Former US president Jimmy Carter dies aged 100Porn Stars Battle 'AI Pimping' that Floods Social media with Fake Accounts Using Their Videos
'Democracy and freedom': Jimmy Carter's human rights efforts in Latin America
Nick Kyrgios has described Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek’s positive doping tests as “disgusting” ahead of his return to tennis. The controversial Australian has played only one match in more than two years because of injury but that has not stopped him being an outspoken presence on social media during a difficult few months for the sport. First it was announced in August that Sinner had failed two doping tests in March but was cleared of fault, while in November Swiatek was handed a one-month ban for a failed test caused by contaminated medication. Feels good getting these consecutive days training in the bank man.... Wrist re construction and back out here... blessed..................Without failing any drug tests ?↕️?? be proud kygs doing it the right way ?? pic.twitter.com/J8l21lnTdI — Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) December 5, 2024 Kyrgios has been particularly vociferous in his criticism of Sinner, who could yet face a ban after the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed the finding of no fault or negligence in his case. At a press conference ahead of the Brisbane International, Kyrgios told reporters: “I have to be outspoken about it because I don’t think there’s enough people that are speaking about it. I think people are trying to sweep it under the rug. “I just think that it’s been handled horrifically in our sport. Two world number ones both getting done for doping is disgusting for our sport. It’s a horrible look. “The tennis integrity right now – and everyone knows it, but no one wants to speak about it – it’s awful. It’s actually awful. And it’s not OK.” He has not played a competitive match since, and it appeared doubtful that he would be able to return, but the 29-year-old will make his comeback in Brisbane this week. Kyrgios will take on France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in singles, while he will also team up with Novak Djokovic in a blockbuster doubles pairing. “It’s good to be back,” said Kyrgios. “I honestly never thought I’d be back playing at this level. Even entering an event like this, preparing, doing all the right things. “I’m really excited to just go out there and play, just play tennis. I saw Novak in the gym, playing doubles with him, a lot to be excited about that I’m able to get out there and compete again.” Asked whether he could get back to the same level that saw him reach the Wimbledon final in 2022, Kyrgios said: “I still believe I can, whether or not that’s factual or not. There was another player who was like, ‘You have to be realistic’. That’s not how I am. I always back my ability.” The new tennis season is already under way, with the United Cup team event beginning on Friday. Great Britain, who are weakened by the absence of Jack Draper through injury, begin their campaign against Argentina in Sydney on Monday before facing hosts Australia on Wednesday. That could pit Katie Boulter against fiance Alex De Minaur, with the pair having announced their engagement last week. “Obviously some incredible news from our side, but I think we kind of wanted it to die down a little bit before matches started,” said Boulter of the timing. “My private life is out in the public a little bit at the moment. But, in terms of the stuff that I’m doing on the court, I’ll be doing the best I can every single day to stay in my own little bubble.” Billy Harris has taken Draper’s place, with the British number one facing a race against time to be fit for the Australian Open because of a hip problem. Emma Raducanu is the sixth seed at the ASB Classic in Auckland and will begin her season with a match against Robin Montgomery, while Cameron Norrie takes on another American, Learner Tien, at the Hong Kong Open.Interview Now that criminals have realized there's no need to train their own LLMs for any nefarious purposes - it's much cheaper and easier to steal credentials and then jailbreak existing ones - the threat of a large-scale supply chain attack using generative AI becomes more real. No, we're not talking about a fully AI-generated attack from the initial access to the business operations shutdown. Technologically, the criminals aren't there yet. But one thing LLMs are getting very good at is assisting in social engineering campaigns. And this is why Crystal Morin, former intelligence analyst for the US Air Force and cybersecurity strategist at Sysdig, anticipates seeing highly successful supply chain attacks in 2025 that originated with an LLM-generated spear phish. When it comes to using LLMs, "threat actors are learning and understanding and gaining the lay of the land just the same as we are," Morin told The Register . "We're in a footrace right now. It's machine against machine." Sysdig, along with other researchers, in 2024 documented an uptick in criminals using stolen cloud credentials to access LLMs. In May, the container security firm documented attackers targeting Anthropic's Claude LLM model . While they could have exploited this access to extract LLM training data, their primary goal in this type of attack appeared to be selling access to other criminals. This left the cloud account owner footing the bill — at the hefty price of $46,000 per day related to LLM consumption costs. Digging deeper, the researchers discovered that the broader script used in the attack could check credentials for 10 different AI services: AI21 