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☆ With Ukraine Funded, New Fight Emerges in Congress Over Pentagon Spending
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Carl Hulse | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Just weeks after Congress settled its long-running fight over military assistance to Ukraine, lawmakers have engaged in a new battle over the level of Pentagon spending for next year. Senator Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican and minority leader, is pressing along with other Republicans for a significant increase in money for the military and to break the longstanding Democratic rule that domestic funding must rise equally with Pentagon spending. “This is the most dangerous time in the world since the Berlin Wall came down, and the military spending needs to reflect the needs of our country, which clearly argues against having an arbitrary line that doesn’t spend more on defense than domestic,” Mr. McConnell said. “So I certainly do disagree with that, and we’re going to have a vigorous discussion about it.”Democrats have demanded parity between domestic and military funding in recent years. They argue that social programs are as deserving as defense and should not get shortchanged — or absorb deeper cuts to accommodate more Pentagon spending.

Persons: Mitch McConnell, Mr, McConnell Organizations: Kentucky Republican, Democratic, Pentagon Locations: Ukraine

☆ Blinken plays ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ in Kyiv bar
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —There was no doubting the message from Antony Blinken’s musical debut in Kyiv on Tuesday night. The visit is the first by a Biden administration official since the long-delayed passage of US supplemental funding to the war-torn country. The bar, which has heavy metal doors and metal reinforcements along the walls, is popular with war veterans and soldiers on leave. In a personal address from the stage, Blinken said: “The United States is with you, so much of the world is with you. And they’re fighting, not just for Ukraine but for the free world – and the free world is with you too.”The venue posted about the unusual performance on its Instagram page, captioning it: “Keep on rocking on a free world!

Persons: Antony Blinken’s, Neil Young’s, ” Blinken, Volodymyr Zelensky, Barman Dictat, Blinken, Neil Young, ”, Bill Clinton Organizations: CNN, Biden, Reduta Jazz Locations: Kyiv, United States, Ukraine, Prague

☆ Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof flees to Europe after prison and flogging sentence
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Artemis Moshtaghian | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof says he has fled his home country to an undisclosed location in Europe after a court in Iran sentenced him to prison on national security charges. In a separate statement dated May 12, Rasoulof said he had decided to escape Iran after his lawyers told him his prison sentence would be implemented on short notice. Rasoulof didn’t specify how he escaped Iran, saying only that he did it secretly with the help of friends and acquaintances. In 2022, an Iranian court sentenced Rasoulof to one year in prison and banned him from making films for two years on the charge of “propaganda against the system,” according to Human Rights Watch. Iranian authorities have previously arrested him multiple times and confiscated his passport because of his work, HRW said.

Persons: Mohammad Rasoulof, Rasoulof, ”, “, Babak Paknia, Mahsa Amini, Mohammad, Jean, Christophe Simon, ” Rasoulof, HRW, Michael Rios Organizations: CNN, Cannes Film, Cannes, Human Rights Watch Locations: Europe, Iran, Abadan, France

☆ Mohammad Rasoulof: Iran sentences renowned director to 8 years in prison and flogging, lawyer says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Hande Atay Alam | Artemis Moshtaghian | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A court in Iran has sentenced acclaimed movie director Mohammad Rasoulof to eight years in prison and flogging for national security crimes, his lawyer said on Wednesday. The writer-director’s latest work, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” is due to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in France next week. According to Paknia, some also alleged they were asked by officials to tell Rasoulof to withdraw the film from the festival. “Once again, the judiciary’s verdict against Mohammad Rasoulof proved that the law is only a playground for stubbornness and revenge in the legal system contaminated by government jurisprudence,” it said. “Independent and freedom-loving cinematographers condemn the invalid judgment of the judiciary against Mohammad Rasoulof and stand by him and all the artists who make fun of government censorship.”

Persons: CNN —, Mohammad Rasoulof, Babak Paknia, Paknia, Rasoulof, ”, HRW, “ Organizations: CNN, Cannes, Cannes Film, Human Rights Watch, Association Locations: Iran, France, Cannes

☆ Berlin senator attacked in library amid spate of violence against German politicians
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Stephanie Halasz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A Berlin senator was attacked while visiting a library on Tuesday, amid what appears to be an increasing trend of violence against politicians in Germany. Franziska Giffey, Berlin senator for economy, was hit over the head with a bag containing hard material as she visited the library in her district in the German capital Tuesday afternoon, the Berlin prosecutor’s office said in a statement. Giffey, a former Berlin mayor, described the moment of the attack on Instagram, saying “I suddenly felt a hard blow to my head and neck from behind. The Green party in Saxony wrote on X that its members would continue campaigning, and would not be intimidated. It also said it would support a draft law to increase legislation around protection against attacks on politicians.

