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☆ Scores of world figures urge Putin to free Navalny in open letter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 28 (Reuters) - Scores of famous figures, including writers and actors, have signed an open letter urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to free opposition politician Alexei Navalny and to end what they called his torture in prison. Russian authorities say Navalny and his supporters are extremists with links to the U.S. CIA intelligence agency intent on trying to destabilise Russia. They have outlawed his movement and Navalny himself is facing new charges that could add years to his prison sentence. Navalny's supporters have grown increasingly worried about his health in recent weeks, saying they fear he could die in jail. The Kremlin denied trying to kill him and said there was no evidence he was poisoned with a nerve agent.

☆ Iranian foundation offers land to Salman Rushdie's attacker - state media
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, Feb 21 (Reuters) - An Iranian foundation has praised the man who attacked novelist Salman Rushdie last year, leaving him severely injured, and said it will reward him with 1,000 square metres of agricultural land, state TV reported on Tuesday through its Telegram channel. Some Muslims saw passages in the novel about the Prophet Muhammad as blasphemous. Khomeini's successor, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was suspended from Twitter in 2019 for saying the fatwa against Rushdie was "irrevocable." The man accused of attacking the novelist has pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder and assault charges. Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Michael Georgy and Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK PM Sunak condemns 'gobblefunk' changes to Roald Dahl's books
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( William James | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A cake decorated in the style of the Roald Dahl children's book "Matilda" is displayed at the Cake and Bake show in London, Britain October 3, 2015. The Daily Telegraph on Friday published an article showing hundreds of changes to some of Dahl's internationally popular books such as the 1988 story "Matilda", "The BFG" (1982) and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (1964). "Our guiding principle throughout has been to maintain the storylines, characters, and the irreverence and sharp-edged spirit of the original text," said a spokesperson for the Roald Dahl Story Company. "Roald Dahl was no angel but this is absurd censorship. Puffin Books and the Dahl estate should be ashamed," Rushdie said on Twitter.

☆ Salman Rushdie releases new novel six months after stabbing attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Jonathan Allen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Since the attack, Rushdie has struggled to write and has suffered nightmares, he told the New Yorker magazine in an interview published this week. "All I've seen is his idiotic interview in the New York Post," said Rushdie, who was born in Bombay, now Mumbai, and raised in a Muslim family. Matar, 25, told the Post in a jailhouse interview shortly after the stabbing that he thought Rushdie had insulted Islam. Rushdie spent six weeks recuperating in hospital and still requires regular medical visits, he told the New Yorker. He said he hoped the attack would not overshadow the novel.

☆ Iran and Britain's history of strained relations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

DUBAI, Jan 14 (Reuters) - British-Iranian relations, which have been strained for decades, were back in the spotlight after Iranian authorities executed British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari for spying, charges he had denied. 1988 - Britain restores full diplomatic relations with Iran. 1994 - Britain accuses Iran of contacts with the outlawed Irish Republican Army, a charge Iran denies but relations worsen. 1999 - Iran says relations between Tehran and Britain have been upgraded to ambassadorial level. The same year, Iran accuses Britain of being behind bombings that killed six people in Iran.

☆ U.S. Penalizes Iranian Group Behind Salman Rushdie Bounty
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Ian Talley | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Salman Rushdie, pictured in 2019, was stabbed several times before a planned lecture in New York on Aug. 12. WASHINGTON—The Biden administration on Friday levied sanctions against an Iranian foundation that has sponsored a bounty on the writer Salman Rushdie, who was stabbed in August on a stage in New York. Mr. Rushdie, who spent years under police protection after Iranian leaders called for his execution over his 1988 book “The Satanic Verses,” was stabbed several times before a planned lecture in New York’s Chautauqua Institution on Aug. 12. Federal authorities are investigating what motivated the suspected attacker, Hadi Matar, a New Jersey man of Lebanese descent. Mr. Matar’s lawyer in New York, Nathaniel Barone, entered a plea of not guilty last month.

☆ ‘Confessions’ Review: More Than the Dust
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Brenda Cronin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The brash young writers who transformed British literature some 40 years ago nourished a tabloid bonanza of parties, passions and swagger. Led by Martin Amis, their ranks included Julian Barnes, Salman Rushdie—and a sedulous outlier named A.N. Andrew Norman Wilson, however, was more likely to be in church or at home writing than on a profile-burnishing bender. That industriousness might portend a dreary memoir, but in “Confessions: A Life of Failed Promises,” Mr. Wilson makes up in wit what he lacks in celebrity antics.