Labs, Anthropic, AWS Bedrock, Azure, ElevenLabs, MakerSuite, Mistral, OpenAI, OpenRouter, and GCP Vertex AI. We're in a footrace right now. It's machine against machine Later in the year, Sysdig spotted attackers attempting to use stolen credentials to enable LLMs. The threat research team calls any attempt to illegally obtain access to a model "LLMjacking," and in September reported that these types of attacks were "on the rise, with a 10x increase in LLM requests during the month of July and 2x the amount of unique IP addresses engaging in these attacks over the first half of 2024." Not only does this cost victims a significant amount of money, according to Sysdig, but this can run more than $100,000 per day when the victim org is using newer models like Claude 3 Opus. Plus, victims are forced to pay for people and technology to stop these attacks. There's also a risk of enterprise LLMs being weaponized, leading to further potential costs. In 2025, "the greatest concern is with spear phishing and social engineering," Morin said. "There's endless ways to get access to an LLM, and they can use this GenAI to craft unique, tailored messages to the individuals that they're targeting based on who your employer is, your shopping preferences, the bank that you use, the region that you live in, restaurants and things like that in the area." In addition to helping attackers overcome language barriers, this can make messages sent via email or social media messaging apps appear even more convincing because they are expressly crafted for the individual victims. "They're going to send you a message from this restaurant that's right down the street, or popular in your town, hoping that you'll click on it," Morin added. "So that will enable their success quite a bit. That's how a lot of successful breaches happen. It's just the person-on-person initial access." She pointed to the Change Healthcare ransomware attack - for which, we should make very clear, there is no evidence suggesting it was assisted by an LLM - as an example of one of 2024's hugely damaging breaches. In this case, a ransomware crew locked up Change Healthcare's systems, disrupting thousands of pharmacies and hospitals across the US and accessing private data belonging to around 100 million people . It took the healthcare payments giant nine months to restore its clearinghouse services following the attack. It will be a very small, simple portion of the attack chain with potentially massive impact "Going back to spear phishing: imagine an employee of Change Healthcare receiving an email and clicking on a link," Morin said. "Now the attacker has access to their credentials, or access to that environment, and the attacker can get in and move laterally." When and if we see this type of GenAI assist, "it will be a very small, simple portion of the attack chain with potentially massive impact," she added. While startups and existing companies are releasing security tools and that also use AI to detect and prevent email phishes, there are some really simple steps that everyone can take to avoid falling for any type of phishing attempt. "Just be careful what you click," Morin advised. Also: pay close attention to the email sender. "It doesn't matter how good the body of the email might be. Did you look at the email address and it's some crazy string of characters or some weird address like name@gmail but it says it's coming from Verizon? That doesn't make sense," she added. LLMs can also help criminals craft a domain with different alphanumerics based on legitimate, well-known company names, and they can use various prompts to make the sender look more believable. Even voice-call phishing will likely become harder to distinguish because of AI used for voice cloning, Morin believes. "I get, like, five spam calls a day from all over the country and I just ignore them because my phone tells me it's spam," she noted. "But they use voice cloning now, too," Morin continued. "And most of the time when people answer your phone, especially if you're driving or something, you're not actively listening, or you're multitasking, and you might not catch that this is a voice clone - especially if it sounds like someone that's familiar, or what they're saying is believable, and they really do sound like they're from your bank." We saw a preview of this during the run-up to the 2024 US presidential election, when AI-generated robocalls impersonating President Biden urged voters not to participate in the state's presidential primary election. Since then, the FTC issued a $25,000 reward to solicit ideas on the best ways to combat AI voice cloning and the FCC declared AI-generated robocalls to be illegal. Morin doesn't expect this to be a deterrent to criminals. "If there's a will, there's a way," she opined. "If it costs money, then they'll figure out a way to get it for free." ®
