. Our platforms serve as an important source of independent news and a tool for activists to improve public officials' accountability."

Meta added that, though Hun Sen's accounts would not be suspended, they will continue to be subject to the social media company's "penalty system" which "apply to all users all around the world."

Cambodia's Ministry of Post and Telecommunications cheered Meta's decision in a statement posted to Facebook. Hun Sen's government had previously threatened to shut down Facebook in the country.