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Author: AFP

  • One woman killed by partner, relative every 10 minutes worldwide: UN

    One woman killed by partner, relative every 10 minutes worldwide: UN

    One woman was killed by a partner or relative every 10 minutes worldwide in 2023, the United Nations warned Monday, stressing that femicides remained at “alarmingly high levels”.

    Almost 85,000 women and girls were murdered by people last year, according to a joint report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the UN Women agency published Monday.

    About 60 percent-or more than 51,000 women and girls-died at the hands of their partner or relative, the report found.

    This equates to 140 women killed per day or one every 10 minutes by those closest to them.

    “The home remains the most dangerous place for women and girls in terms of the risk of lethal victimisation,” the report said.

    While men were four times more likely than women to fall victim to homicide — forming 80 percent of all murder victims last year — they more often than not died at the hands of a stranger.

    Africa had the most severe toll with 21,700 women killed by someone close to them in 2023.

    The lowest femicide rates were in Europe (2,300 murders in absolute numbers) and Asia.

    Despite efforts in some countries to prevent femicides, they remain “at alarmingly high levels” due to deep-rooted gender inequality and damaging stereotypes.

    “We must confront and dismantle the gender biases, power imbalances, and harmful norms that perpetuate violence against women,” UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly said in a statement accompanying the report.

    Data from countries including France indicated that femicides are often the “culmination” of repeated episodes of violence and can be prevented by measures such as restraining orders.

    UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous said robust legislation, greater government accountability, and increased funding for women’s rights organisations and institutional bodies are needed to stem violence against women.

    Furthermore, improved data collection from different antional sources — including media reports — and a “zero-tolerance culture” are essential in tackling femicides, she said.

    The report is based on available data from 107 countries or territories, and information the UNODC has collected from responses submitted by member states.

    Its release coincides with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

  • Australian dictionary picks ‘Enshittification’ as word of the year

    Australian dictionary picks ‘Enshittification’ as word of the year

    Australia’s quasi-official Macquarie Dictionary has picked “enshittification” as the word of 2024, tapping into a growing sense that once-great digital services are bad and getting worse.

    “ENSHITTIFICATION-Noun. Colloquial, the gradual deterioration of a service or product brought about by a reduction in the quality of service provided, especially of an online platform, and as a consequence of profit-seeking.”

    The word, coined by writer Cory Doctorow, refers to a process in which apps or digital platforms start off as incredibly useful, but gradually worsen as they seek to make a profit.

    Social media platforms like X and ride-sharing app Uber are frequently cited examples, which started off offering information or bargains but gradually gouged customers or cut back services.

    Doctorow explains enshittification as the reason why Facebook users’ feeds fill up with junk, Google search is loaded with ads and sponsored content, and why Amazon promotes cheap, badly made products no matter what a customer searches for.

    Enshittification beat out words like “brainrot”, “overtourism” and “rawdogging”.

    It was chosen as word of the year by the dictionary’s committee of experts, but was also voted “People’s Choice Winner”.

    It is “a very basic Anglo-Saxon term wrapped in affixes which elevate it to being almost formal; almost respectable,” the committee said.

    “This word captures what many of us feel is happening to the world and to so many aspects of our lives at the moment,” the committee said.

  • Bestselling ‘Woman of Substance’ author Barbara Taylor Bradford dies aged 91

    Bestselling ‘Woman of Substance’ author Barbara Taylor Bradford dies aged 91

    Bestselling British-American writer Barbara Taylor Bradford, whose first novel “A Woman of Substance” turned her into an overnight success, has died aged 91, a spokeswoman said on Monday. 

    Taylor Bradford, who wrote 40 novels and notched up 91 million book sales worldwide during her career, died peacefully at her home on Sunday following a short illness. 

    She “was surrounded by loved ones to the very end”, the spokeswoman said, adding that a private funeral would be held in New York.

    “A Woman of Substance” tells the story of servant Emma Harte who overcomes a humble start in Taylor Bradford’s native Yorkshire in northern England to head of a business empire, navigating personal tragedy along the way.

    Many of her subsequent novels were also set in Yorkshire and followed a similar theme of great success against the odds, powered by grit and hard work.

    Her most recent novel “The Wonder of it All” was published last year.

    Born in Leeds in northern England in May 1933, Taylor Bradford began her working life as a typist for her local newspaper The Yorkshire Evening Post before becoming a reporter.

