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Vishka Asayesh Wins Best Actress at US Winter Film Awards for “The Badger”

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The Badger won the best actress award thanks to the brilliant role played by Vishka Asayesh.

Asayesh had earlier also won the best actress award from the 19th Riverside International Film Festival and was nominated for best actress in the 11the Queens World Film Festival for her role in The Badger.

The Badger was first screened last year, in the 23rd edition of Shanghai Film Festival. It has so far taken part in 45 international film festivals and has won 17 awards.

The Badger also features Iranian actors and actresses Hassan Majouni, Mehraveh Sharifinia, Behnoush Bakhtiari, and Gohar Kheirandish on its cast.

Hollywood production workers to go on strike

By
IFP Media Wire
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HOLLYWOOD, CA - NOVEMBER 17: General view of the Hollywood Sign on November 17, 2020 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

Backstage production workers belonging to the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) union have voted to strike over dismal work conditions made more extreme by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The IATSE, which represents over 150,000 members in the US and Canada, announced on Monday that the proposed action would be “the first nationwide strike in our 128-year history”. Among the group’s eligible voters, approximately 98% or over 52,000 members voted in favor of a strike.

Overwhelming support for the strike from workers could end up spelling bad news for many productions, many of which are already dealing with heightened union regulations due to the Covid-19 restrictions.

“The members have spoken loud and clear,” the IATSE said in a statement.

“Our people have basic human needs like time for meal breaks, adequate sleep, and a weekend. For those at the bottom of the pay scale, they deserve nothing less than a living wage, the IATSE added.

Long-time IATSE leader Matthew Loeb told the Los Angeles Times in a recent interview that the group was not “looking for parity, per se” between the working conditions of well-paid actors and that of ordinary crew members, but that underlying principles should be the same in both cases.

He noted that the union would strive to negotiate its “own agreement” with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents most production companies. The IATSE has been lobbying for months for better working conditions for their members, but negotiations with the AMPTP have not been fruitful so far.

“The ball is in their court. If they want to avoid a strike, they will return to the bargaining table and make us a reasonable offer,” Loeb noted in the public statement on Monday.

The IATSE has also set up a petition open to “non-member allies” that demands a “livable wage” for crewmembers and rules to avoid “excessively unsafe and harmful working hours”. The petition has collected nearly 120,000 signatures as of Monday evening.

Production crews working on new media – podcasts, streaming content, etc. – are paid far less despite the projects having budgets that match productions from traditional studios, the union argued.

Their move has received some support from members of Congress.

The IATSE has been calling for a new three-year deal with production companies that increases pay for backstage crew members, ups contributions to medical and pension plans, and provides more sustainable hours, after the current deal expired on September 10.

The Covid-19 pandemic almost universally shut down productions in 2020. While many are now back to work in the entertainment industry, productions have run into issues keeping up with costly mandates. Some actors have also expressed dissatisfaction.

The last major strike in Hollywood was 14 years ago, when writers refused to return to work for approximately four months, leaving numerous movie and television productions to either shut down, squeeze in last-minute rewrites, or – in the case of television shows – cut down episode orders significantly.

The AMPTP announced in a Monday statement that they hope negotiations continue and a strike can be avoided.

“A deal can be made at the bargaining table, but it will require both parties working together in good faith with a willingness to compromise and to explore new solutions to resolve the open issues,” they stated.

China warns U.S. against “Taiwan independence” attempts

By
IFP Media Wire
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The United States should stop supporting “Taiwan independence” separatist forces and take concrete actions to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, The China’s Foreign Ministry announced.

Spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks in response to a query about a relevant statement issued by U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price.

Hua said Taiwan belongs to China and the United States is in no position to make irresponsible remarks. The relevant remarks by the U.S. side seriously violate the one-China principle and the stipulations of the three China-U.S. joint communiques and send an extremely wrong and irresponsible signal.

She added for quite some time, the United States has been making negative moves by selling arms to Taiwan and strengthening official and military ties with Taiwan, including the launch of a 750 million U.S. dollars arms sale plan to Taiwan, the landing of U.S. military aircraft in Taiwan and frequent sailing of U.S. warships across the Taiwan Strait. These provocative moves undermine China-U.S. relations and regional peace and stability. China is firmly opposed to them and has taken necessary countermeasures.

