Latest news with #Tunisia
The National
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The National
'I had to make this film': Kaouther Ben Hania brings Hind Rajab's story to Venice Film Festival
Twice Oscar-nominated Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania 's next film, The Voice of Hind Rajab, will debut in competition at the Venice Film Festival, scheduled to run from August 27 until September 9. The film dramatises the final hours of six-year-old Palestinian child Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli fire in January 2024 after being stranded in a car with her dead relatives in Gaza. Her recorded cries for help, made during a 70-minute call with emergency responders, were widely circulated online and became a haunting symbol of the war's toll on civilians. The Voice of Hind Rajab has been nominated for the Golden Lion, the festival's top prize. It will compete against several high-profile films, including Frankenstein by Guillermo Del Toro, No Other Choice by Park Chan-wook, and A House of Dynamite by Kathryn Bigelow. Ben Hania, whose last film Four Daughters was nominated for Best Documentary at the 2024 Academy Awards, says she was compelled to change course entirely after hearing Hind's voice for the first time. 'There was something electric in the energy around this project – so immediate, so alive,' she said in a statement. 'In all my years as a filmmaker, I never imagined it would be possible to go from start to finish in just 12 months.' She explained that the idea came to her during a layover in Los Angeles, while she was in the middle of her Oscar campaign for Four Daughters. 'Then, everything shifted. I heard an audio recording of Hind Rajab begging for help. By then, her voice had already spread across the internet. 'I immediately felt a mix of helplessness, and an overwhelming sadness. A physical reaction, like the ground shifted under me. I couldn't carry on as planned.' Ben Hania obtained the full audio through the Red Crescent. 'It was about 70 minutes long, and harrowing,' she said. 'After listening to it, I knew, without a doubt, that I had to drop everything else. I had to make this film.' The film uses the real audio recording as a central narrative thread. Shot in a single location, the movie avoids visual depictions of violence, opting instead to focus on tension, silence, and the growing fear of a child left without rescue. 'What I wanted was to focus on the invisible: the waiting, the fear, the unbearable sound of silence when help doesn't come,' said Ben Hania. 'Sometimes, what you don't see is more devastating than what you do.' 'At the heart of this film is something very simple, and very hard to live with. I cannot accept a world where a child calls for help and no one comes. That pain, that failure, belongs to all of us.' Hind's mother, Wissam Hamadah, said she was contacted by Ben Hania about the project a year ago. 'Despite the pain and the weight of grief, I felt that Hind's voice needed to be heard loud and clear,' she said. 'One year later, we are moved that this film will be shown at the Venice Film Festival. As a mother, nothing will ever heal the wound of losing my daughter. But knowing that her voice will now echo across the world gives me strength.' 'Thank you Kaouther and all the team for making this movie.' Ben Hania added that while The Voice of Hind Rajab is a deeply personal story of loss, it also carries a wider resonance. 'This story is not just about Gaza. It speaks to a universal grief,' she said. 'Cinema can preserve a memory. Cinema can resist amnesia. May Hind Rajab's voice be heard.'
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Warning after tortoise 'smuggled into UK in cigarette packet'
A woman who allegedly bought a baby tortoise for £10 at a Tunisian market then smuggled it into the UK in a cigarette packet has sparked a police 29-year-old woman from Boston is being investigated by Lincolnshire Police on suspicion of bringing the reptile into the country without a is believed to be a Testudo graeca - also known as a Greek tortoise - which is an endangered species protected under international law."We are using this report to warn and educate the public about the dangers and legal consequences of buying exotic animals abroad," a Lincolnshire Police spokesperson said. The incident has also been criticised by Wild Things Rescue UK, where the tortoise - named Gulliver - is now being cared Steele, from the charity, said the animal was "not in the best condition" when he arrived."It was a surprise to be asked to care for an animal from Tunisia, especially under such distressing circumstances," she said."He is a wild animal, not an accessory and should never have been treated this way." The suspected offences came under the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 2018 and the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 and can result in a fine or up to seven years in Con Aaron Flint, from the force, urged anyone thinking about bringing animals into the UK to check laws."What may seem like an innocent souvenir - even if purchased for a small amount -can result in serious criminal charges," he said."Don't take the risk – the consequences can be severe."Anyone with information about the potential illegal trade or importation of endangered species should contact the force. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
Times
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Times
EU wants UN backing for Rwanda-style migrant ‘return hubs'