    She moved to London aged 20 where she continued working as a journalist while dipping her toe into the world of fiction.

    She started and abandoned several novels before striking gold with “A Woman of Substance”, which was an instant success when it was published in 1979.

    – ‘Powerhouse’ –

    The novel was turned into a double Emmy-nominated miniseries in 1985 and starred Liam Neeson with British actress Jenny Seagrove in the role of Emma Harte.

    Seagrove paid tribute to a “dear friend” and “powerhouse of glamour and warmth”.

    “Success never diluted her warmth and humour or her ability to relate to everyone she met, whether a cleaner or a princess. She never, ever forgot that she was just a girl from Yorkshire that worked hard and made good,” she said.

    Charlie Redmayne, chief executive of publisher HarperCollins, described Taylor Bradford as a “truly exceptional writer”.

    “‘A Woman Of Substance’ changed the lives of so many who read it -– and still does to this day,” he said.

    “She was a natural storyteller, deeply proud of her Yorkshire roots. For 45 years, she was a huge part of our company and a great, great friend –- we will miss her so much,” he added.

    Taylor Bradford had lived in the United States since 1964 following her marriage a the previous year to American film producer Robert Bradford.

    The couple were married for 55 years until his death in 2019.  

    Taylor Bradford’s spokeswoman said she would be buried alongside her late husband at New York’s Westchester Hills Cemetery.

  • History teacher becomes president in Uruguay

    History teacher becomes president in Uruguay

    Uruguay’s next president is a former history teacher who swapped the classroom for local government and will now lead the nation of 3.4 million following his Sunday win at the polls.

    President-elect Yamandu Orsi of the Frente Amplio (Broad Front) alliance defeated Alvaro Delgado of the centre-right National Party in the second round of voting, returning the country to left-wing rule.

    The victory marks a resurgence for the Broad Front, which previously held power for 15 years before losing in 2020. Orsi’s campaign drew strength from the endorsement of José “Pepe” Mujica, a former guerrilla and ex-president famed for his austere lifestyle. Orsi, often regarded as Mujica’s political protégé, narrowly missed a first-round win in October, securing 43.9% of votes to Delgado’s 26.7%.

    Orsi won 1,196,798 votes compared to Delgado’s 1,101,296, the country’s Electoral Court said — 49.8 percent to 45.9 percent.

     

    Pepe’s heir apparent

    Orsi, 57, garnered nearly 44 percent of ballots cast in the first election round on October 27 and held a small lead in opinion polls ahead of Sunday’s tight vote.

    He is seen as the understudy of highly popular ex-president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, known as “the world’s poorest president” during his 2010-2015 rule because of his modest lifestyle.

    Orsi was born in a house in the countryside with no electricity.

    He grew up in the town of Canelones, of which he later became mayor.

    As a child, he helped out in his parents’ grocery store and was a folk dancer and a Catholic altar boy.

    In 1989, he joined the Movement of Popular Participation, founded by Mujica, which later became part of the Frente Amplio coalition.

     

    Orsi taught history in high school until 2005, when he entered local government.

    He handily won the Frente Amplio primary in June, defeating former Montevideo mayor Carolina Cosse, whom he then chose as his running mate.

    The twice-married educator and father of twins campaigned as a moderate with a down-to-earth approach.

    But his failure to set out a clear plan for government drew criticism. He also declined to take part in debates and gave few media interviews.

    Though the election will shift the balance of power in Uruguay, analysts did not foresee a massive change in the country’s economic direction, with Orsi having previously promised “change that will not be radical.”

    Both candidates pledged to fight crime linked to drug trafficking and to boost economic growth, which is recovering from the slowdown brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and a historic drought.

    Following the October legislative elections, Orsi will govern with a majority in the Senate, though the Frente Amplio is in the minority in the Chamber of Representatives.

    President’s right-hand man

     

    He defeated Delgado, who was just days into his new job as secretary of the presidency under longtime friend Luis Lacalle Pou, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit Uruguay in 2020.

    Being a government spokesman during the crisis allowed him to build his public profile.

    Born in Montevideo, Delgado was educated in Catholic schools before getting a veterinary degree.

    He entered politics after having run an agricultural business and working as a veterinary advisor.

    Prior to serving in the Lacalle Pou administration, he also worked as a labor inspector, a member of parliament representing Montevideo, and a senator.

  • ‘Shrek’ director tackles taboo in Netflix fairy tale ‘Spellbound’

    ‘Shrek’ director tackles taboo in Netflix fairy tale ‘Spellbound’

    Animated films tackling parent separation and divorce are few and far between.