☆ U.S. imposes sanctions on Iran-based foundation over Salman Rushdie bounty
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Daphne Psaledakis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on an Iranian foundation it accused of issuing a multi-million dollar bounty for the killing of novelist Salman Rushdie, who was attacked at an event in August. Rushdie, 75, lost sight in one eye and the use of one hand following an attack on stage at a literary event in western New York in August, his agent said. Friday's action freezes any U.S. assets belonging to the foundation and generally bars Americans from dealing with it. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then Iran's supreme leader, 33 years ago issued a fatwa, or religious edict, calling on Muslims to assassinate Rushdie a few months after his novel "The Satanic Verses" was published. Rushdie, who was born in India to a Kashmiri Muslim family, has lived with a bounty on his head, and spent nine years in hiding under British police protection.

☆ Agent says Salman Rushdie has lost use of eye and hand following August attack
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

After the attack, Rushdie was treated at a Pennsylvania hospital, where he was briefly put on a ventilator to recover from what Wylie told El Pais was a “brutal attack” that cut nerves to one arm. Wylie told the newspaper he could not say whether Rushdie remained in a hospital or discuss his whereabouts. The attack was along the lines of what Rushie and his agent have thought was the “principal danger ... a random person coming out of nowhere and attacking,” Wylie told El Pais. Wylie told the newspaper it was like Beatles member John Lennon’s murder. In a jailhouse interview with The New York Post, Matar said he disliked Rushdie and praised Khomeini.

☆ Salman Rushdie lost sight in one eye following attack, agent says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 23 (Reuters) - Salman Rushdie lost sight in one eye and the use of one hand following an attack on stage at a literary event in western New York in August, his agent said. Wylie described the author's wounds as "profound," and noted the loss of sight of one eye. Khomeini's successor, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was suspended from Twitter in 2019 for saying the fatwa against Rushdie was "irrevocable." He is being held without bail in a western New York jail. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Maria Caspani, Editing by Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka wins 2022 Booker Prize
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Marie-Louise Gumuchian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan writer Shehan Karunatilaka won the Booker Prize on Monday for his second novel "The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida," about a dead war photographer on a mission in the afterlife. Set in 1990 Sri Lanka during the country's civil war, Karunatilaka's story follows gay war photographer and gambler Maali Almeida, who wakes up dead. This year's shortlist of Booker Prize contenders included British author Alan Garner's "Treacle Walker", Zimbabwean author NoViolet Bulawayo's "Glory", "Small Things Like These" by Irish writer Claire Keegan, U.S. author Percival Everett's "The Trees" and "Oh William!" "It is an entirely serious philosophical romp that takes the reader to 'the world's dark heart' - the murderous horrors of civil war Sri Lanka," MacGregor added. Past winners of the Booker Prize, which was first awarded in 1969, include Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie and Yann Martel.

☆ Man suspected of attacking Salman Rushdie charged with attempted murder, assault
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterNew Jersey Police officers stand guard near the building where alleged attacker of Salman Rushdie, Hadi Matar, lives in Fairview, New Jersey, U.S., August 12, 2022. REUTERS/Eduardo MunozWASHINGTON, Aug 13 (Reuters) - The man suspected of attacking novelist Salman Rushdie on Friday has been charged with attempted murder and assault, prosecutors said on Saturday. "The individual responsible for the attack yesterday, Hadi Mattar, has now been formally charged with Attempted Murder in the Second Degree and Assault in the Second Degree," Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said in a statement on Saturday. "He was arraigned on these charges last night and remanded without bail," the statement added. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Kanishka Singh and Rami Ayyub in WashingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Salman Rushdie off ventilator and 'road to recovery has begun,' agent says
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-15 | by ( Nathan Layne | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"He's off the ventilator, so the road to recovery has begun," his agent, Andrew Wylie, wrote in an email to Reuters. Rushdie was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania, for treatment after the attack. Authorities in Iran have made no public comment about the attack, although hardline state media outlets have celebrated it with headlines including "Satan has been blinded" and some Iranians voiced support online for the stabbing. Rushdie was stabbed 10 times, prosecutors said during Matar's arraignment, according to the New York Times. A Hezbollah official told Reuters on Saturday that the group had no additional information on the attack on Rushdie.