Persons: Franziska Giffey, “, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s, Giffey, ” Scholz, Ursula von der Leyen, ” Organizations: CNN, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party, SPD, Green Locations: Berlin, Germany, Dresden, Saxony

☆ Daniel Barenboim: What Beethoven’s Ninth Teaches Us - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Daniel Barenboim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony was first performed exactly 200 years ago Tuesday and has since become probably the work most likely to be embraced for political purposes. (These days the Ninth is being played in concert halls worldwide in commemoration of the premiere. Beethoven might have been surprised at the political allure of his masterpiece. He was interested in politics, but only because he was deeply interested in humanity. I don’t believe, however, that Beethoven was interested in everyday politics.

Persons: Ludwig van Beethoven’s, Leonard Bernstein, ”, Joy, Beethoven, Napoleon —, “ Bonaparte ” —, Napoleon Organizations: European Union Locations: Berlin

☆ How Berlin's techno scene came to define the post-wall city and earn UNESCO cultural heritage status — with a little help from Detroit
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Berlin's techno scene was recently added to the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list in Germany. The impact on Berlin's identity has been so significant that it has now received official recognition, with the city's techno scene recently added to UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list in Germany. Dimitri HegemannWhen Dimitri Hegemann first entered the space that was to become the original site of Tresor, now one of Berlin's most iconic techno clubs, he was silent. A DJ performing during the Rave The Planet techno parade in Berlin, 2023. Lutz Leichsenring, a board member at the Clubcommission, told BI that the recognition was a "milestone for Berlin techno producers, artists, club operators and event organizers."

Persons: —, Dimitri Hegemann, Hegemann, Jeff Mills, Juan Atkins, Christian Ender, Nathan Rennolds Polish, Jennifer Kucza, Sean Gallup, Berliners, Lutz Leichsenring Organizations: UNESCO, Service, Business, BBC, Reuters, Berlin Locations: Germany, Berlin, Tresor, Detroit, New, —

☆ I raised my son in Germany until he was 6. Now, we're back in the US, and my family is going through reverse culture shock.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Liz Humphreys | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Liz Humphreys moved to Europe with her husband and raised her son in Berlin until he was 6. AdvertisementMy family has been back in New York City for a year and a half, and we're still struck by all the "rules" surrounding kids here. JF GrossenBerlin was affordable for raising a family and had great childcareIn 2012, my husband and I moved to Europe from New York City for work. He also had difficulty adjusting to all of the structure around the school day. In the 2024 Safety Index by Global Residence Index, Berlin ranked 46, while New York City was 107.

Persons: Liz Humphreys, —, Prenzlauer Berg, resignedly, we're, JF Grossen, it's, I've Organizations: Service, JF, London —, Berlin, New Locations: Europe, Berlin, New York, Prenzlauer, playdates, New York City, Amsterdam, London, Germany, Manhattan, Kita, Germnay

☆ Robert MacNeil, legendary PBS News anchor, dies at age 93
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Eva Rothenberg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Longtime broadcast journalist Robert MacNeil, who covered some of the biggest headlines of the 20th century and co-anchored PBS nightly news for two decades, died on Friday, PBS announced. MacNeil “was an incredibly erudite reporter, anchor and writer who raised the bar for serious journalism in America,” Sharon Percy Rockefeller, president of NewsHour Productions, said Friday in a news release. Arriving at PBS in the early 1970’s, MacNeil began a decades-long partnership with fellow journalist Jim Lehrer, according to PBS The two led PBS coverage of the Senate’s Watergate Hearings in 1973. In 1975, the pair co-founded the MacNeil/Lehrer Report, a show that would later become PBS NewsHour. MacNeil sat at the helm alongside Lehrer before leaving in 1995, according to PBS.

