Greenpeace stages Anish Kapoor art protest on British gas platform
Greenpeace activists have unfurled a massive anti-fossil fuel canvas by renowned sculptor Anish Kapoor on a North Sea platform in a rare protest on an active offshore gas rig, the group said on Thursday.
Seven Greenpeace climbers scaled Shell's Skiff gas platform, 45 nautical miles off the Norfolk coast in eastern England, and attached the 12m (40 feet) by eight-metre (26 feet) work, entitled BUTCHERED.
They then pumped 1,000 litres of a "blood-red" mixture, composed of seawater, beetroot powder, and non-toxic dye, onto the canvas.
British-Indian artist Kapoor said the work reflected the "butchery" that oil companies are "inflicting on our planet."
BUTCHERED is a "visual scream that gives voice to the calamitous cost of the climate crisis, often on the most marginalised communities across the globe," he added.
Renowned artist Anish Kapoor's work titled 'Butchered', installed by Greenpeace climbers, hangs from a Shell platform in the North Sea on Aug 13. Photo: Reuters
A Shell UK spokesperson said the protest was "extremely dangerous, involved illegally trespassing, and put their own and others' lives at risk."
The stunt came as much of southern Europe suffered a relenless heatwave with the tinderbox conditions helping the spread of many deadly wildfires.
The extreme heat, which scientists say human-driven climate change is intensifying, has fuelled blazes and strained firefighters from Greece to Portugal.
Parts of Britain also experienced the fourth heatwave of the summer season, with several regions in England facing drought conditions.
Philip Evans, senior campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said the artwork was a "visual gut-punch that makes visible the suffering and damage caused by the oil and gas industry right at the place where the harm begins."
Shell and Greenpeace last December settled a lawsuit brought by the British energy giant after environmental protesters boarded a ship carrying an oil and gas platform near the Canary Islands for several days.
In that agreement, Greenpeace also agreed that demonstrators would not go within 500m of three Shell North Sea sites for five years, and a fourth site for a decade. - AFP
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Hype Malaysia
a day ago
- Hype Malaysia
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The Star
2 days ago
- The Star
Rajnikanth is back with a bang with 'Coolie' and hand it to the superstar to lift the Tamil movie-world out of its doldrums
It has been bad times for the Tamil movie industry of late. But leave it to Tamil movie's super ace, Rajnikanth, dubbed as 'The Superstar' by his fans, to save them yet again. The Tamil movie industry, known as Kollywood, had one of its worst years in 2024, with a jaw-dropping amount of money being lost on big-budget blockbusters that were also rejected by audiences worldwide. Although there were a few successes, like "Amaran and Maharaja", 2024, just as it has been seen in recent years, was dominated by expensive flops headlined by big-name stars that didn't live up to expectations. There has been no difference for the first half of 2025. Aijth's "Vidaamuyarchi", Kamal Haasan's "Thug Life", Dhanush's "Kubeera" and Vijay Sethupathi's "Ace" all just tumbled and bombed at the box-office. Even Surya's "Retro" and Ajith's "Good, Bad, Ugly", although these movies did well enough to recover the funds, they did not set the box office on fire. And then came the superstar. 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Rajinikanth, of course, delivers exactly what fans crave — charisma, style, and a commanding screen presence that feels effortless. The flashback portions, especially the Rajini–Sathyaraj sequences, are a treat, as the two icons come together on screen after 40 years. Sathyaraj and Shruti Haasan bring solid support, never tipping into excess, while the mass appeal and emotional beats keep the second half gripping, with well-timed outbursts landing just right. The de-aging of Rajinikanth is pure mass — seamlessly done, it adds a nostalgic punch. Even hindi superstar Aamir Khan's cameo is smartly placed, adding intrigue without feeling forced. In short: It was amazing to see fans from all races in Malaysia getting excited about the movie. Chinese and Malay friends of this writer had already watched the movie when writing this review. So just go and watch the movie, enjoy the mass entertainer at his usual very best, and get blown out of your mind with the action scenes.
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
Stressed UK teens seek influencers' help for exams success
LONDON: Posing as a fortune teller on his YouTube channel, former teacher Waqar Malik tells thousands of followers that he can predict this year's exam questions. He is among online study influencers gaining popularity among stressed British teenagers in search of exam success. But educators and examiners are concerned some pupils are relying too much on online advice. Malik posts videos on TikTok and YouTube forecasting questions on classic English literature for the UK GCSE school exam taken at 16. Last year 'I predicted the entire paper,' he says on his popular 'Mr Everything English' channel. Malik, who says he is a former assistant head teacher, notes that he is just making an 'educated guess', but educators remain concerned. 'If you are a 15- or 16- year-old doing your GCSEs and you've got somebody in your phone who's telling you 'this is what the English exam is going to be about'... that is so appealing,' said Sarah Brownsword, an assistant professor in education at the University of East Anglia. After British pupils sat their exams in May, some complained that Malik's predictions were wrong. 'Never listening to you again bro,' one wrote, while others said they were 'cooked' (done for) and would have to work in a fast food restaurant. With GCSE results set to be released on August 21, one exam board, AQA, has warned of 'increasing reliance on certain online revision channels'. 'Clearly this is an important source of revision and support for students,' it said. But the examiners want 'your interpretation of the texts you have studied, not some stranger's views on social media'. 'Looking for help' Students are overloaded, school leaders say. 'With so much content to cover and revise in every subject it can be completely overwhelming,' Sarah Hannafin, head of policy for the school leaders' union NAHT, told AFP. 'And so it is unsurprising that young people are looking for anything to help them to cope.' Malik, whose prediction video has been viewed on YouTube 290,000 times, did not respond to a request for comment. Brownsword praised TikTok, where she posts grammar videos for student teachers, saying: 'You can learn about anything and watch videos about absolutely anything'. Teachers have always flagged questions that could come up, she said, but predicting exam questions online is 'really tricky'. 'But I think there's a real difference between doing that and doing it on such a scale, when you've got thousands or tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of followers online.' Other content creators defended such videos, however. 'Those kind of videos were never to mislead,' said Tilly Taylor, a university student posting TikTok videos with candid revision advice to 100,000 followers. 'I make it very clear in my videos that these are predictions,' based on past papers and examiners' reports, said Taylor, who appeals to younger viewers with her fashionable eye makeup. Other content creators sell predicted papers 'all the time,' Taylor said, but 'I don't think it's right.' Other educational influencers were more in favour. 'If you're marketing it as a predicted paper, that's completely fine... you just can't say guaranteed paper,' said Ishaan Bhimjiyani, 20, who has over 400,000 TikTok followers. He promoted a site offering an English predicted paper for £1.99 ($2.70) with a 'history of 60-70 percent accuracy'. 'It took off' Predicted papers allow you to 'check whether you're actually prepared for the exam', said Jen, a creator and former teacher who posts as Primrose Kitten and declined to give her surname. Her site charges £4.99 for an English predicted paper and includes a video on phrasing to score top marks. Bhimjiyani, who went to a private school, started posting on TikTok at 16, saying he was 'documenting my journey, posting about how I revise'. 'And then it kind of took off.' He founded an educational influencer agency, Tap Lab, that now represents over 100 bloggers in their mid-teens to mid-20s. Influencers earn most from paid promotions -- for recruiters or beauty or technology brands --- which must be labelled as such, he said. Bhimjiyani made £5,000 with his first such video. Taylor said she recently promoted student accommodation. No one explained 'how do you actually revise', Taylor said of her school years. So she turned to YouTube for ideas. 'I wanted to help someone like myself,' she said, 'who couldn't necessarily afford to go to private school or have private tuition.' - AFP