The European Union is seeking United Nations support for plans to forcibly deport failed asylum seekers or illegal migrants to 'return hubs' outside Europe, to avoid the legal challenges that sank Britain's Rwanda scheme. European interior ministers will hear presentations from the UN on the conditions for its refugee agency to take part in, and approve, deportation or 'place of safety' centres in countries such as Tunisia, Mauritania, Jordan, Egypt or Uganda. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, last year called for an exploration of return hubs in a letter to the EU's national leaders, citing a deal between Italy and Albania as a possible model. Kaare Dybvad, the Danish immigration minister, who is chairing the talks in Copenhagen, stressed that the plans were urgently needed to 'get control of migration flow back into the democratic sphere', as European elections show increasing gains for nationalist and populist parties. 'The European asylum system is broken and we need innovative solutions,' he said before the talks. 'We are under pressure. We need to return people faster, we need to make innovative solutions and agreements outside of the EU.' Up to 80 per cent of failed asylum seekers — half of those who apply — who were ordered to leave countries across Europe have not done so, including dangerous criminals and terror suspects who have gone on to carry out attacks. While the EU is moving towards plans similar to the British Rwanda model — of setting up centres outside Europe to deter asylum seekers — governments want to ensure that plans are legally watertight, especially after judicial challenges to the Italian scheme in Albania. Crucially, under these plans, migrants housed in the 'return hubs' would already have been refused asylum — unlike those covered in Britain's Rwanda plan or Italy's Albanian asylum centres. 'It is part of the legislative work that we have to do now and to make sure it is possible,' said Dybvad. 'Return hubs are about returning people who are already rejected as asylum seekers. Reception centres as in Albania … as in Rwanda, that is about processing asylum claims. We need to make our own European model for these solutions.' On top of deportations, the EU is additionally looking at 'places of safety' centres for temporary reception and screening of refugees. UN involvement is seen as vital to making these proposals legally watertight and preventing judges from striking down plans. A 2023 ruling in the British Supreme Court against the Rwanda scheme followed a warning from the UN's refugee agency, the UNHCR, that it potentially breached the international conventions that set rules for asylum. A diplomat said: 'It is about showing that this is not a taboo with the UN and that we can work with them to make it more legally viable.' The UNHCR has not ruled out supporting the EU deportation centres but has asked for many legal safeguards that would water down and restrict the powers that national governments would have to detain and deport failed asylum seekers. Under a new EU return directive, tabled in March, deportations will be carried out either to the migrant's country of origin, or a country they transited through as well as a new option of a 'return hub' — an idea that was previously ruled out as illegal. The UN is opposed to EU proposals that failed asylum seekers or foreign criminals will no longer be able to have their deportations suspended while their appeal is heard, a loophole that often allows people to disappear upon their release. Bruno Retailleau, the French interior minister, warned that the status quo was not an option. He said: 'Today our states are totally disarmed, especially for forced removals. Throughout Europe, whether governments are conservative or social democrat, all the peoples have the same demand: control of mass immigration that has completely escaped us.'
France 24
9 hours ago
- Politics
- France 24
Senegal is going madd about the fruit
02:00 22/07/2025 Once a beacon of hope, Tunisia's civil society struggles to survive 22/07/2025 DRC and M23 rebels sign ceasefire deal in Doha 22/07/2025 Brazil's Bolsonaro risks arrest over breach of court restrictions in coup case 22/07/2025 Two Israelis questioned in Brussels over alleged Gaza war crimes 22/07/2025 Famine looms in Gaza amid mounting warnings 22/07/2025 Donald Trump releases Martin Luther King files 22/07/2025 Bangladesh plane crash kills at least 27, including 25 children Asia / Pacific 22/07/2025 Harvard fights Trump administration in court over $2.6 billion funding cut 22/07/2025 France, UK and 23 other countries issue joint plea for war in Gaza to 'end now'
See - Sada Elbalad
11 hours ago
- Politics
- See - Sada Elbalad
Trump Threatens New Military Strike on Iran's Nuclear Facilities
Amir Haggag In a social media post Monday evening, US President Donald Trump quoted Iran's foreign minister as saying that Iran's nuclear sites had been destroyed, confirming that they had been destroyed but adding that the US would attack "again, if necessary!" Trump's remarks came after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Fox News that Tehran could not abandon its nuclear enrichment program even though it had been "severely damaged" by US attacks. He said, "The program has been halted because the damage is so severe and severe. But obviously, we cannot abandon enrichment because it is an achievement of our scientists. Now, more importantly, it is a matter of national pride." On Truth Social, Trump responded to Araghchi's claim that the damage was severe, writing, "Of course it is, as I said, and we will do it again if necessary!" In the same post, the US president attacked CNN, saying, "They should fire their lying reporter and apologize to me and the great pilots who carried out the strike on Iran's nuclear sites." Referring to the reporter who first reported on the strikes on Iran, who said the strikes had not achieved their goal, Trump added: "CNN is constantly losing audiences, and so is MSNBC." read more Japan Stun Spain 2-1 to Qualify for World Cup Last 16 World Cup 2022: Get to Know Confirmed Line-ups of Japan and Spain Group E Decider Saudi Arabia Bid Farewell to World Cup after 2-1 Loss to Mexico Tunisia Achieve Historic Win over France but Fail to Qualify Tunisia to Clash against France in World Cup Sports Get to Know Squad of Group D Teams in World Cup Sports Al Ahly Gift EGP 70,000 to Players After Claiming Egyptian Super Cup Title Sports Bencharki Hits First 2 Goals with Al Jazira Since Leaving Zamalek Sports Arsenal Possible Line-up for Nottingham Forest News Israeli-Linked Hadassah Clinic in Moscow Treats Wounded Iranian IRGC Fighters Arts & Culture "Jurassic World Rebirth" Gets Streaming Date News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier Videos & Features Tragedy Overshadows MC Alger Championship Celebration: One Fan Dead, 11 Injured After Stadium Fall Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Arts & Culture South Korean Actress Kang Seo-ha Dies at 31 after Cancer Battle Business Egyptian Pound Undervalued by 30%, Says Goldman Sachs News "Tensions Escalate: Iran Probes Allegations of Indian Tech Collaboration with Israeli Intelligence" Sports Get to Know 2025 WWE Evolution Results News Flights suspended at Port Sudan Airport after Drone Attacks
