Far right eye breakthrough in Romania presidential vote


By AFP
November 24, 2024


Experts say the stakes are high in Sunday's presidential race to replace liberal Klaus Iohannis, a staunch Ukraine ally - Copyright AFP Daniel MIHAILESCU

Ani SANDU with Andrada LAUTARU

Romanians were voting Sunday in the first round of a presidential election amid a surge in inflation and fears over the war in neighbouring Ukraine that could favour far-right leader George Simion.

The vote kicks off two weeks of elections in the poor NATO member country, including a parliamentary vote and a December 8 presidential run-off.

Social democrat Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu is leading a field of 13 hopefuls in the polls, with about 25 percent, followed by AUR leader Simion on 15 to 19 percent.

Simion is targeting people like Rodica, a 69-year-old who was among the first to vote in Bucharest’s chilly sunshine. The pensioner, who would not give a family name, was afraid of the Ukraine war and wanted “better living conditions and peace”.

The stakes are high in the race to replace President Klaus Iohannis, a liberal and staunch Ukraine ally, who has held the largely ceremonial post since 2014.

Romania, which has a 650-kilometre (400-mile) border with Ukraine, has become more important since Russia invaded its neighbour in 2022.

The Black Sea nation now plays a “vital strategic role” for NATO — as it is home to more than 5,000 soldiers — and the transit of Ukrainian grain, the New Strategy Center think tank said.

– Big Trump fan –

Simion, 38, is hoping to make a breakthrough as far-right parties across Europe notch up electoral successes.

Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election has further “complicated” Romania’s choice, political analyst Cristian Pirvulescu told AFP.

Known for his fiery speeches, Simion — a Trump fan who sometimes dons a red cap in appreciation of his idol — hopes to get a boost from his victory.

Simion opposes sending military aid to Ukraine, wants a “more patriotic Romania” and frequently lashes out against what he calls the “greedy corrupt bubble” in Brussels.

Romania has so far only had “minions and cowards as leaders”, he recently said, adding that people “no longer accept to be treated as second-class citizens” in other countries.

Simion has seen his popularity surge by tapping into voter anger over record inflation — 10 percent last year and 5.5% predicted for 2024 — while promising to deliver affordable housing for all.

Should he reach the second round, analyst Pirvulescu predicts a “contagion effect” that would likely boost his AUR party in the December parliamentary election.

“Romanian democracy is in danger for the first time since the fall of communism in 1989,” he added.

– Russian ‘spies’ claim –

“I’m really afraid we’ll end up with Simion in the second round,” 36-year-old IT worker Oana Diaconu told AFP, expressing concern about the far-right leader’s unpredictable nature and attacks on the European Union.

The campaign has been marked by controversy and personal attacks, with Simion facing accusations of meeting with Russian spies — a claim he has denied.

Ciolacu has been criticised for his use of private jets.

Despite low popularity ratings, he hopes to win over voters with his promise of “stability” for Romania.

Ciolacu’s Social Democratic Party (PSD), which has shaped the country’s politics for more than three decades, currently governs in a coalition with the National Liberal Party.

Polling in third place is former journalist Elena Lasconi, who became mayor of the small town of Campulung and head of a centre-right opposition party, who could prove to be a surprise package.

“Our best hope might be to wake up with Lasconi in the second round — she seems to be the most honest candidate,” said Diaconu before hopping on a Bucharest tram.

Polling stations opened at 7:00 am (0500 GMT) and close at 9:00 pm, with exit polls expected shortly after.

Survivors, sniffing dogs join anti-mine march at Cambodia’s Angkor Wat

The 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, which neither Russia nor the United States are party to.

By AFP
November 24, 2024

Survivors and sniffing dogs joined hundreds of people at Cambodia's Angkor Wat for a march against landmines - Copyright AFP TANG CHHIN Sothy

Survivors and sniffing dogs joined hundreds of people at Cambodia’s Angkor Wat on Sunday for a march against landmines after the US decision to send anti-personnel mines to Ukraine.

Participants, including landmine victims and deminers, repeatedly chanted for “a mine-free world” during the four-kilometre (2.5-mile) walk around the famed temple complex in Siem Reap.