Joe Burrow threw three touchdown passes to Tee Higgins, including a game-winning scoring strike with 1:07 left in overtime, to give the host Cincinnati Bengals an electrifying 30-24 win over the Denver Broncos on Saturday. Cade York could have given Cincinnati (8-8) the win with 2:43 to go in the extra session, but his 33-yard field-goal attempt hit the left upright. The Bengals' defense buckled down, though, forcing Denver to go three-and-out to get Burrow, Higgins and the rest of the offense back out on the field. Cincinnati proceeded to go 63 yards in five plays, with Higgins' 3-yard TD catch giving the Bengals their fourth straight victory. Higgins finished with 11 catches for 131 yards. Marvin Mims Jr. forced overtime by hauling in a 25-yard score on fourth-and-1 to draw the Broncos (9-7) even at 24 with eight seconds left in regulation. Burrow had put Cincinnati in front by plunging into the end zone from 1 yard out just 1:21 earlier. Burrow completed 39 of 49 passes for 412 yards and the three touchdowns while Ja'Marr Chase had nine catches for 102 yards and set a single-season franchise record for receptions. He now has 117. Tight end Mike Gesicki played a key role in the Cincinnati passing game, grabbing a season-high 10 catches for 86 yards. Rams 13, Cardinals 9 Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon intercepted a pass in the end zone with 37 seconds left to preserve Los Angeles' win over Arizona in Inglewood, Calif. Witherspoon made a diving catch after the ball bounced high off the helmet of Arizona tight end Trey McBride on the pass attempt by Kyler Murray. The Rams (10-6), who lead the NFC West by one game, have won five straight, while the Cardinals (7-9) have lost five of their last six. Los Angeles could clinch a playoff berth on Sunday depending on the outcome of other games. Matthew Stafford threw for 189 yards while completing 17 of 32 pass attempts without a touchdown or interception. Puka Nacua finished with 10 receptions for 129 yards. Murray was 33 of 48 for 321 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. McBride made 12 catches for 123 yards to surpass 1,000 yards for the first time in his three NFL seasons. Chargers 40, Patriots 7 Justin Herbert passed for 281 yards and a season-high three touchdowns and Los Angeles clinched an AFC playoff berth with a dominating victory over New England in Foxborough, Mass. Ladd McConkey caught eight passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns and Derwin James had two sacks and a fumble recovery for the Chargers (10-6), who are playoff-bound in Jim Harbaugh's first season as coach. Derius Davis also had a scoring catch, J.K. Dobbins rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries and Cameron Dicker booted four field goals.Herbert completed 26 of 38 passes as the Chargers improved to 3-12 all-time in Foxborough, including playoffs. Drake Maye completed 12 of 22 passes for 117 yards and one touchdown for New England (3-13), which lost its sixth consecutive game. DeMario Douglas caught a scoring pass for the Patriots. -Field Level MediaHandshake of Legends: Tom Brady and Josh Allen share moment before Bills vs. Rams matchupSouth Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor is recalling about 42,465 vehicles in the US due to improperly routed wiring that may increase the risk of a crash, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Saturday. The recall includes certain 2025 Tucson and Santa Cruz vehicles, according to Reuters. The US auto safety regulator said that a vehicle transmission that could move out of "Park" mode without the driver pressing the brake pedal could cause the vehicle to roll away, raising the risk of a crash. On Friday, the automaker also recalled over 145,000 electric vehicles in the US due to a loss of drive power.
Neal Maupay: Whenever I’m having a bad day I check Everton score and smile
These units, which are about the same size as standard refrigerators or wine coolers, allow the crew to enjoy freshly picked vegetables in the middle of the ocean. NEW DELHI: Synergy Marine Group has started growing vegetables on its vessels on a pilot basis using technology provided by Agwa. "As part of a pilot project, Synergy's managed Suezmax tanker 'EFFIE MAERSK' has been using Agwa's cutting-edge AI-directed cultivation devices since September," according to a statement on Thursday. These units, which are about the same size as standard refrigerators or wine coolers, allow the crew to enjoy freshly picked vegetables in the middle of the ocean, it added. Eli Feiglin, Chief Commercial Officer of Agwa, said, "The fully automated process allows crews to enjoy fresh greens and herbs without the need for special skills or substantial time commitment." The self-contained units use artificial intelligence, cameras and sensors to regulate environmental factors such as ultraviolet light, water, fertiliser and temperature. By maintaining optimal conditions for plant growth, the AI ensures that the vegetables grow efficiently. Captain Rajesh Unni, Synergy's founder and Chairman, said, "Agwa's technology allows us to serve fresher, healthier food onboard, directly enhancing crew welfare. This innovation also reduces food waste and delivers real-time benefits for the crew, aligning with our shared commitment to a greener, more sustainable maritime industry." Stay informed on all the latest news , real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in india news and world News on Zee News.From sex drive woes to cheating and porn addiction, Dear Deidre reveals readers’ most common problems of 2024
ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who tried to restore virtue to the White House after the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, then rebounded from a landslide defeat to become a global advocate of human rights and democracy, has died. He was 100 years old . The Carter Center said the 39th president died Sunday afternoon, more than a year after entering hospice care , at his home in Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died in November 2023, lived most of their lives. The center said he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. A moderate Democrat, Carter ran for president in 1976 as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad grin, effusive Baptist faith and technocratic plans for efficient government. His promise to never deceive the American people resonated after Richard Nixon’s disgrace and U.S. defeat in southeast Asia. “If I ever lie to you, if I ever make a misleading statement, don’t vote for me. I would not deserve to be your president,” Carter said. Carter’s victory over Republican Gerald Ford, whose fortunes fell after pardoning Nixon, came amid Cold War pressures, turbulent oil markets and social upheaval over race, women’s rights and America’s role in the world. His achievements included brokering Mideast peace by keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at Camp David for 13 days in 1978. But his coalition splintered under double-digit inflation and the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran. His negotiations ultimately brought all the hostages home alive, but in a final insult, Iran didn’t release them until the inauguration of Ronald Reagan, who had trounced him in the 1980 election. Humbled and back home in Georgia, Carter said his faith demanded that he keep doing whatever he could, for as long as he could, to try to make a difference. He and Rosalynn co-founded The Carter Center in 1982 and spent the next 40 years traveling the world as peacemakers, human rights advocates and champions of democracy and public health. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, Carter helped ease nuclear tensions in North and South Korea, avert a U.S. invasion of Haiti and negotiate cease-fires in Bosnia and Sudan. By 2022, the center had monitored at least 113 elections around the world. Carter was determined to eradicate guinea worm infections as one of many health initiatives. Swinging hammers into their 90s, the Carters built homes with Habitat for Humanity. The common observation that he was better as an ex-president rankled Carter. His allies were pleased that he lived long enough to see biographers and historians revisit his presidency and declare it more impactful than many understood at the time. Propelled in 1976 by voters in Iowa and then across the South, Carter ran a no-frills campaign. Americans were captivated by the earnest engineer, and while an election-year Playboy interview drew snickers when he said he “had looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times,” voters tired of political cynicism found it endearing. The first family set an informal tone in the White House, carrying their own luggage, trying to silence the Marine Band’s traditional “Hail to the Chief" and enrolling daughter, Amy, in public schools. Carter was lampooned for wearing a cardigan and urging Americans to turn down their thermostats. But Carter set the stage for an economic revival and sharply reduced America's dependence on foreign oil by deregulating the energy industry along with airlines, trains and trucking. He established the departments of Energy and Education, appointed record numbers of women and nonwhites to federal posts, preserved millions of acres of Alaskan wilderness and pardoned most Vietnam draft evaders. Emphasizing human rights , he ended most support for military dictators and took on bribery by multinational corporations by signing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He persuaded the Senate to ratify the Panama Canal treaties and normalized relations with China, an outgrowth of Nixon’s outreach to Beijing. But crippling turns in foreign affairs took their toll. When OPEC hiked crude prices, making drivers line up for gasoline as inflation spiked to 11%, Carter tried to encourage Americans to overcome “a crisis of confidence.” Many voters lost confidence in Carter instead after the infamous address that media dubbed his “malaise" speech, even though he never used that word. After Carter reluctantly agreed to admit the exiled Shah of Iran to the U.S. for medical treatment, the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979. Negotiations to quickly free the hostages broke down, and then eight Americans died when a top-secret military rescue attempt failed. Carter also had to reverse course on the SALT II nuclear arms treaty after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979. Though historians would later credit Carter's diplomatic efforts for hastening the end of the Cold war, Republicans labeled his soft power weak. Reagan’s “make America great again” appeals resonated, and he beat Carter in all but six states. Born Oct. 1, 1924, James Earl Carter Jr. married fellow Plains native Rosalynn Smith in 1946, the year he graduated from the Naval Academy. He brought his young family back to Plains after his father died, abandoning his Navy career, and they soon turned their ambitions to politics . Carter reached the state Senate in 1962. After rural white and Black voters elected him governor in 1970, he drew national attention by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Carter published more than 30 books and remained influential as his center turned its democracy advocacy onto U.S. politics, monitoring an audit of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results. After a 2015 cancer diagnosis, Carter said he felt “perfectly at ease with whatever comes.” “I’ve had a wonderful life,” he said. “I’ve had thousands of friends, I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence.” Contributors include former AP staffer Alex Sanz in Atlanta.NEW YORK — The man charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was not a client of the medical insurer and may have targeted it because of its size and influence, a senior police official said Thursday. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told NBC New York in an interview Thursday that investigators have uncovered evidence that Luigi Mangione had prior knowledge UnitedHealthcare was holding its annual investor conference in New York City. Mangione also mentioned the company in a note found in his possession when he was detained by police in Pennsylvania. "We have no indication that he was ever a client of United Healthcare, but he does make mention that it is the fifth largest corporation in America, which would make it the largest healthcare organization in America. So that's possibly why he targeted that company," Kenny said. UnitedHealthcare is in the top 20 largest U.S. companies by market capitalization but is not the fifth largest. It is the largest U.S. health insurer. Mangione remains jailed without bail in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested Monday after being spotted at a McDonald's in the city of Altoona, about 230 miles west of New York City. His lawyer there, Thomas Dickey, said Mangione intends to plead not guilty. Dickey also said he had yet to see evidence decisively linking his client to the crime. Mangione's arrest came five days after the caught-on-camera killing of Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel. Police say the shooter waited outside the hotel, where the health insurer was holding its investor conference, early Dec. 4. He approached Thompson from behind and shot him before fleeing on a bicycle through Central Park. Mangione is fighting attempts to extradite him back to New York so that he can face a murder charge in Thompson's killing. A hearing was scheduled for Dec. 30. The 26-year-old, who police say was found with a " ghost gun " matching shell casings found at the site of the shooting, is charged in Pennsylvania with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police. Mangione is an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family. In posts on social media, Mangione wrote about experiencing severe chronic back pain before undergoing a spinal fusion surgery in 2023. Afterward, he posted that the operation was a success and that his pain improved and mobility returned. He urged others to consider the same type of surgery. On Wednesday, police said investigators are looking at his writings about his health problems and his criticism of corporate America and the U.S. health care system. Kenny said in the NBC interview that Mangione's family reported him missing to San Francisco authorities in November.
Wonder women: 2024 trifecta symbolizes Independence Bowl's long history of female influenceJimmy Carter, 39th US president, Nobel winner, dies at 100Investing.com -- RBC Capital Markets expects a cyclical recovery in containerboard and tighter supply in the lumber market to bolster North American producers in 2025, despite lingering challenges from high interest rates and subdued housing demand. RBC highlighted International Paper and Smurfit WestRock (NYSE:WRK) as top picks in the containerboard sector, citing improved pricing strategies and efficiency gains. Among lumber producers, RBC favours Interfor, Canfor (TSX:CFP), and West Fraser, expecting a 15% rise in lumber prices next year due to recent capacity reductions. Elevated 30-year mortgage rates, at 6.72% as of December 19, are likely to limit demand for wood products, with RBC forecasting only a modest 3% uptick in single-family housing starts. Permanent curtailments of about 5% of North American lumber capacity are expected to drive a tighter market, with Random Lengths Composite pricing rising to $460 per thousand board feet, up from a 2024 average of $400. Pricing momentum is building, with anticipated $20 per ton increases for linerboard and medium in January. International Paper and Smurfit WestRock, which control nearly half the North American market, are focusing on value over volume, potentially supporting margin expansion. Ongoing discussions around tariffs and trade policies could impact market dynamics, though specific policy directions remain unclear. RBC also highlighted outperform-rated small-cap names like Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) and Rayonier Advanced Materials (NYSE:RYAM) as worth watching. It raised price targets for CAS and SW while trimming forecasts for several lumber names. The brokerage's Q4 2024 EBITDA estimates are ahead of consensus for seven stocks, including Interfor, West Fraser, and Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY). Related Articles Trump asks Supreme Court to pause law that could ban TikTok Exclusive-Brazil yanks temp work visas for China's BYD after trafficking claims
Shyam Benegal is considered the pioneer of New Cinema or Parallel Cinema in India. Spawning from the efforts by Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen in Bengal, there was a new cinema developing beyond studio walls, in real locations and exteriors. There was an exciting combination of actors and non-actors, and the narratives were of social realism, of the intersections of class, caste and gender in historically grounded contexts. Moreover, the National Film Institute had trained a breed of new actors and technicians with exposure to the best international cinema. In this fertile ground stepped in a forty-year-old ad man, who planned a feature script written in his college days. Benegal’s Ankur (1974) told a little story about a crumbling feudal world and a peasant revolt, in which the landlord has an affair with the low caste servant girl and she falls pregnant. It was a story in which class, caste and gender identity were sharply implicated.The prolific storyteller made a series of films— Ankur , Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976), Mandi (1983)—giving voice to the subaltern, pulling focus on the shifting fabric of society, exploring the very dynamics of national change. I met Shyambabu in the Film Society circuit in Bombay, while I was teaching Film Studies and English at St. Xavier’s College. He would readily agree to do guest lectures with my students on cinema history and sometimes on his forthcoming films. When Suraj ka Satwan Ghoda (1992) released, I was fascinated with the film, and I made a presentation at the Prabhat Chitra Mandal (Film Society). Shyambabu was present and we had a long chat about the film that evening. Anil Dharker had liked my presentation and he carried an edited version of the paper in the Sunday Times the next week. I wrote several long essays on Shaymbabu’s films in Cinema in India edited by Khalid Mohamed. Within a few years, I was at the University of Sussex on a post-doctoral fellowship. I curated the India 50 conference and programmed Bhumika (1977) as one of the films to be screened. We invited Shyam Benegal to deliver a keynote, which was the highlight of the conference. He stayed with us in our London home and we binged on films as much as we could with frequent Chinese lunches in Chinatown, Soho. When the British Film Institute commissioned two films on Indian directors as part of their World Directors series, I was asked to write on Shyam Benegal while Rachel Dwyer wrote on Yash Chopra. The books were written within a short window. I had to fly out to Bombay, find all his films in the archives and then have long conversations with him. So for three weeks, we had morning and afternoon sessions in Shyambabu’s Tardeo office, punctuated with local lunch boxes or meals in his home hosted by his wife Nira Benegal. The Sahyadri Films office was meticulously organised and most of Shyambabu’s films—including his shorts and documentaries—were sourced from his own office. The book launch in London was at the Nehru Centre hosted by Girish Karnad, who was its director at that time. Shyambabu’s incisive understanding and analysis of history and socio-economic contexts allowed him to tell a layered and humane micro story, flanked by the macro canvas of larger forces of crucial socio-political changes. In a sense, he was a chronicler of our times, of post-colonial India, of promises delivered and failed. The first trilogy with Ankur , Nishant and Manthan were rural stories where the players were on the brink of change or instrumental in triggering change. The crop of film institute graduates quickly became part of the Benegal stable, a veritable gallery of dramatic actors, whose names had become synonymous with parallel cinema—Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Anant Nag, Pankaj Kapoor. There was Girish Karnad freshly returned from Oxford, who lived in Shyambabu’s home while he wrote his scripts. And Smita Patil, who was spotted by the director as a newreader on Doordarshan. These actors appear and reappear in his repertoire, exhibiting unique strengths and talents from film to film. While watching a restored version of Mandi during the recently concluded Festival of Three Continents in Nantes, one could see how Benegal was a conductor of an orchestra, drawing out a collective performance with an invisible baton. One of his strongest points was his ability to gather people and keep them in a repertory of films, while maintaining a democratic spirit in the unit. When Zubeidaa (2001) was being shot in Jaipur at Deegi Palace, the entire cast and crew had their meals together on a large table laid out in the palace garden. During the shoot for Mandi , the director set up volleyball courts, where everyone played till they were called in for their respective scenes. Shyambabu’s ouvre reveals an interesting alternation between narrative experimentation and social concern. His style of filmmaking placed him in the parallel cinema style, although he was impatient with such categorising of cinema. His restlessness with a linear narrative and his familiarity with literature has often led to delightful experiments in narrative style and craftsmanship as in Kondura (The Boon, 1977) or the masterful Suraj ka Satwan Ghoda . Greatly inspired by the life of Subhas Bose, his biopic on the controversial nationalist leader Bose: The Forgotten Hero (2005) or The Making of Mahatma (1996) were linear and structurally less interesting. Bhumika (1977), based on the autobiography of the Marathi actress Hansa Wadkar, significantly gave voice to an early woman performer, powered by a passionate Smita Patil in the best performance of her lifetime. Made during the rising women’s movement in India and the cultural reclaiming of women’s writings, this will remain as one of the director’s best works. The later trilogy of Mammo (1994), Sardari Begum (1995) and Zubeidaa (2001) were centred around Muslim women and the choices they make, all produced significantly after the Babri Masjid demolition and the Bombay riots. A firm believer in egalitarianism, Shyambabu’s socialist vision of post-colonial India is hugely influenced by Nehru, as evident in Bharat Ek Khoj (1988) for Doordarshan. Much later, when he served as nominated Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, he made the television series Samvidhaan (The Constitution, 2014). Constantly drawing upon voices from the margins, Benegal’s films articulate concerns about national identity, life on the periphery, gender/caste/class issues—from the peasant movement of the 1970s to the rural development drive and its conflicts to the untold stories of the handloom weaver, the low caste farmer and the performing