Noting that the one-China principle is the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, Hua noted on the Taiwan question, the United States should abide by the one-China principle and the stipulations of the China-U.S. joint communiques rather than something cooked up by itself unilaterally.

“Taiwan independence” leads nowhere, she said, adding that China will take all necessary measures to resolutely crush all attempts at “Taiwan independence” and China has firm resolve and will to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“The United States should correct its mistakes, earnestly abide by the one-China principle and the stipulations of the three China-U.S. joint communiques, prudently and properly handle Taiwan-related issues, stop supporting and emboldening separatist forces of ‘Taiwan independence’, and take concrete actions to safeguard rather than undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” Hua stated.

Envoy believes Afghans unlikely to ‘soon’ trust US after messy exit

By
IFP Media Wire
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Afghanistan’s ambassador to the U.S. said she does not believe Afghans will trust another American president anytime soon, more than one month after the U.S. evacuated troops from Afghanistan and the country fell to the Taliban.

Raz asked during an interview with “Axios on HBO” if she thinks Afghanistan will ever trust an American president again, responded “not soon, probably”.

“I’m sorry to say that. I don’t think so,” she added.

Raz’s comments, made during her first television interview since Afghanistan collapsed, come as Afghans and the world are watching to see how the Taliban leads the country after regaining power in August.

When asked by Axios’s Jonathan Swan if she still trusts the U.S., Raz said “no”, explaining that she lost trust in the policies of the U.S. and the former Afghan government she served.

“I trust and believe that people — I mean, I’ve lost some trust in the U.S. policies, and I think probably government policies, including my own leadership and government policies,” Raz stated.

When asked if she thinks America is the leader of the free world, Raz told Swan that in terms of democracy, she would probably “question it and laugh at it”.

Pressed on why, Raz suggested that the U.S. gave up on helping Afghanistan become a working democracy.

“Because you were engaged in building one in Afghanistan, and the people believed in it, they fought for it, but when the negotiations arrived with Taliban that was not a priority to be negotiated,” she continued.

Criticism regarding the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan has been mounting since the Taliban ramped up its offensive in August, raising questions over whether pulling troops from the country was the right move, or whether it could have been done more effectively.

Former President Donald Trump put the U.S. on course for its eventual withdrawal when his administration made a deal with the Taliban to pull out all troops from Afghanistan by May 2021.

When Joe Biden took over, he held the U.S.’s commitment to withdrawing personnel from the country, but pushed that deadline back to Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that sparked the conflict.

Raz said the deal the Trump administration signed with the Taliban, also referred to as the Doha agreement, legitimized the insurgent group.

“When they get the political legitimacy from the international community, they almost felt OK, there is no need to more even negotiate, which meant that they are the same Taliban that they were before,” Raz added.

The ambassador also touched on the circumstances for Afghan women amid the Taliban’s leadership.
Asked if she got the sense that President Biden cared about the fate of Afghan women, Raz, who previously served as Afghanistan’s first female ambassador to the United Nations, said “I don’t think so”.

“He said the U.S. could not be the police of the world to protect women in any other country,” she added.

Kharrazi: Azerbaijan Republic can’t buy security from foreign forces

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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“Given their motives, illegitimate goals and interests, it can lead to military competition in the region, and harm or even destroy the host country. In addition, the greater the role of foreign forces, the deeper the dependence of the host country on them,” Kharrazi explained.

He warned that the Zionist regime is pursuing sinister goals that will ignite the flames of war in the region due to the strategic mistakes of the current government of the Azerbaijan Republic, and this will be a catastrophe.

He praised the liberation of Karabakh region last year, saying that Iran had long advised former Azeri president Heydar Aliyev to strengthen the country’s armed forces through logistical and educational cooperation with Iran to take back its occupied territories.

“It was unfortunately not accepted by him, and as a result, Azerbaijan became more dependent on foreign powers and resorted to foreign forces.” Kharrazi explained.

“Which regional country has been able to strengthen its military power through the presence of foreign forces on its soil that it no longer needs foreign forces?” the chairman of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations asked.

He said the Islamic Republic is an undisputed power in the region because of its self-reliance and independence from foreign forces.