The march was held a day before an anti-landmine conference convenes in Cambodia, which is awash in unexploded ordnance as a legacy of civil war.

Hundreds of delegates are expected in Siem Reap to assess progress on the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, which neither Russia nor the United States are party to.

The march and conference come after Washington announced this week that it would send anti-personnel landmines to Ukraine in a major policy shift that was immediately criticised by human rights campaigners.

In Cambodia, where the relics of civil war continue to claim lives and maim people, landmine victims told AFP they fear the casualties that could come of the decision.

“There will be more victims like me,” said Horl Pros, a former soldier who lost his right leg to a landmine in 1984.

“I am sad and feel shocked.”

Washington says it has sought commitments from Kyiv to use the mines in its own territory and only in areas that are not populated in order to decrease the risk to civilians.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the mines “very important” to halting Russian attacks.

When asked about the supply of US mines to Ukraine, Vice President of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority Ly Thuch said: “We regret that any countries, any people continue to use landmines. Anti-personnel mines are not good for our humanity.”

After nearly three decades of civil war from the 1960s, Cambodia was left one of the most heavily bombed and mined countries in the world.

Around 20,000 people have been killed there by landmines and unexploded ordnance since 1979, and twice as many have been injured.

“I feel it is fundamentally wrong to have a weapon that has a long-term effect on the civilian population,” Chris Moon, a former British Army officer who lost an arm and a leg in 1995 while clearing landmines in Mozambique, told AFP in Siem Reap

Cheers, angst as US nuclear plant Three Mile Island to reopen

By AFP
November 24, 2024

The resurrection of Three Mile Island was prompted by Microsoft's need to fuel its power-hungry data centers - Copyright AFP Olivier Touron

Thomas URBAIN

The planned reopening of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant is praised as a boon for Pennsylvania and a boost for AI, but it is loathed by residents still haunted by a near-catastrophic meltdown there in 1979.

“Gas is under attack. Coal is shutting down all over this country. You got to have the base load. And nuclear is probably the most efficient base load source we have,” Pennsylvania Building and Trades Council president Robert Bair told AFP, arguing that the reopening of the plant will benefit the entire country.

Gains could include some 3,400 jobs and three billion dollars in tax revenue for the surrounding counties, according to a study by the council.

The resurrection of Three Mile Island (TMI) — half of which remained operating after the 1979 meltdown, only closing down due to economic reasons in 2019 — was prompted by Microsoft’s need to fuel its power-hungry data centers.

A revolution in generative artificial intelligence has triggered a surge in energy needs for those data centers, pushing cloud computing giants to look for additional low carbon energy sources.

Microsoft — which is also the biggest shareholder in OpenAI, the company at the forefront of the artificial intelligence arms race — has signed a 20-year contract with TMI operator Constellation, which says all the power the plant generates will go to the Silicon Valley behemoth.

“I’m good with (the power station reopening), but that’s mainly because my best friend works for OpenAI,” joked Shay McGarvey, a bus driver in Middletown, less than three miles from the power station.

“No, actually it’s more about the amount of jobs it’s going to create,” he added.

“This unit was a good neighbor to Londonderry Township and our surrounding region for 45 years,” said Bart Shellenhamer, chair of the Londonderry Township Board, which represents TMI.

– Faustian bargain –

For others, the fear and anxiety of 1979 is still strong.

“Most residents prefer it remain closed,” said Matthew Canzoneri, chairman of the town council in Goldsboro, on the other side of the Susquehanna River on which the island is located.

“The energy produced does not directly benefit the community, and there is a definite sense of concern given TMI’s history,” he added.

A series of equipment malfunctions and human errors saw the plant’s Unit 2 melt down in 1979, releasing radioactive materials into the atmosphere and launching mass evacuations.

The accident riveted Americans for days and ushered in a new era of anxiety and regulation over nuclear energy in the United States. The worst — the rupture of the reactor vessel — was avoided, but it remains the most serious accident in the history of US commercial nuclear power.

Forty-five years later, some residents are still accusing authorities of having played down the scale of the disaster.