Persons: Robert MacNeil, MacNeil “, ” Sharon Percy Rockefeller, Jim Lehrer, MacNeil, John F, Kennedy, Lehrer, WETA, ”, “ Organizations: New, New York CNN, Longtime, PBS, NewsHour, NBC, WETA, Cuban Missile, MacNeil, Television, Writers ’ Conference Locations: New York, America, Montreal, Canada, Nova Scotia, London, Washington, DC, Dallas, WETA, United States

☆ A graffiti ‘takeover’ roils downtown Los Angeles
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Leda Abkenari | Leda Joy Abkenari | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Climbing up abandoned, unfinished floors and tightrope walking across balcony ledges, backpacks clanging with cans of alkyd and acrylic, a collective of Los Angeles graffiti artists have transformed their craft beyond urban aesthetics to champion community issues. (The Los Angeles City Attorney confirmed to CNN that, as of April 3, criminal charges have been filed against 23 individuals, for violations including trespassing and possession of vandalism tools.) ENDEM's tag, pictured here adorning the walls of the 3rd Street tunnel in Downtown Los Angeles. And as a result of that, they’re on the streets,” Hutchinson told CNN, noting that the homeless population in Los Angeles is continuing to grow. (“This has strained our deployment,” LAPD Chief Michel Moore said during a February meeting of the Los Angeles City Council.

Persons: tagger ENDEM, “, Keith Haring, Banksy, Endem, ENDEM, ” ENDEM, Oceanwide, ” Roger Gastman, Roger Gastman, Earl Ofari Hutchinson, “ You’ve, ” Hutchinson, Hutchinson, Mario Tama, Michel Moore, ”, Blair Besten, ” Besten, Gastman, — we’re, We’re, it’s, ” Gastman, It’s Organizations: CNN, Oceanwide Holdings, Los Angeles City Attorney, Oceanside, Los Angeles Urban Policy, Los Angeles Housing Services Authority, LA, Plaza, LAPD, Los Angeles City Council, Downtown, Oceanwide Locations: Angeles, Downtown LA, Germany, New York City, Downtown Los Angeles, Oceanside, LA, Los Angeles

☆ Filmmaker Draws Censors’ Wrath: ‘A Price I Have to Accept’
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Li Yuan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

China’s film industry was operating under a planned economy when Wang Xiaoshuai graduated from Beijing Film Academy in 1989. His directorial debut, “The Days,” about a despondent artist couple, was screened at film festivals in Europe in 1994. They barred Mr. Wang from working in the industry because he had screened “The Days” at foreign film festivals without their permission. Mr. Wang, like many other artists in China, found ways around the ban, and he went on to become one of the country’s most acclaimed directors as the restrictions loosened. When he screened his latest film, “Above the Dust,” at the Berlin International Film Festival, his company got a call from China’s censors.

Persons: Wang Xiaoshuai, Eager, Wang, “ Organizations: Beijing Film Academy, British Broadcasting Corporation, Berlin Locations: Europe, China

☆ My centenarian grandmother's lifestyle tips included keeping up with technology, a bustling social life, and gossip
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Caitlin Weaver | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Related storiesHere are a few things I truly believe helped her live a long and happy life, many of which might surprise you. Caitlin Weaver's grandmother loved reading. Courtesy Caitlin WeaverShe was very social — and loved to gossipNo one loved gossip more than my grandmother. She traveled and embraced new adventuresThe first half of her life revolved around raising three kids and helping run the family farm. Caitlin Weaver's grandmother loved traveling.

Persons: grandma, Caitlin Weaver's, Caitlin Weaver, she'd, hadn't, —, it's Locations: Hawaii, Europe

☆ My centenarian grandmother's longevity and lifestyle tips included keeping up with technology, a bustling social life, and gossip
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Caitlin Weaver | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Her active social life and adaptability to technology played key roles in her longevity. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . Caitlin Weaver's grandmother loved reading. Courtesy Caitlin WeaverShe was very social — and loved to gossipNo one loved gossip more than my grandmother. Caitlin Weaver's grandmother loved traveling.

Persons: —, grandma, Caitlin Weaver's, Caitlin Weaver, she'd, hadn't, it's Organizations: Service Locations: Hawaii, Europe

☆ Formed in the Cold War, former members of Germany’s Red Army Faction are now fugitives
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Sophie Tanno | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —German authorities have been tracking down the former members of the Red Army Faction (RAF), a now-defunct Cold War-era militant group, who have been on the run for nearly 30 years. The RAF, he said, emerged in what was then West Berlin, at the “crossroads” of the Cold War. The first, and most prominent period from 1970-1977, saw the group murder public officials and US soldiers and take many hostages. In April 1975, six RAF members seized the West German Embassy in Stockholm in a hostage standoff with the goal of forcing the release of imprisoned RAF members. The Red Army Faction claimed responsibility for the assassination, but the perpetrators were never brought to justice.