woman. Benegal famously turned down his cousin Guru Dutt’s offer to assist him in his productions. He was convinced those were not the films he wanted to make. “People make films according to their own sensibility. The existing formal style was not suitable for me—I had no wish to work on design made films. Eventually though, all work is part of the same river.” Over the past two decades, every trip to the city of Bombay had involved a visit to Shyambabu’s office. During the 2021 pandemic, we witnessed the master helming a 200 strong unit shooting for the biopic Mujib: The Making of a Nation (2023) in Film City, where a large set had been designed for the Indo-Bangladesh co-production. Donning a cap in the hot sun, he would pace up and down the set and call the shots even as the sun set in the evening sky. After a tiring day’s shoot, he would still remember to call and ask if I had reached the airport in time, and whether I had dinner. Earlier this year, we were at his office sipping chai as he gave instructions to his assistant to play Mujib on the desktop. He was frail and he had to head home for lunch. Sure enough, he was back in an hour and got busy trying to arrange our lunch in the office. He was excited about screening Mujib in London. Last summer, we hosted a 50-year digital tribute session for Shyambabu with the London Indian Film Festival and my cultural outfit ‘Baithak’, UK. Several of his cast and colleagues joined us including Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Bina Paul, Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das, Ila Arun, Nandita Puri, Atul Tiwari, Shantanu Moitra and his Mujib actor from Bangladesh, Arifin Shuvoo. Shyambabu was delightedly chatting with everybody and he happily announced “This calls for a party!” Finally there was a party on his 90 th birthday, when he was once again surrounded by his cast and crew members. He was on dialysis thrice a week but in office for regular hours, working on two different script ideas till the last day, wondering which one to start on first. We will miss Shyambabu, his energy, affection, empathy and humour. We will celebrate him, his boundless passion, dignity and never say die attitude. The biggest tribute to this giant filmmaker, knowledge sharer, philosopher, mentor will be for younger filmmakers to study his films and learn his language, enter his mind. He said to me, “I don’t know if cinema can actually bring about change in society. But cinema can certainly be a vehicle for creating social awareness. I believe in egalitarianism and every person’s awareness of human rights. Through my films I can say, here is the world, and here are the possibilities we have. It is difficult to define the purpose of my art...eventually it is to offer an insight into life, into experience, into a certain kind of emotive or cerebral area.” BY Apeksha PriyadarshiniWe need a connection: tune out to tune inVICTORIA — A Vancouver Island First Nation whose people were the first to greet European explorers in the region almost 250 years ago is taking British Columbia to court, seeking title to its traditional territories and financial compensation. The Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation filed a claim Thursday in B.C. Supreme Court seeking a return of decision-making, resource and ecological stewardship, said Chief Mike Maquinna, a descendent of the former Chief Maquinna who met British explorer Capt. James Cook in 1776. Crown-authorized forest industry activities approved by the province without the consent of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation have resulted in cultural, economic and environmental impacts, he said at a news conference on Thursday. "Our people, the Mowachaht/Muchalaht, have endured many hardships since first meeting Capt. Cook, who was the explorer who first came into our territory," said Maquinna. "As a result of the explorations of our territory, the natural resources of our lands have been taken. We want to correct rights and wrongs here and hopefully as time goes on this will show that Mowachaht/Muchalaht has been infringed upon since time of contact." Capt. Cook and Chief Maquinna met in March 1776 at the traditional Mowachaht/Muchalaht whale-hunting village of Yuquot, later named Friendly Cove by Cook. The Parks Canada website says Yuquot was designated a national historic site in 1923 as the ancestral home of the First Nation, which was continuously occupied for more than 4,300 years and the centre of their social, political and economic world. The Parks Canada website says the village became the capital for all 17 tribes of the Nootka Sound region. Maquinna said the province has been acting as the sole decision-making authority in the Gold River-Tahsis areas of northern Vancouver Island, especially with regards to the forest resource, without the consent of his nation. Hereditary Chief Jerry Jack said the claim seeks title to about 430,000 hectares of land on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island and an amount of financial compensation to be determined by the court. "It is common knowledge we were here long before Capt. Cook and now we have to go to court and definitively prove that," he said. "I don't like that we have to prove that we owned it before he showed up to my territory, to my beach." The land title case does not make any claims against private land owners, homeowners or recreational hunting and fishing operators, said Jack. Premier David Eby said the B.C. government prefers negotiated land-claims settlements rather than become involved in lengthy, expensive court cases, but the Mowachaht/Muchalaht have the right to take that route. "We have no problem with them doing that," he said at an unrelated news conference in Langley. "We'd rather sit down and find a path forward." The 15-page notice of claim seeks declarations that the First Nation has Aboriginal title to its lands and that B.C.'s Forest Act and Land Act will no longer apply to Mowachaht/Muchalaht lands once title is declared. Jack said the nation decided against pursuing formal treaty talks with the federal and provincial government years ago and has been planning the land title court case "for many decades." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2024. Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press