Some studies have shown higher than average rates of leukemia, thyroid and lung cancer in the region in the years that followed, but none has formally established the link to the nuclear accident.

Maria Frisby, who was a teenager in 1979, insists that “until the (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) acknowledges that the partial meltdown at Three Mile was much worse, there is no way I’m going to agree” that reopening the plant is a good idea.

“I lost a lot of classmates to multiple cancers, who died in their 50s,” said the 60-year old, for whom the link with the accident is obvious.

Bair said it was important to distinguish between Unit 2, where the accident occurred, and Unit 1, which “was the most efficient plant in the country for years.”

“I understand there’s always concerns,” he said.

“But from what I’ve seen and what I know about the nuclear industry, there’s no industry more heavily regulated and scrutinized and supervised than the generation of nuclear power.”

Eric Epstein, of the EFMR nonprofit which monitors radiation from TMI, pointed to issues such as the storage of spent fuel, which Constellation told AFP would be stored on the island — as it was during the nearly 40 years that Unit 1 operated safely.

“It’s a Faustian bargain,” Epstein said.

“You get electricity for a moment and radioactive waste forever.”

‘World of Warcraft’ still going strong as it celebrates 20 years

By AFP
November 21, 2024

'WoW' was an instant success upon its release in 2004, quickly attracting several million players worldwide - Copyright AFP Ishara S. KODIKARA

Kilian FICHOU

As it celebrates its 20th birthday, online video game “World of Warcraft” has demonstrated a rare longevity thanks to its loyal following and constant evolutions.

“It is inspiring to be able to work on this rare game that has touched so many lives, and to also feel the burden of carrying that forward,” Ion Hazzikostas, the current director of the game, told AFP at the Gamescom trade show in Germany in August.

As an early fan of “WoW” he joined California-based Blizzard, the American developer of the title, in 2008 before climbing the ranks.

Although it was not the first massively multiplayer online role-playing game (a genre known as MMORPG) when it was released in 2004, “World of Warcraft” was an instant success, quickly attracting several million players worldwide.

It benefited from the popularity of the Warcraft brand, a saga of real-time strategy games launched ten years earlier by Blizzard, which was bought by Microsoft in 2023.

In the game, two factions face off in a fantasy universe populated by orcs and elves where thousands of players can connect and cooperate simultaneously, in exchange for a monthly subscription of $15 a month.

It was the social aspect of the experience, still in its infancy at the time, that appealed to players.

“It was a precursor,” said Olivier Servais, a specialist in online communities. “Blizzard focused on guilds and communities on a human scale, bringing together between 30 and 200 players.”

In these groups, “people flirt, they confide about their daily lives”, weddings and funerals are organised, and the game becomes “a pretext to socialise”, he said.

“WoW” was born the same year as Facebook, and comprised key elements such as online interactions and communities that would help create today’s globalised social networks.

“It was many people’s first real exposure and connection to people in a digital virtual environment. And that was part of the magic, and that’s a hard thing to replicate,” Hazzikostas said.

Since then, other popular games such as “Fortnite” or “League of Legends” have adopted similar codes.

– ‘Monument’ –

At its peak in the 2010s, “World of Warcraft” claimed more than 10 million active accounts, though the number could be higher because many people often share one account, in Asia, in particular.

Blizzard no longer reveals the number of accounts, but “WoW” remains popular across the world.

“We are not resting on our laurels, or coasting gently off into the sunset,” Hazzikostas said.

Its 10th extension, “The War Within”, was released in August with new domains to explore and other changes.

“Twenty years later, it remains a monument but in a gaming market that has completely changed,” Servais said.

Hazzikostas said Blizzard is “trying new ambitious things to shake up what we’ve done and keep that vibrant”.

“I don’t see an end point to ‘World of Warcraft’ on the horizon today,” he said, drawing parallels with franchises such as Marvel or Star Wars.

Six-months on: Are we still afraid of the Black Cat?


By Dr. Tim Sandle
DIGITAL JOURNAL

Novembr 22, 2024


A member of the Red Hacker Alliance in Dongguan, China in August 2020 monitors cyberattacks around the world. Hacks have increased through the pandemic and the war in Ukraine - Copyright AFP/File Noel Celis

Earlier in 2024 a joint advisory was issued in the U.S. by the joint agencies responsible for security – FBI, CISA, and HHS. This was a warning the healthcare sector of BlackCat ransomware, following the group’s association with the Change Healthcare cyberattack.