Persons: Baader, –, Jürgen Ponto, Siegfried Buback, Daniela Klette, Burkhard Garweg, Ernst, Volker Staub, Klette, Claudia Ivone, Garweg, Staub, pouncing, ”, Ivone, Wolfgang Kraushaar, Kraushaar, Axel, Andreas Baader, Ukrike Meinhof, Meinhof, ” Kraushaar, Helmut Schmidt, Franz Josef Strauss, Axel Springer, Springer, Alfred Herrhausen, Willy Brandt Organizations: CNN, Red Army Faction, RAF, East, Stasi, Dresdner Bank, Germany’s Public, Office, Police, ARD, ” Reuters, Bild, Red Brigades, Nihon, Springer, Criminal Police, West German Embassy, West, Meinhof Group, Reuters, Democratic, Deutsche Bank Locations: Berlin, West Germany, Kreuzberg, Bonn, Weiterstadt, German, Italy, Japan, West Berlin, Vietnam, Lower Saxony, Stockholm, Bavarian, Cologne, GDR, Democratic Republic

☆ How Sandra Hüller quietly won red carpet season
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Leah Dolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —While there was an abundance of daring looks at the Oscars red carpet this year, one of the evening’s most memorable outfits came from Hollywood newcomer Sandra Hüller. The second winged look — also from Schiaparelli — solidified Hüller as a red carpet risk taker. Richard Shotwell/Invision/APAt the 2024 Cesar Film Awards, Hüller arrived in a collarless Louis Vuitton wrap suit embellished with black sequins. Gerald Matzka/Getty ImagesAt the European Film Awards ceremony in December last year, Hüller stunned in a cut-out black and white gown with a satin finish. Christoph Soeder/dpa/Sipa USAFor the London premiere of "Anatomy of a Fall" in November 2023, Hüller wore a white skirt suit from Cong Tri.

Persons: Sandra Hüller, Oscar —, Hüller, cinched, Cartier, “ It’s, ”, Jordan Johnson Chung, —, Anthony Behar, Phoebe Philo’s, sequined Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Fallon, Richard Shotwell, Louis Vuitton, Pascal Le Segretain, Max, Rosie Assoulin, Gerald Matzka, Christoph Soeder, Dave Benett, Andreas Rentz, Gareth Cattermole, Jamie McCarthy Organizations: CNN, Vogue, Hollywood, Berlin, London, Cong Tri, 61st New York Film Locations: Hollywood, Cong, Cologne

☆ Tesla’s Berlin factory comes back online as power is restored after arson attack
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Olesya Dmitracova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London/Berlin CNN —Production at Tesla’s factory near Berlin is gradually resuming after the plant was reconnected to the power grid late on Monday following a week-long closure caused by an arson attack. Now production at the factory should be gradually ramped up, CNN affiliate RTL has reported. Prices in Germany for Model Y vehicles, the only cars manufactured at the factory, start at €44,990 ($49,196). That means a week of output is worth about €324 million ($354 million) in sales for Tesla. An aerial view of the Tesla car plant near Berlin on March 10, 2024.

Persons: E.DIS, ”, Tesla, Odd Andersen, ” Musk, Stephanie Halasz Organizations: Berlin CNN —, CNN, “, RTL, Elon Musk’s, Tesla, EVs, Getty, Volcano Group, Reuters Locations: Berlin, —, Europe, Germany, London

☆ Biden projects a vision of strength that’s been missing from his presidency but will be needed in 2024 campaign
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

And in the most important moment of the 2024 election campaign so far, Biden appeared to succeed. “President Biden is clearly not on his A-game and I think that’s a charitable way to describe it. Republicans complain Biden politicized a great state eventSome Republicans faulted the president’s delivery and said he mistook loudness for strength. And in his speech on Thursday, Biden was advocating a different kind of strength – one rooted in democracy rather than in trying to destroy it. That debate about two vastly different visions of the meaning and the soul of the country will decide the fates of both Biden and Trump come November.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Biden, — Biden, Trump, ”, “, ” Biden, ” Trump, —, Alabama Sen, Katie Britt, Mike Johnson, ” Johnson, he’s, genuflecting, autocrats, Ronald Reagan’s, Mikhail Gorbachev, Putin, ’ ” Biden, Xi Jinping’s, hale, George W, Bush’s, Ari Fleischer mused, Dan Crenshaw, Rush Limbaugh, –, Viktor Orban, Orban cozies, Orban, CNN’s Betsy Klein, I’ve, let’s Organizations: CNN, State, Representatives, GOP, Republicans, Capitol, Trump, ”, Union, Alabama, Republican, Democratic, Republican National Convention, America, Biden Locations: Trump, Florida, year’s State, Ukraine, Russian, Xi Jinping’s China, China, Texas, American, Hungarian, Mar