Neal Maupay: Whenever I’m having a bad day I check Everton score and smileThese events took place this week in West Virginia history
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EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings waived cornerback Akayleb Evans on Saturday in another setback for their beleaguered 2022 draft class. Evans started 15 games last season, but he had been relegated to a special teams role this year after the Vikings added veteran cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore and Shaquill Griffin. Evans was a fourth-round pick out of Missouri, one of three defensive backs among Minnesota's first five selections in 2022. Lewis Cine (first round) was waived and Andrew Booth (second round) was traded earlier this year. One of their second-round picks, guard Ed Ingram, lost his starting spot last week. Evans was let go to clear a roster spot for tight end Nick Muse, who was activated from injured reserve to play on Sunday at Chicago. The Vikings ruled tight end Josh Oliver out of the game with a sprained ankle. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
An Italian renewable energy giant and Japan's largest oil and gas company are plugging into Australia's clean energy resources under the banner of a new company. or signup to continue reading Potentia Energy will be launched at the Sydney Opera House on Monday as an Australian renewable energy firm co-owned by Rome-headquartered Enel Green Power and INPEX. With rights in place for a development pipeline of over seven gigawatts across the country, Potentia is most focused on developing and acquiring assets in NSW, Queensland and Western Australia, chief executive Werther Esposito told AAP. The company is not deterred by the risk of political change, with opinion polls favouring the coalition ahead of the 2025 federal election. "The energy transition will go ahead in any case. There could be an acceleration or slowing down in the process," Mr Esposito said. "Renewables represent, from a technical and economic perspective, the solution for climate change," he said. "I don't think any government could deny that today wind and solar are cheaper than other technologies, and are faster in reaching the phase of deployment and construction and then supply of renewable energy." NSW had suffered some planning delays that had hit investment but there had been a "strong improvement" in the past 12 to 18 months, he said. The company also has a stake in Queensland, particularly in the north's Copperstring area, where the recently elected LNP government has pledged to stick by a massive transmission project begun under Labor. Enel won the bidding in 2024 to develop renewable energy to power a vanadium mining and processing project, which is one of a number of giant resources projects intended to be connected to the $9 billion Copperstring transmission line from Townsville to Mt Isa. WA offered a "huge opportunity" for the deployment of wind farms and battery energy storage systems, Mr Esposito said. With a decades-long footprint in Australia's north and west, INPEX is Japan's largest fossil fuel exploration and production company. Under pressure to reduce its global contribution to climate change, INPEX is already developing the production of liquid hydrogen and ammonia. "They elected Australia as the market to start diversification of the energy mix and huge investment in renewables," Mr Esposito said. "Of course in this regard, Australia is the place to be," he said. Enel and INPEX joined forces in a share purchase agreement in 2023, with the renewables business operating plants comprising 310 megawatts of solar capacity across South Australia and Victoria and a 75MW wind farm in Western Australia. A 93MW solar farm is under commissioning in Victoria and financial close was recently announced for a hybrid 98MW solar and 20MW battery project in NSW. But with international firms lining up to exploit clean energy resources, Australians living alongside projects are demanding a share of future profits through community funds, power bill rebates and other benefits. "The energy transition should be just. To be just it means that you need to support the communities and involve the communities in a proper way," Mr Esposito said. He said Enel was proud of its legacy in providing support to areas facing a changing landscape and the impact of new infrastructure, including community funds, a focus on local hiring and providing training to support new jobs. "It's an approach that is, for us, absolutely a pillar of our strategy," he said. "We are still facing some regulatory ambiguity in what a social licence means, and we are trying to be a leader in the industry in helping and supporting all the key stakeholders in determining and defining what it is." Advertisement Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date. We care about the protection of your data. Read our . Advertisement