BlackCat, also known as ALPHV, is a ransomware code written in Rust. It first appeared in November 2021. The same name is applied to the threat actor who exploit it.

How safe is healthcare now? To review the situation, Digital Journal heard from Andrew Costis, Chapter Lead of the Adversary Research Team at AttackIQ.

To begin with Costis presents a reminder as to the key elements of the U.S. government security statement: “This advisory contains updates to the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and indicators of compromise (IOCs) associated with BlackCat from a December advisory and the FBI’s FLASH alert from April 2022.”

As to the actual threat agent, Costis summarises the risk as: “BlackCat, a Rust-based ransomware family first identified in November 2021, operates under a Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) model. The group was disrupted by FBI operations last December. After this takedown, BlackCat administrators urged affiliates to target hospitals and critical infrastructure.”

BlackCat operates on a ransomware as a service (RaaS) model, with developers offering the malware for use by affiliates and taking a percentage of ransom payments.

Threat actors who work with BlackCat seek to gain initial access to IT environments and user accounts. This can be achieved in a variety of ways, such as remote desktop protocols, compromised credentials, and exchange server vulnerabilities.

Of the different risk areas, healthcare is the most vulnerable according to Costis: The healthcare sector has been the most commonly victimized out of the nearly 70 leaked victims. The cyberattack on Change Healthcare, the largest healthcare payment exchange platform, has significantly impacted pharmacies nationwide, prompting the adoption of electronic workarounds”

The best options are for the healthcare sector to prioritize cybersecurity measures. Costis recommends: “The vast amount of sensitive patient data stored within healthcare systems makes these organizations a dangerous target for ransomware groups, with the potential for far-reaching consequences. These attacks can cripple organizational operations and, more importantly, compromise patient health and safety.”

Furthermore, Costis advises: “Healthcare organizations must now prioritize validating their security controls against BlackCat’s TTPs as outlined in the joint advisory leveraging the MITRE ATT&CK framework. By emulating the behaviors exhibited by BlackCat, organizations can assess their security postures and pinpoint any vulnerabilities. This proactive approach is essential to mitigate the risk of future attacks.”

Australia ditches plans to fine tech giants for misinformation


By AFP
November 24, 2024

The proposed anti-misinformation bill in Austral;ia drew the wrath of X owner Elon Musk - Copyright AFP/File Nicolas TUCAT

Australia has ditched plans to fine social media companies if they fail to stem the spread of misinformation, the country’s communications minister said Sunday.

The proposed legislation outlined sweeping powers to fine tech companies up to five percent of their yearly turnover if they breached new online safety obligations.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said she had dumped the bill after running into significant opposition in the country’s senate.

“Based on public statements and engagements with senators, it is clear that there is no pathway to legislate this proposal through the senate,” she said in a statement.

The proposed bill notably drew the ire of tech baron Elon Musk, who in September likened the Australian government to “fascists”.

Australia has been at the forefront of global efforts to regulate the tech giants.

The government will soon roll out a nationwide social media ban for children under 16.

Social media companies could be fined more than US$30 million if they fail to keep children off their platforms, under separate laws tabled before Australia’s parliament on Thursday.

Iran director in exile says ‘bittersweet’ to rep Germany at Oscars


By AFP
November 24, 2024

Iranian director and producer Mohammad Rasoulof barely managed to attend his latest film's world premiere at the Cannes festival, after daringly fleeing Iran on foot through treacherous mountain passes just days earlier - Copyright AFP SANTIAGO MAZZAROVICH

Andrew MARSZAL

Forced to flee Iran, dissident director Mohammad Rasoulof says it is bittersweet that his latest movie will contend at the Oscars — under the banner of another country.

“The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” a paranoid thriller that was shot in secret and depicts a family torn apart by Iran’s brutally repressive politics, has earned rave reviews and won many festival prizes, including at Cannes.