Kharrazi advised the northwestern neighboring country to rely on its own people instead of trying to “buy security” from foreign forces.

Iranian artist Fatali Oveisi dies

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Oveisi was born in the village of Fordo near the Iranian city of Qom on January 11, 1946.

The veteran actor obtained a degree in cinema directing and acting from the State University of Texas in 1974.

He starred in many movies including Captain Khorshid (1987), Hamoun (1990), the Love-Stricken (1992) and Baanoo (1999). His two directorial films are Sarboland and Maryam and Mitil.

Oveisi also acted in many TV series including Zirzamin (Basement), Fasten Our Seatbelt, Baghcheh Mino (Minoo Garden) and Tanhatarin Sardar (The Loneliest Commander).
His funeral procession will be held on Wednesday.

Ethiopia’s PM Abiy Ahmed sworn in for new term

By
IFP Media Wire
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Ahmed has been sworn in for a new five-year term as his government faces a host of challenges, including a months-long conflict in the northern region of Tigray.

Abiy took the oath of office, administered by Supreme Court Chief Justice Meaza Ashenafi, on Monday following similar oaths by the speaker and deputy speaker of the parliament’s lower house.

“I, Abiy Ahmed Ali, today in the House of People’s Representatives, accept the appointment as prime minister, as I pledge to undertake responsibly and with faith to the constitution the responsibility placed upon me by the people,” he noted.

Abiy’s Prosperity Party was declared the winner of parliamentary elections earlier this year in a vote criticised and, at times, boycotted by opposition parties but described by some outside electoral observers as better run than those in the past.

In June, the prime minister’s party won 410 of the 436 parliamentary seats that were contested.

Three regions where elections had been delayed voted last month. Voting did not take place in the northern Tigray region which is under the control of regional forces opposed to the government in Addis Ababa.

The election marked the first time Abiy faced voters since he was appointed prime minister in 2018 following several years of anti-government protests.

The prime minister, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner for restoring ties with neighbouring Eritrea and for pursuing sweeping political reforms, now faces major challenges.

The 11-month Tigray conflict is weakening Ethiopia’s economy, once one of Africa’s fastest growing, and threatening to isolate Abiy, once seen as a regional peacemaker.

Thousands have been killed in the conflict and hundreds of thousands faced famine-like conditions, according to the UN.

It is unclear whether Abiy’s swearing-in will alter the course of the war pitting government forces against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) rebel group, which dominated national politics before he took power.

Abiy’s office, which blames the rebels for starting the war last November with attacks on federal army camps, has said certain conciliatory measures, like declassifying the TPLF as a terrorist group, can only happen after a new government is formed.

“The position has been that any change in approach to the conflict with the forces from Tigray can only occur after the formation of a new government,” stated William Davison, senior Ethiopia analyst for the International Crisis Group.

International partners like the US, which has threatened to impose targeted sanctions related to the conflict, “will be looking at this closely to see if there is any shift in position”, Davison told AFP news agency.

Just three African heads of state – from Nigeria, Senegal and neighbouring Somalia – attended Monday’s ceremony. A mass rally in Addis Ababa’s Meskel Square, to be attended by dignitaries including the presidents of the three African countries, was planned for the afternoon.

“The road ahead might be daunting, but we shall not be weary,” Abiy’s senior adviser Mamo Mihretu wrote on Twitter.

Last week, Ethiopia’s government faced condemnation from the United Nations, United States and several European nations after it expelled seven UN officials it accused of supporting the Tigray forces who have been battling Ethiopian and allied forces.

Taliban says destroyed Daesh cell after Kabul explosion

By
IFP Media Wire
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A hideout of the Daesh terrorists has been dismantled in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, the Taliban said on Monday.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the group’s spokesman and acting deputy minister for information and culture, announced in a statement that the hideout was located in the northern Kher Khana district of the capital.

According to him, as a result of this “decisive and successful” operation, the center was completely destroyed and all Daesh members in that center were killed.

He did not provide specific figures for the casualties.

On Sunday, people had gathered at the mosque for a memorial service for the late mother of Mujahid, the group’s longtime spokesperson and now an acting deputy information minister in the interim Taliban administration.

