Latest news with #Dahan
Saba Yemen
5 days ago
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Sana'a gov sends Eid gift convoy to frontline fighters
Sana'a – Saba: The local authority in Sana'a governorate on Thursday dispatched an Eid gift convoy to support frontline fighters on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. The convoy, a collective contribution from the Executive Office and residents across various districts of the governorate, included 20 heads of cattle and 250 heads of sheep. Governorate undersecretary Talib Dahan described the convoy's dispatch as an expression of loyalty to the sacrifices of the martyrs and the steadfastness of the heroes. Dahan affirmed their commitment to following in the footsteps of these fighters in confronting the "forces of tyranny and global arrogance" until victory is achieved. Dahan emphasized the dedication of the local authority leadership, the Executive Office, and all residents of the governorate to continue providing "convoys of sacrifice and giving." He framed this as a sacred jihadi duty and a contribution to confronting the "aggression" and thwarting its plans, which he stated aim to subjugate Yemen to the fate of other nations that have "normalized relations with the Zionist entity." Yahya al-Shaabani, Director of the Governorate's Welfare Division, and Ali Othman, the convoy supervisor, stated that the convoy represents the least that can be offered to those who are sacrificing their lives in defense of the homeland, its sovereignty, and independence. They affirmed the continuation of support and generosity convoys for those on the ground, commending the heroic deeds and victories of the armed forces' heroes on various fronts in defending the homeland and its sovereignty, as well as supporting the Palestinian people in Gaza, who they noted are subjected to massacres and Zionist crimes with American and Western support. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
The Hindu
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Indian cinema is increasingly striking a chord with global audiences
Indian cinema, irrespective of the region or language of making, has increasingly been striking a chord with global audiences, says actor-producer Rituparna Sengupta. The actor, who was in Auroville recently for a preview screening of her upcoming release Goodbye Mountain at Cinema Paradiso, said many Indian films continue to be well received at prominent international film festivals. The actor, whose national award for best actress in Rituparno Ghosh's Dahan (1997) ranks as the crowning achievement among the several trophies of a long career, says that if one looked at Indian cinema as a totality of regional productions, there is no rationale for compartmentalising movies by geography or language. 'Cinema is global right now. I believe that when we are doing an Indian film, we are also creating a global platform where the language of its storytelling is no longer a limiting factor to how a viewer anywhere in the world identifies with it,' she said. In fact, her own new Bengali release, Puratawn, whose aura was enhanced by the return to the screen of yesteryear star Sharmila Tagore after 14 years, had made waves at the Washington DC South Asian Film Festival recently, even bagging the Best Film award. Rituparna and director Indrasis Acharya were back at Auroville's Cinema Paradiso, where they had presented their previous collaboration, The Parcel (Bengali) a few years ago, was to showcase their latest to an international audience. Auroville is a unique place where one gets to screen to a global audience, Rituparna noted, echoing the director's remark about the screening being the film's unofficial world premiere. Goodbye Mountain, a mature romance set in the breathtakingly beautiful terrain of Wayand in Kerala, is a synergistic collaboration between a director inclined to delve into the psyche of people in a relationship, and an actor with a penchant for nuanced portrayals. The film throws up searching questions about love, happiness and fulfilment in a stable relationship. 'It is a very different kind of understanding about life', she said, about the film theme that she expected would resonate with global audiences. Often, even in relationships with stable fundamentals, either partner could be searching for something that gives solace or a sense of release for the rest of their lives. 'Just because some people do not like to open up about their lives, it does not remove the void ... on the contrary it is necessary in life to be truthful to the self and face something, however difficult the process can be.' 'I always want to get into these sorts of spaces', said Rituparna, who enjoys relationship-based films woven around love. The actor points out that as society has changed, so has the nature of relationships and associated issues. 'There is such a diversity of relationships in society, from live-in to pre-nuptial agreements... that it is difficult to find a way to deal with issues complicating these relationships. Our cinema should shine a light on what is happening around us... and explore how complex relationship issues manifest even between mature individuals'. She is particularly thrilled by the audience response to Puratawn, which explores a deep-rooted relationship of the mother and daughter, and how the interpersonal transcends to a multi-dimensional dynamic within different members of the family. The fact that people thronged the theatre to watch the film is both a vindication of good cinema and the value attached to the theatre experience, she said. The actor of over 200 films, predominantly in Bengali, Hindi and Bangla, still harbours a hunger to be an eager student of cinema, explore new dimensions to playing a role and work with filmmakers with diverse storytelling styles. 'I revel in creatives spaces that allow me to try different things and to give my best as an actor to a character.' It is an attitude that has produced a versatile filmography that includes the Rituparno Ghosh masterpiece Utsav, the titular role in Tarun Majumdar's Alo, the romcom Mein, Meri Patni or Woh (2005), Bumm Bumm Bole (2010), Priyadarshan's Hindi remake of Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi's Children of Heaven, Bansuri (Hindi) by Hari Vishwanath or Rajkahini (Bengali/2015) set against the backdrop of the Partition — playing the lead in an ensemble cast as Begum Jaan, she still regards as a role of a lifetime. 'I still love the flamboyant roles.. those are experiences that have shaped and enriched me as an actor. But then, as much as I am a product of commercial cinema, I am also a product of good middle-road, parallel cinema'. Rituparna looks forward to quite a few projects, some due for release, others involving interesting scripts with pivotal roles. Her upcoming movies include the thriller Madam Sengupta (Bengali) in which she plays a cartoonist and Ittar (Hindi), a mature love story. 'I want to be known as my characters from my films whether it is as Ritika or Anandi', the actor said, referring to the characters she plays in Puratawn and Goodbye Mountain.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