But each country can submit just one movie for the best international film Oscar, and in authoritarian countries like Iran, that choice of film is made by state-controlled organizations.

“Of course, it is unimaginable that the Islamic Republic could have submitted a film like this for the Academy Awards,” Rasoulof told AFP.

“In fact, if it were possible for the regime to submit it, the film would not have been made in the first place.”

Instead, the film — out Wednesday in US theaters — has been selected as Germany’s entry at the Academy Awards.

Germany has become an adopted homeland for Rasoulof. The movie was produced by German and French companies.

“Sacred Fig” now has a strong chance of being nominated at the glitzy Hollywood ceremony, and gaining huge global exposure.

“I’m delighted Germany saw the international scope of the film and opened its arms… it’s like shining a torch, a sign to all filmmakers working under duress around the world,” Rasoulof said while promoting the film in Los Angeles this month.

But “it is bittersweet,” he said. “I have got pretty mixed feelings.”

– ‘Pressure’ –

The movie is set during the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests that took place two years ago in Iran.

Those demonstrations were sparked by the death of a young woman after her arrest by “morality police” for violating the clerical regime’s strict dress code.

Hundreds were killed in the ensuing crackdown by security forces, according to human rights groups.

The film follows Iman, an ambitious investigator-judge working for the regime, his wife Najmeh, and their two more curious and rebellious young daughters.

Iman is initially conflicted by having to sign death warrants without evidence. But regime pressure mounts on and corrupts him, driving a wedge through the family — especially after his gun disappears from the home.

Rasoulof barely managed to attend the film’s Cannes premiere in May, after daringly fleeing Iran on foot through treacherous mountain passes just days earlier.

The auteur, who has already spent time in jail, had just been sentenced to eight years in prison and flogging for denouncing the “corruption” and “incompetence” of authorities.

At the Cannes premiere, he held up photos of two lead actors in the film who were trapped in Iran.

One, Soheila Golestani, remains in Iran and faces “the greatest amount of pressure” as court proceedings have again accelerated against the filmmakers in recent weeks, said Rasoulof.

– ‘Filmmaker-in-exile’ –

Iran’s official entry this year is “In The Arms Of The Tree.” State media describes it as a drama that showcases “the beauty of this country” and portrays “the authenticity of the Iranian family.”

Rasoulof admits he has little interest in watching any films “made following the dictates of Iranian censorship.”

“They tend to be quite removed from reality. If you watch them, you feel that your intelligence is being insulted,” he said.

For his latest film, Rasoulof drew on classic Hollywood influences, particularly for a fast-paced, intense and thoroughly creepy final act.

“I was influenced by two films — ‘Straw Dogs’ by Sam Peckinpah, and ‘The Shining’ by Stanley Kubrick,” he said.

“I really enjoyed playing with genres and mixing them in new ways,” he said.

Among his next projects is an animated feature, which will tell the story of Abbas Nalbandian, a radical playwright who “had very momentous experiences around the (Iranian) Revolution.”

The idea to work in animation came out of necessity, four or five years ago, when “I was thinking that I might not be able to film anything on the streets,” recalled Rasoulof. “I was looking for ways to work around that.”

But he is now keen to complete the project, even in exile — a reality that he admits is yet to fully sink in.

“It’s very hard to realize that it’s actually been six months… that I’m a filmmaker-in-exile right now,” said Rasoulof.

“I miss Iran very much.”

The Seed of the Sacred Fig: enlightening dissident cinema from Leeds Film Festival

Exiled director Mohammad Rasoulof offers a harrowing and poignant response to the all-consuming repression of Iran’s revolutionary court

bySam Quarton
23-11-2024 

Missagh Zareh (left) as the haunted investigative judge, courtesy of Leedsfilm.com

Cinema is a dangerous business in Iran. Filmmakers who dare expose the engulfing control of the Islamic republic’s state repression are often crushed by the very evil they hope to capture. Travel bans, passport seizures, lengthy prison sentences and intimidation become part and parcel of the job. The Seed of the Sacred Fig – Mohammad Rasoulof’s secret picture about a criminal investigator whose careerist motives, state fanaticism and missing gun drive an iron wedge between him and his young daughters – should be a permanent reminder of the risks Iranian filmmakers take for their art. This is yet more essential viewing from Leeds International Film Festival.