☆ Rushdie's stabbing highlights divisions in Iranian society
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-14 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But hardline state media outlets have celebrated it with headlines like "Satan has been blinded". "Through the fatwa, the Iranian regime is responsible for the attack on Salman Rushdie. Washington has charged an Iranian with plotting to murder Bolton, a national security adviser to Trump. Those comments echoed praise for the attacker in other hardline Iranian media on Saturday. read more"I hope you die," tweeted Iranian Mohammad, using the trending hashtag #SalmanRushdie in Farsi.

Wylie did not respond to messages requesting updates on Rushdie's condition on Saturday, though the New York Times reported that Rushdie had started to talk, citing Wylie. In a statement on Saturday, President Joe Biden commended the "universal ideals" that Rushdie and his work embody. Rushdie was stabbed 10 times, prosecutors said during Matar's arraignment, according to the Times. There has been no official government reaction in Iran to the attack on Rushdie, but several hardline Iranian newspapers praised his assailant. A Hezbollah official told Reuters on Saturday that the group had no additional information on the attack on Rushdie.

☆ Iran's hardline newspapers praise Salman Rushdie's attacker
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Author Salman Rushdie arrives at the High Court to settle a libel action brought against Ron Evans local media reported, in London August 26, 2008. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File PhotoAug 13 (Reuters) - Several hardline Iranian newspapers heaped praise on Saturday on the person who attacked and seriously wounded author Salman Rushdie, whose novel "The Satanic Verses" had drawn death threats from Iran since 1989. In 2019, Twitter suspended Khamenei’s account over a tweet that said Khomeini’s fatwa against Rushdie was “solid and irrevocable”. The headline of the hardline Vatan Emrooz newspaper read: “Knife in Salman Rushdie’s neck”. read moreRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register<a href="mailto:dubai.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com" target="_blank">dubai.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com</a> Editing by Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Police said there was no immediate indication of a motive for the attack that left Rushdie severely injured and on a ventilator after surgery. "I'm not aware that he's ever asked us to provide additional security, and I'm also not aware that he ever brought a security detail with him," she said. Pilar Pintagro/via REUTERSFor Rushdie's event, Chautauqua had requested and received security assistance from the New York State Police and the Chautauqua County sheriff's department, Hill said. Fisher said safety, diversity and differences of opinion had long been part of the fabric of the Chautauqua community. "Not only was he (Rushdie) a victim, but I think that open community is going to be a victim as well," Fisher said.

☆ Rushdie told German magazine his life is now 'relatively normal'
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Rushdie talked in the interview with Germany's Stern magazine about the threats he sees to U.S. democracy. The interview is due to appear in the magazine on Aug. 18, but Stern released it on Saturday, a day after the attack on Rushdie. He went into hiding for nearly a decade but in recent years has lived relatively openly. Indian-born Rushdie, who became a U.S. citizen in 2016 and lives in New York City, said he was worried about threats to democracy in the United States. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Vera Eckert Editing by Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"Salman will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed; and his liver was stabbed and damaged." Stunned attendees helped wrest the man from Rushdie, who had fallen to the floor. The Iranian government said in 1998 it would no longer back the fatwa, and Rushdie has lived relatively openly in recent years. 1/25 A general view shows UPMC Hamot Surgery Center, where novelist Salman Rushdie is receiving treatment after the attack, in Erie, Pennsylvania, U.S., August 12, 2022. "I felt like we needed to have more protection there because Salman Rushdie is not a usual writer," said Anour Rahmani, an Algerian writer and human rights activist who was in the audience.

☆ Salman Rushdie may lose eye, is on ventilator, agent says
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterA view of the Chautauqua Institution where Salman Rushdie, the Indian-born novelist who was once ordered killed by Iran in 1989 because of his writing, was attacked on stage at an event in New York, U.S., August 12, 2022. REUTERS/Lindsay DeDarioAug 12 (Reuters) - Author Salman Rushdie will likely lose an eye and suffered severed nerves in an arm and damage to his liver after he was stabbed on Friday, his agent said, adding that Rushdie was on a ventilator. "The news is not good. Salman will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed; and his liver was stabbed and damaged," Andrew Wylie said in a written statement. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Costas Pitas and Dan Whitcomb Editing by Rami AyyubOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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