LA Schools Face Stiff Headwinds From Wildfires and Trump, Report Says
The Los Angeles Unified School District is at a critical turning point, with fresh obstacles from both the recent wildfires and changes in federal aid and policies under the Trump administration, a new report argues. The 26-page document, 'Looking Ahead as LAUSD Confronts Fire Recovery and Federal Policy Uncertainty,' found those twin events will place new 'operational and financial pressures' on the nation's second-largest district in 2025 and beyond. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter The report, published earlier this month by the L.A.-based nonprofit education advocacy group GPSN, points out that LAUSD was already strained, with cratering enrollment, intense budget pressure and mixed marks on recent state and federal exams, although it is making progress compared to the rest of the state by some metrics. Other U.S. school districts are facing some similar post-pandemic headwinds and the second Trump administration, GPSN Executive Vice President Ana Teresa Dahan said in an interview, but the crisis at LA Unified is especially bad because of additional threats posed by the fires and years of plunging enrollment exacerbated by the pandemic. 'LAUSD was facing declining enrollment before these two crises occurred, and there's a chance that this can make that worse,' said Dahan. 'Between declining enrollment and delays in funding, LAUSD could find itself in a financial crisis.' Morgan Polikoff, a professor of education at the University of Southern California, said the dangers to the district posed by the fires and the Trump administration are very serious. 'Those things are looming,' said Polikoff. 'LAUSD would be a great target for the Trump administration if they want to put a trophy on the shelf.' Drawing on academic research, news reporting and publicly available data, the GPSN report found the wildfires which ripped through Los Angeles in January affected more than 700,000 students and staff with school closures and displacements at the height of the disaster. Related Even schools that were spared by flames suffered smoke damage, debris, and environmental hazards, according to the report. Ongoing hardships caused by the fires, such as financial uncertainty caused by job losses — estimated at 25,000-45,000 in the report — and the displacement of families from lost homes and neighborhoods, also compound LAUSD's fire woes, said Dahan. Meanwhile, LA school officials are preparing for the Trump administration to change, cut, or significantly diminish federal funding for public schools, which typically accounts for about 10% of the district's budget. Trump on Thursday issued an executive order to shut down the U.S. Department of Education. He has also threatened to withhold funding for districts that use race-based programming. LAUSD last year was forced to overhaul its signature program for Black students, the Black Student Achievement Plan, after a Virginia conservative group filed a civil rights complaint against the program. LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho has said he would fight to impose any restrictions placed on the district. Merely the fear of federal immigration enforcement at LAUSD schools, and uncertainty about the status of federal funding, could be enough to depress attendance and cause budgeting troubles for the district, Polikoff said. Related In a written response to the GPSN report, a district spokesperson acknowledged the dangers faced by LA Unified. 'As this report correctly indicates, these are challenging times,' a district spokesperson said in a statement. 'Not only is our community still recovering from the impact of the Palisades and Eaton fires, but we are now facing an increasingly volatile economic and political landscape.' The GPSN report gave LA Unified high marks for quickly relocating two schools that were destroyed in the fires, and formarshaling resources to provide food for families at LAUSD campuses while schools were closed. Dahan said she also found hope for LAUSD in the district's state test scores, which show that it is closing the gap with the rest of California, in both reading and math. To maximize its chances of mustering a strong recovery from the fires, and an effective response to the new federal landscape, Dahan said LA Unified needs to double down on social and academic services for students, and work with local community groups to bring those things directly to families. 'I think that they have demonstrated that they know how to respond to these crises,' Dahan said. 'Now the real test will be, what does this mean for instruction and academics moving forward?'
Saba Yemen
04-02-2025
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Ceremony honoring methodological competition winners held in Sana'a
Sana'a - Saba: A ceremony was held on Tuesdsy at Al-Nasr School - Beit Bous in the new Sana'a district, to honor the students of public and private schools who won the curricular competitions at the provincial and district levels, organized by the departments of activities and guidance in the educational sector in Sana'a province. At the ceremony, the head of the educational sector in the province, Talib Dahan, praised the efforts exerted in preparing and organizing the competition, culminating in the honoring ceremony for the winners, who were characterized by a spirit of perseverance and keenness to achieve victory and embody the concepts of scientific achievement in reality. Dahan pointed out that this honor comes in conjunction with the annual anniversary of the martyr President Saleh al-Sammad, and aims to strengthen the adherence to the faith identity and the principled stance in support of the Palestinians and their valiant resistance. Facebook Whatsapp Telegram Email more of (Local)