In September 2022, tired and harried protesters took to the streets of Tehran under the banner of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, burning their headdresses as a symbol of disgust towards a state that had allowed 22-year-old Mahsa Amini to die in police custody. Amini was another victim of the Iranian Revolutionary Court’s Hijab and Chastity restrictions, theocratic laws recently strengthened by the state’s new power to subject women who breach the dress codes to ’treatment clinics’.

But Rasoulof could do nothing but respect his compatriots’ resolve from the isolation of his cell: the director, along with fellow filmmakers Jafar Panahi and Mostafa Al-Ahmad, was already serving a year-long prison sentence. His crime? Imploring security services to lay down their weapons during the deadly Abadan protests earlier that year.

The horrors of such violent state repression would in fact mutate into one of the bloodiest moments in Iran’s recent history, with security services bringing about the death of over 100 protesters in a single day on September 30th, known today as ’Bloody Friday’. Those who survived the ball bearings passed off as non-lethal rounds – protesters were often shot in the neck, stomach and genitals, but particularly the eyes, as the UN’s Fact Finding Mission Chair reports – would bear the ’dissidents’ mark for life.


Debshishu and Smita Patil: Leeds International Film Festival’s spotlight success
bySam Quarton
14 November 2024


A sympathetic jailer

It was this nightmarish reality that Rasoulof would enter as a free man, in February 2023, while armed forces were still imprisoning, torturing and executing those deemed part of an international conspiracy to undermine national security. Those living with whatever freedoms they could salvage must have wondered if the harbingers of state violence have a conscience.

After a clandestine conversation with a sympathetic jailer, Rasoulof knew the answer: the guard, suicidal at the prospect of enforcing more cruelty on others, could not bear tell his family what he does for a living. One need not squint to see how this harrowing and enlightening encounter would form the basis for The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Rasoulof’s study of a family torn apart by their father’s unthinkable, state-ordered actions.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig germinates

Iman – played with haunted vacancy by Missagh Zareh – had thought himself a just lawman, always fair in his 20 years as an ’expert’. But when promoted as an investigating judge, an essential stepping stone to the bench of the revolutionary court, the father of two finds himself tipping the scales of justice at the state’s will. Hundreds of death warrants begin to cross Iman’s desk, though his workload is easier than ever: things work differently here; don’t ask questions; just sign.

Yes, the times are a-changin’. Not just for Iman, who is learning the true weight of Azrael’s scythe. But also Najmeh, the materialist wife living in secret fear of her husband’s wrath, not merely for herself but their two children, Sana and Zervan (Mahsa Rostami), whose feminist views, longing for nail polish and educated friends are viewed as an imminent threat to the family’s survival.

It is here the seed of the fig that can engulf entire trees begins to germinate. Through Rasoulof’s patient and calculated authorship, we see Iman’s fanatical devotion calcify into an unmovable object, with the family’s civil liberties being rolled back inch by inch: friends are banned from coming over; neighbours are to be treated with suspicion; ’leaks’ must be stopped at all costs. There’s a horror film kineticism that stalks the hallways of the tiny apartment, a feeling some unseen enemy must be evaded, best observed through Najmeh’s attempts to hide their daughter’s friend from Iman’s paranoid gaze.

Mahsa Rostami (centre) staring down her on-screen father as the fearless Zervan, courtesy of Leedsfilm.com

The chants penetrate the walls

To his family, Iman has become a feared supreme leader of the household, a god among men whose word is final and whose presence is rare. The service pistol the father foolishly hides in a drawer acts as a physical testament to his divine right – although it will be stolen in a sudden, dizzying coup de théâtre. But when images of bloodied protesters and terrorising security forces are emblazoned on the daughters’ phones, real footage taken from the Amini demonstrations, Iman watches his regime begin to wobble.

Dissident slogans transcend screens and penetrate the walls; residents from the same apartment block chant “death to theocracy”; women in public without hijabs become an increasingly visible presence.