    While live-action kids’ classics like “The Parent Trap” and “Mrs. Doubtfire” have used the concept as a launchpad for humorous antics, animation has tended to steer entirely clear of the issue.

    “Isn’t that funny… you can kill off a parent in a movie like ‘Lion King,’ or ‘Bambi,’” said Vicky Jenson, best known for co-directing “Shrek.”

    “Disney moms are often dead — the only time anyone remarries is because the other spouse is dead. This topic of separation, of parents not being able to live together… it’s taboo.”

    But in Jenson’s new film, “Spellbound,” a princess’s parents have been transformed by a dastardly spell into literal monsters.

    It is an allegorical device that forces young Ellian to try to “fix” her mother and father, and their broken family.

    “We encountered some resistance when we were looking for someone to help bring the movie to the world, a partner to distribute the movie,” Jenson told AFP.

    “They all reacted the same way, like: ‘What a beautiful movie, what a great message.’ And then they ghosted us!”

    The movie went through a number of different studios, including Paramount and Apple TV+, before ultimately landing at Netflix, which will release the film Friday.

    “I credit Netflix for stepping up bravely and partnering with us on this,” said Jenson.

    “In this environment, it does feel like stories that push the boundaries are more accessible on streaming.

    “Theaters are kind of filled with superheroes right now… the big safe bets.”

    – ‘Monsters’ –

    As the film starts, tenacious teen princess Ellian (voiced by Rachel Zegler) is desperately seeking a cure for the mysterious spell that has transformed her parents, Queen Ellsmere (Nicole Kidman) and King Solon (Javier Bardem).

    To make matters worse, she must hide the whole mess from the oblivious citizens of Lumbria.

    When the secret gets out, and panic spreads throughout the kingdom, Ellian is forced on a dangerous quest to undo the curse.

    But even if she succeeds, she soon learns that her family may never go back to the way it once was.

    To make Ellian’s reaction to her — literally — monstrous parents believable and accurate, filmmakers employed the consulting services of a family psychologist and therapist who specialized in divorce.

    “Kids feel like it’s their responsibility to fix this. They don’t understand that something happened to their parents — they’re acting like monsters,” explained Jenson.

    The director, and cast and crew, also drew on their own experiences, “because we all know our parents are monsters at one point — and as parents, we’re all monsters at one point,” she joked.

    – An inverse ‘Shrek’? –

    The end result is a thoroughly contemporary parable, set in a magical fairytale kingdom.

    That has clear echoes of Jenson’s smash-hit directing debut “Shrek,” but with cause and effect reversed.

    “‘Shrek’ was the modern take on fairy tales. This was a fairy tale take on a modern story,” she said.

    For Jenson and the filmmakers — including legendary composer Alan Menken, of “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast” and countless more — it was important to bring this “truth about family life” to the screen.

    It “is there for so many of us, but hadn’t been approached as a myth or as a new fairy tale before,” said Jenson.

    “Now, a new fairy tale is out there for that experience that so many kids, so many parents, so many families need help through.”

  • Australia to impose $30m fine on social media platforms for ignoring under-16 ban

    Australia to impose $30m fine on social media platforms for ignoring under-16 ban

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

    The legislation would force social media firms to take steps to prevent those under 16 years of age from accessing platforms such as X, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.

    Failing to do so would mean fines of up to Aus$50 million (US$32.5 million).

     
     

    Australia is among the vanguard of nations trying to clean up social media, and the proposed age limit would be among the world’s strictest measures aimed at children.

    Details about how social media companies are expected to enforce the ban remain unclear.

    The proposed laws would also include robust privacy provisions that require tech platforms to delete any age-verification information collected.

    Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland said Thursday that social media companies had a responsibility for the “safety and mental health” of Australians.

    “The legislation places the onus on social media platforms, not parents or children, to ensure protections are in place,” she said.

    Some companies will be granted exemptions from the ban, such as YouTube, which teenagers may need to use for school work or other reasons.

    Rowland said that messaging services — such as WhatsApp — and online gaming would also be exempt.

    Once celebrated as a means of staying connected and informed, social media platforms have been tarnished by cyberbullying, the spread of illegal content, and election-meddling claims.

    If the proposed law passes, tech platforms would be given a one-year grace period to figure out how to implement and enforce the ban.

