Latest news with #AdamPLOWRIGHT
Japan Today
3 days ago
- Health
- Japan Today
U.S.-backed Gaza aid group says people 'desperately need more aid'
By Adam PLOWRIGHT A privately run aid organization brought in to distribute food rations in war-hit Gaza last month with U.S. and Israeli backing said Saturday that people in the Palestinian territory "desperately need more aid". The admission by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) that it has been unable to meet demand came after severe criticism from other aid groups and near-daily deadly shootings near distribution points. Gaza's civil defense agency said Saturday that Israeli troops had killed at least 17 people, including eight who were seeking food in the territory which is suffering from famine-like conditions due to Israeli restrictions, according to aid groups. In a statement on Saturday, GHF interim executive director John Acree said that the organization was "delivering aid at scale, securely and effectively... But we cannot meet the full scale of need while large parts of Gaza remain closed." He said the GHF was "working with the government of Israel to honor its commitment and open additional sites in northern Gaza". "The people of Gaza desperately need more aid and we are ready to partner with other humanitarian groups to expand our reach to those who need help the most," Acree said. GHF's operations have been slammed as a "failure" by the United Nations, while other aid groups have raised concerns about the group's opaque structure and neutrality in the conflict that has been raging since October 2023. According to figures issued Saturday by the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, at least 450 people have been killed and nearly 3,500 injured by Israeli fire since GHF began distributing meal boxes in late May. GHF has denied responsibility for deaths near its aid points, contradicting statements from witnesses and Gaza rescue services. It has said deaths have occurred near U.N. food convoys. On Monday, the head of aid group Doctors Without Borders, Christopher Lockyear, said that the "imposed system of aid delivery" in Gaza was "not only a failure, but it is dehumanizing and dangerous". Israel's military has continued its operations in Gaza, even as attention has shifted to its ongoing war with Iran since June 13. Israel's ban on foreign media entering the Gaza Strip and difficulties for local journalists to travel in the territory mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and authorities. The Israeli army told AFP Saturday it was "looking into" the deaths which the civil defense agency reported near GHF distribution centers. In the past, the military has said that its troops have fired on crowds approaching them in a threatening fashion and only after warning shots. Witnesses have told AFP about injuries caused by drones and tank rounds. Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that three people were killed by gunfire in the southern Gaza Strip, with another five killed in a central area known as the Netzarim corridor, where thousands of Palestinians have gathered daily in the hope of receiving rations from a GHF center. Earlier this week, the UN's World Health Organization warned that Gaza's health system was at a "breaking point", pleading for fuel to be allowed into the territory to keep its remaining hospitals running. The Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023 that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 55,908 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry. The U.N. considers these figures reliable. © 2025 AFP
Japan Today
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Reel tensions: Trump film trade war looms over Cannes
By Adam PLOWRIGHT and Jeremy TORDJMAN Donald Trump's threat of tariffs on foreign-made films risks stoking tensions between the European and American film industries and dominating conversations at the Cannes film festival this week. The U.S. president has added a trade war to the sector's list of concerns that already included competition from streaming platforms. The already tricky commercial outlook for big-screen owners and film producers darkened considerably last Sunday when Trump said he wanted 100-percent tariffs on movies "produced in foreign lands". Even if most observers think the proposal is unworkable, it risks destabilizing an industry that is highly globalized and depends on open trade. "It'll be one of the big issues in Cannes," said Eric Marti from US-based media measurement agency Comscore. He said statements from another American leader -- the co-CEO of Netflix, Ted Sarandos -- had also focused minds. Sarandos said recently that cinema-going was "an outmoded idea for most people", pointing to the fact that audience numbers worldwide have not rebounded since the COVID pandemic. The festival in Cannes from Tuesday will see directors, actors and distributors try to make sense of Trump's intentions and those of his Hollywood advisors, actors Jon Voight, Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone. "We're a bit perplexed," Marti told AFP. "We don't know how it's going to work in practice." Trump's tariff salvo is part of a picture of growing tension between Europe and the U.S. over the film and TV industries since the former reality TV star returned to the White House in January. As part of his ultra-nationalist "Make America Great Again" agenda, Trump's Republican administration also has EU regulations that protect and promote European cinema in its crosshairs. The regulations take many forms but typically include measures such as taxing cinema tickets to fund independent filmmakers, quotas for European or non-English-language productions, or forcing major studios to fund domestic productions. In France, American streaming platforms Netflix, Amazon and Disney have to invest in French-language films or series in order to operate in the country. In a February 21 memo, Trump took aim at what he called "overseas extortion", with a particular mention of laws that "require American streaming services to fund local productions". American film industry groups such as the Motion Picture Association and the Directors Guild of America (DGA) have also lobbied the Trump administration to protest against European regulations. A group of leading French film figures, including "Emilia Perez" director and Cannes winner Jacques Audiard, fired back with an open letter to the DGA last month. "At a time when the gap between the United States and the rest of the world is widening, we believe it is more important than ever for European and American filmmakers to remain united," they wrote. French Culture Minister Rachida Dati vowed last week to defend French films "whatever the cost", noting that "on the other side of the Atlantic, powerful players in this industry are hostile to the French cultural exception". Cannes has always championed independent arthouse films but it also reserves part of its program to Hollywood blockbusters made by major American studios to attract audiences. This year will see Tom Cruise return for the world premiere of the latest and last installment of his "Mission: Impossible" series, three years after he lit up the Riviera while promoting "Top Gun: Maverick". While he can be expected to steer clear of politics and controversy, there will be plenty of Trump critics in attendance. "Taxi Driver" star Robert De Niro, who is set to receive an honorary Palme d'Or, is one of the most outspoken, often struggling to find words harsh enough to condemn Trump. Fellow New Yorker Spike Lee, who will present his film "Highest 2 Lowest" with Denzel Washington, raged against him in Cannes on 2018 after Trump refused to denounce violent far-right protests in Charlottesville, Virginia. Last year, festival organizers also selected "The Apprentice" in competition, a deeply unflattering portrait of Trump and his early real estate career featuring "Succession" star Jeremy Strong. Trump's lawyers called the film "garbage" and "pure malicious defamation" when it came out on the eve of last November's presidential election. Strong is set to return to Cannes this year as a jury member. © 2025 AFP