NEW YORK (AP) — Andrea Götsch was surprised when she won her audition in 2019 that led to membership in the Vienna Philharmonic. I thought that was too far away.”A male bastion from its founding in 1842 until 1997, the Vienna Philharmonic now has 24 female players among 145 members with three vacancies as it tours the United States this week. And we want the best members, so it was the right decision.”Based since 1870 at Vienna’s Musikverein, the Vienna Philharmonic elects leadership, engages conductors, chooses programs and schedules tours and recording sessions. It selects members from the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and has had a summer residency at the Salzburg Festival since 1922. A year later, she was confirmed for the Opera Orchestra and in 2022 she became a VPO member.

Persons: — Andrea Götsch, ”, “, It’s, Daniel Froschauer, Vienna’s Musikverein, Anna Lelkes, Albena Danailova, Franz Welser, Madeleine Carruzzo, York Philharmonic’s, Stephanie “ Steffy ” Goldner, Helen Kotas, Froschauer, Anneleen Lenaerts, Xavier de Maistre, Michael Bladerer, Strauss ’, Arabella ”, ” Lenaerts, ” Götsch, Johann Hindler, Verdi’s “, Daniel Harding, Götsch Organizations: Vienna Philharmonic, Associated Press, Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Salzburg Festival, Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, Berlin Philharmonic, York, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, State Opera Orchestra, Mahler, of, State Opera, VPO, Opera Orchestra Locations: Vienna, United States, Vienna’s, Swiss, Brussels, Bolzano, Italy, Mahler’s

☆ Power cut reportedly halts production at Tesla's gigafactory in Germany after suspected arson, police say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A power outage has reportedly halted production at Tesla's German factory. Suspected arson on an electricity pylon caused the outage, police told Business Insider. AdvertisementTesla reportedly halted production and evacuated its gigafactory near Berlin on Tuesday following a power outage in the area. Tesla told the newspaper it did not expect to resume production quickly following a consultation with energy provider E.DIS. Tesla told the publication at the time that it would now "seek dialogue with all participants to decide on further steps."

Persons: —, Tesla, Berlin Organizations: German, Business, Service, Police, Employees, Guardian Locations: Berlin, Brandenburg, Grünheide, Müggelheim, Neukölln, Europe

☆ Why 7 prominent VCs are investing millions in new social startups like Diem, Lex, and 222
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Sydney Bradley | Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Mervana Parekh is a principal at Acrew and has invested in social startups like Diem, Afterparty, and Anything World. Best Nights VC. Nichols is a founding managing partner at MaC, which recently invested in social startups like Spill and Swsh. Boyce has backed a slew of new social startups, including Diem, Lex, Koodos Labs, and Swsh, alongside associate Rhian Horton. In 2024, Best Nights is looking to invest in companies that facilitate travel experiences after hearing people say their best nights have happened during trips or vacations, said de Silva.

Persons: —, Connie Chan, Mervana Parekh, Peter Boyce II, Marlon Nichols, Catalyst, Web3, Peter, Diem, Afterparty, Lorrain de Silva, Andrew Kahn, Miley Cyrus, Lorde, Kahn, Aaron Matusow, Dan Kruchkow, Nichols, Elizabeth Weil, Kevin Weil, John Smothers, Boyce, Lex, Rhian Horton, Lorrain, Silva, BestNights, Aaron Leithäuser, Gen Z, Peter Boyce, de Silva, Acrew Organizations: Service, Business, Acrew, Stellation, MaC Venture, VCs, Stanford University, Startup, Pudgy Penguins, Crush Ventures, VC, Crush, MaC Venture Capital, MaC, Catalyst, Koodos Labs, Big Tech Locations: 1kx, San Francisco , New York, Lisbon, Acrew, San Francisco, Berlin, Los Angeles and New York, Los Angeles, New York, Rythm

☆ Yuval Abraham receives death threats after calling for Gaza ceasefire at Berlin film festival
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Amy Cassidy | Chris Stern | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Israeli journalist and film director Yuval Abraham said he is receiving death threats and has canceled his flight home from the Berlin International Film Festival amid backlash to an acceptance speech in which he decried the “situation of apartheid” and called for a ceasefire in Gaza. Abraham and his Palestinian co-director Basel Adra accepted the Best Documentary award for their film “No Other Land,” which chronicles evictions and demolitions of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank by Israeli authorities, on Saturday. Their speeches were met with accusations of antisemitism by high-level German and Israeli officials, including the mayor of Berlin and Israel’s Ambassador to Germany. “I am still getting death threats and had to cancel my flight home. I’m free to move where I want in this land; Basel is, like millions of Palestinians, locked in the occupied West Bank.”He continued: “We need to call for a ceasefire.