    Social media companies have said they will adhere to new legislation but have cautioned the government against acting too quickly and without adequate consultation.

    Analysts have also expressed doubt it would be technically feasible to enforce a strict age ban.

    Katie Maskiell from UNICEF Australia said Thursday the proposed legislation would not be a “solve-all” for protecting children and much more needed to be done.

    She added the laws risked pushing young people onto “covert and unregulated online spaces”.

    Several other countries have been tightening children’s access to social media platforms.

    Spain passed a law in June banning social media access to under-16s.

    And in the US state of Florida, children under 14 will be banned from opening social media accounts under a new law due to come into force in January.

    In both cases, the age verification method has yet to be determined.

  • One Direction stars attend Liam Payne’s funeral in UK

    One Direction stars attend Liam Payne’s funeral in UK

    Family and friends of One Direction star Liam Payne, who died last month after falling from a Buenos Aires hotel room, gathered for his funeral in Britain on Wednesday.

    Payne’s former bandmates Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson were among the dozens of mourners at the private service at St Mary’s Church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, just outside London.

    Payne’s tearful parents were joined by his two sisters, his girlfriend Kate Cassidy and former partner Cheryl Tweedy, with whom he has a son.

    Around a dozen fans watched from behind a nearby cordon as guests hugged each other before walking past floral tributes into the 12th-century church to pay their final respects.

    “Because his death was such a public death, to have the funeral in a private way… I think it was very nice,” said onlooker Sheila Morris, a 65-year-old from Amersham.

    “It’s a beautiful church… it’s a very beautiful place for a funeral,” she said.

    Payne’s coffin arrived in a white horse-drawn hearse topped with floral tributes spelling the words “Son” and “Daddy”, followed by his parents.

    Payne was found dead on October 16 after falling from the balcony of his third-floor room at the Casa Sur Hotel in the Argentinian capital.

    His death, at 31, prompted a global outpouring of grief from family, former bandmates and fans, with thousands gathering in cities around the world to offer condolences.

    – ‘Completely devastated’ –

    Payne shot to stardom as a teenager alongside Styles, Horan, Tomlinson and Malik after their appearance on the UK talent show “The X Factor” 14 years ago.

    He died from “multiple traumas” and “internal and external haemorrhaging” after the fall from the hotel room, a post-mortem examination found.

    The balcony attached to his room overlooked a rear patio that was about 14 meters (45 feet) high.

    Hotel staff had called emergency services twice to report a guest “overwhelmed by drugs and alcohol” who was “destroying” a hotel room.

    Investigators have said he was alone at the time and appeared to have been “going through an episode of substance abuse”.

    In a short statement following his death, Payne’s family said: “We are heartbroken. Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul.”

    One Direction said they had been “completely devastated” by his death.

    After forming in 2010, the band went on to release an album of radio-ready songs each year in time for the holiday shopping season and became one of the highest-grossing live acts in the world. 

    In 2016, after Malik left, the group said it was on an indefinite hiatus but not splitting up.

    Payne’s first solo single “Strip That Down” peaked at number three on the UK charts and number 10 on the US Billboard top songs list.

    But in recent years he had spoken publicly about struggles with substance abuse and coping with fame from an early age.

    His last solo work, the single “Teardrops”, was released in March, with a second album announced at the time.

    Payne was born and raised in Wolverhampton, central England.

  • Lady Gaga, Green Day, Post Malone to headline Coachella 2025

    Lady Gaga, Green Day, Post Malone to headline Coachella 2025

    Lady Gaga, Green Day and Post Malone will headline 2025’s Coachella music and arts festival, organizers said Wednesday, while Travis Scott will play a special guest slot.

    Missy Elliott, Charli XCX and Megan Thee Stallion will also feature at the major event in the California desert that kicks off the music festival circuit.

    Coachella takes place over two three-day weekends in the spring, this year April 11-13 and 18-20.

    The line-up reveal came months earlier than usual, one day after Post Malone slipped in his own tour schedule release that he’d be playing concerts during the anticipated festival dates in Indio.

    Scott’s performance will come four years after he was slated to headline the 2020 festival, which was ultimately scrapped due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

    South Africa’s Tyla will perform at the 2025 edition after pulling out last year due to an injury.

    Other acts of interest include famed conductor Gustavo Dudamel along with the LA Philharmonic, along with a return to the desert for Brazil’s Anitta and electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk.

    Last year’s festival was headlined by Lana Del Rey, Doja Cat and Tyler, the Creator. It also featured a special reunion performance from No Doubt.