But it is at the dinner table – a sacrosanct space for the father’s patriarchal authority, when Iman denigrates the protesters as “sluts who want to walk naked in the street” – where we see judges too aren’t immune from the power of dissenting voices. Zervan, with gladiatorial furor, beats away talk of enemy plots, conspiracy theories and misogyny to ask her father something simple and poignant: “A girl my age was killed for her hijab. Why?” If Rostami’s anger feels lived-in and real, I would bet the farm it is.

Cinema or secret military operation?

Cinematographer Pooyan Aghababaei achieves in the film’s alleyways and bustling urban scenes a near-tangible paranoia that is also reflective of the incredibly dangerous risks undertaken by the cast and crew.

Rasoulof, who had already served a prison term for shooting without a permit, knew before making his latest picture it would resemble a covert military operation rather than a film production. And that’s exactly what it became: 70 days of exhausting shoots; small groups operating with very limited resources; no cellphones; anxieties running through the roof. Even the director himself would not be present when the clapperboard hit: liaisons between tech, design and cast members were essential in communicating the film’s intended image. The threat to life and liberty was always lurking in the shadows.

Z

ervan receiving the brunt of her mother’s fear, courtesy of Leedsfilm.com

Final Thoughts

And now, just over six months after the film was announced as a contender at Cannes, most of those who worked on it are experiencing legal reprisals. Both Rostami and her on-screen sister, Saterah Maleki, have left the country in fear of state retribution, and are joined by Rasoulof, who fled to Germany shortly after receiving a draconian eight year sentence and flogging in May this year.

So as Rasoulof vows to return to Iran and accept his persecution, let us appreciate the price of admission the director and his peers pay for the sake of free expression in an art form we are lucky enough to take for granted. The Seed of the Sacred Fig will live on as a testament to their sacrifice.

Sam Quarton is a Sheffield-based writer, video journalist and content creator who has covered everything from health and technology, politics and communities all the way through to music and the arts. Whether he’s sinking his teeth into news stories, interviews, or long-form copy, he approaches each piece with a clear focus: to gain a deeper perspective on the world and always move the conversation forward.

Priests suspended after review into Church of England's abuse failings

Staff writer 

CHRISTIANITY TODAY

23 November 2024


Four priests have had their licence to practise suspended by the Church of England as it continues to deal with the fallout from a damning review into safeguarding failings.

The Diocese of London has withdrawn permission to officiate (PTO) pending investigation from Hugh Palmer, former rector at All Soul's Church, Langham Place in London, and Christianity Explored founder Rico Tice, The Telegraph reports.

Sue Colman, associate minister at St Leonard's Church in Oakley, Hampshire, has also had her PTO suspended pending investigation, while in the Diocese of Gloucester the licence of Cheltenham-based pastor Nick Stott has been withdrawn.

The measures have been taken following the publication of the Makin Review which accused the Church of England of carrying out a "cover-up" of horrific abuse perpetrated by John Smyth, the late organiser of Iwerne Christian youth camps.



The report led to the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, but there have been calls for more clergy to go over their failure to act.

Palmer was cited in the report as having met with a badly beaten Smyth victim in 1982 the day after he had attempted to take his own life. Palmer said he did not realise at the time that the suicide attempt was linked to abuse by Smyth.



The report said: "Hugh Palmer visits victim [and] tells victim he was extremely sympathetic to abuse suffered at [the] hands of John Smyth."

During the review, victims cast doubt over the motives behind such visits by clergy.

"Victims have told us that this contact was not requested by them, but that it was proactively made by the individual clergy, by letter or phone, at the time feeling surprised by this and recalled how this was an unusual step, not something they had previously experienced, except in terms of John Smyth's approach to their grooming," the report said.

"At the time they felt it was offered in a supportive way but with hindsight, they reflected this may have been offered more for reasons of oversight and monitoring."

Palmer, a former chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II, told the review his visit had been motivated by "genuine concern".

Tice left the Church of England earlier this year over its introduction of same-sex blessings but retained his PTO so that he could continue to speak in Church of England churches.

He told The Times that after becoming aware of the abuse in 1987, he made his concerns known "soon afterwards" and "reported what I knew to senior people in the Iwerne camp more than once".