At least twelve people were killed and 30 others wounded when a bomb went off near the entrance of the Eidgah Mosque in Kabul.

Daesh has claimed responsibility for the fatal attack near the Kabul mosque. Through its news agency Amaq, the terror group claimed Sunday’s attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.

Also, the Daesh’s Khorasan chapter, ISKP, took responsibility for Sunday’s deadly shooting in eastern Nangarhar province that claimed the lives of two Taliban members and a journalist.

Through its propaganda site Amaq, Daesh also claimed Saturday’s attacks on the Taliban patrol team in the Charikar city of Parwan province, resulting in 10 casualties.

Japan’s new PM says ready to meet N. Korean leader, attacks China

By
IFP Media Wire
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Fumio Kishida, former foreign minister, attends a press conference after being elected as the new leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo on September 29, 2021. (Photo by Du Xiaoyi / POOL / AFP)

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Kisida stressed that the Japanese government “must closely watch whether China can meet the high levels required by the TTP [the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement] on matters such as state-owned companies and information security”.

According to him, there were “some questionable issues in China” related to human rights.

At the same time, he touted China as Japan’s largest trading partner, calling to continue discussions with Tokyo.

The remarks come after Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a press conference last week that Beijing “is willing to work together with Japan’s new governing team […] to deepen pragmatic cooperation in various areas and promote the healthy and stable development of Sino-Japanese relations”.

Tokyo and Beijing remain at loggerheads over a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, as well as issues related to Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Tokyo maintains it has had sovereignty over the islands since 1895, while Beijing claims that the islands are marked as a Chinese territory on Japanese maps circa 1783 and 1785.

Beijing does not recognise Japan claiming control over the islands, referring to the territory as the “Diaoyu Islands”. Tokyo opposes Beijing’s ships sailing in the vicinity of the disputed territory, calling them “unacceptable incursions”.

Kishida has also stated that he is ready to meet with North Korea’s Kim without preconditions.

His remarks come as Pyongyang has intensified fire-testing of its newly-developed missiles over the last month.

Kishida additionally noted that Tokyo will strengthen its defence capability and continue to see the US-Japanese alliance as the cornerstone of the nation’s foreign policy.

Last Week, senior defence officials from the US, Japan, and South Korea held a call during which they discussed regional security and the threats posed by North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes.

The discussion took place following reports suggesting that North Korea test-fired its newly-developed hypersonic and anti-air missiles. Overall, there have been at least six launches by Pyongyang since early 2021.

Aside from concerns over Pyongyang’s missile programmes, Japan also believes North Korea may pose a cybersecurity threat. On 28 September, Tokyo adopted the country’s three-year cybersecurity strategy roadmap that lists North Korea as one of the emerging cyberthreat nations with beefed up capabilities, along with China and Russia.

Notably, the first and last time the leaders of North Korea and Japan met in person was in 2002, when Japan’s PM Koizumi Junichiro paid a visit to Pyongyang and met with Kim Jong-Il to discuss the issue of the abduction of Japanese citizens. Back in 2019, then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe voiced a readiness to meet with Kim without conditions to end the long-running mistrust between the nations. This meeting, however, never materialized.

On Monday, Japanese lawmakers voted to approve the country’s ex-Foreign Minister Kishida as the new prime minister.

Iran to have highest elderly population growth

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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He explained that about five percent of the Iranian population was elderly in 1976, but now this figure has reached 10 percent.

“We will have the world’s highest elderly population growth in the future and this is a worrying issue, because we do not have the infrastructure necessary for this number of elderly people,” Delbari warned.

He touched on some of the problems that Iranian senior citizens are facing.

“We have a shortage, not only in the specialized category, but also at different levels and even in the trained associates for simple care and different geriatric fields,” Delbari explained.

The head of the Scientific Association of the Elderly said Iran with eight million senior citizens currently needs 2,200 specialists but has only 20 geriatricians.

He said that senior citizens in Iran have 5.5 children on average and usually receive proper support from most of them.

Delbari warned, however, that there are about 80,000 unmarried elderly people and the figure could reach 3 million in 30 years, and Iran will have to introduce a care force to take care of these people, and this is a serious danger that has to be planned for from now.

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