    Taylor Swift was also an overwhelming presence at the grounds flanked by the San Jacinto Mountains in 2024 — although as a spectator, not a performer.

  • ‘Gladiator 3’ already in works, say director and star

    ‘Gladiator 3’ already in works, say director and star

    Ridley Scott’s long-awaited “Gladiator” sequel has not even hit US theaters yet, but the veteran director is already hard at work on a third installment.

    “Gladiator II,” which arrives in North American cinemas Friday, stars Irish actor Paul Mescal (“Normal People”) as Lucius, the son of Russell Crowe’s Maximus from the multiple Oscar-winning original.

    A bloody, blockbuster epic of revenge, treachery and — yes — gladiators, it has drawn positive reviews and already hauled in a muscular $87 million at the global box office since opening in several countries last week.

    “Given the performance in the rest of the world that we’ve seen yesterday, there’s certainly going to be a ‘Gladiator III,’” said Scott, in Los Angeles on Monday for the movie’s glitzy US premiere.

    “Because it also becomes financial, and you’d be insane not to consider a third version,” said the British director of seminal films such as “Blade Runner” and “Thelma & Louise.”

    The plot of “Gladiator II” was also “planned to leave it wide open to a sequel,” added Scott, a famously prolific filmmaker who is still directing roughly a film per year at the age of 86.

    The second film opens with Lucius — sent into exile by his mother to avoid certain death in Rome — battling in vain to defend his adopted North African home city from the arrival of seemingly unstoppable Roman soldiers.

    Captured as a prisoner of war, he is brought back to the imperial metropolis, where he must prove his worth in the Colosseum in order to exact revenge on invading general Marcus Acacius, played by Pedro Pascal.

    Danish actress Connie Nielsen reprises her role as Lucilla from the 2000 original, while Denzel Washington is already earning Oscar buzz for his conniving, mercurial and highly flamboyant ringmaster, Macrinus.

    “Jewelry, sandals and everything — I just looked like a Roman pimp… I couldn’t put on enough rings,” joked Washington on Monday.

    – ‘Political’ –

    Mescal — whose character battles bloodthirsty baboons, rhinos and sharks in addition to humans in “Gladiator II” — also expressed excitement about returning for another film.

    But he said Scott had discussed a new direction for the plot that would not simply “go back to the arena as we know it.”

    “The last time I spoke to (Scott) he said he had nine pages. Yesterday, he said he had 14,” Mescal told journalists.

    “I would be excited for it to go into a more political sphere,” with Lucius thrust into a world of court intrigue that he does not want to inhabit, like Michael Corleone in “The Godfather,” added Mescal.

    Asked how the second film’s themes tackled power and politics differently, some 24 years after the original Scott said: “They’re exactly the same.”

    “A super-rich man thinks he can take over the Empire. Is that familiar?” he said, just days after billionaire Donald Trump’s re-election as US president.

    “We don’t learn historically anything. We keep repeating the same mistakes. We’re going through exactly the same thing right now in several parts of the planet,” he added.

  • Son of Norwegian Princess arrested on suspicion of rape

    Son of Norwegian Princess arrested on suspicion of rape

    Norwegian police said Tuesday that the 27-year-old son of Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit had been arrested on suspicion of rape.

    Police said that Marius Borg Hoiby, who was born from a relationship prior to Mette-Marit’s 2001 marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, had been arrested Monday evening.

    “What police can say about the rape is that it concerns a sexual act without intercourse. The victim is said to have been unable to resist the act,” they said.

    In a later statement, police said they had searched the suspect’s home and made “seizures”.

    Borg Hoiby was raised by the royal couple alongside his step-siblings Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 20, and Prince Sverre Magnus, 18, but has no official public role.

    The rape arrest comes only months after he was accused of bodily harm after a night-time row on August 4 at the Oslo apartment of a woman he was having a relationship with, police said.

    Norwegian media reports said police found a knife stuck into one of the walls of the woman’s bedroom at the time.

    He was arrested again in September for violating a restraining order.

    Police said he was in a car with the alleged victim of the August incident when he was arrested Monday.

    On Tuesday, police also said the suspicions relating to the August incident now include domestic abuse.

    Police said they had yet to decide whether he would be remanded in custody.

    Hoiby was born in 1997 from a relationship prior to Mette-Marit’s 2001 marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, the heir apparent to the Norwegian throne.