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Jailed Iran filmmaker Jafar Panahi says on hunger strike

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Jailed Iran filmmaker Jafar Panahi says on hunger strike

Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, who has been jailed for the last six months, said he has begun a hunger strike to protest his continued detention, according to a statement published by his wife Thursday.

Panahi, whose films have won prizes at all of Europe’s main film festivals, was arrested in July even before the current wave of protests that have shaken the regime started in September.

There were expectations last month that the judiciary could order his release, but he remains behind bars in Tehran’s Evin prison.

He started his dry hunger strike, refusing food and water, from Wednesday, he said in the statement.

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“Today, like many people trapped in Iran, I have no choice but to protest against this inhumane behaviour with my dearest possession — my life,” said Panahi.

“In protest against the illegal and inhumane behaviour of the judicial and security apparatus and this hostage-taking, I have started a dry hunger strike as of February 1. I will refuse to eat and drink any food and medicine until the time of my release.

“I will remain in this state until perhaps my lifeless body is freed from prison.”

Panahi, 62, was arrested on July 11 and had been due to serve a six-year sentence handed down in 2010 after his conviction for “propaganda against the system”.

But on October 15, the Supreme Court quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial, raising hopes among his legal team he could be released.

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Panahi won a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2000 for his film “The Circle”. In 2015, he won the Golden Bear at Berlin for “Taxi Tehran”, and in 2018, he won the best screenplay prize at Cannes for “Three Faces”.

Panahi’s July arrest came after he attended a court hearing for fellow film director Mohammad Rasoulof, who had been detained a few days earlier.

Rasoulof was released from prison on January 7 after being granted a two-week furlough for health reasons and is still believed to be outside of jail.

Cinema figures have been among the thousands of people arrested by Iran in its crackdown on the protests sparked by the September 16 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, who had been arrested for allegedly violating its strict dress code for women.

Star actor Taraneh Alidoosti, who had published images of herself without wearing the Islamic headscarf, was among those detained although she was released in early January after being held for almost three weeks. 

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Roger Whittaker: Durham Town folk singer dies at 87

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Roger Whittaker: Durham Town folk singer dies at 87

Folk singer Roger Whittaker, famous for his 1969 hit song Durham Town and expert whistling, has died at the age of 87.

His other hits included The Last Farewell and New World in the Morning, and he sold nearly 50 million records around the world, his website said.

After starting in folk clubs, he went on to success with the Skye Boat Song, a duet with Des O’Connor in 1986.

He was also able to sing in several languages.

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They included German and French, allowing him to appeal to a wide audience, especially in Germany, where he was particularly popular.

Born in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1936, his parents were from Staffordshire, England.

Whittaker studied medicine after doing national service in Kenya.

While studying for his degree, he sang in local clubs and wrote his own songs.

But he left his medical course after 18 months and went in to teaching, moving to the University of Bangor in Wales in 1959 to get a teaching qualification.

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While there, he composed some songs to sing during university Rag Week, and sent a demo track to a music publisher.

“Before he knew it, Roger was back in the studio recording his first single, The Charge of the Light Brigade,” his biography said.

His next release, Steel Men, picked up airplay while he was still a student, and his career began to progress, with TV work following.

He retired with his wife Natalie in France in 2012.

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Katy Perry sells rights to five albums including ‘Teenage Dream’ to Litmus Music

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Katy Perry sells rights to five albums including 'Teenage Dream' to Litmus Music

 Singer Katy Perry has signed a deal to sell rights to five of her studio albums released between 2008 and 2020 including “Teenage Dream” to Carlyle-backed Litmus Music, the music rights company said on Monday.

“One of the Boys,” “PRISM,” “Witness” and “Smile” are the other four studio albums that are part of the deal.

Billboard reported the deal was valued at $225 million, citing sources. Private equity firm Carlyle declined to comment on the deal value.
The five studio albums were released under Perry’s contract with Capitol Records, whose former president Dan McCarroll is the co-founder of Litmus Music.

Blackstone-backed Hipgnosis Songs and other investment firms have in recent years scooped up music catalogs of artists including Justin Bieber and Bob Dylan as the rise of streaming turns their songs into a reliable source of revenue.

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With Perry, Litmus Music gets access to an artist who shot to fame in July 2008 with the track “I Kissed A Girl” and has earned 13 Grammy nominations and five MTV Video Music Awards.

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YouTube cuts off Russell Brand’s ad revenues: Sky News

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YouTube cuts off Russell Brand's ad revenues: Sky News

 YouTube has suspended adverts on Russell Brand’s online videos, Sky News said on Tuesday, after accusations of sexual assaults involving the British actor and comedian.

Brand, once one of the country’s most high-profile comedians and broadcasters, has over 6 million subscribers to his YouTube channel.

London police said on Monday they had received an allegation of a sexual assault dating back 20 years following media reports about comedian and actor Russell Brand.

Brand, 48, said on Saturday he had never had non-consensual sex when the Sunday Times newspaper and Channel 4 TV’s documentary show “Dispatches” reported that four women had accused him of sexual assaults, including a rape, between 2006 and 2013.

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Police said since those allegations were published and broadcast they had received a report of an assault alleged to have taken place in Soho, central London, in 2003.

“Officers are in contact with the woman and will be providing her with support,” the Metropolitan Police statement said.

“We first spoke with The Sunday Times on Saturday, 16 September and have since made further approaches to The Sunday Times and Channel 4 to ensure that anyone who believes they have been the victim of a sexual offence is aware of how to report this to the police.”

There was no immediate comment from Brand’s representatives following the police statement.

Brand, the former husband of US singer Katy Perry, issued a video message on social media to deny the “very serious criminal allegations” hours before they published on Saturday.

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“These allegations pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream, when I was in the newspapers all the time, when I was in the movies. And as I’ve written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous,” Brand said.

“Now, during that time of promiscuity, the relationships I had were absolutely always consensual,” added the comedian, known for his flamboyant style and appearance who has starred in a number of films such as “Get Him to the Greek”.

The Times and Dispatches said one woman had made an allegation of rape, while another said Brand assaulted her when she was 16 and still at school. Two of the accusers had reported the incidents occurred in Los Angeles.

The reports of the allegations about Brand, once one of the country’s most high-profile comedians and broadcasters, has dominated British media since they appeared.

He was in the middle of a stand-up tour and was due to perform at the Theatre Royal Windsor on Tuesday, but this has now been cancelled.

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“We are postponing these few remaining addiction charity fundraiser shows, we don’t like doing it – but we know you’ll understand,” said a statement from his tour promoters, shared by the theatre.

The BBC, on whose radio programmes he worked between 2006 and 2008, said it was urgently looking into issues raised by the allegations and Banijay UK, the production company behind a television show once hosted by Brand, said it had too launched an urgent internal investigation.

“These are very serious and concerning allegations, and you will know the Met Police has asked anyone who believes they have been victim of a sexual assault to come forward and speak to officers,” a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters.
 

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