Persons: Yuval Abraham, Abraham, Basel Adra, “, ” Abraham, John Macdougall, Adra, ”, Kai Wegner, ” “, ” Ron Prosor, — Organizations: CNN, Berlin, West Bank, Israeli, Potsdamer, Getty, Abraham’s, Bank, Basel, ” Locations: Gaza, Berlin, Germany, Israel, Basel, ” “ Berlin

☆ Criticism of Israel at Berlin Film Festival Stirs Antisemitism Debate
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

When Yuval Abraham and Basel Adra walked onstage at the Berlin International Film Festival on Saturday night, they had come to talk about more than movies. Abraham and Adra, an Israeli and Palestinian filmmaking team, had just won the festival’s award for best documentary for “No Other Land,” a movie about Palestinian resistance to Israeli campaigns in the occupied territories. It was “very hard,” Adra said, to celebrate the award “when there are tens of thousands of my people being slaughtered and massacred by Israel in Gaza.”He called upon German lawmakers to “stop sending weapons to Israel,” before Abraham called for a cease-fire and an end to Israel’s occupation. The audience, which included the culture minister of Germany, Claudia Roth, applauded loudly, and there were whistles and cheers in the hall.

Persons: Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Abraham, Adra, ” Adra, ”, Claudia Roth Organizations: Berlin Locations: Palestinian, Israel, Gaza

☆ Red Army Faction Fugitive Wanted for Decades Is Arrested in Germany
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Christopher F. Schuetze | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

One of Germany’s most wanted fugitives was arrested on Monday after living in plain sight in Berlin, just miles from the seat of government that the police say she fought to overthrow in the 1990s. The woman, Daniela Klette, who had evaded the police for decades, was wanted in connection with the bombing of a prison in 1993. The police say they believe she was a guerrilla with the Red Army Faction, originally know as the Baader-Meinhof gang, Germany’s most infamous postwar terrorist group. During her time in hiding, the police say, Ms. Klette and two accomplices, Ernst-Volker Staub and Burkhard Garweg, who are also wanted in connection with Red Army Faction activities, committed at least 13 violent robberies, netting them about two million euros (a little more than $2.1 million). The police also said they found two ammunition magazines and bullets in the apartment, but no gun.

Persons: Daniela Klette, Baader, Meinhof, Klette, Ernst, Volker Staub, Burkhard Garweg, Wall Organizations: Red Army Faction, Red Army Locations: Berlin, Kreuzberg

☆ At the Berlin Film Festival, Reconsidering the Power of Doubt
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Jessica Kiang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Doubt is fussy and forgetful, whereas certainty strides around, all action and achievement. As a film critic, swift, declarative certainty is a quality I’ve learned to aspire to. But this year’s Berlin International Film Festival, which runs through Sunday, has been buffeted outside and in by political turbulence and organizational shake-ups. And so perhaps because the event itself is experiencing such uncertain times, the films made me reconsider — actually, doubt — my dismissive stance on doubt. Doubt is etched on Cillian Murphy’s hollow, striking features in Tim Mielants’s grave and moving “Small Things Like These,” which opened the festival last week.

Persons: —, Tim Mielants’s, Claire Keegan —, Magdalene laundries, Mary, Emily Watson, Murphy’s Locations: New Ross, Ireland

☆ A Film Festival in the Back of a Taxi
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Bryn Stole | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Some of international cinema’s biggest names gathered on Tuesday night at the Berlin International Film Festival as the event honored Martin Scorsese with a lifetime achievement award. Irene Jaxtheimer, who runs a taxi company, passed around homemade popcorn. A generator outside the cab powered a modest television, a DVD player and a small electric heater. The unconventional screening, just outside a centerpiece event for one of Europe’s most prestigious film festivals, was part of the makeshift TaxiFilmFest. Running through Sunday, it is partly a protest over the miserable state of the taxi industry these days and partly a counterfestival to celebrate the taxi cab’s iconic place in the urban cultural landscape.

Persons: Martin Scorsese, Scorsese, Wim Wenders, ” Klaus Meier, Irene Jaxtheimer Organizations: Berlin Locations: Berlin

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