He said: "As a university student in the spring of 1987, I was told that boys at Iwerne camps had been beaten. At that time I was not aware of the dreadful severity of those beatings, certainly not that they amounted to criminal assault."

Of Colman, the Makin Review said it was likely that she and her husband Jamie had "significant knowledge" of Smyth's abuse in the UK and Africa as they were trustees of a ministry that funded his work in Africa.

Concerning Stott, he was described as among the first on the scene when a young boy died in suspicious circumstances at one of Smyth's camps in Zimbabwe. Stott told the review he had had "a confidence that any matters would have been investigated and dealt with by people he trusted".

UK

Rail enthusiasts bid to restore historic steam train back to its former glory

Locomotive No29 was built in 1908 for the Fife Coal Company's Mary Pit in Lochore.

The train is in the care of the Shed47 Railway Restoration Group.

Laura Piper
SKY NEWS
News / Edinburgh & East


A group of rail enthusiasts in Lathalmond are fundraising in a bid to restore a piece of Fife history.

Locomotive No29 was built in 1908 for the Fife Coal Company’s Mary Pit in Lochore.

After being out of service for half a century, it’s now under the care of the Shed47 Railway Restoration Group, who are hoping to restore the train to its former glory and get it back on the tracks.

For the volunteers it’s a labour of love, grinding back the years piece-by-piece.

Alexander Briggs from the Shed47 Railway Restoration Group said the team love the work they do.

He said: “Well, you get a sense of achievement actually when you get a load of basically junk coming and it gradually manifests itself into a working item, that’s really where you get the kicks from.”

The train is an Andrew Barclay steam locomotive affectionately known as No. 29.

At the peak of its working life it hauled coal for many of the collieries across Fife, operating at the Mary pit in Lochore, the Lindsay Colliery in Kelty, Cowdenbeath Central Workshops, Bogside Mine and Frances in Dysart.

Grant Robertson from Shed47 said: “It was then put into a playpark in Danderhall originally, stayed there for a few years and then it was rescued by the guys at Prestongrange Railway Society.

“They took it into their safekeeping and then seven years ago it made its way across to us and we started work on it and getting it to the stage it’s at now.”

Steam engines like No29 were fondly known as “Pugs” and were used around Scotland’s coal mines until as late as 1981.

The team has already managed to raise enough funds to get the boiler sent away for expert repair, which means that within the next few months it will be lit by fire for the first time in 50 years.

The last part of the journey will involve a fresh lick of paint before it returns to service, hopefully next year.

But for it to make a complete return to the track, the team are hoping for local support to get it through its final phase. Anyone willing to make a donation to the project can do so on the group’s campaign page.

“It will be a fantastic feeling when it launches ready to take passengers,” added Robertson. “And that will free up space in the workshop for our next big project.”

UK

Bid to protect world's first ice cream cone factory

Nick Jackson
Local Democracy Reporting Service

BBC

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The site in Old Trafford is believed to be the world's first purpose-built ice cream cone factory.


The world’s first purpose-built ice cream cone factory could become a registered building after town hall bosses moved to safeguard for the future.

Progress Works on Ayres Road in Old Trafford is where the Antonelli Brothers began manufacturing the sugar cone ice cream more than a century ago.

Trafford Council has included the factory on a draft list of buildings judged to have historical value.

Councillor Liz Patel said the sites on the list would be given "special protection" in the planning process if future development takes place.

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The Quaker Meeting House and burial ground in Sale has also been included on the list


Other sites on the list include a former prisoner of war camp on Charcoal Road in Dunham and the Manchester Carriage and Tramway Company’s Depot.

Among the others included are the Quaker Meeting House and Burial Ground where George Bradshaw, who developed the first widely-used railway timetable guide, is interred.

Raglan House, the home of John Brogden, who built the Manchester to Altrincham Railway, also features.

The list includes so-called "non designated heritage assets" in conservation areas and is intended to influence future decisions on planning applications.

Ms Patel said a final consultation would be held before the list was fully adopted.

"The benefits of such a list are significant and will have a positive impact on our borough’s street scene, securing attractive and distinctive aspects of our local heritage and built environment," she said.